Fishing Reports
Eastern Bay of Plenty
While little has appreciably changed over the last fortnight, there are some little subtleties worth mentioning. While we seem to be in the grip of an incessant westerly pattern, many are expressing thoughts of the dreaded El Nino. We've had La Nina as a regular houseguest for so many years it's hard to believe there really are winds other than easterly derivation. Time will only tell just how long we'll have to endure these winds, which have been quite damaging in most every regard.
Inshore
With cold (13-14 degrees C) green water the conditions certainly aren't conducive to great fishing nor inspires a lot of effort either. Still, while most boats have struggled, the vast majority have returned with a "feed" or better. Terakihi are easily the pick of species to offer any degree of consistency. Not far behind them in terms of numbers has been gurnard. These sand dwelling "carrots" have propped up the action side of the ledger, sadly lacking at the moment. Snapper have picked up ever so slightly of late with a few decent fish among the predominantly pan sized specimens. A near 8-kilo red won a recent local tournament out of Whakatane - a nice fish in anyones book. Some reasonable catches have rewarded anglers willing and able to travel to the west - way west. Reefs off Otamarakau and Pukahina have produced fairly consistently but not big numbers or size. It would appear the best of the current bad deal. Kahawai are thin on the ground despite a reasonable whitebait population residing inshore. Offshore
Still pretty dire on all fronts but with little promise in various areas. Water temps and clarity, at least out toward White Island, have marginally improved. 14 ½ - 15 degrees is about the best one will encounter although visibility has improved from the previous green gunge. Reports of jumping albacore (nice fish of 15-20kg) came through last Saturday (28/9) despite no landings. Hapuka and bass are all but non-existent although some bluenose of mixed sizes (pups through to 12 kilos) are being found by those willing to go the distance - nearly 400 metres! Definitely a situation for nice weather, superbraid and a pair of willing arms! Kingfish have shown just a little sign of moving with several landed recently after a real absence of them for many weeks. Increased temps tugging the spawning urge should see these stakes improve markedly over the next few weeks. Valiantly trying to make up for the lack of action on all other species have been the shallow varieties on close proximity to the island. Oversized pink mao mao had led the charge followed by terakihi, red snapper, porae and others. At times, telltale signs of spring such as blue mao mao seen feeding on krill at the surface have been witnessed. We want and should get many more of these indications of better times ahead. Ranfurly Bank
Light pressure here due to inclement weather and little demand. Last trip there struggled with currents exceeding two knots making for tough drifting. Reasonable hapuka were landed as well as some decent snapper near East Island. Better weather will suit the increased trips bound there in the ensuing months. Summary
Nice to see some improvement, if however trivial. When you're at rock bottom any positive sign is noted, and how! With the coldest water temps of the entire year on tap now, there's only one way to go. The only problem is it may take some time yet to considerably reverse this trend. Will be in touch again soon with hopefully more good news of an improved situation. While little has appreciably changed over the last fortnight, there are some little subtleties worth mentioning. While we seem to be in the grip of an incessant westerly pattern, many are expressing thoughts of the dreaded El Nino. We've had La Nina as a regular houseguest for so many years it's hard to believe there really are winds other than easterly derivation. Time will only tell just how long we'll have to endure these winds, which have been quite damaging in most every regard.
With cold (13-14 degrees C) green water the conditions certainly aren't conducive to great fishing nor inspires a lot of effort either. Still, while most boats have struggled, the vast majority have returned with a "feed" or better. Terakihi are easily the pick of species to offer any degree of consistency. Not far behind them in terms of numbers has been gurnard. These sand dwelling "carrots" have propped up the action side of the ledger, sadly lacking at the moment. Snapper have picked up ever so slightly of late with a few decent fish among the predominantly pan sized specimens. A near 8-kilo red won a recent local tournament out of Whakatane - a nice fish in anyones book. Some reasonable catches have rewarded anglers willing and able to travel to the west - way west. Reefs off Otamarakau and Pukahina have produced fairly consistently but not big numbers or size. It would appear the best of the current bad deal. Kahawai are thin on the ground despite a reasonable whitebait population residing inshore. Offshore
Still pretty dire on all fronts but with little promise in various areas. Water temps and clarity, at least out toward White Island, have marginally improved. 14 ½ - 15 degrees is about the best one will encounter although visibility has improved from the previous green gunge. Reports of jumping albacore (nice fish of 15-20kg) came through last Saturday (28/9) despite no landings. Hapuka and bass are all but non-existent although some bluenose of mixed sizes (pups through to 12 kilos) are being found by those willing to go the distance - nearly 400 metres! Definitely a situation for nice weather, superbraid and a pair of willing arms! Kingfish have shown just a little sign of moving with several landed recently after a real absence of them for many weeks. Increased temps tugging the spawning urge should see these stakes improve markedly over the next few weeks. Valiantly trying to make up for the lack of action on all other species have been the shallow varieties on close proximity to the island. Oversized pink mao mao had led the charge followed by terakihi, red snapper, porae and others. At times, telltale signs of spring such as blue mao mao seen feeding on krill at the surface have been witnessed. We want and should get many more of these indications of better times ahead. Ranfurly Bank
Light pressure here due to inclement weather and little demand. Last trip there struggled with currents exceeding two knots making for tough drifting. Reasonable hapuka were landed as well as some decent snapper near East Island. Better weather will suit the increased trips bound there in the ensuing months. Summary
Nice to see some improvement, if however trivial. When you're at rock bottom any positive sign is noted, and how! With the coldest water temps of the entire year on tap now, there's only one way to go. The only problem is it may take some time yet to considerably reverse this trend. Will be in touch again soon with hopefully more good news of an improved situation. While little has appreciably changed over the last fortnight, there are some little subtleties worth mentioning. While we seem to be in the grip of an incessant westerly pattern, many are expressing thoughts of the dreaded El Nino. We've had La Nina as a regular houseguest for so many years it's hard to believe there really are winds other than easterly derivation. Time will only tell just how long we'll have to endure these winds, which have been quite damaging in most every regard.
From 
Pursuit
PursuitReport type: Saltwater
Report date: 01 October 02
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