Aug
12
2009
A few pictures of my favourite river in Taranaki, the Oakura.
The Oakura starts its life on the slopes of the Pouakai Ranges and runs North West towards the Sea along the base of the Kaitake Ranges. The river enters the sea to the North of the brilliant sea side village of Oakura.
The river holds a good population of brown trout, the water is some of the cleanest in the Taranaki ringplain, but with swift flow and boulder strewn river bead that winds through forested valley, the fish are aggressive and strong.
I love fishing this river in polyprops and shorts in the summer, the warm days and cold water are tonic for the soul.
I fish a very basic 2 fly rig on shortish leader and tippet due to the fast current and clear water which means presentation and less false casts are always going to help. The added advantage of a short leader in forested sections will save a fly or 2. My favourite flies for hot summer sessions are
Dry’s : Red Tag, Parachute Adams and CDC
Wet: weighted nymphs, caddis and sometimes a creeper imitation.
Season is from 1 Oct to 30 Apr and a 2 fish limit applies. I always catch and release anyway.
Its simply a joy river, my suggestion is pack a lunch and walk/wade/swim as far as can for about an 1hr then fish upstream till your beat – then wander back enjoying the river and the beautiful surroundings. Remember leave only footprints (even better if you dont leave them either !)
Feb
26
2009
My first visit to the Maketawa Stream just outside Ingelwood, Taranaki NZ was on the 27th of December 2007.
It was a warm afternoon and with beautiful clear skies and light wind blowing from the South. The water was gin clear and cool, not much snow left on the peak of Mt Taranaki from where this beautiful stream flows.
I spotted a few smaller trout in the run below the SH3 bridge, but the best fish was just upstream of the first corner in the tail of the pool below.
The stream flows through a gully of natural New Zealand bushland, trees making a canopy over the river, making casting difficult but not impossible. Lots of little flicks and rolls to get the fly up into the current. The shaded river is dappled with sunlight and it stays cool in the constant shade.
I was fishing a dry (red tag & adams) and nymph (bead head) dropper combination which is pretty much my standard for these smaller Taranaki streams.
I first learnt about the Maketawa from another blog by a flyfisher/photographer called Atu. His blog is http://atsu.orconhosting.net.nz/Fishing/fishing-diary-sort-river.htm its a well made and well presented page with some cool pictures. I havent been able to go fishing with him – maybe this year.
I didnt catch any fish on this trip but cast and got some attention which was enough to make it a awesome afternoon standing in the river and rejuventating my soul.
Here are some photos of the Maketawa from this trip.
This is the first pool and run above the SH3 Bridge
This the pool below the SH3 bridge. It looks fishy but it might get too much fishing attention as it is easy to get to and easy to cast.
This is the pool which held the big brown. I cast to it but must have been spooked as it just looked at me and laughed…I did manage to land it about 2 months later and found out that it was blind in one eye…..
