Anybody have ideas for gurnard fishing in the Manakau harbour, have fished their for a number of years without a hugh success in catching these species, living in Titirangi we usually fish the upper reaches.
Cheers
Dave
Thanks JW...I think I could catch them in my sleep... now there's a challenge. I do a fair bit of fishing on the Manukau for gurnard, I prefer a dropper rig for low current areas .... I have a spot around Matakawau.
Or for the more usual raging torrents a rig with a running sinker and a trace of a metre or so with another hook half way along. I prefer to use a heavy sinker either way for gurnard. You want the bait stationary. Mullet bait works well even if its old and mushy but fresh and never frozen will help with the bycatch. I use a 5/0 hook although smaller hooks, especially recurves help if trevs are around. Scallop gut also works well as a bait and can be dynamite on trevs too.
Give them time to chew the bait, I believe they scare easily and seldom return after a missed strike, unlike the typical Manukau snapper. Gurnard will often take the bait and sit there not moving and it is only when the line is retrieved that a gurnard is found to be on the end. Half the trick is recognising a Gurnard bite.
All my fishing has been on the other side of Titirangi, but where the channels start to rise and the deeper banks - around 10 metres - seem to fish well. The fishing is best on a rising tide.
The most common thing I see in the gut of a gurnard are crabs and baby flounder, and have even retrieved these to try as bait but no joy. I have had some success in the Kaipara with baited red flies and red and black rubber tails .... but that may be taking the gurnard obsession a little too far.....
A good size is around 3 pounds but on average they are half that. Watch the spikes behind the head. You can fillet them the conventional way but there are way messier ways if you like blood and guts...
Hey Smudge, the gurnard on the Kaipara is plentiful and caught surfcasting. We find the running rig best with squid or strip mullet as bait. As said previously learning when the gurnard is there is the hardest part, most of us surfcasters on the Kaipara can tell by the rod tip!
I would have to say the Kaipara gurnard is generally a bigger fish than most other places around our coast.
Ross
Gidday Ross.
Yep I think the Kaipara outfishes the Manukau for Gurnard ..... anything actually. The fish are good there and you really need to pay attention to the bites to detect them.
The most important thing I forgot to mentio above was that the bait itself must be sitting on the deck.
Mike.
Hey Grimmy.
Check my posting in the "Fishing reports forum"
Cheers CeeBee
Hey Grimmy,
I have sent U a reply but don't know if it was posted.... pleez let me know if it HASN'T and I will re-post.
Cheers CeeBee
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