COMMONWEALTH FLY FISHING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2020 NEW ZEALAND MARCH 17-22 By Lubin Pfeiffer
T
here is always a long lead up to international fly fishing competitions for Australian anglers. The day had finally come when the team had moved from its practice accommodation to the lodge where the 2020 Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships were to be based. All the teams were there and everything had become very real that the championships were about to begin in a couple days time. After all of the formalities, and the draws done, it was time to get the competition underway.
First Session - Lake Rotoaria Arriving at the lake, there was little breeze but a load of excitement as this was the first session for me in the championship. We had a great game plan as a team and while I was hopeful that I would place high in the session, all we really needed was a top four or five from each of us to put Australia in a good position early. Competitions are not won on the first day. We had plenty of time to rig our rods and be aquatinted with our boats and fishing partners, and it was nice not to be in a rush early. I had all my spare leaders tied the night before, all wrapped on a foam board with flies attached which would ensure a speedy change if I needed too. I then set about setting my rod up and tying a fresh leader to start the session with. My rod was a 10ft 6wt Primal RAW and the leader consisted of 3 x 5 foot sections of 0.23mm Trout Hunter Fluorocarbon, with my droppers around 150mm long. This was attached to a fast intermediate line as my plan was to hit the shallows early. I waited to tie my flies on, as I didn’t want other competitors to see the selection. Everything was then loaded in the boat before we all travelled in convoy Fishing News - Page 18
together to the opposite end of the lake for the start of session. On arrival it was clear that almost everyone had the plan of fishing the inlet of the canal in the hopes that the fish would be schooling up in the cooler water. My plan was to use the information given to me about fishing the shallows bays off to the side of the channel. It was kind of a tough decision but I was happier to have more water to myself than be stuck in a group like the other boats. My first fly selection was a sparkler on the top dropper, damsel on the middle dropper and a black straggle bugger on the point. We planned to drift from as close to the edge of the lake as possible out towards the deeper water. The water looked amazing, 4-5 feet deep covered in beautiful weed beds. While I caught a couple fish early, the fishing wasn’t that productive. I could see a few fish being caught around the canal but rather than moving I decided to swap the sparkler for an orange UV blob. The results were instant as I caught a couple and also had a few fish boil at the blob. Our drifts lengths remained the same, starting from close to the edge drifting out but slightly changing the location each time, moving along the bay. My retrieves consisted of a mix of roll poly and medium paced strips. The hang was also very important. After noticing the orange blob getting more attention, I opted out the black straggle bugger and went with a Hollywood on the point. The line was also changed to a Di3 sinking as there was a bit of wind starting to blow. It was almost like turning a switch on as the fish started smashing both flies constantly. From the first strip of the retrieve to the very last they were getting slammed. The boats at the canal had started to move around a lot and I knew they weren’t catching, but I was catching, so I was very happy with my decision to do my own thing.
At one stage I hooked and lost two 40cm fish in two casts before landing a fish two casts after that, all on the one drift. The fishing was incredible. I kept those same flies and leader on the entire session and didn’t change anything, just worked hard to keep them moving in the water. I only landed one fish on the damsel in the middle, the rest were on the blob and Hollywood. With the 3 hours drawing to a close I was very happy to win the session my session with 18 fish, the next best being the Englishman with 11.
Second session - Tongariro River The buses arrived at the Creel Lodge in Turangi where the controllers were gathered and the anglers had a chance to eat their lunches before heading to the river. I had mixed feelings about the Tongariro as I knew the river would be a bit peggy and you could draw an average beat. After meeting my controllers, who were absolutely lovely, they took us out to our beats. I had beat seven.
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