The Espresso Report March 9, 2023
John S with a prime Autumn snapper
Grade ‘A’ Autumn with A+ fishing!
Feel that change? Cool and clear early mornings, the change right now is just the best. Inshore channels and shores, kayak and land-based fishing is doing well, much lighter weighted 5” softbaits slowing descending are working their magic in the shallows, places like just out from Kawakawa bay among the terns/petrels low-flying the area in large groups for instance. A little further out 20m or so all around the inner gulf, both softbaits and different shapes of microjigs (using the action from different shapes of micros gives you more strike triggers to use). Out in 40m – easy money, drift and pannies everywhere, again microjigs (but you may be better with ‘heavier’ micros like the tungsten Pocket Rocket to get you down to the bottom if it’s not 5kt variable, for ultimate thrills hook-ups and solid snapper, right now.
50m and further – epic. Schools of solid snapper grazing around and keen on a snack dropping down from above. Out here it pays to have both non-aggressive lures (e.g. Beady Eye kabura) and the maximum-avoidance, maximum panic lures like the inchiku BetaBug ) and slow-pitch or a hybrid that combines both like the Boss Squid which has been notably outstanding.
Big game striped marlin are just through those Hauraki gulf gates – Cuvier, the Mokes, Arid, a day trip on a cracker 5kt variable, with you holding onto a raging marlin. And with that 200gm Trolling Squidwing out (long rigger or shotgun) you have the perfect temptation for both marlin and those superb albacore tuna too!
Water thick with kahawai, kingfish lurking for sure
Many gannets have been out by the Mokes, a bit far for most of us to be chasing the dragon of workups (although a few nice ones between Channel and LB). The smaller workups back in the gulf, some just out of from Waiheke have seen the gannets barely getting airborne, just enough to flop-dive and get their head down a couple of feet where baitballs are rippling the surface pushed up by predators underneath. The most exciting lure catching these fish? The 45gm Pocket Rocket plunging down fast towards the waiting kingfish and snapper on light spin gear – too much fun! There are more schools of kahawai over the western side of the gulf, in and round Flat Rock there are some monsters. A few of these kept for a big smoke-up? You’ll suddenly have a lot of friends 😊
THANK YOU – what a great crew and fishing club at Stables Sports Bar Whangaparaoa and Fish City Albany for hosting the latest lure coaching presentation, a thoroughly enjoyable way to share great fishing information. There’re a couple more coaching sessions on bait-free tackle coming up in Coromandel NZ, stay tuned for dates and venues. And if you want one – message me, let’s get into it! 😊
NEW Catch tackle is coming…yessss, very cool too, watch this space.
AND lastly some myth and mind-blowing fishing video has just been captured, it’ll definitely change some long-held beliefs about snapper, with several snapper fishing ‘facts’ shattered, in a good way – coming to a seminar near you, so you can see for yourself.
