Anchovies and pilchards real or the popular super-naturals of jigs and softbaits are the go bro! Those silvery slivers of anchovies are close inshore – how close? On land! Yes the fight for life includes anchovies beaching themselves in a last ditch effort to evade kahawai hunting them down and many others hard on their tailfins. Popping up in all sorts of local bays, places like the secluded sanctuary of Little Manly – where the unfortunate demise of a local boat this week, still partially submerged – perhaps providing temporary shelter for the anchovies?

Similar pop-up scenes are seen around coasts all over the place. The little white terns are your spotters, sometimes out a little beyond eyesight so a pair of binoculars are a great idea – with the chase going on they’ll often head close in to shore and provide thrilling and prolific fishing for anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour!

Pilchards are on the main menu, especially out just a tad further where the dolphins and gannets eye these prize fish that are high in nutrient value and perfect for the upcoming cooler months, a vital part of the entire food chain. Some rather nice workups are focussing on these delectable meals, mid to outer gulf but also over northern Kawau towards Omaha and Little Barrier.

Drag burning, arm aching, spool emptying big tuna are on, Waihau Bay and Eastern Coromandel have been providing some huge rewards in terms of fish size and bounty back home. Still time for big game hunters to get out there and delight in those screaming reels. Lots of skipjack out of Ocean Beach – which usually means striped marlin are in residence, about as close as they will get before the imminent turnaround. Eastern Coromandel also getting into some great striped marlin action over this past week, solid fish too!

Snapper have been ramping up their appetites as expected, with more aggressive feeding on the upswing. The bite has been pretty good this week from snapper, lots of smaller models keen but the bigger pannies are there so mix up your offerings and you’ll find what the bigger snapper are after – it could be a tiny microjig like the Pocket Rocket or alloy Baby Boss, or something more like a main course like the Boss Squid – Catch Fishing (the darker coloured options working noticeably well earlier this week out in 45m, just brilliant). Land-based out the West Coast has shown up some big red thumpers too! Great to see such solid healthy specimens from the surf, lures or bait.

The Premiere unveiling of the new BIG reel from Catch this Sunday at 0900, tune in to Catch Fishing Facebook and be the first to see this secret weapon and the advantage it has over big fish on hookup – this reel has NEW extra features to turn those monster fishes heads, you can put even MORE pressure on your fish (not you) and land them! Tune in and find out why this new reel is the deep drop weapon of choice, whether jigging or simply deep drops for big Bass, Kingfish and more of your favourites that can lurk hundreds of metres below.

Also tune in this Sunday to MagicFM radio New Zealand wide on the Sunday Café live with Espresso at 08:30, then watch the Premiere at 09:00 Sunday on Catch Fishing Facebook – a great way to ease into your Sunday. Catch you then.

Espresso.

Easter long weekend – a few days to play whether a stay-cation or heading away? Here’s an idea – Easter fishing, an excellent pastime to be included in the weekend’s leisure activities! It’s just after the full moon, there’s a good full tidal movement stirring the saltwater food chain up, it’s prime time of year with all sorts of piscatorial species out there, marlin, mahi, tuna – and closer in those thumping red snapper, kahawai and many more. This long weekend should definitely include some good fishing opportunities. Fish don’t have daylight saving changes so they won’t notice a thing this weekend as our NZ clocks are adjusted.

Softbaiting land-based is becoming more and more popular, and rightly so as evidenced by good catches in many locales during the recent strong winds, most boat-borne anglers being denied their fishing fix out further due to the gnarly sea state. Now is a perfect time of year for landbased softbaiting with snapper and many other fish looking to feed right along the coastline shallows whether over sand or foul ground. Prospecting along with a little softbait outfit, a favourite SB or two on a light jighead in the morning of later afternoon, nice. The current murkiness of the water will mean a bright, luminous, easily see able and feel-able lure (vibration from the lure or an added Catch “Tuning Blade”) can help, letting fish find your lure in near zero viz. Small darting baitfish style jerks, then rests to let the fish discover and pounce on your unsuspecting lure is a good approach. BTW there’re some all new softbaits (colours sizes shape and components) coming soon – Catch Livies “Black Label”!

Autumn is a time for feasting by many species, fish of most types now know that colder times are imminent, insulation being key to survival over winter so the need to feed is on. Whether you use smaller offerings like a microjig to imitate say an anchovy, or larger main-course style lures like the mighty Squidwings is up to you, and the fish. Vary your offerings – you never know what will take fishes fancy, best to be make a few different offerings.

Wind directions swing right around the compass over the next several days, so go with the flow and there’ll be some excellent areas to get some good fishing in, with completely new areas to explore and enjoy each day. An eye on kingfish from shore or close to it is a great idea too right now, whether stick baiting, live-baiting, jigs or mid water retrieved softbaits. Enjoying your catch is easy – perhaps at a bach somewhere with a simple approach of a cheap ‘n cheerful smoker, a few manuka chips and amazing smoked fish among family and friends – sound delicious? Simple, inexpensive and all sorts of fish come out tops from kahawai to mackerel, snapper, kingfish and more. Very Easter holidays.

In short there’ll be lots of food for fish to choose from with strong currents, make your offering the chosen one, make it seen, and heard, with an easy action – ready for that strike!

Enjoy.

Espresso.

It’s All Good! Good current strengths, good moon phase and good fishing!

Last week’s inshore bait-schools moved out a bit and the bay-side surface calmed without the disturbances of birds, baitfish and bigger fish, no doubt over the next few days the will appear in numbers all within sight of the America’s Cup yacht racing. Great to see keen fisherm’n out on skis and kayaks this week enjoying the action between the Bays and Rangitoto first thing in the morning(s), as well as around the Whangaparaoa Peninsula – softbaits in close have been the go for success on the snapper front.

Big game has been action packed for many areas, east coast and west, with more than one big black marlin being caught, one of them a massive 435kgs along with broadbill and striped marlin and some excellent YFT around (!) BOP/eastern Coro doing well, some epic catches, and releases. The marlin season has been a good one so far and continues in the same vein. Right now is a perfect time to be out there – before the big turn around as these top predators head well offshore for another season.

Big calms and big winds – fast changing weather makes for adventures popping up ‘unexpectedly’ often either side of planned fishing days. Right up and down the country, on both coasts there are flat-calms and gnarly stay-away weather, and back again. Stay on top of the weather forecasts and updates. Workup activity out in the gulf when wind allows should be good, very good as the need to feed before winter slow down is upon us.

Snapper will be feeding a more now after their summer holidays, the kingfish are continuing their welcomed presence from out wider in the gulf hovering over those submerged reefs marked on your chart (along with gems you find now and then 😉 ) and right back in to landbased! Many ways to target them…if you’re not sure – why not head out on a charter? Such an effective way to gain experience and knowledge, using tackle designed for the job, for instance aboard Wavedancer. Basically you’re treated to personal tuition, hands on stuff with excellent purpose-made Catch tackle AND you get to keep fish if you wish. Win Win. www.wavedancer.co.nz .

The next fishing page in your fishing hasn’t been written yet – all that is required is YOU. With so much on in the gulf from the spectacle of magnificent yachts at the forefront of racing technology around the inner harbour to the calm yet massive presence of breaching whales further out, skipjack tuna to snapper, kingfish to gurnard, kahawai to dory – what awaits you on your next fishin’ mission? Go with the good info, the right gear and be out there, Spot X awaits your presence.

Ice ice baby – hot/humid – fresh fish stay that way for days, immediate care upon capture is the key. A bag of salt ice is simply the best. Look after your prize after all it’s the main aim of the day, treat it that way and reap the rewards with friends and family for days.

If you’re a jig, lure, top water or otherwise lure fisher man or woman  then head to www.catchfishing.co.nz for the right gear that’s purpose made for you whatever your style of bait-free fishing you enjoy. And if you haven’t tried the Catch fishing approach, you’re in for a real treat. Autumn is underway, and so should you be, more wonderful fishing memories are yet to be made and it looks like there’ll be a few crackers made over the next several days – will one be yours?

Enjoy Autumn fishing!

Espresso.

So what does 50m deep out in the Hauraki Gulf look like, with a softbait? Well here it is – exactly what a curly tail LIVIE softbait looks like, mounted on the renowned Stingaz jighead – check out the real deal for yourself! https://youtu.be/QjThFBw6QBo 

Expect some unexpected full moon antics yet again this week – what with the previous week’s rollercoaster ride of weather and fishing fortunes. The minimal tidal current one of the main protagonists is now pumping up the volume big time, a bit like that NE wind earlier in this week. So all things considered the fishing is looking rather promising for most species over the next several days. Some recent quiet times of fishing in general experienced by many over much of the Hauraki Gulf but change is a constant thing, no doubt the doubtful looks glanced around out there last week will dissipate over the next few days. Good things are coming and after this full moon the bite should be on again relatively speaking.

Snapper had a well deserved break from front line action, although most of the better sized fish came from inner shallow areas – Rangitoto for instance, yes just off the America’s Cup course! The activity both human and otherwise was quite evident the western side of the volcano, hilarious fun catching prime snapper with all the adrenaline-fuelled yachting close by. The smaller softbaits like a Glowing Gurnard curly tail or microjig (lead or alloy) working their magic on some very good pannies. Inner areas – just check for the terns, and don’t necessarily chase them, fish the area for both kahawai and snapper, place like western Rangitoto and just out from the no go zones along the North Shore Bays up to nearly Long Bay.

Snapper are of course just generally hanging out right now, a bit neither here nor there attitude. Other species are fair game, big game to little game, marlin and tuna out by Barrier, Cuvier, Mokes, or closer to home with trevally, gurnard, kingfish and John Dory out there waiting for your lure temptation to appear before them.

Midground fishing is ideal for a steady variety, gurnard, trevally and snapper. Smaller faster workups have been just SSW of Anchorite, and even when they are not evident, the baitfish are, fish on the drift and you should be getting a nice steady mixed bag of fish, use a variety of good lures when more than one fishing from the same boat. Further afield between Flat Rock and Little Barrier is a lot of baitfish, mostly unattended by predators last week, that will change – so expect some workups in the area and skipjack to make their presence known.

Along the southern side of Gt Barrier there has been some fascinating surface activity with whales feeding on krill, lots of terns working the surface – but not much underneath in terms of what we’re after. I suspect that will also change very shortly with kingfish especially making the most of other baitfish balls seen on the sounder along that southern coast.

The kingfish even had a some sleep-ins last week, but that tidal increase should fire them up more, time to get your tackle primed and ready for these big green machines.

Overall go small – smaller offerings, less lure movement – just teasing tempting the inquisitive bite a lot of the time and you’ll end up with some beautifully fresh fish.

Enjoy

Espresso.

 

Plenty of snapper are all over the gulf, lots of pannies fighting to feed everywhere so just setting up a nice long drift in 40m is productive and will steadily fill the bin, this also gives you a great opportunity to try different lures and find out what the fish are really into at the time.

Try all sorts, especially microjigs and kaburas rather than bigger hard body lures at first – with all the anchovies out there, smaller offerings coming down through the water column is half expected by the fish right now – so go with the flow.

Trevally also love microjigs – as pictured with the brilliant little tungsten Pocket Rocket.

Kingfish – let us count the ways! Kingfish are on the prowl all around the gulf, in the shallows and out deep, with the anchovies spread far and wide so are the kingfish. How you want to catch them, and what they respond to at the time can be one of the most thrilling and rewarding fishing there is in the gulf. Stick baits, poppers, live-baits, microjigs, mechanical jigs, bibbed lures and even a Kabura in the rod holder on the drift all are great ways to target these stunning green machines. Apart from their usual hangouts around headlands, underwater pins, wharves and reefs – they are hard on the heels of the many anchovy schools, which also have kahawai and others working them over. Bird activity on the surface is a sure give away to find anchovies as well as the sounder, white terns working inshore areas like Gardeners Gap Rangitoto and out to the anchored ships, around the Rakino and Noises area, or just out into the gulf around the 35m mark – anchovies! Kahawai chasing them, and kingfish cruising around looking for any straggler kahawai or well presented lure or jig. The shallower you fish, the more intense the battles too.

Kahawai are such a thrill to catch as well, bag a few and share around as freshly smoked fish, you’ll earn a few Brownie-points that’s for sure!

The inner areas are definitely worth targeting, and first thing in the morning has been productive this week, a strong current flow is on right now with outgoing tides this weekend and with some fine weather forecast a weekend of productive fishing is on the cards!

It pays not to be too blinkered about catching just snapper – so many other fish around to catch and enjoy like John Dory, gurnard, mackerel, trevally!

Enjoy your fishing wherever you choose to be.

Espresso.