Fishing Reports

Without a changed government in place we may have to keep fighting hard for our rights as Kiwis to enjoy the sport of fishing without having our access stripped. Current policy is not doing enough to safeguard our fish stocks nor the rights of New Zealanders when it comes to the establishment of marine reserves. Now is a very good time to help out the hard working individuals at Option 4 and the Kahawai Challenge. Keep up the good work guys.

I’ll get off my soap box now. We have some exciting news – MAJURO our new charter boat is near ready! She is a 45ft Steber, boasting a cruise speed of 15 knots, modern electronics, private toilet, BBQ, excellent ice and fish storage but most importantly she has a huge cockpit and is very stable. We will be fishing groups of up to 15 anglers but can safely cruise with groups of 24 guests for BBQs and corporate functions. A web site will be under construction soon to house all the information and rates but in the meantime just give us a call. She is a great boat and industry leaders who have seen her so far are as impressed as we are. More soon!

Little Barrier
The fishing around Little Barrier has been a little bit slow so I have been venturing out a bit deeper to a patch of rubble that hardly even shows up on the sounder in about 80m. The fishing has been good and the variety plentiful. 14 different species in a morning the other day before the wind blew me out of there. The Snapper have been a bit elusive out here but the big Terahiki, Golden Snapper, small Pukas, and other reef fish have made up for it.

I have been doing alright on the Snapper in closer to the island but you have to have wind with tide to get it happening.  Got completely dusted and busted by a horse of a fish on 6 kg last week in about 12m of water on the eastern side. The characteristic nods and shakes of a big Snapper along with the powerful runs eventuated in us losing the fish to the reef after about 5 minutes. It can be pretty hard to get these moochers out of the shallow reefs on the lighter gear.

Great Barrier
I have it on good advice that the trawlers are doing well off the top of Great Barrier and down towards The Pigeons fishing for the first runs of school fish. These fish normally move through a few areas on the way into the spawning grounds of the Gulf around this time of year.

With the water temperature at Little Barrier and even down here at Tiri being around 16C, we should have a pretty good season. The first run of fish is normally short lived and a few weeks later the masses arrive. We are noticing a lot more bird activity around the Gulf and have collected a few nice fish from under these work ups. Pods of Dolphins are working the bait schools in the Gulf too but are often too fast moving to fish successfully. Try jigging in behind them or get up stream of them and jig under the work up as it moves under you.

Tiri
Tiri is still pretty quiet with the evenings being best at the moment. There are fish around the edges of the channel and out on the flats but catching them is a little hard. They seem to be sucking on baits rather than wolfing them down and I have found that using a smaller bait on a single recurve hook has helped secure a few for dinner.

The worm beds between Tiri and Rangitoto have been fishing but again it is a bit patchy yet and I would think that by the end of October it will be all go out here. There is already quite a bit of bait showing up in mid water both here and north of Tiri. Down off East Coast Bays could well be worth a shot in the evenings now that daylight savings is with us again. The favoured depth seems to be around the 18m-20m areas and you need to be aware of the Telecom Cable Area or the Telecom Marine Reserve as we call it. Hefty fines for anchoring in here.

Kawau
The back of Kawau is holding some good Snapper in the shallow foul as is the Takatu area. Get the wind and tide together and use a good berley trail to get the action happening. Fresh baits and good quality frozen baits are best. Try a long strip of Bonito on a couple of 8/0 hooks or a live Mackerel with the tail clipped to prevent it swimming into the reef too often.

Flat Rock
Flat Rock has been its usual “hot 1 day and slow the next” self and we have had a couple of good sessions there over the past month and wait with eager anticipation as the place will fire in the not too distant future as the fish move into the area.

Closer to home
There is a littler more action around Whangaparaoa at the moment and the guys in small boats getting in close to places like Wellington Reef, Stanmore Bay Point and the like are doing ok in the evenings. The middle of Whangaparaoa Bay is holding a feed for those on the drift and the fishing will get better here too as the season progresses.

It can be an exciting time of year to fish so get out there and into them as they come on for the season. Give us a call on 09 424-0607 or the boats on 021 2446346 for more info. We can email you detailed info if you email us at deepsea@clear.net.nz.

I will be “blooding” the new boat this week all going well and look forward to the many adventures ahead on her. MAJURO will be making her mark in the Hauraki Gulf and further afield and we have set her up for it - 

Bring it on!

Cheers

Damian Clayton

The Charter Connection –Where fishing is catching!