Geoff Thomas: Nights in Manukau shallows pay

A Yellowtail Kingfish. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Kingfish and flounder have turned up, another sign of summer fishing expectations looking good.

Manukau Harbour fisherman John Moran said he went out one night a week ago spearing flounder in the shallows and returned with a dozen of the big flatfish.

"There were plenty between 25 and 30cm, but we only took fish that were bigger again," he said. "Usually you expect the flounder to arrive in January, but they are early on the Manukau this year."

Moran said dragging a net in the lower Waikato River near the mouth was also producing good catches of flounder. "But remember you can only use a drag net 40 metres long, not like a set net [60 metres]. And drift netting there is illegal." He also said snapper around 40cm were being caught on the Huia Banks, by using an extra-long trace. Dropper rigs were not working as well on the snapper. Seven-gill sharks up to two metres were also being hooked, and while they were docile enough on the line, when alongside the boat they could liven up.

"Don't put a gaff into them, just cut the hook off and let them go."

He also said fishing off the west coast was still going well, with plenty of snapper around the 60-metre mark. "One party of three had their quota of 30 snapper by 10 past eight in the morning. The fish were four to seven kilos, the biggest 10.5 kilos."

Fishing on the other side is more up and down, with snapper often soft on the bite. Light trace and small baits, with the hook tied directly to the line rather than having a swivel and trace, can help when fish are timid. Kingfish have come in early with a lot of small kings around the channel markers and buoys.

A popper cast past the buoy and worked fast across the surface will generate an attack with plenty of fish chasing as they compete for the lure. Low tide is the best time to fish for kings, and they will also take a dead piper cast out and retrieved slowly. It can be rigged with a hook through the skull, the beak broken off so it swims straight and a small ball sinker resting against the hook.

Live baits like kahawai and slimy mackerel are the better option when targeting larger kingfish and they can be slow trolled around reefs or a rocky coastline, or fish at anchor under a balloon or on the seabed.

The new method of casting or trolling stick baits is generating a lot of interest among anglers, and certainly works very well. The lure's fished on the surface, so activity like a work-up creates good opportunities.

Tarakihi have been running well at the Mercury group of islands and snapper fishing is improving. A lot of the fish are still full of roe, so taking no more than are needed for dinner is important. Kingfish are also starting to turn up around the islands, and crayfish are in between 15 and 20 metres of water.

There was a report of a marlin being hooked behind Whale Island, off Whakatane, last weekend; dolphins are showing up and albacore tuna are being hooked from four miles off the coast.

In the Bay of Islands there's a lot of boat activity, with snapper further out between Whale Rock and the Nine Pin along the 50-metre line.

Charter skipper Geoff Stone said most people were taking a few small fish for eating and returning the larger snapper.

Trout fishing on the upper reaches of spawning rivers like the Tongariro River and Ngongotaha Stream opened on December 1, which always attracts a lot of anglers although most of the fish are in poor condition after spawning during the winter. But the Tongariro also holds a lot of young fish in prime condition and a lot of insect life is showing up on the river including green beetles and the occasional early cicada.

With low, clear water conditions fly fishing can be hard if the traditional large, heavy nymphs are used. Light fluorocarbon leaders and small naturals such as a pheasant tail nymph fished under a dry fly down the edges of the fast riffles will produce results.

On Lake Taupo, jigging at 20 to 30 metres and harling around the margins are catching fish.

The stream mouths on Lake Rotorua are starting to attract fish, and stalking the shallows for brown trout is worth trying at this time of year.

More fishing action can be found on the new internet television channel, FishnHunt.Tv