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Ticking over nicely as we head into 2017.
Mon 16th January, 2017
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Well, another year gone and here we go with the first report of 2017.
Once again it was a busy time in Turangi over the Christmas period and the town was packed with overseas visitors and holiday makers. Gail and I spent Christmas and Boxing day with Lord and Lady Fransham and their family. And as far as I remember we had a wonderful time.
I'd expected the river to be a lot busier than it was but it wasn't that bad.
During the holidays there was a bit of a slow down in the "fishing" but things have improved again since. And when I had a session with Mike on the weekend he pulled a "cracker" out of Judges on the dry and dropper.
 
A bit later in the morning Andrew from Sporting Life turned up.
I didn't see him at first because he was modelling the new top of the range camo fishing shorts from the Warehouse ... and they work.
He landed several fish including a couple of small browns Czech nymphing the fast water above the pool and not one of them spotted him.
If you fancy a pair and want to blend in even more they also do them in shocking pink! 
The run of unsettled weather has continued as we head further into the new year.
Cicadas began emerging some weeks ago. Unfortunately that early show fizzled out when temperatures dropped.
But when the sun comes out ... and stays out, it doesn't take long for the male cicadas that are around to chirp up. And in the background you can pick out the clicking sound of the females as they snap their wings in response.
There aren't huge numbers about yet but when things settle down properly and temperatures warm up we should see more of them appearing.
Some of the big emergences happen virtually overnight and the next day you'll spot hundreds of discarded husks still clinging to host trees along the river.
Like many creatures these mass appearances are a deliberate evolutionary ploy to ensure species survival. Often called predator satiation there's safety in numbers and by emerging en masse it lessens the chance of individual insects being eaten ... unless of course you're first out.
Cicadas are easy prey for many creatures. They may have been around for forty million years but they fly with all the grace of a fridge dropped out of a third floor window. Sooner or later more and more of them finish up in the river and eventually the trout tune in.
Although we haven't {at the time of writing} had a really big emergence yet, there must be a few ending up in the drink because I've had fish go for the big dry every session lately.
 
Fishing close to, or under a tree line on the opposite bank can be especially effective in summer.
Cicadas and all kinds of bugs can be found in amongst the foliage and on breezy summer days some will inevitably get dislodged or blown off course.
These are prime lies for trout. Cooler water, cover and a constant food supply are what fish look for on warm summer days. And its not unusual to find some of the better fish in a given stretch occupying these spots.
With that in mind we decided to try our luck in such a stretch. Almost immediately a fish grabbed the big dry but I lost it when it dived back under the overhanging trees. But a few minutes later another took Mike's dropper nymph suspended below his indicator dry. I'm not sure what he's got in his hand in this photo ... but he kept looking at it, muttering "what a beauty".
 
Plenty of caddis in the river and they're a pretty safe bet when you're fishing the indicator.
A change to a size 12 "white caddis" has often worked and Creel Tackle has plenty in stock.
They'll also take fish under the dry on a long dropper.
Look for the patterns with plenty of body segmentation, they're more realistic. Turn over a few rocks and you'll see what I mean.
So all in all its been a good couple of weeks. Things have bucked up a little with enough going on at the moment to keep things interesting.
But I'm still finding the brown trout fishing a bit slow.
However anglers are reporting seeing small groups of them moving through and you will spot them from the usual vantage points.
 
Most of the post spawning rainbows seem to be recovering well, which is always good to see. And when conditions are right they're providing some brief but exciting sport for anglers fishing the evening rise.
The run of predominantly westerly winds looks set to continue for a few more days at least ... with a swing to the south mid-week. Staying unsettled with the possibility of more rain and showers until the weekend.
The winds have produced some unusual cloud formations recently and when I got up this morning I was greeted with this.
Are we lucky or what!
Tight lines guys
Mike |
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