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ROTORUA ANGLERS ASSOCIATION

June 2015Incorporated 16/06/1949

Nigel on the Mataura River: by Charlotte

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EXECUTIVE & COMMITTEETAHUNAATRA TRIP MAY

These are the new office bearers and committee elected at the AGM for the coming year. Welcome to the newcomers and thanks to the incumbents for supporting the club once again. (Area code for Rotorua is 07)

PATRON Joe Fleet 347 8661PRESIDENT Larry Ware 348 0388VICE-PRESIDENT Nigel Wilkinson 349 0336SECRETARY Charlotte Wilkinson 349 0336TREASURER Wade Fleet 345 9913CLUB CAPTAIN Piet Otto 350 2200

COMMITTEE Terry Wood 345 5587 Gavin Corbett 357 5247 Dave Parr 348 3255 Tanya Stern 357 2573 Wayne Woodward 357 2573

WEBSITE WEBMASTER Eddie Bowman 348 5652NEWSLETTER CO- EDITORS Carol Field 345 9534 Jenny Hilton 343 1331TROPHY MASTER Neal Hawes 348 1734

SUB-COMMITTEES (Conveners)KIDS’ FISHOUT Terry Wood 345 5587A-Z SCHOOL Wayne Woodward 357 2573ACTIVITIES (Trips) Larry Ware 348 0388

SOCIAL Piet Otto 350 2200LIBRARY Tanya Stern 357 2573BUILDING Terry Wood 345 5587MAGAZINE Produced by ArtCity 349 4794

All official email communication please send to rotoruaanglers@gmail.com andthe Secretary will forward it on to the relevant person. Please feel free to contact any of the above if you have any queries, comments or items you may like to discuss. Larry Ware President

Dave Field and I decided a bit of Dry Fly fishing was required so we set of to the Tahunaatra to try our luck. We stopped at the road bridge to check stream conditions and right underneath was a nice fish which took flight when Dave popped out from behind a bridge pylon. As there was the prospect of showers Dave dressed accordingly and off we went. Nigel and Joe had warned us about the electric fences everywhere but we found our rubber soled boots kept any surprises at bay. The fish were definitely spooky and it was probably an hour in that we could finally cast to some feeding brownies . Unfortunately they were just on the wrong side of the current and although mine chased my dry a dozen times it finally took a size 18 nymph. I was fishing with my 4wt rod and as we had both left our nets behind it was hang on and see what would happen as I was not jumping into the stream. Eventually the 2 fish Dave was targeting drifted down and took up station with mine, even though he was hooked they moved with him all across the stream bed - dumb fish. Finally I decided I had proved my point so let the line go slack and sure enough at the next jump the barbless hook let go. As we moved around the farm a small herd of dairy cows shadowed us , sometimes only 1-2 metres from us. I had some great conversations with them. Dave hooked up but again not in a position to land the fish without a very long handled net so he dropped that as well. The weather actually got warmer as we walked up the stream so Dave's raingear became a hot nuisance so we decided to head back to the truck. We were very surprised at how spooky the fish were as I did not think the river was fished that much but it is certainly the perfect dry fly stream -ask Joe , Bryan, and Nigel.

Larry Ware

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June 20151st Queens Birthday Weekend 1st Fly tying 19th Potluck Dinner21st Rotorua District Trip

Casting ToolWhere is the club casting tool ?? Do you have it ??A few weeks ago someone borrowed the clubs casting tool and has not returned it, we would like it back. thank you

PRESIDENTS REPORTWell we have certainly had some pretty awful weather over the last couple of weeks but luckily not as bad as Mount Maunganui or Wellington, a proposed trip to the Mohaka was postponed because of this wild weather. I did manage to get a line wet with Dave Field just before he and Carol headed to Perth to see their family.Well our "Members Open Day / Training Day last Sunday (17th) was a failure with only 2x non-committee members turning up, thank goodness Woody 2 turned the day into a double session for the new A-Zedders so in the end 14 of us devoured the fish & chips for lunch, I left just after 2.00pm and they were still going strong. Next month the 2015-2016 subscriptions are due (June 30th) and we have a great prize for those that rejoin (PAY) by the 30th, a night at Ribbonwood Lodge near Taumaranui with a $50.00 petrol voucher to help you get there and back. If you look up : http://www.bookabach.co.nz/baches-and-holiday-homes/view/31360 you will see what is on offer. The Accommodation has been kindly donated by the owners - Annette & Weston Kirton - to promote their new stream side cottage. There is plenty of room for campervans and tents if the winners want some company and it is a very short walk to the Wanganui River.Serious winter/ night fishing is upon us and Neal Hawes had a "weird experience" at Lake Okataina recently, see the photos in the magazine.Joe Fleet (our Patron) wants to hold an open day at his stream project and have an "official opening" of his 2 bridges that the clubs donations paid for- our prize for winning one of the community awards last year. Joe will let us know the date and time. The "Boys from Ballarat" are in town and joined us last Friday night for the Pot Luck dinner, the clubrooms were pretty full.I hope you all get out and at least get a line wet over the coming winter months . cheers El Presidente Larry

The Tahunaatra Stream. If you are thinking this article will be an informative ‘What to use’ guide to the Tahunaatra, I’m afraid I will disappoint you.Under pressure from El Presidente for an article for this magazine (preferably on the Tahanaatra trip, where he had more action than I did,) I capitulated. Not because i didn’t want to put pen to paper, (showing my age there!, but mainly because I’m damned if I can remember much about it!It started at the Geyserland Hotel car park, where we met and piled into Larry’s 4x4. Larry asked if I could drive a manual (–does the pope wear a funny hat?-) so Larry hopped into the co-pilot’s seat and we were off. The sun was shining and the leaves were changing colour as we drove into a fine Autumn day.Once there and tackled up, we set foot towards the stream in what was to become a mini-marathon of walking, stalking, electric-fence-climbing.....over and over! The Tahunaatra was coloured up, and deep between steep banks, with bushes, long grass and blackberry making it hard to fish. We eventually saw several fish, but they were difficult to approach. I soon realised anyone catching a fish here deserves it ten times over, as the snags and difficult terrain would sap the patience of, well, someone extremely patient!Larry eventually hooked into a fish, a Brown, I think, but the combination of the high bank and the fact that he had forgotten to bring a landing net meant it could only end in tears. Don’t tell him, but I admired his tactics in actually stalking and hooking up with his quarry - at least he hooked one! Oh, and i forgot my landing net, too, but that didn’t really matter as I had no luck at all. D. FieldRiverside cottage

COMING EVENTS

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FORMATION OF THE RAA

caught these two on Phil’s demo fly at rere today mid morning of the boat ramp 4lb and 3 lb respectively,as a tribute to Phil's effort,who need woolly buggers when we have our own deadly fly - The Bully Charlie.Colin

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ADOPT A STREAM SOUNDS FISHYOctober 2014During the 3rd term Selwyn School selected, or should I say, staked a claim of a small portion of the Kauaka Stream, 5 kms south of Rotorua.This happened through our contact with Joe Fleet, Patron of the Rotorua Anglers Association [Our People Doing Our Bit for Our Lakes] who has spent the last twenty years slowly clearing the streamside, planting natives and using pest control methods to help the banks of this stream regenerate. As a result, this stream will be less polluted. It is a tributary of the Puarenga Stream which in turn feeds into Lake Rotorua.

Selwyn has had 2 recent working bees and successfully cleared their “patch” of dead blackberry following initial work done by Joe. More blackberry is to be removed on the other side of the stream and the area should then be big enough for a class to visit. This will give students an opportunity to see and help with the work still required as we develop the area into a useful outdoor educational venue.

Last week 10 students from Selwyn visited the stream for a “ Field Day” facilitated by Joe. An invitation was sent to a number of schools in the Rotorua area as an introduction and it was decided to identify aquatic insects from the stream to involve the students. To help us with this we had the ever enthusiastic Phil Trautman from the Rotorua Anglers Association collecting insects from underside of stones and stream side and some keen eyed students soon spotting ‘something’ that moved. Phil was quick to tell us what they were so identification charts held for us by Waiariki Institute of Technology students were hardly necessary. The kids also wanted to know if they could swim and could they FISH in the stream. We are enjoying our involvement with this stream.

Thank you Joe, and also Phil, who obviously has a wealth of knowledge in relation to insects and fishing.

Sue

0011 is the 5.31kg fish I caught at Okataina last week.0022 is one of the fish we found washed up on Okataina beach the same day, displayed by my mate Steve Brown from Palmerston North. Est. 5kg+ and a clone of my fish (RP clipped, so 4y.o.)0185 is the wild fish we found washed up the same day. Est. 5kg+Neal Hawes

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011 0185

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A NIGHT TO REMEMBER LAUGHING TROUT?

Come in store for Airflo Fly Fishing Combos starting from $149.00 and a new range of Pat Swift neck capes.

Darryn and Janine Simpson

1113 Eruera Street, Rotorua, New ZealandPH/Fax: 07 346 0178 E: okeefesfishnz.co.nz

Check out our website for details of the Fish of the month competition!10% RAA member discount with membership card.

I don’t remember too much about the trip down to the ‘BIG O’. All the way my thoughts were of huge Rainbows and Browns cruising deep along amongst a forest of towering weed, Plucking and devouring unsuspecting snails and copious quantities of aquatic larvae along the bottom and off weed stems, occasionally, rising up to suck in struggling hatching damsel fly nymph in the surface film. The closer I got , the bigger the fish became. By the time I got there they were of massive proportions, fifteen pounds plus, and I’m not going to join those other fishermen there, fishing along the edge with light tippets, blood worms and egg patterns. ‘Hell No! ,’ It’s after dark, with a 12lb tippet, nothing less, and my No 9 Kilwell Presentation. This is serious stuff, they’ll not escape me tonight. The browns were increasing in size by the minute, and what about the rainbows. This is going to be a night to remember.The sounds of the incoming Canada geese brought the night, like pitch it closed in around me. It seemed like you could touch if you reached out. The jostling and squabbling and flapping wings of the water fowl across the other side came clear on the still warm air. I pushed off from the shore and pulled out to the weed edge slipping the anchor over the side and waited for the little tinny to settle Right from the first cast I expected a strike, but after an hour I was becoming disillusioned and my mind started to wander. Then it struck. like, someone in front on a bush walk releasing a branch. Really close in, right by the boat, just as I was lifting the rod tip for my next cast. It hit hard, like walking into a door in the dark and I sank the hook hard. It didn’t panic, didn’t rush toward the boat, roll or leap, it just moved away as really big fish sometimes do .Almost as if it didn’t know it was hooked.In the ensuring battle it was a stubborn stump, I couldn’t gain on it, each time I got it to the boat, each time it made a dash for freedom. Each time I managed to slow and stop it, it moved away again. My kilwell No 9 was laid back over my left shoulder. Thank God for that choice of tippet. The pressure was so great on the rod I feared it would break at any moment. I had to release, and when I did, the reel screamed in protest, the tinny rocked and lurched. A couple of times I staggered and nearly fell in I wished John McCarran were here to share this night.I grew tired, my arms ached, an old leg injury started to play up, my hands shook, my imagination knew no bounds and my curiosity got the better of me. From a pocket I retrieved a torch and shone it down the line. There in the beam of light was my fly embedded in the anchor rope. For fifteen minutes I was playing the anchor. Even in the dark, I sheepishly looked behind to see if anyone was watching.

Joe Fleet Piet Otto

I was wading fishing at Tarawera one night last week. I had tested every line and knot. There were some rises that indicated the fish were there, so I was hoping for a reasonable strike. Eventually this happened. My standard procedure is to keep the pressure on the fish, while letting him run the slack line out into the lake until I can play him on the reel. For some reason I decided to first hold him, while winding the slack line onto the reel first. This is a complicated procedure, and inevitably the fish found there was half a second of slack on the line, and he was gone. So fish 1, fisherman 0. I was pretty unhappy (to use the correct PC term). So try and try again. This time something happened that has never happened to me before. The fish struck, and pulled the rod right out of my hand into the water. There I was, standing with only the line in my hand. What I was doing or thinking, I don’t know. Now I had half a second to decide: am I going to take on this angry trout with a hand line, or try to retrieve the Kilwell Legend No 332 rod that I just bought off Larry??? So I went for the rod, as I would never hear the end of it from Larry again. As it was dark, the other two fishermen could also not see my red face. Eventually I fished the rod out of the water to fish another day. Needless to say: fish 2, fisherman 0.It was then that I could hear this trout laughing on the other side of the lake.

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New Zealand’s GreatestOutdoor Outfitters

6 Tarawera Road RotoruaP: 07 345 9333

OPEN 7 DAYS

Show your RAA card and receive these offers:Fly master chest waders, Sale price: $129Fly master wading boots, Sale price: $99

THE FIVE SECOND RULEGavin Corbett

Early Autumn can be the perfect time to learn the five second rule.Any observent angler walking the lakes edge, will see the flickering shoals of smelt that have migrated into the shallow waters.Hungry trout, intent on putting on condition for their spawning season, will be targeting these shoals with slashing runs that cause the smelt to first 'ball up' [the safety in numbers theory] and then splash and scatter as the trout charges through. [the every man for himself theory]From the anglers perspective, it is the boiling surface water that betrays the trouts position.Then, the hunter becomes the hunted, and the first rule of any type of hunting ,is to understand your prey.Knowledge of how a trout feeds on smelt is the key to the five second rule, but first, the basics.We should all be familiar with the standard feeding technique of a trout. When feeding on slow moving prey like nymphs and snails, or on food drifting toward the trout in a current, the engulfing tecnique is used exclusively.The trout simply opens its mouth , flares its gills , and sucks the food ,along with a volume of water, into its mouth. Food is trapped against the roof of the mouth with it's tounge, tested,and then either swallowed or expelled.In simple terms, if the trout doesn't like it, it spits it out.As any experienced angler can testify, this all happens in the blink of an eye with the only visible clue being the dipping of the indicator. Any hesitation with the strike , and the opportunity for a hook up is lost. The trout has engulfed your fly, determined that it is not food, and expelled it out of its mouth long before you have reacted to the indicator.Trout feeding on smelt, use an entirely different , more predatory, technique for gathering food.They harrie a shoal of smelt ,causing it to ball up, and then they smash through, snapping , nipping and tail thrashing ,forcing the shoal to break up and flee.Only then will the trout turn, and leisurely swim back through the area picking up wounded smelt.That's the five second window.You are ready poised and waiting. Your rod is rigged with a floating line, a nine foot leader and a silver ghost or similar smelt type fly.You have already stripped off your fly line into the line basket around your waist and are constantly scanning the shoreline for smelt shoals.As soon as you witness the boiling break of water signaling a trout feeding on smelt you imediately cast your fly into that location.

You have five seconds to get your line airborne, drop your smelt fly into the zone, and begin a slow twitching retrieve.If the God's are smiling, your fly should be twitching through the water, imitating a wounded smelt at the same time as the trout returns to the killing ground.It's an exciting way of fishing. Not so much chuck and chance, but based on observation and a knowledge of a trouts feeding pattern.Give it a go. It's shore line fishing at its best, and you don't even need to get your feet wet.

Fish & Game Summer Release

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Sponsors of ’Trout of the Month’

Come in and meet our Manager Brad Hill who is also our Surfcasting specialist.

10% RAA members discount with membership card, excluding items that are already on a special price.

1271 Fenton Street | phone 348-3147 | email rotorua@hamillsnz.co.nz

TROPHIES OFFICIAL WEIGHMASTERSO’Keefe’s Fishing Depot. 1113 Eruera Street. 346 0178Outdoorsman HQ. Tarawera Road. 345 9333Neal Hawes. 35 Icarus Place. 027 275 5012Roger Bowden. 3 Rostrevor Place. 348 7816John McCarron. 53 Rimuvale Street. 346 1967Terry Wood. 6a Holden Ave. 345 5587Eddie Bowman. 34 Westbourne Ave. 348 5652Hamills 1271 Fenton St. 348 3147IF POSSIBLE PLEASE PHONE BEFOREHAND

FISH OF THE MONTH wins a $10 voucher sponsored by Hamills

Don’t forget to weigh in your fish! Weighmasters are listed above or you can weigh your fish on registered scales with a witness. Scales can be

checked and registered at the Clubrooms on Friday nights.You can even weigh and release your fish.

The trophy year ends on 30 June, so you only have one more month to get a fish registered for any of the 17 trophies available. So far I have received only 59 entries, compared with 96 last year.Below is the list of available trophies, with the number of entries for each received so far.

1. Hamills Sports Trophy – Heaviest Rainbow trout – caught by Male Senior member. (35)2. Richard Randall Memorial Trophy – Heaviest Rainbow trout - caught by a Lady member. (3)3. Jack Bell Memorial Trophy – Best c/f Rainbow trout – caught by Male Senior. (33)4. Doug Lynch Memorial trophy – Best c/f Rainbow trout - caught by a Lady member. (3)5. Jack England Cup – Heaviest Brown trout – caught by Male Senior member. (15)6. Maureen Doherty Memorial Cup – Heaviest Brown trout – caught by member. (0)7. Dave Ellery Trophy – Best c/f Brown Trout - caught by Male Senior member.(15)8. Wyn Johnson Memorial Trophy – Best c/f Brown trout – caught by Lady member. (0)9. Kilwell Prize – Heaviest trout (Brown or Rainbow) - caught by a Junior member. (5)10. Honey McGregor Trophy – Best c/f Rainbow trout - caught by a Junior member. (4)11. Gerry Watt Memorial Trophy – Best c/f Brown trout caught by a Junior member. (1)12. Presidents Cup – Heaviest trout caught overall (judged from winners of 1,2,5,6 & 9 above) (59)13.Beamish White Trophy & Honours Board – Best c/f trout overall (judged from 3,4,7,8,10 & 11) (57)14. Ces Taylor Cup – Highest aggregate c/f for bag of 4 trout caught on 1 day (inc.catch & release) (2)15. O’Keefes Cup – Heaviest trout caught on a club trip. (16)16. Westpac Trophy – Heaviest trout caught out of the district & not on a club trip. (8)17. Ken Nairn Memorial Trophy - Heaviest trout caught on lightest line (any member). (51)18. Bas Jackson Memorial Trophy – Best Newsletter Article

Registration forms are available in the clubrooms, or can be downloaded from the RAA website. Place entries in the yellow folder in the clubrooms, post to me at RAA P.O.Box 1083 Rotorua 3040, or scan and email to me at nahawes@xtra.co.nz Remember to include a photo if you have one.Weighmasters are listed in this newsletter, or you can use your own scales (these must be checked and registered at the clubrooms any Friday night)

Trophymaster Neal Hawes

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With QCard

Located at Trade Central Rotorua

FIELDAY’SMASSIVE CLOTHING SALETHERE’S A STORM COMING

FLY OF THE MONTHThe Red Setter

Hook: Black Magic B8 2x. Thread: Black tying silk. Tail: Pinch of Black or Red Squirrel Tail Hairs. Body: Hot Orange Chenille. Hackle: Soft Ginger Hen or Cock Hackle. "The Red Setter qualifies as New Zealand's best known and most popular trout fly. Few Kiwi fly boxes would not contain at least some specimens of the great pattern. Its simple construction coupled with inexpensive, easy-to-find ingredients make the Red Setter the first choice of most beginners"- (the late) Hugh McDowell

Tying Instructions:Bind shank with thread and tie in pinch of black hair for tail. Expose core of chenille by pinching end and pulling material free. Binding this core to shank gives a much neater, less bulky connection.

There are two ways to attach hackle, this being the simpler. Tie in ginger feather by stem, with glossy side facing the eye of the hook.

Wind hackle in close turns until reaching the end and tie in tip.

Hold hackle fibres back with finger and thumb and wind thread back towards bend to hold hackle fibres back at 45 degree angle.

Hackle fibres should look like this:

Repeating stages 1 through 4 will complete the fly.Whip finish and varnish head to finish the fly. Aesthetically, it's best to use a slightly wider second feather."Tying Tip"Here's another way to fix hackle. Tie in feather by the tip with glossy side down. Fold the fibres on each side of the stem, back to back, and keep stroking them back into position as you wind.

by Phil Trautman

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Who is Pete Otto, RAA Club Captain

• GrewupintheveryhotZululandthornbushveld• Dadwasfitterandturnerinsugarmill,andtaughthimtofish• Afterleavingschool,studiedanother14yearsonandoffat3Polytechs and 3 Universities in forestry, wood processing, research, management• Swam(backstroke)andwaterpoloat4SAuniversitytournaments• WasnationalTechnicalSpecificationWriterforSAStandardsBureau• Didindustrialresearchandprocessimprovementsinplyandveneer plant• Playedunderwaterhockeyabout30years,moststrenuouswatersport Daughter Louise plays for Britain and has 2 gold medals and a silver• Swamwithmanysharks.FendedoffZambesisharkattackwhilespear fishing off Natal coast by counter-attacking• Did7yearsmilitarywork,alsoasNavydiverdoingunderwater explosives and large commercial ship (+navy) hull inspections• Divedwithpoliceonbodyrecoveries• Maximumdepth65m(210ft),butneveragain• SailedaFlyingDutchman• HastakenoutFord,Mazda,ToyotaandMercedesenginesfor overhauling or had fixed• Waslecturerinwoodprocessingfor10yearsbeforeNZ.Wasaskedto start the Diploma course here. Developed 12 Unit Standards with Assessments, recruited middle management factory guys for course• RetiredandbecameaCruiseShipguide,6yrs.Gotcommendationsfrom New York, Quebec, Mexico, Russia, UK, Germany, Australia and more• Haveservedonchurchfinancialcommittees,alsodiveclubcommittees• Lasiceyesurgerybestmedicalprocedureeverafter30yearsofglasses• DobodysurfingatMaunganuiinsummer,anddiveTaranakicrayfishat 20m when possible• TravelledLesotho,Swaziland,Botswana,Mocambique,Israel,Namibia, Netherlands, UK, Zimbabwe, Maldives, Malawi, France, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Australia, Spain, Croatia and Bosnia. Aiming for Hawaii in Sept• Doessketchingandwoodcarvingiftime.• Did6homerenovationsinsideandout,withgoodreturns• HoldsLakesAthleticclubtrophyforfastesthalfmarathonwalkerthelast 2 years, coming in under 3 hours (70 out of 800, all ages)• Marriedabout40yearstoRika.DaughterLouiseisarchitectinLondon and Karin fashion designer in Melbourne, for life savers and clubs. Irene in Taupo with Idea Service

MEMBERS PROFILE • Fishesmainlyonmiserablewinternights.• Buysbarstockandkitchenthingsforclub,keepingeyeoncosts.• Buysandcutsmeat,anddoesBBQ

• Whathelearnedoflife:- Value your family and friends- Believe- Respect (those who deserve it)- You must work right with money- Keep fit - Enjoy life Piet

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OUT DOING ITLake Taupo

Lake Taupo

Lake Taupo

Dave Field on theTahunaatra Stream

TheTahunaatra Stream