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 generalization 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 nine to six 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, there are still big fish in
big water.