Fishing Reports

Well the juggernaut that is the Westcoast Marlin fishery just keep rolling on. Sure there are fish getting caught up the coast on the other side but you just can’t do it as a day trip. I have no problem making a trip up there for a long weekend but you can’t beat towing the boat to Huia and fishing for the day. And there is no shortage of Marlin out there. You just have to find them. There have been hot spots with big numbers of boats in attendance but the fish are everywhere. From the back of the bar to out past 100m. North to South no matter.

There are still big numbers of Skippies and they can be in close, same for Kahawai with big tightly packed Mackerel schools drifting past the sounder. With the bait finally balling up live baiting has for some anglers really paid off. This is not to say lures aren’t working. They are with boats finding the Marlin reporting doubles, triples and even some quads.

Don’t be put off by the water colour it’s not the greatest, green-blue even when you squint but even then some fish are coming out of the real green stuff. If the bait is on the dirty side of the current line that’s where the Marlin will be. Makos can be a big problem in close in the dirty water with big tackle bills on some boats. At least live bait traces aren’t as expensive as lures. And the gas is cheaper too when you are drifting.

If you are looking to fish the Westcoast this weekend the “Westcoaster” is on 11-12 March which is being run by the “Manukau Sportfishing Club”. Team briefing is 7.00pm Thursday evening at Little Huia. It is $60/ angler and you must be affiliated to a NZSFC club or you can pay $20 for a 2 day membership with the MSFC. Parking at Little Huia will be at a premium with the paddock restricted to tournament boats only. It’s a great little tourney so why not sign up. I’ll see you on the water.