16 Oct 2021 - the 'Bottom End'
I'm not fluent in john dory, but if I had to hazard a guess at what the treasured fish grunted as it lay glinting in the sun on top of my chilly bin - with my favourite Z Man Midnight Oil grub sticking out of its gob - it would have been "bugger, I could have sworn that was a wounded spottie!"
Sadly for what turned out to be Mrs Dory on filleting, hoovering up the lure had been a fatal mistake. Hours later, simply pan fried skin side down in butter, it was a delicious treat for the family alongside crumbed snapper that was tasty in its own right.
Our feast was the result of a successful soft baiting mission to the 'Bottom end' of Waiheke - my first trip in three months due to weather, then Covid restrictions. I certainly didn't expect to be the only one with the same idea, given the forecast, but was amazed to see every mooring up the Waiheke Channel packed with massive launches, the western Firth like the Southern Motorway with boats zooming in every direction, and stationary craft as far as the eye could see towards Coromandel like a modern day D Day invasion fleet.
Most of my usual softbaiting haunts in the shallow fringes around Ponui, Rotoroa and Pakatoa had boats anchored on them or motoring in and out, so it was a matter of 'can't beat 'em, join 'em' while respecting the down current fishing space of other boats.
After a few drifts I'd picked up a few snapper to 45cm, and got follows and hook ups from the packs of small kahawai that emerged out of the depths on almost every wind in. A 'thwock' mid-drift over a bit of rubble out from Rotoroa resulted in a solid weight but no real fight from the aforementioned nice-sized john dory. A very welcome bonus which I carefully netted.
When the current died as low tide arrived, the SW breeze dropped out and the sun got up in the sky, I decided to head for some deeper water out by Shag (Terakihi) Rock. I was pleased to find quite a few patches of sign in 17-22m. Long drifts between anchored boats resulted in some more well-conditioned fish to the mid-40cm range. Gulp Squid Vicious, and Gulp Crazy Legs lobbed ahead on 1/2oz jigheads did most of the damage. As soon as they made it near the bottom, customers were waiting.
With a nice bin of fish and the northerly filling in, I pulled the pin at 12.30 and headed for home. Amid the Covid chaos, it was great to finally spend a restorative morning on the water, and bring home some tasty kaimoana for family and friends.