The big ol’ full moon has passed now, and with that we expect to do a lot better and also see the tidal movements not quite so big.

The inner channels of the gulf and Waitemata can be rather productive even during this peak holiday season, the key is to find where the snapper are holding at the time. Snapper will be found alongside say a bank on one side or area of a channel, and not the other, and it changes as they move around during the day.

So, a bit of prospecting when you arrive can go a long way to provide fish for the day.

Drift fishing between Tiri and Flat Rock mainly to the west of the no-go zone can be a great way to spend a few hours, and put several good fish in the bin. Similarly out in 50m the simple drift fishing approach can also be rewarding and productive.

The mussel farms of the inner areas of the Firth can make for some pretty easy pickings at this time of year.

Gurnard are feeding both in close and out out in the 40m+ depths, an eye catching and excellent table fish too. A great fish to target when the snapper bite is slow and they love both bait and lures.

Game fishing is gathering momentum well, after all it is only mid-January yet up and down both coasts keen big gamers are out there searching for top ocean predators, and there have been some good fish caught on both sides.

It looks like yet another good year for yellowfin, which is awesome to see following last year’s bumper season.

If you have the means to get out into the deep water behind Great Barrier or the Mokes, yellowfin are a genuinely realistic target if you fancy trolling a bunch of shiny plastic things about for the day.

I have not been out enough recently to see how the skipjack action is shaping up, so will keep you posted on the chrome and purple speedsters as the season warms up.

This is a great season to be fishing with tungsten microjigs when out deeper, lead micro jig mid ground or even the ultra-light zinc alloy Boss microjig for even slower descent…be ready for the strike on the drop!

The 40-50m depth drift fishing can turn up some good schools of snapper, and not necessarily under any real surface sign. By real surface sign I mean gannets, dolphins whether active or passively milling around between bouts.

As you motor along or scan around the boat visually take note of the surface life, lots and lots of terns and petrels flying around chasing each other with purposeful flying – could be the food chain party starters, so it’s worth a drop of a prospective lure (the Catch Beady Eye Kabura is the No.1 choice for this).

Note what the sounder says, what is it telling you? Perhaps mid water blotches, potential bait…and what’s on the bottom? Anything? Often some small surface activity can point the way for a whale of a time fishing.

Take time to ascertain what’s going on, after all it is a loosely linked food chain all of the time out there. Sounder sign at all – drop that perfect little prospector lure.

Inner channels first thing in the morning just before high tide flicking a softbait around? Out over ‘worm beds’ between Rangitoto and Whangaparaoa Peninsula with an eye out for a workup? Heading out into the mid gulf to look for a thumper of a workup east of the cable zone east of Flat rock, or go little further and just drift for an hour or two and pick up all sorts of varieties of fish?

The choices are many, and they are all yours 😊

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Cheers,

Espresso.

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This report is supplied by Grant 'Espresso' Bittle from Catch and Wave Dancer Charters.

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

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