Stream Talk - April 06

We can really class this season so far in two very distinct phases -

Prior to Christmas at times the weather was very patchy with quite a lot of wind, which is normal for October and early November but this year the wind seemed to go on a bit longer. We also got quite a bit of rain which made fishing difficult at times, but even so the fishing was excellent - in fact, Bud Rush, from California, a client of ours for ten seasons in a row thinks it was the best fishing he can remember. The fish were in great condition and really gobbled up the flies.
Even allowing for the average weather the dry fly action in November and December was excellent and I still think that these months are the best to fish the North Island. Best flies were elk hair caddis, humpies, parachutes and kakahi queens.

The Taupo rivers, in particular the Tongariro and the Tauranga Taupo, continue to fish well with nymphs and streamers right up till Christmas, with some very good fresh run fish being landed, and few anglers on the rivers.
Just proir to Christmas the weather really settled down, and since then we've hardly had any major rain, with beautiful sunny days and little wind.
Since Christmas the dry fly action on the back country and wilderness rivers has been superb, with a good caddis hatch, although not quite as good as last season. The Taupo rivers have also fished well with dry flies since mid January.

The Tongariro now has the runs of early season spawning browns but they are not easy to catch in the daytime and the best chance to land a really big one is at the river mouth at night.
The smelting this summer has been very disappointing.
The weather is getting cooler now, and the trees are really starting to change colour, and once we get some good rain to freshen up the Taupo rivers I'm sure the fishing will be great as there are a lot of fish waiting at hte river mouths, and a drop in the barometric pressure and some dirty water will really get them moving.
The wilderness rivers will also benefit from a good rain to freshen them up and if we continue to get some warm sunny days the dry fly action should continue well into April.

With our dollar dropping about 12% to the US and about 6.5% to the Australian dollar and British pound over the past few weeks now is the time to think about your next trip downunder!

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Tight Lines - the Dream Streams Team

Ross, Christine & Mark Hamilton