The weather is getting better and so is the fishing with snapper really starting to fire up. There are a reports of all sorts of catches coming in from around the country so check out the link for more details and don’t forget to tune in for ‘The Fishing Show’ tonight at 8.00 on Sky Sport 1. *Now if you do miss the show it will be replayed on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights – check your listings for details. WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE SKY? - Don’t Panic ‘The Fishing show goes Free to Air every Saturday at 2.30 on Prime.
Tight lines……
Snapper The snapper have really moved in onto the spawning grounds now that the water temperature has increased. The shallows aren’t producing results as well as a couple of weeks ago with mainly little ones in close but there will always be big fish in the kelp if you put in the time and pick through the smaller ones. The fishing from the beaches has also slowed as the fish have headed into the 20-40m depths to spawn. Look for areas in the 20-40m close to a channel or a drop off and look for the usual structure and bottom sign that indicates snapper. There have been reports of a couple of massive snapper caught by commercial boats recently, on the west coast one caught in a trawler is reported to have weighed 40 pounds (18 kilo) and another on the east coast on a long line went 37 pounds. It seems this time every year that these mega snapper get reported so hang on to your rod tightly because you never know when one of these puppies is gonna scoff your pillie!
Kingfish The Kingfish are turning up in patches right through out the east coast of the North Island, but they seem to be fairly solitary at the moment with the average size being good. The smaller ‘rats’ don’t seem to be hanging out on the tops of the deep reefs around Northland and with out hearing from other areas I can only assume that this is a seasonal trend for the small kingfish at this time of year as the are notable by there absence. While the kingfish fishing is hard at the moment it will pay to have a live bait out when fishing for snapper to catch one of those nice rouge ones that are cruising around. To pick up some Kingfish techniques watch tonight’s show to see us tangle with dozens of kingfish caught Jigging, live baiting, and with soft plastic baits.
Tarakihi A lot of boats in the BOP are still catching plenty of Tarakihi out on the deeper grounds but they should be turning up in numbers in the 30-60 reefs very shortly. Further north there are now large patches of tarakihi mixed in with school snapper out on the sand in the 20-30 meter depths. When fishing for these guys it is important to locate the shoal on the sounder and anchor over it carefully. The shoals don’t seem to move much once they have found a place on the reef that provides enough food (usually a pinnacle that stirs up the current). So you can be just 40-40 metres away and get nothing, and tarakihi don’t seem to respond well to burley either so boat placement is essential.
On the Game fishing front….. I have had reports in from commercial guys out wide of the Bay of Islands that say the water is looking nice, these lots of baitfish and they’ve spotted marlin feeding. The Ultimate lady ran into a bunch of school Yellowfin and a mahi mahi out wide last month so the Game fishermen out there will be chopping at the bit to get out there. Be patient…. Not long to go now!
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