Dec 21 Kurarau Krusher weekend ,

Well it is Friday evening and a busy weekend ahead for a lot of locals and visitors.The 12th multi sport event known as the Kururau Krusher will start in the main street at 0800 hrs .The first leg is a 44 km cycle ride down river road and back then a 16 km run along the banks of the Whanganui river to Manununi and back then the 3rd leg is 22km kayak paddle down the Whanganui river to the Otunui landing then to finish a gut busting 26 km mountain bike ride back up and over the Kururau Range the lies to the west of Taumarunui,to finish at cherry grove.Good Luck to everyone that has entered and to all the organisers,marshalls and support crewshave a great weekend.

We are privaliged to be the sponsor of the major spot prize in the form of a $1500 camping package, which we draw out of the hat so any entrant can win,so good luck for that .

Changing the subject slightly ,but staying with the Whanganui river I decided to take a couple of hours off on thursday afternoon and popped out to Mahoe Road to test the water after we have had alot of visitors fishing in that area lately.
As I left the van and headed towards the river I met an out of town fishing Guide heading back to his vehicle with two elderly anglers.
We exchanged greating and they informed me that they had fished quite a bit of the water that I thought that I would fish and they had only caught and released a few small fish and they felt no larger fish were resident there.

They wished me well and left me pondering weather to carry on as planned ,oh blow it may as well ,see if the local boy can find a fish.
They had been up stream nymphing so I will change to swinging a nymph or two downstream to try and enspire a hit.Shortly after I started in the first stretch I had a touch but no hook up so carried on down stream to the papa bluff but no results there so moved down to the long straight, and waided to the middle and fished each side while moving down .I caught and released 2 small fish then it started to rain so I decided to call it a day and head back to the van.Before I reached the van it stopped raining so I headed to the first spot and tied on 2 tungsten bead flies of my own patterns. Second cast a small fish landed and released ,fourth cast wack a 3lb rainbow hen that tore off down stream , finally netted and released , sixth cast another rainbow hen 3.25 lb same result , so trying a different method using heavier flies can motivate fish that would have already seen flies that same day.

Dec 21 Kawhia Charter Trip

Well folks we are just into March and the evenings are cooling down and the sun is not rising all that early.On Sunday the 28th of February a group fo us took a wee journey out from Kawhia on the charter boat the Dove.

It was to be an eventful day with my Bro and best mate Robert Carter picking me up at 0430 and we stepped onto the Dove at 0635hrs , all aboard with our mates from Hamilton. We set off down the harbour and were getting close to the mouth when the skipper ,Dennis had a phone call alerting us to the likelyhood of a small Tsunami arriving mid morning from the earthquake in Chile.

We all had a quick discussion and decided to press on as they were forecasting a wave of less than 0,5 of a meter so we felt that it wouldn’t pose a major threat to us if we were fishing in at least 20 meters.

Well we crossed the bar and set off to the 40 meter spot Dennis had caught fish a day or so before.We dul;y arrived anchored and all we caught for an hour or so was Dog fish and spiney dogs ,so up anchor and move to just south of albatross point.

Within a few minutes we had a couple of gurnard a couple of snapper and more dog fish.Every body had got sick and tired of the dog fish tangles so after an hour of being patient the skipper said we would move south just past the Iron sands Bouy.

We set off heading south went past a moored boat and then realised that there was a strip of water about 300 meters wide on the starboard side that was alive with surface feeding fish .There were meat balls welling up that were 20 to 30 meters across ,fish everywhere ,and we kept on heading south and more and more activity.
The work up I think was probably about 1.5 kilometers long and we arrived at spot X on the south end of it inside the bouy about 3 kms off shore.

I have never seen such an eager bunch of fishermen and women to get their lines in the water, and as soon as we had settled at anchor we were into ot .Kahawai were all around the boat feeding on what appeared to be shoals of white bait with the occasional skippy motoring through .Kahawai and snapper were coming up onto the deck thick and fast, with one of the biggest horse kahawai landed that I have ever seen. Lots of good size pan snapper ,then Hello Richard has a fish on that is heading of towards the beach so he moves to the back of the boat.

After one and a half laps of the boat and Robert and I offering advice and encouragement a white flash is spotted under the boat, then a yellow tail ,yes where is the big net ,and after a couple of attempts the king fish is on the deck with a very happy Richard posing for a photo.

So we all get back to the business in hand to catching snapper, with some of us using stips of fresh kahawai,and after another snapper I get two good wack bites and a hookup.The rod is bent more than a right angle with the fish trying to run under the boat.Drag is tightened and I start to fight back good snapper nods or so I think ,I am slowly getting line back ,no Im not , three or four good runs and I am pumping the rod up and a white flash from under the boat.
Yes another yellow tail ,Robert grabs the net and we have another king fish on Board. My fish was not as big as Richards but still was a joy to fight and land.We caught a couple of snapper to fill our quota and that was it for the day.

No sign of the Tsunami or at least that we could tell but a great day off the west coast.

Dec 21 Visitors having a ball in the Whanganui.

During the last week we have been hosting a group of French fly fishermen in Taumarunui .They have been staying at the Holiday park with Dean Russell,and spending almost from daylight to dark on the river.
They all practice catch and release, and by the smiles on there faces have been having a ball with there largest fish measuring 595mm in length,which was obviously much larger than that angler had ever caught before.
The Whanganui water has warmed up slightly so morning and evening are proving more productive with fast oxogenated water the places to target.Cicadas are enjoying this fine spell, so well worth drifting 1 under those over hanging willows.
Tight lines to all .

Dec 21 Whanganui River fishing well.

Well the weather certainly has heated up in the King Country over the last week or so and we have not had all the rain that has been forecast, but a front dropped enough water in the Whanganui headwaters to cause a small spike in the flow and colour up for a day or so.The fishery is in good condition and the fish are active,so get out and enjoy when possible.

During this week we had a German fisherman call in for advice and we helped him out even though communication was a slight problem.
Later in the week he arrived back in the shop escorted by a local canoe guide who was quite young ,17 years at a guess,and this young chap was trying to tell us how good he was,and it occured to me good fishermen are generally quite people who have 2 ears and 2 eyes and use those senses to the max and generally use their mouth very little.

I do hope that particular young gentleman learns that lesson soon or he will annoy alot of his clients, to his companies detriment.

Dec 21 Spring Hunting is great.

Well the days are warming up and the evenings are longer, so it is about time for some serious fishing. The Whanganui river below Piriaka is at 19m3/sec and clear, with that nice snow melt green colour, and the reports from 2 of our locals are the the action is starting to hot up with the Whanganui trout feeding well, so Sunday pm I will endeavor to test 1 of my spots.

Saltwater wise, surf casting has been slow, with torpedo’s catching some big snapper of Mokau. The charter boats out of Kawhia have been doing Ok but having to contend with some big swells, with a few locals feel a bit the worse for wear on the high seas.We are hopefully off out there on the 16th so will report after that.

Hunting for the crew at seriously outdoors has been successful over the last 2 weeks, with Freda downing a big red hind after a morning hunt, and my son Layton and I bagging 2 Fallow yearlings in a clearing last Saturday evening.This was my dog Jaz’s first successful deer hunt and now knows what all that sent that she finds leads to. She was quite funny when we had shot both deer and I sent her to “find”, she made a bee line for the first and checked it out then discovered the second deer about 15meters away was still moving and was going back and forth between the two deer looking very pleased with her self. I have to admit I was very pleased with her behavior during or stalk in to the clearing with all her senses and the way she indicated,so some more practice in the upcoming weeks should hold us in good stead for the Roar.

I had the first steaks the other night, melt in ya mouth stuff.

Dec 21 Working at Seriously Outdoors

I was locally born and raised with a farming and hunting background, still enjoying as much time as I can on the farm. A love of the outdoors led me to Seriously Outdoor four and a half years ago.

At Seriously Outdoors we specialise in hunting, fishing and camping as well as local sporting needs.

Since working with the owner- Ken McCann, I have learnt a vast amount of knowledge through his experience in outdoor activities especially hunting and fishing – of which we both thoroughly enjoy.

From buying a rifle to shooting my first deer and teaching me to fly fish, Ken has helped me with all these, and that?s what we at Seriously Outdoors try to do with our customers from fitting out hunters with correct clothing and hunting equipment to passing on information about the river conditions.

We always enjoy having a catch up about the one that got away or that putt that didn?t go down.
As a women working in a predominately male environment I hope by example I can help break down the gender barriers and encourage other women to have a go at something they really love doing.

Dec 21 Spring Fishing Up Date , ,

Welcome to the King Country once again for an update on spring fishing conditions.

The Whanganui river over the last week has been very coloured and flows have been up in the 165 cumec range and just as they start to receed we get more rain, so fishing has been very limited. We must remember it is spring and that is quite normal for us.

It certainly is making the grass grow and that will be good for farmers, and the hunters who make the effort on a fine evening to get out and check those bush edges and clearings.

Pigs appear to be out and about from the reports we are getting,and making a mess in those soft paddocks.

Changing tack slightly, reports from the West Coast are varied with the surf casters having to contend with big shoreline swells and dirty water, while the charter boats are starting to report the larger snapper are arriving with good numbers of gurnard and kahawai in attendance also.

So good luck to one and all who venture out to do their thing.

Dec 21 Trout Season Opening day

Well folks the 1st of October has come and gone and unfortunately the weather has still not settled. The Whanganui river is still flowing above normal and has quite a bit of colour. We are expecting more rain over the weekend so prospects for the next week don’t look to flash.
I did manage to get over to the Kuratau hydro lake on Thursday afternoon for a couple of hours. When I arrived there was a stiff westerly blowing down the lake with waves about 200mm high rolling in to the beach so I left the fly rod in the van and spent the time spinning.

I landed 4 small rainbows of around 1lb and connected with a 3ish lb hen fish about 1meter from the end of the rod so she tail danced for about 2 seconds and that was that, and I also rolled a larger fish over on the top just of the island but only saw the tail, so all in all had a bit of fun and got cold but it looks like the fishery is in good order.

Dec 21 Snapper spawning late

During a recent holiday to explore Northland we spent two days fishing with Murray from Arline Charters, on a 42 ft kauri boat that had lots of deck space and was very comfortable in sloppy conditions.
Murray was saying that there had been very little bait fish activity and gannet diving as the water temperature was very slow to rise this year due to the cold southwest winds that had dried Northland out.
The first day out ,about half tide the gannets really started to get into action all around the bay we were in ,then really went to town less than 10 meters from the boat for a few minutes .I must say you would not want to get hit by one.
Shortly after that work up the snapper were feeding well with a 12 lber landed by a chap from Wellington and shortly after a small Kingi.
Gill Landed a 3.75 lb snapper in prime condition , and when gutting the catch it was noted none of the fish had spawned.
The second day out was slow to start but a couple of slight shifts found snapper and I managed a 9.5 lb snapper with several others
around the 4 lb mark for all on board.
Thanks to Murray and Peter.

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