Another notable catch at the weekend was a marlin which was hooked near the Moko Hinau Islands.
Snapper fishing is booming, after a slow start to the summer season, and fish are being caught everywhere from in close to out in deep water.
Kayak fishermen are catching fish off Mellons Bay and Howick, and one angler reported taking a limit of seven snapper all over 500mm long in an hour.
At Waiheke Island fish are being caught at Park Pont and Church Bay, while there are also a lot of fish on the pinnacles around the Ahaaha Rocks, along with trevally.
Another area holding a lot of snapper and kahawai is on the right side of the cable zone out in the middle between Rakino Island and Tiritiri Matangi Island.
There are still a lot of kingfish everywhere, from the Noises to the bottom end of Waiheke.
The Firth of Thames is also firing with a lot of good-sized snapper coming from the 19m deep pinnacles in the middle of the firth, and mussel farms are fishing well for both snapper and kingfish.
Fresh jack mackerel is one of the best baits when fishing in deep water out in the firth. They can be rigged live, which will attract big snapper, john dory and kingfish; or as cut bait with a half fish or whole fillet rigged on two hooks.
Many people don't realise the humble little fish are also great table fare. They can be filleted and the bones removed, leaving fingers of flesh which are delicious when rolled on flour and pan fried.
Those anglers using soft bait lures are struggling, while the old favourites of berley and pilchards are doing the business.
Straylining where floating baits are cast out down a berley trail works well in shallow water, and around rocks and reefs.
This approach has been producing well along the eastern shoreline of Rangitoto Island, on the seaward side of Kawau and Tiritiri Matangi Islands.
At Little Barrier Island fishing on the sand in 10-15 metres along the edge of kelp beds in the first hour after the tide turns is working well, with plenty of snapper in the 35cm range.
But straylining at Great Barrier Island and the Moko Hinau Islands has been hot, with plenty of snapper to 6kg coming from the eastern side of the Barrier.
On the west coast the snapper fishing has been hot when conditions allow boats to get out.
On the Manukau Harbour, the snapper fishing has slowed except for under the signal station where some remarkable catches of fish up to 6kg have been reported.
As expected, gurnard numbers are building up in the harbour, and soft plastics are doing well.
Gurnard are usually targeted with flasher rigs, and sometimes the trace with the flashers is tied below a sinker — instead of having the sinker on the end which is the normal rig — so the baits lie along the bottom.
Small cubes of squid, pilchard or bonito are used, but with the advent of soft plastics these are being successfully used in the smaller sizes.
The natural food for gurnard includes small fish like bullies, crabs and other bottom dwellers, and adding a small wiggly lure on one of the hooks makes sense. Another favourite prey for gurnard is baby flounder, and an imitation lure made from black plastic cut in a triangular shape with a hook added has been known to catch gurnard.
Freshwater
Trout fishing is also moving into winter mode at Rotorua and Taupo, with fly fishing at small stream mouths improving, and harling and shallow trolling producing fish in the early mornings and evenings.
As the trout move into spawning mode red-bodied flies and lures come into their own. Patterns such as the Red Setter and a red-bodied Mrs Simpson or Kilwell are popular.
On Lake Okataina, fishing booby flies at the Log Pool continues to produce, although there are also fish at the Dogger Bank where the same method works well.
Tip of the week
Kingfish can be targeted with live baits (piper, mackerel or kahawai) either fished from an anchored boat with the livies tethered under a balloon, or sitting on the bottom with a breakaway sinker tied to the swivel with dental floss; or slow trolled around reefs and small islands. A kahawai makes the best trolled bait, hooked through the upper lip and towed very slowly with the drag on the reel set with just enough pressure to prevent line running off but a fish can take out line when it hits the bait.
Bite times
Bite times are 9.30am and 9.55pm tomorrow, and 10.20am and 10.45pm on Sunday.
More fishing action can be found at GTTackle.co.nz
