Fishing the Whakapapa

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 5, Issue 29, 15 December 1987, Page 6

Fishing the Whakapapa

Part Two

The Whakapapa River can turn on some really good evening rises. This is when you need to study the hatch to determine what fly to u s e . When fishing with dry flies I find a six to seven weight rod with a six weight forward floating line or a seven weight double tapper line is best. They land on the water lightly but you can still get a good distance cast if needed. I use a leader made from six to eight pound and nine to 15 feet long nylon with a tippet of two to four pound and about 30 inches long. Try to use a nylon

that is soft with no memory. I find maxima line is good for this. When casting to rising trout stand down stream from the fish and off to one side. When making false casts do it a w a y slightly from the fish and not over him as this will spook him. When you make the presentation cast make sure the fly line lands behind the fish so only the leader and tippet are in front of the fish. Another reason to false cast away from the fish is to dry the fly and fly line for the next presentation. Sometimes the fish may not take the hatched insect

as they can be feeding on the emerging insects just under the top of the water. In this case change to an unweighted nymph or wet fly to imitate him. I have had many a good fishing session on this river. I have a rule for myself of only taking one fish per day and releasing any others caught. This way you can catch fish all day and there will be fish for next time. Next week we will look at catching and releasing fish. Tight lines and safety first around water.

John

Thompson