Tackle and Tactics
Mike Ladle

Information Page.

Tongariro sequel.

My pal Alan in New Zealand has just been on a visit to one of the fabulous trout fishing rivers down under. It makes your mouth water at the thought of all those wonderful fish. To be honest I don't know one fly from another, I'm no great fly caster, nor do I do much trout fishing but even for a bit of a duffer like me it is great stuff. Anyway, here's a report written in his usual, exciting, descriptive, style:-

Hi Mike,

TONGARIRO TRIP - NOVEMBER 2014 - THE SEQUEL

Read on to see how the 2014 Tongariro trip compared to last year! The weather in Auckland as we loaded the car for the trip south to Turangi was decidedly average. Concrete grey skies with a chilly breeze and more than a hint of damp in the air. As we drove down country it steadily improved and by the time we reached Turangi in the early afternoon the sun was blazing down from a cerulean sky. The car thermometer was nudging 26oC in the sun and there was a light zephyr wheezing from the West to take the edge off the oppressive heat. After an excellent lunch at the Creel cafe we headed to our accommodation and set about tackling up for the evening rise. I went for a walk along the Major Jones pool in the late afternoon and managed to spot upwards of 50 fish quietly finning and feeding, especially on the shallow margins where misguided anglers often wade in up to their plimsoll line to fish the deep channel. This confirmed what Ross Baker (Tongariro River Motel) had been saying all week, namely was that the river was heaving with trout!

We opted to fish the evening rise at the "Duck pond", a favourite pool about 10 - 15 minutes drive from the township. This pool got this moniker as there always seems to be ducks feeding in this pool on dusk and they compete with the rising trout for the hatching flies, especially in the glides immediately below the riffly water. The walk across the river boulders to the pool is always a highlight as it involves forcing a path through lupin which emits an evocative, intoxicating scent at this time of year.

Conditions were perfect by now and the flies started to hatch in earnest around 8.25 pm. The resident trout were in position to take advantage of the bonanza and began rising freely. I had attached a size # 14 Hofland's Fancy in the half light and cast it out methodically, covering the splashy rises. This was obviously not the "fly du jour" as it received no touches on dead drift. I did get the impression though that two trout swirled at fly when it started to sink and drag. Around 15 minutes later I noticed that the flies hatching had changed to a pale grey so switched to a #16 Deer hair winged CDC caddis (pale yellow body). The wing was easily visible on the water and the fly proved irresistible to the trout. In the next 20 minutes I hooked four and landed two. The takes were brutal and unmistakable. On feeling steel the fish went ballistic. Both were mending hens of around 3 lb. and they fought well. The first fish was a jumper, the second a runner and they did not seem too exhausted by a touch of early evening exercise. There were heaps of fish rising, especially in the faster water, and picking a target was difficult at times. The fish I dropped both jumped and spat the hook upon re-entry, despite me dropping the rod tip.

We opted to pull the pin at 9.00 pm, well pleased with our first session of the week.

24 November

The day dawned postcard perfect. Still with brilliant sunshine and cloudless skies. After a late breakfast we opted to head south to Waikato Falls to see how many fish were holding in the pool and runs immediately below the dam. There was some awesome lenticular cloud hanging around the summit of Mt Ruapehu and we spotted a lot of fish including a lovely trout of around 5 - 6 lb cruising nonchalantly in the eddy behind the dam. This fish almost knew it was safe as the water was closed to angling for another week. I've already posted these images.

It was again hot (24oC) but by mid afternoon a steady westerly breeze of 10 knots has sprung up to take the edge off the heat. We opted again to only fish the evening rise at the Duck pond and spent the day checking out the Tongariro to see where the fish were holding.

After dinner the breeze died appreciably and conditions were perfect for the evening rise with an air temperature of 20oC and water temperature of 16oC. Unlike the previous evening the rise proper started at 8.40 pm. Given that there had been quite a lot of gusty wind in the late afternoon, I decided to start fishing with #14 green beetle well before dark. I'd seen a couple of manuka beetles the previous evening and figured that some may have been blown into the river during the afternoon. Third cast into the head of the riffle and the fly got absolutely hammered by a trout which smartly turned tail and headed down river in a withering burst. It took to the air, flopped back into the river sideways and then charged repeatedly for the far bank, taking me into the backing. Fortunately it soon tired and started to circle around the eddy before throwing in the towel. Surprisingly it was a recovering hen and only weighed a nudge over 3 lbs. However, despite being a tad on the thin side, it quickly recovered from its exertions and swum off strongly. Within three casts I was in again and soon had another trout of around 3 lb. in the net pending release.

After this initial flurry of activity the fish started to rise in earnest so I swapped to a brown sedge. Bad choice as I did not get any touches in 15 minutes. All the while the trout were splashing and slurping noisily. Next I switched to a Mallard & Claret for 20 minutes and still could not elicit any interest. In despair I next tried a grey bodied, parachute pale hackled fly which looked like a spent Adams. The next 10 casts lead to 5 fish taking the fly. Each flopped on the surface or jumped and somehow spat the hook. I checked the fly after each fish and everything seemed in order. Eventually in despair, I turned on my headlight to discover that the nylon had looped back over bend of hook and was strung tightly across the gape to the eye. This effectively stopped the point from penetrating on the strike.

Slapping myself hard I removed the fly and changed back to # 14 sedge pattern. Success! Immediate hook up and within minutes I had another 3lb clone flapping in the net. By now the massive sedge hatch had tailed off appreciably so we opted to call it a day.

25 November

The next day dawned sunny, relatively cloudless with a light zephyr puffing languidly from the West. Ideal conditions to have a few hours prospecting Major Jones pool. The air temperature by 9.30 am had reached 22oC. Before I left Auckland Tony Bishop suggested that I prospect with a hopper and a nymph so I took his advice and tied on a large and a size #16 gold bead head Hares Ear on a 4' dropper. Truck and trailer.

I started casting methodically fishing the fly upstream and within minutes was dreaming about nothing in particular. Casting metronomically and stripping in slack line automatically to keep tight to the Stimulator. Next I got fixated on something moving on the far bank and stared hard to see what was causing the disturbance. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the Stimulator pause, struck and came up solid on a trout which did not take kindly to having its nostril pierced. Off it went downstream but it was not heavy and soon was under control, thanks to constant side strain. It was a small recovering hen of around 2.5 lb that had taken the small nymph. Quickly released it to fight another day.

About now several trout started to rise so I removed the Stimulator and nymph rig and replaced it with a #14 parachute spent spinner (stripped peacock herl body, golden pheasant tippet tail and dark brown hackle). I carefully waded in behind the hind most rising trout and pitched the fly about 6' ahead of it. The fly landed softly and the trout rose in slow motion to engulf it purposefully. Passing on my regards to the Queen I struck carefully and set the hook. The trout was small (~ 2 lb) but it charged about the tail for several minutes before I could beach and release it. Meanwhile several other larger trout kept on rising steadily blissfully unaware of what was happening below them. Licking my lips I carefully waded into position to cast again. No sooner had I done this and started false casting than four rafts and a couple of kayakers hove into view at the head of the pool making a hell of a racket, splashing each other and squealing with delight. The trout immediately froze rigid synchronously and engaged turbos as they headed out into deep water and safety. I muttered a profanity laden sentence to myself which specifically questioned their lineage before winding in and heading home, steam venting from every orifice.

Eventually I calmed down and began setting up for another evening foray to the Duck pond. By the late afternoon the weather had turned cloudy. It was still warm but rain showers were forecast for late in the evening. Bankside at 7.30 pm the air temperature was still 21oC and water temperature 16oC.

Learning from past experience I attached a green beetle fly to imitate any manuka beetles that may have been blown unceremoniously into the river. Tonight this was studiously ignored, as was an Aoteapsyche nymph and the up until this trip "never fail" Hoflands.

Again I noticed a hatch of pale grey flies and switched to #16 deer hair CDC caddis. Bingo! Within six casts I'd hooked three trout and landed two. The first fish was 2lb. and second 3.5 lb. The latter fish fought like it was much bigger. Strong runs into the current, surface jumps and dogged resistance. It was a long fish that would easily have gone 5 lb. when in peak condition. With the extra weight it would have been hard to stop in heavy water. By now it was getting late so we pulled the pin and headed home.

26 November

Buoyed by yesterday's effort in the Major Jones, I headed out onto the river in the late afternoon to target fish that were rising or holding in the shallow shingle. Another sun drenched day, the only saving grace being a strong wind gusting 10 knots down river. This serendipitously blew the fly line away from my head when casting which is always a bonus. I attached a # 12 deer hair blowfly and managed to hook two rising fish briefly. The second snapped the bend off the hook at end of the shank. This calls for a change in tactics I muttered to no one in particular.

On went a #14 Glister nymph in combination with a #14 fawn bead head maggot fly. I started casting directly out from where I stood, slightly upstream of perpendicular. I reach mended late in the forward casting stroke to deposit the fly line upstream of the visible trout. What happened next will live with me forever. I hooked the first trout at 16:10 hours and proceeded to hook 14 over next 80 minutes, landing six. All around 2.5 - 3.5 lbs. One fish did not fight at all, one took off like a Polaris missile in the highest jump I've ever seen and one launched a full on attack at me and spat the hook at my feet from a rod length away. A stunning session. I described it afterwards as "Fishing from a highlights package". Given that it took several minutes to get back to the shore, it was virtually a trout a cast! For the record the air temperature was 22oC and the water temperature 16oC.

Fly fishing is often as much about confidence and positive mental attitude as anything else so you can probably guess how pumped I was when we set out after dinner for our daily dose of Duck pond. Again nothing began moving until 20:40 hours, well after sunset. This was probably due to the strong westerly wind, gusting 15 knots, that buffeted our mostly sheltered spot.

I attached the # 16 deer hair CDC caddis and waited. Once the trout started rising steadily I waded in carefully and started casting. As soon as the fly started to skate it got slaughtered and I hooked 5 fish in 50 minutes. Remarkably we landed all of them, Sandy dealing expertly with two. The second fish which hit the caddis was an altogether different proposition from the rest. It flopped heavily on the surface, tore off line in short powerful bursts and stayed deep shaking its head angrily. Classic behaviour for a big brown. It took me well into the backing twice and much longer for the Hardy Angel Smuggler to wear down but eventually it succumbed to the relentless pressure. It was only 6 lb but it was short, deep of shoulder and well proportioned. An absolute beauty. Unfortunately I could only get a shot of its flank with my mobile. The other four fish were all in 2.5 - 3.5 lb bracket and fought strongly as well.

What a day! Hooked 21 trout in a nudge over two hours, landing 11. Epic does not even begin to describe it.

27 November

The weather during the next day was average and fishing would have been uncomfortable on account of the wind and misty rain. So we opted to go to the hot pools and generally explore and focus on the evening rise. When we got to the Duck pond at 8.00 pm it was overcast and misty rain permeated the session. Thankfully the westerly wind did drop to a manageable10 knots but the air temperature plummeted to 13oC in roughly an hour and a half. It was cold and fewer fish rose before 9.00 pm.

On went the #16 deer hair CDC caddis at dusk but we opted to sit and wait. I started fishing steadily between 21:00 - 21:40 hours as the trout came on the chomp and managed to hook three, all landed. Two by Sandy. The largest was a 4 - 4.5 lb brown which fought doggedly to the bitter end.

28 November

Last day and the weather was again a curate's egg. One minute it was bright and sunny, the next it was heavy showers. The only constant was the relentless south westerly which gusted to 20 knots at times. I took my chance just after lunch and headed to the Major Jones for 1.5 hours. It was sunny and overcast for first 30 minutes then closed in and started to drizzle steadily. The air temperature struggled to reach 16oC at the hottest part of the day and there was a fair amount of wind chill involved.

To cut a long story short, I fished the entire session with small bead headed Glister nymph and fawn maggot nymph. I hooked a fish during preparation for my first cast and 5 others in total. The biggest was 3.5 lb, rest all around 2lb. Compared with what had gone before it was hard fishing. Bigger trout were clearly visible but they would not be tempted. What a week. Hooked 47 trout and landed 27 in 15 hours fishing. Roughly one fish landed every 35 minutes. Only saw one other angler fishing all week but everyone I bumped into was catching plenty. There are some big gravid fish hanging off the Tongariro delta at present and they will run up soon to spawn, probably with the next flood.

To paraphrase Lara Bingle "where the bloody hell were ya"?

Watch the river levels and head down to Turangi in the next fine spell. Fish the evening rise. You will not be disappointed.

Well what did I tell you? To hook a trout every twenty minutes with all the usual palaver of playing, landing, losing, unhooking and even taking the odd picture - that's some fishing!

If you have any comments or questions about fish, methods, tactics or 'what have you.'get in touch with me by sending an E-MAIL to - docladle@hotmail.com

Follow that fish!

Alan trying to keep in contact with a big NZ trout.'

Rainbow.

What a beautifully coloured fish!'

Brown.

A cracking four pound brownie.'

Wow!

A big rainbow on the prowl.'