Fishing: Hook, line and surviving

Galvanised or regular steel hooks will rust in salt water, helping fish survival chances. Photo / 123RF

A fisherman from Orewa was surprised when he pulled in a 14kg kingfish off Waiheke Island recently, only to find the fish had a hook and a section of line hanging from its mouth.

"The stainless steel hook in the photo was deeply embedded in the corner of the jaw," said Dave Blackwood. "Judging by the weed growth on the heavy nylon trace this fish was hooked and lost a long time ago. The trace is joined to the hook with a Japanese long-line knot, and the fish would have to have broken off on something sharp.

Interestingly, the hook was still extremely sharp, which says a lot for this brand of hook," he said.

The kingfish was in good condition, which illustrates how fish can survive being hooked and breaking off with a hook and some line still attached.

Fishermen can learn from this experience and take steps to ensure fish have an increased chance of survival when they are to be released. For example, using galvanised or regular steel hooks rather than stainless steel hooks helps fish which carry a hook in their mouth, as these hooks will rust away in the salt water.

Recurved or mutsu hooks rather than octopus or straight-pointed hooks also helps as, like long-line hooks, they will invariably hook the fish in the corner of the jaw rather than being swallowed.

These hooks are easy to remove, and if the fish breaks the line it has a better chance of surviving than if it has swallowed the hook.

Snapper are running well around Great Barrier Island, with good fish in deeper water around 40 metres, and in the bays in the evenings.

Geoff Thomas

When a fish is deep-hooked in the throat or gut, it is better to cut the line as close as possible to the mouth and leave the hook, allowing the fish to swim away.

Game fishermen always use recurved or circle hooks when using bait, for the same reason. Although straight-pointed hooks — which are usually stainless steel — are used for rigging lures, tuna, sharks and marlin which take lures are invariably hooked in the mouth.

Summer means water temperatures have gone from below normal to extra warm, reaching 24 degrees in parts of the Hauraki Gulf and offshore.

This is one reason the game fishing season started so well, and has also triggered snapper spawning which can make fishing hard while the fish concentrate on reproducing rather than feeding. But when it is finished they do go on the bite to regain condition lost during the rigours of spawning.

In the Firth of Thames fishing has picked up now the holiday season has ended. Fishing around the mussel farms has improved after the calm conditions through January combined with the annual influx of fizz boats speeding everywhere made fishing hard during the day. Those who were on the water very early would do all right, but the late starters struggled to find a fish. And the pattern has been repeated all around the coast.

Snapper are running well around Great Barrier Island, with good fish in deeper water around 40 metres, and in the bays in the evenings.

There are also a lot of marlin outside the Barrier, and some yellowfin, spearfish and mahimahi are also being taken, which shows how warm the water is.

A kayak or dinghy is a good option for catching snapper because fishing in a few metres of water is producing good results in many areas, from the East Coast Bays to the firth.

One party in a small boat brought home 14 snapper when fishing in three metes of water in the early morning near Thames last week, and they did not have to return any small fish.

In shallow water a big boat is a handicap, as the noise scares fish, and of course a dinghy or kayak is much quieter and less intrusive. In small aluminium boats a sack or section of old carpet on the floor will reduce noise from feet and dropped sinkers. Noise is transmitted through water far more efficiently, and louder, than through the air.

Light line and floating baits cast well away from the boat combined with a strong berley trail are the key when fishing the shallows, and it can be a lot of fun and challenging when large fish are hooked.

Fresh bait such as mackerel or piper is always worth trying, and it does target the larger fish which helps when there are a lot of small ones around. And there is always the chance of a john dory taking the livie, which is a bonus. But a whole or half pilchard is the most popular bait for casting in the shallows, and a current is critical. It is a question of working the tides, and planning trips so the wind and tide are running in the same direction.

Freshwater
Caddis and mayflies on the Tongariro River are producing some dry fly action, and some nice fish are coming from Lake Rotoaira where a small green nymph imitating a damselfly larva works well when fished along the edge of weed beds.

In Rotorua, jigging on the deep lakes is working well, as the lakes stratify into layers in the hot summer conditions.

And on shallow lakes such as Rotorua and Rerewhakaaitu the cold water stream mouths are holding good numbers of trout, including some large browns off the Ngongotaha, Hamurana and Waiteti Streams.

Tip of the week

When bottom dunking for snapper a chunk of pilchard on a recurved hook on a flasher rig is hard to beat. It is important that the hook rolls round under the backbone of the pilchard section so it can not be easily torn off the hook. The blood and juices from the gut cavity get the fish biting, while the head and tail sections can be fired over the side as berley. More fishing action can be found at GTTackle.co.nz.

• Bite times

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