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Last Updated:
December 10, 2000

 

 

Big Rivers
Tackle Guide Index

Winter: (May to August)

Winter is the time the rainbows make their spawning runs up the rivers entering Lake Taupo. Those who have fished for steelhead in the USA will be at an advantage.

As a general rule if your fly is not hugging the bottom you are not fishing. Spawning fish will rarely move to take a fly. So the fly must be placed right in front of their nose in their lies.

You will see that for both nymphing and wet fly fishing we recommend an eight or nine weight rod. This is not only to throw big flies, but also to provide some power to slow down big, wild fish in big waters.

Nymphing (Winter):

Your nymph must be on the bottom or you are simply not fishing. This means using at least one heavily weighted nymph.
The usual set-up in the region is to use a heavy fly, followed by an unweighted nymph tied off to the bend of the lead fly.

It is illegal to add weight to the line or leader so all the weight must be on the lead fly. We usually tie a hare & copper with lead eyes and as much lead wire as you can wrap on a size 10 hook.

This heavy fly is usually followed by a gold-bead head nymph, just about any pattern will do, or an egg (roe) imitation (Glo-bug).
As a wide but fairly accurate generalisation it is not what fly, but where. And that means the fly need to be right on the trout’s nose.

The flies are usually fished on a 4 metre (12 foot) leader of around 4 kilo (8 pounds). Don’t bother with tapered leaders. The key thing is that the fly must sink very quickly. The thick butt sections of tapered leaders merely hold up the leader for too long in the strong water flows. Besides at the leader weight necessary, what are you going to taper down from?

The flies are fished under a wool yarn indicator, (these are the only indicators allowed). Fishing with an indicator in these waters is the only way to go. Otherwise you will simply miss too many strikes.

Casting these heavy nymphs requires a rod with grunt and power. An eight or nine weight fast action rod is favoured.

Lines are either weight forward, or the new floating shooting heads. For very long distance casting the Scientific Anglers ‘High Plateau" line is a good choice. This has a shortish weight forward section with a very long belly section behind. But some skill is required to get the best out of these lines. You will have to get this line in New Zealand as it is especially made for this area.

Wet Fly Fishing (Winter):

Just as when nymphing the fly must be very close to the bottom.

The usual technique is to use a very fast sinking shooting head on an eight to nine weight rod. A one to two metre ( 3 to 6 foot) leader to the fly.

The fly can be any of the Rabbit flies, Woolly Buggers, or large Glo-bugs. Red Setters in a range of sizes from 10 to 8 are an old standby and still catch plenty of fish. The hook size is usually 6 or 8. (Hooks of this size may not be weighted).

The shooting head is cast across and very slightly upstream. As soon as the line hits the water, a big upstream mend must be thrown, followed by releasing plenty of backing. Then let the line tighten up and swing.

At the end of the swing the line can be retrieved in small jerky pulls for a few metres and then pulled in for the next cast.

Mostly the fly is hit on the swing or just as the swing stops. A full fishing retrieve is usually just a waste of fishing time.

Summer:

While there are far fewer fish in the rivers during summer, there still are big numbers. These fish are more difficult to catch than during the winter spawning runs.

Much more finesse and water reading skill is required, as is the ability to make accurate casts.

In summer there is not the need for as heavily weighted nymphs as in winter, but you need good line control to drift the flies in reasonable proximity to the fish.

During Summer the rivers are often lower and clearer, so spotting fish to cast to becomes easier.

Gear can be scaled down in Summer, from six to nine weight. But as you go down in line weight your skill level must rise. You will still need to cast relatively long distances and accurately with it. The biggest problem with lighter tackle weights is controlling the fish once it is hooked.

Despite the fact that water levels are usually lower these are still big fish in big water.

Taupo
Tackle
Guide