CAPE KARIKARI THE PLACE TO BE

Whilst the equinox is with us, change is of the essence. Just as they take time to drop after summer, winter water temperatures will remain with us for a while yet. And it’s at least as much to do with the arrival of currents of tropical origin as due to local heating by the sun that the sea finally warms enough for snapper to spawn and humans to swim.

Advice has it that winter rock fishing is now over with both the kahawai and snapper having moved away from the beaches and shallow coastal regions. While not necessarily always apparent, the spring snapper migration is already under-way. Traditionally, buck snapper, known in commercial parlance as scouts, arrive first. Typically they first check out those rocky reaches of the coastline that have deep water close by. The eastern side of the Cape Karikari region would have to be the hottest snapper prospect at present with kingfish chances below the local schools of bait-fish also well worth the call.  

Major schools of migrant snapper are likely to be found in the region of some of those deeper off-shore reefs where, much as migrant buffalo move from watering hole to watering hole, migrant snapper move from reef to reef in search of food and shelter.   

Flounder have returned from their mid-winter break and are in absolutely prime condition with roes as fat as my big toe. Mullet too are in pretty good shape with numbers dependent on local commercial fishing pressure. For those enamored of that wonder-oil Omega 3, mullet are one of the richest sources on the planet.    

Still in the throes of recovering from a serious buffeting, the 90 Mile will fish well as soon as sea conditions allow. But don’t expect your usual spots to still be there. And the rocky outcrops at either end of the beach and at the Bluff are likely to be red hot right now – if you can keep your feet.