Fishing Reports
Eastern Bay of Plenty
As the season becomes more entrenched into autumn, fewer surprises remain to be unfolded. In saying that you wouldn't want to write this one off yet - there's a lot of nice fish yet to be caught. Air and water temps will slowly cool but don't be fooled into mothballing the gear just yet!
Waihou Bay
After suffering more than a week of green water out to 1000 metres of water, conditions have again markedly improved to everyone's delight. With the movement of warm cobalt water into the rocks, the action again predictably picked up. Stripees have just outnumbered the blues over the past few days but a near even split remains in attendance. Several blues have yet again been lost after long runs but one was landed. A 220kg specimen caught by previous billfish virgin Mike Ziesler was a good effort. Some decent (15-20 kilo) kingis at both Cape Runaway and Lottin Point have been on tap of late as well as a few hapuka off the Cape Rocks. A smattering of snapper, terakihi and kahawai round off the menu for the inshore angler. With such good water quality expect the billfish to continue well into next month. Public enemy #1 will be westerly winds. Hopefully the easterlies and northerlies will prevail. White Island
Bluenose and kingis remain the flavour of the day, particularly the former. Some bluenose are big (25kgs plus) while kingis are mainly small. Only a few are over 15kgs. Water quality is good for anglers and divers alike. Few billfish have made their presence felt but then few boats are chasing them either. Surely a few have made their way west of the Waihou fence! Inshore
With two large tournaments in local waters recently (Whakatane Charity and Charter Holt Harvey) few secrets remain. Winning snapper have been over 11kgs but few anywhere near that mark have been landed recently. Fishing in shallow (less than 30 metres) waters along the Ohope Beach shoreline has been productive although most are pan sized. Each end of the beach, the Ohiwa Harbour entrance and Otawairere Bay, have been the most remunerative. A few gurnard and lots of kahawai complete the catch list with near shore trollers of small lures making a start at filling the bait freezer with skippies of varying sizes. Ranfurly Bank
This region, after little pressure for a week or more, has seen a lot of visiting boats of late. Fishing, in general, is excellent although a few moves may be necessitated prior to finding the "mother lode". Like Waihou, beautiful warm water has also been pushed onto the bank. Some marlin and mahi mahi have taken up residence with their demersal brethren. Kingis are cooperating fully in the shallows although the vast majority are less than 20 kilos. A few large specimens (to 30 kgs) have been landed in deeper environs along with good numbers of bass, hapuka and trumpeter. Good catches of snapper have succumbed to East Island visitors. All in all it's a good time to be at the bank - something for everyone. Summary
Once again, don't give up on this season - there's a lot left for those who care to pursue it. This is a rich statement coming from someone who is about to vacate the BOP for points northward! "PURSUIT" will be plying the northern waters until early June and a return home. All the best for what's left of this game season.
After suffering more than a week of green water out to 1000 metres of water, conditions have again markedly improved to everyone's delight. With the movement of warm cobalt water into the rocks, the action again predictably picked up. Stripees have just outnumbered the blues over the past few days but a near even split remains in attendance. Several blues have yet again been lost after long runs but one was landed. A 220kg specimen caught by previous billfish virgin Mike Ziesler was a good effort. Some decent (15-20 kilo) kingis at both Cape Runaway and Lottin Point have been on tap of late as well as a few hapuka off the Cape Rocks. A smattering of snapper, terakihi and kahawai round off the menu for the inshore angler. With such good water quality expect the billfish to continue well into next month. Public enemy #1 will be westerly winds. Hopefully the easterlies and northerlies will prevail. White Island
Bluenose and kingis remain the flavour of the day, particularly the former. Some bluenose are big (25kgs plus) while kingis are mainly small. Only a few are over 15kgs. Water quality is good for anglers and divers alike. Few billfish have made their presence felt but then few boats are chasing them either. Surely a few have made their way west of the Waihou fence! Inshore
With two large tournaments in local waters recently (Whakatane Charity and Charter Holt Harvey) few secrets remain. Winning snapper have been over 11kgs but few anywhere near that mark have been landed recently. Fishing in shallow (less than 30 metres) waters along the Ohope Beach shoreline has been productive although most are pan sized. Each end of the beach, the Ohiwa Harbour entrance and Otawairere Bay, have been the most remunerative. A few gurnard and lots of kahawai complete the catch list with near shore trollers of small lures making a start at filling the bait freezer with skippies of varying sizes. Ranfurly Bank
This region, after little pressure for a week or more, has seen a lot of visiting boats of late. Fishing, in general, is excellent although a few moves may be necessitated prior to finding the "mother lode". Like Waihou, beautiful warm water has also been pushed onto the bank. Some marlin and mahi mahi have taken up residence with their demersal brethren. Kingis are cooperating fully in the shallows although the vast majority are less than 20 kilos. A few large specimens (to 30 kgs) have been landed in deeper environs along with good numbers of bass, hapuka and trumpeter. Good catches of snapper have succumbed to East Island visitors. All in all it's a good time to be at the bank - something for everyone. Summary
Once again, don't give up on this season - there's a lot left for those who care to pursue it. This is a rich statement coming from someone who is about to vacate the BOP for points northward! "PURSUIT" will be plying the northern waters until early June and a return home. All the best for what's left of this game season.
From 
Pursuit
PursuitReport type: Saltwater
Report date: 17 March 02
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