The west coast has been very settled for well over a week
now and I hope weather continues. There are huge schools of albacore &
skipjack tuna right in front of the bar out to 80m. Marlin are there too but
not with every school and they are in close. You need to get your lures in the
water before you hit 50m or you will be missing fish. Skipjack make great bait
for snapper and gurnard but albacore are great for the table. They need to be
bled, which is easily done by cutting through the lateral line or just below
it, immediately behind the pectoral fins. Put the fish straight into ice and
you will have some great tasting treats. After seasoning just sear the outside
so most of the flesh is still pink. It is also very nice smoked. Overcooked
tuna is dry and bland, don’t do it! It’s also tasty served raw with soy &
wasabi.
To catch tuna you need some solid gear such as a heavy
snapper set, 10 to 15kg line and a 100lb trace with a small tuna lure attached.
You will catch them on marlin lures but dedicated tuna lures around 75 to 100mm
long work best. You can but them pre rigged for around $20. Set them 10m to 30m
out the side of your boat and tow them at 6 or 7 knots. Make sure the reel drag
isn’t set too high as they hit lures hard and make sure the reel clicker is
engaged otherwise if you aren’t watching you will get spooled and a bust rod
is the likely outcome.
Snapper fishing is better than I would have expected for
this time of year over the coast and you can find fish in as close as 10m or on
the way out to 60m. If you are fishing in close be very mindful of the swell
and let out lots of anchor rope. You will also find kingfish in close and under
workups.
cirrus wrote: Good informative report smudge. Good to be able to keep in touch. Great to see trevelly featuring on the catch list. Planned to get out last week on the small tides,but circumstances didnt allow it. But on the next small tides ,weather permitting will be there. A return to the manukau is long overdue |
Grunta wrote: Great report - thanks Smudge |
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