Fishing in the Bream Bay/Whangarei Harbour/Mangawhai area over the holiday period can only be described on average as ordinary.
Strong offshore winds have kept the anglers in smaller craft close to home or tucked along the shoreline. From all reports, especially those on the Bream Bay Fishing Facebook page, the Whangarei harbour has been the star performer in a tough fishery.
On the edges of a the Takahiwai banks and Manganese Point have been consistent producers for those especially prepared to put the effort in at the change of light. The main channel has been producing some reasonable catches although this is affected by strong winds against the tide, making for uncomfortable fishing for the smaller craft especially.
Tarakihi are moving into the area’s inshore pins and can be caught on both bait and lures.
There has been some workup action close to the Bream Bay coast, especially down the southern end where the snapper are spewing out whitebait, anchovies, and shellfish.
A couple of keen fishers from Camp Waipu Cove have been making the most of what is on offer, coming up with plenty of snapper to feed their families and friends over the holiday period without using much fuel. Softbaits, especially the smaller four- and five-inch models that ‘match the hatch’ (whitebait and anchovies) have been their go-to size and colours.
Kingfish have also been making the most of the easy meals and these are in the main 75-100cm models.
It is good to see the resurgence of the tuatua beds off the Bream Bay/Mangawhai beaches. Although the shellfish are small, there are patches of bigger ones if you put the time in to search them out. Surfcasters can also match the hatch, gathering up some tuatua and using them as fresh bait, held on the hook with plenty of bait elastic.
Tuatua are great bait for tarakihi, and a few have been caught over the deeper pins off Bream Head. Ocean Beach north of the Head has fished well for those prepared to take a bit of a bashing getting back to their launching point. Orange sliders have been the go. The offshore conditions, often gusting over 20 knots, require a decent drogue/sea anchor to slow the drift down.
There has been a resurgence of tuatua on Bream Bay beaches and these make both good bait and for eating either au naturel or lightly steamed.
When lure fishing if I can keep the boat’s drift speed to around a knot or less, I am happy. In these windy conditions I would up the weight of my lure or jig head to give it more time in the strike zone.
For those who don’t mind a bumpy trip home the Hen and Chicks have been worth the effort to fish. The area to the NW of the Chicks known as the ‘War Zone’ has produced some good snapper bags.
For the gamefishers, yellowfin tuna have been caught in 100 metres of water six miles or so east of the Hen and Chicks with a marlin already caught in 80 metres off Ocean Beach – and these are just the ones of which I have heard. In the Ocean Beach case, the anglers jigged a mackerel out of a workup and set it out as a livebait. The result was a small striped marlin which was smoked and shared among the crew and families. Livebaiting has always worked well in the Oceans Beach area early in the season.
It looks as though we are going to get a break in the offshore westerlies this weekend, so it may provide an opportunity for the boat fishers to get out a bit deeper and for the gamefishers to check out the pelagics.
Tight lines!
- Grant Dixon
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