Fishing: Calm, clear water makes it all too easy

Kingfish are the flavour of the month in the calm, clear-water conditions we've enjoyed recently.

From the Bay of Plenty, through the Hauraki Gulf to the Bay of Islands and the far north, the big cruisers are hanging in packs in 20-40m near rock pinnacles.

Find the schools of baitfish and you'll find kingies under them.

This week we tested the new Raymarine digital sounder, which essentially fires and receives its 'ping' far more frequently than the usual analogue models. That produces a clearer picture - surface clutter is all-but eliminated, the bottom is better defined and fish appear individually rather than as large red clumps.

We snared plenty of livebaits, which didn't require technology considering there was a half-hectare of kahawai boiling in Chamberlins Bay, Ponui Island.

The quickest and easiest way to get them on board in good condition was via a barbless lure trolled behind a paravane on a handline. Then we set out to find the best kingie habitat.

It didn't take long. We trolled livebaits close to shore where there were deepwater drop-offs and wham!, almost immediately prompted pack-investigation from kings up to 25kg.

You can't beat that excitement, the big green backs and yellow tails slicing the water around a bait trailed 10m behind the boat.

The sounder helped make it easy, identifying the schools of anchovy and mackerel as well as the target species.

It helped to have an expert aboard in former national champ Adam Clancey, and it's magic watching an expert at work. He threaded a tough string through the kahawai's head just above the eyes and looped the string over an 8/0 hook so the fish swam realistically.

Use recurve hooks if you want to ensure the fish will survive after tag-and-release.

It's an easier rig to handle than the traditional balloon and sinker and you cover more ground.

Clancey, skipper Mark Oberman and I each nailed a fish of about 20kg.

Snapper fishing remains patchy. The big fish are moping mid-stream and will generally only be taken at change of light morning and night, the clear conditions not conducive to feeding for more tentative reds.

The Gulf is full of fish, most still small. Best catches are being had in the inner harbour, where waters are murkier. Some of the best fishing in the past fortnight has been within spitting distance of the breakwater at Okahu Bay on the rising tide. It's similarly productive around Meola Reef, Kauri Point and the Greenhithe bridge. These fish, averaging 2kg, have been feeding over worm beds and are in good condition, unlike the pickers in the Motuihe channel.

The Manukau has slowed, fewer kahawai than usual and gurnard moving out, but the average size of snapper taken there this summer seems better. Best catches have been on the south side.

Recreational fishers at Whangarei Heads have had a victory, vocal opposition to the application for a fish-farm at pristine Peach Cove prompting the backers to abandon their plans.