Well I have been away for a couple of months and it looks like I missed all the bad weather (although the wind looks like it is going to be with us all spring).

It sounds like the fishing has been good when people could get out and the workups never stopped throughout winter. There have been some amazing workups down in the firth as the bait gets trapped down there and massacred by the mammals, birds and predator fish. Watching this happen on Facebook while I was away and getting some good intel from Marcus on Ultimate charters I decided to head down that way for my first charter last Sunday. While there were no big workups, the snapper were still there and feeding up on the sand midway between Pakatoa Island and the mussel farms.

We mangaged a feed before the bite stopped on slack tide around 11.30am. Then it was hard pickings as the fish went off the bite. The best lures were the yellow/brown sliders, green/red bottomships and anything with pink on it. The fish were feeding hard on the bottom and hooking up a wind or two off the bottom.

There was also a large workup on Sunday halfway across from Motuihe channel to Coromandel on Sunday (the middle ground). I was not there but heard this from a friend who said there was no one else fishing it (probably because of the 25knt winds and large swell).

In closer there are people catching good fish off the beach and rocks on the east coast bays. So they are on your doorstep at the moment.

I will be heading out wide on Saturday 23rd looking for workups so watch my Facebook page for intel on where they are (or are not).

Nik Key is a tutor, guide, lure tester and charter skipper

See you out there!

Capt Nik (Snap)

"Nothing ventured nothing gained"

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