A local lad suddenly ran out into the shallows and picked up a john dory which had fallen on to its side and was stranded. What the intrepid "fisherman" was doing was driving the fish into the shallows, like a dog herding sheep, until it could no longer swim upright.
"These are Zane Grey (an American famous for his passion about fishing) rocks!" he explained to the amazed onlookers, applying the sense of humour which is so common in rural areas.
John dory like to hang around any structure, and can often be spotted drifting like a ghostly, pale shadow around the piles of wharves in less populated places like Houhora and Mangonui.
Dory are master hunters and the eat small, live fish. They will hang around rocks, reefs and weed beds and they ambush their prey. Their bodies are are designed so that from in front they are almost invisible, and their mottled colour blends in with surrounding weed and shadows.
The dory drift slowly towards their quarry and when in range they shoot open their telescopic mouth, engulfing water and dinner. The water is expelled out the gills and the fish swallowed.
John dory have a black spot on each flank which in legend is said to be the fingerprints of St Peter, who picked up the fish when Christ was feeding the masses.
An interesting theory, but a bit difficult to prove, although to give credit to the author if one was going to choose a fish to literally pick up the john dory is certainly a good candidate.
A more practical approach is drop a live bait like a sprat or yellowtail, and the johnnies love them. They will also take jigs and soft baits, which of course represent the small fish which dory prey on.
An important approach when boating a hooked dory is to use a landing net, for the hook often falls out if the fish is lifted over the side. And they can be identified when hooked by the slow heavy weight, with occasional tugs, and should be wound in steadily and smoothly with no sharp lifting of the rod or the hook may pull out.
With firm, white flesh dory are tasty table fish and many people rate them higher than most other fish. While a bit fiddly to fillet, when the fillet is removed it is boneless and can be cooked with the skin on as the scales are contained in the skin and are not noticeable; similar to eels and gurnard.
When it comes to finding snapper look for the bait fish. That is the message from experienced fishermen at the moment. There are plenty of fish around, but they are not spread all over the ocean as you often find in mid-summer.
Shoals of kahawai chasing bait fish signalled where the action was in the Rangitoto Channel during the week, and there were some snapper under the activity. Further out there has been a patch of fish at 27 metres, between The Noises and Tiritiri Matangi Island; and also on the seaward side of Kawau Island.
Again, it is a question of looking for birds, or look for sign on the depth sounder indicating schools of bait in midwater.
This is also a prime time for targeting large kingfish with live baits all along the Coromandel Peninsula, and in Northland. Land-based game fishermen specialise in chasing big kings and snapper from rock ledges, and will travel as far as Lottin Point, near East Cape, and Spirits Bay at the top of the country.
A kahawai secured under a balloon is the favoured bait, and tackle should be sturdy stand-up gear which can stop the hard runs of a powerful king.
Some anglers tether themselves to a rock to prevent being pulled into the sea, and it is always important to watch the waves and be aware of the rising tide, for it can be dangerous in rough seas.
Fresh water
One pair of anglers reported excellent fishing while jigging on the Blue Lake, near Rotorua, this week.
This is one lake that receives very little fishing pressure as it is used mainly for boating and rowing events, but in three hours of fishing they landed over a dozen rainbows, not huge but in top condition.
Tip of the week
One approach for targeting dory is to hook the live bait with a small hook through the nose or through the back, say a 3/0, and the reason is that a little hook will not affect the bait like a large hook and it will swim strongly.
But also add a larger hook, say a 6/0 recurve, as a sliding hook on the line above the fish and this one will hook the dory when it takes the bait. More fishing action can be found at GTTackle.co.nz.
• Bite times
Bite times are 8.25am and 8.50pm tomorrow and 9.10am and 9.35pm on Sunday.
