Fishing Reports

  For the first time this season, my temperature guage has risen above 20C: - but it took a trip out to the 1000M line east of Cape Brett, and a hot sunny afternoon to do it!!!!!  Our reward was a couple of mahimahi, and half a dozen 5kg albacore, and a permanent sense of expectation that something spectacular could happen.

  The reality is that the best of the marlin fishing is in closer. As I like to remind myself (and others ), the fish come down here to feed, not sunbathe, and most of the catches over the last few days have been around Donaghys Reef and the Inside Trench in the vicinity of the 200M contour, or at the same  depth east of Cape Brett (Queen's Buoy).  Plenty of small albacore have been feeding in the area since Xmas. Most of the stripeys caught so far have been well over 100kg, the larger fish probably better suited to the cooler waters, with the main influx likely to arrive as the inshore waters increase in temperature over the next two or three weeks.

 Yellowfin presented plenty of early season expectations, with a few very large fish taken around New Year, but the catches have petered out over the last couple of weeks. News of leased ex American Super Seiners scooping massive breeding schools out from Papua New Guinea, makes us realise how dependant our own fishery is on the wise international management of pelagic fish.

 The fishing in closer has been more reliable. Plenty of kingish on the outside reefs though very few fish above 12kg are in the mix.

  Snapper fishing has improved over the last week, with early morning water temps finally approaching the critical 18C. All the fish are still heavily roed, at a time in normal years that most of the spawning would be over. The probability is that the best of the snapper fishing is yet to come, but better late than never. Centre Foul has gone dead, and the best area over the last few days has been between Mita's Foul and Whale Rock ( more towards Mita's), and the  50M line south from the Nine Pin. The grounds on the western side of the Bay are also producing some good terakihi catches, as we found while seeking calmer waters during one charter when a strong nor'wester was blowing.

 As always, drop me an email to major.tom@xtra.co.nz if you have any queries.