Fishing Reports

The great weather continues. The water temperature is still in the low 20s and the fish are feeding up large on anything they can get their toothy mouths around! They are in really good condition reflecting the amount of feed they are consuming. The fish have a “clean’ appearance and by that I mean they are not marked or blemished from the spawning battles that must go on in the peak of the season. There is good fat content in the fish and this can be seen on the knife after filleting and heard when those fresh fillets hit the hot pan.

The fish will continue to put on condition before they leave the inshore areas and move out into the Gulf for winter and this means we will continue to have some really good fishing for a while yet. So here’s what we have been up to.

Tiri
The channel has been treating our anglers to some pretty good fishing so far as numbers go and there has even been the odd 6-7kg fish pop up from time to time. The Snapper are feeding on shellfish, whelks and the scraps from the anchovies that are being herded up and eaten by the Kahawai in the area. More about the anchovies later.

The middle of the channel seems to be best this week and the secret is to find some of the above mentioned food sources on the bottom and that’s where you’ll find the Snapper. The back of the island just doesn’t seem to be holding much Snapper at all, although there are a few good Trevally on the reefs along with quite a few, small (rat) Kingfish. Dawn and dusk may produce a better result through here.

Rakino and Waiheke
There is a lot of Snapper in the general area and they are taking pretty much any bait you have. Mullet is good as it stays on the hook well and can withstand the constant barrage of the small Snapper until the bigger ones bully their way in and scoff the bait. Again it is the change of light for the better and bigger fish.

If you are not having much success try drift fishing the area using enough weight to keep you on the bottom. Any of the channels around the area will be fishing well and even some of the channels up the Auckland Harbour will be holding fish due to the large amount of food available for them.

Kawau
The Kawau Bay area is alive with Kahawai work-ups and a drift through these can result in a pretty good session. The other day I worked a small area near Kawau in some breeze and towed a small lure through a work up in order to get a few Kahawai for livebaits and smoking. We caught a 5lb Snapper on the lure that was running at around 3 metres below the surface and at 4 knots!

Pulled the lure in and enjoyed a great little session of Snapper fishing with jigs and flasher rigs with most Snapper taking the jigs or baits only metres beneath the boat. I still have worn out patch on the end of my thumb from “thumbing” the spool! Flat rock has not produced for me yet and I will try here again next week hopefully with better results than the past few weeks. It is huge area of foul and at time can hold some really big Snapper and Kingfish. Timing is the key.

Little Barrier
The island is producing Snapper on the deeper reefs for us and there are quite a few Kingfish in the area too. The Kingfish tend to favour the foul and weedlines closer in to the island and will readily take livebaits, either set on the bottom, suspended under a ballon or towed very slowly along the reefs and edges of the reefs. The southern side of the island seems to be best at the moment but the place changes daily so keep your eyes peeled. Horn Rock has produced a few good fish too.

The Kingfish are an important part of our fishery and catches should be limited to conserve this recovering species and not fished with blatant disregard for the species. It would be a terrible thing if our Kingfish struggled to make it over 15-20kgs as in parts of Australia. Anglers need to control their greed as the exploits of a few are giving them a bad name in the industry. In some parts of the country there is an unspoken law that there should only be a few taken on each boat and over a certain size each day. This is the type of thinking that should be applauded unlike the archaic acts of a few.

Great Barrier
The crays are in really good condition at the moment and divers are enjoying good catches. The Snapper have started to play ball now and in the right conditions there can be some awesome fishing especially in close to the rocks and ledges. The deeper reefs will start to fill up with better fish as the water cools and the fish move out of the inshore areas. Try a drift fish down the coast from Bowling Alley Bay or up around the Needles. Pop a livebait out under a balloon while you drift or if conditions allow set a livebait on or near the bottom.

The Mokes
I haven’t been up there for a week or so now but the fishing is still pretty good. I was finding it hard to stop for the bottom fishing with so many reports of Marlin sightings and Tuna being caught. The area is still pretty warm at around 21C and there has been Skipjack and bird action all around the Mokes and over towards the top of Great Barrier. There was a 160kg Black Marlin caught at Simpsons Rock (just north of Little Barrier) by a few of the local lads on a home made lure – good effort fellas!

The bottom fishing will really improve as the water cools but the warmer it stays for now the better. The area is rich in sea life and the species range is very diverse. One minute you are catching an array of reef fish and the next you could be hooked into a large Kingfish and the next a Shark will eat it! You need the right weather to get out there and to fish the place successfully and having the boat speed we have now has made the Mokes a lot more accessable for our anglers.

Anchovies
Although not my favourite pizza topping they would be one of my favourite bait fish when it comes to this time of year. The anchovies are in huge numbers and just about everywhere you go at the moment. They are followed around by the Kahawai who are in turn followed around by the Trevally, who are in turn followed around by the Kingfish. Beneath this event is the Snapper and quite often not far beneath. Sharks are also frequent diners at this seafood smorgasboard and can we have seen a lot of line go west this month due to Sharks coming in to dine and helping themselves to the fish you are winding in. It is mostly Bronze Whalers but we have also had a few Makos show up too.

We have available spaces this weekend for local fishing on MATANGI and TEREHU and will soon start our 2-3 and 4 day Barrier Trips on SIAN. WAHU has had the new heart (engine) installed and she was even shouted a new leg and prop to match. Cruising at over 20 knots, WAHU is fishing both locally for groups of up to 10 and out wider for smaller groups. The “casuals list” is pretty active with a lot of our regular anglers enjoying the good fishing. Keep in mind our daytrips on MATANGI and TEREHU start at only $50pp and you can join a day trip on WAHU from only $75pp. Bait, Rod Hire and Lunches are also available on request. To join the list just give us a bell on 09 4240607, 021 2446346 or email us deepsea@clear.net.nz

Till next time, stay safe and don’t tuck your raincoat inside your leggings!

Damian- The Charter Connection – where fishing is catching!