Manic Monday - Exploring with Tarn

Well it has certainly been a hot dry summer around the country and finding cool water temperatures especially when the day progress has not been an easy task. This is when fish are most vulnerable to becoming stressed when caught. Conscious of this, Manic Mate, Tarn McEwen of Taranaki Hunting and Fishing and I decided we would get as close to the source of the water way as possible in search of cooler water temperature and shade from the bush line. Knowing full well that numbers would be low due to the steep gradient and other factors we set out and took on the rugged terrain of the river bed in search of a few actively feeding trout in a beautiful environment.

After making the first river crossing, we realised the water temp was perfect, nice and cool which was pleasing and set a good vibe to the day. Once again I decided to stay behind the camera and let Tarn shine and he certainly did, making short work catching a couple of nice examples of brown trout which was impressive to watch. Tarn did miss one other opportunity for the day failing to set the hook on an eat from another fish, but hey, you can’t catch them all!

Although we came across very few fish, we did find cool water and the result was actively feeding fish. We certainly had a super time in a beautiful environment, the fish came first on this day with their wellbeing the priority. It just goes to show that numbers of fish should not be the priority/motivation and by assessing the conditions and changing tactics you and the fish can be better off. This was certainly the case on this day.