Further to the historic reports posted on the confusion over the Admirals and the naming of Admiral’s Pool, this update is overdue. Photos taken yesterday – Thursday.

The clear conditions provide a view of a few BIG trout feeding at the head of the pool but the depth below that has been reduced by layered sand banks. This aggradation process is characteristic of many other pools on the Tongariro River.

A cleaned gravel spawning redd is evident in the photo of the shallow tail, where the sand banks have not covered the gravels. These sand banks smother all the trout food sources – caddis, etc. – and discourage them from staying there. With each new Tongariro flood the sandbanks slowly get swept further downriver towards the Delta and settle, raising the river bed and increasing the flood risk to Turangi.

The sand comprises a mixture of sediment, comprising mainly pumice and ash carried down in winter floods, and covered up most of the spawning gravels. After the floods, the reduced strength of the reduced current is not sufficient to support the sediment further, so it settles there until the next flood.

Previously, the Admiral’s Pool provided an ideal elevated platform to spot the trout. It was a good visual barometer to indicate how many trout were heading upriver. Now this pool is more unreliable as the sediment mixture is abrasive to trout gills, so the trout pass through quite quickly.

Other changes include the row of large boulders in the car park to discourage suicidal vehicles from driving over the edge.

The Stag Pool nearby does not appear to have changed so much. The settled weather conditions appear perfect for late summer fishing, but anglers complain it has been more difficult than ever since the solar eclipse and full moon that appears to have spooked the trout. They are there, but are reluctant to cooperate… Another angler returned from Rotorua stream mouth fishing, where he reported the action stopped dead after the eclipse. Or was it after the Iranian bombing?

What a wonderful, beautiful river, designed by nature for trout and for anglers who appreciate the natural scenic qualities as much as the trout fishing.