Fish on Christmas menu - if you can catch them

Christmas on the briny can be a bit of a challenge if fish for dinner is on the menu.
For reasons that we can only speculate on, there is a widely held view that fish disappear once the holidays start.
Do they really disappear is the first question to answer, and secondly, if they do in fact disappear, where do they all go?
According to the disappearing theory, it's the roar of the combustion engine that drives fish into hiding.
Stick your head under water when one of the hole-in-the-rock tourist boats cruise by and you'll know what I mean. Vroom!!
And of course, there's the extra fishing pressure and the flotilla of mad keen fishos with boom boxes in tin boats playing loud rap or heavy metal.
You don't even need to be a fish to want to get out of the way of that stuff - know what I mean?
Personally, I'm not so convinced that the fish do really disappear.
The plain facts of the matter are that on most of Northland's east coast, the snapper spawning process is often still in full swing over the Christmas-New Year period.
This means good fishing is almost guaranteed.
Furthermore, other scaly critters such as hapuku and bass have moved into shallow water for similar reasons - to pass on their genes.
Nevertheless, the bright sunny weather of a summer does seem to drive many favoured fish species into hiding.
Most likely they are taking cover for protection and as the light levels fall as evening comes along, are likely to come out of hiding with a big hunglo in their tumblos.
In other words, late afternoon and early evening may be the best time to catch a fish, and even a moocher or two.
For those who want to fish gentlemen's hours, tarakihi fishing might be just what the doctor ordered.
Many local fishos develop an obsession with catching big red moocher snapper at this time of the year and forget the availability of the even more delectable tarakihi.
These culinary delights can be found adjacent to the fouls between Onslow rock, Howe Point and the Ninepin at this time of year.
Another region worth a good look are the fouls outside Albert Passage and across to Oke Bay.
And don't forget: hang out a floater or two while manning your ledger rig, just in case a moocher should swim by.
I followed precisely this formula myself last summer and landed a nice feed of fat tarakihi through the afternoon with a couple of wanna-be moochers picking up the floating baits just before dusk.
Other feasts worthy of consideration over the festive season are scallops and mussels.
Both species are in fine condition at present and in good supply.
The condition of scallops this season is quite exceptional with the numbers making a dive well worthwhile.
For reasons that I don't fully understand, despite the good numbers, dredging scallops can be very frustrating.
Have a safe and fishy holiday. Merry Christmas.