GAME ON! Striped marlin, a short-billed spearfish and yellow fin tuna have all been caught recreationally around the N.I. this week, out west, the BOI and Tutukaka with more sighted further down towards Gt Barrier too.

The New Zealand’s ‘marine heatwave’ is unfolding with coastal temperatures already up 1 – 1.5c, it’s significant alright the early stages of the La Nina effect, so while global warming has it’s downsides it has some serious upside at least in the interim here in NZ fishing-wise. This game season is looking extra-good right now so if you haven’t already got your act together, ACT I scene 1 is already underway, time to put on your game-face and play your part – someone has to!

How about Albert? Albies, the chicken of the sea – the stunning and delicious albacore tuna, are also awaiting your presence and chilly bin. Fresh or smoked albacore, such a mouth watering taste sensation. You know if you have, but if you haven’t – you have to try it, and if you caught it, triple bonus points. @JoshSullivan was right in amongst them this week out off Mayor Island feeding friends, family, and gym how good is that, A+! Others in the Far North/BOI have been quietly enjoying some superb freshly caught albacore as well. And after enjoying the thrills and colourful delights of catching mahi mahi on occasion ‘out the back of Barrier’ in previous years, especially on light tackle, come on down I say – the more mahi the better!

Snapper – will soon be needing a bit of a rest, so by Christmas there’ll be a noticeable drop in snapper activity in general. But that’s so far away right? Just a few short weeks. Then the tactics of inner areas with microjigs and sneaky softbaits really comes into its own – great news for more inshore anglers, tiny tinnys, kayaks from a beach launch, landbased sessions too. Drifting the inner channels is coming on stronger every day. Mid ground 30-45m still a great place to be consistently catching good snapper, no real need for workups there’s plenty of grazing snapper in the open gulf to simply drift and catch great fish. The Freestyle Kabura changed the face of fishing in New Zealand when Catch Fishing brought it here from Japan and it is still one of the most effective fish catchers there are. The Beady Eye is also notable extension of this slow jig. With these lures the weight you choose is not particularly critical (unlike softbaits, jigs etc), there is little action to these truly slow jigs, so when in doubt go bigger and heavier – particularly on the drift when they really do shine. While my Rule of 2 applies to most jigs, the kabura can be upped to 3 e.g. in 30m x 3, a 100gm Kabura works well, out in 50m a 150gm Beady Eye – brilliant. The extra weight doesn’t deter the fish strike – they are striking at the skirts in general, and it keeps the kabura down in the snapper strike zone better (a metre or 2 off the bottom), and more vertical. So if in doubt go bigger and heavier with all your kaburas, and keep those skirts looking good! You wont have to use a torch out there fishing to get these kaburas to light up in the depths, sunshine on them as they are being rigged up is plenty, our big glowing orb in the sky provides more than enough radiation in just a few moments. There’s a fair bit of surface activity out towards Little Barrier this week, but maybe they’re having a siesta after feeding so much – lots of good sign but a soft snapper bite.

Can you remember your first kahawai? Not sure about you – but I can remember the first kahawai I caught (landbased Westcoast with my Dad on my Mum’s split-bamboo rod), the thrills from those humble beginnings have barely diminished after many decades.

The kahawai – a lot more fun to catch than snapper? Worth a significant consideration when thinking of going fishing – especially while on vacation. Treated well they are great to eat sashimi, smoked, ceviche style, and so many others, or netted and lure removed to be returned relatively unscathed back to the water to continue its life cycle. A brilliant fish, quite easy to catch in comparison to many, except those days when even they just say no! And that’s fishing.

Cicadas are starting their chirpy sing-songs, tuis chasing wood pigeons just for kicks – aye a good kiwi summer is upon us, one to enjoy, whether it’s the simple pleasures in life like wandering amongst the brightly lit blue bioluminescent waves along Whangaparaoa at night this week, or fishing if you can – anytime fishing with kids on a  jetty somewhere, exploring new adventures in a tiny tinny, or chasing the dragon – which ever fish that means to you, snapper, kingfish, tuna, marlin – whatever spins your reels.

Beaver full moon today the 19^th – more like a kingfish moon ‘round these parts! The planets are aligning, and the signs are good, November, kingfish, full moon…top water excitement is pumping up! And there is every reason to expect a particularly good kingfish bite this weekend. Top water thrills should be rewarded whether simply flicking a softbait small 5” medium 7” or large 10” it’s your choice, or change it up with a small 25gm stickbait on your softbait gear, a small baitfish of the 20-35gm size is a perfect snack for a kingi or

kahawai. Or go big – big rods, big reels, big lures, and big kings! Hitting areas like Anchorite, Channel Island, LB and GB, Horn rock, Flat rock, gannet, open water bait-schools or a simple headland away from the rest…the choices are many and varied, all provide exciting prospects. So, yes, it is a great time to do get into the explosive excitement of top water fishing for the mighty kingfish, be in to win.

What about the gear to do it? Here’s some kingfish specific gear whether you need to get into it, or upgrade your existing tackle – cast your eye over this gorgeous real-deal kingfish tackle handmade poppers  , handmade stickbaits , top water rod and top water reels . Carpe Diem, seize the day.

Snapper time!

At least one 20lb+ snapper caught and released at Tiri this week, shoreline stuff, a great indication that the snapper spring has sprung, and the inner areas are starting to become far more productive than the past few months. So, whether you have a luxurious launch, or a tiny tender-sized boat, jetski, or landbased as well now, it is prime time to be fishing for snapper, whether out in deeper waters or literally at your feet in the shallows around a likely looking local spot.

The workups are firing out there, pilchards are in the limelight with some very good snapper hanging around the spread-out action stations in 45m+ stretching across the Hauraki Gulf. Fast ‘n furious stuff right now with most fish in the bulk-up phase, so go as big as you dare with your lures jigs and softbaits – this will help you eliminate the smaller and undersized fish. If you hit the pot of gold snapper-wise you’ll probably be limited quickly so stop with the snapper down below and target kings and kahawai on top, variety is the spice of life.

Bottlenose v’s Common Dolphin – who wins?

Dolphins are generally thought of as one of the best friends a fisherm’n can have – particularly when looking for bait schools and finding a thumping great workup with fish everywhere – an incredible spectacle most often created by dolphins. Ah those beautiful natural fish finders, dolphins. But there are dolphins, and there are dolphins.

Bottle Nose Dolphins, Tursiops truncates.

New Zealand is the southern most point of their habitat even though they’re found around the globe. There’s only about 500 in total around New Zealand, our coastal bottle-nose dolphins are very big and often cause an involuntary gasp when first seen especially if up close, yes they are really BIG! The oceanic dwellers further out off the coast are even bigger. Breeding is every 3-5 years.

Short Beaked Common Dolphin, Delphinus delphis.

The common dolp

hin is, well, rather common – which is a good thing for us fisher-folk. Living into their 20’s these dolphins are almost always great to be fishing with, at least in the same vicinity whether they are actively feeding or just hanging around, they are never that far from a food source.

So, when deciding whether or not to stick around and fish the area you see dolphins in it pays to be selective, a bit dolphin-ist if you like. Bottlenose are best left alone, watched from a distance as they are simply not useful when it comes to providing a fish source for humans, alas, it’s just not their bag baby. But the commons?! Now we’re talking, the smaller and more prolific dolphins are the ones to take note of. Common dolphins are our hero’s and rule the roost when it comes to workups. If you are in the same area as common dolphins – drop a little lure, they’re giving you a heads-up most of the time and it’d be rude not to take their hint.

Do you fish for snapper? With lures from a boat, kayak, or ski? An outstanding rod that’s been creating quite a name for itself, perhaps you know of it personally already – The Kensei. About time to treat yourself in your fishing, isn’t it? A guaranteed grin over Christmas, that feeling of joy on hookup, your howling reel, rod bent-as with a great fish…The Kensei. Find out more, don’t miss out The Kensei – YouTube

Just 5 weeks to Christmas!

Enjoy

P.S. This week’s beaver (kingfish) moon will also have a rare partial eclipse, the longest lunar eclipse since the 13^th century! The moon will rise around 8pm Friday, the earths shadow will gradually cover it starting at 8:20pm peaking at 10:04pm – watch for the brief period when it will appear as a blood micro moon.

La Nina summer in New Zealand is on the cards according to weather forecasting experts which means both warmer air and warmer waters – which should bring even more fish variety, strangeness and pleasant surprises while out fishing as the summer unfolds. Unusually warm coastal sea surface temperatures are highly likely, with the potential to cause a marine heatwave in some areas so expect the unexpected. Be prepared for all sorts of thrills while out fishing, and whenever moving around anywhere around or below 20kts-ish, tow a lure. 20kts is a mere casual half speed for many pelagic fish like tuna, marlin and mahi who can all sprint 40kts+! And with the changes in temperatures, currents and food sources the script hasn’t been written yet of what’s off our coastline and swimming closer every day now. Let the lure swim further back than you would normally at the standard 7kts, and use something designed not to tumble at high speeds – like the trolling 200g Catch Squidwing  or Legend Unicorn, both great options and ones I have had personal success on with both striped marlin (@20kts speed) and YFT.

Back more inshore the solid feeding for the previous week or more in the local gulf dropped off, the weekend brought a sudden downturn in bite, noticeably so. The popular Whangaparaoa bay area had many scratching their heads wondering what all the fuss was about. A good bite in relative terms still on out further, but the wind and surface conditions stopped most from venturing out to see. The Firth is fishing quite well, especially upper regions as the variety of bait supply is lighting up sounders (although most Happy Jack and Waiheke gannets seem to be hunting prey further afield) and there are large snapper lurking with those schools! Big solid male snapper. So if you come across good bait sign, drift fish the area. Microjigs with extra-strong  hooks like the Pocket Rockets, or the original Freestyle or new Beady Eye Kaburas, and have your tried the Boss Squid – an inchiku slow pitch hybrid?! Ssh…bit of a secret weapon that one. Snapper – an aggressive hunter predator or cautious scavenger? There’s some very interesting results coming in from the Catch Fishing Crew and various switched-on charter operators using the new big 10inch Black Label Livie softbaits. These up-sized and next-level softbaits will be available in NZ, Australia and the rest of the fishing world within mere days now! Here’s a quick Youtube link worth watching showing the new monster 10inch (25cm) softbaits, see how the fish see them in day and at night, as well as some suggestions on rigging these big bad boys. Over to you now, click here: BIG 10inch Black Label LIVIE softbaits – YouTube

Last weeks Espresso Report’s tips on fishing workups for less kahawai and more snapper hit home – thankyou so much for all the messages and pictures over the weekend and during the week, success at targeting more snapper and less kahawai when the bite is on, and when workups are firing like they have been, what a thrill. Happy to help and it’s wonderful to see so many enjoying our own piece of paradise in the backyard and coming home showing off some big fish and even bigger grins.

Never a dull moment in the local gulf with big Brydes whales now much closer into the actual gulf, Orca enjoying their hunting in the Firth of Thames and tuna being caught too! What? Yes that full moon this week bringing it’s usual twist to fishing adventures out in the Hauraki. But tuna being caught on the famous Betabug is classic stuff, especially in October and not too far from Little Barrier makes for epic fishing. A welcome surprise and stunning catch, congratulations to the crew of @Haurakiadventures! If you can get out and target these tuna Lil’ Squidwings trolled is another effective way to target and enjoy the sound of your reel in full flight.

Labour Weekend is often a wild and woolly weather affair with wind speed all over the place, so if past years are any indication, and forecasts look to align with tradition –  inshore area fishing is the go bro…kayaks, landbased or boat based but close, nice and close most of the weekend, and if Monday’s calm comes true – unleash! And the further north you are, the closer snapper are to home base as the inshore water temperatures are on the rise.

Speaking of up-north here’s another guy doing great things in the beautiful Bay of Islands for fishing friends and family alike, Greg Tucker www.fish4tucker.co.nz . A family based team passionate about all forms of fishing sustainably, sharing the outdoors and BBQs with friends and whanau. Greg also does a wonderful online fishing tackle service with his can-do attitude. Definitely worth a click and browse, great stuff.

BIG baits, Big Fish! Next level softbaiting is here…

An old adage that so often rings true – so Catch Fishing is releasing the answer to our dreams, a true 10inch amazing looking softbait for doing just that, using big softbaits to catch BIG FISH. Imagine what you could target and catch with a monstrous Black Label LIVIE, that’s 25cm long!! Take first look at the new release with Espresso LIVE on Catch Fishing Facebook and Instagram Sunday 10:00am. Simply stunning – join us and be a part of this exciting new release, see the NEW COLOURS and what you could do when you unleash this beast!

Good looking workup activity is moving right around the gulf, great to see and watch gannets diving amongst the dolphins, smaller workups spreading out whether closer in by northern Kawau, or down from the Moehau range, spring fishing is on!

It’s blue-bottle mania out westside, with gas-filled sacs that float, they can alter their orientation to sail with the wind. While not a true jellyfish their tentacles are poisonous, do not handle!

See you Sunday…

Opening Day!? YAY. Much hoped for and eagerly anticipated – the move to slightly lower Covid19 lockdown levels thankfully happened, with the Auckland region in particular now able to go fishing.

The welcome unleashing of fishing craft of all types out into the gulf…well, what’s happening out there? Mother Nature is right on time with an early spring mixed back of fishes, mixed in terms of species and success level. Some doing well others struggling a bit with smaller and fewer pannie snapper. While the winds were a tad brisker out in 50m, closer in provided some good fishing on ‘opening day’. Slow pitch lures doing well out wider. Water temps are up, only just but the incline has started – great news as this brings more snapper in closer, and starts their more aggressive feeding inclinations. Evidenced by the pop-up surface activity, with scattered fish underneath in the southern Kawau area, typical of early spring.

Inner areas stayed a lot quieter, to be expected really as spring’s positive impact on inner gulf and Waitemata harbours is only just beginning, there’s a way to go yet before prolific fishing can be expected throughout the inner channels of Waiheke, Rangititoto and the Harbour Bridge. Yet some very good snapper were being caught just off Rangitoto first thing in the morning, not huge specimens but well legal and certainly welcomed home. Similarly in and around the Ahaas and Noises, mainly smaller snapper, but readily added to the fish bin. The snapper are in prime winter condition.

Kayakers have been having some good fish turn up – Whangaparaoa peninsula doing alright, snapper and kingfish here and there landed, great to see. Softbaits are the go in close – the smaller 5” versions getting more attention than the bigger 7” models just now, that too may well change over the next few weeks, so don’t be afraid to start using the ‘big baits’ more and more. Kayaks over the western side of Auckland have been doing well, snapper, gurnard, trevally – check out @ManukauYaks. Kayaks are one of the fastest growing fishing categories there is, no wonder.

Some good activity experienced this week, which seems early, in the Tiri-to-Kawau area, schooling snapper underneath some flash mobs of gannets and common dolphins. The bottle nose dolphins had already passed through the general vicinity a couple of days prior on their hunt, more close-in stuff along shorelines, right around southern Whangaparaoa peninsula and down the North Shore.

Crackling outboard run-ups and wash downs were a welcome change to daily sounds across the Auckland ‘burbs, bringing a little smile to many, the sound of a kiwi summer perhaps. Short sharp and sweet Espresso Report this week, a bit like the first day out for Aucklanders getting their fishing fix. Half a chance, check that wind, and enjoy fishing in your own piece of paradise.