FISH YOUR FEET THIS AUTUMN

For the last coupla months I have been attempting to emulate the successes of ancient fisher friends  who have fished in the Bay since they were babes on boobs. Even in small row boats they seem able to do the business, often home by breakfast after an early morning start. And I’ve seen what these guys can catch – snapper that many good keen Kiwi lads would die for – they are amongst the 10% of fishos that catch 100% of the fish.

So here is a record – more or less, of the highs and lows of my autumn fishing follies. The score out of ten is a rough indicator of my own success rate at these locations:

Despite its near legendary status, I have found Nobbys - up the Veronica channel from Russell - to be consistently under-whelming. A few fish - here and there - and mostly kahawai at that – maybe a score of 5/10.

The Brampton Reef definitely keeps a heap of snapper safe from human predation. If it’s not the foul that keeps the reef safe, then it’s the swell that can start to break not far inside the green marker buoy. However, if you can find a clean, safe spot inside or on the edge, then the fishing can be quite remarkable. Time spent learning how to navigate through this vast area of foul ground is time well spent. A cousin even took me through an inside channel the other day from Waitangi to Kent Passage – so it just goes to show that there definitely are clear areas of sand/mud in the midst of the rubble. A score of 8/10

Paroa Bay also has legendary status in some quarters. Trial and effort, including night sorties suggests that the best fishing is just outside the entrance on the Russell side. Drifting near the top of the tide has worked best - 6/10.

Probably one of the most legendary snapper fishing locations in the Bay, the fouls and reefs off the SW corner of Roberton Island produce fish all year round. I would suggest that more big snapper have been landed off this corner than even the fabled Whale Rock – which also can fish year round. Interestingly, at this time of the year, most of the snapper here are pannies, but the prospect of a big noddie is always a possibility - 7/10.

The Black Rocks is one of the most fickle locations in the Bay. So astonishing is it as a fishing habitat that most visitors make a bee-line for the place. Of my own fishing sorties to this location, and there have been dozens over the years, I can count on one hand the memorable ones – but those few were sure hot. I believe it gets a real hammering so that apart from a few big reds deep in the caves, resident fish are in short supply. However, as a stop-over – a kind of marine oasis for migrant fish, then it can star - 4/10.

The Te Puna Inlet features for many Kerikeri-side fishers with the Hen and Chicks well up towards Te Tii highly commended by some. Then there are the fouls outside Crater Bay and those scattered along the west side as well as the boulder-strewn Poronui Point. Others swear by the junction at Kauri Point. My own experience is pretty mixed – a few here, a few there – mostly pannies but with some rare bigger fish just inside Poronui Point and over the west side fouls - 6/10.

The Kerikeri Inlet really starts out at the Black Rocks and ends up at the Stone Store. Beyond Opito Bay, locals revel in the sheltered fishing opportunities which feature during the season of autumn. My own experience fishing Between Poronui Point and Whale Bay have been pretty mixed over the years – some say “Well that’s fishing!” It would seem that the upper reaches, including and beyond the roiling waters of the 4-way intersection of the Te Puna entrance can really fire at this time of the year. My own experience is a modest confirmation of this expectation. The most astonishing thing about this shallow water fishery is the very decent size of the fish - 9/10!