Fishing: Searching for right solitary rocks can yield crayfish on flat seabed

Ginty (left) and Andy Morrogh were up early to catch these trout on Lake Tarawera. Picture / Geoff Thomas

We often refer to the relationship between small bait fish and the species we like to catch. This is particularly relevant with the common jack mackerel, or yellowtail, and snapper. But there is another pairing that few people may know about. It involves diving, or setting pots, for crayfish.

Where there is a large reef structure, it is pretty obvious that it is potentially good country for crays. But in some places, like much of the Bay of Plenty, there is a huge amount of water with no serious reefs.

What the local divers do is look for a rock on the depth sounder. It is usually a single, round rock sticking up from the flat seabed. And if it has fish on top, then you stop and jump in. The fish are commonly maomao or tarakihi or mackerel. But if there are no fish, then don't bother as there won't be any crayfish either.

People often ask, "Where can I find some crayfish around Auckland?" You can forget about checking the piles under the harbour bridge, but there are certainly crays around the Waiheke Island coast, and some of the foul bottom between Maria Island and Durville Rock is reputed to hold crays. Kawau Island has been hot this summer for crayfish, according to some of the local fishermen. And the Manukau Harbour inside the entrance is well known but divers have to work the tides and avoid strong currents. It is also important to watch for the jungle of fishing lines trapped in the rocks as visibility is not great.

Water temperatures are up to 20C and snapper will be in the middle of their spawn and may not be partial to baits, but the spawning takes place over a long period and the fish that have finished will be hungry as they regain condition.

The inner channels and the Waitemata Harbour should pick up with recent hot weather, and the number of rods sticking out along the foreshore under the harbour bridge is always a clue that the fish are in the harbour. Drifting and dropping soft baits or slow jigs is a good way to cover the water, and boats can often be spotted doing this off the Navy base and off the container terminal. But have consideration of other harbour users, and keep out of the ferry lanes.

Further afield, if concentrations of birds and dolphins can't be found - and work-ups have slowed a little - then another approach is to motor along until you see a school of bait fish in midwater. These are usually mackerel like yellowtail, and it will be a good spot to stop and drop the anchor.

The first game fish are turning up but are still well offshore, with a yellowfin and a bluefin tuna caught off Great Mercury Island in 600m of water.

The reefs in the Bay of Plenty are holding plenty of kingfish, with specimens heavier than 40kg recorded, and good numbers of snapper.

In Tauranga Harbour kingfish and trevally can be found around wharf piles and other structures. Drifting past marker buoys and dropping a lure is a good way of checking to see what is around, and both species will take jigs and soft plastics. Snapper to 3kg can also be hooked around the wharves.

Soft plastics over the sand is producing pannie snapper off Matarangi. The deep pinnacles around Cuvier Island have also been fishing well, for snapper and kingfish.

In the Bay of Islands there are reported to be good numbers of snapper on the centre foul, and in 40m-50m under the birds.

The west coast has been going off, with some parties boating their limit of good snapper in less than an hour while fishing at 50m off Raglan.

Freshwater

In Rotorua, lake temperatures have jumped by about two degrees, topping 18C. This usually signals the start of two distinct types of fishing - fly fishing at cold-water stream mouths, and jigging on the deep lakes. But it takes a sustained period of hot, settled weather for this to kick off.

Spots like the Awahou and Waiteti stream mouths on Lake Rotorua start firing around Christmas depending on weather conditions, and the word spreads quickly so it is easy to see by the number of rods whether it is happening.

The deep lakes stratify in hot weather, separating into layers where temperature changes and where they meet - called the thermocline - is where schools of smelt congregate in vast numbers, attracting the trout. The smelt and trout can be located on a good fish finder, and this is where jig fishing with small smelt flies is so deadly. It is strategic fishing, where finding the concentrations of fish is critical, but once mastered it is an efficient way of catching trout. As they are caught on light tackle they can be released unharmed.

Tip of the week

As summer holidays approach discussion often turns to treatment options for sandfly and mosquito bites. As well as commercial deterrents the old concoctions like a mixture of dettol and baby oil surface; but one treatment came from a place where insect bites are a part of life - Darwin - where "Woolly", a fishing guide, offered his solution. "Put the hottest water you can stand on itchy bites. It opens the pores and clears it up."

Bite times

Bite times are 3.50am and 4.15pm today and tomorrow at 4.40am and 5.10pm. More fishing action can be found at www.GTtackle.co.nz.