Wellington / Kapiti
fishing report
April 27, 2023
February 10, 2023
For a start, surfcasting-wise, this year seems to have seen a massive number of really decent sized fish landed up Tehoro Otaki way.
It’s not firing all the time of course, but when the water is nice and clear, particularly around high tide after dark, I know of half a dozen fish over the magic twenty-pound mark having been landed from the shore just in the last couple of weeks.
For consistency, the harbour seems to be better for snapper though, and the latest hot spot that really seems to have fired over the last week or so, is Seatoun wharf, and along the beach there.
More commonly known for gurnard and red cod, this stretch has lately turned up some really decent snaps.
Snapper fishing on the whole is just getting better and better as the years progress in Welly, with good fishing in the Lambton harbour, Eastbourne, and Even’s Bay.
Perhaps it’s the global warming, fisheries management, or whatever other factors that have turned the tide, but whatever is responsible it’s meant snapper are on the menu more and more each season.
This time of the year the Eastbourne side really starts to come on with good snapper, and even better kingfish action.
Sunshine Bay has been a real slide-baiting hotspot, with really good sized fish landed, and some real hogs wrecking gear and busting off a few fisho’s.
Boaties fishing at the Wreck ( Between Mahanga Bay and Somes Island )have been enjoying great catches of snapper, gurnard, trevs, terakihi and of course good kingies that like to hang around the structure.
Live baiting around this feature has resulted in some nice fish landed and a few big bust offs.
Ward Island is also fishing well too, so it’s nice to know there are so many sheltered options in the harbour when the rough stuff arrives from up north.
Off the south coast, the big Palliser Bay moki run never really wound up big time this year, but as a good consolation, the snapper fishing has been absolutely outstanding, if not the best we’ve seen in a long time.
If you know what you’re doing, or just get lucky, it’s not uncommon to see five or six snapper in a session from the shore, and naturally some great results off the boat, even though it can get a bit gnarly out there.
Tuna, mostly albacore but a few skippies too, are plentiful out wide, and you never know what else can turn up out there from broadbill to bluefin.
The west coast is super warm now, and good fishing for pretty much everything.
Albies off Mana and Kapiti, all the west coast reef structures producing snapper, teri’s etc.
Puka fishing is on and off, but you’re generally going to get a good feed of bottom fish if out deep at the turn of the tide does not produce.
Next week or so looks pretty good weather-wise, so it could pay to get in before the cyclone turns up from up north around Wednesday.
Kapiti is certainly fishing well for the usual species, and a lot of boaties are binning a feed, then heading out a little bit deeper off the north end and grabbing a few albacore.
Nothing wrong with the snapper -tuna combo, and as long as water condition continues to be clear and blue this should be a good option for a successful day trip.
Remember to keep an eye on the forecast, stay safe, good luck, tight lines.
Cheers
Pete
https://www.petelambfishing.co.nz/
027 443 9750
Shop - 15 Kingsford Smith St, Rongotai
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