(Above – Ken Olsen & Jim Rowland fishing in the Daisy Pool.  If you cannot place it (?) the location of this pool was described on TRM Daily Report – 21 September.)

TRM’s usually so efficient laundry (?) has been neglected a bit lately as we have had other priorities – being forced to – so reluctantly – persuaded by demanding inmates – we cannot let them down – guests’ requests have to come first – I had run out of excuses – Pumpkin was primed up – eventually we escaped to explore the Tongariro to locate some interesting new fishy spots.

The main reason, the excuse to Her Highness, SWMBO, was Jim Rowland.  This inmate has a severe handicap.  He is ‘cack’ handed.  He prefers to call it “gauche”?  At the same time we have suffered from cold un-seasonal windy conditions since the start of October.  Some days we could not find a quiet corner out of the wind.  So TRM had to smarten up our act for Jim.

Jim has been here for over a month so had already completed testing trials in all the usual well known named pools and was demanding some more intimate no-name secret spots and pools just for him up river.  His specification was quite simple:

(The photos of Jim’s new favourite above is TLB looking down river, on right is looking up river, and below is above the pool from the opposite TRB.  Can you pick it?)

(1) Pools that he could drive to without 4WD?,  (OK Everyone knows where the car-parks are)

(2) Did not involve excessive walking over slippery Tongariro boulders?,  (Jim has a suspect knee)

(3) Did not involve deep wading,?  (The no-name run above only needed shallow wading – otherwise you spook the trout)

(4) It had to provide for lefties’ casting style?,  (That meant he could cast and I couldn’t.. Jim is so smart.  The score for the half hour introductory session was Jim hooked four, me one – foul hooked in the tail.)

(5) It had to be full of fat trout waiting to be caught?… (That was the easy one, the river is full of fish – but Jim might not realise that…)

(6) No snags?.  (That meant more riffles and runs up river.  That’s OK)

(7) Only classical pools with high photographic qualities? (to send back to his fishing club in USA)

(8) Not down river below the road bridge?  (To avoid any other angler pressure)

etc.  etc.  All the usual fishy requirements.  That’s fine.  We do this all the time.  The only element we failed on was the weather.

After Pumpkin and I completed our reconnaissance the day before we had identified several good possibilities.  They then had to be tested.  And re-tested.  We like to be thorough as several times the strong gusty wind direction decided the best pool for us.

But overall I think we managed to satisfy Jim’s specification for ‘lefties’ .  He returned happy as.

We would love to explain to you exactly where these ‘lefties’ spots are but regret we have to save them…   Jim is at TRM until mid-January and then returning again in March and secondly we have another American ‘leftie’ for two months from Christmas, so we need to provide their ideal pool specification first.

Meanwhile all we can do is show you the above photos.  If you recognise them then please keep them secret until after Jim departs NZ.  OK?