Fishing Reports
Eastern Bay Of Plenty Report
Things have moved along the past ten days but have not progressed much. Confused by that statement – read on!
Yellowfin tuna
After the initial excitement these fish created with their arrival, things have settled back to a slow simmer. While there have been sightings of YFT off the Motu and Te Kaha Point, the “hot” area continues to be N and NE of Whale Island. The main body of fish have moved to 6-10 NM due north of Whale while a few stragglers remain out to the NE. There have been great workups on a daily basis with tuna showing themselves aplenty, but not biting well at all. Some sharpies are deploying live and dead baits to no avail, as the fish are moving about very quickly. There is lots of bait in this area of 110 – 140 metres of water. Both anchovies and pilchards. Lets hope they will bite with abandon in the near future, thus alleviating a fair amount of frustrating on most skippers’ parts. Offshore
Although there has been a lot of visible changes, the majority of the fishing prospects are on “standby” – a veritable holding pattern. The positive changes include plenty of sunfish, hammerheads, turtle and blue bottle sightings. The incessant northerly winds have pushed lots of warm, clean water into the Bay over the past week. Temperatures are now soaring, often up at 17-18 degrees and reaching 19 degrees C plus in areas. The most interesting and unprecedented catch came on 4 December only 11 miles north of Whakatane – a mahi mahi! Never can anyone remember one of those tropical visitors at this time of year, let alone so close to home! At White Island however, things have effectively shut down over the last week. Kingis, while yielding some real trophies (three over 40 kgs, several more over 30) had become very hard. Trevally, evident on the surface gorging themselves on krill, refused to bite any offerings. Even shallow water reef fish become very elusive. Inshore
Very little activity here with wind and swell keeping smaller craft ashore. Snapper, tarakihi (especially at “the Bubbles”) and kahawai remain the main targets. Ranfurly
Strong currents are prevalent here, especially around the recent full moon period. It’s been difficult to stay in touch with the bottom while out in the deep with these strong currents (sometimes 3 knots or more), so the shallows have been getting a hiding. While the hapuka have been pretty ordinary in size, the kingis have been big. Watercolour and temps are looking good here, as they are in the BOP. Summary
So, where do we go from here? While fishing is far from red-hot at present, I feel much better is not far away. These northerly winds continue to improve conditions for the future. Anticipation and expectation are running high for every reason. We may be approaching new ground – hold onto your hats! Rick
After the initial excitement these fish created with their arrival, things have settled back to a slow simmer. While there have been sightings of YFT off the Motu and Te Kaha Point, the “hot” area continues to be N and NE of Whale Island. The main body of fish have moved to 6-10 NM due north of Whale while a few stragglers remain out to the NE. There have been great workups on a daily basis with tuna showing themselves aplenty, but not biting well at all. Some sharpies are deploying live and dead baits to no avail, as the fish are moving about very quickly. There is lots of bait in this area of 110 – 140 metres of water. Both anchovies and pilchards. Lets hope they will bite with abandon in the near future, thus alleviating a fair amount of frustrating on most skippers’ parts. Offshore
Although there has been a lot of visible changes, the majority of the fishing prospects are on “standby” – a veritable holding pattern. The positive changes include plenty of sunfish, hammerheads, turtle and blue bottle sightings. The incessant northerly winds have pushed lots of warm, clean water into the Bay over the past week. Temperatures are now soaring, often up at 17-18 degrees and reaching 19 degrees C plus in areas. The most interesting and unprecedented catch came on 4 December only 11 miles north of Whakatane – a mahi mahi! Never can anyone remember one of those tropical visitors at this time of year, let alone so close to home! At White Island however, things have effectively shut down over the last week. Kingis, while yielding some real trophies (three over 40 kgs, several more over 30) had become very hard. Trevally, evident on the surface gorging themselves on krill, refused to bite any offerings. Even shallow water reef fish become very elusive. Inshore
Very little activity here with wind and swell keeping smaller craft ashore. Snapper, tarakihi (especially at “the Bubbles”) and kahawai remain the main targets. Ranfurly
Strong currents are prevalent here, especially around the recent full moon period. It’s been difficult to stay in touch with the bottom while out in the deep with these strong currents (sometimes 3 knots or more), so the shallows have been getting a hiding. While the hapuka have been pretty ordinary in size, the kingis have been big. Watercolour and temps are looking good here, as they are in the BOP. Summary
So, where do we go from here? While fishing is far from red-hot at present, I feel much better is not far away. These northerly winds continue to improve conditions for the future. Anticipation and expectation are running high for every reason. We may be approaching new ground – hold onto your hats! Rick
From 
Pursuit
PursuitReport type: Saltwater
Report date: 05 December 01
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