Fishing Reports

The Upside of Hungry Times

Winter has certainly arrived with a hiss and a roar, making it harder to get out and catch a feed. It has also been playing havoc with the seabirds and as you may have read, some birds dying of starvation as it has been too windy and rough to feed. When there is a day of settled weather, the birds are going for it and making the most of the weather windows to feed up on pilchards and anchovies.
The bad news for birds is good news for fishermen. What could be easier than following the hungry birds straight to active areas of feeding fish? The Wave Dancer captains are generally finding the baitfish and work ups with ease, and as you all know, work up fishing is what we strive to bring you. It's the best fun you can have as far is we are concerned. If you can get out fishing between the storms, it is well worth the effort because fresh snapper fillets in the middle of winter just seem to taste better.

Make sure you get out fishing whenever the weather allows as the fishing can be red hot. The fish don't go away during summer, they just move out to deeper water. The other good thing about fishing in winter is the size of the fish you catch. The snapper are on average much bigger than in summer. Just yesterday we hooked into a school from a small work-up and they were all big fish averaging 5 kg with the larger ones around 7kg. The exhilaration on Wave Dancer was amazing each time one of these whoppers smashed our Zman Paddle tails!

We have a small favour to ask: If you are able to take a weekday off work at short notice, and would like us to drop you an email when we are going fishing, the weather is mint and the fish are on fire, please can you email Laetitia on info@wavedancer.co.nz and put "Short Notice" in the subject line. She will add your name to a special list of lucky people...

Our favourite rig this time of year out in the deep is the Zman SwimmerZ rigged on a 4oz Cyclops deepwater rig. It's truly a dynamite rig to use around bait schools and is our go-to rig when charter fishing - it's rarely beaten. Now that we have Secret Sauce also available, this rig can be scented by applying a bead of the sticky gel in the belly flap of the soft bait. The scent certainly works extremely well with this rig and onboard Wave Dancer we have noticed its use generally results in the biggest fish.

Come and see for yourself what we are talking about. To make a booking, visit our website, www.wavedancer.co.nz or call Laetitia on 021 880 464
See you onboard

Paul and John