Wairoa (Clevedon, NZ)

[JeffHamm]

Hi,
Well, after finishing marking exams earlier than expected, I had some time to hit the water. I only had a few hours, just enough time to go out to the Wairoa River (about 45 minutes from Auckland's CBD).
Here's a shot of the stream taken last year (didn't have the camera this time):

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g142/ ... Wairoa.jpg

Wairoa is Maori for "Long Water" (Wai = water, roa = long).

Anyway, the Wairoa normally runs very cloudy, well, muddy actually. There's a fair amount of farm run off into it as well, though Trout Unlimited has been clearing and planting along the water's edge. I was expecting things to be fairly unfishable, as we did get a lot of rain a while back, but surprisingly when I got there the river was low and running as clear as I've ever seen it!

So, I spent a few hours trying to find the fish. As I worked my way up the stream, using up most of my time. Finally, I came to a spot I've fished a lot, but there was also has a nice run above it I've not fished before. So I decided to cross the stream and fish this section. And sure enough it was here I picked up 2 small rainbows (27 cm, about 1/2 lbs) on wee wets (a size 16 black gnat, and a size 14 spanish needle). I was using the 3 weight I bought from Gus off this board, which I picked up with this stream in mind. And it was perfect; If you read this, then thanks Gus! I still don't have a picture with it yet though, but I really enjoy fishing this rod! Both fish were picked up at the tail end of a pool along a nice shady section with a good riffle entering the head of the pool. Looking up the river as I fished it, I realised why I like the Wairoa so much. Sure, it often runs muddy making the fishing hard, the fish are small (2 lbs would be a monster; even 1 lbs is a good sized fish), it's overgrown in a lot of places, but I'll tell you. It has some really pretty sections that just help make you forget that you're only 45 minutes from the CBD!

- Jeff

[JeffHamm]

Had another go at the Wairoa yesterday. Tried out a fair number of new sections, and found some really nice sections of water. Water was quite low, and a bit cloudier than last time. I caught a number of smelts (not the salt water kind) and one fingerling rainbow. However, it was a great day all the same. I did see one fish in full spawning colours in a shallow riffle. It was making a nest, so I just watched it for awhile and then left it be. Also, I flushed out a nice fat male pheasant. It was a great day.

- Jeff