Fishing: West is best, least out east

By PETER JESSUP

Holiday fishing has been patchy like the weather, the west coast producing far more reliably than the east, barring the off-shore islands.

Big snapper have been taken around the Barrier, near the Mercs off Coromandel and off the Cavallis up north.

The Raglan area continues to fire and in all spots the big fish are in 30-40m over foul ground.

But other than that clubs report a slow start to the year, fish few and far between and no consistency in their location or bait preference.

Only one gamefish has been weighed-in at the Whangaroa club, a 101kg striped marlin.

The water is still too cold.

Best fishing around Auckland has undoubtedly been on the Manukau. The much-maligned harbour is clearer than it was and shellfish and fish appear to be returning in numbers. Several theories abound as to why: the upgrade of the Mangere treatment ponds, a slowing of the subdivision of and resulting siltation from land around Manurewa and Papakura, or the gradual flushing of residual waste from the septic tank overflows from Laingholm to Huia, that area now all connected to city recycling.

Whatever the reason, cockle, pipi and tuatua beds are in an improved state and the fishing reflects that.

An angler in a Huia club contest last weekend caught a blue cod, another a red moki, both species unheard of in the Manukau. Others report the return of slimy mackerel, not seen for some years. If mackerel are in, kingfish will soon follow.

The scallop beds on the Manukau are not in good shape numbers-wise but effort will produce a limit bag of decent size, good-condition shellfish. The beds off Kaiterakihi and Cornwallis have been hammered and most of the scallops seem to have moved further up-harbour. If further control is needed here a ban on dredges should be tried as first measure, divers well aware of the damage they cause - maybe four scallops smashed for each retrieved?

Snapper are plentiful on the Manukau. Good pan-sized fish can be had by fishing a whole pilchard on the bottom well back from the boat, in the tail of a berley trail. Ledger rigs will still produce gurnard, unusually late for them. Most Manukau anglers are reporting mixed bags, including trevally and kahawai.

Light line is the secret out there. East coast rigs will not work. It's all over sand so there is no need for 10-15kg gear - 2kg will get results. There's been great sport cast-and-retrieve and fly-fishing in the shallows of beaches from Titirangi to the heads in recent days, kahawai chasing big schools of mullet in the shallows as the tide peaks and turns.

A trick that might produce a crayfish - or at least give the kids some entertainment: Fill an old stocking with any old bait and sling it out on a rope while rock-fishing. One column contributor tells of watching some young Maori boys use a rotting sheep's head near Tairua - they scored four bugs.

Returns for trout fishers have been more consistent than those at sea with all the lakes producing well. Harling is good in the shallows at Taupo as fish chase smelt. Jigging appears to be working best on Rotorua and both Tarawera and Okataina have produced big fish, the best a 70cm, 5kg rainbow from the latter according to Steve Smith of Eastern Fish and Game.

The Owahou stream mouth near Ngongotaha started to fire about a fortnight ago and, as the weather has warmed and settled, browns have been coming into the edges of Lake Rotorua.