Fishing Report

I’ve not had much success with my fishing this season. I can’t recall when I last caught a fish. I went to the lower river on Sunday afternoon. There was no other car in the car park at the Bain Pool. This should be peak season but the lack of anglers is evidence of how hard the fishing is. I didn’t get a bite. At 11.00am this morning there was no vehicle in the Red Hut car park and shortly after only 1 vehicle in the Blue Pool car park.

Two locals appeared who have fished regularly. Diane caught two fish in 10 minutes. One was close to 3 lbs. The other was not legal. Her husband had had one bite for the afternoon when in the past I would have seen him with three fish in a similar time period.

I have to admit I have not had the same enthusiasm for the fishery and ask myself what are the issues. I replaced my line but that shouldn’t have affected my ability to catch fish. There is a lot of silt (volcanic ash) sitting in the quieter parts of the river and I ask if this has an effect. The river in the last flood broke through into the Bain Pool and my favourite Log Pool has a deep base of  sediment. It doesn’ t have the appeal for fish that it had earlier in the year.  The Reed has a mainly gravel base but it is quite a shallow pool now. The Jones Pool has a lot of sediment in it, but is a deeper pool and it was where I saw 2 fish caught on Sunday afternoon.

Today I saw more evidence of anglers than last week. Perhaps it was the heavy rain for a short period overnight that encouraged anglers. Anglers were in the Major Jones, Breakfast and Hydro pools.

As a Turangi resident I would love to see many anglers on the river as it is good for the community. I write such a negative report with reluctance but I write what I see and what I experience. Earlier in the year I was upbeat but I am wondering when the run will really begin.

 

Tongariro River Trail

I’ve had another busy week learning the issues involved in building a walking/cycling track. Nothing happens as fast as I think it should. This will be the first week that we have had 40 hours of work, but we have had a continuing issue of wet days, machinery failure and materials delivery which holds up work.

The success story of the week was a one lane road closure which enabled five truck loads of pumice and metal to be tipped onto the track, speeding the process of finishing the track surface.

It was pleasing to see the DoC section of the track dug this week. It travels through some great bush scenery.

Last night I spoke to Turangi’s business community about the progress of the trail. The Tongariro River Trail (TRT) will be a stimulus for Turangi. There is a lot of interest.

The Tongariro National Trout Centre (TNTC) will be a big beneficiary. It is a great asset and improved access can only strengthen its position. We are grateful to President, Rob Lester, and Manager, Kevin Farrington, for the support given us.

Labour weekend when we open is getting closer. There is so much still to do. Once opened it will seem that the trail has been there forever. It’s exciting.

I have put photos on Facebook. Enter Facebook from our homepage (no need for passwords to access this site from our home page and have a look at the photos.

Eric Wilson

Secretary/Treasurer