Geoff Thomas: Fine for fish, frustrating for fishers

Southeasterly winds have made things hard for fisherman. Photo / Thinkstock

Opinion

Weather has been the bane of those wanting to put the boat in the water and head out for a fish during the past week. Southeasterly winds made things hard last weekend and fishermen with grey hair all seem to agree that when the wind blows from that quarter the fish just close their mouths. This applies on the lake when trout fishing.

Fish just don't seem to like a cold wind, which when they are sitting on the bottom of the sea 40m below the windy surface would not appear to be a logical connection. But there is much about fishing that does not follow logic, which is what makes the sport so appealing.

Water temperature continues to drop and, in the Hauraki Gulf, it is down around 13C. This is a good time of year for big kingfish. While the school fish have moved out to deep water, the big solitary fish patrol the rocky coastline of areas such as the Coromandel coast, Great Barrier and Little Barrier islands, and the offshore reefs like Horn Rock and Anchorite.

These fish are challenging to catch and are best tempted with a large live bait such as a kahawai when fishing close to the rocks. Over deep reefs, jigging and casting lures like stick baits come into their own, although this style of fishing gets better in the spring.

Some seriously big kings are hooked from the rocks at this time of year and it can be a real challenge getting the fish to shore without the line tangling in rocks or weed.

Land-based game fishermen specialise in this style of fishing and use quality tackle with 24kg or even 37kg line on stand-up rods, many of which are custom made. A gimbal belt and long-handled gaff are also mandatory and, if fish are to be released, they can be lip-gaffed without harm.

Rock fishing does pose challenges and the sea conditions are an important element.

Lifejackets and safety ropes are often used, and watching the sea at all times is important as the odd large wave can seemingly come out of nowhere. These specialist anglers routinely catch kingfish of 30kg and have landed monsters up to 45kg.

The favoured fishing spots include Coromandel and the Barrier, and also North Cape, Cape Brett, Spirits Bay, and Lottin Point on the east coast of the Bay of Plenty.

The boat angler has the advantage of being able to lead the hooked fish away from a reef without putting much pressure on the line. Some use a system where they have the anchor tied to a buoy and, when a fish is hooked, they can quickly untie the rope and throw the buoy over the side, returning later to tie up again or pull up the anchor.

Close to Auckland straylining at the Noises or the Ahaas is one of the best options, although fish can be found using the same approach over foul ground anywhere along the shoreline of East Coast Bays, Rangitoto or Waiheke.

In the Bay of Plenty, tarakihi are reported to be in close and there is some pretty good fishing in the area between the Kaituna River mouth and Motiti Island.

Some people rate tarakihi as our best table fish and most would agree the sweet, textured fillets surpass snapper. It is the layer of fat between the muscles that distinguishes tarakihi and makes it more forgiving in the frying pan as it retains moisture.

They are easily caught; the main problem is locating the schools. They are always found on or near reefs or rocks, usually in water of 40m or more but in areas which do not receive a lot of fishing pressure that can be much shallower.

Tarakihi are caught surfcasting along the rocky Wellington coast, but that is unusual. They have no visible teeth and feed on small marine organisms but will take a bait. Their small mouth requires a small hook and the little square long-line hooks are ideal, but flasher rigs with 3/0 recurved hooks are also fine. Soft juicy baits like a small cube of skipjack tuna or shellfish wrapped with bait cotton work very well. Once tarakihi are located, catching a bag is not a problem as they are a schooling fish and once a fish is hooked, if the gear is left on the seabed, a second hook-up does not take long.

The rivers and streams running into Lake Taupo continue to run low and clear, which makes fly fishing challenging. Trout will be congregating at stream mouths where anglers can find better fishing, particularly on moonless nights.

Although there has been plenty of rain over much of the country in the past three months, it seems to have bypassed the catchments of the Taupo tributaries.

More fishing action can be found on Rheem Outdoors with Geoff, 5pm TV3, and on the new internet television channel, FishnHunt.Tv.