Bay of Islands
fishing report
June 4, 2020
The fishing situation has not changed much from last report, but there are a few noticeable differences brought on by the cold winds and dropping temperatures.
We are finding that it can take a bit more berley to get the fish to come on the chew, as is pretty typical of wintery conditions.
Cruising in quietly and fishing the shallows has been the trick , with stray lined baits or soft baits generally the best methods.
Out a bit deeper try the slow jigs or inchiku style jigs for decent snapper and kingies.
When the big boys are not around, we have still been getting nice bags of really good sized pannies that make great eating.
That's the only updates, otherwise the report below from last month still holds true:
Soft baits have been working really well, the preferred colour for us has been the pilchard coloured ‘Livie’ from Catch Fishing, and big jack mackerel.
We’ve just started using the Catch JG3000 reels which are a great all-round reel capable of handling the big strong fish we get up here, but still being of a compact, comfortable size.
Fishing all along the front of Long beach down towards Rawhiti is a great place to start this time of year.
A bit of berley will get them on the bite on the cooler mornings.
The kingfish have been a bit hard to find so far, but the outer reefs such as Whale Rock, should be hosting some nice models. It’s just a matter of picking the right conditions with a bit of current and the bite on.
If you can get a few good live baits on board then it will inevitably happen.
The next few months are going to see the snapper move into the weed lines and small reefs feeding up on shellfish and kina, so fishing the white water and edges of the sand banks is a good plan.
During the colder times I like to throw some ground bait in to get things wound up a bit as the fish metabolism is a bit slower.
As the water cools off the deeper reefs will start to hold some good kingfish, and just a little bit further out the puka will be starting to move in onto the 250 metre reef systems.
There is a lot of fertile ground, and plenty of deep water species around off the Cape, so get out there, be safe, and remember to always file a trip report or let someone know where you are going.
Now the traffic is down, it’s good for the fishing, but there aren't as many boats out over the winter period to assist you if you run into trouble.
Tight lines
Regards Darren
PS: Feel free to ring me if you are out on the water and having a hard day 😉🎣
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