(Photo looking up Judges Pool – I was casting from under the bushes on the right hand – town – side in the photo)

What wonderful weather we have been having in Turangi – hardly any of the rain they promised last week and such warm still conditions.  As I compose this the temperature is over 30c.  Ideal conditions for encouraging the biggest cicada hatch in the last decade.

After my miserable efforts at guiding last week some more ‘hands-on’ research was needed.  I had made the usual mistake, I do it every year, of assuming that as the cicadas were dive bombing me on the tracks, the trout would similarly appreciate how tasty they are too.

But last week the fishing was still slow – relatively speaking.  To be fair, it was not my fault.  It never is.

I blamed Genesis or whoever was responsible for releasing all the gunk – sand, silt, mud, pumice and ash into the river.

The ‘aggradation’ covered all the gravels everywhere down to the delta but there was insufficient flow to carry it into the lake.  It took several days to clear.

So finally on Tuesday I escaped the laundry just long enough for some overdue therapy – aka research in the closest water to TRM.  It is not a named pool on the TLB of Judges where the bush extends to the edge of the river so there is no room for any back cast for a right handed angler.  A good place to learn how to roll cast from the bank as that is the only way to flick it out into the current.  I started unsuccessfully with a fat black cicada imitation.  I still could not spot any rises so was fishing blind.  But after ten minutes – nothing.  Couldn’t believe it.

So I changed to a ridiculous jandal type foam rubber thingy with long rubber legs that looked nothing like a cicada.  It got attacked on the first cast.  In the next twenty minutes three were landed and two escaped.  All youngish Rainbows with two struggling to qualify as legal size but it confirmed what the trout are looking for.  It was so easy it has already ruined me for the summer – I will expect it every time.

If you have never experienced dry fly cicada casting then throw a sickie and get here asap.  OK?

PS    9 am addition – Richard from New Plymouth just left after 5 days landing 15-20 per day – all on Cicada patterns….