Please keep a lookout for TRM inmate, Tony, on the Tongariro River this week and make a point of saying hello. Why? Tony really is special. After 15 years here we have realised to our horror that many of TRM’s inmates are getting older – what a terrible disease. So almost every angler comes in each visit with some health issue, replacement parts not working, new pacemakers, or stories of the increased difficulty in accessing their favourite river. Next time you start feeling sorry for yourself due to some minor disability I want you to think of Tony. Why?

The image above hints why? Yesterday Mark Tomsett told us about a strange moment at Reeds Pool when he was nymphing up towards another angler – Tony – wet lining. He asked the angler if he could go round him – as you do. The angler replied he could do whatever he liked as he could not see him. Tony is blind.

It got even better soon after when another angler watching Tony from the other side suggested his woolly bugger was not sinking enough – he needed more weight. When Tony advised of his sight disability he cast across Tony’s line and dragged it in to replace his olive woolly bugger with a heavier bead head version. Doesn’t that give you the warm fuzzies…

Tony is fishing with his minder, Rob – see image below. The images have been pinched from Tony’s last visit here in August 2016 but he looks just the same. How inspiring to all other older anglers… If he can do it then you have no excuse at all…