Fishing: All power to angling with current

Snapper fishing is best when a current is running. Photo / Geoff Thomas

Fishing is a funny old business, and while we all seek the perfect bait or the ultimate lure that will attract the quarry in huge numbers the fact remains that where we put our bait or lure is paramount.

Trout fishermen will always ask a successful angler — what fly were you using? — in the solid belief that switching fly patterns will unlock the mystery. If they stopped to consider that what sort of line the guru was using and where the cast was directed are of equal importance to what was on the end, they might figure it out for themselves. Was it on the surface or deep in the depths? Was it along the edge of a current or over the edge of a drop-off? The dynamics shift endlessly.

And so it is when hunting snapper or kingfish or marlin. The dynamics are constantly moving. Currents change with the tides, channels and sandy ledges are constantly changing. The ability to interpret the signals on the screen of your electronics is more useful than having a list of spots. Because fish are always moving.

So we should be thinking about what lies beneath the surface. Any change in a flat sea bed should attract attention immediately. It may be a contour line which shows up on a chart, or a rock or a small patch of rubble. For these will attract fish.

And the fish we seek so passionately are simple creatures. They are motivated by two factors — food and security. For their world is a highly dangerous environment, without adding the attentions of humans be it by rod and line or via deadly efficient nets which can sweep wide areas clean of all fish life.

So most fish will hide at night when the great predators are hunting, stirring to life as the first light penetrates the dark gloom. The long fronds of bull kelp waving in the current are like forests in the mountains and provide shelter for all kinds of life.

Currents bring food to fish, and storms will dislodge crabs and shellfish attracting hungry opportunists like snapper.

Murky water is also more attractive to fish than clear water where they are easily seen.

These are the variables that anglers look for as they influence fish behaviour at sea, while on a lake winds can push food onto a shoreline.

So what is the answer when heading out tomorrow?

On the salt it is to work around the tides. The currents will be average, a high of 3.1 metres in Auckland and it won't be necessary to put ten ounces of lead on your line to reach the bottom off Park Point on Waiheke Island. For the 28-metre hole out off the point is holding a lot of snapper at the moment, which is evident by the number of boats anchored there.

Charter skippers who spend most days on the water know that the tide starts flowing into the Sargents Channel before it does in the Motuihe Channel. As the tide runs into a congested channel it actually flows faster out the other side. So when looking for more current it is better to move further into the channel, and the reverse applies when less current is wanted (on the king tides).

So the plan this weekend would be to start fishing on the up-current side of one of the channels, moving down with the current as it picks up, to ensure a good flow.

One of the common challenges is avoiding the under-sized snapper. Although the abundance of small fish bodes well for the future, they are the bane of every fisherman looking for dinner.

The only solution is to use large hooks, maybe 7/0, and to keep moving until better fish are found. Using fresh bait like kahawai or yellowtail will also help as the young fish prefer soft baits which are easily torn off hooks like pilchards or squid.

Sometimes a combination is a smart approach — pilchard to attract fish when it disintegrates in a cloud of blood, oil and scraps like a miniature berley bomb; and a chunk of kahawai on another hook.

The other variable of course is the bait and rig which are employed. The commercially produced flasher rigs with bright tassels on the hooks work fine in some situations, and in fact when there is little current flowing it is the best time to tie one on. Then, as currents pick up, a change to a trace up to two metres long with two hooks will produce more fish.

Instead of fixing one bait to two hooks, separate chunks on two or three hooks fixed on the end of a trace with a longline knot will increase the chances of a hook-up for when one bait has been destroyed you still have others working for you.

Other spots which are holding fish in good numbers are on the reef at Flat Rock, and if targeting kingfish the the reefs at Crusoe Rock, the Noises and Pakatoa reef are all holding good numbers of kings.

The west coast is fishing well off Raglan and Kawhia, and the eastern Bay of Plenty has good numbers of snapper off Te Kaha and Waihau Bay. Marlin are running at Waihau, and five boats which went out last Saturday all hooked up. A game fishing tournament there today and tomorrow will be a good indicator of how the marlin season is shaping.

Freshwater
The big trout continue to come from Lake Rotoiti where the hot weather has caused the fish to congregate at around 30m and Lake Tarawera is fishing well at 25m.

The emergence of hatching cicadas is giving back country stream fishing a boost, and also stalking brown trout on the lower Tongariro River and on Lake Otamangakau.

Tip of the week

Try light line, like 6kg braid, small baits like chunks of pilchard and small sinkers. Fish lost through light tackle will be more than compensated for by the increased hook-up rate. More fishing action can be found at www.GTtackle.co.nz

Bite times
Bite times are 10.50am and 4.40pm tomorrow and 11.10am and 4.55pm on Sunday.