TRM inmates are returning in droves. We have not seen some of them since before the Covid scare closed the borders so they need updating on the pools etc. One question they all ask is about the fishing down in the Braids bypass. When they last fished here it was the hot spot. Remember the old Honeypot and Swirl Pool and Spot X – above the Plank Pool. So this is their updated Braids report.

As the Braids were hardly mentioned in the latest Pool Ratings chart on the recently updated Tongariro River “Fifty Pools to Fish Before You Die” Bucket List map, they think they have detected a conspiracy… Their suspicions were raised when they noted the lower river pools were excluded from a rating as they were considered to be unpredictable. The continuing “flood protection” (?) canal works aka quarrying excavations by WRC (Waikato Regional Council) in the last twenty years have changed the river more than the flooding.

The photo of two fishos, Paddy Walsh and local John Lunt, on the TLB Lower Bridge Pool, (vehicle access off Te Rewha Crescent) confirms the main river is far more productive. John Lunt who featured as the pin-up inmate on the Bucket List map, exploited his obvious advantage by wearing his lucky TRM hat. He proved it too, hooking up and landing a feisty Rainbow while we watched.

The bypass that winds downriver along the TRB from Herekiekie Street in front of Tongariro Lodge has shallowed out and hardly holds enough reliable flow for fishing or spawning. The photos should provide enough evidence of that.

There are several new anglers’ access walking tracks extending from the TRM seat along the TRB to the bypass. They provide easy access to the TRB beaches.

Out of curiosity, for old times sake, we worked our way down the bypass to the hole that was previously referred to as Spot X about ten years ago.

It is now full of willows and snags making it almost unfishable. It was also full of trout showing off their bright mating colours and sizing each other up. On such a beautiful clear day it would be difficult to hook any as they were immediately spooked by our stealthy approach. But after a “fresh”, when the river has coloured up, it could be worth a flick.