Jack and I were up early and on the water at 0600 hours, 16 January 2023. The Rangitaiki River leading into Lake Matahina was still high with plenty of colour but clearing. This was our first time starting from the bridge this season. It has literally been rainy and wet since like June.
We really just floated down river and chatted and did a bit of exploring. I showed Jack the road that used to run along the river from the bridge. It is nothing more than a game trail now but some overgrown concrete walls were good evidence of what used to be there. There are a couple of very cool waterfalls to see while you are up there. The waterfall that you can see from the dam end is flowing again this year.It has been years since it last flowed. The aquifer must be full.
We got down where the big spring creek was and we saw a trout rise a couple of times. We put the fly rod together and tied on old faithful, a bead head krystal olive woolly bugger. We did not get that fish so moved down to where river melts into the lake. We targeted only the shallow edges and the action started. The edge technique is simple. One person casts to the edge and the other paddles along. You can retrieve the fly or let the momentum of the canoe pull the bugger from the edge. Then you recast to a new spot on the edge. It really is that simple.
This prolonged dirty water for many months has taken its toll. I have to say that we caught a lot of trout today but most of them were not in great condition to say the least.
It was a nice cool and calm morning with near perfect conditions, aside from the slightly dirty water. Then it got really hot in the sun after mid day. Silly me, I left my hat in the truck. I can already feel my scalp tingling. Tight lines!
