Ruapehu Lures Major Fishing Competition

Ruapehu’s successful hosting of the World Fly Fishing Champs in March last year was the perfect lure to the New Zealand Fly Fishing Championships, sponsored by Composite Developments, being staged from National Park Village on the weekend.

The finest fly fishers of the nation gathered at The Park Traveller’s Lodge last Thursday evening to start the three-day competition. Persistent rain late in the week restricted the competition to lake venues only, with the Whanganui River un-fishable at 120 cubic metres per minute.

Competitors tested their skills instead on Lakes Kuratau, Otamangakau and Rotoaira, with the New Zealand title won by national representative John Bell (Auckland) who caught and released over 40 prime Tongariro trout. In second place was Kiyoshi Nakagawa (Japan, now Auckland) with Aaron West (Pukekohe) in third place. Daniel Comer (Murapara) was fourth.

The Oceania Fly Fishing Champs featuring teams from Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region, will be based at The Park Traveller’s Lodge from 15-22 March 2009.

Article published courtesy of the Ruapehu Bulletin.