Fishing Reports

 

Spring is always so much fun. Little episodes continually unfold as we approach the coveted summer season. Events occur like chapters in a book. Every once in a while some of the events will appear out of their expected sequence or maybe even not at all, just to keep things interesting. This is exactly the scenario now with new items on the menu almost every trip. We experienced the first inclement weather last weekend (6-7th) after a fortnight of brilliant conditions. Offshore
Big changes here, especially with water temperatures/clarity. Early last week the water was green, full of plankton and 15 degrees C. Now a broad belt of clear blue water has swept in from the northeast, spreading good tidings most everywhere from Waihou Bay to White Island. Not only does it look nice but it contains some fish! Trolling the 16-degree water is now worthwhile with some nice sized albacore in attendance. Three good fish were landed last week with relatively little effort from very few boats. The best of those was a lovely 20-kilo specimen landed by Jim Close of Wedderburn Scales – congratulations on a good catch, jimbo! With a little luck and the recent NE push we had over the weekend, perhaps we can expect to see more of these long finned beauties. I can guarantee you four lures behind “PURSUIT” from now on! Bottom fishing continues to be the focus “out wide”. Hapuka continue to please most who currently chase them, with some nice sized (40-55kgs) bass among them. Best depth has been 140-200 metres but a little shallower or a lot deeper has produced some good fish as well. Shallow (120-180) has been almost exclusively true hapuka, while deeper water returns more bass and bluenose in the catch. By-catch species such as tarakihi, rubyfish, red snapper and large pink maomao have provided some light tackle fun and good eating on the shallower reefs (30-50m) around White Island. Trevally and kingis (other than rats) have been slow in coming to the party but should be attendees soon with the warming water temps. A massive (250-300k) mako made its presence felt recently at the Volkner Rocks – what a beautiful animal! Maybe we’ll see him again one day soon. Do we want to tangle with him? Probably! Inshore
This arena continues to be quite productive on most fronts. The consistency shown by tarakihi has led the way but, some days snapper are right in there as well. Lots of pan-sized fish continue to bolster the show, that features some good (5-9 kgs) snapper. Many other species such as kahawai, trevally and gurnard make up the bulk of the catch. There are lots of crays about in average visibility, but many are either moulting or in berry – a good time to leave them alone. Whitebait continue to please everyone, with anything from a “feed” to great catches (5lbs plus – all the way to 15!). Most notable is the wide area of catches and consistency for all scoopers, regardless of area plied. It’s been the best season veterans can recall for many years. Some even go so far as to call it the second best in memorable history! Ranfurly Bank
It’s been very productive but, keep in mind, weather and prevailing conditions have been most favourable – a very important ingredient when visiting the distant outpost. Still, even there, it’s been hit and miss with respect to the spots. You can try 5 or 6 different places for next to nothing then, bingo, the mother lode is struck! While the fish (mainly true hapuka) have been thick and fast when you finally find them, the size has been variable. A few nice ones are landed (25kgs plus) but the vast majority continue to be 6-15 kilos. The good news is some of these can effectively be released due to the shallowness of where they are caught. These smaller fish are predominately males, which indicates the height of spawning season has not yet arrived – good times still to come. Some nice trumpeter and hordes of mixed sized kingis compliment the shallow (30-80m) action. Move out a little toward any edge of the bank (120m+) and bass become a much more frequent catch, with some at a very desirable size. Water is still cold (14-15 degrees C) and off colour but bound to improve. With the fishing on tap there now, who really cares?!? Summary
It’s a case of watch this space. If anything is imminent in fishing it’s change and none more so than in springtime – as previously stated it’s an exciting time to be on the water. Come on summer! In the meantime we aren’t too poorly placed with the fishing we currently have, it’s a case of enjoying what you have now but look forward to the good times ahead.

 

From Pursuit

Report type: Saltwater

Report date: 07 October 01