How to Fish the Manukau

West Coast contributor Ben Francis has almost exclusively fished the Manukau – both inside the harbour and out – since he was a kid. He shares some simple yet effective insights for fishing the Manukau.

There is absolutely no doubt that the Manukau, both the inner harbour and coastline, is a productive fishery – this being obvious to those who know it and, in more recent times, the wider public who follow the various west coast anglers now using social media platforms.

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However, seeing success is very different from experiencing success, and on so many occasions when my east coast mates head over to the west side, their level of success is, for lack of a better term, limited. Being one to inherently share and try to help other anglers in their quest to find consistently productive fishing, I have often spent time explaining and outlining some of the intricate details required to better understand the Manukau fishery. You may recall numerous features published in this magazine that I have been privileged enough to pen and share over the years. I am a boat fisherman, through and through, so this article is limited to that form of fishing and in this case, specifically to bottom fishing. This article certainly doesn’t cover every aspect of the fishery, but it does focus on those I see as being the keys to consistently coming home with a feed, year-round.

I started fishing the harbour as a youngster with my parents before venturing out over the bar when the family upgraded the boat. It’s a diverse and dynamic environment and has fuelled my passion for fishing and the associated learning that goes with any sport – be it theoretical or by trial and error. For me, there are a few specific things to consider when fishing the Manukau: where to fish and when to fish those areas, bait vs. lures and, finally, what rigs to use.

Where to fish, you ask?

Like anywhere, the seasons tend to be the discerning factor when it comes to where the fish will be holding in the Manukau Harbour and across the bar on the coast. Although everyone has their preferences of areas to fish based on their style of fishing, I’ve found the following to be consistently good approaches over the years.

When it comes to the harbour, my summer missions are spent in the deeper fast flowing channels predominantly chasing fat snapper. On the other hand, my winters are spent in the shallower and lesser flowing channels targeting the annual influx of gurnard that west coast harbours are well-known for.

The Papakura Channel from the old CNG marker to Mako Point, anywhere from 15m to 35m depth of water, tends to be a good bet for catching snapper during summer, especially if you find a mussel bed or area of rocky foul. However, during the flow of the tide, currents can be seriously strong, and you do need to target your fishing times accordingly – one to two hours either side of slack water tends to be best in these channels. Not only will you catch snapper, but often you’ll end up with a mixed bag comprising gurnard, trevally, kahawai and the odd kingfish.

Leading into winter, a good bet is the Waiuku Channel (and the smaller feeder channels) on the southern side of the harbour. These channels lead onto the banks that host a suite of prey for the run of gurnard that turn up in the harbour over winter. In my opinion, these channels are travel routes for the fish, which hunt along the edges as the tide ebbs and flows. Positioning your boat along these channel edges can see you having a good mid-winter session.

Gurnard readily fall victim to soft-baits. Sometimes this can be an effective method to get a mixed bag when the snapper are feeding hard and fast on bait.

Gurnard readily fall victim to soft-baits. Sometimes this can be an effective method to get a mixed bag when the snapper are feeding hard and fast on bait.

If you venture across the bar, the coast is best differentiated by the contours and any west coast fisherman will refer to a depth when asked where the good fishing is. You’ll find fish everywhere, but my general rules of thumb are as follows: 20-60m over summer (although many won’t bother venturing further than 40m), 40-60m in winter and 50-60m during spring. I have found that by working to these depths, I always come home with a bin of well-conditioned snapper, along with other tasty by-catch, while minimising the sometimes-prolific tope and spiny dogfish.

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Personally, when fishing over the bar I have found that anchoring is the best and the saying ‘patience is a virtue’ is often the key to success on a consistent basis (I’m talking trip after trip consistency). At some of my best spots which I know hold fish, it often takes 15 to 20 minutes to get the first few bites but then things build up to a frenzy where the baits often don’t hit the bottom before being picked up. Random places often take longer – up to an hour to get going – but the fish will often turn up, and the boat will be full of happy anglers. If you spend your day moving around, you may never get onto a good patch of fishing.

Bait versus lures – the contentious topic!

I must admit that I was brought up as a bait fisherman, so I’m inclined to be biased in that direction; however, being open-minded in nature I have certainly spent my time experimenting with lures (both west and east coast).

My opinion aside for a moment, this topic is a great one and is often the genesis for a hot debate between keyboard warriors online. I will often contribute my two cents in the view of sharing and learning, but almost always disclaim my opinion with an “each to their own” or “they have their time and place” statement; one must try to keep the peace, right?

For those that know me well, I sit in the bait is better than lures camp on the west coast. This is purely based on experience after hours and days of trying soft-baits and sliders, only to have my ass kicked so bad that I revert to the “stinky stuff”. There are, however, days where I have a lot of fun on lures out west, but they are certainly the exception rather than the rule. Maybe this is more to do with my style of fishing rather than the fishery, but one can only form an opinion based on their own experience. I am quite aware that in recent years, a group of keen jetski anglers seem to be having a lot of success over summer in the harbour with soft-baits, so for those in the know, I suspect there is an untapped fishery waiting to be opened. I have experimented with ways to try and get the most out of lures out west with my fishing style, and I have made some interesting observations… more on this later.

If you want to catch a feed and keep everyone entertained with bent rods, keep it simple with cubes of bait. Skipjack tuna is my go-to and it works year-round, with squid and mullet also being effective. I have never been a big fan of pilchards fishing the Manukau due to their propensity to be pulled off the hook easily (this doesn’t mix well with strong current).

There is no need to load your hooks up with big baits either, especially in winter. I have proven to myself time and time again that during the winter months, a small bait will often out fish a big bait. My theory here is that the fish’s metabolism slows down over the cooler months and they are not so interested in big baits.

When it comes to lures, I am no expert but as previously noted, I have spent a lot of time experimenting. I have found that in the harbour they will work year-round depending on how you fish them. With the strong current in the channels, a five-inch soft-bait fished from a rod in the holder on a dropper rig can be effective, with the current doing all the work for you. Into winter where gurnard is the main target, I will often cast out a slider and drag it along the bottom with occasional flicks of the rod tip. Gurnard seem to react to this, and I suspect it imitates prey species disturbing the sandy/silty bottom; it’s worth trying this to complement your bait fishing and add a few more fish to the bin.

Over the bar, both soft-baits and various forms of hard-body lures will work and will often result in different species too. During spring when the snapper are on the chew during spawning, you can’t really go wrong and dropping a slider down will often result in a quick hook-up. I’ve found soft-baits to be challenging myself but know others who have varied success. I think this is in part due to the depth of water being fished which can make the more conventional means of fishing soft-baits challenging. During winter, I have found that artificial lures out west very seldom get a look from snapper but will pick up the odd gurnard – an observation made over several winters of trying.

The author with a chunky spring snapper that fell victim to a coin drop lure.

The author with a chunky spring snapper that fell victim to a coin drop lure.

Rigs – not just the humble ledger rig…

Don’t let the heading fool you, the humble ledger rig really is the go-to out west and will consistently produce a steady stream of nice fish. Flasher material certainly isn’t critical but if you’re keen on a few gurnard in the bin, then it’s certainly worth adding some flasher. Not much more is needed on this rig… it’s as simple as baiting up and dropping it to the bottom.

If you want to up your game and add another very worthwhile rig to your arsenal, then make the effort to tie a few more knots and have what I call “The Moran Rig”. As per the name, I found the inspiration for this rig in one of legendary Manukau fisherman John Moran’s own articles. It is essentially a modified ledger rig where the sinker is on a restricted length of trace above the hooks, thus allowing the trailing hooks to sway in the current and attract the attention of passing fish. It’s effective and in the harbour will often out fish a conventional ledger rig 5:1, especially during the winter months on gurnard when tied with small 1/0 hooks.

Kingfish are a common by-catch on ledger rigs during the summer months.

Kingfish are a common by-catch on ledger rigs during the summer months.

Now for those who need to scratch that soft-bait itch, I have dedicated a rod or two on the boat over the past few years to test a theory. I reckon that soft-baits fished from the rod holder on a dropper rig tied with worm hooks are more effective than the conventional active form of soft-baiting on the west coast. Thus far, results have been good and surprising… I have found that in the harbour, although I catch less fish on these rods, they are often the better fish. Over the bar, I have found that this approach is deadly for gurnard and brings the odd surprise john dory, a rare catch for the west coast. It just goes to show that it’s worth having various methods at hand on any given day. In the harbour, a five-inch soft-bait seems to do the trick, whereas over the bar you can push up to a seven-inch to try and target those bigger snapper and attract the attention of gurnard and other species. For some reason, the well marketed Bruised Banana coloured tail out fishes every other colour I have used.

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A surprise john dory, caught using a soft-bait fished on a dropper rig.

A surprise john dory, caught using a soft-bait fished on a dropper rig.
 

My biggest piece of advice when it comes to rigging up: make sure you use enough weight to get to the bottom. I see anglers make this mistake over and over when fishing inside the harbour especially, and subsequently they usually come home empty handed. When the tide is flowing in the deeper channels, I use a 32oz sinker – yes, that’s a ‘puka bomb! As the tide drops, I will drop the weight, but it is essential to keep in constant contact with the bottom. When fishing in the shallower channels, I will drop to a 6-8oz sinker and over the bar I have found an 8-12oz sinker is sufficient, depending on the depth.


June 2021 - Ben Francis 
New Zealand Fishing News Magazine.
Copyright: NZ Fishing Media Ltd.
Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited

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