Been a bit quiet on here so thought to put something up. Had a week in Turangi from 11th to 17th July. Family trip so had to keep management happy therefore not a full on fishing buzz. Drew the short straw to be honest , fishing on the Tongariro had been tough with many regulars choosing other activities. Not going to catch anything if you don't have a line in the water , I know that much. After a lot of hard work managed this nice hen from a popular town pool I normally avoid due to crowds (not bridge pool) , went for an afternoon ramble and noted nobody there , I was initially heading further upstream. Shall I , yeh why not , probably been thrashed but give it a go. Now what fly to use on point , local angler had advised me trout very selective at this time. Ok , so I went with the one I could get the bloody nylon through the hole in , have not fully accepted I need glasses now so they were stowed at bottom of my pack. Picked a nice spot about midway up pool that had fishy looking water , foam lines and eddies. 1st cast just to get line played out , 2nd cast , nice drift , quick mend , drifting nice , plop went indicator , strike came up , crikey it's not another snag , this one's moving , yeah.
Nice hen , been a while and hard work so was stoked.
Next mission was to get old mate his first trout , he managed one last year , however it was barely legal and not best condition so ashamed to admit he/we kept it, as his first fish. Let's say mission was first decent fish. We had previously had a look at Hinemaiaia stream but water was low, clear and a lot of angler pressure. He was due to head home , I convinced him to stay one more night as had a bit of rain from passing front and was a small window that would be fishable before the next storm came through. I asked you been practising that roll casting I showed you, "NO", ok you been practising any casting "NO" , ok make sure your fly box full and have your glasses handy.
So early start next morning. Bit of colour in the stream this time. I managed 2 fish that I released , had him fishing at 1st choice spot above me , he was actually casting and fishing ok , a few trees were well decorated but he was managing some nice drifts when I saw his indicator plop. Was a bit of a nervous drawn out battle , end result not a bad Jack. Highlight of the trip for both of us , well deserved as we certainly put the work in. Old mate proudly posing.
He was that stoked , he stood sideways for photo , not sure what's going on there.