KEY POINTS:
The wild winds continue to curtail fishing activity but there have been some good catches in both salt and freshwater in the windows of opportunity.
One angler landed 16 trout by 10am on the lower Tongariro mid-week, the first three spent slabs and the next 13 all good
condition and good size.
There have been large runs of fish this week and that is expected to continue with the sporadic but heavy rainfall, so there are plenty of good fish in the rivers. Best times are dawn and dusk. The Tauranga/Taupo is also fishing well.
Lake Rotorua is producing plenty of fish from the shore and for boaties.
"November is the month to get browns on the troll," said Fish and Game manager Rob Pitkethley, recommending the area in front of the airport and anywhere around Mokoia Island.
The Ohau Channel is slow at times but has produced browns to 4kg and good rainbows early morning and late evening.
On Tarawera, Okataina and Rotoiti the fly-fishing is slow, best method still deep trolling, the wind often making the drift too fast for jigging.
The Rangitaiki river is high but fishing is expected to be good when it drops, sparked by cadis hatch. Aniwhenua and Flaxy Lake are fishing well.
The snapper fishing remains better in the north, with good catches off the Far North beaches, using shellfish baits. School fish are assembling around the 20m mark in their usual spots before spawning. The Bay of Islands is best around the islands and in the late afternoon, the middle still holding just small fish.
Use whole or halved fresh jack mackerel and two or three hooks to snare the big ones, drifted back with the current. The smaller fish will approach nearer the boat so ignore early bites and send the rig well back.
Around Auckland, there is a plague of small spotted dogfish, off both coasts. A set of 25 hooks on the longline produced 24 and a bitten-off trace.
Many of these are only 30cm in length. They are good eating, especially if the fishing is bad. Cut the tail as soon as they are boated to prevent the blood pumping. With no bones, they make ideal fillets for fish'n'chips for the kids.
The snapper fishing is good at 40-45m, reports Alan Viscovich on charter boat Cobalt, with consistent catch in the 2-4kg range and some bigger ones.
"There are still plenty of frostfish around, which shows the temperature [at depth] is not what it should be for the time of year," he said. It is approaching 16C wide, still 15C in closer. The channels are best late afternoon/evening and in the deeper parts around 20m.
Eugyn de Bruyn on Sea Genie reports good fish off the East Coast Bays when the sou'westerly is howling and movement is restricted. In better weather, the worm beds all the way north to Kawau are producing good fish.
Surfcasters have been doing well around Orere Pt and Kaiaua in the mornings and evenings and boaties have had more success there in shallow water.
On the Manukau, the seasonal gurnard-for-snapper exchange is taking place and right now you can catch both in numbers. The south side and the area off the airport are producing better than the Huia end. Scallops have improved their condition markedly in the past two weeks.
The kahawai legal challenge, brought by recreational groups, goes back to the High Court in February. The NZ Big Game Fishing Council, NZ Recreational Council and option4 would appreciate financial help with the legal costs as they continue the fight for quota decision-making which gives more weight to wider social good against commercial exploitation.
As the election approaches, neither of the two main parties has put forward one single meaningful policy in relation to fisheries. Check the Kiwi Party policy if the fishing future might influence your vote.