Fishing Reports

The season is now underway and the breeding schools of Snapper are becoming established in the Gulf. The seasons first couple of Marlin have been caught in the Bay of Islands and Kingfish are appearing in more concentrated numbers which is a fair indicator that the water is warming. Sharks are becoming a regular catch too. All good stuff but we wish the persistent sou’ west and west winds would abate so we could get off the same patch we have been fishing for the last few weeks. I am not a great fan of nailing one area day after day but we have had to stay where there a few fish and where conditions allow and are safe to fish without rolling around too much.

Whangaparaoa Bay is getting a fair bit of attention from the longliners at the moment with us counting 6 boats in the bay on a number of days. That’s a lot of hooks! They must be doing OK as they keep going back in there. Not so much luck for the recreational guys though as our baited hooks are getting only mediocre results in that area despite the amount of fish showing. The change of light is slightly better.

The Tiri Channel has produced some great fishing in the past 2-3 weeks but the wind against tide fishing has been slower. You have to get everything hanging in the right direction together (boat, lines and berley) to be able to get into them. Fish to 6-7 kg were not uncommon as part of the days catch. There are a few John Dory, Sharks and Kahawai amoung it too. Speaking of Kahawai – they have turned up in plague proportions in the bays around Whangaparaoa at the moment and can be a bit of a nuisance attacking anything you put in for the Snapper.

The worm beds are fishing very poorly now. Small Snapper, small Sharks, mostly Spotted Dogfish and School Sharks, along with the odd John Dory is about all we could manage in the wind the other day. Trying to be a smarty pants, we set a longline only to have the gear come back in tatters compliments of the local shark population. Only one Snapper worth mentioning out of the shot. Sharks when hooked tend to swim the gear around a bit and have the good sense to roll themselves up in it. This can be particularly messy when the Shark is a larger specimen.

The channels around Auckland have not really fired up yet although there has been a few good evenings in the Rangi’ Channel and out off Matiatia Bay. Will be a few more weeks yet before these areas kick in to action and the Motuhie Madness starts. The Ahaahas should be holding a few fish by now and if you can get the conditions right you could do well in a decent berley trail. Crossing fingers that no one parks in it for you!! This is always a problem over the busy months and I feel sorry for the folks that practice this sort of ignorant behavior. They must struggle to make new friends.

The Kawau area was fishing alright a few weeks back but the wind must have blown all the fish out a bit wider. Flat Rock just hasn’t fished well at all for us yet nor some of the foul along the back of the island. There was, for a short spell, a good run of fish down the Takatu Channel but this seems to have come to an end and you would probably have more luck inside Kawau Bay in the mornings or evenings. Same goes for the southern side of Kawau and the islands nearby. A good berley trail and fresh baits are the key to success at present. There are Crays and good Scallops around too but I’m threatened with castration should I reveal the exact spots.

Little Barrier has been a little out of reach lately with the weather being what it is - BLOWING AGAIN! and reports have not been flash. There are Snapper in the shallows and need coaxing out with berely and they are also on the deeper reefs but the bite times seem to be critical with the action only lasting 20-30 mins at a time. The Terahiki are not present in big numbers either although there are a few good size Trevally around the reefs.

Great Barrier is starting to fish a bit better now after it’s annual slump. There will be a few more fish in the harbours and bays now especially in the evenings but is the deeper reefs that that will turn up the bigger fish especially the Kingfish. It was around this time last year we witnessed pack attacks on petrified schools of Pilchards off the Needles and landed some good Kingfish out of the action. The Broken Islands will be starting to fish well again with the influx of fish and you could do well to find a nice quiet spot to berely up a moocher. Behind the Island and on the deeper foul will also be fishing a bit better now and if the warm water can find its way down the coast and in a bit closer it may open some gamefishing opportunities. Yellowfin Tuna are occasionally caught along the back of the island later in the season and the odd marlin have caught not too far offshore. So much to look forward to!

Coromandel could well be worth a look if we get some light breeze as there is normally some good fishing to be had around the Happy Jacks and up towards the Cape around this time of year. Snapper, John Dory and Kingfish are good options over there at the moment but the southwester makes it less than desirable conditions.

Closer to home, we have been catching the odd Kingfish and John Dory amoung the Snapper we’re getting. The fish size is down a bit on last month and they seem a little anxious about charging in and jumping on hooks so a little patience is being exercised. Biggest Snapper this week was around 4kg with the majority being in the 1.5-2kg size. I’m sure we will be able to alot better when the wind settles down and possibly changes direction. The fish have moved into the shallower bays and onto the shellfish beds and areas of low foul for the obvious reason that this is where the food is. Keep this in mind and you should be able to secure yourself a feed, at least.

Best baits seem to be A grade NZ Pilchards, freshly caught Slimey Mackarel and Mullet. In deeper water (25m plus) ldger rigs and flasher rigs are the go. try a Mac Flasher, Black Magic or Gamakatsu flasher rig either with "j" hooks or circle hooks. They all fish really well but my personal fave is the 5/0 Snapper snatcher from Black Magic. I think they got the colours just right on this rig. It is now out in a XL and XXL model too.

If you can get in a bit closer to some fishy looking structure try straylining with minmal weight. If you are straylining and the fish are nibbling around the hooks or the baits are going with out bite being felt try changing to circle hooks. VMC, Gamakatsu and Black Magic all do a version of the circle hook. Let the fish run with the bait for a few second s before striking or even let the fish hook itself ie. let the rod load up before winding the fish in.

We have available dates next year for our trips to Great Barrier, both land based and boat based. The land based fishery over there is great and it really is a "rock hoppers" dream. Deep and shallow ledges abound and once the summer traffic is gone we will be back over there trying some new locations not to mention our proven locations. The boat fishing is of course also pretty good and again once the summer traffic has gone we are back to the island for our 2 -3 - 4 and 5 day trips.

Until next time have a safe and happy Christmas and may the fish be biting for you. It’s been a good year and we thank you for your support.

The tightest of lines!

Damian – The Charter Connection – Where fishing is catching!