Fishing: Deep-water monsters more accessible at this time of year

Murray Knowles is happy with his bass, which weighed nearly 40kg. Note the blotched colouration and squat body compared to a hapuku. Photo / Geoff Thomas

This is the time of year when big fish like hapuku and bass move into water of 100 metres or less from 300 or 400 metres, and for fishermen it is a good opportunity to tick one of the toughest boxes in the world of angling.

These deep-water monsters are not easily encountered. In pre-European times you could probably catch a hapuku not far from Rangitoto Island but relentless pressure from market fishing and, to a far lesser degree, sporting anglers has decimated inshore populations and today these magnificent creatures are regarded as inhabitants of extreme depths. They are so slow growing it could take 50 years to replace a population even without fishing. Scientists tell us hapuku grow at roughly half a kilo a year, so a 60kg specimen is literally an "old man of the sea". The only places you can catch groper, as they are called in southern climes, in shallow water is in Fiordland and at the Chatham Islands where "schoolies" of 10-15kg can still be found in 10-15 metres. And on light tackle in that depth they fight like tigers " beautiful eating too.

Deep sea bass are called wreckfish internationally, and are even harder to find around the coast as most populations live out off the edge of the continental shelf. In the eyes of anglers, the scarcity and extreme size of the bass elevates this impressive fish to god-like status. They not only grow much larger than hapuku, but are better table fish with sweet, white flesh.

The recognised destinations for hooking 'puka and bass are the deep reefs in the outer Bay of Plenty, the Kaipara Trench and the Mokau Trench which lie about 90km off the west coast, the Ranfury Banks off East Cape and the reef systems off the Three Kings Islands in the far north.

So when a party of eight keen anglers boarded the charter vessel Enchanter at Mangonui a fortnight ago they were full of anticipation. Their fishing dreams were tempered with a certain trepidation as to how their inner fortitude would cope with the challenges of trying to winch large fish up from the depths while being brutally rocked and rolled by steep ocean swells.

The weather and sea are rarely benign when the vessel is sitting over a vast reef 30km out from the Three Kings, which are 150km from Mangonui.

This is big water and it yields big fish. You have to use heavy tackle to stop a huge bass from breaking your line on the rocks, and 100kg braid line is standard. Traces are made from 200kg monofilament with size 16 circle hooks and two sinkers each weighing 32oz taped together. The weights are secured with lighter line so they will break off if they become stuck on the seabed.

Baits of tough fresh fish are used to prevent the large king tarakihi stripping the hooks clean as soon as they hit the reef. When a big fish bites the angler must wait until the rod bends before winding and striking, then it becomes an arm-wrestle to lift the powerful fish up for the first 10 metres to clear the reef before settling in to a smooth, steady rhythm. The barrel-bodied 'puka and bass float up for the last few metres, and the crew watch as the angle of the line rises before shouting "thar she blows!" as the fish wallows on the surface.

Charter operators who work these grounds apply their own voluntary code of ethics. They ignore limit bags which allow anglers to take up to five hapuku or bass per day, limiting their customers' catch per angler to one big fish and a couple of small 'eaters' for the five-day excursion. They know these old creatures are difficult to replace and they treat them with reverence and respect.

Fresh water

This is a good time for harling. The standard Lake Taupo rig is a monofilament line with one colour of lead-core line spliced on the end, followed by a trace which could be up to 15m long. At the business end you can have a small cobra, with a smelt fly a metre ahead of it. Some anglers will attach a separate short dropper for the fly. Or it is simply a couple of flies on the end. If they are attached with a loop knot they often work better than if tied with a hard knot as it creates more movement of the lure. On the Rotorua lakes an old sinking fly line is often used for harling, sometimes with a colour of lead line on the end to take it down a couple more metres. The same rigs on the end work well, and like most fishing it is more a question of where the lures are put rather than what are used; such as following the edge of a shelf. When deep trolling it is a good idea to put out a harling line down the middle once the first frosts arrive.

Tip of the week

Snapper fishing has picked up in the Firth of Thames and around the mussel farms, and in the Bay of Plenty around the Great Mercury Islands. At this time of year large baits on long traces will target larger fish. Around Auckland there have been patches of fish showing up in the Motuihe Channel and off Park Point. The bottom end of Waiheke has been fishing well in the afternoons, in 25 metres of water off Shag Island.

Bite times

Bite times are 11.35am today, and 12.15am and 12.30pm tomorrow. More fishing action can be found at GTTackle.co.nz