Fishing: Great Barrier trip hauls in trophy fish

The Dirty Dozen fishing club members mentioned in last week's column went to Great Barrier in the filthiest conditions with extremely high winds - and slayed it.

There were nine fish caught over the trophy mark of 20lb (9.07kg) with our regular Manukau Harbour reporter John Moran nailing the biggest at 24lb (10.89kg).

He didn't win top prize, though, which goes to the highest average weight over five fish. That went to Blake Powell, whose average weight over five fish was 7.4kg.

All the big fish were males, and all were caught in the shallows. Those who fished deeper water caught pan-sized snapper.

Moran said they hid behind Rabbit Island in the lee of 120km/h gusts and caught fish in 2m and less. "The bait didn't matter but the line weight did. We had to use light gear and so of course we were getting busted off left, right and centre. But it was great fishing."

The big snapper had been feeding on little paua and some had cray legs in the gut. His advice if you want to try land-based fishing from the Barrier's many ledges: "Take heaps of berley. Once we ran out we didn't get a bite."

Elsewhere the snapper fishing remains patchy. Around Auckland as in Northland there have been some big fish taken but plenty of anglers are coming home with just a few pan-sized fish despite putting in plenty of effort.

The opening day fishing in the Rotorua district was spectacular for the big fish caught. Rotorua local David Bach landed a 7.2kg brown from the Ohau Channel and also took a 5.6kg fish. Six fish in excess of 4.5kg were taken from the channel. Best gear has been fast-sinking line with the flies of choice being the Jack Sprat, Grey Ghost and Parsons Glory.

On Rotoiti the 2-year-old trout are the largest seen in nine years, averaging more than 2kg and in good condition, said Steve Smith of Fish and Game. Smelt activity in the shallows means shallow trolling and harling are the best method, with some fishers scoring in the deep with jigging but the results slower. Best spots included the Delta, Gisborne Point. Tasmanian devils work well.

On Tarawera and Rotorua the fishing was a bit harder after the cold, blustery weather, but the fish caught are big and in good nick. On Sunday the Ngongotaha hatchery is holding a kids' fishing instruction day.

The Tongariro River was "up and down like a yo-yo" during the week, said Jared Goedhart from Sporting Life in Turangi.

It was thanks to two Aussie anglers on the banks of the Tongariro a fortnight ago that I learned of changes to regulations regarding the taking of New Zealand fish across the Tasman. As part of a review following the terrorist activity of late, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service changed its regulations for food.

Fish must be prepared by a commercial packing house, and you must carry a certificate to state so. In the case of smoked fish they want to see a label telling how long the fish was cooked for and at what temperature.

The commercial smokers have the required label. Best method to satisfy the inspectors is vacuum-packing. Each person is now limited to 5kg of seafood when there did not used to be any restriction bar the 20kg airline baggage limit. You can get precise details at www.aqis.gov.au (see link below).