What a difference a bay can make

Depending on which end of Bream Bay you are fishing from, the results wildly differ.

It has been the northern part of Bream Bay, including the Whangarei Harbour, that has produced the most consistent results.

While the weather has enabled anglers to get outside the harbour on most days in the last fortnight, many have had better luck (and a much smaller fuel bill!) fishing within the harbour confines.

All the normal top performing spots are producing the goods – Takahiwai, the entrance to Parua Bay, Manganese Point, Urquharts Bay and the ‘Mad Mile’.

Snap Fishing Ventures/Newman Marine guide and charter skipper Nik Key says the harbour fishing is as good as he can ever remember. He has been drifting lures in most of the above-mentioned locations including the Tamaterau and McDonald Banks. He fishes a mixture of 60g sliders (green/red and orange/brown being his go-to colours) along with softbaits. He will have two anglers on the sliders and one casting softbaits. Usually this is in shallow water (5-7m) so the smaller paddletails (4-5 inch) and lighter 3/8 ounce jigheads have been working the best. Natural colours that match the anchovy runs have been working well.

Gordon Findlayson took to lure fishing like a duck to water, hooking up to a fish on his first drop.

Nik had the unfortunate situation arise while towing his boat to the ramp at 5.00am recently, a driver in a stolen car pursued at speed by police took out his outboard as he went through an intersection. 

While the above is being sorted by the insurance company Nik has found himself doing more guiding trips. This is where he fishes on the client’s boat, but brings along his own rods, tackle and even drogue, not to mention fishing spots. Clients learn not only how to fish in their home patch, but where to fish.

Another string to Nik’s bow is a series of short ‘how-to’ video tutorials where over a series of 10 or more episodes he looks into a subject in depth. Currently it is ‘Fishing the Anchovy Schools’. He uses the Patreon platform and there is a small charge for each segment. Check them out www.patreon.com/SnapFishingVentures 

Bream Bay Fishing Facebook page host Shane Pebbles says like Nik many have enjoyed similar results. Unlike outside the harbour where the bait schools have been broken up and what remain are fast moving, those same bait schools inside the entrance remain relatively unmolested and bunched up.

As well as the spots already mentioned Shane reports good catches coming from Takahiwai right through to Skull Creek, Portland Channel and up towards Oakleigh. Often this is in only 2-4 metres of water and while softbaits will produce the goods, many anglers prefer to fish unweighted natural baits down a berley trail.

The main channel from the log wharf west to One Tree Point has also had its moments for the lure fishers with inchiku jigs, sliders and softbaits all doing the business.

Shane’s advice is to make sure your gear and knots are good as among the rat kingfish found around the bait schools in the harbour there are some bigger models lurking. You have been warned!

The writer with one of the better snapper (65.5cm) to come from a bunch of birds sitting on the water above a bait school below.

For those venturing wider there is some workup action still happening in 60 metres of water off Ocean Beach. Steve Martinovich aboard the charter vessel Sumo reports some good fishing around the birds, starting along the stretch between Smugglers Cove and Bream Head, out to 60-70 metres of Ocean Beach. Steve says for those wanting to get out even wider the Mokohinaus are worth fishing now with some excellent snapper being caught.

This is confirmed by Mangawhai-based charter skipper Wayne Radford on R’n’R. He says there are ‘heaps of snapper’ out there with some good fish 70cm plus being landed. Wayne has found the results closer in Bream Bay and the Hen and Chicken Islands have been inconsistent.

The writer can confirm this. There has been very little workup action in close and quite often just a few gannets and sooty shearwaters (muttonducks!) sitting around on top will indicate baitfish and attendant predators below. It is always worth stopping and checking them out, it has been a trip saver for us on a couple of occasions. I recently took Mangawhai local Gordon Findlayson out for a fish with his mate Barry. Gordon was a ‘bait man’ and it wasn’t until a mako bit off his trace that he tried a slider on a light rod. He enjoyed the fact that even a relatively small snapper gave a good account of itself on the gear, also managing to break the boat’s golden rule – never catch a bigger fish than the skipper!

There has not been much happening on the beach fishing front with surfcasters, kontiki, and drone fishers having only moderate success.

Tight lines!

- Grant Dixon