Fishing Reports

Its going off out here at the moment. The odd slow day when its calm and the fish are spawning but they do bite sooner or later so you just have to wait. The last few days have been a bit soggy but the fish are biting well and it sure is a healthy fishery. Some cool battles on the silly string.

We have done less reports this year mostly due to being very busy with both businesses but will put more effort in now as we have broken the goals we set for the year and can rest up a bit. The flip side to less reports is that we havent been followed around so much hahaha.

I'll give a bit of rundown from around the traps as I go and post in some pics to keep the boredom from setting in too quickly.

Rangi to Tiri - This area has been good in the evenings out in the open but we are finding that the best sessions come from anchoring and burelying up. Downside - sharks! Little Bronzies and makos are getting into the fish and nipping off the gear. Its hard case when you see a newbie angler get the hook up on a 5ft bronzie or mako for the first time. They look at the line screaming out, they look and grip onto the bent rod, they look at you with a WTF look and then back to the line leaving the reel at a huge rate of knots. Most bite off, some we cut off to save the drama and to get back to the snapper and kingi fishing but the odd one we bring to the boat for a look and then set it free.

Dawn seems to be working pretty well down off the Barbers Pole (Rangi lighthouse) but we seldom head down this far unless asked to fish out of Auckland. Try in 11m of water due north of the lighthouse with the tide running in at dawn. Its been good for a few hours of madness!

Tiri Channel - A couple of good fish have come from in here on the evening trips but it seems to be a bit quiet when we go through there during the day or even at first light the morning after a good evening shot. The edges of the channel are best and the old 44 gallon drum reef out off the wharf in 25m has been good for an evening when the tide is running and its breezy from the north east or east. Fish up to 6-7kg have come from in here along with a couple around 20-25lb earlier on.

The Elbow  - this is the area where the Telecom Cable turns the corner and heads north just south east of Tiri. PLEASE DONT FISH IN THE TELECOM CABLE AREA!! Head south of the elbow so you are a about 1.5miles south of it and start looking. Huge schools of snapper congegate in here and there is a bit of shelter from south west and southerly breezes. The fish are seldom huge but you will nearly always get a feed from this area. Look for the gannets.

East of Tiri - Now I know this sounds a bit vague but some days its 6-7 miles the next it could be 10-12 but somewehre out here you will find a work up. A BIG work up full of kingies and snapper!

We spend a lot of time out here and to be honest it changes daily. There is often nothing to see above or below the water but a blind drift will produce heaps of fish. Being a little off the beaten track helps too with no-one following us around and often no other charter boats in sight. We did a 108 snapper in 50 mins out here a few weeks ago. One guy caught 3 at a time! Now if only that weight was 1 fish eh....

Tiri - Kawau - It has been good through here this week.... besides that it has been northerly too so plenty of shelter. Heaps of sharks in here make for some mean bite offs too. Pete and Tania Rogers were fishing in here last week and caught a large snapper which got bitten in half at the boat by a mako. The head was that was left weight 19.5lbs! to give you an idea of how big the snapper was. Pete knows his fish and called it for 30lbs which I believe to be about right. We havent seen one that big in here for a while but we are fishing through here this week so we'll see what happens. Pete is going to stick the photo up on his facebook page so I'll include it in the next report.

Kingfish at Flat Rock - nearly every day there will be some boats out on the pins jigging them up but they are mostly rats in here at the moment. We are getting the bigger ones (15kg+) in the work ups though and we nearly always have a livie out either in the top water or set deep. The deeper ones tend to get sharked sadly.

Snapper in the middle ground. - The area north and south of Anchorite is much the same as everywhere else with birds being the prime indicator of fish. There are some more consistent areas though.

5 mile reef - used to be only he odd boat here but it gets thrashed these days with guys trying to jig kingfish but if it snapper you want try the edges around the reef. Have a look up to 1/2 mile away and try a few drifts. Same thing for Anchorite. The reef has been raped so try the edges. I have done pretty well on the northwestern side of the reef. Have a look with the sounder about 400m NW of the rock. There is some low rubble that the fish will sift around in. It can get a bit "joggly" out here but worth it for big snapper.

Often you'll come across a few marks or a work up on the way out or heading home. These can be great ofr filling up the bins with if the fishing earlier on has been a little slow due to them spawning or not feeding. the fish in these work ups will often take anything you throw at them. Just about any size jig (even a 400-600g kingfish jig will be nailed), nearly any softbait, any bait and we have caught them on beer tabs, soap, rag, Xmas tinsel and a strip of silicone. I got 2 on the bit of orange peel! If you pulled the plud you'd be surprised how many fish attened these work ups or in fact how many fish there were in the Gulf.

We start the "Kids Trips" in January again. the idea being you get to come along with your child and enjoy them catching some fish. the trips are $130 for the parent/child combo and they leave at 0900 and return at 1500. Just like a school day...but wat more fun. The emphasis is on the child fishing and catching but you can share the rods if you like or if the attention span is short in the the young anglers.

Dates for these trips, kingfish trips, evening trips and day trips for individuals and small groups are on our website. If you have a large group then flick us an email to deepsea@clear.net.nz for the list of available dates. Our regular anglers enjoy a loyalty plan where we offer free trips from time to time. Be part of it and enjoy the fishing.

Have a safe and joyful Christmas. Be careful on the roads, rocks and the water. I will post a report early next year but for now its on with the fishing and a bit of time with the kids...I think they still recognise me hahaha.

Tight lines!

Damian(Damo)Clayton

The Charter Connection - Where fishing is catching!©

www.charterconnection.co.nz

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