Low and clear

With no rain for at least a couple of weeks and only last weekend’s Recreational Release to refresh the river, there were probably better options (Jase mentioned at least one) to swing up some resident feeding fish, but I’d promised Greig a shot with the 3 weight. That meant a final spring trip to the Tongariro. We went straight up to the Blue Pool, rigged and while Jase hit the Pig Pen I wandered up to Whitikau where I met Chris who was on his final day of a 2 week stay. After a chat I headed to the top of the run where Greig was working his RB Meiser #5. A handshake, and a rod exchange. At the head of the run I began to extend line, the Hardy Taupo mounted on the rod purring with each pull of line. The rod itself was very slow actioned and I was able to lay out casts with ease. Downstream, Greig turned and gave me a thumbs up – clearly he was enjoying the rod. 

Layla guarding the run. Credit: Chris Dore

Chris having swung out the tail of the pool came upstream to shoot the breeze and say goodbye before heading back south. 

Chris & Layla

I watched Greig cover the holding lie which is opposite the main flow of the river and requires that the fly hits the water within 6” of the far bank, and a drift through the lie before the current drags a belly and whips the fly downstream. If anyone’s going to take a fish there it’s the master himself but nothing came to his fly. Or mine for that matter but having followed 2 of NZ’s best anglers through the reach I wasn’t surprised about that. Greig exited the water and came up. I reeled in and handed over his beautiful combo – oh how I’d have loved to hear that Hardy sing. He was rapt with the Trout Spey HD, and we both agreed that Sage has nailed it with this model. Other people who had tried the #4 were saying equally nice things.  I continued through the pool and then headed downstream, dropping into the Reef Pool where wet prints up the bank indicated someone had recently exited. I could see Jase downstream swinging out the tail of the Pen. The Reef is nothing like the pool where 3 years ago I’d hit a fish that simply charged out my head, running line and most of my backing while the Speyco screamed and screamed. Back then the deep seam extended down past the rock seam that gives the pool its name and hugged the true left. Now the tail has filled in such that I could see that the river is wadable there in low flow, so a new crossing is formed. This will change the way I fish this part of the river. On the upside, a beautiful tail out has formed and so I waded down in water that was once neck deep swinging the fly from main seam through the riffle across to the left bank below me. And I got a hit, a good hit. The fish hit the surface, sprayed and heaved into the main current. A jerk through the whole rod told me that something horrible had happened on the reel. The fly was gone. The running one had wrapped under itself somehow, maybe I had wound it on loose last time? Whatever, on a low river sunny day I knew there’d be few hits so losing a fish to gear failure is not a good look. At the car park Jase and Greig were finishing up a cup of coffee, so I grabbed one also and we nattered away, planning our next move. Town pools. I was in my t shirt under waders by this time and even though occasionally a light cool zephyr blew, it was nice to not be clad in the winter clothes while fishing. Greig hit the Lodge Run while I wandered down to Stump and Jase moved into the Cnut. I studied the water. The low flow had moved the main current several feet. The pool had probably already fished hard. I figured that the fish would be holding in the current or maybe against the far bank so after short-lining the slack immediately below the sticks I began to hit the far bank, throw a mend and drift into the main run. Almost immediately a fish bumped at the fly without hooking up. I gave the fly some erratic movement to see if the half-hearted tap would convert to a full smash, but that wasn’t to be. I carefully fished the same cast but no joy, so began my movement down the pool. Finally and below what is normally the prime holding water, a fish latched on, ran into the bank, thrashed around and then came upstream. The hook pulled. Gah. I added a wee soft hackle on a dropper. Mayflies were coming off, maybe just maybe I could get a fish interested in an emerger. No joy. I decided to go through the pool again but to really focus on the area by the large fly eating snag ¾ of the way down. Here, long casts across are doomed to catch up on the mother of all what must be fallen trees or a standing stump covered in trash, so a cast 60 degrees down and across is called for. I’d almost reached the snag when in the turbulent water above it a fish slashed at the fly, missing the hook. At the end of the swing I jigged the fly in case the fish had followed and with a wrench the fly was hit broadside on. And the fish was in no mood to be brought ashore either. I saw bronze flashes in the water as the fish doggedly regained the line I’d taken. At one point I called it for a brown before a darkening rainbow jack rolled on the surface.  Nice, day made. He posed for a shot before shooting from my grasp and burning out into the current.

I wandered upstream to where Greig was effortlessly covering the water. So nice to watch a maestro at work.

The afternoon unravelled with us catching up with more river mates, Connor & Shelen, Andy, Theresa and Claudio, who were fishing downriver. I changed over to the new Scandi head to get some touch and go casting practice in. I’m a bit out of practice and when after a few shots I got my boogy on, I hit the snags on the far bank and lost my flies! Greig, Jase and I swapped positions in the runs. I wasn’t seriously fishing so much as trying to figure stuff out for summer riffle fishing. After the past month of skagit casting post my absolute fishing hiatus whilst recovering, it took some adjusting to get the single Spey going.

We rolled out late in the afternoon, relaxed after a beautiful day on the water. Time to put the Skagit heads away. It feels like summer is almost here.