Fishing: Don't drive away from the country's best fishing

A youngster, a rod and a wharf - the perfect combination.

The holiday season is under way and there will be people heading out looking for fish all around the coast from Wellington to North Cape. But the influx of boat traffic will have an impact on the fishing in places where snapper are the main quarry. That's because they're shy and easily spooked by noise, which travels through the water as vibrations and can be detected by fish at huge distances. And there is plenty of noise, with people on jet skis and water skis, and toys such as wake boards and sea biscuits. That is what summer holidays are all about but what about catching fish?

Well, it's not a problem in Auckland. The comment is often made to those heading off to Omaha, the Bay of Islands, Whitianga, Pauanui or Matarangi: "You're driving away from the best fishing in the country."

It's one of those strange paradoxes that the snapper and kingfish fishing are some of the best in the country in mid-summer, and it just gets better after Christmas - well, if the wind ever stops.

There are already kingfish in good numbers around Waiheke and on the reef at Crusoe Rock and at the Noises, and they can be targeted with live baits dropped to the bottom or fixed under a balloon. Slow trolling with a kahawai hooked through the upper lip is also a good approach. There is no shortage of big bronze whalers to make life more interesting when they attack your kahawai or hooked kingfish, particularly at Crusoe.

The channels should improve and there will be snapper up the harbour and right through the Tamaki Strait. The Rakino Channel and worm beds will be holding fish, and everybody should bring home dinner.

People in the holiday destinations will bemoan the lack of fish, vowing not to return in future until late January when the traffic eases. And locals will leave their boats on the trailer and wait until school starts before getting serious about chasing fish.

There are some solutions. The smart money will go on those prepared to get out of bed early. Fish will still move in to feed during the night, and fishing at night is always an option. Otherwise be on the water with baits out at the first hint of dawn.

Give youngsters the pleasant task of catching sprats or yellowtail off the local wharf. If they can snare a piper or two, even better. Use the results for fresh bait. There's always the chance of hooking a john dory on a live bait anchored to a ledger rig at the same time, particularly in places like Whangamata, Whitianga, Russell and Mangonui.

There's nothing wrong with putting out a long-line when first heading out at dawn and picking it up a couple of hours later. That will be the best chance of scoring a meal of fresh fillets, for the baits on a set line lie quietly on the sea floor, undisturbed by boat noise, anchors dropping and chains rattling. The long line is best baited with small chunks of sprat or yellowtail which will deter the crabs and small fish which quickly pick off soft baits. Also, large snapper prefer such baits so the catch will include some respectable specimens which will earn large dollops of envy back at the boat ramp as others return fishless.

There is always the option of dragging a bait net in the shallows, and early morning is also a good time for this if it coincides with a full tide. A couple of handfuls of mashed stale bread will lure the small fish into the target zone.

The other approach to increase the odds of scoring a bag of fish is to downsize the gear used. Leave the heavy-duty, thick rods teamed with large reels and powerful line in the garage. That's fine for dropping big weights and baits in 100m-plus of water, but closer to home, it's overkill. More fish will always be hooked on slender rods, fine line and small weights.

Trout anglers will discover they can do well when they come across a school of kahawai or trevally bunched up on the surface with small, white terns fluttering and squeaking overhead. These fish feed on plankton, krill or tiny fish, and a trout fly like size 8 Grey Ghost or a tiny pink or grey nymph cast into the melee will provoke endless strikes.

Freshwater
Even more important - get out of bed early and be home for breakfast and to put on the smoker.

Tip of the week
Take only what you need to eat and to supply friends. Fish is best fresh, not in the freezer.

Bite times
Bite times are 1.20am and 1.50pm today and tomorrow at 2.20am and 2.45pm. These are based on the phase and position of the moon, not tides, and apply to the whole country. More fishing action can be found on Rheem Outdoors with Geoff, 6.30am Saturdays, TV3, and www.GTtackle.co.nz.