Fishing Reports

If you’re a holiday making angler chances are you’ve been pretty happy most of the past two weeks, especially if your boat is small and you have remained inshore. If you are an owner of a larger craft and/or are a gamefisher then you probably won’t be smiling – unless you’ve got shares in an oil producing conglomerate! Other than the odd poor day of weather (make that wind, rain very scarce – just ask any farmer) things have been very kind thus far this year – long may it last.

Inshore

Not nearly as many good stories or vibrant fishing just lately as there was only a fortnight ago. Most groups are still catching fish over a wide area but they aren’t as big or numerous just lately. While snapper maintain a nice, pleasing average size (1-2kgs), there are few monsters around.

The odd 5-7 kilo fish pops up but they are scarce. Plenty of nice sized kahawai (2-2 1/2k’s) about as well as gurnard. Seems like very few are fishing for, or catching, terakihi in inshore waters at present. Water has stabilized now with no increase in temperature or colour just lately.

Offshore

A real success story here. We’ll start diversified story with kingfish – many anglers target species. Don’t think your barrel out to White and catch plenty of fish first thing in the morning – it just won’t happen. It’s very much an afternoon bite now with little to get excited about until the sun is overhead and later.

In fact, some days the later the better. “Invader” had an excellent bite on kingis at the Volkners on the weekend, ended finally by darkness. End result was three or four bites each drift with two splendid specimens over 30k’s and another three over 25. Elsewhere the fish also bit well but without the same quality. All manner of enticements are working with dead flying fish as good as or better than anything else. Livies as well as soft baits, slow and fast jigs also doing the biz on the mainly 15-19 kilo fish. Many have or are in the process of spawning now as condition slips away.

Their penchant for taking poppers has suddenly slowed right down, indicating they’ve passed the height of their spawning period. Trevally, seemingly in full spawn, are biting like there’s no tomorrow. They bite well throughout the day but really turn on in late afternoon – evening, taking most offerings. Deep water also producing well with a nice combination of hapuka, bass and bluenose – all in just over 200 metres.

For those that don’t know, that’ relatively shallow for these waters. An interesting side note is no need for early starts/late finishes plus a few large (15-20kg) pre spawn female bluenose showing up. This is very early for them, by a month to six weeks. Could be a bumper or at least early season for these crowd pleasing, tasty warehou.

Ranfurly Bank

No reports of late – see full rundown next week.

Gamefishing

A sad state of affairs! After the promising few XOS YFT landed things have gone quiet, that despite a huge effort. The recent three day Tauranga Tuna Tourney yielded no tuna – only one marlin, a couple shortbill spearfish (hogs of 28 & 30 kgs) and a handful of albacore. A couple stripeys were landed just north of Whale Island and a blue was lost at the Volkners but no sign of tuna anywhere in the Bay.

My guess they have (what few there were) slid around the corner and will next delight a few anglers off Gisborne and Hawkes Bay. Our best hope is for an invasion of billfish but nothing on the immediate horizon. My projection of a late season still stands.

Summary

In general, people on the water are pretty content with their lot. With some beautiful and relatively warm water not far offshore, chances are some gamefish will grace us with their presence. Till next week ……………