Good inshore and offshore action

The weather has been very kind to us for a few weeks now and the fishing has generally been pretty damn good, not excellent but okay.

Snapper fishing has been great off the beaches from Matakana to Papamoa and in some cases in only seven meters of water with some fish over 5kg! Kahawai are in the mix as well and if you are prepared to sacrifice a kahawai or two for fresh bait, virtually nothing will beat it.

We have also had good tarakihi fishing from 57-85m with some very nice fish at the Penguin Shoals and some great schools of kahawai schooling there as well. So never say “too late” for that stripey or big blue marlin that still might be hanging around.

Out on the deeper knolls, it appears that the bluenose are in spawning mode as the last three we landed had large roes and plenty of milt, so this is the time of year when you can land some real beauties. Just a reminder here regarding just how much fish is enough – remember an individual fish can weigh over 15kg or more.

In the mix there have been plenty of gemfish from 250-350m and they seemed to be really on the bite as they hit the baits virtually instantly with some double hookups as well.

We were out in 600m a week ago and watched a massive workup with bottlenose dolphins, pilot whales, and gannets working frantically on a school of fish. Water temperature has dropped a little now to 19.5°C from 22°C and the water does not seem to be as blue but maybe further out

All the best for the weekend as the forecast looks pretty damn good again!

Cheers
Russ Hawkins

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