The trouble is you dont mind giving up the goods if you get something back. Being boatless I only get to fish off the rocks and often a accurate and detailed location report will bring home the goods. Being a couple of hundred meters out can make all the difference. So heres the comment. Can we have a moderated forum of detailed locations.

For a lansd based report I would submit an detailed location , giving things like traveing distance from central auckland , where to park the car , which footpaths to follow , best fishing times related to tide height basically the more detail the better.

Where this works is , being moderated it has an access list approved by a sys admin , you have to put something in t get something out.

Andy

I agree that the boating conditions can change by the hour but you do have the option of moving !!

I've tried to follow some of the locations given in some of the magazines but have ended up in completely the wrong place. What kicked this idea off is a tip in the general forum about Tokatu point.

Off we trundled at 5 am from central Auckland only to find the gates to the park closed till 7am. None of what I've read about the place mentioned the hour long walk and then the 90 meter death slide to get to the rocks !!

Whilst it would have not made much difference as I still would have gone I was so knackered because I was carrying far too much gear . I know several places like this where having the correct information before hand would have made a real difference and tuned a route march into a nice day out.

Andy

Hi Rockhopper things can be a real pain if you have not been somewhere before. As a keen rock fisherman I find that you need to try spots over a period of time to understand their true potential. I have had a similar problem at Takatu point with the gate. For your information early in daylight saving time allows you to still reach the point relatively early for first light.

I like the idea of a forum for information on good spots which is moderated and qualified by contribution.

Mark

Couldn't agree more.  Happy to share good spots with other responsible fisho's, but there has to be something in it for me.

Spot X forum - bring it on.

Matt

Some awesome ideas flowing here fellas!...

I share a common concern with Andy (Rockhopper) which is the saftey aspect of landbased adventures...combine clambering over rocks, down cliff faces, an unpridictable ocean and inexperience and you have a major recipie for disaster! A simple disclaimer will protect our butts, but  I personally wouldn't feel very good if someone came to greif from advice given?

Andy suggested that perhaps when a new member signs up we send an automated "how to be safe" email?

Keep this one going guys and we will turn it into fruition I assure you!

Hi all

This is a copy of a message I sent to Kerren, Comments please.

Basically thats it. But I've been thinking about access. I'm wondering if it should be restricted to contributors. My reason for saying this is I'm a bit concerned about safety. Being a English export , when I first started fishing here I heard about great places like Piha and Mirawai but it was only some time later I discovered how many people get drowned , especially from the immigrant community.

Boating is supposed to be the number 1 recreational killer in this country and I would bet rock fishing comes second.I dont have any axe to grind but when chatting to anglers especially amongst the Asian comunity they have no idea what the coastal conditions can be like. As far as i know there have been 10 drownings at Mirawai this year 8 of them Asians. Personally I wont go near the place if there is a SW swell or its over 1 meter.

By makeing it access to all we risk crowding our favourite places but at the same time how bad would it be if you found that someone drowned on a trip to somewhere you recomended.

Perhaps a moderated open forum open to any registered fishing.net.nz user. I'm sure that some of the reguar forum contributors could submit some seriously good safety articles as compulsory reading and each spot could be graded for its safety aspects. Tamaki drive would be considered very safe , you are more liable to be hit by a car than washed off , as opposed to the front of Lion Rock at Piha which can be a deathtrap.

The problem is that the people who would get the most from a forum are going to be people who are just getting started in fishing and will therfore be the most vulerable group. I feel its very important that we emphasise a safety aspect.

God that all sounds very depressing.

So what can we do ? Well......

Any new member that joins the discussion groups gets a welcome email as is already the case and a couple of emails specifically related to Boat safety and Land based safety. I know alot of this is well know to guys who have been there and done that but they are probably the minority of users. I know what the basic safety rules of say fishing at Muriwai are but i still dont know what to do should I actually go in. Swim away from the rocks or try to get out, tread water and wait for a chopper or make for the beach.

I've rambled on enough for a while , you can forward this around to some of the guys who migh contribute for their comments.

Regards

Andy

Do any forum users have safety guides already written. I've looked on some likely websites but cant seem to find what I'm looking for.

As a relative newbie, both to the country and to sea fishing (if you discount a few cod trips out of Brid and flounder fishing in the Humber estuary) I could benefit much from such a forum, but as yet I could contribute very little regarding spots (I do know a carp swim on the Waikato <g>), especially as I am boatless.

I think the suggestions regarding safety (welcome e-mails etc.) are very sensible but as always it will be up to individuals to pay heed and take responsibility for themselves and their actions. If the forum takes off, and I do applaud the suggestion, then location information could be accompanied by any particular hazards or warnings of which those familiar with the location are aware. Clearly, as conditions alter circumstances, it will still be up to those visiting the location to take care and keep their wits about them.

Now, anybody know a spot where my kids can catch a snapper with a handline?

Chris

I think it's a great idea. Location details are often very sketchy. I've tried to find places and given up. You know the sort of thing - you get there and it's "what effin path?!" "which turning??!!". Once went looking for a spot in the coromandel that turned into a + three hour bush walk. When I got to the spot I found that I needed to climb down a rope to reach the rock which was being washed by swell. I decided it was too risky and turned back, it then started raining making the track almost impossible to use. New Zealand fishing news produce a map guide, they said the spot can be reached after a small walk through the bush. There was no mention of three hours or a dangerous rope climb. Now I'm reasonably fit and it was still a bad enough situation for me to consider ditching the gear or even sitting it out over-night. Obviously the map guide would be too big to carry if it went into great detail for every spot, which is where the internet comes in. I would think the more information we share the better as I'd rather someone have a good day out and get into some fish than go home thinking fishing's crap.

Quote: Originally posted by Matt B on 04 October 2002

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I am ben and i am 11 years old my favourite spot fishing is out by Rangitoto.

Where the light house is about 70 m away

 from ben

I agree with Rockhopper when he says he doesn't mind giving something away if he gets something back.

I spent my youth surfcasting all around the North Shore and helped feed my family. Devonport was a poor area in those days.

A couple of years ago my boss called me less than truthful saying I could get a feed for the family from the beaches or rocks on the Shore. I proved him wrong by calling his bluff and taking him along for an interesting nights fishing.

Park your car at the southern end of Cheltenham Beach and take the surfcasting gear and torch with you. Aim for an incomming tide. Take the trail around the rocks from the beach at Cheltenham and walk around to where you can look directly accross to Okahau Bay. You'll know the spot because there's a rock shelf goes out into the water there, somewhere high up by the high water mark there's still a noticeable hole dug out of this rock as if there's been a fire pit there.

Fish after dark and use the running rig with whatever bait you use. I usually have to wait a wee while but it's worth it in the end. You'll not catch monsters there but a feed of legal fish is usually the result.

I should point out that the first keepable fish usually gets wrapped in x4 layers of newspaper, soaked in salt water and placed on the fire you lit there earlier in the evening in the fire pit! Turn the fish over when the paper burns and when that side burns also then it time to remove it from the fire. Unwrap carefully and the skin, scales etc., will come away with the paper. Keep some kingi gear handy as we've been buzzed by them after hours looking for a feed. Kahawai on spinners/lures are possible as well.

Don't park by Torpedo Bay as there's no access to the walkway even though this looks better and shorter. Also don't be tempted to park up North Head as it's locked after hours.

It's worth a try if you like surfcasting and have a young family member to entertain as the harbour offers all sorts of entertainment with the commings and goings there.

Best snapper in the world are cooked as ASAP after catching to........

Ross