Taupo Fishing Comp 20 March

Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Redfinger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Taupo Fishing Comp 20 March
    Posted: 26 Feb 2015 at 11:33am
Redfinger View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar

Joined: 29 Jul 2002
Status: Offline
Points: 7116
Just signed up for this - anyone else doing it?
Last year we didn,t weigh in a 2.3 and a 2.4kg rainbow - would have got third!!
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Far Quirk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Mar 2015 at 8:54pm
Far Quirk View Drop Down
Moderator - Brown Belt
Moderator - Brown Belt
Avatar

Joined: 12 May 2003
Location: Ellerslie
Status: Offline
Points: 3618
I'm with you RF!  (We're on the same team.)  It's a shame this freshwater forum is so quiet.  It often feels like you're talking to yourself.  I've posted Taupo reports in the past hoping for a bit of chat, but it's hard work.

It's almost as if fishermen are terrified of giving away secrets about their spots and methods.  The sea water reports seem a bit more frequent, and a lot less secretive.

There are heaps of fishing reports put out by commercial types around Taupo.  If you're a bit paranoid, you may suspect these people of endlessly talking up the fishing, even when it's slow.  The experts (guides and experienced locals) definitely have an advantage over tourists and out-of-towners.  Trout fishing's a bit more technical than snapper fishing.  Here's a recent report that sounds both credible and amazing.
"So if I wanted trout the good old Tongariro would be the place I park my butt. There are good numbers of Rainbows and Browns right throughout this river now. I have now had 4 browns over 9 pounds within a month and a heap of Rainbows up to 4 pounds. These have all taken the Blue Raptor with a Big Boys Bomb for the dropper."  This report was dated 3rd March 2015 from Shane French, a guide.  His website is taupofishing.co.nz


Far Quirk - I'm goin' fishn!
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Redfinger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Mar 2015 at 9:00am
Redfinger View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar

Joined: 29 Jul 2002
Status: Offline
Points: 7116
Thanks FQ - should be alot of fun. Im sure the locals would love a couple of JAFFAS winning their comp!! As if...

Fair comment re the locals tr - I know the Corfields in Turangi well and get excellent advice from them , up to the minute etc.
Most of tHE locals are friendly enough but suppose human nature to be secret squirrel about their spots! Im sure the local fishing shops give excellent advice too.
As with any areas of the country you have to be careful in some parts of the region - I have had my trailer interferred with( by a known local trouble maker)  so take teh usual precautions.
I have found the reports by Greig sports, Tongariro river motel and Sporting life to be really good.
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote boitpo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Mar 2015 at 4:42pm
boitpo View Drop Down
Bronze
Bronze


Joined: 04 May 2014
Status: Offline
Points: 4
Was out on the lake yesterday before the weather closed in. It's been a really good summer so far with plenty of fish caught up the northern end of lake. Favourite spots are Jerusalem bay heading south down to Kinloch. this area is good in most winds although I don't fish this side in an easterly . Prefer 2 mile bay down to Hatepe. Good luck with the competition
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Redfinger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Mar 2015 at 5:22pm
Redfinger View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar

Joined: 29 Jul 2002
Status: Offline
Points: 7116
Thanks for that - looks like we will be up northern end of Lake Sunday with front due then.
Sat probably be southern end for the morning at least - have you been getting them jigging or trolling/downrigging?
Looking forward to a real challenge and a good bit of fun with my mate Far Quirk .
We have the jigging rods sorted, lead line , fly rods / harling - charge!

Do you know how much to launch at Kinloch? Heard it was $20 and do you need ramp pass from Taupo as well?
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote boitpo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Mar 2015 at 8:05pm
boitpo View Drop Down
Bronze
Bronze


Joined: 04 May 2014
Status: Offline
Points: 4
If you are launching at Kinloch you will need the ramp pass at $20. The Taupo ramp pass covers everywhere else. I Launch at Acacia Bay south ramp. It is nice and deep and has good parking and we motor down to Western Bays from there. This saves buying the Kinloch ramp pass as well as the Taupo one. Takes about 20 minutes depending on conditions. We use 2 Lead lines and a floating fly line with Tasmanian Devils and a teaser with a streamer fly just above. We don't have any jigging rods but have heard that round by the carvings and Horomatangi reef is doing well at the moment. We also see a lot sitting on the drop offs along Jerusalem bay south to the carvings.
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Redfinger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Mar 2015 at 12:36pm
Redfinger View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar

Joined: 29 Jul 2002
Status: Offline
Points: 7116
Thanks for that - we only have a 4m boat so slightly limited on where we can go and launching areas need to be not too far away. Good info on the rigs thanks.
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Far Quirk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Mar 2015 at 7:08pm
Far Quirk View Drop Down
Moderator - Brown Belt
Moderator - Brown Belt
Avatar

Joined: 12 May 2003
Location: Ellerslie
Status: Offline
Points: 3618
Boitpo - great info, and sharing is what Fishing.Net is aboutThumbs Up
Far Quirk - I'm goin' fishn!
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Far Quirk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Mar 2015 at 5:14pm
Far Quirk View Drop Down
Moderator - Brown Belt
Moderator - Brown Belt
Avatar

Joined: 12 May 2003
Location: Ellerslie
Status: Offline
Points: 3618
Redfinger and I are considering a novel jigging technique.  If the fish won't come to us dammit, we'll go to them!  Here's how it's done:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMkh-Bn5L4w

Far Quirk - I'm goin' fishn!
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote boitpo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Mar 2015 at 3:57am
boitpo View Drop Down
Bronze
Bronze


Joined: 04 May 2014
Status: Offline
Points: 4
Talking to other locals this week, jigging is producing some really nice fish at the moment. Would give this a go
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Redfinger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Mar 2015 at 11:10am
Redfinger View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar

Joined: 29 Jul 2002
Status: Offline
Points: 7116
Great weekend - fished Fri pm at Tongi delta flyfishing - 6 fish to 3lb. Bit on the small side and mostly average condition caught bugging. One small jigging in tokaanu hole..
Sat and Sunday am 10 each day jigging up to 4lb aroung Motuapa and Mission bay.Steady , good first thing sunday am . grey ghost and ginger micks best. Between 40 and 50m is where we found fish.
FQ will have a better report!
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Far Quirk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Apr 2015 at 9:48pm
Far Quirk View Drop Down
Moderator - Brown Belt
Moderator - Brown Belt
Avatar

Joined: 12 May 2003
Location: Ellerslie
Status: Offline
Points: 3618
There is so little happening on the freshwater forum, and I have writer's block.  I've decided to serialise our fishing comp report.

The Anticipipation
Sometime late last year Redfinger asked if I was interested in a trout fishing comp in Taupo.  Well, fishing for snapper month after month, year after year is interesting, but after 10 years of a similar fishing diet I said "Hell yeah!"  RF is keener on the freshwater stuff than I am, and he has a network of informants who will spill the good oil, so he's an ideal companion for such a jaunt.

Me and fishing comps - I'm AC/DC.  I like the gathering of like-minded nutters (fishos) who will talk and chase fish all day.  I like the fact that a comp creates a time that you mark down in your calendar, you pay your fee and you're in.  So barring cyclones and chaos, it's something to look forward to and plan for.  But as for the "I've got a bigger one than you", the secrecy, the feeling that someone with a set net could be laughing at us - to me, that's all crap.  Enjoy your fishing, and if you fluke a goody, weigh it in.

RF mentioned casting bugs at the Tongariro Delta.  Now casting fly lines is a gents' sport that some people are natural at - not me.  So one evening, a few days before departure, I tied a couple of flies with the points of the hooks cut off to the end of a shooting head and sauntered down to the local park.  There was a steady breeze 10 to 15 knots, so the kind of conditions you need to be able to handle.  I spent about 45 minutes, mostly casting into the breeze, and after a while the rhythm started to come back a bit, and the odd cast rolled out nicely and took a good lump of backing with it.  I'll never set any distance records, but with the correct boat positioning a short cast will do it at the Delta.

Of course the other side of planning is checking your gear and obsessing about what's missing or needs upgrading.  RF gave me guidance and organised a nice selection of flies and jigging sets that I paid for when we got to Taupo.  I resisted the temptation of lashing out on new rods, reels and the like.  The 3 to 5 kgs gear I use for softbaiting snapper is fine for jigging trout.  Only minor indulgence was a new spool of Power Pro 10lb rainbow braid, conveniently????!!!! marked off in 25ft lengths WTF.  This replaced the battered last 40m of another spool of PowerPro that I bought maybe 4 years ago.

RF's enthusiasm is catching, and one of the last emails he sent before we left was signed off CHARGE!  So that's what we did.  We charged off to Taupo to deal to those wily trout!
Far Quirk - I'm goin' fishn!
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Uncle Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Apr 2015 at 10:35pm
Uncle View Drop Down
Moderator - Black Belt
Moderator - Black Belt
Avatar

Joined: 19 Mar 2003
Location: Tauranga, NZ
Status: Offline
Points: 14258
Nice FQ, will look forward to the next installment.Big smile 
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote boitpo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Apr 2015 at 7:06am
boitpo View Drop Down
Bronze
Bronze


Joined: 04 May 2014
Status: Offline
Points: 4
Also looking forward to next instalment. The wind is up at the moment hopefully it will die down later. Haven't been out in a couple of weeks looking forward to an easter fish or two
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Redfinger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Apr 2015 at 2:59pm
Redfinger View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar

Joined: 29 Jul 2002
Status: Offline
Points: 7116
Spoiler alert - he kicked my arse!
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Mossy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Apr 2015 at 6:00pm
Mossy View Drop Down
Gold
Gold
Avatar

Joined: 13 Jan 2013
Location: BOP
Status: Offline
Points: 528
Good read. Looking forward to the next chapter!
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Far Quirk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Apr 2015 at 10:14pm
Far Quirk View Drop Down
Moderator - Brown Belt
Moderator - Brown Belt
Avatar

Joined: 12 May 2003
Location: Ellerslie
Status: Offline
Points: 3618
[Tad inconvenient that I'm having to apply for my job again, just like last year.  I've spent time brushing up my CV, checking Seek and updating Linked In, talking to employment agencies and counsellors.  Fortunately, while RF & I were fishing at Taupo, I wrote notes on each of the fish we caught, so despite the passing of time, not all is lost!]

The Cheeky Shakedown
The average contestant at a fishing comp rocks up with not much recent history of the local water and how it's fishing.  The comp was on Saturday/Sunday 21st and 22nd March, and the pre-comp meeting was on Friday evening.  We decided that since we needed to be in Taupo Friday, we'd check the lie of the land and see if we could find a spot bursting with XOS trout on Friday afternoon.

We left Auckland at 6am and made good time towing RF's Fish City 3.9m dinghy.  I suggested we fend off the hunger pangs and wait til we got to the Wooden Farmer cafe in Putaruru for breakfast.  Wadyaknow they weren't open, so it was cheap and cheerful other side of the road and up a bit.  Don't listen to me next time RF!

What with a brekkie stop, check into our Turangi digs, compulsory visit to Greigs Sports for a TAS attack, minor repair to RF's trailer, lunch etc etc, it was about 2pm when we cast our first flies at the Delta.  We had it all to ourselves!!!!   We anchored the boat in the main channel about 10m back from the lip of the drop-off, and took turns casting.  "Keep your head and your rod tip down" while the other bloke was casting was the rule, and given the fairly blustery onshore conditions we coped well.  No hats whipped off, no fly embedded in the ear - marvelous.

Once we got the rig sorted and the positioning of the cast good, we started getting bites.  We started with white boobies as the first fly, with heave and leave UV bugs as the dropper.  Rf changed to a big bug as the first fly, and same heave & leave dropper and got more bites.  Not wanting to be left out of the party I shamelessly copied.  Some purists will deplore even one bug used while trout fishing, but we had 4 going at once.  Purity does not equal enjoyment unless your a purer type than RF and I, so we defied convention and had fun.

We had lots of touches and a few short term hookups that came unstuck quickly.  Trout don't seem quite as suicidal as snapper - they play with their food like naughty children.  Despite "Yes, no, buggas!" heard renting the air, a few stuck and after a couple of hours we had released 6 legal trout and an RF special about 15cms long.  The fish were in medium condition and none would have gone much past 1 Kg  This wasn't the goldmine we needed to win the comp, so we panned elsewhere, dropping jig flies down near the Tokaanu hole for a while until we needed to make tracks for the sign-in in Taupo.  The hole was empty, so also eliminated from the fishing prospects for the morrow.

The sign-in was enjoyable.  The clubrooms are great with some good fishing photos, other decorations (trophy trout, rods, reels etc), a friendly atmosphere, a well driven BBQ banger delivery system, a well stocked bar, lots of prizes, and reasonably short speeches!  Even so, we sneeked off early to drive back to Turangi and check the gear in readiness for the comp.


Far Quirk - I'm goin' fishn!
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Kenshin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Apr 2015 at 3:57pm
Kenshin View Drop Down
Platinum
Platinum
Avatar

Joined: 01 Feb 2008
Location: JAFA Land
Status: Offline
Points: 2972
nice write up Geoff. Shame about the picky fish. Im going to Turangi in 3 weeks time... cant wait.
Be patient and calm – for no one can catch fish in anger. –Herbert Hoover
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Redfinger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Apr 2015 at 4:00pm
Redfinger View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar

Joined: 29 Jul 2002
Status: Offline
Points: 7116
Just to clarify my issues with trailer - was the trailer  pin connection to the car electrical socket actually. Someone that shall remain nameless (me) didn't put it in properly and it came out and hit the road.
The RF special at 15cms was "so cute"
Back to Top
Forum Jump
Forum Permissions View Drop Down


This page was generated in 0.543 seconds.

Fishing Reports Visit Reports

Saltwater Fishing Reports
Top of the South Fishing Report - 22/03/24

Tasman and Golden Bay snapper still running hot We are not far away from daylight... Read More >

22 Mar 2024
Saltwater Fishing Reports
Bay of Islands Fishing Report - 22/03/24

Variety is the spice of life On one recent trip, the plan was to spend a... Read More >

22 Mar 2024
Saltwater Fishing Reports
Hauraki Gulf Fishing Report - 22/03/24

Fish where the fish are! Catching fish or just going fishing? I tackle this issue... Read More >

22 Mar 2024
Saltwater Fishing Reports
Inner Hauraki Gulf Fishing Report - 22/03/24

Thoughtful tactics required for better fish Over the course of each year the fishing varies,... Read More >

22 Mar 2024
Fishing bite times Fishing bite times

Major Bites

Minor Bites

Major Bites

Minor Bites