TRM’s weekend blogs attracted many comments with some critical of the angler pressure in the town pools on the Tongariro River.

Sometimes, particularly during summer, the pressure does not necessarily originate from other fishos competing.

On a beautiful warm Monday morning this angler had the Island Pool all to himself. Pure bliss! Standing on the bank we could count about 20 fish in spawning mode. He was anticipating they had to rest for a feed at some time. The only threat seen was from a slimy shag sliding through the pool.

Then just as he was about to cast, over 30 kids arrived on six rafts. Some were floating down in the rafts. Some had abandoned their rafts for a swim. The swimmer in the photo above was a trail biker recovering.

Meanwhile other pools were empty. When trying to compare the Tongariro River, one of the great strengths is the huge length of fishable river with such easy access, catering for everyone.

Anglers need to always carry our bible – TRM’s TONGARIRO RIVER BUCKET LIST – Fifty Pools to Fly FIsh Before You Die.

Available FREE at TRM reception.

Over the last 15 years, TRM have published and updated their Pool Ratings Chart to assess the pools out of 20 for access, difficulty, setting, reliability, snags, wading, as well as angler pressure. That is only one factor to consider when selecting where to fish. Some of the best most productive possies are located between the pools are not named – yet. See the report for Saturday with a local fisho who landed and released three fresh run silver trout in the 5 minutes we watched. Mind you, it took him about six casts…