Winter fishing tips and tricks

Do not put your gear away, as some of the best fishing of all can be had in autumn and early winter.

Gamefish are still present offshore, the snapper are feeding up large, big kingfish move onto offshore reefs, and species such as john dory and trevally show up more commonly in catches. This is when we have some magnificent weather too, enabling us to make the most of the great fishing available.

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One of the first things I do is make sure I get out for a few good sessions on the abundant schools of skipjack tuna that can be found on both coasts in the northern half of the country.

Winter fishing tips and tricks

If you have never fished for skipjack tuna, you don’t know what you are missing out on. Trolling at six or seven knots with a small feather or squid lure attached to a light rod provides great sport. Also, skippies make wonderful winter bait: being oil rich, they are eagerly devoured by snapper, trevally and most other fish. The frames and heads of skipjack convert easily into berley, too.

The other thing I do with some of the skipjack I catch is take the time to salt down the fillets using common sea salt. Not only does it preserve and harden the flesh, in my opinion it is one of the best winter gurnard baits you can put on your hook.

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Another part of my preparation involves gathering other baits that will work well in winter, but are not so easily caught then. Big, fat piper can still be caught off wharves and rocky headlands. Use a skipjack frame and some oatmeal to attract the piper, then catch them on very small (I like size 16), long-shanked (so they’re less likely to be swallowed) trout hooks or small pink-sabiki rigs.

When you catch a good haul of piper, keep them chilled, then freeze them lying straight. Vacuum-sealing piper in packs of 10 or 20 will keep them in prime condition. Piper is a good bait for big snapper around reefs and washes in winter, and kingfish also relish them, happily scoffing a well-presented dead piper at any time of year.

The way to fish a whole piper is by rigging it with a pair of 7/0 circle hooks attached to 24-27kg trace material. Use little or no weight, and cast the piper into gutters or holes, before slowly walking them back in, keeping them just off the bottom. When you feel a bite, free-spool the piper so the fish can run with it, before steadily tightening.

Yellowtail, koheru and blue/slimy mackerel also make great winter baits – you can catch and store them in much the same way.

Winter fishing tips and tricks

The other bait I gather before the water gets too cold is a good supply of tuatua. This lovely tasting shellfish can be found on ocean beaches on both coasts. When gathered in autumn, they are usually good and fat.

The reason I love to have these beauties in my bait freezer is that they are the number one way to attract the shy-biting trevally found around harbours, estuaries and inshore reefs in the cooler months. Trevally will take other baits, but a well-presented tuatua bait on a small 1/0 circle hook will tempt them when they turn their nose up at other offerings.

The changing of the seasons also brings other species into play that may not be so abundant in the warmer months. Squid fishing is generally much better over winter, with cool, calm evenings on a rising tide providing the ideal situation to target them. As well as being great to eat, fresh squid makes excellent bait.

Squid fishing can be highly addictive and there are some real skills involved in becoming a squid-fishing expert. To put yourself in the game consistently, it is important to have a few squid jigs in your tackle collection, as the specific size, colour and weight matter. My best success has been with the pinkie-brown colours in medium sizes.

When out boat fishing in shallow water, try casting a lightly-weighted squid jig out into the current, or, if fishing deep water, set a dropper rig offering one small squid jig and one larger one just off the bottom. You will be amazed how often you end up with a good feed of calamari.

The way you target fish should change in winter too, with different lure patterns and colours adopted and the fish hunted in different ways. For example, soft-baiting works really well in autumn and winter. However, you still need a well-balanced rig, which means having a head weight that allows the soft-bait to descend reasonably slowly through the strike zone in a naturallooking way, and then be jiggled back in an enticing manner.

Winter fishing tips and tricks

If the water is clear and the conditions bright and sunny, try using lure colours that represent food, which can include the more natural baitfish and squid colours. But if fishing in dirty water, try brighter lures that may also incorporate luminous and UV qualities. This means you will need to have soft-baits in various colours, shapes and sizes in your tackle selection.

It's interesting that fishermen get really excited when spring fishing is around the corner, re-spooling reels with new line and buying the latest lures in anticipation of the new-season action ahead. However, with just a little time and effort invested in the cooler months, some truly epic fishing can be enjoyed during this time, too. Fishing really is a year-round activity.

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June - 2017 - Adam Clancey

New Zealand Fishing News Magazine.
Copyright: NZ Fishing Media Ltd.
Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited

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