The magic of dolphin spotting

Spotting dolphins is a breathtaking experience with many viewing these marine mammals as magical.

In Maori mythology, dolphins are taniwha or water spirits. Their playful leaping and inquisitive nature certainly makes them popular, with people keen to spot them in the water.

While there are several species of dolphin in New Zealand, here in the Bay of Plenty, bottlenose and common dolphins live in these waters in several pods, so sightings are not that unusual, particularly in the warm waters during the summer months.

It is less usual to see a very large number of dolphins at once. DOC rules are as follows:

A maximum of three vessels (including jet skis and kayaks) are allowed within 300m of a group of dolphins.

Keep your speed to a minimum – no wake allowed within 300m.

Approach dolphins slowly, from behind and to the side of the group.

Never drive through, cut off or circle a group of dolphins.

Don’t make sudden or repeated changes in direction or speed.

Don’t attempt to swim with groups with calves or juveniles (animals less than two-thirds the length of the adults).

Keep noise to a minimum.

No boats allowed within 50m of whales or 200m of female whales with calves. Annemarie Quill

Once in a lifetime

A Mount Underwater Club trip turned magical when the group spotted a pod of more than 50 dolpins.

Geoff Bishop, 66, of Pyes Pa, was on a dive with other members of the Mount Underwater Club when they spotted a pod of more than 50 dolphins.

“Now I could actually see and count 50, but I reckon there were actually up to 100,” says Geoff.

The divers were on the boat Orca Wild Adventures which Geoff says are one of two boats located at Tauranga Bridge Marina dedicated to dolphin tours.

This particular sighting was the most number of dolphins Geoff had ever seen.

“We were wildly excited and everyone ran to the front – they were just about three to four metres away. We made sure we slowed right down for the safety of the dolphins.”

Geoff has been with the Mount Underwater Club for a year. Despite being a keen boatie and fisherman, and having previously owned a boat building business, Geoff says it is always a special moment to be alongside dolphins.

“It reminds you of the wonderful life within our oceans. I think there is something extra special about being near dolphins – they are such magical creatures.”

Geoff says he and the other divers, of which there were 15 in total, had left the bridge marina on Sunday, February 21; a beautiful sunny day perfect for diving. They first headed for Schooner Rock.

“That first dive itself was amazing – about 30 metres down we were greeted by hundreds of fish.

“There were pink and blue maomao, red moki and many more beautiful fish. We even caught a few crays. There was so much going on in the water.”

It was on their way back home that they were met by the huge pod of dolphins.

“It was my best dive to date, hard to beat being up close and personal with such majestic creatures.”

Dolphin safety

While spotting dolphins is a pleasure, boats must ensure they stick to the Marine Mammals Protection Regulations, says the Department of Conservation.

Exciting times ahead for anglers

Winter is an exciting time for trout fishers around the Rotorua lakes, as they anticipate the arrival of spawning rainbows.

Success at the Te Wairoa Stream mouth, Lake Tarawera.

Trout reproduce by returning to their place of birth, so their pre-spawning movements can be predicted by keen fishers.

Around three-quarters of the trout population in the Rotorua lakes began their lives at the Ngongotaha trout hatchery. As yearlings they are released into the lakes at various locations, and it’s those release locations that become the places they ‘home’ to.

Eastern Fish and Game publish their release locations so that anglers can target the winter hot spots, with any small stream mouth a great place to start. Fish tend to congregate just off the lip during the day, then move in closer to the stream mouth after dark or before dawn.

Rotorua trout mature at three-to-four years of age, meaning they are as big as they are going to get. Spawning fish tend to be in great condition too, as they have packed on lots of energy over summer and autumn in preparation for the rigors of breeding. This makes them fine table fare with deep orange flesh and a healthy volume of fat – the good fishy fat that it!

Fly fishing is the preferred method, although most locations allow spin fishing as well. The best times are the first couple of hours after 5am when fishing begins, and any time after dark to midnight when fishing ends for the day.

Floating lines and a small ‘lumo’ (glow in the dark) doll fly or traditional night fly are a good choice if fly fishing, or try Toby’s and Veltec’s if spinning during the day.

Anglers can give it a go with a day licence for just $21, or a winter licence is available from April 1 until the season ends on September 30, for $80. Mark Sherburn, Eastern Fish & Game

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Ten years in the making

Ten years ago I had the opportunity to move to Whitianga.

I was just getting into spearfishing and back into fishing and this seemed like the perfect place for me to live.

Since this time I have always had the goal of joining the 20lb snapper club. After years of trying and watching friends catch them, in July of 2019 I thought my time had finally come.

Dean Spyve with his 9.54kg snapper.

Strayline action

We had spent the morning fishing out deep for Hapuka and Bass and had decided to return to the shallows for a quick strayline session.

We found some current, deployed the burley and started drifting big baits back into the burley trail.

It didn’t take long before we were catching some nice fish for the bin. My brother had noticed Koheru darting around the burley trail so we thought we would catch some for fresh baits. After securing some I decided to deploy one as a whole dead bait. Before I could sit down the bait runner started screaming.

I could tell instantly that this was a serious fish. After a good battle the fish finally came into view. I was amazed. Had it finally happened? Had I caught my 20lb snapper? I quickly chucked the fish on the scales but to my dismay the fish weighed in at 19.6lbs! This was my new PB but not the fish I had spent years trying to catch.

Competition time

Fast forward to March 2021. I still hadn’t caught my 20lb snapper and was starting to wonder if it was ever going to happen.

My brother and I had decided to enter the local CRC Trailer boat tournament in Whitianga which ended up having more than 250 anglers.

This was to be the second fishing competition I had ever entered. We discussed at lengths what the plan was going to be for the three days of fishing and came up with the following: snapper on day one, kingfish on day two and gamefish on day three.

The first day of the competition finally arrived and I was so excited that I struggled to sleep the previous night.

We were on the water in the dark and started securing the valuable live jack mackerel which we were going to use for big snapper baits. We re-checked the weather forecast and found a spot which we believed would have good current and be blocked from the strong NW wind.

We arrived at our destination after punching our way into the strong NW wind. Our spot was sheltered however, the current didn’t seem that strong.

We decided to give it a go anyway as our other spots were too wind effected. This proved to be a fantastic decision!

We deployed the first of four burley bombs and started drifting back big baits. Instantly we knew it was going to be a fantastic day!

My brother hooked up to a nice fish which ended up weighing 14lbs. This was amazing! Were we actually going to win a prize? We continued to fish and every bait was smashed. After numerous bust offs and loads of rat kingfish I finally hooked something substantial.

I clicked my baitrunner into gear and instantly started losing line. Was this the fish I had been searching for over the past 10 years? Had my time finally come?

As we were fishing over a shallow reef I had already locked up my drag. This wasn’t helping and I soon started thinking this can’t be a snapper, it must be another kingfish.

I continued to play the fish for what seemed like forever. Finally I got a glint of colour and my anxiety went through the roof – it was red!

A dream come true

“Get the net!” I yelled. This fish was massive and made my brother’s previous 14lb snapper look small. After some frantic moments at the side of the boat my fish was finally secured and my brother heaved it over the side and onto the deck. “That’s a competition winner,” he said.

We both looked at each other in amazement. At no point had we expected to see a fish of this size during the competition.

The fish was quickly weighed and to my absolute amazement it was well over the magical 20lb mark! To say I was excited and relieved was a huge understatement. My time had come. I had finally joined the club and what a way to do it!

It later weighed in at 9.54kg and won heaviest snapper on day one of the competition and the heaviest snapper overall. It had been an amazing competition with three snapper weighing in at more than 9kg.

My prized fish is now in a friend’s freezer waiting for it’s time to be turned into the best trophy I could have ever wished for. A piece of art which will have a prime spot in the family living room so I can never forget the day I finally joined the club and won the best snapper prize in the CRC Trailer Boat tournament.