Fishing Reports

 

Sorry itÍs been a while, the boat has hardly stopped running. The fishing has been a little like the cricket, with a lot of runs and a few disappointing moments. I might as well start with the most recent trip to illustrate my point. Yesterday dawned with a sloppy sea out of the south east and the incoming tide for the morning. Graham and his group boarded and we headed off to the shelter of Tiri. Waste of time! More boats than the boat show and it wasnÍt long before the claustrophobia got the better of me and a shift was made to some of the deeper foul north of Whangaparaoa. A few moves later and at last, fish in the box. This location provided young Hayden with his first kingfish and also a few nice snapper for the table. Good things never last and a drift over some great looking sign off the northern end of Whangaparaoa proved to be fruitless, so I anchored up current of some bottom structure for the last couple of hours. Nice snapper to around 5lb went into the box as the fished moved through the area giving us good fishing in short bursts over the period. Congratulations to Daniel, getting the biggest snapper. Not bad for a young bloke on his birthday. Going back through the diary to about the date of our last report makes for interesting reading. The deeper area we had been fishing has slowed right down and there is not many fish left on the structure in this area. The fish will be back on the structure fairly quickly and it will be worth a look in a week or so. A lot of the fish have moved in close and itÍs time for the guys in small boats to get onto their favourite reefs at dawn and dusk and enjoy the straylining. Try the reefs out around the East Coast Bays and around Kawau. These fish very well this time of year, but be in early to get the change of light. The back of Tiri has been fickle to say the least. We did pull a dozen nice fish from around Shearers Rock but it has been very patchy all along the back of the Island. A good burley into some of the foul will produce a few nice ones for those that get there early of stay a little later. The passage side of the Island has been holding respectable numbers of fish but nothing of any real, size just pannies. This stretch of coast has been under a fair bit of fishing pressure due to the fact that the wind has been whistling in from the east, leaving local anglers with limited options. Still, it is producing fish, as is the other side of the channel and some of the deeper foul and rubble in the passage. Out on the flats north of the passage is getting a hammering by the trawlers so there is fish out there too. The southern end of the passage is still holding fish on the foul, but the size has dropped a bit. We are having to move around a lot more when we fish in here. We have been getting into the kingies lately, but we still have not landed a really good one to date. Another trip that is worthy of mention, was last week. Easterly winds (again!) and not much option but to hang around locally, produced only a mediocre result for the best part of the day. Sea sickness and the freshening breeze (40 knots) forced the move to a bay we have fished before when the sea looks like a washing machine. This bay is tucked in behind a reef and I reckon the swell and current wash all the little tasty tit bits off the reef and into this bay. The snapper of course love this idea and came to the party big time. We ended up with 60 snapper for the day most of which we got in the last 35 minutes! Have a look at a chart sometime. There are hundreds of little bays just like this all over the coast and itÍs just a matter of getting to them when the weather has turned to custard. Reports from Kawau is that the change of light in the Kawau Bay area will get you a good feed, but it has been a little slower during the day. Heaps of traffic stirring things up in the shallows would not be helping. Some big fish have come off Flat Rock, but it is not the sort of place to take a boat load of anglers to secure a limit of fish this time of year. March and April are better times usually and we wont bother going up till then probably. Although- some of the stories have tempted us more than once. The ground out behind Flat Rock and south to behind Tiri is crying out to be fished but the weather has not allowed us to get to it just yet. The channels around Auckland are fishing well if you like the crowds and moving around heaps. We do occasionally go down to the Rangi Channel and this time of year can do very well. Rakino Channel and the others south are also fishing well when the tide is running. Often you will have to move around to stay on the fish, but it can be worth the hike down there. IÍm told the upper harbour is also producing fish. We are using those awesome pilchards from The Bait Station. N.Z pilchards they are and with the high oil content and firm flesh they are ideal on a FRS or running rig. The quality is outstanding and in a 14kg box, I didnÍt see one pillie that looked damaged. They also have a wicked colour when defrosted, the dots standing out like beacons. Lolago squid is still doing itsÍ part in luring fish onto the hooks and is also of good quality. In fact, I believe itsÍ food grade judging by the nutritional info printed on the box. Pop in and see the guys in the shop when youÍre over there. DonÍt forget to pick up one of our fish cards while your there. Collect all 8 different cards and we will give you a free trip! Cards are available on board. We have a few more dates opening up now as people are getting back to work, so if you want day or evening trips give us a bell and book your self as a casual or book your group. Phone us on 09 4260604 or 025 2446346. Fish on! Damian THE CHARTER CONNECTION

 

From A Charter Connection...

Report type: Saltwater

Report date: 04 February 02