Lake Arapuni Trout Fishing

This time we tried fishing deep, drifting with the current and bouncing flies along the bottom with sinkers and spinning rods. After a number of frustrating snags, we tied up to fish the mouth of the Mangawhio stream.

This time I was fishing one of my own articulated fly designs I call a "Road Killer". A lot of copper flashabou, mallard flank feathers and a large black head made of possum tail fur with large white foam eyes – inspired by the black and gold Toby. I fished this on a spinning rod below a ball sinker with a fast jerky retrieve but it would have had a better action on a fly rod with a jerk strip retrieve. I prefer fishing a fly rod but I've learned a lot about fishing steamers by fishing them on a spinning rod. I watched as 2 different fish swiped at this fly on successive casts, trying to ambush it from below as it came from the shallower stream and out into the deeper water. We couldn't see these fish until they attacked the fly within metres of the boat, as the water coming from the inflowing stream was fairly discoloured. Then one of these fish connected and we got a 3lb rainbow to the boat. That was our only success on this trip.