Fishing Hot as Water Cools 

Well folks, the water temperature is now diving but the fishing is doing the exact opposite! Snapper have been chewing hard for those fishing the ‘middle’ areas of the gulf with bait or lures – the fish are putting on post-spawn condition as they begin to head out into deeper water and are easy pickings. We’ve found good workup action in the 40m+ areas south of Anchorite and towards the top of Coromandel. As always, 150g sliders have been yielding the best results. If you can’t find the workups, don’t fret – big drifts over the sand in these areas will produce good fishing too.

Kingfish are still lurking around the reefs, although numbers are starting to thin out. We’ve managed some good fish from Little Barrier, Channel Island and Great Barrier recently, so they’re still out there and are worth targeting in the Gulf until at least the end of May. This time of year is when you’re more likely to encounter the big dogs, so be prepared and don’t take a knife to a gunfight! 

On the weekend just been, I had an inshore micro-softbaiting session around Kawau and the action was fast and furious in the shallows – not huge fish, but a whole lotta fun on the light gear! Closer to Auckland, keen egi anglers are getting into their work with some good night-time squid catches coming from the usual spots like the North Shore bays, Tamaki Drive and under the Harbour Bridge. Given it’s reasonably early in the season, smaller jigs in the 1.8-2.5 bracket are recommended.

Check out the Bite Times for your favourite fishing spot here.

See ya out there!