Hey all,

This will be my last post for a few weeks as I have some minor surgery done to my knee. I hope to have you back up to speed with my reports ASAP. I may go stir crazy!!

So it looks like winter is going to be nasty, when it does come through. We had heaps of rain Monday and Tuesday with all the rivers South of the Waitahanui swollen. I had a friend ring and want to go fishing on the Tuesday however I couldn’t go. I think he shot into the Hine and the fact I didn’t hear anything back from him, it probably meant it was firing However my concern would have been the amount of water being released as we really had been smashed with rain! I was in the Hinemaiaia this morning and it was pretty nice looking, however a few anglers would have struggled with the weight you needed to get down. It was flowing strong. I couldn’t stay long but I did drive all the way up to see what the angling pressure was like. There were cars everywhere, as anglers make the most of the open season up there. Please Please Please be careful of the trout Reeds, (fish beds), they show up as a clean patch on the otherwise orange looking stones. If you step into “softish” stones and they are clean, you are probably not doing the fishery any advantages!!! To my surprise the Waitahanui was even busier with anglers. There were 5 cars under the power lines up Blake Road at  9.30 with anglers in the middle section too.

Really good fish in all the fishable rivers, from what I am seeing. There are still a few 3 pounders, (these fight like HELL) but with welcome relief, I am catching some good 4 and 5 pounders all the trout are strong and healthy and give a very good battle, really nice to see.

We have a strong South Westerly blowing in ATM, snow on the Kaimanawas and the main mountains. Its all good…

Have fun

Regards Shane

Hey all,

WOW!!

If you have been waiting for the trout runs to start, “News Flash” They have!

I was asked to go fishing last week by a good friend, the river he wanted to fish was the Hine. Now the Hine was low and clear and although we had some wind that week I really thought we were going to be pushing the wet stuff up hill with a rake! He assured me there were fresh trout in there and so that’s where we headed, my GOD they were everywhere!! I promised him I wouldn’t say anything, until the next lot of rain that was coming in, as by that stage most anglers would be in there anyway. What it goes to show though, (apart from the fact i’m a sneaky bastard) is that they can and will come in when they need to. I had been told by another friend, (yes two friends) that the rip had been fishing well, and I guess with the wind they just decided to go for it. As I shot over the bridge first thing this morning there were cars in the lower car park, I almost stopped but I had other rivers on my mind further South and so kept going.

The Tauranga Taupo looked perfect as I went over the bridge and I was really surprised not to see any cars in the section above the bridge. I know this is a snaggy hideous section but if you do your homework when it is low and clear then you can avoid most of that stuff and man can it hold trout! As you can see….

I needed to have a look at the Waimarino as well, and have been really disappointed in this river so far, this year. It needs some help by DOC in my opinion as it should have been full of the little slimy buggers and although I picked up a few I REALLY had to work for them.  It has in the past been netted both in the upper section and in the rip, the tracks are a total mess and in general its not good. I did have it all to myself however, like the lower TT!?

So really guys if you have been thinking of getting here for some fresh eating trout this weekend would be as good as any. We have intermittent rain for the next 24 hours which should keep the levels up somewhat.

Mike Stent From Hunting and Fishing did one of my clients the hell deal on a SAS 8# Sage1600 Fly Reel and a few other bits and pieces to set this dude up for life in the Taupo fishery. I really have to say it was an impressive price, if you are interested in a new rod just ask about the Kilwell SAS.

I was out and about the other day and wandered down to GreenStone as well. They have some brilliant deals on Breathable waders with or without boots. The brand is a good one and u will be hard pressed to get any better out there. They won’t last long at the price he has set.

I have been pummeled for indicators and so there will be a delay of a week before I can get any others out, its great they have taken off but I have had to restrict it to 3 per person.

Tight Lines

Shane

Hey All,

I am always getting asked by new Zealand anglers, what rod I use over the winter season. Ever since I can remember I have used the Kilwell series, from their fiberglass entry rods, through to their SAS. It is the SAS that I fell in love with. Not only does it look good but is sturdy and fishes all the Taupo tribs with ease. It has stopping power when dealing with a brutal Waitahanui fish, but has a delicate touch when mending a line at distance or in close. It can “Biff” weight with the best of them. As a rip rod, for me it comes into its own. The tip is sensitive to detect the slightest of hits and yet its casting ability with Boobies or Heave and Leaves enables it to get your flies out where they need to be. I love the fact that if I do fluff a cast up, one strong haul from this rod brings you straight back in control of the cast, it is a powerhouse. All SAS rods come with an interchangeable mid section that does change the action of the rod for casting. Apart from this neat innovation it is just good to have a “”spare section”" available, if and when you shut it in the boot or car door It is light enough to cast all day with and yet as I say, when you need that stopping power, it is there. There are a number of Taupo shops that sell the SAS but I know  Mike from Hunting and Fishing does great deals with rods in general and can have one of these set up for your winter season, if you ask nicely , at short notice. You might even be surprised at the price , given the top quality rod that it is.

The other product that I FULLY endorse is the RIO selection of lines. I have used both the RIO Grand and the RIO Nymph. They are perfect for our Taupo rivers, have a great life expectancy and are brilliant to cast with. match one of these puppies up with the SAS and you are good to go!!

I have been meaning to put this post in for some time but felt I needed to give the rod a fair go first, I have and I love it.

All the Taupo rivers have trout in them at the moment. The Hine would be the exception. It is bloody low and the weed is causing all sorts of issues. If you do fish here and the indicator bobs under, check your Nymph immediately as there will most certainly be weed attached.

The TT has fish in the lower pool. Find the deep water, use stealth and make those first casts count.

The Tongariro has heaps of trout in there, although they have spread themselves through the river now and you might have to cover some water.

The Waitahanui has been fishing well but has had LOTS of pressure from anglers. Although a few have been taking trout, this river still stumps a few anglers out there and so the catch rate has been a little down. For gods sake if you are going to use weight have an indicator that floats!!!!!

Have fun out there.

Regards Shane.

Hey all,

I was sort of banking on a little more rain than what we have been receiving over the past week, all the rivers are low and clear as I write.

I went into the Waitahanui rip late last week thinking the rain might push some trout close in. The Rip was moving around all over the place and in my opinion this is never good. I fished for about two hours for one decent Hen of about 3.5 pounds and had two more strikes, but that was it. I pretty much used everything in my arsenal, however the old Heave and Leave did the trick.

The Waitahanui River has been fishing really well and there are a heap of browns in there ready to have a go if you can get a good drift going. The pressure is fairly heavy on the Nui at the moment and when I went in there today Blake road had Four cars already parked up . The great thing about the Nui is there are numerous “little spots” that don’t get angling pressure and so this is where I concentrated on. I managed to pull two really nice fish for the few hours I was on there and had a heap of fun fishing to some monster Browns. I watched one poor angler fishing with a bit of weight and his indicator was about a foot under water. I ended up giving him one of mine as he was here all week and needed something that floated

This little beauty called the “Comet” has been taking trout for me in all the rivers, for a few weeks now. There is nothing like it on the market and it really looks good in the water.

On Sunday Paul and I shot down to the Tongariro for a look. The river has been flowing higher than normal due to maintenance on one of the intakes and this extra volume pushed trout into it. We did a middle section and were into trout straight away. These were all little clones of about 3 to 3.5 pounds but man did they fight. I think we hooked about 7 or 8 for the few hours we were on there but saw heaps!!

The TT and the Hine are a little to low for me to have a crack at them and so I will wait until the rain pushes them up and then it should be a feast.

Regards Shane

Hey all,

It’s been a busy week with one thing or another, but because of this I have managed to fish a few Systems and talk to quite a few anglers on the water.

The second week of the school holidays proved a bit harder than the first, fish wise, although if you were out there for the beauty of it all then this week has been a cracker!

All the rivers are low and clear at the moment and with the added angling pressure the trout have been a bit spooky. You have really needed to think outside the box, or get in early, onto your favorite pools.

I have been getting plenty of calls and emails about the Rip fishing and at this stage if you wanted fresh hard fighting fish, this would be your best bet. The heave and leaves on the change of light, (both ends) will see you in action and you can’t beat the Green Woolly Bugger during the day. I would also have red, green and yellow Rabbits in the box as well. I get asked about what type of line I prefer and for that question, it is a type three sinking line from Scientific Anglers, (Grey line), this is a full bodied sinking line and you can use this with a short trace, (heave and Leave’s, Bobbies) or a wet fly, (longer leader) for the Waitahanui drop off and Tongariro down stream method. Me personally, I hate shooting heads! I couldn’t imagine fishing one of those, (tangles waiting to happen) lines, in the dark….. There are some good fish out there.

I went down to the Turangi Trout Center on Thursday with my girls after school class. I haven’t been here for about two years and man what a difference! They have a GREAT aquarium display of the giant Kokopu, Bullies and eels. The whole place has had a big face lift and was really good. I fully recommend it! At the end of the tour the class of about 20 kids got to have a go in the kids pool. They all got to fight a feisty trout, (look at the water streaming off the line as the trout ran) and the look on some of their faces said it all.

I had some business over in Rotorua on Wednesday and so after that I had a good look at the Ngongotaha. I had a brain freeze and deleted all the pics I took of the river and fish   I’m a bit pissed at that because there were some MONSTERS in there. They obviously hadn’t seen anything like the Hairy reaper before as it took trout all the way through the beat I was on. I was well and trully under gunned with my 5# and was totally smashed by a few of the bigger trout. This is a snaggy hideous little river but man are there some fish in there. I would love to give it a go when a fresh run goes through and the water level is up a wee bit.

I was on the quads a few times this week and did two sections, (the two shortest). First off was Wally, from the Tipsy Trout in Kinlock. This old Pirate did a great job and we quickly lost count on trout numbers hooked up. We dropped a few fish this day that would have been over 7 pounds, so many in fact that when I went back in there yesterday, I took my 8# and used 8 pound Fluro as my leader. Graham got trout from every pool except one, all on the Reaper, he did a brilliant job of dropping the Nymph in the right place and because of that we did well!

The long range weather forecast said we were going to have a warm settled April and so far they have been smack on the money. The next bout of rain is a week or so away from us but I bet when we get it, the trout will run in numbers. I am really looking forward to this season.

Regards Shane

Hey all,

Ups and Downs would be the way I would describe the Taupo Fishery at the moment. To get the best out of your fishing you would have to have a good repertoire of pools and or rivers.

The Waitahanui had good numbers of trout go through last week and some of them were beauties! I got all excited at the rain on Wednesday night and so met up with Trevor down in the rip at 10.00pm. We both thought that the dropping pressure and pitter patter, (man it poured on me) of rain might invoke a good run. Trevor had got there a little before me and had caught and released a nice 3.5 pound fat fish and had multiple hook ups. I got there and it went quiet!!! I had one hook up for the two hours spent casting in the rain. gaahhhhh

The Hinemaiaia has been low and WEEDY for ages now. There were trout in there but if you nicked the bottom, there was a damn good chance your Nymphs would have weed on them. I had been fishing this river with very light gear and trying to stick to the deeper runs and pools. As I say, trout were in there but first casts were a must! I thought the torrential rain Wed/Thurs would have given this river some volume but when Steven and I fished it Friday morning it was still low. Steven hooked up on a brilliant fish that headed straight for a snag and busted him off. We were after fresh trout so decided to head further South.

The River level on the Tauranga Taupo showed a small increase up to about .412 but it was dropping fast, (the ground must have soaked up the rain). However I couldn’t refuse turning left into the TT as I shot past early in the morning due to the fact there were NO cars in the car park……. Yes there were heaps of fish in there but the water was dropping fast and you didn’t get too many casts onto them before they spooked. Steven picked up this very nice Jack that went just under 4 pounds but fought like a 6 pounder easily. I had decided not to take the net as he needed to learn how to land a trout without one and the TT lends itself to this nicely. Only problem is he hooked it on a 6# and this fish was NOT happy about coming in. I was a Dads proud moment to watch him cast, strike and land this fish all by himself, all be it with me giving back seat driving instructions while hopping from one foot to the other. We changed section on the TT and had a blast on a good group of fish in a deep piece of water, all taken on a well sunk Glo Bug. In the end we probably hooked into at least twenty odd trout Friday!! Wow these fish are in great fighting form this year. DOC will soooooooo be sighing in relief

I am back country tomorrow, on the quads so hopefully will have some pics for you of this day. I haven’t been into the river this late in the season so it will be interesting to check it out, always a great day however and I am sure we will drag something up from the depths.

Be safe.

Shane

Hey all,

Well I was sort of hoping for a bit of rain during the week for all you Easter fishermen, however all we got was wind and even that was blowing in the wrong direction for the rivers. I think the saying goes “When the wind blows from the east the trout bite the least”. Easter used to be the date most of the winter fishermen would dust off their gear and start fishing. You could stand on the Waitahanui bridge and count the trout sitting in Delatours Pool. Things certainly have changed over the years.

There are still some really great fish in the rivers at the moment, but a heap of angling pressure as you can imagine. I would be on the water as soon as I could if I wanted to make the most of my experience and all my guides this weekend have opted for the early start because of this. Glo Bugs are working well first thing and then I am changing onto my Reaper pattern once the sun hits the water, or even if I am fishing water others have been through. I am using 6 pound Fluro as well!!

If you see me on the water please feel free to say hello, even if I am guiding, my clients never mind if I take a little time out to say hello.

Regards Shane

Hey there welcome to the Taupo Fishing web site, this page will give you some details on our Winter fishery and a few deals that I will have going over this period.

It looks like the Wild Taupo Fishery has bounced back from the previous years of underweight trout. The food source has increased therefore the trout are getting what they need to be fat and healthy, they are certainly fighting well above their average 3.5 pound mark.

Rivers that I can guide you on!

The Waitahanui:

Spring fed, this is the closest River to the Taupo township, however it does not get the pressure one would expect because of this. The only time the Nui, (as locals call it) gets an angling bashing, is when all the other rivers in the region are flooded out. The Nui stays clear for much longer, before becoming un fiahable. This is a specialist river, especially in winter. The short deep pools need a certain style of Winter fishing that most anglers are amazed at once they see the technique. It has beautiful scenery and is a joy to be on at any stage. I believe through my 37 years of fishing it, that the best trout come from this river. The River mouth is famous for the “Picket fence” style rip fishing. The”Rip”, is where the main flow of the river enters the lake. At certain times of the day, trout congregate around this area, before running the river to spawn. Rip fishing is a skill in itself and one that I have been enjoying for decades.

The Hinemaiaia:

A short trip over the hill sees you on a small stream known locally, as the Hine, (short for Hinemaiaia). Although I still believe the Waitahanui has the biggest trout on average, the Hine is right up there as well. Most anglers new to the sport leave this river completely alone, once they encounter the MANY snags and fallen Kanuka trees that make up this magnificent fishery. Again, certain tactics have to be employed on this water to get the best days fishing from it. The winter limit on the Hine has been moved up from the State Highway 1 bridge as of the 1st of June and so more water is available to fish. If you do wade this river please be mindful of the fish beds that are being used by spawning trout, they appear as clean patches in the gravel. The scenery on the Hinemaiaia is for me the best in the area. It has magnificent kanuka and Native trees all the way to the river edge and due to a certain member of DOC and his Stoat, Weasel and Rat trapping program, the bird life is amazing. Well done Dave.

The Tauranga Taupo:

This is a massive fishery! You can fish the river mouth at night or spend an entire day walking up to Rangers Pool, (Winter Limit), or if you are keen enough and the water above is open, then there are a few more KM’s of scenic beauty to be explored and fished above it. Some anglers struggle on the TT, (Tauranga Taupo). They try to cast to far, to soon and end up spooking the trout. I have a killer rig for the TT, that I have worked on for several years and fish the river from the State Highway 1 Bridge up. This is an amazing river when there are fish in here and in my opinion they fight the hardest from any stream in Taupo. There are certain times when this medium sized river fishes best and that is certainly local knowledge. If you fish it outside of these conditions then it will be a nice day exploring for you but the fishing may be a little hard!

The Waimarino:

This is small and snaggy and owes me a thousand flies!! However when it is on, it is the ducks nuts of streams, get the conditions wrong and like the TT it will be a nice walk. There have been a few cars broken into around this river and so watch where you park. The Waimarino is prone to flooding due to its large catchment and small size of the water, this means it changes from one flood to another and at the time I am writing this is not very deep in many places at all. In previous winters this has been one of my favorite fisheries but due to the break in’s and poaching the quality has dropped off somewhat.

The Waiotaka:

I started fishing this very small stream a few years ago and didn’t think very much of it. The pools were full of snags and it was hard going in general. There is a nice section that I do fish now, on a regular basis but like all the other rivers if you get the timing wrong on this fella, you won’t be having trout for tea!! The tracks have been let go by DOC or whoever was looking after them and it is a bloody nightmare and dangerous to boot, watch your footing on the  river banks.

The Mighty Tongariro:

Gaahhhh where to start. This is a huge system and at times trout can be caught right throughout its length, however it can also be a task to get onto them, when they are hiding!! . This means being able to find a spawning run and follow them through the river. Angling pressure can sometimes be an issue for the Tongariro, but it is a large river system, that can be fished from both sides and so finding a piece of solitude, (hopefully with trout in it), can be done. The Tongariro has huge Brown trout and some great fighting Rainbows, pretty much all the way through winter. Wet Lining originated in Taupo, on the Tongariro. It’s pools and long deep runs, scream out for a wet fly, to be dragged across and down! Its a big fishery and I believe it will have a good season. Take care on this river, especially when the water levels are up, it has plenty of push.

So these are the rivers I guide on and explore through winter on a regular basis. I plan to be busy this season, as the trout are in excellent condition and I know a few fisherman will be here a little more often this year. Please feel free to contact me for my winter rates, I have different packages and prices set up for this season, with multi day packages receiving good discounts.

I wish you a great 2012 winter season, may your Rod bend and your Reel Scream!

Regards Shane

Hey all,

Just a quick up date. Most of the rivers are holding great trout like this FAT little four pounder, The picture doesn’t really do this Jack justice and he put up one hell of a fight!!! DOC will be estatic about the increase in numbers of good trout taken around the lake, I sure as hell am!! I am taking fish from all the rivers and even lowered my standards by fishing the Tongariro.

This little fella has been turned into smoked trout dip and Smoked trout fettucine. The next Video I do will be to show you how to get the best out of the little Kilwell smokers you can buy dirt cheap. The quality of product is outstanding if you take some time in preparing the fish and have the smoker set up correctly.

Bring on the winter fishing season.

Regards Shane

Hey All,

I have had a blast in all the rivers over the past few days. The Tauranga Taupo level had a little blip in it and so I shot in nice and early to have a look. Man did this area get a pasting from the wind earlier in the week. heaps of trees, Branches and debris, everywhere. Great hard fighting fish too! The Waimarino was quite different, it was high and coloured. I fished it today as it was dropping and got skunked big time on it, not a touch! Same on the Waiotaka. This nice little stream needs the True right bank cut back to some degree, someone is going to break an ankle on that ground, the track is totally overgrown.

Didn’t fish the Tongariro.

Both the Hinemaiaia and the Waitahanui have trout in them and both have had huge trees come down and block tracks and paths. Watch out if you are on these rivers and there is any wind. Some of the Branches ready to come down would kill you.

The Trout I have pulled this week are showing promise for a great winter season. They are fighting pounds above their weight and I have resorted to using my TiCRx 7# to slow them down. I got smashed by some grumpy big trout yesterday and won’t go back in under powered again.

have a safe weekend I hope you manage to get some fishing in.

Regards Shane