Can you remember stalking and hooking and landing your first trout? That is an achievement that nobody ever forgets. Even better when your Mum is your mentor.

Sadly, TRM does not see so many families visiting during school holidays as we did a decade ago, so when Alicia brings her 11-year-old daughter, Kaylee, fly fishing for the very first time, SWMBO makes sure they rightly deserve royal blog treatment. Her results were absolutely outstanding!

Last week TRM had Granddad staying and this week his daughter Alicia and his grandchild Kaylee were following his footsteps, so I am sure Granddad will claim some knowledge and inherited skill must have been passed down in the family DNA. (We would love to be there when “Granddad discovers these pics!) Outside of fishing the Tongariro River, Kaylee attends Puketapu School in Bell Block near New Plymouth.

For some strange reason over the years, we have noticed most Taranaki inmates – usually cockies – are very passionate about their trout fishing and often sneak home limit bags. These farming families from near New Plymouth are typically very determined and dedicated fishos and continue to proudly maintain the ‘Naki tradition.

The photos tell the story. This was the first time Kaylee had ever tried casting a delicate little fly so she had a big fast learning curve learning to nymph the intimidating BIG Tongariro River, perfecting the art of accurate “10 to 2” casting to achieve a perfect natural drift and swing her weighted flies across the bottom. Naturally, she was not strong enough to cast as far as other mature anglers but it did not matter. She taught us all a valuable lesson instead.

They used to call it FFF – Fish your Feet First – but these days it has been upgraded and morphed into “Euro nymphing” to sell you another rod. There have to be some lessons there somewhere. i.e. Kaylee proved:

(1) most of the other fishos were standing in the lie and spooking the trout;

(2) men do not have any advantage being so much bigger and stronger – female style and technique will win every time;

(3) focus on using the flexibility and power of the rod and not your arm;

(4) girl power continues to rule supreme in Turangi.

We must also pay credit to Mum. Usually, in our experience, the worst coach is an enthusiastic parent and we often need to sensitively recommend the services of a more professional guide or the Trout Centre experience, but in this first introduction course Alicia was just as excited over the opportunity to pass on her knowledge base and it was all applied so well with Jason from Creel Tackle Shop.

Just managing to confidently wade over the slippery stones without taking an involuntary plunge was an achievement alone for any 11 year old. Kaylee was so brave and determined.

This was a special “girls only” birthday trip to introduce a new range of skills and to convert another novice to graduate to a fly fishing hero – like her Mum…

Thank you to Jason from Creel for the photos and guidance.

The NZ Women’s Fly Fishing Team should sign Kaylee up with a contract tomorrow… before the tackle shops discover a new female guide who speaks children’s language.

Congratulations Kaylee!