Hauraki Gulf Fishing Report - March 19th, 2020

  • General Saltwater, Auckland and The Hauraki Gulf

Autumn style snapper fishing is now on the agenda. There is lots of bait on the western side of the gulf – such an encouraging sight to see on the sounder.

Skipjack have been noticeable by their absence in the gulf, some no doubt are in under the radar though. As soon as that wind drops, there'll be some intermittent relaxing time trolling, awaiting the instantaneous blast of a screaming reel in hyper mode – let the fun times begin.

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Fishing has to be one of the most enjoyable ways to 'self-isolate'. There are so many different approaches and areas that you and I haven't explored yet in terms of fishing. Perhaps the timing is right to reward yourself while staying healthy in body and mind – and go fishing. You've got the gear, maybe a quick update of some essential lures (try not to panic-buy). Apparently the longer you stay and enjoy yourself, the better it is for everyone, or so the story goes.

Hurley burley winds, up and down the Beaufort scale are to be expected as autumn kicks into gear, not that this seems notably different. Fishing has been this week, as expected last week, very good. Good, solid bites spread throughout the day, good workup activity north of Flat Rock and out by Little Barrier, and acres of schooling snapper just spread out around the open grounds east of the cable zone. There was also some very good spread out activity just north of Tiritiri late yesterday afternoon too. 

It is easy enough to return home with perfect table-sized snapper at the moment, with many being caught on skirted lures. Inchiku, Kabura and hybrid variations are so exciting to fish with, and they're working very well. Have you seen out the new Boss Squid hybrid - a cross between a slow pitch jig and an inchiku [LINK: https://www.catchfishing.pro/product/boss-squid/]?

The kingfish bite around the inner islands of Ahahaa/David Rocks has been great. Times when we have seen the cruising at the surface, topwater has been the go, with every cast a winner. Then, they vanish.

Snapper with bellies full of anchovies have been more common out in 50m – remnants of close quarter workups. And with big anchovy schools out over the open grounds, a tell-tale of where to be for that style of fishing. Take note of different seabirds: the more seabirds are around, the more time you should spend looking on the sounder for the school signs. Then it's just a matter of choosing your lure!

Fun times fishing ahead, whether isolated or not.

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