Fishing Reports

July / August report for Whitianga

I've been hiding at the Great Barrier Reef  and Nth Queensland for the last 2 weeks - sick of the weather... yet?  I was.!!

After 13 years of trying to get a decent 20lb plus snapper, "Donk" - a very likeable Whitianga local has finally managed to do it.!!! This is no mean feat when you consider some of the very best snapper fishermen in the town take him out all the time.

The man had caught so many 18lbers it wasn't funny over the years, but just couldn't crack the 20, much to the delight of half the town, esp the Mercury Bay Game Fish Club Manager, who had been reminding us all just how good that man was at avoiding the BIG one.

It just goes to show what a fantastic thing we have here, top snapper fishing that is, and yet despite all that help from Martin and Hump, it's taken this long, for Donk to nail it.  Congrats from the Kerr family to you.

There is now a town public holiday in late July to commemorate Donks acheivement - July 26? I think.

There has been very little fishing of late for the obvious reason- The weathers CRAP!!!!!

Good snapper have been had in the foul and reef edge by anyone insane enough to brave it all, and the very occasional day out wide is producing good Kingfish and Hapuka. Stick to the same plan as my last few reports, as nothing much changes till september now, then it gets a bit slower inshore, but stays good out in the deep.

Our last trip out we trialled a new Shakespeare Ugly Stick Jig rod. While I am not generally a fan of the brand, this has turned out to be very good for a budget jig rod. If you can't afford a Shimano Jigwrex at  $400, then have a look at this at around $230. It surprised me !!!

You will have seen the launch of the "KING" ( think Elvis here...) jig  from Sportfishing NZ on the cover of NZ Fishing news this month. This is the jig we have been trialling for a while now, and its finally available. Don't be scared at the cost - its hot- and just make sure you rig it on 250-300lb mono or 120- 200lb flourocarbon, so you don't give it to the razor gang too quickly. We have only lost 3 in 9 months using the above rigging.

The most important thing to do is to RECHECK the trace EVERY time you bring it up. So many people forget this, forget the Barra hits during the day, and then lose it later in the day- Very rarely will you lose it in one chomp, its usually the culmination of many hits that does it. We have lost a total of about 8 jigs in the last 9 months total fishing, but have got hundreds of kingis caught and released, to show for it- a small price to pay I reckon.!!

Pray the weather improves soon ,or we'll all be looking for a new sport to throw our money at...!!!, or a psychiatrist!

Good Fishing

Andy Kerr-Stingray Charters-Whitianga.