Fishing Reports

It's not over yet for Gamefishing!!

Despite a quiet last few weeks on the gamefishing front , as I alluded to in the last report, the past week has seen some spectacular late action.

Whilst there are always some late season Striped Marlin stragglers, we've recently had reports of multi hook ups around the Castle Rock and over towards  the Aldermans. However, the big news was a huge pocket of Mahi-Mahi showing up on the Alderman pins last Friday.

Apon arriving with my charter trip of the day, Catherine and George from Hahei, another operator out of Tairua, Carl Muir on the Epic Adventures Stabicraft, was in the process of landing a fish which we presumed to be a Kingfish on a jig. Can you imagine our shock when he called out Mahi Mahi!

19.7 degree water, only 100m of water ,and mid april -now thats crazy !! These fish should be at North Cape by now. As we rigged up for Kingfish, a school of 50 plus mahis showed up and started using the boat as a FAD.

What ensued over the next 3 hrs was certainly the best  Mahi fishing I have ever experienced anywhere in my life.!! We jigged them, although they got very fussy after 2 drops , and from there on would only take the new pre -production prototype jig I was testing for Sportfishing NZ, to be called the "King" when released later this year. More on that later. There is more to jigs than you think....

We also cast poppers and Rapalas to them, again finding how fussy they were, with a huge reduction in trace size needed to get consistent bites.

At one stage Carl on the other boat reckoned he had a 100 or so around him, while I had  much the same around "Stingray", simutaneously.  Then bugger me if I didnt look out to the NE and here comes another 40-50 greyhounding in to join the party !!!, and predominantly bigger fish.

We had Mahis from 3-4 kilos through to 12 kilos or more, with many around 6-9 kilos.

We would have hooked 30-40 fish, losing a lot  as these great fighters jumped all round the  ocean, throwing many a hook along the way, and came home with 12 mahis up to 11.9 kilos, including a new  light tackle club record at 5.98 kg, for Mercury Bay Club, set on my son james's 6 kg spin set , at the end, which just happened to be in the cabin - Thanks James !!

We had drifted 2 miles in nearly 3 hrs , and they stayed with us right till we stopped fishing, exhausted, to take some photos. Then off for a quick  Puka drift , resulting in a 12 kilo specimen to wrap the day up  - wow !

Certainly a day that none of us will ever forget. !!! So get back out there Gamefishers !!

Good Fishing

Andy Kerr-Stingray Charters-Whitianga.