2/5/21 6:30 to 10:45am
Launched Okahu Bay and gave the city channel another go, mainly because the SW wind forecast and incoming tide favoured the southern side of the city channel. Wasn't much wind to start with, and not many bites either. 2nd drift much better, a medium KY and then a 42cm snapper took soft baits. Another drift, another 2 snapper keepers, but 34 and 35cms. The size gradually dropped, and returned a few snapper from 30 to 32cms, and a lot of undersize.
Gave up on the city channel about 9:30 and went close to 9 buoy in the Rangi channel. Crabby drift with light SW wind, 1 tiddler released.
Tried near 10 buoy for the last 15 minutes but the crabby drift was worse: 0.3 knots almost due East. Few tiddler bites, no hookups, so went home.
Today was a test for some of The Tamure Kid's tips and tricks. I brought in some 5" Zman curlytails - Midnight Oil, Coconut Ice and Electric Chicken from Aus and did my version of a Carolina rig, as follows:
- rainbow braid to about 60cms of 20lb fluorocarbon (just hacked off the wormhook that was there before)
- 1/2 or 2 oz sinker followed by a 10mm white fluoro bead and a swivel
- about 70cms 20lb fluorocarbon, fluoro pink or yellow/green bead, size 4 VMC wide gap wormhook which has a copper keeper thru the eye to stop the soft bait being pulled down the hook.
- mainly used midnight oil and coconut ice SPs
The 2oz sinker sets were put down almost straight under the boat, one set each side
The 1/2 oz set was let out about 40m behind the boat.
I checked, and with the hook and keeper, the SP's were still very buoyant, so probably travelling well above the bottom, maybe 20 to 50cms, depending on drift speed, which varied from 0.3 to 1.5 knots. All SPs given a squirt of Secret Sauce, either mullet or drag juice.
Also tried out a Zman Sexy Penny Paddlerz, 5", on a Carolina rig. This caught the KY. It's a new penny, but with a chartreuse belly.
For catching snapper keepers today I rate the 5" coconut ice first (caught the 42cm snapper and another keeper), then the midnight oil second, but ratings are premature until I've done more testing. The electric chicken didn't get a run until the main bite was over, so no comment on that.
The Carolina rig may have helped today. I've fished the same area for tiddlers, so maybe getting the lure off the bottom helps, but too early to tell. It does have a downside compared to a direct connection of a jighead or wormhook to the leader. You have to lift the rod quickly about 70cms just to get a straight line connection to the hook. Probably missed 3 or 4 keepers because I didn't adjust quickly enough. But at least they were biting - can't grumble about that.
I've just ordered some TT Big Eyez jigheads for fishing shads and will give those a go.
Thanks for your input Lester. Makes fishing more interesting trying new stuff. Might try an elevator jighead some time. Would let the SP sit up off the bottom a bit more and without the indirect contact problem of the Carolina rig.