The way it was

Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote kitno Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: The way it was
    Posted: 11 Sep 2018 at 7:19pm
kitno View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium


Joined: 06 Sep 2015
Location: Papamoa
Status: Offline
Points: 11922
As the years have passed, have you noticed any significant changes in your stomping ground. Maybe less, maybe more fish. Maybe a change in the dominant specie's.
In my childhood and teenage years, kahawai seemed to be the most prolific, but the same area is now snapper. I use to frequently see large schools of kahawai, but I think that is a thing of the past now.
Not so much after the endless possible reasons as to why, but more after the changes you've noticed.
Top 10 finish
2024 Grunter Hunter.
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote smudge Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Sep 2018 at 7:53pm
smudge View Drop Down
Moderator - Ninja
Moderator - Ninja
Avatar

Joined: 17 Jul 2002
Location: Te Toro
Status: Offline
Points: 32161
Fishing seems to have improved for me in general. Pretty sure I know way more about it than I used to. Gurnard in the last 3 years have been harder to catch
Best gurnard fisherman in my street
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote bigred1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Sep 2018 at 7:54pm
bigred1 View Drop Down
Silver
Silver
Avatar

Joined: 06 Feb 2018
Location: Tauranga
Status: Offline
Points: 180
Definitely, I live in Tauranga and fish and dive in the surrounding areas.  I'm now 46, so I can remember snorkeling for scallops in Motuhoa bay (a mate can remember, as a child, collecting them from from the sand bar off Bay St, Matua).  Then diving in the Omokoroa-Te Puna channel, and now there are none left to be found in the habour.  The rampant growth in sea lettuce may also be to blame, or maybe that is an indicator of a bigger issue (maybe Al Gore knows the answer).  When snorkeling for mussels at mussel rock (between Moturiki and Rabbit Island) we also used to see the odd undersized cray.  Rabbit Island always provided though.  Plus the puny Paua patch, it never provided much but it was interesting to see.  

My best story of the depletion of the kiamoana stocks is not really mine.  Many years ago a an older lady of Merivale was the ghost writer of a book about the area.  She described how her family was so poor they would make their way to Moturiki (Leisure Island) and throw an old bicycle rim off the side (with a fish head attached to it) to collect crayfish as that would provide free food to feed the family for a couple of days, until they had enough money to buy some real meat.  
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote shaneg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Sep 2018 at 10:09pm
shaneg View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar

Joined: 12 Jul 2009
Location: New Zealand
Status: Offline
Points: 4768
More gurnard but got better at catching them. Less big snapper but seldom go to places where bigger models lurk,.. like horn rock as mainly kayak fish off my local Auckland bay.
Not so many marlin but now run a suzuki on same boat rather than my old yamhi.
Less piper, but seldom net them these days and only target on rod and reel.
Way less crays .. but only dive the pacific islands on holiday last few years, whereas used to dive for crays in NZ every second weekend.
Haven't seen many JDs or big trevs lately ... but can't remember last time fished off my favourite wharf.
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote viscount Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Sep 2018 at 10:38pm
viscount View Drop Down
Gold
Gold
Avatar

Joined: 22 Apr 2010
Location: Mighty Bay
Status: Offline
Points: 607
Where we fished growing up around tairua/ pauanui I have seen a decline in numbers but we don’t frequent that area as much, as for crays so little, in Tauranga I can go out and get my limit of snapper all year, crays are there but not in the numbers in the 90’s, scollys are there you need to find them,
Calling fishing a hobby is like calling brain surgery a job - Paul Schullery
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Roofless Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Sep 2018 at 11:19pm
Roofless View Drop Down
Silver
Silver


Joined: 13 Mar 2014
Location: Auckland
Status: Offline
Points: 472
I've noticed the kings seem to have come back in very very good numbers in the manukau and they seem to be concentrated in a totally different spot, happy days for me .
Snapper seem to have stayed same off whatipu tho
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote MB Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Sep 2018 at 12:17am
MB View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar

Joined: 08 Jan 2016
Location: Northland
Status: Offline
Points: 5536
I spent most of my life on the other side of the planet. I have witnessed fish stocks collapse within my lifetime. Please don't think it won't happen here just because there has always been a relative abundance.
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Snappa Geoff Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Sep 2018 at 6:35am
Snappa Geoff View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar

Joined: 23 Jul 2012
Location: mokau
Status: Offline
Points: 6424
Not complaining about Snapper fishng! couldnt have it any better. Definite improvement since the introduction of Maui Dolfin's protected area's from the Comms. Don't see the huge boil ups of Kahawai from past years, just random smaller ones when out there. Gurnhard plentiful and good crayfish diving if your into that....
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote REIVER Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Sep 2018 at 3:08pm
REIVER View Drop Down
Platinum
Platinum
Avatar

Joined: 05 Jun 2010
Location: Rotorua
Status: Offline
Points: 1076
Way less kahawai for sure but no problem to get a feed. Just not the acres and acres there used to be. Hapuku definitely way less common than even 10 years ago. It used to be no problem to nail a feed whenever we wanted, now it can be a struggle. Still plenty of bluenose though but they aren't quite as good to eat. Still plenty of snapper and tarakihi around so can't complain.
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote kitno Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Sep 2018 at 7:19pm
kitno View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium


Joined: 06 Sep 2015
Location: Papamoa
Status: Offline
Points: 11922
Originally posted by smudge smudge wrote:

Fishing seems to have improved for me in general. Pretty sure I know way more about it than I used to. Gurnard in the last 3 years have been harder to catch


It did cross my mind when writing the original post that as we get more experienced, we refine our techniques and fishing seems to improve. Not necessarily more fish to be caught, just better at it.
Top 10 finish
2024 Grunter Hunter.
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote kitno Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Sep 2018 at 7:22pm
kitno View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium


Joined: 06 Sep 2015
Location: Papamoa
Status: Offline
Points: 11922
Originally posted by Roofless Roofless wrote:

I've noticed the kings seem to have come back in very very good numbers in the manukau and they seem to be concentrated in a totally different spot, happy days for me .
Snapper seem to have stayed same off whatipu tho


There seems to be more and more Kingfish each year in Tauranga as well.
Top 10 finish
2024 Grunter Hunter.
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote salty69 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Sep 2018 at 7:46pm
salty69 View Drop Down
Platinum
Platinum
Avatar

Joined: 20 Jun 2009
Location: Hamilton
Status: Offline
Points: 1905
I spent my teenage years living at Karaka Bay in Wellington. We used to set nets on the weed line and never went without. Main species were blue moki, snapper and kahawai. It wasnt uncommon to get 20lb Moki and snaps in those days.
In winter we used to catch schools of warehou which we'd race off and sell to the local fish shop in Miramar.
That's was in the 70's. I hear the harbour isn't quite as productive these days.
Moved to the naki and fondly remember fishing with mates who were commercial. Have vivid memories of rod fishing commercially off the motunui bricks and in closer off the white cliffs.
For the last 9 years I've been fishing off Pauanui. I reckon the snaps and kingfish stocks are as good as ever, however am finding catching a feed of terakihi a challenge. They seem to be coming in a lot later in the year than they have done previously.
For me fishing is about doing the right thing, in the right place, at the right time.
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote strx7 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Sep 2018 at 11:28am
strx7 View Drop Down
Platinum
Platinum
Avatar

Joined: 15 Jul 2004
Location: Tauranga, NZ
Status: Offline
Points: 1536
Originally posted by kitno kitno wrote:

Originally posted by Roofless Roofless wrote:

I've noticed the kings seem to have come back in very very good numbers in the manukau and they seem to be concentrated in a totally different spot, happy days for me .
Snapper seem to have stayed same off whatipu tho


There seems to be more and more Kingfish each year in Tauranga as well.

I think part of the kings numbers increase it simply a perceived one due to the fact that good gear and lures are easily acquired and therefore the amount of people able to successfully target them has increase tenfold+
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Scrumpy123 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Sep 2022 at 9:16pm
Scrumpy123 View Drop Down
Bronze
Bronze


Joined: 13 Sep 2022
Status: Offline
Points: 1
Hi mate, what's it like out at the bricks these days, coming in a few weeks, is there a waypoint for the bricks, thanks
Back to Top
Forum Jump
Forum Permissions View Drop Down


This page was generated in 0.504 seconds.

Fishing Reports Visit Reports

Saltwater Fishing Reports
Top of the South Fishing Report - 22/03/24

Tasman and Golden Bay snapper still running hot We are not far away from daylight... Read More >

22 Mar 2024
Saltwater Fishing Reports
Bay of Islands Fishing Report - 22/03/24

Variety is the spice of life On one recent trip, the plan was to spend a... Read More >

22 Mar 2024
Saltwater Fishing Reports
Hauraki Gulf Fishing Report - 22/03/24

Fish where the fish are! Catching fish or just going fishing? I tackle this issue... Read More >

22 Mar 2024
Saltwater Fishing Reports
Inner Hauraki Gulf Fishing Report - 22/03/24

Thoughtful tactics required for better fish Over the course of each year the fishing varies,... Read More >

22 Mar 2024
Fishing bite times Fishing bite times

Major Bites

Minor Bites

Major Bites

Minor Bites