KEY POINTS:
Two floods have poured down the Tongariro in the past fortnight, the river rising quickly and stranding one visiting American angler and his car.
He was picked up by a local raft operator and was able to drive his car out the next day when the water receded.
It was about the fourth such emergency on the river this year. Visiting anglers unfamiliar with New Zealand's climate are often unaware of the danger of a suddenly rising river.
In the most recent case, the angler drove his rental car on to the left bank of the Bridge Pool, crossed the river to the island near the Swirl Pool and became stranded there while floodwater surrounded his car back on the other bank.
Many anglers don't realise that although the sun may be smiling on Turangi and the Tongariro, heavy rain could be saturating the back-country hills that feed the river, causing a flash-flood. Back-country streams can become dangerous torrents in half an hour. Anglers become sitting ducks.
Check the back-country forecast before heading out, and if the weather looks unpredictable, take a wading staff and chest belt and wear neoprene waders rather than breathables because they are warmer and more buoyant.
So what does an angler do when he realises he is going to be swept downstream in chest waders? The Department of Conservation's guidelines for safe wading cover such emergencies.
An angler in trouble should stay calm, roll on his back, keep his feet facing downstream with toes upright sticking out of the water, and manoeuvre with his arms to hold this position.
The angler should then go with the flow, focusing on a point where he wants to come ashore, and scull his arms to propel himself towards that spot. Large snags, fallen trees and logjams should be avoided because he could become pinned underneath.
The floods have slightly altered some of the flows on the Tongariro, creating yet-to-be-discovered trout lies, scooping silt out of some pools and causing enough subtle changes to keep anglers on their toes while the river settles over the next couple of weeks. Late spawning runs have come up after the floods.
Winds and cold patches have badly curtailed the area's fishing for the past two months, but when the wind drops the dry-fly fishing on the river during the day, and especially the evenings, has been excellent.
Two locals reported double hook-ups one evening this week. Another saw two fish collide as they struck at the dry fly, missing it in their haste.
On the lake, trolling has been very successful, one fisherman boating close to 40 trout in two days. The smelting season is late because of the inclement weather, but some activity has been noted at the western bays. DoC in Turangi reports a strong survival rate of young fish through the winter and expects a top summer season as these fish mature.
Across at Rotorua, anglers await the warmer weather that heats the lake and brings the trout into the cold water at the stream mouths. The action has been later this year and could start any day.
It's the same story at Rangiuru Bay on Lake Tarawera, where more heat will bring the smelt in and the trout will follow to feed on them.
For sea-fishers in the Hauraki Gulf and farther north, it's a case of spawnus interruptus.
Wind and cold has kept the boaties at home and taken snapper spawning off the boil as sea temperatures have dropped below the 18C trigger.
It's a mixed bag of forecasts for next week, too.
