Geoff Thomas: Lighter touch at Graveyard

Steve Devine is happy with his first Graveyard catch. Photo / Supplied

It is called the Graveyard because of the many sailing ships which foundered in the fearsome maelstrom of white water which piles up on the sand banks where the Kaipara Harbour meets the Tasman Sea. Officially 43 ships were lost there, but it has been said the figure is more than 100.

The sailing ships carried the wealth of the times; great slabs of kauri timber and the golden gum which would be transformed into varnish for elegant furniture.

That was 200 years ago.

But the shipping and the trade are long gone, a distant memory lost in the shifting sands. Today the Graveyard echoes with the ghosts of the wrecks which lie broken beneath the sands. Occasionally shattered spars and bronze fittings are uncovered by the currents, and the beaches offer rich pickings for those combing the sand.

Mighty sand dunes stretch to the sky on the northern side, while the tip of Muriwai Beach marks the southern side of the channel through which the tide roars every six hours.

Everything here is on a grand scale. The western horizon is a broken line of white water where the currents and ocean rollers do battle over a sandy bar that stretches for miles, the waves thrown up by the turmoil give an ominous warning to boaties to stay away. Currents race out at 9km per hour and plans to harvest this energy, driving great turbines set on the seabed to produce electricity, concern those who fish these waters. But that is another story.

Traditional fishing tackle matches the water being fished, which may be only 20m deep, and sinkers up to 32 ounces are employed to reach the bottom at the height of the tidal flow. This weight requires powerful line and sturdy rods, and traces up to 10m long. Then there are the "Kaipara Specials" to contend with - school sharks which plague those seeking snapper. When they turn up there is no option but to up-anchor and try another spot.

But in the past couple of summer seasons a small group of local fishermen have adapted the new style of soft-bait fishing to harvest the abundant large snapper which pass through on each tide. The strong currents pose a special challenge, and the answer is to use two-ounce jig heads and to drift along with the racing ride. If the wind is blowing against the direction of the current, so much the better, and a sea anchor or drogue can also be deployed to slow down the drift.

The other trick is to cast ahead of the boat, as normal, but instead of working the lure along the bottom just leave it hanging in the current, occasionally lifting the rod to clear it away from the sharp mussels which cover the sand. It is the rich beds of green-lipped mussels which attract the snapper, their powerful jaws easily crunching the shellfish. And when a fish is brought to the boat it often spews up fragments of meat and shell.

What also attracts the lure fishermen here is the size and quality of the snapper. While it is recognised that lures like jigs and soft plastics generally attract larger snapper than conventional cut baits, here that means fish of five, six or more kilos. Many anglers have achieved their personal best snapper on their first attempt at soft-baiting the Graveyard.

This is a tremendously rich fishery, and it has been estimated that as many as 90 per cent of the juvenile snapper on the west coast come from the vast nursery that is the Kaipara Harbour. But very few small fish are hooked on the lures, and it does not take many to fill a fish box.

The key is to fish the change in tides, working the last two hours of one tide and the first two hours of the other.

This way the lures can be worked along the seabed over the light current flow, making the fishing more effective.

Then there are the other fish which are regularly hooked, for large trevally and strong kahawai love these lures also. And occasionally a "Kaipara Special" will grab the lure and take off like a steam train, and if you don't follow it with the boat you will lose all your line off your reel.

The tackle involving light rods and delicate braid line used for fishing soft baits is certainly a far cry from the sash weights and huge sinkers which are normally associated with fishing the Graveyard.