Fishing Reports

 

Since our last report there has been some excellent fishing and some not so excellent fishing. The not so excellent fishing has taken place in the wind. The sea has been a washing machine and we have been blown out from where we would have liked to have fished. Unfortunately I can't change the weather or make the fish bite! Now to the highlights..... Bernard.C Mitchell landed a rather decent Snapper about 2 weeks ago when he and the group from The Bays Club fished with us in the Tiri area. Bernards’ fish weighed just under 20lbs and took a half squid bait. It was the same day as the Brownzy Contest and he had no ticket. There were heaps of good snapper caught this day and most people around us were getting good fish too. We have had to move around a wee bit over the past few weeks due to the weather and the fact that the fish have fins and tend to swim around too. We have fished the islands south of Kawau all the way through to the Rakino area with pretty good results most days. A few days have been spent fishing a patch of rubble out in 40 metres, but sadly it has not fired like it should have by now. I put it down to the late season and perhaps even the amount of commercial activity in the Gulf at the moment. It is not at all uncommon, when a few miles out behind Tiri, to see 2 or 3 purse seiners and the odd longliner plundering away. At least when the wind is blowing hard they are not working. The Tiri Channel has really fished well so far this season and there were days when the size limit kept getting moved up the tape as the fish got bigger and bigger. The snapper are all in good condition but I have noticed the size of the fish is on average, smaller, than what we were getting a few weeks ago. There are plenty of blue mackerel around which make great bait for snapper and good livies for the kingies, the first of which are starting to turn up around the traps. We have had best success, when targeting snapper, at the southern end of the channel. A good look around with the sounder will reveal the schools and it is these schools we try to park on. Behind Tiri and on the foul has not really fired up. The odd good fish are coming from the usual popular spots like Shearers Rock and around the buoy to the south of Shearers. Dawn and dusk would be the best times as the water gets quite shallow around these structures and the fish will get spooked off by the traffic and light. The foul around the edges of the channel have fished alright as well, when the weather lets us get on the right bits. The John Dory are staring to show up a bit more now and can be targeted using a koheru live bait near the bottom but watch out as we have had one taken by what felt like a big snapper. We have also had them come back to the boat minus a head! There is also a few small sharks around the place at the moment and these toothy critters have caused a few tangles when they take off under the boat. Most of them get away when they roll on the trace or bite through it. So far I have found the Rakino Channel area to be quite hard going but it is starting to pick up week by week and I’ll spend a bit more time in that neck of the woods as the water warms up. Out in the open has produced a few fish when the LV boats are not racing. Drifting through this area can produce the goods once you’ve found a school on the bottom. I even played with the idea of having a jig only day on board but the idea didn’t last long as I had to wind a fish in caught on ½ a lolago squid. Jigging through this area could well be worth the effort though. Jigging is one of those techniques that went off with a hiss and a rush when it was in vogue and now only a few hard core anglers stick with it. You get out what you put in and these hard core jig anglers do really well on occasions. A few items of note: Firstly , you may or may not be aware that NZ Underwater and the Department of Conservation, are hell bent on placing a marine reserve around the end of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula and around Tiri. One proposal even includes all of the Tiri Channel! We do not support this proposal at all and if you wish to find out more then visit the Two Cents Worth section in the Forum on this site. I’ll keep you posted as to how the proposals are coming along and when the submission documents become available. Secondly, the Forum Users Contest date has been set for March 1st 2003 and will be hosted at the Pah Farm Fishing Lodge. Check in the Forum section to find out more. It is bound to be huge day, at a time of year, when there is typically some good fishing to be had. Christmas is just about upon us and we are pretty busy. There are still dates available before the end of the year for both day trips and afternoon trips. We have also had a cancellation for Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 December. If your group is interested or you wish to check out alternative dates for groups or as a casual angler then give us a call on 09 4240607 or 025 2446346. You can also email us deepsea@clear.net.nz. We would like to thank a few special people that have offered significant support over this past year and if you have been left out it was not done intentionally. FISHING.NET.NZ (The best fisherman’s web site)
VMC HOOKS
THE BAIT STATION
SHORELINE COMPUTERS
HOOKED ON PRINT
RIPPLES ON THE MARINA
MILES CROSS, KEN JASPERS AND PETER ROGERS(Friends of Matangi)
THE CHARTER CONNECTION FISHING TEAM (Sorry about all the white knuckles this year guys but we done good!)
We wish a very merry Christmas to all our clients and future clients. Keep your wheels oiled, your powder dry and your hand on your ferry fare! Damian Clayton- THE CHARTER CONNECTION

 

From A Charter Connection...

Report type: Saltwater

Report date: 16 December 02