What a great way to finish the stream season, across the ditch. The long drive from Auckland Airport to the Bay of Plenty area in the early hours of the morning was well worth the effort and with all the plotting and scheming between me and mate Al, it went like a flash. I don't think either of us shut up for one moment. A few hours sleep, a quick brew and breakfast and we were all set to go. Out the door we were met by comparatively mild weather (for June), the sun trying to break through, low flows and crystal clear water. We could not have been more excited, adrenalin neutralising bleary eyes and sleep deprivation.
The polaroiding was good if not excellent due to the angle and short "peak" of the sun, but we knew the river well enough from past visits to have a fairidea where the fish were likely to be sitting at this time of the year. It wasn't long at all before we bagged our first fish. So good to get that first fish, you could feel the pressure melting away like a Mars Bar left on the dashboard on a hot summer's day!
As usual at this time of the year a double nymph rig under an indicator worked very well with the trailing un-weighted nymph proving the most seductive in most instances. The trick is to fish the flies as close to the bottom as possible. The amount of sub-aquatic insect life/nymphs was astounding, so it was easy to fish artificials with confidence. Niggling at the back of our minds though was the notion of picking up a trout or two on a dry. A few duns and spinners here and there were a distraction and further temptation but do you stop fishing with what is working to try and bring up a winter fish with a little dry fly? More on this another time but yes, we did catch a few trout on the dry.
Glorious days followed, many trout were landed and some lost. You really do have to ask yourself how on earth we keep landing big fish in fast water on these tiny flies (size 16s -18s in many instances). It does highlight the skill levels required (though not necessarily possessed!) patience and how in sync everything has to be: mind , body, gear, luck!
In some ways it was a topsy-turvy trip. Nearby streams supposedly dominated by rainbows produced good browns; long hikes into the wilderness produced modest fishing but stepping out of the car into the most public of water produced crazy sessions with catches into double figures. Smaller fish (3 pounders) fought better than some 5 lb plus fish and backing was exposed on a few occasions with only a brief glimpse of what might have been.
In all it was a trip full of delights, contradictions, unlikelihoods, unseasonal weather, some rising fish and the good fortune to have largely avoided one of the biggest storms to hit the North Island since 1975. I think I have come to the conclusion that flyfishing for me is at its most enjoyable when unpredictability kicks in, when you have to think outside the box, when you have to solve the riddle...which you can never really solve because the riddle just morphs into something different from one moment, one hour, one day to the next. In both Australia and New Zealand, for me it's been a been a season of paradoxes, of highs and lows. But most excitingly, it's been a season where I have had to learn to learn again.
