firth of thames
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: Fishing Reports
Forum Description: Share information about your latest fishing trip
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=59894
Printed Date: 02 Jun 2026 at 10:00am
Topic: firth of thames
Posted By: family affair
Subject: firth of thames
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2010 at 7:41pm
| man whats the go i went out sataday just gone was on the water at 7am headed out from waikawau went up to the top mussel beds towars coros and had nothing not even a mackel so moved around a bit and had nothing all day went home with wind burn and a empty chilly. so all the storys going round of limits being got in 1 hr etc is there any truth???????????????????? |
Replies:
Posted By: family affair
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2010 at 7:45pm
| if so what the hell was i doing wrong lol any bady got any spots or info as im goig to head back out this sataday? |
Posted By: gulfguru
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2010 at 8:09pm
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have a look behind waheki island at slack tide should be work ups everywere. find the fish on your sounder anchocer on them u cant go wrong. hope this helps |
Posted By: family affair
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2010 at 8:14pm
| oh yea was thinking of launching that side this weekend cheers man might give it a go |
Posted By: rocko
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2010 at 8:23pm
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Try between the 2 farms... about 15mtrs.. or head east towards coro.. to 2o-25mtrs..... or better still try and hit it when the barge is working.....
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Posted By: family affair
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2010 at 8:26pm
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cool cool myte do man thanks heaps all info helps as dont wana part 2 to last weekend haha
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Posted By: Gottafew
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2010 at 8:53pm
Ok mate I can help you out with a spot.I have given away spots to guys in the past and they didn't even say thanks But you will have to pm me for info....------------- When people ask me how we got on I say..Yeah We Gottafew. |
Posted By: John_Ra
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2010 at 8:56pm
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Fish were spawning that day...
Mate was at the Ah ha's today on a charter bites came after noon, on way in with their bag limits 2:49
& a big King... ------------- http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: family affair
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2010 at 8:59pm
| yea thats wat i was wondering aye because my work mate was out rags and he had nothing to |
Posted By: Lethal
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2010 at 11:08pm
you might like to follow this as well, its been working pretty well... 
------------- Thanks for everything you did for us Eric. may you rest in peace, You were one of the real legends of NZ recreational fishing |
Posted By: 2cold
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2010 at 11:26pm
 ) but struggled throughout the morning only picking up the occasional fish.
Finally found a workup on the way back accross and picked up a dozen or so in the 40-50cm range over about an hour, the majority of these on the slow jigs with the Shimano Lucanus being the main provider. These are definitely a good option out in the firth, especially under the birds. They get down through the kahawai better than the plastics and we found them more effective once they did reach the bottom, although this is not always the case.
The fish didn't really come on the bite hard until around 1.30 or 2 o'clock even then most of our better fish came with a shift to fishing the wash around the bottom end of Waiheke. ot a bad day's fishing, kept 20ish between four, mainly around the 40-50cm range, and released probably twice that, all similar sizes. Best went a bit over 65cm out of about 6ft of water in the wash
 awesome fight, not the biggest snap I've caught but definitely one of the most fun, stripped a heap of line and ran around all over the place, up various guts and through the kelp etc., had to back up on it at full tilt to stay on top of it. Must've looked hilarious with us gunning it in reverse with water over the back like we had a marlin on, but instead of an 80w in a game chair it was me with the softbait set held as high above my head as I could to try and get/keep it's head up  So yeah definitely fish out there Saturday but definitely not a day for the Firth
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John_Ra wrote:Posted By: jeff007
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2010 at 6:49am
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We went out from Te Kouma on the friday got our limit including an 18lber, a 10 and a 7 had a great day then went out on saturday got 9 fish all day between us had to try all our spots and work hard.
It was our fishing club day on saturday and a few fish were caught in the area and a 10lber won so although slightly further north there were fish around just saturday seemed harder.
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Posted By: Corokingi
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2010 at 12:54pm
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i would head to tekouma at this time of year and sit somewhere on the ocean side of the outer islands. 15-30m and you should find them. |
Posted By: Brimel
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2010 at 3:09pm
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Saturday was tough, went out from Kaiaua 7am, told get to 20 metres won"t miss (where have I heard that before). Fished till 1pm 5 snapper biggest 40cm. Was tough though with Northerly wind and outgoing tide. Out in middle were heaps of big yellow tail mackeral. Consoled ourselves with a couple of pints at Kaiaua pub on way home, tasted mighty.
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Posted By: Zee
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2010 at 3:11pm
| incoming tide, running rigs, depth heaps of burley, cant miss |
Posted By: chris_gee
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2010 at 7:06pm
| You can miss. That is what fishing is about. All this work-up talk. Hmm I have sailed around forty miles and not seen a thing. Not to say there are not work-ups sometimes, often small ones quite often later in the season. Also seen some here and there. Does it mean there will be one the next day or even that it matters? Doubt it. Snapper often stay around the same area, more or less. They also move with breeding, moon and tide. It takes skill and time on the water to catch fish. I just wonder if newbies are not sucked in by reports from charter boats and soft bait promoters. Yep if thet have a super duper fish finder and fish in say Mayor Island then they can produce photos to aid the business. For the average punter in the Hauraki Gulf. Yes you can catch limit bags not every time but often. No you don't need to travel miles and miles. You might need to avoid bright sun and shallow water and heaps of boats around like around Xmas whan you have time to get out and are not blocked by the weather. Oh you might need to fish dull days, or evenings, and work out the tides. A hint slack tide ie an hour or so either side is useless. You might also need to fish one rod. Fishing with a bare hook is rarely productive. Just my thoughts having done an apprenticeship. |
Posted By: family affair
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2010 at 7:11pm
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lol all the tips have been taken in and i will post my results on sataday arvo
cherz everybody
john van vroonhoven
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Posted By: YeeHaa
Date Posted: 24 Nov 2010 at 11:14pm
very good table Went out this afternoon fno bites at all until 7:30ish bite come on got 7 snapper.  -------------   WWW.YEEHAA.CO.NZ (09)5705058 30 Jellicoe Road Panmure |
Posted By: THE FISH SEEKER
Date Posted: 26 Nov 2010 at 1:55pm
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dont worry bout it the fish are all spawning at the moment especially up the thames and the inner harbour there in a day dream state and not hungry all you can do is move to a different spot away from the rivers and inlets preferbly over sand beds with worms or shell fish of some sort good luck didnt have time to read all replys but that sounds like the problem you guys were having iv only been doin it 20 years so thats the best advice i can give you guys hav a good 1  |
Posted By: longchap
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2010 at 7:59am
Hey Chris you got that boat fixed yet?
Wednesday 24/11/10 had trip on Diversity cancelled so headed to Te Kouma for evening shot with The Mad Fisherman 4pm til dark.
Best fish 58cm few round the 52cm mark, most over 40cm, got limit for 9 anglers
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Posted By: rocko
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2010 at 7:26pm
Change of light.... early morning or evening..
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Posted By: family affair
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2010 at 7:57pm
| went out today and wel lets say it was part 2 of last weekend. went to the top beds and not a thing so went in the middle and again not a thing there was a bit of bird activerty but didnt help me so moved around a bit got nothing so i went to gotafews spot he told me abot which help i didnt catch much but saved my ass as i was volenterd to supply the smoked sapper for a bbq 2morrow by the misses. talking to a few people in line at the ramp and most had there limits with a couple good size 1s. SO i am thinking that maybe its somthing im using when washing my boat ahaha |
Posted By: Zee
Date Posted: 28 Nov 2010 at 8:54am
| Chris_Gee, i say you cant miss because of the 15 or so trips we have done out of kaiaua since the end of October we've not once struggled to come home with less than 20 snapper to feed the family. Fishing in the shallows at Orere Point over to the Coro side and anywhere in between depending in wind tide and weather. has produced some great fish with several over 10lb. Has been the best year in the Firth for ages on our boat, and we havn't even hit the shallows toward Miranda yet, which fills the bin and creates some mean sportfishing |
Posted By: family affair
Date Posted: 28 Nov 2010 at 7:13pm
| hmm that myte be the go iv hired a place at Orere Point from the 30th of dec till the 6th of jan. is there a ramp there or do gotta go to kawakawa bay? |
Posted By: Rat Catcher
Date Posted: 29 Nov 2010 at 11:16am
This table is full of s**t! Went out yesterday, no bites until 9:02, the chart said 9am.
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Posted By: bush billy
Date Posted: 29 Nov 2010 at 5:40pm
Now now Rob you should read the fine print it has a margin of error of two minutes!!
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Posted By: anglebox64
Date Posted: 29 Nov 2010 at 9:43pm
family affair you need to take me with you then you will have luck pmsl but its all fun and games aye bests spots are the ones you find and enjoy going too then there your spots but hey chin up mate  thats fishing ------------- fords the best F##k the rest |
Posted By: Cigar
Date Posted: 02 Dec 2010 at 2:17pm
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We went out from Kaiaua yesterday afternoon. Very, very quiet with only a few bites and one 42cm landed (plus a few baby kahawai released) for 4 hrs on the water. We fished fairly close to Kaiaua in 4 to 8m of water. Wind came up about 2pm and seemed to get stronger later in the day, it got quite choppy when the tide turned.
Got a good wash though, heading back in thru the chop on the jetski!
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Posted By: wal13
Date Posted: 02 Dec 2010 at 9:34pm
Thanks for the report. Apreciate them either way, good or bad. Was thinking of going out myself tomorrow off Kaiaua but the fish must have other things on their mind at the minute & can't hold it against them  . May have to try change of light. Lethal... where do you get that flash bite calender ?
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Posted By: Lethal
Date Posted: 03 Dec 2010 at 10:06am
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wal13 Fishing News will have a full year of that bite calendar in the January 2011 issue which normally comes out the end of December, its sponsored by http://www.wavedancer.co.nz/ - Wavedancer the charter boat which is driven by our one and only Mahiman "Paul Senior".... i also see Sam Mossman and Craig Worthington are doing a rundown on share bite time experiences while Sam Mossman looks at some alternatives for when snapper put their heads down with mouths closed. in this Decembers issue if i remember rightly, would be worth comparing what they say with the calendar to.... family affair try here if you have a GPS 24m 36-53-300s 175-23-870e small pin can fish both tides, has its moments... ------------- Thanks for everything you did for us Eric. may you rest in peace, You were one of the real legends of NZ recreational fishing |
Posted By: Corokingi
Date Posted: 03 Dec 2010 at 11:39am
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might have to spend more time at a spot and get the berley going man. we found we had to wait a while before they came on the bite , but once they did you had to be quick and reload your baits fast before they cruize off again. fresh bait is the difference i think aswell. |
Posted By: stinga
Date Posted: 03 Dec 2010 at 12:56pm
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FA like corokingi berley and time is the key to the firth imho I've found mussel berley and nice fresh skippies work well and have produced good results over the last 2 months(this week was harder me thinks the snaps are now fornicating?) If you have a 4wd beach launching at Orere you should be fine watch for soft patches!!!!
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Posted By: family affair
Date Posted: 03 Dec 2010 at 7:07pm
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mint will take all the advice in and will diff try the spot thanks lethal but now everybody be giving it ago haha
i will post back with how i go next time
thanks for all the advice and info people it is much apperictaed ------------- mv maui |
Posted By: snellie
Date Posted: 03 Dec 2010 at 7:21pm
| Nice report and shows the difference when you find the birdds. I have had outstnding success with those pirate jigs this season. Last season it was ordinary jigs and the 3 years before that it was soft baits. I caught 2 out of 3 fish the other day of the 27 the 3 of us caught - all on pirate jig until something like a shark busted me off. |
Posted By: Lethal
Date Posted: 03 Dec 2010 at 7:57pm
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there are reasons 10% of fishermen catch 90% of the fish... understanding the habitat and your prey has a lot to do with it... for instants just traveling along and finding fish on the sounder is not everything, how you anchour the boat up current not on top of them, take into account the wind, now place the boat so the wind holds you in position so your baits will find there intended prey out the back with the appropriate sinker weight for the conditions... these all take a hell of a lot of time spent on the water family affair, to work it out in just a few trips is not easy, it will come with practice, so enjoy your learning curve, it can only get easier.... if i am going to a new place to fish i will study the local map till i know it backwards, i will even make a map of the general area like this so i understand what and were the fish hang out on any given tide...  ------------- Thanks for everything you did for us Eric. may you rest in peace, You were one of the real legends of NZ recreational fishing |
Posted By: PukeFisher
Date Posted: 03 Dec 2010 at 8:14pm
| hey lethal where do you come across that fishing calendar found it very good last weekend and got over 20 snaps just off shag at your predicted time came on the bite |
Posted By: Lethal
Date Posted: 04 Dec 2010 at 11:22am
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PukeFisher, i started doing them a year or so ago just from experiences i had over the many years of fishing, have read back through this thread you will see how it evolved... i dont have all the answers but at least its a start... click on the underline words and it will take you there... http://www.fishing.net.nz/asp_forums/bite-times-for-09-april-to-7th-may_topic48237.html - you can also find it on this site ,..... ------------- Thanks for everything you did for us Eric. may you rest in peace, You were one of the real legends of NZ recreational fishing |
Posted By: bazza
Date Posted: 04 Dec 2010 at 11:32am
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Have asked this question previously but have not had a answer.
Can someone please tell me where the Firth ends & the Hauraki Gulf begins?
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Posted By: edge01
Date Posted: 04 Dec 2010 at 12:25pm
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I tend to find that at this time of the year there are three ways to consistantly catch snaps in the gulf.
1) Fish early morning or evening only. Middle of the day seems to be a waste of time in shallow water
2) Burley. I use a mussel base so as to not attract bronzies
3) You need current. I try fishing the edges of drop offs, edges of reef structures. You need to be quiet and careful with your movements. dont rattle the chian over the edge of the boat, dont let the sinkers hit the boat etc etc
Ive been tryin unda the birds working with slow jigs and whole baits, but nothing really good yet landed. still trying though.
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Posted By: longchap
Date Posted: 04 Dec 2010 at 1:22pm
I believe a line from orere pt to deadmans pt is the boundary IMHO ?????????????????
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Posted By: Lethal
Date Posted: 04 Dec 2010 at 3:32pm
edge01, working the birds is a art in its self... first knowing which direction the current is running, set the boat up so your on that side of the working birds, next take into account the wind, is it against the tide or with it or across it? how strong is the wind sometime your drift is just too fast, sea anchors sometimes are a must... as you can see a lot of variables which must be over come just to locate the fish before even getting to catch them... if the wind is across the current you have only a short period where the fish hung out, before relocating the boat... current and wind together is the easiest, your drifting along the droppings from the work-up... current against the wind means you start before the spot that fish are gathered hence fishing into the working birds.... working this out on open water with no visible sign except the birds can easy coarse a headache... but hey thats why they call it fishing.... ------------- Thanks for everything you did for us Eric. may you rest in peace, You were one of the real legends of NZ recreational fishing |