NZ Fisher Issue 14

f sher ISSUE 14

January 2012

October Landbased Magic Top spot No. 3: The Bay of Plenty www.nzfisher.co.nz 1

CONTENTS Pg 4

8

12

SPORTFISHING 4

R’oktober Fish 2011

8

A Nooby’s View:

Rocktober Fish 2011

KAYAKFISHING 10

My First Ever Kingfish

12

Reader Pics

13

Fishing Video of the Month &

Jetski Fishing

FISHINGSPOTS

2 www.nzfisher.co.nz

14

The Bay of Plenty

18

Regional Reviews

Pg 14

editorial

//From the

EDITOR

The wind blows and the rain falls.

stunning 375kg Black Marlin landed

Not an ancient Chinese mantra but a

by Beni Hafoka aboard ‘Jans

modern fishers lament. We’ve been so

Decision’ out of Tauranga. Big Black

spoilt now for the last five or six years

Marlin are not very common in NZ

the weather has been patchy at worst,

and this one was even more out of

but generally there have been some

character, taking a towed lure not a

extended fine spells allowing us time

livebait which they’re known for.

ABOUT / Short and sharp, NZ Fisher is a free e-magazine delivering thought provoking and enlightening articles, and industry news and information to forward-thinking fisher people.

EDITOR / Derrick Paull

to wet a line; this year however it’s been rain and wind at every turn. That

There’s a new Recreational Fisheries

ART DIRECTOR / Jodi Olsson

is not to say that plenty of fish have

management fundraising machine

GROUP EDITOR / Trudi Caffell

not been caught or that there are not

making its presence known called

more resilient types out there anyways!

LegaSea (“Bringing back the bite to ADVOCACY, RESEARCH,

I trust you have all still had ample

EDUCATION & working TOGETHER)

chance to relax and spend time with

and they’re officially launching on the

your families over the Christmas &

9th of February. For more info see

New Year break – earning plenty of

www.legasea.co.nz.

brownie points for later on when you’ll need them when it’s really

The NZFisher Boat is progressing &

fishing season!

we are looking forward to getting her wet for the first time early next

This month we have a report from

month. The team at Sportcraft Boats

new Kiwi Forbes Taylor, another

have been awesome, making the

recent Scottish émigré with a growing

changes we’re looking for & guiding

passion for fishing. Forbes answered

us on the best options for what we’re

the call for keen fishos to join us on the

after – watch this space!

CONTENT ENQUIRIES / Phone Derrick on 021 629 327 or email derrickp@NZ Fisher.co.nz ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES / Phone Richard on 09 522 7257 or email richardl@espiremedia.com ADDRESS / NZ Fisher, C/- Espire Media, PO Box 137162, Parnell, Auckland 1151, NZ WEBSITE / www.NZ Fisher.co.nz This is a GREEN MAG, created and distributed without the use of paper so it's environmentally friendly.

Please think before you print. Thank you!

R’Ocktober fish weekend & his story of the successes he had embodies just

All going well we’ll have some great fish

what NZFisher is all about.

and even better stories to tell from the new boat, but in the mean time enjoy

As I complete the copy for January

issue one of 2012!

there are Marlin & even Yellow Fin Tuna showing up at weigh stations

Tight lines,

around the country including a

Derrick

Cover Image: Main image: Saul Harman graces our cover for the second time with a 10kg plus snapper caught & released at Cape Karikari Inset: Forsyth Thompson with a released snapper – estimated 20lbs

www.nzfisher.co.nz 3

sportFISHING

R’Ocktober Fish 2011

The after affect of a near death experience for Saul & Scot

Those who like to target big

best landbased territory in the north

snapper from the rocks in the

and the comfort of the Whatuwhiwhi

upper north know that there is no

Top 10 motor camp (by comfort we

better month to chase monsters

mean the best filleting facility this side

from the rocks than October. These

of anywhere....)

Hardcore Landbased

big fish come into the reefs prior

Story by Derrick Paull

to spawning to feed up & in some

The weather gods frowned upon us as

Photos by Scott & Saul Harman,

cases take up residency. Their pre-

the wind was forecast out of the only

Forsyth Thompson

spawning feed-up plays right into

corner that cramped the options and

our hands as we lob big smelly baits

in the week leading up, the forecast

to their waiting mouths – or at least

sou-easter looked ominous.

that was the theory!

Fifteen hardy rock-hoppers headed NZFisher contributor Forsyth T of

north on the last Friday of October,

Digital Hothouse came up with the

despite of the forecast. There was

plan to head north & we spun a plan

excitement before we even arrived

to introduce NZFisher’s’ first ever

with a couple of the crew tangling

competition – R’Ocktober fish. We

with a truck outside of Kawakawa.

chose Whatuwhiwhi on Cape Karikari

Thankfully there was no serious injury

as the base due to its access to the

but the truck was a right off

sportFISHING

er rau shallows] s from the Toke ap sn p m co eir of pr Scott with a pa

To make up for their poor fortune

bests & bust-offs on a regular basis

Scott & Saul headed out for a pre-

and the cameras took a hammering.

comp softbait fish and came back with

The only one not setting new

a couple of very healthy Doubtless

standards was me!

Bay snaps for tea for the crew.

At around 11 Forsyth decided it The first day started very early with one

was time for a break. He biffed out

team hitting the water an hour before

monster mackerel bait and headed

dawn and heading north to seek their

up the rocks to get a bite to eat. As

fortunes around the Cape Islands.

nature will have it, that was when the fish of the day hit. The water was

I headed to the more sheltered (but

deep and relatively clear of snags

it felt very exposed) southern side

but Forsyth’s fish had no intention

of the peninsula with Forsyth and

of making things easy. The big swell

Ian in the Baby Stabi. The conditions

and lack of lateral movement saw him

were not ideal & we were limited to

clamouring & stretching to keep his

access points.

line off the rocks.

The fishing started off well and

Once beaten, it was up to novice

continued to improve throughout

gaff-man Karl (who had previous

the morning. There were personal

bait landed his new PB of 10 odd

“Those who like to target big snapper from the rocks in the upper north know that there is no better month to chase monsters from the rocks than October.” www.nzfisher.co.nz 5

sportFISHING

Forsyth’s 20

6 www.nzfisher.co.nz

sportFISHING

pounds!) to dodge the swells & net

A few beers and rums later though

weather was worsening and we spent

the fish. He did a stellar job and a

and the truth came out. Saul Harman

less time on the rocks than we’d have

hefty 78cm Snapper was hoisted up

(NZF issue 9 ‘coverboy’) had landed

liked. It really is incredible what a

for photographing & release. As the

yet another Northland monster that

difference a day can make.

R’Ocktober Fish rules allowed for

measured in excess of the rulers 75 cm

both released (once length measured

at close to 85cm. The boys weighed it

Over all the competition was a

& photographed) Forsyth chose to

at 10kg+ and sent it on its way. At well

success. Weather withstanding

release his fish. It is likely that it was

over 80cm this was easily the best fish

the results from day one were

over 20lbs, but that’s the beauty of

of the day and sadly no kingfish were

outstanding. I heard of many

catch & release – he’s pretty coy, but

weighed at all.

personal bests and tall stories from

you just know some times.

all quarters. What was interesting For more info on Saul’s fish check out

was that on both days the fishing

The fishing barely slowed for the

his write up on the NZ Landbased

was the same for all groups,

rest of the day. While the sizes were

game website.

regardless of terrain or location –

generally smaller the average was

hard hits, lots of fish and good sizes.

probably still around five pounds. A

After cleaning up our fish, Forsyth

Day two was the opposite and no

few flirtations fly by’s from a pack of

and I headed out for a quick softbait

one had anything like the fishing of

bored kings kept the enthusiasm high

session before dinner. We only

the day before – puzzling.

but by five we were ready and happy

needed a couple for dinner & were

to head back.

back at the beach in no time – gotta

As a competition we learned a few

love this place!

things, especially about how to run a

We learned back at Camp that the

catch & release competition and we’re

fishing had been similar for everyone

Day two was a much slower start –

keen to run more – keep an eye out &

and the other guys were all coy about

probably due to the excess of rums,

join in if you get the chance!

their results.

but that’s no real excuse. Sadly the fishing matched out moods, slow. The

www.nzfisher.co.nz 7

sportFISHING Etienne & fine BOP King

A Nooby’s View: Rocktober Fish 2011

By Forbes Taylor

The R’Ocktober fish competition was a first the first landbased fishing for me in NZ. I’ve only been in the country about 18 months so I was really excited to get amongst it. I have invested in a kayak for fishing in the Waitemata and bought it up to access the rocks. On day one I was given a lift out by Forsyth on his ‘Baby Stabi’. I’ve only ever walked in to rock fishing spots, so getting taken in to some fairly inaccessible ledges on the baby Stabi was exciting in itself. I felt a bit like an intrepid explorer!

I was dropped off with Ariel & we got set up in a fairly short time as most of the fiddling about had been done the night before over a few beers. I got taught some new fishing knots on the spot by Ariel and the first bait was soon in the water. Next was the burley, in to the onion sack and hung down the rocks to bash itself around in the swell and do its thing. Then, as with most trips, we waited in anticipation. It didn’t take long before the Kahawai turned up in the burley Ariel’s first blood from the shallows Credit: Forbes Taylor

8 www.nzfisher.co.nz

sportFISHING

trail. I rigged up my second set

deal with it. Turned out it was

with a small silver lure and flicked it

an under-sized snapper that

out. First cast nothing. Second cast,

got it within 5m of the rock

bang! All on just like that! I then

before the water behind it

tried to wind it in, only to find out

just exploded!! The kingi was

the reel was buggered and wouldn’t

back and trying to monster

wind in at all. I ended up hand lining

the snapper.

the fish in but it was good to be on the board early on and have some

It then caught sight of Ariel’s

fresh bait to use.

stickbait and bang! He was hooked. A 5 minute tussle

After that it was a pretty constant

ensued, but at no point was

flow of respectable fish coming

Ariel in charge of the fish,

in, just not the monsters we were

blistering runs and heaps of

there for. Maybe 2 hours in Ariel’s

line out. Then he got

reel started screaming and line was

reefed and the kingi

peeling off at a great rate. Finally

was away. Once we

in to a good sized fish! A couple of

calmed down it was

runs later the fish is alongside the

back to business as

rocks and I am in charge of the long

usual.

handled gaff. I’ve never used one before, so was bloody nervous as I’ve

I rigged up one of the

heard this is where it can go horribly

mullet, but it looked

wrong. Strangely enough I handled

like it wasn’t going to

it like a pro and it was high fives and

make it. So I decided

whoops all round.

to drop it in the water

Forbes New PB

to see if it would The fishing went really quite for about

swim at all. Watched

90 mins over slack tide, so when

it sink slowly to the

a load of bait fish turned up in the

bottom twitching its

burley trail I got the sabikis out and

death throes. Just as

hooked in to a few yellow eyed mullet

it’s about to hit the

to use as live baits.

bottom, a big snapper comes floating out of the kelp and

As I’m fishing for the mullet,

spies my mullet. Just to tease me, he

all of a sudden they all sod off

makes a couple of lazy passes before

really quickly. Then I see right

deciding to munch on it. By this time

at the back of them, a massive

I am screaming like a girl watching this

kingfish. Ariel called it for 20kg

all unfold.

easily – I thought it was f**king enormous! Unfortunately we didn’t

Using as much composure as I can

have the kingi gear ready, so he was

muster, I let the snapper munch on

gone as quickly as he arrived. Ariel

it, swallow it, then swim slowly away

got his stickbaiting gear set up and

then - Strike! All on, but the snapper

was chucking that in the water like

doesn’t even really seem to realise that

it was going out of fashion. His bait

he’s hooked yet and keeps swimming

rod then started twitching, so he

off towards the kelp, a couple of twists

handed it to me and asked me to

of the drag and he suddenly wakes

up and he’s off down the gut towards the open sea, a couple of respectable runs later, he was mine. I got him to the surface and brought him over to the rocks. Ariel had the gaff and at this point I thought I was going to lose the fish (no wonder gaff-men get sooo much grief!).

Ariel took 8 attempts before he actually managed to get it in properly. Cue much shouting and high fives. A personal best snapper for me. It went 64cms long and was a real dark kelpy coloured fish. Beautiful!

www.nzfisher.co.nz 9

kayakFISHING

My First Ever Kingfish

By Roelof Du Plessis

My first Kingi - and on soft baits!

I find kayak fishing highly

for the weekend was simple: Catch my

rewarding – even a slow day’s fishing is

first legal-sized kingie from the kayak.

worth the effort after a good paddle, a

I had the right gear this time round,

I spent the rest of Saturday trying out

beautiful sunrise, and some “my-time”

and was in a very positive frame of

various jigs, poppers and lures, but

in nature. Don’t get me wrong; off

mind. Being mentally triggered is a

got no kingfish-action.

course it is better if you come home

good thing – that’s usually a good

with fresh fish to feed the troops…

starting point to any fishing trip…

The pristine waters in the Bay Of

My first cast early Saturday morning

beautiful day was breaking. The

Islands offer so many opportunities

landed me a nice kahawai, and in

kahawai were cunning as ever, and I

for a great day on the water, and

less than a minute it was blissfully

just couldn’t manage to keep one on

my mates are well aware that it’s my

back in the water – this time under a

the line long enough to land it in the

favourite fishing grounds.

shimmering pink party balloon which

boat. The snapper was taking really

I scored from my 8-year-old daughter

well on soft-bait, but my mind was set

the previous day…

on the hot-spot where I got busted

of it being eaten by the taxman.

Sunday morning most of us had our lines in the water by sunrise – another

Last year something big picked up my soft-bait on a 6 kg spinning setup, took

last year. However, that was about

off like a hot rod and smashed my rod.

While the kahawai was doing its thing,

30 minutes’ paddle further off-shore,

Because of all the rat kingies in the

I landed some good-sized snapper

and the south-westerly was picking

water, I made up my mind that it must

and my mates were all doing great on

up. Since we were planning to vacate

have been a good sized kingie, and I

the snapper and trevally. After about

our accommodation around midday,

was determined to go back, prepared

an hour, the kahawai just gave a short

I gave up on the idea, and by 9 a.m.

to take the hooligan square on…

krrrrrr on the bait-runner, but a quick

I started the 2 km paddle back to the

check revealed only the balloon, now

beach. As usual I casted out a line

So early in November this year I

sporting a totally frayed 200 lb leader…

behind me to trawl a soft-bait.

pulled together 6 good mates and

nothing else. So sharks were also

headed off to the same beach. They

operating in the area, and I knew that

At 9:05 I stopped briefly in 17 metres

were all well aware that snapper was

if I was going to get hooked up on a

of water to adjust my sounder... “Nek

secondary on my agenda – my plan

kingfish, there was a very good chance

minnit”… all hell broke loose behind

10 www.nzfisher.co.nz

kayakFISHING

Nearly there

What a feeling!

Latched on

me. I grabbed the 8kg spinning rod

for. The fish was steadily making

At that moment the next rush of

out of the holder, and so began the

way towards the island, and when I

adrenaline kicked in, as I realised

fish-fight of my life. The line was

reached the 7-metre mark, my worst

that any sharks in the neighbourhood

peeling off my brand new Penn

fear was confirmed: I could feel that

would be calling in any minute to

Conquer 5000 at an alarming rate, but

sickening vibration on the rod of

check out the commotion under the

I knew the drag was set just right for

the braid being wrapped around

water, and demand their share.

the rod, so couldn’t dare fiddle with it.

structure. The sounder still showed a sandy bottom, so I felt pretty

Another good friend, Arnold, was

The braid was running low on the

confident that I was wrapped up in

also close by the whole time, and

reel, and the kayak was on a steady

kelp. I backed off the drag slightly,

took some photos. It took another 20

pace towards an island which was

allowing the fish to peel off even

minutes, and 3 attempts with the gaff,

behind me until about a minute

more line, and my plan worked: the

before I had the fish on my lap. What

before. The fish changed direction a

braid cut through the kelp, and soon

a relief!! I got on the VHF and asked

couple of times with me reeling like

a huge bush of kelp popped to the

the rest of the boys: “How do you

mad, retrieving almost all the line in

surface. I turned the drag back on,

iki a kingfish??” The answer over the

a matter of seconds, only to head off

but knew that I had to get out of the

airwaves was more of a “Yeeehaaa!!”

straight pass me, every time peeling

shallows, as the rocks were looming

than anything else. I ended up not

off more braid than before. I kept the

just 50 metres away... That’s when I

dispatching the fish, since after it gave

rod pointing towards the bow of my

asked my good mate Dave, who was

me exactly an hour of the best fight of

kayak, which kept the boat following

close by all the way, to hook a line on

my life; it was even more wasted than

the fish in every direction.

my boat and paddle us out of there.

I was. I put the fish in the back of my

He managed to tow me to about the

‘yak, opened a cold Coke, and started

15-metre mark. Thanks Dave!

the paddle back to the beach.

deploy the drogue without getting

About 40 minutes had passed when

The kingie weighed in at 15.2 kg.

spooled completely. At that stage I

the fish started to surface, and for

I received a crash-course on “how

had no idea what was at the end of

the first time we could see the silver

to fillet a kingie” and it fed 6 big

the line, but off course all the time

beauty with the yellow tail glow in the

families… What an awesome ending

hoping that it was that kingie I came

sunlight. “It’s a kingie!!”

to a great weekend.

After about 10 minutes I was slowing down, and felt confident that I could

www.nzfisher.co.nz 11

READERpics

Espire Media founder Richard with his best snapper to date.

To be fair, he’s definitely not a fisho – but we can see room for improvement!

Jesse proves that you don’t need a flash boat or flash gear to get into some stunning Mahi-mahi – this one was caught off a commercial (not a fishing boat) boat travelling between NZ & Aussie. They were 30 feet in the air & best of all – it was caught on a hand line!

Ocky Blignaut of the Hibiscus Kayak Fishing Club landed this monster snapper at Moturoa Island, Kawau Bay

This is Nine year old Andy Marmont, with a 5.27kg Snapper he nailed while rock fishing with his dad Geoff in the Bay of Islands

Here’s a couple of pics from

whenever you get into some nice fish

keen readers with a passion for the

(or if you have any funny pics you think

sport! Please send us in your photos

we’d like to put out into the world!)

12 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Click here to email your photos

VIDEO

Fishing Video of the Month Wow –this is possibly the most

WaveRunner. Check

beautifully shot underwater video I

out more videos from

have yet seen on the web. Check out

Andrew at

this incredible video of Marlin (&

www.jetskifishing.co.nz

other species) destroying a bait ball off Southern Baja.

And for the inshore fishers, check out

In response to the positive feedback

this local clip – a 25lb

on issue 13’s Jet Ski special, here’s

Snapper on softbaits

a link from JetSkiFishingchannel

just 30 minutes from

on setting up a jet ski. And for a

downtown Auckland. It’s

bit of snapper nailing action, check

not the most exciting of

out Andrew Hill of Jetskifishing.

videos, but really shows

co.nz latching on to a solid

how amazing NZ’s inshore fisheries

Northland snapper from his Yamaha

really are!

Jet Ski Fishing Check out Andrew’s latest report here.

As always the guys on the skis are having a ball, but the results are even better than down in their Respectable Far north Snapper on New Penny Grub

normal hunting grounds in the gulf.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 13

fishingSPOTS

The Bay of Plenty

By Derrick Paull

The stunning Bay of Plenty as seen from Mount Maunganui. Credit: Tourism Bay of Plenty

The Bay of Plenty was such named

situated at South

by Captain James Cook in 1770, but

East Bay, Mayor

has been home to Maori for much

Island from 1953

longer (Est. 1290AD). The Maori name

until 1991. There

for the Bay is Te Moana-a-Toi (The

are a number of

sea of Toi), in reference to an early

fishing clubs in the

Maori explorer, Toi-te-Huatahi. Captain

bay including the

Cook’s naming of the area refers to

largest fishing club

the abundance of food and wealth

(by membership) in

experienced by his crew on arriving

New Zealand, the

from the Hawke’s Bay where he had

Whakatane Sport

noted a lack of such abundance (Hence

Fishing Club. This

he named it Poverty Bay).

concentration of fishing attention

The Bay of Plenty stretches on from

may seem high, but

Coromandel to East Cape on the

the City of Tauranga

Eastern side of the North Island. It’s

boasts a population

a very large area extending almost

of just over

250km from north to west and

100,000 residents.

encompasses some of New Zealand’s

By international

from 1000lb Blue Marlin to humble

finest near shore game fisheries.

standards the Pay of Plenty is remote

Blue cod, the bay’s geography

and virtually un-populated!

offers scope for almost all types of

The fishing history of the bay is rich

fishing. In spring and summer the

& colourful; the original Tauranga

Almost all recreational target fish

fish population swells as Kahawai,

Game Fishing Clubrooms were

species can be caught in the Bay,

skippies & snapper move in and

14 www.nzfisher.co.nz

fishingSPOTS

south from their winter hideouts.

One of NZFisher’s favourite local

Maunganui. Sadly Motiti Island is only

Many national and world records

haunts is Mayor (Tuhua) Island.

few miles away from the stranded

have been claimed here, such as

I’ve experienced kingfish fishing

Rena and may have been impacted

this 442.8kg Blue Marlin caught

here like nowhere else – even the

by the oil & debris that Rena has

from a trailer boat out of Waihau

Thee kings Islands didn’t deliver

spilled over the last four months. We

Bay. While not a national record, the

the kind of action that Mark from

live in hope.

375kg Black Marlin landed aboard

Extreme Sportfishing Adventures

Jans Decision this week is another

put us onto at Mayor island. Pack

example of the great fish attracted

attached of 50 kingfish chasing stick

to the Bay.

baits here is not unheard of. If you have the time & finances we highly

Internationally the Bay of Plenty is

recommend a day aboard with Mark

most recognised for its amazing

or down at White Island with Rick

yellowtail kingfish fishery. Historically

Pollock on board Pursuit.

focussing on White Island & surrounds the kingfish fishery is now

Fishing in the bay isn’t just about

established from East Cape right up

monsters. The staple fisheries are

to the Alderman Islands off Tairua in

tarakihi & snapper, both of which

the North. (Technically Coromandel).

are seasonal and complement each

Both all tackle world records for

other – as one wanes the other

Kingfish (Yes there are two fish

comes on the bite. The snapper

weighed at exactly the same weight

fishery is not recognised for its

– 52.00 kg or 114 pounds!) have

monsters, but the Bay of Plenty

been landed from the Bay of Plenty,

is home of the largest weighed

testament to some amazing fishing

snapper ever landed on rod & reel.

that thousands of Kiwis head to the bay annually to chase.

This 17.2kg (37.8 pounds) monster was landed by NZ Sport Fishing

Tag & release fishing is the norm

Council Vice President Mark

now for large gamefish with over

Hemmingway in the shallows off

50% of the Bays large gamefish

Motiti Island just a few miles off Mt

“Almost all recreational target fish species can be caught in the Bay, from 1000lb Blue Marlin to humble Blue cod, the bay’s geography offers scope for almost all types of fishing.”

being released each year, but the numbers of kingfish released is a staggering 80%. Charter stalwarts like Rick Pollock have been preaching the catch & release ethos for many years but it is now virtually expected by most that the majority of their fish will be released.

fish 50kg king uit with a rs u P m o Zane fr

www.nzfisher.co.nz 15

fishingSPOTS

Motiti Isla nd

If you’re looking for a spot to go

wide range of marine plants thrive and

marine volcano. White Island is

with the Family the Bay of Plenty

there is a great diversity of fish. Walking

estimated to be between 100,000 and

also offers more than just fishing and

tracks around the island provide access

200,000 years old and is a hissing,

diving. Check out Tourism Bay of

to points of interest. This is a privately

steaming and roaring ecological

Plenty’s website for some great local

owned island contact Tuhua Trust Board

wonder. The surface of the island is

attractions and accommodation.

for permission to visit. Ring +64 7 577

similar to a scene out of a ‘Star Wars’

There are several islands

0942 or ericar@xtra.co.nz. For more

movie with craters, sheer cliff faces

located within a short distance

information contact the Department of

and cracks and tunnels in the surface

from the coast that offer

Conservation (DOC) on +64 7 578 7677.

with steam hissing out of them like a

more than just fishing.

kettle at boiling point.

New Zealand’s only active marine

Tuhua (Mayor Island) has had the

volcano, Whakaari (White Island) is

Motiti Island is located 15 kilometres

conservation status of a wildlife refuge

an amazing natural phenomenon.

from the coastal areas in the region.

since 1953. A marine reserve was

Located off the coast of Whakatane,

It’s a largely flat island that covers

created off the northern end of the

the volcano offers a once in a lifetime

nearly 10 square kilometres of land

island in 1993. The water clarity means a

experience of walking on an active

and has very few residents. The island

16 www.nzfisher.co.nz

fishingSPOTS

White Island

kg rsuit with a 50 Zane from Pu

o: Rick Pollack Kingfish Phot The Rena

is mainly used for agriculture, though there are private beaches to explore.

Popular for a great surf break, Matakana Island is 20 kilometres long. The majority of the island is forest, and most of the roads are privately owned. The only transportation to the island is a barge, which leaves either from Sulphur Point in Tauranga or Omokoroa. Although a quiet, beautiful island, there are no accommodation options available, and only a small village of residents.

Permits are required to use the roads.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 17

regionalREVIEWS

Hauraki Gulf Source: Espresso www.catch.org.nz Whoa– slow down, Dancer, Prancer

depth, not far out at all.

how did that happen? Christmas –

line down and hang on there’s often some target species hanging with the

again so soon?! Yes it’s that great

The juvenile kingfish are stunning to

big boy. If you have a live mackerel,

time of year when everything about

look at and a blast to do battle with

send it down for a recon’.

going fishing can be so easily justified,

– look after them carefully with a net

with weather on the improve (even if

and put gently back they’re good to go

Kahawai – these fish never cease

slowly), school holidays, time off work,

but don’t hold up by the tail –this can

to amaze with their sheer strength

sunshine, enjoying the summer sun out

dislocate their vertebrae apparently.

and pure low down grunt all the way

on the water and around the beaches.

to the boat, they never give up. A

Not to mention the snapper schools

Kingfish are everywhere there’s a

good looking streamlined fish when

ever so closer within reach of everyone,

workup (or surface kahawai school) so

streaking around the boat as you try in

land-based to mega launch, it’s all

throw down the gauntlet like a big jig,

vain to slow them down. Many people

good really so bring on the summer.

or a small/medium kahawai livie, or a

mistakenly deride kahawai, me - I think

mackerel…well everything will nail that!

they are brilliant and worth treating

The past few weeks out in the Hauraki

You will have no idea what you might

with respect like every other fish out

Gulf have seen mako’s flipping

hook up…a mako, a thresher, a

there (O.K. apart from ‘couta, but

out, orcas hunting, brydes whales

snapper, a kingfish…who knows but

there has to be a bad guy right).

enveloping great swathes of baitfish,

when the action is hot it’s blistering!

Great to see the bigger kahawai

dolphins surfing, snapper kingfish

Just north of the Noises and directly

around, aggressively feeding at times

hungry-as, and then in an instant,

east of Tiri outside the No Fishing Zone

from surface to sea floor, and to be

absolutely nothing ______ same day.

has been a go-to for a few weeks now,

honest they are particularly good

The range of action on any day is

and should continue to be successful

to make smoked fish pie and pate’

anywhere from enjoying a leisurely

for many boats in the 5m range on the

extraordinaire for the pre-BBQ beer

coffee ‘cos there’s not much else to

good weather days.The Catch Piper on

accompaniment. Worth catching

do to absolute fishing mayhem with

fast retrieve nailed this kingi on nice ‘n

and keeping a few, icing-down

everyone hooked up battling big hard

light 6lb tackle last week.

immediately helps maintain the best

charging fish.

flavour. Big schools of them surface

King Hits

feeding just off southern Flat Rock and

Western shores of the gulf are

Yes the kingfish are quite prolific

just east of the Ahaa’s lately.

providing some XL snapper around the

around the bait schools in the gulf and

shorelines, just beyond the breakers

a ‘by catch’ when fishing away from a

It Ain’t Half Hot

of beaches, on the sand and shallower

workup, by away I mean say several

Hot as hell fishing on most days

reefy areas like Tarapunga rock/Kawau.

hundred metres. Often the key to

this past month and the bin-filling

5-10m is holding well – let evening

catching bigger fish and more variety

possibilities have been numerous.

stealth be your friend as these guys are

is to let workups move away from you.

When the fish are feeding they are absolutely ravenous. Workups are still

pretty wary and quite cunning.

You will catch less kahawai as they

short lived and fast moving due to the

Many schoolies of the 40-50cm kind

tend to feed right in the middle and

inability of the predators to round up

are spread around most of the gulf

some bigger snapper say around

and hold the various baitschools. But

now, the snapper seem to be moving

15lbs are hanging back along with

no matter any surface action spotted,

around a lot along with the various

schools of kingfish.

stop drop and roll as they say.

For example the yellow tailed

If you see a whale surface, take care

Anything sitting on the surface like

mackerel schools have been getting

and move over to the general area

any type of bird - drop a soft plastic

hounded by kingfish in the 35m

quietly, turn your sounder off, drop a

like the little Catch Anchovy and get

bait schools.

18 www.nzfisher.co.nz

regionalREVIEWS ready, it’s amazing how many times

marlin is officially landed in the next

ready and waiting for the 12ftrs to

this works when the vhf is crackling

few days and many of us get our

get right in amongst, nice and close

with grumblings of the fish not biting,

Christmas wish of monster marlin boat

to downtown and North Shore,

or try a flasher rig with a whole

side over summer.

some good catches reported off the

anchovy bait. Match the hatch holds

Devonport wharf too!

true. So when it’s all ‘not happening’

Maybe even one from the Hauraki

the drift and everything is slow,

Gulf this year? Let’s hope the Skipjack

While the water has struggled to get

tuna survive the trawler gauntlet

up to temp, an 18 degrees it finally is,

I tend to go to my little spin reel and

and make it into the gulf again this

the breeding has just started by the

a ½ to 1oz Torpedo hook with a small

summer, time will tell.

looks and feeding habits of the snapper,

Anchovy or Glow Squid...let it waft

lots of bites/scuff marks on them and

down the water column to the fish

More Good News

their hunger is intermittent, so when

hugging the bottom – presentation

The inner channels around Rangi have

it’s on it is ALL ON, the feeding frenzy

is the key and a gentle tug at the

been slow to fill with fish, but just this

is ferocious. Similarly when the feeding

line to show ebbing life and struggle

past week with the easterly winds

is off, it makes for very picky fish with

means CHOMP! Surprisingly how big

and warmer water creeping into the

other things on their mind.

the snapper are that annihilate the

volcano environs the fish have picked

little anchovies – the better and more

up the pace and just announced

And finally those inspirational YouTube

realistic the presentation, the bigger

their arrival both sides of Rangi, the

clips from this past year for when

and more fish.

Motuihe Channel and in towards

you’re not out fishing enjoy.

the bridge. Good sized snapper are

www.catch.org.nz

Clean and easy peasy…oh and a helluva fight too! Check the bite time, use your eyes to scout surface activity and sounder (if you have one) and if there are lazy gannets, birds and dolphins in the area, don’t leave they

Coromandel Source: Carl Muir www.EpicAdventures.co.nz What and EPIC start to the year!

and it certainly produced some fine

Not only some awesome kingfish

fish during their trip.

Big flappy lures like the Glowing

jigging but we managed to bag a

Livebaits are easy to get at the

Gecko and Red Cray (or whole real

56kg bass today!

moment right up and down the

know something you don’t.

coast and are producing some

pilchard baits) are the choice when snapper are biting well, you’ll tend

Hobbie from Sydney was the lucky

quality fish, like this 24kg specimen

to get the bigger fish in this situation

angler and nailed it on a JMPE10

with expat Kiwi Hunty who was back

when you use them. When it’s all gone

reel with 100lb braid and an

from Singapore for Xmas and nailed

quiet change out to a little Catch

Amberjack Sniper JM rod. He was

a nice new PB kingfish yesterday.

anchovy, you can even add Secret

seriously railed on this fish needing

Sauce into the special body cavity flap

close to 30kg of drag to keep it from

Along the coast with the baits

of the soft plastics if you wish.

the reef. We caught the fish out the

schools there is some good

back of Red Merc.

stickbaiting and top water kingfish

Gamers

We’ve had some keen crews out

opportunities and we’ve been

Yes the big game guys are chomping

over the last week, including a gun

having some fun catching kingfish in

at the leader – the tuna and marlin

crew of Japanese jiggers who slayed

the shallows in the morning before

swim ever closer to within reach of

it on the jigs with fish to 25kg taking

heading out wide jigging.

the recreational fisho, great news for

jigs and a few broken rods thrown in

For a full report from the last two

those of us afflicted with the big game

for good measure!

weeks and plenty more cool pics click on our full report from on

virus. This year should be good again looking at the sea currents already,

These Japanese anglers sure know

here’s hoping the first recreational

how to jig; a very different action

board Epic here.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 19

regionalREVIEWS

Far North

Source: Rick Pollock www.Pursuit.co.nz Looks like summer, feels like summer, acts like summer, and smells like summer – not quite summer yet! Many manifestations of the warm months are upon us in so many ways yet we are still lacking the main ingredient – pelagic gamefish!

Plenty of precursory imitations (albies/ skippies) are about, it must be meaningful. Still no cigar but can’t be far away. Otherwise there’s everything we could want available most everywhere else, and plenty of.

Inshore After the brilliant spring we’ve experienced, things have gone off the boil over the past few weeks. Still some decent catches are coming in with most everyone getting that all important “feed” to justify the day out but things are comparatively lacklustre. Snapper still the main goal for most anglers although more turning to terakihi and gurnard to supply the goods. Crays moving into the shallows for divers, some in ridiculously (waist deep) shallow water this time of year.

Offshore Talk about heating up, some aspects are on fire – including the island! Still plenty of nauseous stain provoking gas being emitted from the lake less crater now.

Visiting boats beware, you won’t like the result of even an hour spent in the less if the island, let along overnight – quite a price t pay for some good fishing! If you can’t get over that malady then all you need to do is enjoy! Kingfish are biting as well, or better, than they have all season with some brilliant sessions over the past week.

Jigs are still out of favour but bait, any kind of bait, is doing the trick. Unlike the early season which saw smaller fish on average, the reverse is now in vogue.

While no monsters succumbed this week (largest a credible 28 kilos) the average size has stepped up considerably with many fish over 20kgs and numerous in the mid 20’s. Would appear they are now in full spawning mode, something that should continue for another few weeks if

20 www.nzfisher.co.nz

not longer. Expect some brilliant surface action as fish move into the shallows wholesale. Otherwise there’s nothing wrong with the other fisheries, thank you very much.

Deepwater continues to pump out the catches with a pleasing mixture of bluenose, hapuka, bass and bluenose.

While most of these fish are of modest size (sub 10 kilos), there are just enough over 20 and even 30kgs to test anglers and make things interesting. Long may this situation last as its retrieved fishing we once had but thought was long gone. For those that don’t care to plumb the depths we have plenty to offer you in the shallows starting with trevally.

Large shoals of krill feeding trevs can now be seen each day in a number of areas around the island.

Just because you can see them, however, doesn’t mean you can catch em! Matching the hatch doesn’t always work as sometimes you need to think outside the square to initiate a hookup! Water colour and temps are screaming summer; blue (nearly purple in places) with quite a few skippies moving in to join the pre existing albacore ranks. Plenty to do out there but still scope for improvement. Plenty of mako sharks have appeared among the skippies and albies.

Ranfurly Bank The superlative fishing we have seen here over the past months just keeps going.

Bottom fishing, in particular, continues to excel. Hapuka, bass, trumpeter and king terakihi are all biting well at numerous posies across the bank. Puka of mixed size are arriving at the surface in doubleheader proportions. While most are small (6-8kgs) to medium (15k’s) average, some beaut bass are present and available.

A good example was father and son team Warrick and Sam Moore. On one drift Warrick struggled to land his largest fish ever with a nuggety, grumpy 34k bass. While he was celebrating his capture son Sam hooked what appeared to be the bottom on the very next drift.

After quite a battle he watched his over inflated beach ball of a bass float to the surface. At 48k’s the Moore’s had themselves two fine fish to cap off their trip. Kingis, while still offering great action, were not as prolific.

With some nice fish landed just over 30k’s, the average size was far smaller.

Unlike White Island, jigs are working exceedingly well – even surpassing the efficacy of live bait! While water quality is a mixed bag, there’s far more blue and warm stuff than the cold, green counterpart. Skippies, and to a lesser extent, albacore, are thick.

They both require much larger lures or even lures out of the water if you think you’re going anywhere! They are in great abundance from 50 metres of water off Lottin Point all the way through to Ranfurly in all depths from 80 to over 1000 metres. Getting the drift? – There’s a lot out there!!

Summary As we pass Christmas, zero in on New Years and focus on summer ahead there’s plenty to be joyous about in every regard. Great to see so many on the water on Boxing Day utilising their new toys – locals and holiday makers alike. Weather has been kind with more of the same expected at least on the short term.

Bring it on to everyone’s benefit, except maybe the fish! With the first marlin landed (on the West Coast of all places!), others seen in the western BOP and decent chances at tuna of two different varieties it’s all on with prospects improving literally by the day. On a sad note we must report the passing of a grand gentleman named Mick Ellwood. Mick was “Mr Whitianga” whom everyone knew and loved. He saw and did a lot during his long life and it was very fitting to see him land such a fantastic blue marlin last season and very rightfully take out the “Old Man of the Sea” trophy. His presence will be sadly missed by all on the water with the utmost condolences to Dulcie and the rest of the family. Won’t be back with another report for a wee while – till then

NEXTmonth

f sher

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