Fishing Reports

A couple of prolonged easterlies, with strong winds and some welcome rain have played havoc with fishing opportunities over the last week or so, but have made caused a dramatic improvement in water temps.

Our one chance to venture out wide last Sunday showed the good water right in to 80M, with plenty of skippies, lot's of manta rays, and yes:- the marlin were there. We only had the one hook up for the day, and managed to pull the hooks just 20M from the transom but the sense of expectation was always present with water temps up to 22C in places, and the water varying in shades of blue instead of green. Our action came at the 140M line, with other boats reporting fish in as close as 100M. Harlequin, fishing out at the outside trench, caught the first blue marlin for the Bay of Islands Swordfish club to set the pin at 166Kg.

The latest crop are a little smaller on average, and not as fat as most of the early fish.
With warm water moving right in to the bay the snapper spawn should finally get under way. It has been strange to catch big males with hard roe at the end of December, and few if any of the 'old hands' can remember a season this late. Best fishing locations have been the bottom end of Mita's Foul, and the 50M line south of the Nine Pin. Some days have given good catches under the birds, but the action has been erratic.

Bird Rock has been holding plenty of kingis but they are quite small. Better fish will be available a short distance away at 71 Meter reef, but the fish have been holding deep. Once the westerlies return, Rocky Point will be worth revisiting.

As always drop me an email at MAJOR.TOM@xtra.co.nz if you have any queries.