Fishing Reports

A few extra layers are required especially in the mornings to keep the cold out but once the sun gets up you can normally start peeling them off. The water temp has dropped as expected after all that rain and now the south and southeast trend for the last few weeks has certainly chilled it off. The result of this being (other than I am not taking a morning swim) is the slower metabolism of the fish. In short expect shorter and fewer bites times during the day unless of course you find a work up. Sadly these too have become a little rare although the top of the Firth(say 1/2 way between Gannet Rock and the Black Rocks) has had a bit of action as has what we call the middle ground (South of Anchorite)

Finding one in full swing is rare at this time of year but keep your eyes peeled for dolphins and whale spouts. Both are a clear indicator that there is some bait fish around waiting to be eaten. Be prepared to follow the gannets too. We have followed them for 10 or more miles on occasion out here and pretty much each time we have got into some kind of work up situation. The behavior of the birds can tell us a lot too.

Chris and I are finding the fish to be not always on the bottom too at the moment and this was clearly illustrated on a recent trip when we moved a short distance to start another drift and a reel had inadvertently been left in free spool. Despite the fact it went un-noticed until we were fishing again it had emptied the spool. There were the usual jokes of course but when the angler was winding it all back in he got a strike and wound a 3kg snapper up. There was only a small ball sinker on the rig so it wouldn't have been anywhere near the bottom. Some of the guys started pulling the softbaits further off the bottom and even winding slowly up (a technique I have used a lot with good success) and they all got bites and the fishing improved. The strike zone was about 8-10m off the bottom in 55m.

The wind has gotten in the way from time time and we have had to put the anchor down and give it a few hours of burleying. Most times this pays off if the crew have the patience to sit it out and keep firing baits and live bait out the back. This often means putting up with a lot of small fish but I'm a firm believer that "activity creates action". Keep at it because sooner or later its going to go off! Some big fish live right in close where we drive past every day and they have probably lived there for years so its just a matter of  turning one or three onto your baits or burley trail. Others will follow and species like john dory are probably dying of old age inside the trawl line so put a couple of lives out and set them deeper than you would for a kingfish. You may even nab one of them too.

In close and where the school fish were out on the sand has gone a little quiet although there are the kahawai schools around still. We have been spending most of our time out wider and expect to be doing that for the next 8-9 weeks. The sharks have been a bit of a pain on some days but the softbaits don't seem to have the same appeal as a whole squid, pillie or large cut bait so I'm liking them even more out here at the moment. In the deeper water and current around places like The Needles, Cape Barrier, Colville the fish are constantly on the go. They have to move around because of the current and therefore need more food to provide this energy. I don't mind supplying the food as long as they eat it!

The kingfish are still around although they have thinned out a bit and you may be better off fishing a deep set live bait whist you jig (think teasing up a marlin lol) to get a better result. We have been getting our on the livies that are set deeper on a long trace with the weight away from the bait. Use enough lead to get it down of course but keep the bait out of the weed on the bottom. In close we use the same rig but far less weight or none at all but suspend the bait at a set depth under a balloon or float on a break-away. clip or length of cotton. I don't like the cotton so much as it tends to twist around the leader and bust off anyway if there is any wind and there is normally wind if we're in close.

We have plenty of trips going at the moment including the usual Wednesday casuals trip, Friday Fish Fests (there's a prize for the longest snapper on these trips) and the dates on our web page are updated regularly. Go to www.charterconnection.co.nz  to see more.