Fishing Reports

 

It has been an eventful week. Our clients have endured some trying conditions, but have been rewarded with close to bag limits on a number of occasions. Today’s trip was a goodie with almost everyone onboard getting a quota of snapper and a few others like john dory, kahawai, blue mackerel and trevally. The deeper reefs around Tiri, was our location and snapper was the target species. The "Flat Rock Special" again did the damage. This rig has proven time and time again to out fish just about any rig we have seen! The key element of the rig is how it is tied, but it is only as good as the tackle (or jewellery) that is attached to it. We are using the new VMC range of hooks and they are among the best we have used, if not the best. The "snapper steelheads" and the "salmon steelheads" are very durable, strong and extremely sharp hooks. No doubt you have seen the ads in all the mags, but if you haven’t tried them you wont know. During last few trips we have been towing our favourite Rapala Lures on the way out. Today we missed out on the kingies, both on the lures and on the livies, but the Rapalas have proven their worth over this last week. The kingies around the buoys have been shy, but tow a Rapala close to the buoys at just about any time of the day and you are in with a very good chance. The Rapalas have a stainless steel bib and can be tweaked to get the best performance or angle. These lures come in a huge variety of colours and sizes, but a mackerel, CD18, is one that every angler should have. You will even have success casting one out from the boat or off you favourite land based spot. The action on worm beds has been slow and the commercial pressure has taken it’s toll on the area between Tiri and Anchorite, but a good sounder and a heap of patience will reveal a solid school of snapper. Drifting through these schools can help cover the ground with the moving school, but if there is some form of bottom structure, consider anchoring and deploying a berley of some kind. I’ll keep you posted on the best berley as we trial a heap of new ones. So far we have found that 6 guys and a "Flat Rock Special " each is the best, but some new evidence may come to light. Peter G will tell you the same. The area of ground south of Kawau Island is riddled with shells and worm beds, but due to the commercial activity in the area lately, we haven’t bothered to give it a good go. When we have snuck up that way, we have been disappointed with the result and ended up coming back down towards Tiri and fishing in the current. Speaking of which, we did quite well on one of the banks today, with every bait being hit as soon as it touched down. Small triangles of blue mackerel did most of the damage but Graham T scored some nice snapper on a pale squid and pilchard sandwich combo he had pre prepared. A truly sound idea and it paid off in a bag limit of snapper and a few extras. The season is shaping up to be a good one, but the unknowing still tend to follow us around and anchor right in behind us. What they don’t realise, is that, as they send an anchor and chain to the bottom, the school we searched for, will go off the bite as they have been spooked. These guys will sit around for 10 mins and not get a bite, then rattle the chain and anchor back into the boat and go and try another possie or charter boat. We would rather have these guys idle quietly up to our bow and ask where is the most suitable place to anchor. It would certainly save the voices of those onboard with us, and probably secure a feed for all involved. Maybe it’s called courtesy. We would like to thank all of you that have replied to our ads and to all of you that have sailed with us. It has been a great year and we have some great memories and made swags of new friends. Take care out there this summer both on the water and on the roads. We wish you and yours all the best for the festive season and look forward to seeing you in the new year. Don’t forget we are fishing all the way through and have dates especially put aside for casual anglers. If you want to go fishing just give us a call on (09)4260604 or (025)2446346 or drop us an email at deepsea@clear.net.nz Jingle bells, jingle bells, Rapalas all the way……… Damian Clayton THE CHARTER CONNECTION

 

From A Charter Connection...

Report type: Saltwater

Report date: 20 December 01