April

PRESENTED BY OUR FRieND’S AT HUNTING AND FISHING NORTH SHORE

Hunting & Fishing Hauraki Gulf fishing report and tips

The Easter holiday period provided quite a rollercoaster ride thanks to the wild weather, but there were good rewards for the keen or desperate, especially on Monday when the winds abated! Right now the anchovies largely dictate the overall fishing activity (while it’s more to do with the pilchards further out in 35-55m), and that’s fortunate because there are still masses of them around the Hauraki Gulf’s nearshore waters and islands. First, what to look for… Stay alert for groups of fluttering terns in particular, sometimes accompanied by sooty shearwaters, a few seagulls and even a gannet or two. Underneath there will typically be a bunch of kahawai crashing around, perhaps accompanied by rat kings or even a few skipjack tuna. These predators are all relatively fast swimmers, so the encounters are often fleeting; you may need to remain quite mobile to take full advantage using small lures such as small soft-baits (3-5”) or jigs (14-30g). Flasher rigs armed with 4/0-5/0 circle hooks and baited with squid tentacle clumps or salted skipjack strip baits can also be productive in murkier waters with current, but these are still best deployed from a drifting boat if possible to enable quick repositioning if necessary.

Otherwise, anchoring and berleying can hold the local snapper and keep them biting. For best results change over to lightly weighted (¼-1/2oz) stray-line outfits, baited with whole small squid, half pilchards (cut diagonally) or anchovies. If the areas of activity are more stationary or spread over a wide area, simply get close to the action, cut the anchor and commence drifting. The overhead disturbance will attract any nearby snapper in the area to check out what’s on offer; the activity going on also serves to get them excited and on the lookout for potential food. These are the fish you hope to catch. So by all means fish through the action and then hang around a bit longer, as sometimes the injured, dead and dying baitfish take a while to drift down to where the hungry fish are waiting. Some spots: Motuihue, Rangitoto and Motutapu Islands: Despite all the fresh water and debris around the area, there is still lots going on around these islands, and some of the snapper are bigger than usual, with occasional specimens reaching 3.5kg. Most, though, are much smaller – just 25-34cm. These fish are responding well to small soft-baits such as Bait Junkie 3.2” Minnows in Takasagi (Orange) or Copper Flash on Bait Junkie light (⅛-1/4oz) jig-heads armed with #1 hooks or Z-Man TRD MinnowZ in Pearl Blue Glimmer or Shiner, hooked ‘worm-style’ on 3/16oz Finesse EyeZ; 2.5-3” Slim SwimZ can also be lethal, especially in Calico Candy, Disco Cisco and
Bloodworm colours.

Those who prefer jigs should also go small. Shimano Soare Metal Shot TGs are working in all their sizes and colours, as are the Ocean Angler Fleas and Oceans Legacy Rovens in weights of 6-15g, especially those with pink in their colouration. The strong tidal current on the southern side of Motuihe can make fishing a challenge, so it’s recommended that you only fish it with light lures when the tide and wind are going in the same direction. The kingfish have been something of a disappointment though (again); Gardners Gap and Administration Bay used to be so consistent for good sized kingfish, but they have virtually disappeared over the last two seasons. Rangi’ is still producing plenty of snapper, both out on the worm beds off the twin sandy bays in 13-15 metres and in closer – as shallow as 3-4 metres – when the baitfish are being chased around. The Noises and David Islands The baitfish activity has been phenomenal off here – no wonder yellowfin tuna joined the party a week or two back. The skipjack tuna are still around though, with small groups encountered sporadically, and they should remain in the Hauraki Gulf for another month or two. Spin them up using small slender spinners around 20-40g; Oceans Legacy ‘Sling Shots’ and Nomad ‘Ridgebacks’ are perfect. And there are some monstrous mackerel around too; the blue mackerel in particular are taking small jigs and are reaching a couple of kilos – great for bait or sashimi! As for the snapper, they are in massive numbers and super hungry, but the vast majority are 25-32cm, making getting a decent feed remarkably hard. They’re still good fun on light gear though, especially as they are often well up off the bottom  swimming around with the baitfish and other predators, so slowly sinking lures often produce – it pays to keep an eye on your line during the descent and respond quickly if the line behaves unusually. As mentioned, these mostly small fish are hungry, and they have been taking surprisingly big lures, both jigs (up to 100g!) and 5-7” soft-baits, especially those with brighter colours in them, such as pink or orange.

Whangaparaoa and Tiritiri Island
Although the anchovies are here too, they seem to be more sporadic and fast moving, with just kahawai chasing them. For two or three weeks this area has been strangely devoid of snapper, despite big numbers of them north and south!

Kawau Island and Tawharanui
The anchovy activity can still be hot off the sou’-southwestern quarter of Kawau, with everything from kahawai, snapper, rat kings and bronze whalers in attendance, but it has become more sporadic. However, North Channel sees plenty of kahawai and tern action most days, sometimes over large areas right out to the channel entrance, although keeping up with them can prove challenging and frustrating. Again, most of the snapper underneath are small, but in good numbers. For those chasing bigger fish, the 6-15m reefy shallows are the way to go, either casting out 7” soft-baits (Z-Man Bruised Banana and Laguna Shrimp were the way for us recently, probably due to the murky, stirred up water) on 3/8oz jig-heads or lightly weighted whole pilchards, squid or mackerel baits into berley trails. If possible, anchor just ahead of the reefy area and attract the moochers out with berley.

NORTH SHORE HUNTING & FISHING – HERE TO HELP YOU

Please call into North Shore Hunting and Fishing store (1 Holder Place, Rosedale) for any tackle advice, or give me a ring on 0278056056.

If I’m not around, introduce yourself to the fishing staff. The guys have a wealth of Knowledge and decades of experience. The fishing team consists of Mark Kitteridge (famous Kiwi angler and fishing journalist), Justin Russell, Chris Ackerman and Al Mair (who are also very experienced fishermen).

We can also advise you on where to fish and the best techniques to fish for each area. We are always happy to provide you with the latest fishing intel and show you the gear you need to ‘get out there doing it’.