Fishing Reports

What a rollercoaster ride we’ve had thus far!  In never knowing what to expect next, consistency is one thing that is lacking.  In saying that, if you are willing to suffer the slack days, you’ll be eventually rewarded for your perseverance.

Inshore

At a time when traditionally most angler would be targeting terakihi, there’s a pleasing number of snapper available across a wide range of depths.  Also when these fish should be in 50 metres plus (and down to 120 plus) they are in everything up to 25 and likely shallower.  Most are plump little pannies from one to two kilos but the odd fish touching eight taken recently on a soft bait.  Gurnard remain in good numbers on the sand to complete a fairly vibrant inshore scene.

Offshore

Never sure which White Island you’ll find there!  One day is most difficult fishing with the odd larger fish on tap, another sees hoards of small to medium sized (7-12kgs) battlers with yet another showing a decent line of fish more along the line we expect (15-18kgs).  One complicating issue is the size of most of the bait available at the island currently.  Normally good sized mackerel, these minis make it more difficult to get through the rats to the quality fish below but not impossible.  With many fish in the 10-14 kilo bracket pleasing more of the larger variety are showing all the while.  Aucklander’s Shaun Magee and Jim Close equally produced the “whoppers of the week” at 26 kilos apiece.  Again, jigs not producing well at all.  A real mixture of condition factors exhibited with some fish very lean while others are in typical pre spawning plumpness.  Shallow water reef fishing has been quite good with anywhere between 30 and 60 metres yielding a nice mix of terakihi, red snapper, porae and nice (4 kilo average) trevally.  Deepwater fishing unknown.  Water clean but certainly not warm around 15 degrees C.

Ranfurly Bank

Another mixed bag of emotion await anglers here.  Some excellent fishing is tempered by very ordinary angling.  Depending upon the day you’ll be well rewarded or wondering what you are doing there!  Above all, the kingis have been a real dichotomy with smaller fish one day followed by uncatchable monsters the next – at the same location no less!  While the largest landed was a modest 22 kilo specimen landed by Aucklander Bruce Cox, many other larger fish were lost.  Here the fish are readily taking jigs and bait with little differentiation.  Some lost fish were on long enough to tell they were 30 kilos plus while most were momentary “wiz bangs”!  The bottomfishing was all or nothing.  Find a place where they are and it doesn’t take too long to limit out with double headers commonplace.  The vast majority are hapuka with just a few trumpeter (some over 12kgs) and terakihi to spice up the catch.  While few places were looked at, bass seemed to be non existent.  Hapuka were mainly in the 8 -15 kilo category with just he odd one over 20.  Angler Raj Prakash did well to subdue a 21 kilo specimen on only 10 kilo tackle while trying for lesser species.  They are in quite poor condition overall due to having just completed their spawning cycle recently.  As per normal, they will put on condition by the week with some good feeding going on.  Water looks nice here as well with a handful of smallish (7-9k’s) but plump albacore full of juvenile squid landed in 4-500 metres just off the shelf.  Expect plenty out of this place over the following weeks and months.

Summary

Interesting and, in retrospect, a typical spring start.  While we shouldn’t expect anything earth shattering or huge changes, more consistency should follow.  Nice to not have the predicted westerly winds thus far but don’t breathe too easily.  Will report again in another week, till then ………….