La Nina summer in New Zealand is on the cards according to weather forecasting experts which means both warmer air and warmer waters โ 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 hasnโt been written yet of whatโs 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 Squidwingย or Legend Unicorn, both great options and ones I have had personal success on with both striped marlin (@20kts speed) and YFT.
Figure 1. Microjig Pocket Rockets and snapper, easy! On the stunning Catch IRT custom reel and Kensei slow pitch rod.
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 ย 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?! Sshโฆbit of a secret weapon that one. Snapper โ an aggressive hunter predator or cautious scavenger? Thereโs 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! Hereโs 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 Reportโs tips on fishing workups for less kahawai and more snapper hit home โ 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 itโs 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.
