By Geoff Thomas
Gone fishing
Marlin fishing in the Bay of Plenty took off this week, with some boats catching up to four fish a day.
The hot spots were off Mayor Island, the Aldermen and Red Mercury - and this was after a successful Mercury Bay Ocean Sports Club One-Base tournament
last weekend when a record 50 billfish were caught over three days.
They included 31 striped marlin tagged and released, 14 weighed, a 202kg black marlin, three blue marlin up to 227kg, and a short-billed spearfish.
The winning team were fishing on the Tauranga boat Pasador, followed by a local team in Kawailani.
The game fishing in Northland was almost as productive, with 93 teams in the annual Hotel Association of New Zealand tournament in the Bay of Islands recording 21 marlin over two days.
The number of blue marlin being hooked continues to impress anglers, and so far this season 18 have been caught in the Bay of Islands alone, with many more around the North Island.
One Tauranga boat fishing in the Whitianga tournament, Scott Thompson's Fiesta, had a treble strike on blues and landed two of them.
The $24,000 top prize in the marlin jackpot tournament held in the Bay last week went to the team on Modello with a black marlin of 143.4kg, caught by Colin Lofts.
Trout fishing in the Waikato, Rotorua and Taupo has been good in streams and rivers following a prolific summer hatch of cicadas, but the first cool weather has slowed the activity.
The low lake level of Lake Taupo has helped stream-mouth fishing, with all rips producing fish when the wind is favourable.
The Tauranga-Taupo River mouth can be fished by anglers wading out to the drop-off and fish are being taken throughout the day and at night.
A Taupo angler, Colin Jones, had a good morning last week on the Tongariro River delta, boating three brown trout weighing a total of 14kg, including one monster of 6.13kg.
The first brown trout are starting to run up the rivers to spawn, and trout are also congregating off the rivers, waiting for rain to freshen the river flow.
On the Rotorua lakes the summer fly fishing is slowing as temperatures cool, and anglers will soon be looking to the small streams to attract the first of the large spawners.
* The country's largest fishing tournament, the Lion Red Furuno, drew more than 2600 entrants in spite of poor weather.
As well as recording 4829 snapper, 80 kingfish, 640 kahawai, 187 trevally, 272 john dory and 48 gurnard, the anglers consumed 1000 steaks, 1200 sausages, 1.4 tonnes of potato chips, 90kg of bacon, 105 dozen eggs, 700 meat pies and 150 loaves of bread during the three days at Kawau Island.
The fish are sold and the proceeds given to conservation projects in the Hauraki Gulf.
By Geoff Thomas
Gone fishing
Marlin fishing in the Bay of Plenty took off this week, with some boats catching up to four fish a day.
The hot spots were off Mayor Island, the Aldermen and Red Mercury - and this was after a successful Mercury Bay Ocean Sports Club One-Base tournament
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.