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Still tough out there.
Mon 5th February, 2018
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The river has dropped back to 36 cumecs and looks great in the summer sunshine but its still tough out there. Like a lot of others I was hoping that last weeks fresh would have redistributed some fish but that'll only happen if there are fish there in the first place.
I've been on the river a few times since the fresh but its a lot of effort for very little reward and it's clear most of the rainbows are back in the lake. In saying that you will occasionally find a few if you keep on the move.
Chris concentrated his efforts above Red Hut Bridge and eventually found some fish in Big Bend and Boulder Reach. But it wasn't easy and he was plagued with "Tongariro sardines".
To be honest the next time I fish my focus will be solely on browns which will not only influence how I fish ... but where I fish as well. When they're in the river there are plenty of stretches that regularly throw up browns year in year out. And while rainbows are thin on the ground it makes more sense to deliberately target their larger relatives.
 
At least then when you do hook up it could be that "fish of a life-time moment" because for the next few months there'll be some magnificent browns in the Tongariro. Most of the rainbows I've caught or seen caught are typical post spawning fish still recovering. Don't get me wrong because I'm not complaining about this, its exactly what you'd expect. And we're fortunate to have a very worthwhile summer alternative on the Tongariro.
After a fresh, caddis usually does the trick but the majority of rainbows I've caught this week have been on flash-backs.
The "river" didn't have time to settle back properly after the big January flood and although last weeks fresh was much smaller there are soft spots and more debris everywhere. There's also a lot of extra changes out there which have created even more very "fishy" looking new water.
An unsettled week ahead with an increasing chance of heavy rain or showers from Thursday right into next week. With afternoon thunderstorms predicted as well keep an eye on the flow graphs because levels could well rise again. And don't forget the recreational release on Saturday. This takes a couple of hours to reach Turangi and usually affects the town pools around 11.00 am. I've listed the other scheduled dates below:
Tongariro River below Poutu Intake recreational releases
Flows of 30 cubic metres per second for 6 hours will be released from Poutu Intake into the Tongariro River between 9am and 3pm on the following dates:
Saturday 10 February, 2018
Saturday 28 April, 2018
Saturday 15 September, 2018
Tight lines
Mike |
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