(North Island, New Zealand)

Fish Fantastic!

The indicator of the fly line bobbed under the water and I struck, setting the hook firmly. Immediately, all hell proceeded to break loose! As I tried to remember everything my guide told me, I realized that this is why I had come to New Zealand. I had a famed Tongariro rainbow trout on the end of my line.

The fish pulled and ran up stream, it dove and then rose rapidly, exploding out of the water, thrashing and leaping in a fighting frenzied ballet. What a magnificent thrill! And what a tug-of-war now, man against fish. I listened carefully to the guide, let the fish have the line, let it run if it wants, use the fly rod to tire the fish, don’t “horse” it in. Carefully, back out onto the stream bank, rod tip up. The guide grabs the line and pulls the heaving trout up on the grassy bank. I just landed my first New Zealand trout, a five and a half-pound beauty.

For avid trout fishermen and neophytes alike, trout heaven in the Pacific goes by the name of Tongariro in New Zealand. For in all of New Zealand, long known for its sparkling clean streams and lakes, not to mention huge hungry trout, the Tongariro River in central North Island is perhaps the best trout stream in the land. When it comes to fishing the Tongariro, everyone from novice to expert has an equal chance of landing a wily New Zealand rainbow trout.

I can certainly vouch for that because an expert I am not. To fish New Zealand’s streams, you must use a fly rod and wet or dry flies, depending on the season. New Zealand rigidly protects much of its freshwater fishery with fly-fishing only regulations which make it a sporting challenge to hookup with and land a wily rainbow trout. Although I’ve had a fair amount of freshwater fishing experience using spinning rods for salmon in Alaska and casting or trolling rods for pike in Canada and the U.S., I’ve had only limited experience using fly-fishing gear. Serious fly fishing was something I’d never really done.

Tongariro in New Zealand changed all that and dispelled the myth that only experts can catch trout while fly fishing. I had never had a lesson until I pulled on my waders and got into the stream. Fifteen minutes later I had my first Tongariro trout. And that’s no fisherman’s lie!

Tongariro Trout

The Tongariro River flows into Lake Taupo in the middle of the North Island of New Zealand. The river is one of the premier fishing waters in the country as is Lake Taupo which at 40-square miles is New Zealand’s largest lake.

The trout fishery in New Zealand had its beginnings at the end of the nineteenth century when rainbow trout from the Sonoma area of California were established and brown trout from Great Britain via Tasmania in Australia were also released. Since then, through careful management, controlled fishing and an abundance of natural foods in sparkling clean cold streams and lakes, New Zealand trout have thrived to become one of the world’s best recognized trout sport fishing areas.

The rainbow trout in New Zealand have adapted so well in fact that they have outgrown fish from their original habitats. New Zealand rainbows average over four pounds in size, well over the average size of trout elsewhere. The fast-flowing rivers and deep-water lakes of New Zealand have also instilled in these wild trout fighting qualities which test the skills of the most expert angler.

In New Zealand, there are literally dozens of rivers with resident trout populations. These rivers have their annual runs of sea trout, both rainbow (steelhead) and brown. The Tongariro and Lake Taupo watershed are different in that they are landlocked with the lake serving as the "ocean" to these migratory spawning trout. The fish run upstream in the autumn and winter months of May through September to spawn and these are the best months to fly-fish for them. However, the rest of the year, the fish are gorging and fattening themselves in the nutrient-rich waters of Lake Taupo where fish are caught year-around by trolling and bait-casting methods from chartered boats.

Tongariro Lodge

Situated just outside the small town of Turangi and right on the Tongariro River is Tongariro Lodge, a luxurious full-service fishing lodge where guests are pampered while enjoying the great New Zealand trouting experience. The lodge has a handful of bright attractive cottages which accommodate a limited number of guests at a given time.

Immaculate grounds, well-kept and maintained cottages and rooms, a cherry warm fireplace in the main lodge house and gourmet New Zealand-style cuisine are trademarks of Tongariro Lodge. Everything about Tongariro Lodge speaks to the nature and style of traditional Kiwi hospitality and personalized service. Guests are kept happy, well-fed and well-fished.

The trout here average around four pounds with trophy rainbow and brown trout in ten pound category not at all unusual. With Tongariro Lodge situated on the river and near the lake, there is easy access to a wide range of superb fishing the year around.

Tongariro’s fishing experience includes dry fly fishing for brown trout in high country streams during New Zealand’s summer and fall months (December-April) and upstream nymph fishing during the large rainbow spawning runs in the fall and winter months (May-September). There are also casting and trolling for rainbows in Lake Taupo and other nearby lakes. Remote backcountry fishing trips by helicopter can be arranged to fish virgin country streams.

Tongariro Lodge can provide a range of trout fishing adventures suitable for the refined expert fly fisherman or even a beginner needing lessons in the fine art. Beyond that, the serious angler can troll or cast in the lake to pursue the elusive New Zealand trout.

Pacific Trout Heaven

There are unlimited possibilities at Tongariro. Even a novice like myself managed to hookup and land four beautiful rainbow trout in a morning’s outing. I won’t even mention the "ones that got away." And this was with only minimal instruction in using fly fishing gear. Even my guide was astonished and pleased.

If you’ve secretly desired the chance to catch really big trout, Tongariro is the place to go. In all the Pacific, this place is trout heaven. It’s utopia. Trout fishing simply doesn’t get any better than this, period.

Scenic New Zealand

A journey to Tongariro has additional benefits as well. It is located in the middle of New Zealand’s scenic forest and high country farmland. The Lake Taupo area is a land of rolling hills covered with thick stands of native and evergreen forest and vast tracts of emerald pastures dotted with flocks of fat wooly sheep. You can drive to Tongariro Lodge in about four hours from Auckland’s gateway. Or you can fly into Taupo on the north shore of Lake Taupo and have an easy thirty minute drive to the lodge on the south shore.

Trout fishing is Tongariro Lodge’s main year around business but there are other attractions and activities in the area as well. White water river rafting, hiking local forest trails, experiencing natural thermal hot pools and mineral baths, and snow skiing (July-September) at local ski fields in Tongariro National Park just thirty minutes away. And of course, in summer (December-February) Lake Taupo offers an incredible array of water sports and boating activities.

The trout season at Tongariro is good the year around with the May-September winter season being best. Airlines generally offer their best off-season fares during the Down Under winter season.

Prices for most things including food, transportation and lodging are generally reasonable in New Zealand. And during the Down Under winter when there are no crowds provides even more travel bargains not to mention those elusive and wily Tongariro rainbow trout. If you’re a fisherman, there’s nothing better than chasing rainbows in New Zealand!

Travel Information

For complete information on lodging and fishing packages, contact Tongariro Lodge, PO Box 278, Turangi, New Zealand; telephone 64-7-3867946, fax 64-7-3868860; Email: Email: trout@tongarirolodge.co.nz; Web: www.tongarirolodge.co.nz

For details on travel to and within New Zealand, check with Tourism New Zealand online at: www.purenz.com Also try: www.newzealand.com

(Previous versions published in Far East Traveler, Smailing Tours Magazine, Hawaii Island's Magazine and others)