We had an epic day out last Sunday. We were on a mission to fish the coast while the conditions were right. Traditionally we wat until spring. A couple of weeks ago a mate hade a great day out there but we all know one good day doesn't mean it's all on. He fished at 30m down toward Karioitahi so that wasn't a surprise he did well on a winter session - albeit late winter.
We generally head to 60m in spring as that depth has been kind to us over the years and sharks aren't usually as bad way out there. So we headed to 60m ignoring the sign at 30 to 40m mostly because of all the bird life. We weren't there to catch kahawai with our snapper.
As we do, we put some baits down first and almost as soon as the baits were on the bottom we were on. Usually we use single hook droppers but I had some BBK 8/0 flashers and I lost the bottom hook straight away when something hit it halfway up while I was hooked to a 40cm snap.
No loss, I fished that single hook for the rest of the day and that first fish was the smallest. The longest I had a bait on the bottom was about a minute, it was hectic. Biggest fish was 17.5lb and most were around 50cm. Arron's mate Jamie had a PB of 10lb previously and he caught three bigger ones included the biggest. He also got his first snapper on a jig.
A flat battery was a downer for the day. Oops.
Anyway, no sharks landed, two snip offs, one kahawai and a heap of snapper, some released and tagged. Into the harbour for some very good scallops.
A mate had a 17lb snapper from the harbour on the same day but it was one of his crew so that will keep the crowing to tolerable levels. A nice fish for sure.