Fishing Reports

Phew! There are a lot of fish around at the moment!

Bag limits of Snapper are not uncommon from the inner Gulf and there are some bigger specimens among all these school fish. The recent weather has kept things stirred up and the water’s retaining that nice, green colour closer in. I can hear game fishermen grimacing at the thought, but the water is a good colour for finding Snapper and our other inshore species.

Marlin, Marlin everywhere, is the other topical catch phrase and reports of fish being seen, hooked, T and R and eaten of course, have got the place humming with a constant stream of game boats leaving Auckland and Gulf Harbour for weekend sorties up north and off the Coromandel Coast. Reports of both Marlin and Mahimahi behind the Mokes and Great Barrier is a good indication of how lucky we are!

Back to what we have been up to....

Simpsons Rock produced some excellent Kingfish action recently. We have been using the long jigs with great success and the kingis are finding them irrestible. The range of colours are excellent and most seem to appeal to the fish. My personal fave being a Zest 200gr orange has accounted for a lot of fish this season and a few trips to the tackle shop to replace the ones I have lost!

Although a lot of “rats” (less than a metre long) are around there are bigger fish deeper down or along the edges of the structure. We have had to step up from 10kg to 15kg line some days as the blistering runs have resulted in being taken to the bottom and busting off in the reef. 26kg is the biggest we have seen out here this season and the deal was done again on a Zest 200gr connected to a 10kg set up. Good scrap!

Working birds (of the feathered variety) are getting our attention out here too and some of the work ups have really been fizzing with action! Jigging again is the preferred method and proves to be both visual exciting and productive on the kingfish. Drifting large pilchard baits, squid baits and livies is also worth a crack. The bigger baits on the bottom are getting the attention of the big Snapper and the livies are getting monstered by the kingfish.

Mental note to self: Must grab a few 3kg Kahawai livies and get back up there!

Little Barrier is still pretty consistent but I am still favouring the deeper reefs. The bright sunny days make it hard going closer in, so I’m favouring 40m or more especially on the drift. The drift fishing has been good for both Snapper and Kingfish although most of the Kingfish are small and are carefully released.

A few Terahiki are showing up along with some pretty good Trevally. Trevs’ to 5kg are coming from the shallower reefs out here and seem to like a straylined squid bait. They will of course jump on just about any flasher rig you choose to deploy too.

No really big Snapper to report from out here this month but in saying that we haven’t spent a lot of time out here either as the fishing closer to home is pretty darn good and why drive past it?!

Cape Colville. Only a little time spent over here this month too but it was fairly productive. The small tides are the go for the snapper fishing on the reefs in the channel and casting poppers around the islands, drifting livebaits over the reefs and past the headlands can produce good kingfish.

In fact if I hadn’t have gone over there on this particular day I wouldn’t have found the patch of fish that I’m fishing now and have been fishing for 3 weeks.

Out in the middle of the Gulf there are patches of worm beds and areas of broken shell that are holding HUGE schools of Snapper and the fishing has been excellent. Bag limits are not uncommon and there are good sized fish in these schools. There must be heaps there as we have been getting very consistent results from the area.

Drifting whole NZ Pilchards and Californian Squids on strayline rigs is deadly and when the group is small enough, it is the preferred method as you cover the ground picking up the schools as you go. Even when there is no sign on the sounder and you think you may have drifted away from the school too far, you will get fish as they must follow the baits. I’m sure I dragged a school of fish about 2 miles one day!

The bigger fish seem to take to the moving bait with gusto and the aggressive takes result in the common case of “thumb burn.” With the bigger groups we are anchoring and burleying with good results too. Ledger rigs baited with cubes of pillie and squid are working well. Blue Cod, John Dory and Gurnard are normally part of the days catch too and occasionally the odd Mako will show up.

Kawau and Takatu are worth a shot at the moment too especially around Flat Rock and Maori Rock. It is normally this time of year that the fish move onto these reefs and although not in big numbers they can be big on size. Early morning starts are the go with a steady burley trail and don’t forget to pack in a few livies as the Kingfish can be pretty abundant in the current.

Challenger Island is again, another good spot to drift those livies, set them under a balloon or down deeper while Snapper fishing. We have had 2 Snapper over 9kg from the Takatu coast this month. The big fish love that current that rips through the reefs and around the point. Again, a good area to target Kingies.

Tiri has not been as consistent as in previous seasons but things are on the up with the edges of the channel proving to a reasonable option. Wind and tide together, a good burley happening and you should start to see a few better fish in here soon as they move onto the inshore reefs.

Wellington Rock and the reef nearby is producing the usual small kingfish and Snapper but one would expect to see a few better fish show up this month too again as they move in to feed. I find the place fishes better with some swell around as this loosens up a lot of feed from these reefs.

You only have to look at how much weed washes up from out here to see that. Whangaparoa Bay is still holding schools of Snapper and few ‘Dory are turning up in here too. I think the ‘Dory are always there it’s just that not many anglers go out and target them. I have heard it said that they probably die of old age inside the trawl line!

The Mahurangi and the coast down to Orewa is home to a few reasonable kingfish especially around Brazier Rock and Saddle Island. They are not huge fish with 7-15kg being the norm. Towing bibbed lures, casting poppers and setting live baits should produce a fish out of a good burley trail.

The small tinnies and other trailer boats are having a ball in this area at the moment. The islands further out and around Motuora are a bit patchy with best successes coming from the main channel between the islands at the change of light.

I have it on good advice that the channels around Auckland are fishing well too although there are a lot of small fish to wade through to get into the better fish. The traffic and ignorance in here is like a steering wheel down your pants – it drives me nuts!

Keep your eyes and ears open as we get closer to the landmark court case between the great people fighting for our rights as recreational anglers and the Ministry of Fisheries. We have to really support both vocally and financially the team at the Kahawai Legal Challenge. Log onto www.kahawai.co.nz to find out more and to be kept in the loop.

Hook up with us at deepsea@clear.net.nz or call on 021 2446346.