Fishing: New moon means bonanza

Youngsters can catch their first trout at the Ngongotaha hatchery on Sunday. Photo / Supplied

A new moon and big tides tomorrow promise good fishing conditions right through into next week.

The day of the new moon usually produces average fishing, but the following four days are some of the best of the month, according to some commercial fishermen. They say snapper bite well on these moon phases, and with tides peaking at 3.6 metres on the Waitemata Harbour — and at similar high levels elsewhere — there will be strong currents.

This is the key to successful time on the water, as all fish are more active when currents are flowing well. These conditions can be challenging in terms of keeping gear on the sea bed, and the solution is to start in the channels at slack tide and when the current becomes too strong either move out into wide open water, or drift.

Drifting is always a smart approach when fishing is slow, as it covers more water and a drogue or sea anchor is a good investment to slow the boat when wind and tide are brisk, with the rope tied to the bow to keep it riding into the waves.

When using lures the current helps, particularly out wide in deep water but jigs should be heavier to reach the bottom quickly. If dropping baits while on the drift a large ball sinker above a swivel will roll across the bottom and a smaller sinker can be added ahead of the hook to help keep it in the zone. Baits should be tough, to stay on the hook, like squid or strips of fresh kahawai or mackerel.

There have been a couple of bright spots in what has been pretty miserable fishing conditions in lousy weather over the past fortnight. One party heading for Kauri Point at the bottom end of Waiheke Island didn't make it.

They came across some birds on the water, dropped jigs and soft baits and caught snapper. There were also some fish in the channel at Crusoe Rock this week, and a bag of half a dozen nice snapper kept another party happy. Straylining at Motuora Island also produced some large snapper in the berley trail.

August-September traditionally sees the first congregations of snapper before the spring spawning takes place. Shellfish beds in 18 metres of water on the eastern side of Rakino Island usually hold male snapper, and they could turn up any time now.

The normal pattern is for the snapper to move down the coast in large numbers from Bream Bay into the Hauraki Gulf. Some head into the Firth of Thames while others take the western side, past Kawau Island and into the 20m flats between Tiritiri Matangi Island and The Noises and around Waiheke Island.

When the water temperature reaches 18 degrees the spawning is triggered, and this can happen any time from late October through to Christmas. The snapper gather first in separate groups of males and females, then join in mass schools which rise up to the surface for the actual spawning.

The males, in particular, will strike at lures such as jigs and soft plastics, which is just as much about aggression as feeding. They can be distinguished by a rusty orange colouring which develops around the throat and along the belly.

The fish reach sexual maturity at five years old on the east coast, and a year earlier on the west coast which reflects a more productive environment. This is why the legal minimum size is set at 30cm for recreational fishers and 25cm for commercial, so the fish have a chance to spawn at least once before being taken. The variation in the length is to reduce wastage among under-sized fish caught in large nets which have to be returned to the sea, even if dead.

When looking for patches of fish the key is to shift when the tide changes and try different spots, and indicators like birds gathered on the surface or marks on the fish finder are obvious places to try.

Snapper are starting to school on the 20m shelf south of the Ninepin at the Bay of Islands, and the bay is also reported to be full of schools of mackerel which, when fished as live baits in the deeper water, are hooking both kingfish and large snapper. Drifting and throwing soft baits is also producing in the shallows and around the reefs, and in Bream Bay a good snapper was taken just off the Waipu River.

Octopus are also turning up in numbers, proving a nuisance for people pulling their crayfish pots and finding just empty shells. Their tentacles do make an excellent bait for big snapper when dangled from a hook, with the skin removed to reveal the bright, white rubbery flesh. They should be hooked at one end, so the long bait wiggles in the current.

In the Bay of Plenty, some good results are coming from anchoring on the mud at 30 metres, with a berley bag tied to the anchor chain. The killer snapper rig works particularly well here, and the long-line hooks on this rig always hook the fish in the corner of the mouth.

• Fresh water
Youngsters can have their first experience catching a trout at the Fish and Game hatchery at Ngongotaha in Rotorua on Sunday. Children aged between six and 14 years old can catch a trout in the special fish-out pond, under expert tuition from members of the Rotorua Anglers' Association. It is the first of four such days, with more held in September, October and November. Bookings are essential and can be made here.

Tip of the week

When using a trace below a sinker the rule of thumb is, the stronger the current the longer the trace. Some anglers will use a five metre trace in channels when the tide is running, and hooks should be the recurved variety so the fish hook themselves. Conversely, at slack tide a short trace or flasher rig is employed. More fishing action can be found at GTTackle.co.nz.

Bite times
Bite times are 12.10am tomorrow and 12.40am and 1.10pm on Sunday.