Steve and I had an early start on the Rangitaiki River 21 January. The water level was higher and dirtier than it was the other day with Jack. There were some isolated heavy downpours in the last couple of days that clearly made a difference. Plus, it was a Saturday which would have affected water usage for hydroelectric power production. I can never figure it out. It was early so we put an elk hair caddis behind the size 6 deer hair cicada just in case the trout were still targeting the mostly nocturnal flies.
It took a little while but the first trout took the cicada and that is all we needed to know after that. Sight fishing was a challenge with the higher water and it was not until the sun got higher in the sky that we started to see more fish on the edges. The first few were caught fishing blind in likely areas.
This time last year Steve landed 27 but today was nothing like that. In about four hours, I think seven fish were landed. The best trout of the day was a brown that took three times in a row. All of the takes were in super slow motion. The first two got the normal three count before striking nothing but air. On the third take we counted to three so slowly it was unbearable.
Then we had the brown under the willow trees. We could see it rising and just could not get a cast to it. So under the trees we went and Steve managed a lucky flick after catching a few branches. The video shows the result!
The next day Steve took Jack and I for a snapper fish at the mussel farm near Opotiki. We got plenty of snapper and Jack caught a kingfish that was just under legal size. He is a lucky boy and keen for adventure. He likes gaming like the rest of them but prioritises opportunities to hunt, fish, and mountain bike.
