New member from New Zealand

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Taupo Tiger
Member
Posts: 14
Joined: 07/03/22 16:36
Location: Christchurch NZ

New member from New Zealand

#1

Post by Taupo Tiger »

Greetings to fellow anglers from the South Island New Zealand. I fish for browns rainbows and steelheads, dry flies and nymphs. I have recently acquired a vintage split cane rod and will be asking some questions. Kind regards

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Fenwick #6 hooked up to an 8lb brownie (released) North Canterbury
(photos: Malcolm Bell, The Complete Angler)
Last edited by Taupo Tiger on 07/03/22 19:55, edited 3 times in total.

bellbird
Master Guide
Posts: 577
Joined: 12/03/15 03:49
Location: Helena MT Dunedin NZ

Re: New member from New Zealand

#2

Post by bellbird »

Welcome to the Forum. Enjoy. Cheers.
Earl.
....with the hope a fish will rise.

Taupo Tiger
Member
Posts: 14
Joined: 07/03/22 16:36
Location: Christchurch NZ

Re: New member from New Zealand

#3

Post by Taupo Tiger »

Thanks Earl. I'm in Christchurch, freezing like your place

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Brian K. Shaffer
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Re: New member from New Zealand

#4

Post by Brian K. Shaffer »

Greeting from my neck of the woods - Branson Missouri USA - enjoy the forum!
Brian

Someday soon I hope to be 'On foot' in your neck of the woods...

viewtopic.php?p=941296&hilit=Lake+Taupo#p941296

So many pools... so little time.
" There's no such thing as a fly fisherman wholly satisfied with his casting performance. " ~ Jim Green (1971)
" Just once I wish a trout would wink at me. " ~ Brian Shaffer

Use the SEARCH for justification and reasoning.

Taupo Tiger
Member
Posts: 14
Joined: 07/03/22 16:36
Location: Christchurch NZ

Re: New member from New Zealand

#5

Post by Taupo Tiger »

Thanks Brian K. Certainly is some good wild fishing here, Chinooks as well as trout. The McKenzie basin hydro lakes and canals are now rivalling Taupo in terms of size and numbers, and the trout are behaving like their Taupo steelhead cousins, however, Taupo has nostalgia for me and a lot of others and I already have my booking in for the Tongariro come next March when it will be a quieter place to fish..On facebook, do a search for Greig Sports who do a mostly daily video of the area. Cheers


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Brian K. Shaffer
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Re: New member from New Zealand

#6

Post by Brian K. Shaffer »

Thanks your communications - pleasure to make your acquaintance.
Will look up the tip. Thanks.
Hoping to be on the river in 2024!

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" There's no such thing as a fly fisherman wholly satisfied with his casting performance. " ~ Jim Green (1971)
" Just once I wish a trout would wink at me. " ~ Brian Shaffer

Use the SEARCH for justification and reasoning.

Taupo Tiger
Member
Posts: 14
Joined: 07/03/22 16:36
Location: Christchurch NZ

Re: New member from New Zealand

#7

Post by Taupo Tiger »

Older Tongariro middle reaches map. The Bridge pool and those below it are worth looking at. I've taken many good fish from the Judges pool, Neverfail, Hydro (big browns here), Continuing your map upstream, The Birches, Hatchery pools, Red Hut (where a swing bridge crosses the river) Poutu, Barlows, Boulder (used to be a fast run from the old Dreadnought down to the Poutu). From there up I'm not familiar with since the river changed direction after a major flood. Of all these pools, the old Cliff pool was one of the best. One thing that anglers don't do a lot of on this river is fish the skinny and fast water. Rainbows, especially the silver-grey steelheads fresh from the lake, can hold in a lot faster water than browns and this is where Czech nymphing is very productive. For accommodation at Turangi I stay at the TRM (Tongariro River Motel) run by Ross and Pip Baker, a very down-to-earth place with a lot of local knowledge and very socialable among visiting anglers. Ross puts out interesting and informative reports from his website https://www.tongarirorivermotel.co.nz/
There are other good rivers around the eastern side of Lake Taupo, The Tauranga-Taupo eg, Hatepe and more. Whakaipo Bay on the western side for lakeshore fisherman. For some seriously big fish, the new Lake Otamangakau, and a must are the hot thermal pools at Tokaanu for repairing aching limbs. Plenty to do and see. Cheers

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Red Hut bridge and pool below

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Brian K. Shaffer
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Re: New member from New Zealand

#8

Post by Brian K. Shaffer »

Holy bananas... this just gets more and more interesting.
We appreciate your first hand knowledge in a major way.

Those fishing on Lake O really tussle with some big ones.
Fun to see such great numbers of large fish.
Maybe some on dry flies.
" There's no such thing as a fly fisherman wholly satisfied with his casting performance. " ~ Jim Green (1971)
" Just once I wish a trout would wink at me. " ~ Brian Shaffer

Use the SEARCH for justification and reasoning.

Taupo Tiger
Member
Posts: 14
Joined: 07/03/22 16:36
Location: Christchurch NZ

Re: New member from New Zealand

#9

Post by Taupo Tiger »

Sure is. For the biggest trout, The McKenzie basin canals where the salmon farms are. Rainbows up to 40lbs?, bigger than our 3 & 5yr old Chinooks. Some canal fish get big from salmon farm pellets but for a lot of fish in the canals this is not the case, they are feeding naturally and spawning like steelheads. Lk Otamangakau is a new hydro lake, shallow with lots of food, and while the fish get big, they are not that easy to catch. As far as dry flies go, edge-feeding browns will take a small dry, cicadas hoppers and beetles in season, while rainbows I've caught on floaters in Australia and NZ have been yellow humpies, blowflies i.e. terrestrials. Plenty of stuff out there on the net and forums like this one about NZ fishing. Cheers

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large rainbow on yellow humpy Australia

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