Tongariro switching.

[Mike Thomas]

Hi guys, just back from the Tongariro river where we had a ball. I recieved some T tips from Poppy at the red shed (thanks Poppy!) to try out and they are fantastic, my Sage 8# 11ft Z axis with a 550 grain Skagit head had no problems turning over 16ft of T12 and a cone head rabbit fly. This easily got me deep enough to fish most of the deep runs. After a couple of days I was casting to the far bank on a regular basis.
I managed to land 8 fish on Thursday and 4 of them were on the Swing, a method I am enjoying more and more as I get more of a hang of it. The rest were nymphing with a floating forty plus, I have to say this is the first time I have used the forty plus with a single spey cast and it rocks! I used it on one pool with a high bank behind and the other guys with standard gear could not get a cast out to the run but I managed quite a few fish out of the run, the main problem being not to cast too far!
Anyway the 16ft lengths of T that Poppy sent me really helped me to get some wet line swinging dialed in on the big river so once again Thanks Poppy!
I tried some new flies from a little old place called Texas (Thanks Jeffro!) and even managed to snag a nice Rainbow on the pattern with the small hook and a pink stripe in the middle, not sure what it is called jeffro, but it looks like a small rainbow trout?
I will try to download some pics from my camera and post a couple soon.
All the best.
Mike

[JeffHamm]

Sounds like a great time! I've been wondering how the trip went. That switch rod seems to be ideal for the Tongariro. Looking forward to the pics.

- Jeff

[Mike Thomas]

Hi Guys, here are some pics from the weekend.
The Jones pool.


The Major Jones swing bridge


And nick fighting a fish in the Reed pool.

All the best.
Mike

[Mike Thomas]

Another couple of pools from the Tongariro.
Breakfast pool

And the Cicada pool, in the summer these cliffs vibrate with the noise of the cicadas.

All the best.
Mike

[jeffro]

Awe~Right Mike glad to hear you had Big Fun.....Great photos BTW.
A Lady friend(albasurf) calls that liddle Pink one a Watermelon.

[jimsnarocks]

Mike, Great report and nice pics. My lady and I are planning a trip to NZ the end of March-early April '11. I wonder if I should bring a 5wt or an 8wt? We will be flying to Auckland and venturing out from there. I will probably only have 1 or 2 days to fish and the rest will be sight seeing. Any information is greatly appreciated. Jim

[Mike Thomas]

Hi Jim, a couple of questions for you, are you going to travel around NZ, and see some of the South Island or are you going to spend most of your time around the upper North Island? Are you doing a drive yourself tour or will you be on a bus?
By the time of your visit it will be starting to cool down a bit and some of the fish will be starting to think about spawning. IMHO the 5# will be fine for 90 percent of the fishing you are likely to do. If you have a spare day in Auckland I will take you to one of the small streams in the Waikato for a fish and if you are spending any time in Rotorua then I can recommend a few spots for an after dinner fish, or even an after dark fish if thats all you have time for. The one place that an #8 will be a big help is Taupo but if you want to fish the Tongariro then you can always hire an #8 rod from the tackle shop Sporting Life. If you are leaving via Auckland then you can always borrow one of my set ups.
When you have your travel details sorted and you know what time you will have in what area drop me a p.m. and I will see what I can sort out for you. It would be great to meet up for a fish.
All the best.
Mike.

[jimsnarocks]

Thanks Mike. I'll let you know as plans progress. Jim

[TyroneFly]

MT,

Great report and pics! Poppy is great and loves to help.