Fishing Reports
Eastern Bay of Plenty
There have been a lot of changes since the last report with most of them negative! Not what we want to hear, but the truth – don’t shoot the messenger! After a brilliant spring with very consistent angling, we’ve finally come on hard times. Change is what fishing is all about and I guess we’ve just had it too good for too long. This period will also pass and maybe before you even read this. A temporary setback, nothing more.
Inshore
While there is still some good fishing to be had, it’s become patchy at best. Haven’t heard of any big fish of late, whereas there were many fish over 9 kilos a fortnight ago. One exception was a fine fish estimated at 11kgs, which was landed, photographed and promptly released by Auckland angler Mike Boss recently. Tarakihi are still crowd pleasers which have been targeted more so lately with the absence of snapper. Surf fishermen have been plagued with paddle crabs unmercilessly, making beach casting near impossible. Visibility has been favourable for divers with good reports coming through. Offshore
The hapuka, bluenose and bass combo continue to please, but otherwise things have toughened up considerably. Yellowtail kingfish have developed lockjaw the past week with very hard fishing indeed. Not only have the kingis shut down but the bait fishing has become difficult as well. Generally, the dark phase of the moon means good mackerel for the live bait tank but this time it’s of little value. A few shallow reef fish and larger (5kg) trevally, round out the possibilities near White Island. The odd albacore still reward trollers just south of the island, as we all await the arrival of yellowfin tuna. Water temps remain 16-17 degrees C with patches of warm water. Visibility at White is excellent but packhorse crayfish are still among the missing. Ranfurly
With little effort to draw on due to inclement weather, there’s only token reports coming through. One boat recently had a hard initial day on the Banks, returned to the same spots the next day to do very well – mainly on true hapuka. Summary
While things are on the hard side currently, there’s still everything ahead of us. Jellyfish in great numbers may mean YFT are not far away – an indication in years past. Hopefully the next report will be far most positive but for now, the truth hurts!
While there is still some good fishing to be had, it’s become patchy at best. Haven’t heard of any big fish of late, whereas there were many fish over 9 kilos a fortnight ago. One exception was a fine fish estimated at 11kgs, which was landed, photographed and promptly released by Auckland angler Mike Boss recently. Tarakihi are still crowd pleasers which have been targeted more so lately with the absence of snapper. Surf fishermen have been plagued with paddle crabs unmercilessly, making beach casting near impossible. Visibility has been favourable for divers with good reports coming through. Offshore
The hapuka, bluenose and bass combo continue to please, but otherwise things have toughened up considerably. Yellowtail kingfish have developed lockjaw the past week with very hard fishing indeed. Not only have the kingis shut down but the bait fishing has become difficult as well. Generally, the dark phase of the moon means good mackerel for the live bait tank but this time it’s of little value. A few shallow reef fish and larger (5kg) trevally, round out the possibilities near White Island. The odd albacore still reward trollers just south of the island, as we all await the arrival of yellowfin tuna. Water temps remain 16-17 degrees C with patches of warm water. Visibility at White is excellent but packhorse crayfish are still among the missing. Ranfurly
With little effort to draw on due to inclement weather, there’s only token reports coming through. One boat recently had a hard initial day on the Banks, returned to the same spots the next day to do very well – mainly on true hapuka. Summary
While things are on the hard side currently, there’s still everything ahead of us. Jellyfish in great numbers may mean YFT are not far away – an indication in years past. Hopefully the next report will be far most positive but for now, the truth hurts!
From 
Pursuit
PursuitReport type: Saltwater
Report date: 16 November 01
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