Anchovies - small fish, hot action

It’s the annual anchovy ‘run’, with schools of this small baitfish popping up around our coastlines and harbours over the last week or so.

I love anchovies for two reasons – they taste great on my pizzas and in Caesar salads; but more importantly their presence sends the predators into a tailspin to produce some top-class fishing on our doorstep.

Over the years, my infrequent visits to Whangarei harbour at this time of the year see me head to the likes of Manganese Point and the entrance to Parua Bay – I guess you could call me a one-trick pony, but I have never needed to fish the anchovy schools anywhere else.

Guide and charter skipper Nik Key put me onto it when he first started fishing the channels with sliders. While these worked well, I was more of a softbait angler myself, so armed with plenty of natural coloured 4” tails – the Mood Ring and Bruised Banana curly tails were my go-to hot colours – I had some great action.

On Waitangi Day, I took a crew of friends and family out into the wider Bream Bay and enjoyed some great lure action among the many bait schools in the 35-40-metre bracket.

While in the harbour the terns – often referred to as ‘kahawai birds’ – will give the schools of baitfish away. And quite often out wide, a bunch of sooty shearwaters – ‘mutton ducks’ – sitting in a tight bunch on the water will be a giveaway as to the presence below of anchovies.

Kevin Leech with a 63cm snapper caught drifting through the Bream Bay anchovy schools on Waitangi Day.

The gamefishing, especially the tuna, has slowed down a little off the back of the Hen and Chicks and out from Ocean Beach, but two recent catches stood out – the first was a 46kg yellowfin caught on topwater gear; the second a nice fish that took a bait on a ledger rig dropped down with a snapper in mind.

That’s the appeal of sea fishing – you never quite know what is lurking around down there.

Our thoughts go out to the Mangawhai residents whose homes were damaged in the recent tornado. Within 100 metres of us, we had several of our neighbours lose their roofs and parts of their houses. For some reason it skipped our home – we certainly dodged a bullet there.

A big shout out to the North Power crews who worked 18-hour days to get electricity restored to as many homes as possible; and to the numerous other council staff, first responders and members of the public, friends and family for their support and help.

Tight lines!

- Grant Dixon