Shorelines: Angling for rule change

By COLIN MOORE

The late Geoff Sanderson, a renowned Turangi angler, would surely be pleased. So will Louie "The Fish" Denolfo, a former Taupo fishing guide now casting for bigger game in Samoan waters.

The reason for their pleasure is a revamp of the regulations governing trout-fishing in the Taupo district - a $100-million-a-year tourism business, with up to 70,000 fishing licences sold each season.

Back in 1941 Sanderson created a trout fly, the Red Setter, that has probably been responsible for catching more large fish than any other wet fly used on trout waters in the Taupo region. You can see some Sanderson-tied originals at Creel Tackle House on Taupahi Rd, Turangi.

The Red Setter is a colourful, photogenic creation with an orange chenille or wool body, brown or red squirrel tail fibres and two large ginger cock hackles, one at the head and the other halfway along the body. It is a traditional winter fly on the Tongariro River and, according to noted trout fly authority Hugh McDowell, is probably the most popular pattern in New Zealand.

"It is particularly effective on migrating pre-spawning rainbows," says McDowell.

Therein lies the reason that Sanderson's creation has had its share of controversy. Many argue that the only trout food item that the Red Setter comes close to imitating is fish roe, and using artificial, or real, fish eggs is illegal in most trout-fishing waters.

Against that others will ask, how could a fly with a longish tail that is successfully fished when dragged through the water at some speed possibly imitate two trout eggs moving side by side?

But the Red Setter debate is nothing compared with brouhaha that arose when an American client introduced Denolfo to the Globug in the early 1980s.

The Globug is a fly made from orange or pink fluorescent yarn that is tied and trimmed into a small ball.

The tying itself is enough to give some traditionalists apoplexy, suggesting that any "clumsy fingered angler" can tie a Globug and it should never be "mentioned in the same breath" as a traditional style fly such as the Red Setter.

But the major reason for Globug anger is that on the Tongariro River, where it is fished tumbling along the river bottom like a nymph, or when worked on the bottom of a lake, it must unashamedly look like a trout egg.

The bug can also be weighted with a couple of bead chain eyes, which turns it into an equally effective Muppet.

Some purists would have loved to run Denolfo out of town. But he and his clients kept catching limit bags, so more anglers started fishing with Globugs, to the extent that when the Taupo region fishing regulations were last updated in 1984 there was a serious attempt to outlaw the new fly.

That didn't happen, but the regulations still prohibit using imitation fish roes.

The Globug is still far from universally accepted by anglers, but the proposed changes to the fishing regulations face the reality of fishing practice and delete all restrictions on imitations of natural trout food, including trout roe and flies designed to resemble freshwater crayfish (koura).

A discussion note to the proposed changes says the restrictions on the imitation of some natural food items serve no practical purpose.

"Fly-fishing is often about trying to imitate what trout are feeding on and the suggested change will remove the basis for any controversy," it says.

Other proposed changes to the regulations remove other anomalies and should make it easier for visiting anglers to follow the rules.

It is proposed that the use of natural insects, such as cicadas, as bait - which no one does anyway - be prohibited. But it is also suggested that having more assembled rods in a boat than there are licensed anglers on board be legalised.

That is one suggestion I can relate to as it would mean an angler would be able to switch from harling with a fly rod and fly, to trolling with a metal or plastic lure, without having to disassemble and reassemble rods.

It is also proposed that anglers be allowed to continue fishing after they have a three-bag limit, so long as they immediately release any further fish. Any fish not immediately released, dead or alive, will be deemed "taken", to deter anglers from trying to keep fish alive in a pool so they can sort out the best three at the end of the day.

The proposed change that is likely to cause as much controversy as Denolfo's Globug is a suggestion that fly lines be allowed to carry a sinker, so long as the combined weight of fly and sinker is not more than 3g.

Anglers who are nymphing usually add a weighted fly to the line to take the artificial nymph to the riverbed. The weighted fly is basically an elaborate sinker.

A discussion note says the proposed change will allow anglers to use "alternative (and perhaps tidier) methods to achieve the same result".

The proposal is expected to cause considerable debate.

The closing date for submissions on the proposals is April 19. Send them to: The Area Manager, Taupo Fishery Area, Private Bag, Turangi.

Sporting Life, Turangi, ph (07) 386 8996, email sportlife@xtra.co.nz


Creel Tackle House, Turangi, ph (07) 386 7929, email creel@reap.org.nz


Sporting Life Turangi

RuapehuNZ.com

Snow and Stream Lodge


* colinmoore@xtra.co.nz