Fishing Reports

The snapper are still biting.

This year has just been amazing. We are still consistency catching good hauls of snapper on most trips. The old wives tale of fish slowing down in winter time has been proven to be a myth. It seems the fish need to eat more to counteract the extra energy they need to burn to stay warm during our winter months.

I know the mammals living out in the gulf seem to be more active over the winter months, with dolphins zooming all over the place chasing pilchards and whales smashing the schools apart.

We recently had Andy off the Dolphin Explorer boat come out for a fish, and what a wealth of knowledge he has on work ups, whales, dolphins and seabirds.

All the Wave Dancer captains listened to what he had to say about the language of the mammals which can be used to sniff out schools of pilchards and work ups.

For example, did you know that some of the whales we see in the Gulf do not use sonar to find their prey, but rather listen for the sound of dive-bombing gannets to hone in on the bait school.

When they get close enough they use their eyes to find the pilchards to feed on. We also found out that dolphins bow ride the pressure waves created by whales swimming along which we often see but never paid close attention to what they were doing.

The knowledge Andy has is incredible and it was a humbling experience to have him onboard educating the Wave Dancer crew on how to find more work ups. The amazing thing was that the day he was onboard was the best day of fishing we have ever experienced onboard Wave Dancer.Although most were released back into the water, we caught more than 12 snapper in excess of 20lb.

Although Wave Dancer is not licensed as a whale and dolphin watching boat, we see dolphins most times we go fishing, and often see whales.

Terry Vernon joined the Wave Dancer team as an additional captain a while ago. His background being a super keen fisho since he was a young fella and skippering large vessels around the world as well as driving Dolphin Watch boats and fishing charter boats, Terry is a likeable good fun guy to go fishing with. He has an uncanny knack of finding fish because he has been doing it for many years and often uses the dolphins help. His fun style of skippering is a laugh a minute.

The new boat is underway, which is very exciting. We will have two identical boats running out each day looking for fish. The booking calendar will be on our website shortly, and from the huge amount of comments we have received, it is going to be popular, especially from September onwards. You can even have your own private match fishing contest amongst your mates.

On that note, we will be running a fishing league this season and there will be some awesome prizes up for grabs If you like fishing and want to have a few boat versus boat fishing matches, start to get a team together and start sorting out your game plan...

Thursday 30th of this month is our special night at the Auckland Seafood School. It is a great opportunity to learn more about soft baiting, with Mark Kitteridge, Paul Senior and the other Wave Dancer captains speaking and teaching the finer points of fishing. This is a prime opportunity to ask questions or hone your knot tying skills and anything else you want to ask.

It is not often you get this many pro fishermen together for your own tuition. The night will also feature a knife sharpening and filleting demonstration by Auckland chef, Scott Limbrick, owner of the acclaimed Billfish Cafe. In addition we will be teaching how to cook 2 seafood dishes, before it is through to the work stations to cook what you have just learned.

The night concludes by sitting down to dine on your own creations with a glass of wine or a beer. Firstl the bad news: We received a lot more bookings than we have space for. Now the good news: we are going to schedule a 2nd night. We will advise of the date shortly.

This season has been one out of the hat and it continues to be good fishing. Forget about hanging your rods up for winter. Come out for a charter and you will see firsthand what we are talking about. Winter fishing can be spectacular: there are fewer boats to compete with and the fish are hungry.

If you would like to fishing during the week, we have a special offer for you that is valid for July and August only. For all Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday full boat bookings, you will receive a Wave Dancer Soft Bait Pro rod, valued at $299.00 for FREE. To make a booking, visit our website www.wavedancer.co.nz and click on booking calendar. Alternatively, you can call 021 880464 and speak to Laetitia, our friendly and helpful booking coordinator.
Paul and John