Every year we have a light-hearted contest in October based at TALTAC, (Tongariro and Lake Taupo Anglers Club), in Turangi. This year along with prizes for the best fish caught indicator nymphing, Euro nymphing and streamer fishing there was a prize for the angler who brought back the biggest bag of tippet and other rubbish found on the river bank over the course of the contest.
On the morning of Saturday the 12th, ten intrepid anglers set off with the usual excess of gear, some carrying 2 rods, and their individually labelled rubbish bags. Most headed for the pools around the Plank car park; as two of us had got into a couple of hovers, that’s a group of trout look it up if you don’t believe me, of very stroppy fresh fish on Friday in the vicinity and aren’t good at keeping our mouths shut.
We landed 24 fish between us with Andy Vanner proving traditional down stream wet lining can hold its own against nymphing methods by landing the most fish, 6, and the biggest at 1.72kg. We had to call on our impartial veteran angler Ken to judge the rubbish bags as some contestants had included organic waste that they claimed was tangled in the discarded tippet in their bags! Hardie Teusse won the collectors award. It was pleasing to note that we had to try to find discarded tippet etc on the river and it was generally very clean.
As always the company on the trip was great.
Photo – Ray Pryor, Hardie Teusse, Colin Tan and Andy Vanner taking time out.