Fishing Reports

The Second Coming

More keen girlies have been invited to the Big Red party, so look out they’re good to go. Another wave of female Snapper are heading in closer. Big, healthy, roe filled and ready to spawn.  So instead of just hauling up and keeping a heap of these prime fish, alternative plans were hatched and to some success!

The Catch Patch on Silly String

It’s a fine day indeed when instead of heading out to catch fish, there’s a little more to it like aiming for specimens like this Big Red 60cm+ Snapper.

Caught on noodle-thin rods, and ultra-light line, with the objective of sport and ultimately returning nearly all fish to continue their life unimpeded. Some stunning images have been recorded for now and the future, using just 0.45kg or 1lb line. It’s like lengthening the enjoyment factor and extending the pleasure. Combine this with beautiful weather, some of the best waters and scenery in the world right here on our doorstep, well, heaven is.

And as I sit here and update on the fishy goings-on, the sun sets on another incredible day in the Hauraki Gulf. Yachties, trailer boat fisho’s, tiny tinnies, jet skis, land based fun, the whole family Kiwi thing has been in action more and more lately. THIS is the time of year that memories are made of.  

Mooning  Me

The moon over the next week or so affects me and the fish in much the same way. A bit on edge, oddly jumpy and definitely not routine feeding or anything else ‘normal’ for that matter. Looney is a term aptly labeled for this time of the month, over the centuries of human observation. Still, it does allow for a different approach to things, albeit a little out of the norm, strange even. The fish in the Gulf seem to be equally edgy, nervous, irrational, not feeding consistently, then suddenly voracious in appetite with massive workups that are simply incredible to witness. Combine this with the fishes breeding and hormonal(?) extremes, wow, what an upsize to the combo of nature. So to me, this means both the best of times and the worst of times.

What, Me Worry?

Yes like Alfred E. Newman’s take on life in Mad comics it’s seemingly random (but just like the comic, not really!) to catch fish out there. Chasing workups can be a bit like Tornado chasers, crazy but sometimes it works. The signs are there but unless your read them right, it can be an exercise in futility.  Just ‘cos there’s Dolphins there’s fish to be had – yeah right. But if you take close notice their body language, they’re actually telling you everything you need to know! I hope to be able to film this for you over summer and show you exactly what I mean. They are incredibly intelligent, and that wry cheeky smile of theirs gives the game away, they know what’s going on fish-wise and we could learn a thing or three from them. And they’ll tell you every time in their own way. Much more so than the Gannets in fact!

The King and I

Yep I’ve been mixing it up a bit lately, after all, while SP fishing is just the icing on the Snapper fishcake, Kingfish can really rock your socks off…and very quickly too. Known affectionately as the hoodlums of the sea, freight trains and a whole heap of expletives at the same time…they are in reasonable numbers around the Gulf at the moment. They always surprise me where they can turn up. They are serious hunters and looking for prey in new places now and then ‘just to see’ too. A worthy and ever-enjoyable quarry – worth getting into jigging, live-baiting, poppers (good success rates of a few fisho’s of late with maximum surface splash and noise being the key). And with Santa on his way downunder (a.k.a. Visa) no doubt it’ll be a time for a foray into other forms of fishing for me and many other fisho’s alike.

Marlin

The ultimate fish in many anglers’ eyes are on their way ever closer. Causing much fuss and ado to those addicted to this style of fishing. More bangles baubles and beads are being purchased by these sorry. T.A.S. afflicted souls with their ever present irrational and unequalled optimism, I of which am one. Unashamedly I would stand at a lectern in front of any number of humans and state like at an A.A. meeting “Hello, my name is Grant, I’m a Marlinholic” …but I have no intention of giving up, far from it, in fact I am investing more time effort and  money into the pursuit of these fine fish than ever before. I was hooked big time right from my very first fish (below). New sparkling lures, new gear, new strategies, refinement and basically mindlessly boring stuff to anyone who isn’t into it (like any sport really).

But Marlin will be targeted by me in the near future and the thrills and spills associated are all eagerly waited for. I enjoy the preparation, even though patients are for hospitals, I admit to the pleasure gained by the buildup. And with the first sighting of Marlin within the almost-reachable horizon, the pot bubbles, just prior to full on boil. Nothing like it.

With a Marlin spotted right  in the Hauraki Gulf last summer, and other factors I have been religiously following for months, plus sheer luck…this season will be a goodie!

Parting Shot

On the other end of the size scale, if you’re into Gurnard, they’re out there, not huge in numbers and not as keen to hook up with you as the Westie version, but they are Eastside. Those little flasher rigs can be dynamite. More challenging and a noble quarry on SPs - best to use smaller SPs, large 7/0 hooks, a very slow drift with very little ‘twitch’ and small sharp strikes are the go out over the wide open sandy areas of the Gulf and towards Omaha.

Well the moon isn’t great right now so it’ll definitely be patchy over the next week or so for Snapper, so Random Drift Fishing around lunchtime will probably be the order of the day for me, I love the expanse of the Gulf and really enjoy using ultra light line and coming home with some stunners, even if it takes a little more patience and/or cunning than usual.

Cheers