Fishing Reports

 

A gurnard invasion in the Bay? If the reports I’m getting are anything to go by, more gurnard have been caught over the last month or so than for the whole previous year. So why is this happening? Because smart fishos are targeting tarakihi on the mud. That’s gurnard territory. And they’re getting a few tarakihi too. Out from Tapuaetahi, Shannon Imms and friends did very nicely on a recent piscatorial adventure. The tarakihi for dinner was delicious. Meanwhile, Lloyd Lemon, Mike Hogan and Derek Tankard of Kerikeri hooked into their limits last weekend, not far from The Pin. Big tarakihi they were; with gaunt, gnarled heads. One to two kilos at least! Suckers really took a fancy to modest pieces of freshly caught koheru. Looking for snapper the other day, Will Sullivan and Malcolm Warwick of Doves Bay fended off la mal de mer, boredom and the occasional shark until the noddies got hungry after mid-night. Landed some nice fish too, so I’m told. Meanwhile, Bob and Jenny Denham of Wharau Bay have come up with a sure fire formula for snapper success. Whenever dusk falls just after low water, their strike rate is close to 100%. And all from a dingy. Out west, Logan Bell of Kotu Point has been fishing with Harry Barlow. Heaps of small snapper he reckons. The small ones seem to have moved out of the Hokianga harbour. “Karetu are hard to find in the harbour these days” says Logan. “But heaps of nice pan-size snapper outside. Up to 6lb. Plus the usual visit from a band of hungry sharks. Keeps the tackle shops in business. And the crayfish Harry got from his dive were definitely worth the effort”. Up north, Julian Peters has founded the “Take a Dad Fishing Club.” With his dad from Moerewa, Julian fished off the island in the middle of Matai Bay over the weekend. After enduring a sustained kahawai invasion, they managed to land several noddies between three and five kilos. The afternoon ended when a nuclear powered submarine stripped over eighty meters of line before busting off on some hidden marine obstacle. Could have been a 16kg snapper. Why not? For those who target and land large snapper, the conviction that there are snapper in the order of twenty kilos out there is quite common. And I for one wouldn’t be surprised. For landlubbers, don’t despair: Kieron Olsen and friends of Doubtless Bay cleaned up in the annual NZ Land-based Clubs Annual Winter Tournament. Based at Waitaki Landing in the far north, Kieron and friends landed the 1st, 2nd and 4th prize winning kingfish of 34, 24 and 19kg. Not bad, eh? They also came fourth in the snapper section. They had been fishing off the rocky islets at the northern end of Cape Karikari. From an adjacent Matai Bay location, Patrick Banks of Kerikeri Motorcycles landed the winning snapper. It weighed in at 11kg. And the moral to this story? “Go north young man.” Tight lines!

 

From Steven Radich

Report type: Saltwater

Report date: 23 August 01