Fishing Reports

We've spent the last month or so hanging out with our mates..whales, dophins, gannets and kahawai (you know what a kahawai looks like eh...they were nearly wiped out) and having a ball.

The middle Gulf (between Kawau and Coromandel) is full of school fish ..so far up to 8.5kg as they slowly make thier way in for the season. The water temp is gradually rising thanks to the northerly trend and has pushed alot of bait fish into the area.

Anything that looks like an anchovie will get eaten! You dont have to be too high tech on it either - we pulled fish on ledger rigs using "stunt" baits like chip packet and a bit of towel the other day! In saying that there was a mean workup of 4 -5 brydes whales, 200 dolphins and about 2000 gannets dropping in. About 100 fish in an hour graced the decks too. 

The odd kingi is amoungst the bait schools too but nothing huge. The last one took a flasher rig and got tail wrapped - long drag in for a metre long fish of about 14kg. A few others have been caught and one we got one on a small Zest jig probably 3-5 metres under the boat as it crashed its way through a school of terrified anchovies taking refuge there.

It's not all coke and chips though as the days you don't find a decent workup you have to prospect around and follow your instinct. Did a trip the other day where we only had 1 fish in the box at lunchtime but ended up with a limit bag of the good ones by 3pm - hunt them down on the sounder, keep your eyes peeled for birds and splashes and be patient.

These school fish feed universally...1 or 2 wont leave the school to feed - the whole school will feed!When they come on the bite you'll know all about it! If the size is small then find another school as alot of these schools are in year classes eg: 500 fish 35-50cm.

A few sharks have been nipping off the gear every now and then too. Mostly school sharks but there will probably be a few big bronzies in it as well. I know this cos I got spooled on 6lb braid the other day! 400m of gear gone west at 30 knots! Fun till the knot became visible and the main shaft of the  Abu T Alloy bent...note to self...get a Stella, Sol or Twin Power and no more tears.

So far as the soft baits go..well what can you say ..your fishing in a pond full of fish so they will all work! However....when the bite is slow or you are trying to generate attention we find the scented baits are best. Gulp and Squidgies.

I'm impressed with the Squidgies. The texture is firmer than the Gulp therefore the bait remains intact longer and the scent seems to work. The price is good too as soft bait fishing can be quite expensive when you are getting each bait smashed. Small price to pay for alot of fun though. 

Weekend dates are getting full but there are midweek ops for you. The website will be updated today with dates so check it out and get out here.

Cheers

Damian"Damo"Clayton

Charter Connection - Where fishing is catching!

www.charterconnection.co.nz