Tongariro River Trout Fishing

The Tongariro River is one of the most famous rivers in New Zealand and rightly so, there huge spawning run during the colder month's offering spectacular fishing for trout averaging about 4 pounds. Most of the trout caught in the Tongiriro are rainbows, the browns are quite a bit larger but aren't caught any where near as often despite making up about 30% of the spawning run. The best time for the spawning runs is from April through to October. During September and October there will be a lot of trout in poor condition recovering after spawning, these trout can make for great sport though as they will be feeding more actively and still put up a very good fight.

Fly fishing is the only legal method on the Tongariro. There are two main techniques used on the Tongariro during the spawning run, upstream nymphing and downstream wet-fly or lure fishing. Regardless of the method employed the most important thing when fishing the spawning runs is to get your fly down close to the river bed where the trout are. Most of the trout don't feed very actively on their way up the river so their main priority is to conserve energy so they lie very close to the bottom where the current is slower, especially with so many boulders to shelter behind.

Generally speaking wet-fly fishing seems to work better in the lower section of the river with it's sandy bottom and poorly defined lies while nymphing works better further up where there are more boulders and obvious areas for the fish to hold. Unlike most fly-fishing in New Zealand you will find that you can catch more than one fish from the same place in quick succession. If you hook a trout you should try to drift the fly through the same place straight afterwards. When the water is clear the fish do seem to get disturbed a bit but if there is a bit of colour in the river then you can sometimes catch them one after another in the same place. Wet fly fishing is usually most productive early in the morning or on rainy days while nymphing is often best in the middle of a sunny day. Often there are less anglers about in the middle of the day, I guess many people go home for lunch or just follow the traditional advice that fishing is better near dawn and dusk, whatever the reason is they miss out on some great nymph fishing.

Nymph Fishing

When nymph fishing on the Tongariro the most effective setup is a large heavily weighted fly (often referred to as bomb) with a smaller unweighted fly behind it. Remember that in the rivers around lake Taupo you aren't allowed to add weight to flies larger than size 10. Generally the trout will take the smaller fly so the large fly is really just there to get the small fly down to the fish. With this in mind it is best to keep any dressing on the bomb to a bare minimum so that it will sink as quickly as possible. Some good choices for the smaller fly are hare and copper, pheasant tail and glo-bugs in sizes 12 to 16. Generally the smaller natural flies will work best in clear water conditions with the larger glo-bugs being best if things are getting a bit murky.

Do remember though that adding more and more weight to your flies isn't the only way to make them sink better, achieving a long drag free drift is vital to your success. Mending the line is one of the most important skills when nymphing on the Tongariro. Controlling the line on the water can be very difficult after a long cast particularly if there is a downstream breeze. Large strike indicators made from glo-bug yarn are the norm on the Tongariro, they don't seem to disturb the fish and because you are often fishing with a long line or in turbulent water the large indicator is very useful for detecting strikes. The other use of an indicator is to tell if you are getting a good drift. If the indicator points downstream then this is a sign that it is being pulled downstream to fast and you'll need to mend the line upstream to fix this. If the indicator is sitting straight up and down or pointing slightly upstream this means you are getting a good drift. Lastly if the indicator is lying flat on the surface and pointing upstream this means it is drifting to slowly and a downstream mend is required.

Wet fly Fishing

Lure fishing is generally referred to as wet fly fishing on the Tongariro. The best setup is a fast sinking shooting head line, this makes casting long distances easier and gives better control over the drift. The general plan is to cast the line across the river and allow it to sink and swing across the river. It usually isn't worth spending much time retrieving, unless there is a good lie directly downstream it is better to strip the line in quickly and cast again. Most trout will take as the fly swings across the river. You need to make sure the fly is getting down near the bottom, if you can't feel your line dragging on the bottom occasionally you aren't fishing deep enough. You can fish deeper by casting further upstream or letting out a little slack line after casting. If you are casting across a fast current in the middle of the river it is good to hold the rod high to keep as much line as possible off the water, this stops the fast current from pulling on the line and gives you a deeper, slower drift.

Summer Fishing

Fishing the Tongariro river outside of the main spawning runs is a lot more like typical fly fishing. There are quite a lot of resident browns in the lower river over the summer months, some of these are absolutely massive. Dry fly fishing can be spectacular in the evenings from September onwards, it can be amazing to see all the fish start rising.

Etiquette

Due to the large number of anglers fishing on the river etiquette is very important when fishing the spawning runs on the Tongariro. When nymphing it is customary to start at the lower end of the pool behind any anglers already fishing there, after each cast you move upstream a couple of steps. If wet-fly fishing the situation is reversed so you start at the top of the pool and work your way down. If wishing to nymph in a pool where others are wet-fly fishing or visa versa it is best to ask first. These guidelines exist to ensure every one gets a chance as often the trout will be lying in a certain place in the pool.

Access

You can zoom in on the map below or click on the blue markers for a description of the location. Also if you use the satellite or hybrid views you'll be able to see arial photographs of the area, these are quite detailed so it gives you a good idea of the rivers layout.

Map