Over the last twenty years or so, I have fished the Hauraki Gulf with a number of keen fishos from the South Island. Getting them to think outside the square took a bit of doing as all they knew was how to fish basically a ledger rig. Stray-lining ground bait and burly using the wind and tide to your advantage was never on their radar. As I would say to them and point out on the fish finder, “Habitat is where it’s at. “Find the food, and you find the fish.
Often, within a week of getting home, they ring and bang on about how they took what I showed them on board and are having great delight in bragging to other boaties of what they caught. Traditional methods of fishing handed down from father to son are now slowly being changed with the advent of social media TV shows and younger generations being prepared to try soft-baiting topwater lures and game fishing.
What I write about is largely the area of the Hauraki Gulf, where the fish are and how they are feeding as it changes month by month, often at this time of the year, week by week. By all accounts, from the intel I get from fishos in the South Island that are like me, taking their surroundings and what mother nature is doing on the day, there appear to be many similarities in the South as it is in the North. Hopefully, Hanie’s Hunter Facebook followers in the south will read my reports and be prepared to try some of the techniques we use; you will never know unless you give it a go. We want to hear how our Haines Hunter friends get on over the summer.
From the “Can you believe it department. “
There have been a number of good weather days to go out for a fish. Still, Murphy’s Law will always apply the good weather days will have the wind against the tide and a ratshit moon phase to boot. No matter what phase the moon is in, the fish will come on the bite at some point of the tide, and the bite time can be as little as an hour. Time to think outside the square; different to a few weeks ago, the snapper are now feeding on shellfish, crabs and worms and are more aggressive on the bite.
In the last few months, I have found more and larger snapper in depths of twenty meters out, but when the moon phase, etc, is all bad news and few fish showing on the sounder, I have moved right in close to target snapper on the sand in 5-10 meters. Again, with only the odd fish showing up in time to think outside the square, fish one rod with a tiny 1/8th oz sinker and the other with no weight at [ what I call a floater], both cast out at different angles and distances from the boat. While dropping a ledger rig to target some gurnard, the first rod bent almost to the water; as I grabbed that, the other rod went off, as well as the gurnard rod. Both snappers were landed, each between 6 and 8 kg, and both were male. Repeating this over the next hour, the rod without any weight out fished the one with the sinker; what I noticed was that even though it is only a 1/8th oz sinker, the snapper would feel the slight resistance and drop the bait but rig a fresh jack mac nothing would stop them scoffing it.
Soft baiting and jig fishing have been a bit hit and miss, with a lack of work-ups from Little Barrier South. Kawau and the inner islands are fishing well, as it appears there are good schools of snapper hanging around till they have spawned. Try stray lining with fresh bait right on close around 10-12 meters on dawn off Orewa beach.
Out on the worm beds, it’s a bit patchy but anchored up burly, and ground bait will bring a few around, but use only just enough weight to take the bait to the bottom and cast as far away from the boat as possible.
An early run of snapper has made their way up into and past the Rangitoto Motuihe and Rakino channels. If there is just a little sign showing you are better off moving on either into deeper water or looking for the fish as they move up into the shallow water.
The best fishing out around the Noise area closer in on the foul has been on the change of tide, especially at dawn; once the sun is up and the bites drop off, move out into deeper water and look where there is a bit of current. Again, the same applies when fishing on the outside of Waiheke. The most consistent spots are the southern end of Hooks Bay [area 6 spot 12] and 12 meters on the sand on the western side of Pakatoa [area 7 spots 16 and 17]
On the inside of Waiheke again dawn and dusk are the best time to shoot out close to shore in around 3-6 meters, burly really pays off and fresh bait is dynamite as there are a lot of big old males feeding up on the shell fish.
