Fishing Reports

 

A good little spell of weather for a change has given us the chance to do good things so far as the fishing has been. Although in saying that there was a couple of very fluffy days out there, with easterlies over 40 knots and not much in the way of good fishing. But we will put those behind us and move on. Some of the corporate groups we have had on have done quite well during the afternoon trips we ran for them. The CADPRO team pulled some reasonable Snapper and a few other fish from a sloppy sea around the northern end of Whangaparaoa, one Tuesday evening earlier in March. In fact the fishing got so busy at the end that the BBQ didn’t get a look in. Another group from Compass Communications, were into them to about 5-6lb from a similar location a week or so later. A great way to spend the evening with work mates away from the office. Just got to get the boss to pay for it eh guys! The Tiri passage fished really well for about 5 days prior to the wind piping in from the east earlier in the month. A few of our regular groups had bag limits on trips during this time and some of the fish were of good size and in excellent condition. Snapper to 4 -5kg with lots of smaller fish around the 1.5-2.0 kg mark were the norm and we found them all in about 25m of water over some low foul. Some of the fish, when ikied, spewed out mouthfuls of baby crayfish and other creepy crawlys. This led us onto another location only to have even better fishing! But like all good things, it came to an end abruptly as soon as the wind picked up and forced a stop in play for a few trips. This then meant that we had to start over and find the fish again. We didn’t get much time to get into it as the wind decided to become a feature again and stole the show. Areas that had been fishing well, didn’t and a few frustrating days were had out wide and in close, during the day trips. It was only the high current channels around the place that seemed to be fishing (and still are incidentally) and we spent a bit of time pulling fish out of some of the less crowded ones. The Kingfish didn’t want to play ball either and we decided it was best to leave the crowds behind and go forth and hunt out some better fishing around the deeper foul and low lying reefs around Kawau Island. The plan was hatched and we headed to Flat Rock in an increasing easterly sea. Burley down and with fish to around 5lb coming aboard, things were starting to look alright until the weaker stomachs on board decide to give in. A move was made to one of the deeper channels south of Kawau to secure smaller specimens of Snapper and Trevally not to mention a John Dory on a sabiki rig set for smaller livebaits! Very surprised the hook didn’t break as is most often the case when a larger than livebait fish is hooked up on one of these rigs. There are some useful tips in the forums at the moment regarding these rigs. The Golden Years group ( a regular client of ours) have been enjoying better success on the Kaipara Harbour than they have on the Hauraki Gulf over the past month. Regardless of this fact they have enjoyed a few evening trips over the last month with a mix of Snapper, John Dory, Trevally and Kahawai being taken home. Last nights winning Snapper was just under 3kg. If you are interested in becoming a member of this very friendly and social group, let me know and I’ll forward the details onto you. Right, onto the baits and rigs we have been using. NZ Pillies and Lolago Squid make up the staple diet of what we are feeding them. We have also been using fillets of still twitching Kahawai and Yellowtail as well. These fresh baits are ideal this time of year when there is a lot of fish around and they all want to feed. The tough nature of the flesh makes it harder for the smaller fish to tear from the hooks and in turn gives you a better shot a something bigger. There is only one small problem when using bigger tougher baits like this. They seem to be a favourite lunch for Stingrays and Sharks. One client of ours fought a lengthy battle with a Ray in what we called Stingray Alley – not too far from the Rakino Channel. We try to release the Rays unharmed either by cutting the gear away or for small ones, flipping them on their backs with the tail outboard and trying to wriggle the hook/s free. If you have to gaff one, then go for a wing shot to give the Ray a better chance of survival. They are powerful and awesome creatures but I don’t want to catch them all day. So far as rigs go, we have noticed an increasing trend in the number of anglers turning up with “flasher rigs”. There are a few rigs that seem to work better than others and there are many available at various retail outlets. I will go out on a limb and tell what I have seen to be working over this past month. The Black Magic KL 5/0 Snapper Snatcher. It has some red and yellow flasher material and this is possibly the key ingredient. In my honest opinion, I don’t think the hooks are strong enough after seeing 4 break in a month but Black Magic have assured me that they are strong enough and have replaced the broken rigs. Gammakatsu also have a range of flasher rigs and it seems that the excellent quality of the hooks, coupled with a range of coloured flashers, has created another good choice. Green and pearl seem to be the best out of these rigs although the red has nailed a few good fish too. The Sure Catch flasher rigs from The Bait Station, are also catching as many fish as the others. These are considerably cheaper than the other rigs and come in a variety of flavours. One of the best flasher rigs I have witnessed in action, one that out fished all others, was created by a very regular client of ours, Charter Connection Team Member, Peter (The Earl) Gray. It was a chartreuse colour with flashes of pearl through it. Coupled to VMC or Owner hooks in about 5/0-6/0 size, it proved to be deadly. Sadly, The Earl, has not been seen on the water and rumour has it, he is hiding in a cave, tying rigs for his victorious come back (if he’s allowed out to play). It is important to put a strip of bait on the hooks of your flasher rig although they have caught fish without being baited. Small strips of Squid or a cube of Pilchard ought to do it. We use many rigs and often change during the day or with a change of location. The ledger rig and Flat Rock Special are great on the deeper reefs and in the current but often a running rig or a lightly weighted bait is used to tempt our crimson friends in some of the shallower or less tidal spots. The key though is to get the baits to where the fish are which is typically on or near the bottom. Good luck to those fishing in this years Furuno Contest. We shall be giving all others a chance by not fishing it and putting our efforts into other competitions. Make sure you are aware of the new rule change regarding weighing of fish on the day it was caught. There are other contests coming up and we will keep you posted about these as they draw nearer. We have plenty of dates available for day trips and boats available to suit your needs and budget. Give us a call if you wish to go on the “casuals list” or to organise yourself, or a group a trip. Our trips start at $40 pp and we can organise rods, bait and catering. We also have a mailing list for newsletters and special trips and if you interested just call on 09 4240607 or 025 2446346 or email us at deepsea@clear.net.nz A local rock fisherman told me a story the other day and it’s worthy of a public viewing so I’ll pass it on. Fishing unsuccessfully off a rock ledge and sitting down in the shade of a Pohutakawa tree, our angler felt the rock beneath him move. Upon further investigation he found it not to be rock but a Paua. A giant Paua! I let him know that it was very rare to find giant Paua in that location and told him his story was brown and steaming and came from a male cow with big horns. He went on to dig his way out of the hole by telling me his father and his father before him, had always collected Paua from this location. This gave his story somewhat more credibility than it deserved. He went on to state that when he finally prised the Paua from the rocks and shucked the meat out of it and because the tide was in and he was stuck on the ledge, he rowed the shell home! Tight lines Damian – THE CHARTER CONNECTION- Where fishing is catching.

 

From A Charter Connection...

Report type: Saltwater

Report date: 21 March 03