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The Secret Knot.
Sat 13th October, 2012
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 I've spent most of the week on the Tongariro and had some terrific sport. With a little color in the river until Wednesday conditions were spot on and nymphers and wet-liners both caught.
The unsettled weather prevented significant day time hatches but I did notice fish rising whenever may fly came off between the showers.
Around town was a bit disappointing but the middle and upper reaches more than made up for that, so that's where I spent most of my time.
With some of the other venues now open angling pressure has been non existent and on a couple of occasions once I got upriver it seemed as if I had the Tongariro all to myself. In fact the only other angler I came across on my travels was Ray from Taupo who was staying nearby in his camper van.
That's him on the right holding breakfast.
With so few anglers around I was often first through the places I fished and had some great action. But things didn't always go to plan because some of the better fish were literally unstoppable.
Towards the end of the week I caught plenty of jacks displaying their best courting colors. And amongst them there were some quite silver males.
A sudden increase in numbers of male trout can sometimes be an indication that a run of ladies is on the way, something to watch out for over the coming days.
Its been raining since early this morning and the river is currently at 80 cumecs. This will keep the fish coming and providing it doesn't flood too badly ensure more good fishing again next week. 
Two flies that stood out were the ever reliable Hare and Copper and a sort of Caddis emerger type thing that I first tied last year.
Caddis prefer the oxygenated water between pools but many anglers walk straight past this faster stuff because its often shallow.
These riffles are also favorite places for trout and as long as you rethink your approach you should do ok.
The fish on the left all took the emerging pupa in fast runs.
The Hare & Copper is one of the oldest and simplest fly fishing nymphs and a proven fish catcher. Its a great searching pattern when your not sure what the fish are feeding on and a very popular choice on the Tongariro.
Those of you that walk the T.R.B above Red Hut bridge may have noticed the smell of fresh pine in the air. On my way back to the truck on Thursday afternoon I could here the buzzing of chainsaws in the distance.
A little further along the track I was stopped by a forestry worker look-out warning people that they were felling trees nearby and as we chatted another pine crashed to the ground. According to info on the Advocates for the Tongariro web-site :
" The project to eliminate pines started several years ago, with poisoning in the Department of Conservation reserves on the left bank of the Tongariro River upstream of the Trout Centre and later, by the AFTR, on the right bank. The work, unfinished, has moved upstream to about 1 km above the Red Hut suspension bridge. The effect of the poisoning there is not subtle, there are many trees in the brown stage, in which the needles die and drop. Soon the skeletons will turn grey and later they will rot away ".
There must have been a change of plan because originally I don't think their intention was to cut them down. So if you're up that way don't forget your hard hat.
Last report we looked at fishing with smaller size flies and lighter tippets but its not much good scaling everything down { especially fishing the dry } if its connected to the leader/tippet with a great big barrel of a knot. So I'm going to let you in on a secret. Its a knot that was shown to me over thirty years ago while fishing in Ireland near Disert which lies in the foot hills of the Blue Stack Mountains.
Brendan Walsh was an old mate who occasionally guided fly fishermen visiting this area so rich in Celtic history. His claim to fame was that after a careless moment while unhooking a large pike he was the only one handed gillie in County Donegal!
Ever since he was a small boy he'd formed a fascination with the mechanics of knots and was regarded as a bit of an expert.
Some of the trout in his patch were notoriously finnicky and would closely examine the dry before they sucked it in. So after countless fishy refusals he came up with the smallest knot ever invented ... which he called the " Secret Knot "
Of course the whole story is a complete pack of lies and is just a yarn that I made up to have a bit of fun with people I take fishing ... the truth is he wasn't Irish ... he was Scottish ... honest! 
HOW TO TIE THE SECRET KNOT. { One of the smallest fly fishing knots }
The " Secrets " out and its one of the easiest to tie. To demonstrate I've used an oversize hook and 10 lb bs line.
Step One:
Start by threading the line through the eye from the underside of the fly.
Step Two:
Take the tag end behind the main line then return it to the front and form an overhand knot.
Step Three:
Pull the tag end to partially tighten the knot.
Step Four:
Slip it down towards the eye.
Step Five:
Push the tag end through the still open loop.
Step Six:
Moisten the line with saliva. Then holding the fly in one hand and the main line in the other grip the tag with your third hand ... which non-fisho's call teeth and pull line and tag to fully tighten the knot. If it has formed properly the tag should stick out at 90 degrees, trim the end.
Even though I've used the knot for years and have complete faith in it. Its simplicity does cause others some concerns particularly if they're using fluorocarbon. I use it mainly for small dry flies but when I decided earlier this week to share it with you I thought I'd better thoroughly field test it on your behalf, which also gave me a plausible excuse to be out and about every day.
As the river continued to clear I fished with fluoro and small nymphs, mostly size 16. Nearly every one was attached using this knot.
I've played fish in all kinds of water including the heavy stuff in the tail-outs of pools.
Although I haven't successfully landed every hookup none were lost because the knot failed. And some of the fish, including the one below were pretty determined to get away.
This weeks fishy quote:
" Put backing on your line; even if you never use it. It helps you dream." ~ Jimmy D Moore
UPDATE:
5.30 a.m Sunday 14th October
The Tongariro peaked at 250 cumecs plus but is already back to fishable levels. Wet-liners should score well as the color drops out with plenty of fish around for everyone during the week ahead.
Tight lines guy's
Mike |
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