Exciting curveballs are already being thrown this late summer fishing season. Early anchovy schools are swirling around both sides of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, with kahawai smashing them to smithereens with the odd kingfish gliding through the chaos as well. With warm water all in, you can't help but wonder… YFT in the Gulf (Craddock)? Mahi mahi knocking on the gates (Colville)? Stranger things have happened.

Mid-Gulf Musings

The mid-ground has been overrun with tiddler snapper, and many that are sizeable simply act like cats - aloof, unimpressed, and completely uninterested in your finest offerings, because they can. Meanwhile, Great Barrier has been the place for proper kingfish encounters, with topwater, livies, and jigs all producing.

East versus West

Bird life and surface sign along the western/NW side of the Gulf is more active than the eastern lately, though the run of windy days has limited exploration just for the enjoyment of it.

Bluewater Temptations

With mahi sniffing around the edges, who knows what might push in next. If you're heading in/out through the Craddock or Colville channels, it's worth towing a spread. Tuna skirted lures, of course - but don't overlook a Rapala-style diving bibbed lure. They're often overlooked and underused in NZ, lasting for years untouched in a tackle box, but on their day they're absolute dynamite. Round a headland or a shallow rise and you might hook anything from a kingfish to a snapper. Yes, really - snapper on bibbed divers in <10m of water.

The Downtown Bite

Western Rangitoto activity came to an abrupt halt this week. Fingers crossed the birds flock back in over the anchovies and help fill fish bins.

Match the Hatch Madness

When the anchovies are freely available, even the kahawai can test your mental fortitude. You can throw the tackle box at them - cicada topwaters, micro-jigs, the ubiquitous silver-hex wobbler, softbaits, trolling everything short of the kitchen sink - and still get stonewalled. It's like trying to sell a beef-and-bacon burrito at a vegan potluck.

These stunning-coloured kahawai are right beside the boat, boiling the surface, smashing the stragglers of the baitball swirling like a murmuration right there… and still giving you the cold shoulder.

Give me a break. But when you find the key and they finally commit on ultra-light gear, the grin is instant and enormous. They hit like they mean it, charge hard, leap, shake - and you'll drop a fair few. Ten in a row isn't unheard of.

From Chaos to Cuisine

The reward is worth every lost fish. Cajun BBQ (pictured) or smoked kahawai are pure delight. Once cured and smoked, they're a top-shelf treat - rich, savoury, and dangerously moreish. Taste buds go into overdrive, and restraint becomes optional. How's your smokin' goin'? One tip: clean the boat thoroughly after an anchovy-kahawai session. Anchovies spat up by fish can find crevices you didn't know existed. A few days later, sun + bacteria + flies = a very unpleasant surprise.

A Fish Full of Dollars...and, action!

Bill Hohepa is tirelessly pulling together the people, places, and magic needed to turn a dream into reality. Lights, camera, action - the film is taking shape, gaining form, and developing its own personality. It's a privilege to be a small cog in a big wheel surrounded by epic, genuine people. If we had the time, we'd spend far too long swapping fishy stories - days of hero, days of zero - but the scenes won't shoot themselves. One day when Director finally says, 'that's a wrap,' there will be faces and places that will surprise, delight, and intrigue viewers. Homegrown entertainment at its finest @Afishfullofdollars-thefilm

The Joy of Teaching, and Learning

Helping people maximise their fishing success in the Hauraki Gulf - and knowing they can adapt and use those skills anywhere - is one of the greatest rewards. Being aboard their own pride and joy, watching confidence grow, seeing the spark when a technique clicks… sometimes I have to pinch myself. Rayglass owners in particular have embraced the full conversion therapy to bait-free bliss. Their boats are sparkling, smell-free, their fishing is successful, and their smiles are worth gold. Thank you for letting me share 30 years of knowledge with you.

Cheers!

Captain Espresso.

www.fishingcoachpro.com