I spend a week at Tauranga Bay around this time each year. Mainly family time but I always get a few fishing sessions in too.

As I prepped the kayak at the campground last Sunday evening I was gutted to notice that my sounder would not turn on. As a lure fisho outside of my home waters I rely heavily on the sounder and plotter. I decided to simplify down to one SB combo (10lb) and just “use the force”.

Launched in the predawn thru a dumpy shore break happy that the Stealth kayak features a rod chute that protects the gear from the sand and salt. Paddled out to about halfway to Stevenson’s island and started prospecting with a 7” redbone shad on a 3/4oz long-shank lightbulb jighead. Nothing but barely legal snapper caught so I employed my usual sounderless fishing technique of paddling 100 strokes then casting again.

The fish started getting better as I got closer to Stevenson’s and I kept a couple of nice eaters around the 50cm mark before the bite died off. I paddled to within about 60m of the SE point of the island and got busted off by a king when he got into the kelp. Re-tied and changed to a 7” bruised banana shad, and on the next cast got hit on the drop.

When I struck, the fish went horizontal for about 50m and straight into the kelp. I got towed in after it and used the swell to lift the fish gently, bit of a back and forth tussle but I got him in the end.

I tried to release him but he kept going belly up so I had to go ashore to put him in the rear hatch as he was too big for the main fish hatch. Weighed back at camp at 18.5lb which is about 2lb bigger than my last PB.

I think I’m gonna up the gear go 20lb next year to shorten the fight time.

That's pretty cool Telecaster, nice fish! In that sort of terrain with big fish a little heavier is good. I fish 10lb braid and 20lb leader over sand butthat won't cut it over foul ground.

Awesome effort.
T Bay is a special place for me. Those houses on the other side of the estuary belong to my family.

Good snapper. Lucky you caught it when you did. All out front of Stevies being commercial fished this week.