Fishing Reports

And so we have arrived at the last week of February. Time when we welcome the 8 day marathon we call the “Nationals”, time when we should be seeing the zenith of water temperatures, time when the best of the gamefishing is in full swing and the final week of summer.

Let’s hope only the first aspect is with us! The BOP always features well in this tourney, both in participation (4 top clubs in anglers) and results. Expect the same again. Otherwise it’s business as usual with a couple of twists.

Inshore

Much of a muchness here. Snapper have moved into the shallows big time, in fact it doesn’t get much shallower. Not only are beach fishers having a ball, even rock fishermen at the Whakatane Heads and river entrance are cashing in on this bonanza. Where mainly kahawai are pursued, anglers are now scoring reasonable (1-2kgs) snapper and not just one here and there.

Great to see these shore-bound anglers have something different on their plate. Otherwise there’s some nice trevs (up to 4 kilos) to add spice to the steady diet of snapper, terakihi and kahawai.

Offshore

A mixed bag out here but the only thing that is really shining consistently are trevally. For those light tackle and flyrod enthusiasts, it’s a great time to be had. The beautiful water surrounding White Island makes the visuals and adds to the experience. The downside is the size of the fish. Whereas they normally average 4-5 kilos and occasionally more, these fish are usually small with plenty under 3 kilos. Still plenty of sport.

The kingis continue to be lean and inconsistent. Some days they play ball, other days anglers can fish many different spots for only a handful of fish. Jigs continue to be rejected by all except rats. Bluenose have taken a page out of the kingis book with their lack of consistency. Beautiful warm water makes fishing fun as you watch your catch emerge from the depths.

Ranfurly Bank

Recent visits have yielded mixed results. In general there are plenty of fish to appease anglers but they need to work at it to assemble a catch. The only exception is bluenose, which are biting exceptionally well. Other qualities of the Ranfurly nose over their BOP counterparts is a) size and b) bite times. Not only are they huge (16-20 kilo average) but they bite better in the middle of the day. Try that in the Bay and you’re assured of a long day! After some great catches of king terakihi recently, they’re returned to their illusiveness and only shown in token amounts.

Puka and bass are there to be sure but you’ll need to work. Most are of average (8-15 kilos) size but the odd nice one (“Enchanter” -49 kilos) spices up (and rapidly fills) the fishold. Trumpeter are seen in reasonable numbers but the bad news has been the arrival enmasse of sharks. We expect to see some of them when we tackle the bank but their current recent numbers are staggering – and frustrating at all depths.

Spiny dogs and school sharks are making the bottom fishers life difficult to be sure. And it doesn’t stop there. They also inhabit the shallows and are taking baits intended for kingfish. Kingis are in great shape and biting well but trophy fish are hard to come by. Anything over 20 kilos is a big one now with most from rats to 12 kilos. Some beautiful water swathing onto the Bank now which naturally leads us to ………………

Pelagics

The long lived potential would appear to finally be lived up to – at least in places and at times. Waihau Bay is easily the pick of places in the eastern Bay, if not the entire Bay. More blues (218k fish weighed in recently) are showing up as well as a good supply of stripeey all the while in the azure water. One bait even experienced a rare double strike of spearfish for some spice.

Keep in mind it’s a huge fleet of boats here and expect up to 150 boats on the water each day during the competition. Elsewhere the crowds dwindle but so do the fish. With the exceptional water virtually everywhere now, a great catch could be apprehended anywhere at any time so be on guard! Mahi mahi have now started to make an appearance and we welcome the tropical visitors to the Bay.

Summary

This should be a good week with some exceptional catches coming to the scales. Expect the largest (and most) blue marlin to grace the Waihau Bay weighstation during the tourney. Elsewhere bluenose and snapper should keep anglers occupied with some good kingis showing inshore at this time of year. Next report should be a boomer from a pelagic standpoint that may well include the arrival of mahi mahi in our waters. Good luck to all on the water.