Where’s hot to fish over Queens Birthday?

Fish, good fish, have been welcomed back from a bit of a (full moon) holiday, however the food chain must rattle and the cages are clattering right now. Inshore shoreline activities include anchovies under aerial bombardment which is great news. Kahawai, some snapper and the odd king are lurking surprisingly close in to various north-facing shorelines, northern north shore bays for instance, but many more shores around the gulf as well. A great and easy way to get a fishing fix, just a few hundred meters from shore a lot of the time perfect for smaller boats and even land-based forms of fishing, a set of bino’s can really makes a huge difference to your fishing day. Smaller 4 inch softbaits have been working very well indeed.

Workups out wide sputtered back into life, so they can be well worth the chase right now. Northern Waiheke and well out past Anchorite too, it’s more of having a good look around as they are popping up all over the Gulf, and vacating mass areas in the blink of a fishes eye as the dolphins cover large areas searching for their favourite fish meals. When the whales catch up to the dolphins and the bait is surrounded, boom, it’s all on as the heavens open wide with hundreds of gannets piling into the cauldron, amazing sights and sounds with the adrenaline surging as hook-ups are near instantaneous. Big jigs of 200-500gm territory help target the bigger snapper in this scenario.

Queen’s Birthday weekend it is! So what better time to celebrate and enjoy than with a bit of fishing. Whether you have a few clear hours or while doing the relation visitation thing, either way road traffic will be testing, out on the water there’s much more room to play. Have a quick scan along the Nth Shore bays with your bino’s if you’re that way (or similar) you may well see the tell-tale white wisps of terns over a baitschool, along with much to explore and find out underneath. Excellent for all ages, remember your first kahawai – how it fought and the awesome feeling you had even years ago, half a chance – time to pass some wondrous memory makers on to the next generation perhaps.

Many places are bursting into life at the moment with fleeting but intense fish and bird activity, surprisingly close to shorelines, often within casting distance and with offshore winds it still can be calm enough in the lee of the land despite constant winds out further and yes sunscreen can still be required even though its cold, it’s like being up the mountain at times – a wintry blast under clear(ish) skies is on the way to mark the start of winter.

So a bit of time out from the Queen’s Birthday long weekend duties? Perhaps a land-based afternoon or further afield perhaps when the wind allows, the fish are clinging on to their pre-winter mode, just, a good time to be out there and amongst ‘em as they look to pack on some insulation, a good moon, good times, birthdays, and fishing 😊

Enjoy

Espresso.