Fishing Reports

Are we witnessing the end of a game season that, for all intents and purposes, never was?  Quite likely.  With strong southerlies and cold temps the warm, blue water we grew accustomed to has now been pushed well offshore – further each day.  Still every chance there will be some prime game fish landed however, we can but hope.

Inshore

With the windy weather we’ve experienced, there’s been very little effort recently but that is all about to change.  Not only are we about to experience some settled weather for awhile but a major tournament, the Three Day Hamertons Charity contest, is to start.  After this we should have an excellent idea of what’s around and what’s around and where it’s happening.

Offshore

Improvements on one important aspect and that’s kingfish.  While it’s certainly not all beer and skittles, they have shown a propensity to cooperate more readily right across the board at most posies.  Not only has there been some good sessions over the past week but some real quality has also come to the fore.  At least three fish over 30 kilos were taken, perhaps one or two more.  The best of the bunch was a splendid 37 ½ kilo specimen taken by Auckland engineer Mark Jorey with the next best five kgs in arrears.  Again the fish are keen on meat and not artificial anything!  Bait, either live or dead, rules the day.  Trevs are still there to please if anyone wants to put in the effort as well as the deep water express, mainly centered around bluenose.  Water in excess of 300 metres has been most productive with small (4-9kgs) males outnumbering larger (15-25k’s) females about eight or ten to one.  Some of the roes are already quite mature indicating spawning is not far away.

Ranfurly Bank

Been pretty rough down here of late, literally and figuratively.  Consistent winds and swells have made visitors “pay” the toll – uncomfortable in the least, loss of meals at the worst!  Some recent trips have scratched out to a decent catch of both bottomfish and kingis although they’ve had to persevere and pay a price.  Most bottom grabbers are hapuka in the eight to 15 kilo category with some bycatch to spice up catches.  “Whopper of the week”, taken in 25 knots of cool southerly, was a 40 kilo bass taken by Rod Edgerton off “Enchanter”.  Kingis, while biting pretty well, failed to deliver anything much over the 25 kilo mark with most mulch smaller.  They are, however, keen on all the artificials with jigs and stickbaits leading the pack.  Expect some better, or at least easier, catches with some improved weather conditions.  Water green as grass now, bring your lawnmower!

Pelagics

Sod now at Waihou Bay – what a difference a few days can make.  Off colour water now predominates the Bay with only patches of blue stuff or if one goes out to about 1200 metres of water!  Only a couple of unsuccessful strikes over the last five days with a small (5-15) fleet in attendance.  The further east one goes, the worse the water becomes.  Further back to the west, in a real change, some life remains.  Out to the north and west of White Island remains some very beautiful water, undoubtedly the best remaining in the Eastern Bay at present.  A northerly, or just a cessation of the cold southerly, could redistribute that water elsewhere. Two catches, both tag and release, are worth relating. 

First one was by well known writer Mark Kitteridge.  While putting down a dead flying fish in a mere 35 metres of water at Club Rocks, he was picked up.  The first run was a screamer and headed directly at the island.  Once this fish got into about six to eight metres it jumped – sure the 100 kilo striped marlin had ever been in water that shallow before!  Not sure who got the bigger shock, us or him!  Another run at the rocks resulted in the same scenario before the fish settled down to a more conventional fight in deeper water, succumbing to a tag 25 minutes later on a 100lb trace attached to a 6/0 hook!  Later that day an Indonesian visitor, Geoff McCarthy, tagged and released a splendid 180 kilo black marlin after 50 minutes of non ariel battle.  Still a few superiors left, that’s for sure.

Summary

Where we go with this late season is anybodies guess.  Should be great on bluenose, snapper and terakihi if nothing else – let’s hope for much more.