Fishing Reports

Well gang, it’s been a funny start to the season so far. In past seasons the Snapper have turned up in all the usual spots, been hard to catch for a few days as they settle in and school up and then we are into them, big time! This year the season has started a little slower with a few early runs of fish and then a slow period of about a week or so. The fish were there but they weren’t feeding, which in turn brought on a few frustrating trips with only small catches. Things have now improved quite a bit and the fish seem to be hanging in all the usual areas and feeding with a bit more determination.

The worm beds between Rangitoto and Tiri turned on some awesome fishing early on with Snapper to around the 5-8kg mark being part of a normal day out here. There was stacks of sign around especially in the Telecom Cable Area (Telecom Marine Reserve) and of course as it is a no anchoring and no fishing zone, we had to drive straight past it all. Large schools of Snapper moved into the area in late October and the area fished well for a few weeks (and still is from time to time) but we noticed a lot more Sharks turning up and decided to check out other options. This paid off as we got into some really good Snapper out in 30-35m of water outside Whangapararoa Bay.

This area is a mud bottom and we use the sounder to locate the schools, anchor up current and berley the fish into action. Well that is the plan anyway and most times it payed off. There was the odd occasion when it didn’t and it was heartbreaking to see baits coming back covered in mud and sitting it out with the berley flowing for little result. The bonus being the days when we landed good numbers of fish up to 7kg along with School Shark, Rig (Spotted Dog fish or Gummy Shark), Gurnard and John Dory.

As time passed the fish moved into the Tiri Channel and out onto the sand and broken shell areas along the southern side of Whangapararoa. Good catches of Snapper where and are being landed in this area now but the boat traffic seems to put them off a bit. This is especially noticeable when some inconsiderate boaties anchor too close to where we are fishing. What happens in this situation is this - They see a boat catching fish and because they haven’t got any idea of how, where or when to catch a fish or are just to darn cheap and nasty to try for themselves, they anchor behind us, more often than not within casting distance! This in turn spooks the school we have berleyed up behind us and the school scatters as the anchor comes crashing down into it! The fish will then have to regroup, hopefully back into our berley trail and we can get back into it. Meanwhile, the inconsiderate boatie runs out of patience as they don’t catch anything ‘cos they scattered the school and move on to ruin someone else’s fishing. There have been numerous ideas to combat the inconsiderate boatie, most of which would work perfectly well but unfortunately are not within the law! Upstairs for thinking fellas – downstairs for panelbeating the dings out of your tinnie!

The Kawau area has really picked up in the past few weeks and the deeper channels are holding good numbers of Snapper and small Kahawai. Kawau Bay in the evenings and around first light in the mornings is producing some good fishing and we hear the odd story about some big Snapper being landed from in the shallows in these low light times. The Takatu coast will be starting to fill up with fish also. Flat Rock is the sort of place that when it fires it really goes off! This huge area of foul offers a few different fishing options. You can fish lightly weighted strayline rigs around the shallows or go to heavier dropper rigs for some of the deeper guts and channels that are ravaged by the tide and currents in the area. The back of Kawau (the eastern coast) has similar territory to fish with good fish holding foul in close and some areas of low foul offshore a bit. There is also the odd pinnacle here and there too and these are the haunts of Snapper, Trevally, Kahawai and of course Kingfish. It is still a wee bit early for the Kingfish up that way but it wont belong before they move into the area in better numbers. If you are after Kingis at all try the foul around Waihekes’ coast at the moment. There are a few schools about.

Rakino and the Noises haven’t really kicked in yet but there has been the odd hit there. It would be the channels and areas of sand and broken shell seabed that I would start on if heading over that way. Some of the deeper foul around the Ahaahas would be worth a look too. The Rangitoto shoreline is another option worth investigating at the moment as well. Change of light would be best at this stage, as the Snapper haven’t really filled up the channels yet. It want be long though and the place will be brimming with fish as they move into the feed rich, harbour and upper harbour.

Little Barrier has started producing a lot more Snapper now and the longliners have been working the area intensely when the weather is good. There is also a lot of commercial activity closer to Kawau at the moment but the fish don’t seem to be taking our baits as well as the longliners. Static fishing or something like that. I will try a few afternoon/evening shots in the area when the wind eases.

Great Barrier is not fishing that well. Snapper fishing is never really that good over there early in the season and you are more than likely driving over the fish just to get there. To illustrate this we fished the area in the recent Gulf Harbour Contest and didn’t have great Snapper fishing. We did however catch Kingfish, Trevally. Porae, Terahiki, Cod, Red Snapper(Goldies), Hapuka, and a range of other reef fish. We ended up with 4 prizes for the comp and a couple of the team ended up with some new gear to christen, after the hangover went away! The Snapper are moving in the bays and harbours around the Barrier but if you were heading over there your best bet would be to get onto some of the deeper reefs or in close amoung the kelp beds.

So far as baits go at the moment, fresh NZ Pilchards (ask for IQF A Grade) seem to be working best. Fresh mullet is also working really well and is a bit tougher for the small fish to pick off the hooks. We are finding that cube baits are working best at the moment in conjunction with a flasher rig or on a ledger rig. The bigger straylined baits seem to be getting picked apart by the numerous numbers of small Snapper that have moved in. In saying that though, it never hurts to fire a large, slab bait out the back into the berley trail. Try a half Mackerel or slab of Mullet.

Flasher rigs come in all sorts of colours and designs. Some with J style hooks others with Kahl or circle hooks. Recently we trailed and tested the range of Mac Flasher rigs. All hand tied using top quality Gamakatsu hooks and a quality trace line, they are deadly on the Snapper. Our crew of 9 Fishing.Net members spent the day catching about 50 Snapper to around 5-6 kg on these rigs. We found the circle hooks to be excellent for hooking Snapper when the tide slowed and the fish were only really picking away at the baits and the J hook rigs really good in the current when the fish were feeding more aggressively. The best colour on that day, were by far, the green flashers, with the pink coming a close second.

Mac Flashers also produce a range of other rigs as well, including some really good bait catching rigs. The thing that makes these bait catching rigs so good, is the quality of the line and hooks being used. When typically with some other brands, after catching a few baits and the odd small Snapper or other fish on your bait rigs or Sabiki rigs, you would probably have to discard the rig as it would have broken hooks, snapped line or twisted beyond use. Not a Mac Flasher, they last for numerous bait catching sessions and can handle a larger than expected fish like a Snapper or bigger Kahawai. Check out your local tackle shop.

On a slightly more political note, check out the Option 4 website. These guys and girls are doing a really great job in trying to protect our rights as recreational fishers and are very proactive in fighting the Minister of Fisheries decision to put Kahawai into the Quota Management System. The quota allocation has been issued from previous commercial catch history and it is not doing anything, except promoting the decline of " The Peoples Fish". Give these guys your support, as they are a self-funded organisation and rely on our donations and support.

With the warmer weather and the local fishing improving from day to day it is hard to think past the summer and into autumn and the cooler months. Great Barrier can fish really well after the Christmas and New Year traffic has disappeared. Now is the time to book your extended charter to GB for next year. We take groups and individuals (up to 6 anglers) away for 2-3-4-5 day trips targeting Big Snapper, Kingfish and other species all year round. If you would like more info about these trips or any of our day fishing trips just give us a call on 09 4240607 or the boats on 012 2443646. You can email us at deepsea@clear.net.nz.

We still have spaces available for local fishing but only a few dates left for cruises and parties on the Cat. Our local fishing trips are still only $50pp midweek and $55pp on weekends and public holidays.

Now that’s good value!

Come and stretch some string!