Fishing Reports

It’s the same most years. You head out, do it all the right way and they just won’t feed! But the next day you head out again, do it all the right way and it goes off big time! It is like the fish throw a switch and come on the feed. They are here!

The schools of Snapper have been forming for the last month or so in the usual places and are now in big schools and hungry! Limit bags of Snapper are not uncommon at the moment and there is some good size fish in these schools too. We have had fish to around 8kg all this last week with the average size being around 40cm. Often we have not had to move from a spot all day suggesting the schools are big and becoming more settled in the area.

The Snapper are still on the reefs of course but the best fishing is out on the sand or mud. Areas that have broken shell or worm beds are where we are finding the good schools and the bigger fish. They do have fins though and will move around the area so a good look around for the best " sign" is well worth the extra time.

OK, so where is all this fishing happening?

We are fishing around the ends of the channels and out in 25 – 30 metres of water over broken shell and worm beds. There is a lot of fish moving in, so as I said, have a good look around and be prepared to move if you are not onto them. Parking the boat in the best possible spot with the fish down tide tends not to spook the school too much enabling a longer session and targeting of the bigger Snapper. That is until some clown comes behind you and drops his anchor on the school you were fishing.

Areas to try over the next week:

A couple of miles behind Tiri over the mud is holding fish and if the weather permits drifting around under the diving Gannets should produce.

The Tiri Channel

The Auckland shipping lane between Whangaparaoa and Rangitoto. Don’t anchor in the Telecom cable area and watch out for ships of course.

The top of Rakino and the 30 metre area north of the Noises will start to fish a lot better soon as will the area off the Rangitoto Light and around "A" Buoy. It won’t be long now before the Rangi’ Channel and Auckland’s other channels start to fish too. Try a drift out off Home Bay or the northern side of Waiheke.

We have been using a variety of baits including Pilchards, Squid, Skipjack, Mullet and Yellowtail Mackerel. The biggest fish have fallen for the larger bait straylined out the back but in saying that, there has been a few big Snapper caught on the ledger rigs. Flasher rigs are also catching fish but make sure you are using the right hook size on these rigs. 6/0 seems to be working pretty good at the moment.

Both MATANGI and TEREHU have been fishing flat out this last week and having the extra boats has been excellent. Not only does it allow us to get more anglers out on the water fishing, it also helps keep us on the fish with the constant swapping of information during the day.

THOMCAT is available for the Christmas parties again this year and can cater for groups of up to 30 for partying or 10 for fishing. We have pictures and information about all the boats at hand so send us an email at >deepsea@clear.net.nz or call us on

09 4240607 or 025 2446346 and we can email or post you the details.

If you are interested in coming fishing but aren’t part of a group we also cater for casual anglers and small groups. We have a "casuals list" that gets sent an email or phone call, informing them of any available spaces on half day, evening, and full day trips, both midweek and weekends. Call or email us with your details and we will keep you informed.

On a final note, the submission analysis is due out from New Zealand Underwater (NZU) regarding the Tiri Marine Reserve proposal. I will let you know how it reads when I get my hands on it. The Tiri Action Group (TAG) submitted about 6000 submissions from both locals and other area users against a marine reserve in this area.

There is a number of reasons TAG are against a reserve in this area mostly centered around safety and the location, but it has been the lack of proper consultation with area users that has prompted further investigation into the way NZU and Forest and Bird undertake these proposals. Stay tuned in isn’t over yet!

Cheers

Damian – The Charter Connection – Where fishing is catching!