The Trout Man

A beautiful morning to go for my first walk in four months down to my local stream-mouth at Waiteti where I saw a bit of action from this visiting angler. Saw two rainbows caught among three fishers in an hour. A bit early for the main season on this western side of Lake Rotorua, but who cares when the sun is turning it on. Just being out there is enough to warm the spirit, calm the soul and sooth the mind. Waiteti and the other stream-mouths will fire when the lake heats up and stresses the fish, which will come in close in their thousands to find relief at the cold-water mouths and lake flats. They start showing up when the lake hits 18 degrees. It's about 14 at the moment. The bigger runs come in at 20 degrees, and 22 degrees is the magic number. We need at least a week of sunshine on the lake surface to get the heat rising. Sometimes the lake is hot enough by mid-November, but it is usually early December. The Big Unknown this summer will be the effect of the super El Nino that is pounding around harvesting cyclones out in the Pacific. Usually the lake gets lower and hotter during an El Nino and the fishing very good. Fingers crossed for a great summer season.

The way the world is shaping up, you won't have to go fishing in the future, your gear will do it all for you. Automatic fishing reels mean you click a switch and press a lever and your retrieved line lying at your feet is automatically wound back on the spool. No more stripping! Is that a good thing? Not for me. I can feel everything that fish is doing through the stripping hand, and I want to keep it that way. It's all part of fishing, what I call "an essential", and I don't want new technology doing the essentials that I enjoy myself. Just how far will new technology go? An automatic rod that you point in the air, click a switch on the handle and the rod starts swishing back and forward?

THE COMPLETE ANGLER
Rod and reel, long-handled landing net, donger and stroller, and the morning's catch. The bag fastened under the stroller seat contains rain jacket, vest with all necessary tackle, knife in case of attacking dogs, water bottle and lunch. And we're ready for the action ....

One hour this morning, one bite, one good fish ... that's all I need to make my day. Caught with an orange Slushy under an indicator at a beautiful lake nestling in the hills around Rotorua. Fishing from a stroller because of leg and balance problems, which become worse when I stand up, especially when the fish runs under the narrow jetty and out the other side for 20 metres. I got the wobbles on the notoriously slim jetty and had to call on the assistance of fellow angler Mike, from Rotorua, who immediately netted the fish once I managed to drag it back under the jetty. Close call but we got there. Thanks for the help and the photos Mike.

I get a big kick out of seeing someone I taught to flycast about 15 years ago returning to the Rotorua region time after time and doing well. Aucklander Nathan Pene based himself with me for a quick trip to Rerewhakaaitu yesterday and a visit to the Ohau Channel in the chilly air at dawn today. He landed a limit bag at Rere using nymphs and globugs and scored five at the Channel using a rabbit streamer, a white b***y, a pheasant-tail nymph and a paddle-tail smelt. And me? What did I do? Well, we have to give the visitors room to move, so I stayed cocooned in bed with the electric blanket humming. Very nice!

You often see photos like this ... anglers who got so excited that they lost their heads.

SOCKED
One evening about 18 months ago top guide Miles Rushmer dropped into my place for a b**r and a yarn. He picked up some bits and pieces scattered on my flytying table and in a couple of minutes put together a simple size 18 nymph with a blue holo body and green bead head. Just the way I like my tiny nymphs. Looked great, looked like a top fish-catcher. But I lost it. Nowhere to be found when I tidied up next morning. But today, when I grabbed a pair of Cool Max brand socks out of the drawer and pulled them on, I felt a prick on my foot. And there it was! Hiding away for two winters in a warm drawer with good woolly company. It certainly knew which word to hook into! I'm expecting big things from this little fellow Miles Rushmer. Watch this space.

Me hooked up at Rotorua today. (Photo Simon Aston)

Dear Followers,
Thank you for your support since I started my Trout Man flycasting tuition business at Ngongotaha 20 years ago. Unfortunately I have had to stop doing tuition because of illness and aging, and now I fish mainly from a stroller in the easy places. No more climbing raggedy banks or wading fast water for me. I will look at resuming casting tuition on a limited basis next summer. In the meantime I am getting back into fishing and will continue to post on the Trout Man as much as possible. (Photo shows me hooked up on the Tongariro and few years ago when I was young and fit with the world at my feet.) Tight lines everybody!

First time fishing in four months this morning, and I can't tell you how good it was to get out there with the sun on my face after such a long layoff chasing away winter ills. Two hours, two bites, two good rainbows landed at a jetty out west of Rotorua, one taking an orange slushy, the other a big stonefly. I was a bit rusty fishing from my stroller on such a narrow jetty, but Simon Aston was there to stop me rolling in, to unravel tangles and generally keep an eye on me every time I stood up and staggered about like a drunk. It was slow fishing but a most enjoyable start to my winter season.