Fishing Reports

Fast & furious, or go home and stay home?

Successful fishing, especially at this time of year requires a little more forethought than looking out the window and then deciding to sort out the boat and gear before you can go I reckon. No massive schools of Snapper munching on pretty much most things you can throw at them swimming in great droves towards the downtown Auckland Viaduct for a pint and a curry.

Using the changeable conditions to our advantage in this cold winter (I’m really over it) seems to be the go at the mo’. There are so many freely available websites with weather from various live webcams around the coast, satellite pictures of current cloud cover, accurate isobar (and thus wind) maps, 7 day wind and rain predictions, Swellmap and Metservice. So a bit of a combo approach gives a good indication whether the week might just present an opportunity at some stage, or to flag the fishing idea and go make some money by turning up to work instead! With so many fronts and small weather patterns coming across the country at this time of year, there has been a number of calm periods sometimes extending for several hours, certainly enough for the prepared fisho to head out and get into some Snapper action.

Preparation? Say what? I may be a little retentive when it comes to being geared up and ready to go but the amount good fishing time I’ve seen wasted lately  - sorting out the boat/trailer/gear in back yards, at the gas station, at the ramp, forgetting gear…on and on it goes while a fish feeding frenzy has been and gone. Be prepared so when the wind is dropping off nicely one evening, and the forecast is for 10kt to15kt Westerlies by lunchtime the next day – you know early the next morning could well be perfect….and so it was this past Monday.

The wind didn’t eventuate until late afternoon – by which time a few fishos who could call in the opportunity saw some outstanding Snapper action in the Hauraki Gulf…from Tiri to Barrier and much in between. Gaggles of squawking seabirds of all shapes and sizes sitting around, pods of Dolphins flipping all over the place, throw in a few whales for good measure - and home came bins full of fat fish. All the red fatties were caught on mirror flat seas, in warm pleasant conditions. And what’s wrong with adding a few fresh Scallops or Mussels into the pot for a welcome change?!

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Where did you say?

The Hauraki Gulf can be a mean place in a trailer boat when the wind picks up as everyone knows. Smacking home into a cold S/SW wind with the strong tidal currents and short wave chop is simply not fun, so picking the weather windows has been top priority, and likely fishing areas accordingly. Some excellent schooling Snapper are still around in smaller classrooms, holding in some nice groups along the Flat Rock, Kawau, Little Barrier and Horn Rock route. But keep an eye skyward towards Coromandel – our fishy mammal friends the Dolphins are helping to attract some nice little clumps of Snapper around that area too, and those Gannets are like live webcams, but only if you’re watching.

What about with all these windy Sou-westerlies? Stay in close and all can still be lined up nicely to bring home fresh fish. In really close, with berley and more berley – it’s been working! Right close to downtown Jaffa-land and right under the noses of many eastern facing houses, has been producing some good take-home fish for those fishing by the right rules….the rules of berley direction into reefy habitat, good current flow, bite times and/or change of light. It can take two hours or so of steady burleying and putting up with little pickers before the sluggish winter blues are thrown off and the pannies start to feed.

Great to feel those string pullers again though! And all you need is a dingy and some light gear…good to clean out the bait freezer by using the old bait as burley – then using fresh squid strips, fresh filleted pillies, fresh mussels, or put out the sabiki line. Grab hold of a few Mackerel or whatever is in the berley trail and use the freshest and cheapest bait in town right there, butterflied or fully filleted has been paying dividends.

Use someone else’s boat!

No not beg, steal or borrow, try a Charter – because (almost) no matter what the conditions are it could be a great way to stave off the winter fishing doldrums. Some of the larger vessels and catamarans can be surprisingly stable and provide an excellent platform to fish from, it’s inexpensive compared to running your own boat, and you’ll undoubtedly pick up some excellent tips and knowledge from the good operators. It pays to ask around. AND they can go further out where some big Snapper are still lurking.

The weather outside looks a bit bleak, but the passing weather patterns will mean some good sessions are quite likely all this week. So winter or not, no excuses, it’s time to get organized and catch a binful… or stay at home and hear about how good it was from your smiling neighbour  :)