Fishing Reports

 Inshore

Inshore fishing has improved slightly,particularly snapper.Whilst still not thrilling, more people seem to be getting a feed, and there is the odd good fish, either by luck or skill. A friend of mine always says " you dont need to be good , if you are lucky", (and that is very true GB...A good fisherman in his own right). Lucky fishermen will hit now and again, but top guns will get it most of the time.

Two good fish were taken, that I know of, on saturday around the Great Mercury  Island area. One snapper was reputedly 26lbs, a top fish, and taken near the 9 fathom rock area, and the other of 20+lbs(and they may have got several real beautys) was caught nearer to the Gt Merc, on none other than the "Whai", skippered by John Ellwood, a man who doesnt need to be lucky, as he is an expert in his field. Most other fishos struggled on the weekend, so well done to those two.

Snapper  have half developed roe in them now, I observed after saturdays trip, and so they are starting to mass up into schools in pre spawning mode, out on the sand, or near to it.

Try the edges of sand / foul anywhere around "the puddle", and between Gt Merc and Opito/Otama. I suggest 20-40 metres yet again at this time of year. Daytime is hard , so try and stay later if you can, its worth the wait usually.

Offshore

Kingfish continue to fire out on the offshore reefs, but things are changing now and some fish are showing inshore now, with a good kingi landed from Kuaotunu reef, and others around Tipaki point/Opito, and the SE end of Ohinau.

Hapuka action has been quiet due to lousy weather, but should be ok if you can get out to the usual 'Puka spots.

Electronics- A  Feature Blurb..

One of my other sidelines is servicing boats when charter weather is no good.I recently fitted the latest 7 Inch Furuno Navnet system to a 5.5 Surtees.This is the smaller version of the 10.4 inch Navnet I run in "Stingray".This system , while expensive, represents the "rolls royce" of electronics, in my opinion.I fitted the latest Digital sounder module from Furuno, in this job , and I have to say that the improvement over my analogue sounder module in "Stingray", was nothing short of massive.!!

The clarity, definition, and filtering is just awesome. If you can't see fish with this unit, then take up a new sport!!!-, so clearly are they defined above the sea floor.

The old story- you get what you pay for- Whilst even Furuno offer a system at half this price, this  system is worth 4 times the price of the lesser !!, if you care about quality.So often I see boats with the "Hell" motors etc, and every other Gizmo under the sun, only to have a cheap electronics package.Just go to the NZ Boat Show, and there are the flashest boats with the silliest sounders and Gps, that I wouldnt even put in a Kayak!!

My advice- Put serious money into Electronics if you are serious about results, and take the time to learn it-Yes I mean actually read the manual !!, or you will never utilise your package to its full extent.So often I am called to train people to run their Furuno electronics, and even after months or years of use they can't get past just turning it on, as they won't read the books that came with it.If you havent read your electronics books back to back half a dozen times, chances are you have wasted your money, no matter how much or how little you've spent ...

Good Fishing

Andy Kerr-Stingray Fishing Charters