Fishing Reports

 

Lovely weather we've been having -Not! It's Furuno time again and no doubt those competing will be hatching plans and getting the gear all sorted. This year promises to be a great tournament with the long range forecast looking good and being the time of year, there should be some good fish around the traps. The fishing mag has an article this month about where to fish and for those, still in the progress of laying down a plan, could well be worth a look. We are not competing this year due to other commitments and a string of contests and tournaments that are coming up so I'll give you my hot tip. Drift fishing on the north west reef of Little Barrier (see the correct chart for the area and look for the area of foul ground a little way off the island, to the north west) will produce good fish this time of year. I would use a running rig, with enough weight to get a whole lolago squid, complete with pilchard rammed up the tube, down to the bottom. Use sharp hooks and as there are no tackle restrictions in force, try an 80lb trace with VMC hooks. The reason we are so hot on the lolago squid is but a few and some I'll keep to myself, but one is plainly evident. The quality of this squid we get from The Bait Station (Parkway Drive, Mairangi Bay) is unsurpassed. The Bait Station source the best quality bait available and the fact that the lolago squid is in such good condition is proof alone. The stuff comes from California and instead of it going into a slurry when caught, so the ink can leach out into the skin, it is blast frozen. No pink looking squid! Ever watched an ocean nature program and see how fish don't see red very well? Or how about the species that live in slightly deeper water using it as a disguise. The next time you pick up a defrosted lolago squid, lift up its' wings and check out the lumo strip in close to the underside of the body. When viewed as a bait in the water, this little flash of lumo on its' underside can make all the difference. This is not idle speculation, but a belief based on results. Just ask one of our regular clients. You still have to be where the fish are and that can sometimes be the hard bit. Another spot well worth a look in the Furuno is Simpsons Rock. This is the sort of place you can pull a really good fish out of, but I've found in the past that one good one is all you'll get. Plenty of fish there, but usually, and I say usually, you will only get the one really good fish. It's a bit of a hike too, but if you have the right weather and the boat speed, it could be worth a look. I would really love to see a guy fishing in a small boat, in some little spot, take out the big prize. That would make some of the big wigs and regular prize winners, suck their heads under the sponsors tee shirt collar and raise a few hopes and eyebrows. So far as the fishing locally has been, the best response I can give is, patchy. We had a string of days all in a row, when we came home with good hauls of pretty good snapper. There were a few kingfish, the odd john dory, and a some really big kahawai, all from the same area. Everyone was doing well. The VHF was a pleasure to listen to. People were getting good fish all over the place. In close, out wide, in the middle of the day, slack water and even if they weren't really trying. BUT. The really heavy rain we had last Thursday has really slowed things down. The fishing around the channels and islands, both north and south of Gulf Harbour, has been slow and with the weather not being conducive to fishing out wide, is where we have fished. The back of Tiri showed promise though the other day, but it all fizzled out with the change of tide and never really came back on. Rakino did the same and with a move to deeper water, the Golden Years group only went home with about 30 snapper over the 30cm mark for the group of 7. We have had to move around a fair bit and Sunday was no exception. To be quite honest it was a shocker! I was ready to slash my wrists on the way to our last spot - Desperation Point! This spot has on the really rough days, with the swell rolling in and the beaches covered with seaweed, a time that would be better spent tying gear, doing maintenance or sorting out the tackle box, has saved my bacon a few times now and if you need to know the characteristics of such a spot, read back through some of our previous reports and you'll see a description of such a place. There are plenty like it and I'm sure the guys that were so patient all day, were pleased to finally get some fish in the slurry. Like I said when we first started posting the reports, we will tell no lies, but tell you how it has really been. I would also like to mention, that Peter Gray is a legend. He has spent some time thinking and making some flasher rigs that I am going to steal from him and mass produce so we can all enjoy his success! Good fish Pete! Good luck for those fishing the Furuno this week and for those of you interested in fishing over the Easter break, we have put aside 2 days for casuals. Easter Saturday and Easter Monday are the days available for casuals, with the others available for groups big or small. They will fill quickly, so give us a bell on (025)2446346 or (09)4260604 or email us at deepsea@clear.net.nz. Don't forget, if you have a crystal ball we will look at making an offer for it after a serious sea trial. FISH ON! Damian THE CHARTER CONNECTION

 

From A Charter Connection...

Report type: Saltwater

Report date: 19 March 02