Fishing Reports

The horrible blow we endured a fortnight ago was worth it since the payback has been a pleasure to go whenever and we do whatever one wants.  By the look of things this will have changed by the time you read this.  While there’s some very nice water around, fishing (for marlin) is either patchy or quite difficult depending where you are and on the day.  Everything else is full ahead with productive sessions on kingfish, a wide variety of bottomfish and snapper.  Most people on the water over the Easter were bound to have a good time.

Doubtless Bay

Again a line seems to be drawn our from Bergen’s Point – you’re on the Whangaroa side of the line you’re legitimately chasing marlin; on the west side and you’re fooling yourself.  Very few skippers here as well despite good gannet workups.

North Cape – Great Exhibition Bay

Not a lot going on here despite considerable traffic passing through this body of water.

Surville Cliffs – The “Hook”

The occasional bite here but very little pressure.  More skippies here than anywhere else along the coast.  Snapper and cray diving productive in Tom Bowling Bay.

Cape Karikari

The odd marlin is seen out in 200-250 metres of water off the light but very few hooked or landed. Again some great workups but few skippies.  Snapper fishing has been excellent overall with plenty of good stories emanating for the islands and back along the beaches on the sand.  Not a lot of big ones but good average size – 2-3 kilos.

Compass Rose – The “Fingers”

Usually cold (17-18 degrees C) and green but once in a while warm and blue with a suitable tide change.  Regardless no fish of late.

Great Island – Princess Group

Lots of boats with expectant crews over Easter period.  Still difficult fishing for koheru except just east of NW Bay.  All the old, heretofore reliable spots have returned zilch.  Aside from the excellent shallow water fishing, the kingis have also played ball.  Some boats with marlin lures out have had pleasant surprises with multiples on kingis as they approached the rocks.  The best was a bird watching trip onboard “Demelza”.  Often a successful morning at the Middlesex the happy “birders” trolled two lures back toward the east.  Upon arriving at West Island both rods went off with the end result two exhausted but elated “birders” with their 30 and 40 kilo kingis!!  Also while trolling past Crater Head late one afternoon the Houhora based charterboat “Minerva II” similar pleasant surprise.  Last the “Amokura”, while fishing kingis at the Princess Group with the film crew of Graham Sinclair, hooked several kingis which they never landed.

Middlesex Bank

Getting regular looks these days but no marlin landed.  The odd fish seen trailing or free jumping but nary a bite.  Plenty of bait, nice warm water – and sharks!  Some days lucky to get an intact fish to the boat amid hungry hordes of bronze whalers.  The “Bwana” landed a number of nice albacore recently to 18 kilos as an aside.  No rhyme or reason marlin don’t favour this bank but it’s been this way all season – make that two seasons!  Still, about the time we write it off, it’ll fire!  Great kingi and bottomfishing if you can get them past the sharks.

King Bank

The best of a bad deal on billfish but talk about patchy and inconsistent!  Can be red hot for a day or two, then hardly a fish seen (let alone landed) for the next two.  A real grab bag exists there as well.  As per normal most of the fish are stripeys but the size has varied greatly.  Everything from 70 to 170 kilos – the “Primetime” tagging one estimated to be at the latter size.  Also blues and blacks have featured. 

“Santana” dropped a blue at the boat while the “Hot Rod” nailed a 192 kilo beaut.  “Enchanter” tagged a nice black late one afternoon atop the “Magnet”.  Kingis, bass and kingi terakihi also very obliging with true hapuka among the missing – seems like the bass have moved them off “their” bank as they approach spawning!  Some of the bass are real horses with most in the 15-30 kilo category.  Terry Williams-King and Mitchell Durie shared the “whopper of the week” award with matching 64 kilo bruisers.  Numerous kingis over 30 kilos in what amounted to excellent quality there.  Plenty of big skippies atop the bank – some to 8 kilos.

Summary

So where to from here?  Anybodies guess!  The fact we’ve got such good water and bait supplies indicates a good season ahead, especially when there are so many marlin still “down below” – Tutukaka – Whangaroa.  In the meantime everyone is getting tan and having a ball on the “lesser species” while they are waiting!  Till next time……………………..