Imagine finding an ancient skull in the Tongariro River… Someone wrote a fishy tale with a devious skulduggery plot based on discovering an ancient skull on the banks of the upper Tongariro River. It could happen! Read on…

To start 2024 summer fly fishing season TRM provides the Upper Tongariro River pool report. This will be followed by the Middle river pools, then Town pools, then Lower river pools.

The TRM pool surveys were completed about 10 years ago but many of the pools have been in existence for over 100 years.

Back then visiting tourist anglers usually stayed in Tokaanu and mainly fished the lower river. An anglers’ camp had been developed at the Tongariro Delta by Bob Jones who owned the Tokaanu Hotel. He later developed another camp of anglers’ huts at the Bridge Pool.

To promote trout fishing tourism, the NZ Government sponsored an American novelist, Zane Grey, and paid for his visit in 1926. He was more famous for writing cowboy stories – Riders of the Purple Sage – etc. They had journeyed from Auckland by rail to Waitomo Caves and then motored to Rotorua and south to Huka Falls on the Waikato River above Wairakei. He described Taupo as a hamlet where fishermen appeared everywhere, evidenced by hotel porches lined with rubber boots, waders, hobnailed shoes and landing nets.

In 1926 the Easter holiday weather was too wet for camping and too windy for fishing – most of the fishing was by trolling from launches. They first fished the mouths of the Waihora and Waihaha Rivers where most of the Maoris lived and charged them a half-crown a head for their fishing. Subsequently, the New Zealand government signed a pact with local native Maori tribes guaranteeing fishing access to all of Taupo’s rivers in return for a share of license fees. The arrangement continues today.

n the week they were there he landed 23 “Steelheads”, his fishing buddies – Alma Baker and Captain Mitchell – caught 28 and 13. The largest were 11 pounds with 8-9 pounders not uncommon. Then they moved south to Tokaanu.

In his book Zane Grey described the upper river; “so celebrated among English anglers, and of which so much had been read by anglers of America, but could learn no word of any American having visited these waters. Shades of the Rogue River ejaculated the Captain. No Cap, it’s the green-white rushing Athabasca…” He wrote in a flamboyant style as though he had discovered the mighty Tongariro River.

Back then the Tongariro flow was unhindered natural run-off from the catchment, including the Tongariro National Park and the Kaimanawas, at about double the flow since the hydro scheme diverted the upper river flow through a canal to Lake Rotoaira.

For this visit they employed a local Maori guide, Hoka Downs, who directed them much further upriver – above Red Hut – to where many of the named pools – i.e. Breakaway, Dreadnought, (see photo below) etc. – have now disappeared after floods changed the river course and direction.

Their camp was established near the Shag Pool and Duchess Pools, located on private Maori family-owned land.

At the time, after Easter 1926, the conditions were described as: “at the worst possible stage for fishing” according to their guide.

After struggling on the Tongariro River they (there were three anglers competing, accompanied by an audience including photographers from the Auckland Weekly News) explored up a small stream that emptied into the Tongariro near camp. This may have been the Poutu Stream draining Lake Rotoaira.

Next day they tramped south following their guide over a high bluff to the Dreadnought Pool. (This would be upriver from the Cliff Pool. Zane Grey recounted his guide’s description: “My people once fought battles here. They had a pa on top of this bluff. I’ll show you graves that are wearing away. The skulls roll down into the river. Yes, my people were great fighters. They stood up face to face, and gave blow for blow, like men.” Zane Grey described the pool: “The bluff had a bold bare face, composed of three strata; the lowest a dark lava studded thickly with boulders, the next and middle one a deep band of almost golden sand, and the topmost a grey layer of pumice in the top of which I saw the empty graves of bygone Maoris.”

(Imagine discovering an ancient skull on the Tongariro River – what a great plot – someone should compose a mockumentary about it)

Zane Grey’s first rainbow hooked in the Dreadnought Pool weighed over eleven pounds…

In summary, the fishing was so spectacular that he returned twice more and he was so impressed he even tried to purchase the Tongariro River from the local Maori tribal owners.

Also of interest to fishos, back then in 1926, before the upper river fishing opportunities were appreciated, they learned from the driver who delivered their supplies from Tokaanu, that fifty rods were fishing between what he called the Bridge Pool and the Delta, and this was before any spawning runs had started.

Sadly, he was not popular with everyone. New Zealand angling historian Bryn Hammond has said his reputation was contrived and everywhere he went, he overstayed his welcome, argued, and fell out with the locals. In the end, he had to pay people to go fishing with him because he was so unpleasant to be around.

After Zane Grey wrote of his experiences on the Tongariro River, in 1927 the Royals arrived – the Duke and Duchess of York – and camped and fished through the Middle Pools, which will feature on TRM tomorrow.