Fast and furious fishing with frantic feeding action abounds there – all over the show. What an intense fishing week yet again, wow!
Kingfish have been providing lot’s and lot’s of thrills and spills – whether the visual excitement of top water, or the hookup intensity of jigging they have been very obliging most of the time. When they are on, they are on! All the usual haunts around the gulf seem to have come alive with the big green machines, from inner harbour market buoys to outer gulf pins and baitschools. It is definitely the time to go and get yourself hooked up on one of these hard charging freight trains.
Snapper have been on the chew – it does pay to double check the Catch bite times to help with your approach. There can be very soft bites, very tentative stuff outside the bite times – remarkably quiet despite all sorts of surface activity and fishiness on the sounder. What’s working? Well on one day for instance this week you could use anything you like, as long as it was a Kabura or Beady Eye – the tentacles being the main ingredient. The next day…no way, microjigs far outperforming any other lure, kaburas included! It really does pay to be more than a one-trick pony out there – take and try a few different lures, even if just simply drifting the 40-45 areas, you’ll catch good snapper, no need to workups or secret Spot X’s. The inner channels like western Rangitoto have nice pannies – using a little softbait like the white smelt LIVIE is easy pickings really. If you see any petrels or terns over the surface – throw down your softbait and with little movements along the bottom – snapper time! Perfect softbaiting scenario, and perfect table fish.
Lots and lots of workups are on to keep the adrenaline junkies amused, gas up as they are moving around the entire central and eastern middle areas of the gulf, typical for this time of year. No real concentration in particular of late as the dolphins and gannets have been covering wide areas chasing down their favourite – pilchards. The whales, several of them have also been feeding all over the gulf, exciting stuff to witness, Brydes whales and possibly a Pygmy Blue have been gracing the big buffets out in 45m, what an incredible privilege to witness in person.
Time seems to be speeding up with the run-up to Christmas already well under way, both on the water and back on land. The early fishing season indicators are looking good, very good, no time to waste – rely on good tackle and great lures, you’ll have an adventure and a half awaits you, see you out there!
Enjoy.
Espresso.
Pictured: The Beady Eye Kabura – what a lure!
