Bay of Islands

fishing report

November 12, 2021

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Hi team. This month up in the bay is shaping up to be as good, if not better than the last few years, which is saying something given that the fishing here continues to be simply awesome usually. Thanks to Covid’s effects on travel, we’ve certainly been impacted as a commercial business, and really look forward to eventually getting more clients up this way to enjoy it with us. Without the tourists, and a large majority of people who want to come up from Auckland and further south, it’s very quiet up north and for the whole region that means less pressure on the fishing.

***Tasty puka out wide, if you get sick of all the big snapper!***

What does this mean to those that can fish? Well, if it’s snapper you are targeting, all of the inner reefs are covered with school fish.

Whether you’re bait fishing or drifting, using the huge amount of lures available, soft baits, sliders, inchikus etc, a good day can be had for all at the moment.

We’ve been using the new Catch bigger 10 inch and 7 inch soft baits and kaburas, and we are getting some great results, particularly first thing in the morning and over the tide change.

The general rule I like, is with no tide flow, hit the soft baits and lures, and when the tide starts up get a bit of burley going and the fish can’t resist coming up to feed.

The berley and stray lining can be off the charts with top spots currently, Mitas foul, Centre Foul, Whale Rock, Onslow Rock, and Tapeka.

There are also some really good fish schooling and mooching about out around the 50 metre line feeding over the sand, and these fish will readily take asoft bait if you can get it down, but love the kabura style lures also, and often having one of these in the rod holder will catch fish of the day with the heavier 120 to 150 gram lures dragging along the seafloor.

On the kingfish front, there are large amounts of baitfish, anchovies and small mackerel, packed into the middle ground and a few good kingfish starting to gather around after them.

It will only get better as the fish start to move in from the deeper reefs to take advantage of the food on offer.

For best results try to get out early, as there can be a huge amount of boats on the water which tends to put the fishing down a bit.

The men in grey suits are there as per usual, so bear that in mind if you are on lighter gear.

It can be hard to get a fish past the sharks when jigging and heavier gear does mean the fish can be muscled in a bit more spending less time sending out those ‘come eat me’ signals to the bronzies.

The 71 metre reef and along the Dog at Cape Brett can produce some big, heavy kingfish this time of year, and with Wairere just around the corner, these spots scream big fish.

The huge array of surface lures that are becoming more popular are definitely worth throwing around the trevally schools, and can certainly produce some amazing hook ups on the surface, often of the bigger kings.

Out wider, the water temp is now getting up there, so it’s only a matter of time before the marlin and tuna start to show.

Last couple of years has seen a good welcome back to more yellowfin, and with temps around 20 to 21 degrees already up north and a good 19 to 20 degrees down in the bay I CAN’T WAIT for some of this action!

Over the next few weeks, we should start to see a lot more fish starting to gather under the bait schools in and around the bay, and the whole inner bay area will likely really fire to life.

It’s a great time to fish! So, join us, or we will see you out there.

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Be safe, tight lines

Regards Darren

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This report provided by Darren Knapping, Days Out Fishing Charters

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