TRM Fishing Guides reply to readers’ questions:
Question:
I enjoy your daily reports. Could you please advise why Taupo is the only area in NZ that requires us to use great big balls of yarn as indicators. With all the modern materials now available it would be a lot easier to use some of those modern indicators
Thanks Bob
Answer 1:
With the completion in the late 1970′s of the Tongariro Power Development scheme the reduced flow meant that other techniques besides wet-lining were now a viable option on the Tongariro. One of these was upstream nymphing and visiting American anglers introduced the use of indicators in the 1980′s and it is still the most popular method practiced.
Unfortunately some ” anglers” interpreted the word “indicator” as meaning brick-sized pieces of material like for instance polystyrene foam. Using these they could suspend large heavy flies and all sorts of other things thus reaching parts of the river and fish that us less ” imaginative ” fisho’s had no chance of ever getting near. In order to discourage this practice and to protect the fishery the far less buoyant yarn only rule was implemented.
Like most anglers I agree with you…there are other materials and excellent commercially available products out there. I can also understand DoC’s view-point…may be the way forward would be to allow other types of indicator but impose a size limit…many anglers I have spoken to have also suggested this.
I have a feeling however that we are going to be attempting to launch our “fluorescent budgies” across the river for quite some time to come.
Tight Lines
Mike
Answer 2:
This is a very good question and I’m sure at some point you all have been using that indicator that just wont stay afloat and you have wondered why a piece of foam could not be used. As this is a legal issue and one that we all have to abide by I got the low down from or local Doc ranger.
Years ago it was fine to use any device to float your flies down the river just as it is in the rest of New Zealand currently but as usual a small group of individuals abused the method and started using objects which could not be cast. The Taupo rivers are generally deep and fast and at times huge amounts of weight is needed to reach the fish sitting on the bottom, so anglers started using huge amounts of weight which could not be cast conventionally on a fly rod supported by floating objects such as jandals, ping pong balls and lumps of polystyrene.
As our rivers are strictly fly fishing only the nymphing method really was starting to look like surf casting or spinning. Fly fishing has always been considered a gentle sport in which fish are fooled with perfectly presented flies and talented angling. At some point the line had to be drawn in the sand and it is now clearly outlined and well managed with restricting anglers to what fibre can be used. Personally I think it is a very effective rule and with the right preparation of your indicator you will have no problems floating ample amounts of weight while nymphing.
If you need a better read on this the latest Target Taupo was released today and it has a entire page regarding this topic. Check out all the latest in regards to this on page 25 of issue #61.
Cheers guys
Andrew Christmas
Answer 3:
(Mike also asked DoC so I hope they don’t mind TRM repeating their answer, but we do get a lot of similar questions about fluffy indicators…)
….. However, to answer your question, in times past floats and strike indicators other than yarn were not illegal. But what was happening was some anglers were attaching multiple floats (even pieces of jandal) to their line and then using extremely heavy nymphs to dredge the deepest reaches of some pools. In fact these setups were so unwieldy that you couldn’t cast them properly and in effect they could only be fished with a modified roll-cast. Also, because of the inherent resistance on the line afforded by the large floats, the hook would be set automatically and fish would “catch themselves”.
Many anglers, on the Tongariro River especially, felt that this form of angling was not in the true spirit of the sport and was also detrimental to the fish via foul-hooking and the low chance of them being able to evade capture. Evading capture is achieved in part by them having some sanctuary in the deepest parts of the river. At the end of the day one of the allures about fly-angling is the fish must have a chance to elude capture, that is part of the challenge, and this method of angling was not allowing this to happen particularly well. The Department concurred with anglers and the regulations were changed so that only a yarn indicator could be used to restore some form of balance.
Some still argue that a yarn indicator is a float – and technically it is. However, you still have to strike to set the hook with a yarn indicator, it limits the weight you can attach to a leader and they cant be too big or the effectiveness of the cast is compromised. Even so, there is no doubt that nymphing with a weighted “bomb” and a terminal fly is a very proven and effective way to catch trout.
I hope this explains things.
Best regards and tight lines
John Webb
Programme Manager – Community Relations | DDI: 07 384 7159 | VPN: 6259 | | M: 027 2386320 | E: jwebb@doc.govt.nz | Department of Conservation – Te Papa Atawhai | Taupo Fishery Area | Private Bag | Turangi 3353 | P: 07 384 7180 | F: 07 386 7086