New Zealand: fishing the Tongariro

OnTheFly · Dec 28, 2011

The town of Turangi (too-rang-ee) is located near the mouth of the Tongariro River where it enters Lake Taupo in north island New Zealand. The better fishing is done in winter (June through September) when most fish enter the river to spawn, much like our steelhead, however fish can be caught year round in the lower stretches. The river is gin clear and sighting large fish makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. No fish for me yet but my sister caught three fish just before dark last night on dry flies and we will try again this evening too. More later.......

waco · Dec 28, 2011

Photoshop!! :lol: :lol: :lol: I saw him yesterday in the clack!! :lol:

Raincatcher · Dec 28, 2011

Awesome, Jim! :clap: You look like you're having a blast. We're expecting to see that "I got a fish" grin tomorrow.

ninja2010 · Dec 28, 2011

shorts and t-shirt in december... luckeeee youuuuu.

is that a bobber in the first shot?

Irishrover · Dec 28, 2011

Looks like a great place to be......

lilsalmon · Dec 28, 2011

wow, Jim...it looks wonderful. Lucky you to get to experience that. Can't wait to see pics of fishys....

eggs · Dec 28, 2011

Bobber fishermen

lilsalmon · Dec 28, 2011

I like the last pic...its perfect.

OnTheFly · Dec 29, 2011

eggs said:
Bobber fishermen

Not a bobber. Check this out...the gear guys may never give the fly guys a hard time again......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaDEBP2K_Do

bigsteel · Dec 29, 2011

excellent pics jim,looks like your having a great time over there.you need to show them new zealand fish the peacock stimulator

OnTheFly · Dec 29, 2011

Sinkline said:
"New Zealand"..., is that a town out in SE Oregon? I didn't think there were any world traveler fly fishers here amongst the common folk on OFF. :lol:

OTF, embrace the bobber, bobbers are cool! A bobber is a bobber is a bobber no matter what it's made of!

Hope a stillwater guy like yourself can muster enough stream mojo to hook-up a bunch of those fish!

Looking forward to a couple fish photos!

Randy

I don't know Randy, calling it a bobber instead of an indicator to me is like calling a fly rod a fly pole but just for you I'll work on it. lol.

With an our of daylight left, I made my way back to the river. You can fish until midnight in NZ so casting in the dark is common for Kiwi fishermen. (BTW Kiwi, like the bird, is also a friendly way to call a New Zealander) Barely able to see, the rise began. Still no fish for me even with one of Bigsteel's hand tied Peacock Stimulators. We stopped fishing around 10:00 and, using headlamps pointed down into the water, we made our way back to the to the shore then to the car. Driving back at night, in the rain, on the opposite side of the road and opposite steering column is better than any ride at Disneyland.

halibuthitman · Dec 29, 2011

OnTheFly said:
I don't know Randy, calling it a bobber instead of an indicator to me is like calling a fly rod a fly pole but just for you I'll work on it. lol..

the only differnce between a fly rod, and a fly pole.... is about a hundred bucks looks fun, wish I was there!

brandon4455 · Dec 29, 2011

awesome pics..that looks like a blast

bigsteel · Dec 29, 2011

OnTheFly said:
I don't know Randy, calling it a bobber instead of an indicator to me is like calling a fly rod a fly pole but just for you I'll work on it. lol.

With an our of daylight left, I made my way back to the river. You can fish until midnight in NZ so casting in the dark is common for Kiwi fishermen. (BTW Kiwi, like the bird, is also a friendly way to call a New Zealander) Barely able to see, the rise began. Still no fish for me even with one of Bigsteel's hand tied Peacock Stimulators. We stopped fishing around 10:00 and, using headlamps pointed down into the water, we made our way back to the to the shore then to the car. Driving back at night, in the rain, on the opposite side of the road and opposite steering column is better than any ride at Disneyland.

those new zealand fish dont know what a good stonefly is:lol::lol:

ninja2010 · Dec 29, 2011

time to swing an intruder, jim...

OnTheFly · Dec 31, 2011

halibuthitman said:
the only differnce between a fly rod, and a fly pole.... is about a hundred bucks

Not unless you're a snob like me.

JeannaJigs · Dec 31, 2011

Holy crap, what a lucky turd!!! Looks like an amazing place. New Zealand is a place I have always wanted to travel to. Know why? No snakes.

jamisonace · Jan 1, 2012

This is my dream trip. I've watched videos of huge trout eating mice as they swim across rivers. Saw one gutted and it had a a half dozen or so mice in it's stomach. Post more pics so I can live this trip vicariously through you!

OnTheFly · Jan 2, 2012

jamisonace said:
This is my dream trip. I've watched videos of huge trout eating mice as they swim across rivers. Saw one gutted and it had a a half dozen or so mice in it's stomach. Post more pics so I can live this trip vicariously through you!

More pictures are yet to come of the river but no fish. The rain blew it out the last day we were there and robbed us of precious fishing time. I will have more to say about this place later......

JeannaJigs · Jan 2, 2012

Jim, I look forward to seeing more photos of this amazing place that so many of us are green with envy of you having the trip of a lifetime to see.

New Zealand: fishing the Tongariro

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