A Day on the Rangitikei

My beautiful bride Linda and I headed out for half-day of fishing on the Rangitikei River, a short drive north from "Palmy". Highway 54 is a winding stretch of secondary road over the hill separating the Manawatu plain to the Rangitikei valley. Atop the hill, we found great view of the giant volcanoes (Ruapehu and Tongariro) found in the central plateau. This beautiful river was set aglow today beneath the sparkling blue skies and autumn colors. The season has changed here on the North Island and the non-native trees are awash in color. Low river flows exposed mushroom-like rocks in the canyon as we walked along the cut bank cliffs and sheep invested paddocks. Fishing was slowed early, but picked up about the time we needed to leave and return home. I can report landing one nice rainbow in the 3-4 pound category, along with numerous smaller fish. How fortunate we are...