Bream Bay is fishing exceptionally well at the moment for both snapper and kingfish.
The only blot on the landscape is the purse seiners who have been dealing to the bait schools in the greater Bream Bay/Hen and Chicken Islands region for weeks now. As a regular to the area, the damage that is being done to bait population is considerable. But don’t blame the big fishing companies, they are only doing what they are allowed to do under the Quota Management System – chasing the last dollar. The ones we need to direct our attention to is Fisheries NZ’s policy makers.
Last weekend conditions were perfect, even if the moon phases and bite times weren’t and when they came on there were some great snapper to be had.
Instead of following the pack fishing in close from Ruakaka down to the Waipu river mouth, wife Faith and I took the new project boat, a Billfish Buccaneer 735, out from Marsden Cove to some of the deeper foul (50m) off Bream Head. We only fished for a couple of hours and the bite, when it came on, was fast and furious. Faith was fishing baits – Top Catch pilchards and squid – and kicked my butt in both numbers and fish size. We kept six snapper to five-kilos, more than enough for our needs given we were heading out again Sunday.
This day I had brother-in-law Bob Ohlson with me along with mate Tony and his son Sami Orton. Leaving from Mangawhai we went to the 30m mark off Bream Tail – known locally as The Fingers’ – where we found the snapper in good numbers. The bigger fish were up off the bottom in spawning mode and we caught an even amount of male and females which bears this out.
Tony got the best fish at around 8kgs with the average being in that 2-3.5kg bracket.
I dropped my ‘fish of the day’ after the trace failed at the jig head. I use a Rapala knot, sometimes called a Lefties’ Loop – to create a loop attachment to the jig head. This does create some wear where the mono rubs against the hook eye and this is where I came unstuck.
The moral of the story is to re-tie your knots regularly, especially after fighting a decent fish.
Other anglers told me the fish have moved from close to the beach to around the 15-20 metres mark of Ruakaka-Urititi beaches.
The one thing that is not present in any big numbers yet are the gurnard. Normally a sucker for orange/gold inchiku or slider lures - especially when baited with a sliver of squid - I haven’t caught many so far this spring. Last year they were prolific in the 30-40 metre mark and a great size.The only blot on the landscape is the purse seiners who have been dealing to the bait schools in the greater Bream Bay/Hen and Chicken Islands region for weeks now. As a regular to the area, the damage that is being done to bait population is considerable.
Faith was fishing baits – Top Catch pilchards and squid
Does anyone else see the irony in this???
Grunta wrote: I’ve been using the Mustad Fastach clips for quite a while now and they are excellent. Can be a bit tricky getting some jig heads off and on but once you get the knack of getting the angle and twist right it’s easy as. Makes changing weights and lures so quick and you’re not continually shortening your leader every time you do. |
20lb-ers off the beach, in the kayak, and out deep As we officially move from... Read More >
Outstanding inshore fishing It’s official, summer is over, and what a great summer it has... Read More >
Great condition and large... just not many of them! It has been an unusual end... Read More >
Finally, a salmon run! Freshwater Finally we have a salmon run! At the time of... Read More >