Hauraki Gulf

fishing report

February 28, 2020

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Ed note: NZ Fishing World has been out in the gulf for most of the week trying to find some more yellowfin tuna out behind Great Barrier. No luck there this time. We headed north of Barrier to the 155 and back towards the Mokes with no yellowfin, but were happy to make do with a consolation prize of albacore. These tasty little cousins were in quite close in about 120 metres so well within reach of the shelter of the Island. We didn’t hit any marlin, but could hear on the radio a blue was dropped not far away. The mighty Mokes were a welcome break from the trolling and we managed some really solid pannies on a pretty consistent bite just drifting off the north-east sides of Fanal Island and Maori Rocks. Strong currents meant big lures were needed, so 200 gram jigs and 150 gram plus kaburas did the job nicely. Interestingly, just as bite time kicked in around 6.00pm, there were huge workups with dolphins and gannets bursting up widespread between Little Barrier and Great Barrier, which looked like they would produce great fishing, but there was not a sign of any snapper under them. We fished the area even though the sounder was reading nothing, and sure enough just picked up the odd small fish. That has been a common experience out there lately, so workups do not necessarily translate to snapper at the moment. There’s a lot of bait sign out in the central gulf, so if you’re heading out it pays to fish and move on quickly if they are not biting. Once you do find some good sign it can all happen pretty quickly, so invest the time into searching with the sounder. Fishing around Rakino in the shallows also produced reasonable snapper. Here’s the Espresso Report:

Espresso Report for 28 February

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False Killer whales leaping around (no small feat!) enthralling lucky onlookers in the Hauraki Gulf, black marlin spied scything through the Gulf’s water with the striped variety not far from Gt. Barrier outer shores as well!

And then there’s a jelly-fish bloom happening around various inner Auckland shorelines and bays, the summer heat is turned to ‘High’.

Sharks have a regular diet of kingfish at Anchorite rock, most bite-sized kings (for a Bronze Whaler) are presented on the end of a thin tether for them – yes lots of schooling kingfish there and the sharks seem to be waiting for anglers to arrive and provide lunch.

Better luck at landing a struggling kingfish may be had elsewhere like Channel or Horn or even Flat Rock. The inner islands around Davids/Noises are a good place to have a look at – if there are flurries of terns concentrated there may well be a school of kingfish on the hunt, top water bliss as they move in and around the rocky terrain.

Similarly, along the Whangaparaoa coastline, mainly south side which has helped during the recent northerlies, a lot of baitfish with attention from mackerel, kahawai and in tow some reasonable snapper too.

It will take a bit of hunting around though as the bait schools pop up several hundred metres away from where they last were – the big chase is on underneath the serene surface. What type of lure? A little darting soft bait, perhaps the baby kahawai coloured ‘Livie’ soft bait for instance, or a Lil’ Squidwing either trolled, blipped/dragged along near the bottom, or a micro-jig (zinc alloy Baby Boss for lighter longer drops).

Fun times, close and challenging fun particularly on light tackle.

*More birds than fish?? Workups a bit like that this week*

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The workup scene has seen a lot of splinter groups, smaller attack pods of dolphins spread out over wider areas, rather than big congregations, which can often mean moving goalposts in terms of snapper presence underneath.

The 40-44m depth is doing well, lots of attention from north of Tiri right across to mid Waiheke, spread out fast ‘n furious eruptions. Further out more by Anchorite some of the little hot-spots can hold for a longer bringing in bigger models of snapper.

So it’s a bit of a dice roll, stay in closer, or head out for a bigger pot-o-gold? When it’s on the snapper are feeding ferociously so a big, fluttering meal is ideal – the new Deep-V slow pitch jig is ideal in this scenario to target those extra-big red snapper and kings at the same time with it’s sideways wafting faltering fall. https://www.catchfishing.pro/product/deep-v-slowpitch/

A steady drift fish with the famous White warrior Kabura, with the slow drift the smaller sizes been the stand-out winner making the difference between heading home grumbling about stupid fish, or heading home planning the fresh fish dinner.

Whether you prefer the original Freestyle Kabura or the new Beady Eye Kabura. Easy. https://www.catchfishing.pro/product/beady-eye-kabura/

The change of tide in the morning and evening has been great for fishing at those times, however during the day there can be long waits or short sharp bursts of bite. With the high tide more towards midday coming up – this should make for some even more rewarding fishing for many, particularly the workups.

Enjoy!

Espresso.

For WaveDancer Charters: Visit www.wavedancer.co.nz to make a booking.