KEY POINTS:
The easterly blow has prompted kite fishing expert Paul Barnes and guide Neil Sperath to offer a free fishing school this weekend - all you need is a 4WD and lunch.
The long west coast beaches and the Waikato and Mokau River areas have been returning good catches
of good-sized snapper for kite fishers, some over 10kg.
After days of prevailing easterlies the surf will be down and Barnes wants to take the learners to the top end of Muriwai which is traditionally good at this time of year. Go to www.fishingkites.co.nz for information and to register.
Fishing remains hit and miss around Auckland's east coast, some anglers doing well and the soft plastics catching more fish, it seems, but bait getting the bigger ones even if they are fewer in number. Best fishing has been south in the Firth and north to Tiri and Kawau.
Further north it's better, snapper close on the rocks and kayak fishers and rock fishers doing well early morning and in the evening as daylight lengthens.
The easterly should blow in warmer water. It was 15.8C in the Bay of Islands this week, 16.7C outside. Snapper start to school when it climbs over 18C. Charter operator Captain Bucko reported snapper to 10kg in close but not in numbers, smaller 2kg fish in numbers on the middle ground between Roberton Island and Black Rocks. Live bait have been hard to find apart from Russell Point. They remain the best lure for the kingfish at Cape Brett, The Whale and Moturoa Island. Terakihi are being caught at the Cape.
The east coast scallops are in good condition from Northland to Auckland, proving the value in the shift of season. Talk on the Manukau is that they should bring the west coast into line as scallops there are just firming up now.
On the Manukau, trevally are being taken in numbers and size. Gurnard continue to fall to ledger rigs of the Black Magic Terakihi Terror type, baited with small cubes of salted bonito.
Prawn heads are a great bait for snapper or gurnard, stuffed with pilchard mush and wrapped on to a hook. I usually bring raw prawns back after every trip to Aussie but there were no Aussie prawns available in Townsville last week when I was there.
Apparently, the blooms of king prawns that flow south down the Queensland coast at this time of year as the water warms have not turned up. All that was on sale were Chinese and Vietnamese pre-frozen - they don't like to buy out-of-state apparently. The locals were unsure why but as with most things blame global warming and weather pattern change.
Weather again. Disappointed anglers continue to complain about the size of the fish they're catching around Taupo. Many are around the 2lb range, some post-spawning "slabs". It's due to a lack of rain that normally stirs colour into the rivers and sparks spawning runs of older, larger fish. As the lake warms, the runs will pick up.
The experts maintain the prospects of a mild spring are good news, with predictions of a weak La Nina weather pattern rather than the El Nino of last year which brought cold and windy conditions.
Warmer and more settled weather should encourage the large smelt runs which allow the trout to feed up large and so grow quickly and improve in condition.
It's a fact, though, that the DoC traps as well as records fish and statistics show that the average size of rainbows taken from the Taupo district has been steady at around 2.5 pounds since accurate records started in the 70s.
The mild weather is expected to boost numbers at opening day on October 1 in the Rotorua area. Fish and Game expect the average size of trout to have increased to the best in four years. "Fisheries such as Ngapouri and Okaro are literally full of fish and are a fantastic opportunity for the family or getting new anglers under way," said senior officer Rob Pitkethley.
Fish and Game asks anglers to be aware of transferring didymo - dry boats out or wash with detergent when shifting to different waters.
