This year marks the 42nd summer that Tongariro Lodge and its team of experienced guides will welcome anglers from around the world. According to the team on the ground, the fishery has never been better and this coming season there will be new access to even more private wilderness water to offer anglers.
We’re delighted to share the update below from this classic New Zealand fly fishing lodge.
Fly fishing for winter run fish from Lake Taupo, into the Tongariro and nearby rivers, has once again been excellent and so far, we have seen both high numbers and good sizes, with rainbows averaging three to seven pounds and the earlier browns five to eight pounds. These migratory fish do run all year, with the peak between May and October. A good number of these winter/spring run fish will stay in the rivers over the entire summer, providing great fishing.
Summer wilderness fly fishing starts at the beginning of October with the opening of the backcountry streams outside of the Taupo River. The early season, between October and December, is when a good number of seasoned anglers visit as there are fewer people about, the wilderness waters have not seen a fisherman for five months and the rainbows and browns tend to feed very aggressively early season. It is quite a sight to watch a feeding trout move ten feet to engulf your fly! By November the days will be longer and the sun is higher, making spotting and stalking conditions ideal.
December 1st is the opening day on the isolated upper reaches of the Tongariro and Taupo tributaries. This always provides great angling for trout that tend to stack up in these upper reaches and have not been fished for many months. A wilderness rafting trip on the upper Tongariro offers spectacular fishing now and all summer long.
November to March will be the prime time for dry fly and for wet wading up a stream and casting to sighted fish. We are hoping for another good cicada year as fishing with cicada imitations is considered by both clients and guides to be the ultimate dry fly experience. We look forward to targeting trophy browns, with some over the magical ten pounds, once again in the Tongariro River.
Tongariro Lodge has plenty of experience when it comes to heli fishing in New Zealand and between October and April, can provide access to 14 wilderness rivers with up to 60km of trophy fly-fishing for brown and rainbows.
If you would like more details about New Zealand or Tongariro Lodge in particular please contact Alex Jardine or call our office on +44(0)1980 847389.
About the author: Alex Jardine