John Palmer from Tauranga booked out this morning after a disappointing difficult time yesterday. First his best rod broke. Then he walked up from Red Hut to Boulder Pool on the TRB but all he spotted were smaller trout waiting for a flood to sweep them out into Lake Taupo. The river conditions were confused by the power company flushing out their dam in anticipation of rain that hardly arrived. After the river flow graph shot up to 90 the panic set in. There were about 12 anglers in the Bridge Pool the next morning, about six of them TRM inmates, but it did not fire.

So John asked if he could leave his gear in the unit while he went for one last quick flick (he wanted to see how his 6 wt would handle a Tongariro “bomb” – a heavy hare & copper nymph). Fortunately, it cast better than anticipated but that may have been more a reflection of John’s skill. Less than half an hour later he returned with this nine pound brown hen in peak condition. On his dainty 6 wt rod it must have been a huge struggle dragging him down the river. Even his fish bin was too small to accommodate the trout lying diagonally. Look at the spread of the tail paddle – wow! What a way to finish his trip. That is his best Tongariro trout ever.

That has been typical of the Tongariro this week since the release. Dick & Francis from Lower Hutt landed 15 for only two keepers. But Dick keeps reminding me he only visits the Tongariro River to enjoy the river environment. Any keepers are a bonus. But John got the bonus this week.