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Lead image: MidCurrent (Hughes) Most rivers still have an evening rise during Spring and Summer where trout rise voraciously to feed on insects concentrated in the surface film. Stretches of river which appeared barren during the day suddenly spring to life as dusk approaches. It is arguably the best time to be on the river if you are a dry fly fisherman. Casting to rising trout … Continue reading FLOATING FLIES FOR NIGHT FISHING
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Lead image: Kiyoshi Nakagawa When I was young my father, who always seemed to catch something when we went fishing, used to harp on about how I needed to learn how to “think like a trout” in order to consistently outsmart them. Teenage boys rarely listen to their fathers so this advice, which I struggled to understand without some concrete examples, entered one ear and … Continue reading OUTSMARTING TROUT
The Tongariro River rises in the central volcanic plateau of the North Island of New Zealand and wends it way in a roughly northerly direction through the township of Turangi to eventually enter Lake Taupo near Tokaanu. It is easily the largest and most important spawning river in the Lake Taupo fishing region. Ever since Zane Grey fished the river and immortalised it in his book “Tales of the Angler’s … Continue reading TONGARIRO MEMORIES
Text: Alan Bulmer Featured image: Auckland Freshwater Anglers I have just finished reading a book by Reed Curry entitled “The New Scientific Angling – Trout and Ultraviolet Vision”. The ISBN number is 9780984086306. It is thought provoking read that will probably change forever the way you think about trout fly design. The book looks primarily at UV reflectance and how this is likely be used by … Continue reading CONSIDER REFLECTED UV WHEN TYING FLIES
Photos: Paul Smith (Paul Smith Visual Media) Continue reading THE MIGHTY TONGARIRO
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Back in the day most anglers timed their trips to the Tongariro river to coincide with the main rainbow trout spawning runs which occurred over the winter months. Between 1960 and 2000 these runs were mostly concentrated between May – August. However there has been a major change in the timing of the rainbow trout spawning runs since 2002 and the fabled winter runs have … Continue reading WHICH MONTHS ARE BEST TO FISH THE TONGARIRO?
I’m fairly sure that the year was 2000. It was the 25th anniversary of us gaining access to fish the Hautu and Rangipo prison farms near Turangi. Almost exactly two years after Mt Ruapehu erupted and belched ash and nutrients into Lake Taupo via the Tongariro River. Following the eruption two once in 100 year floods purged the river of silt and flushed the nutrients … Continue reading CARNAGE INSIDE THE HAUTU PRISON FARM
Up until the late 1990’s it was possible to go fishing inside the Hautu prison farm near Turangi. It generally was necessary to apply for permission to do so in advance. Once it was granted you had to front up at the Guard house for inspection on your allocated day, before a permit was issued. The prison authorities divided the river into a series of … Continue reading DOING TIME ON THE WAIOTAKA – HAUTU PRISON FARM MEMORIES
(Words – Alan Bulmer/ Images – Kiyoshi Nakagawa) The day dawned cool and clear in Auckland. I had slept fitfully as I always do before a serious fishing trip, scared to drop off unless I missed the alarm and excited about what the day would hold. I was already up when the alarmed sounded at 4.15 am, ready and breakfasted by the time that my … Continue reading NGONGOTAHA – TROPHY TROUT MECCA
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