August
PRESENTED BY OUR FRieND’S AT HUNTING AND FISHING NORTH SHORE
Winter fishing continues to be dominated by work up action and some large snapper are being caught. A customer of ours caught a 26lber in late July. The water temperature is still pretty cold at 13.50C. As it warms more and more snapper will move in to the gulf and the work up fishing will keep getting better in the weeks/months ahead. Since the July report the work up action has been moving further into the Gulf as expected. Regular work ups can be found from Mangawhai to Omaha. Also around flat rock, Little barrier and East of Tiri.
SNAPPER
On the 7th August I was fishing at the end of the Coromandel and there were some very large work ups. Thirty or more whales had congregated with large schools of dolphins and they were herding pilchard schools. The pilchards were been thrown high into the air by the whales and you could smell a strong bait odour in the air. Outstanding to see. However what was remarkable was the snapper were absent from this mega party. We made several attempts casting our lures through the work ups without even getting a bite. Eventually we moved on back towards Auckland and quickly found more work up action that had good numbers of reasonable sized snapper under them. It pays to keep searching around until you find the fish.
Slow jigging with sliders and jigs is the most common work up fishing method and its certain to catch fish. Personally I have had better success Soft baiting. On windy days I use the heavy head banger soft bait. On the calm days use a 1oz jig head and a 5 inch soft bait (such as the Crushed Kina, Motor oil or Baby bass jerk shads). These have been doing the damage. You just have to be patient and let the bait get down to the bottom. Remember cast as far as you can up stream of your drift at a 20 degree angle. Then leave your bail arm open to allow the lure to descend. Watch the line as the lure falls. Any sudden increase of line speed or the line stopping is generally to be considered as a take so, strike. Once the lure hits the bottom work it slowly and if you miss a take keep working the lure slowly they will often take 3-4 times before you hook them.
Stray lining the shallows with lots and lots of burley is still producing some good fishing. Make sure you have got plenty of current flowing and be patient.
GURNARD
At this time of the year Gurnard move into the gulf from flat rock to the East Coast bays. Our guys have been catching some nice ones. Some of the team have had good success targeting them on small soft baits, with the addition of secret sauce scent. Work those soft baits really slow or simply drag them on the bottom as you drift along. It’s a great way to spend an afternoon. And don’t forget that the tried and tested bait and burley works well if you simply want to anchor up and let them come to you. Gurnard tend to hang in the same patches so move around to find the fish.
BLUEFIN
Waihau bay is still firing for Bluefin. A new way of catching them is jigging for them at night and this is proving to be super effective. Boats are reporting catching 10 in night session. Matt and Anton (who work at the Westgate hunting and Fishing store) headed down to Waihau and caught two Bluefin within a few hours.
Come in and see us at the shop. We would love to see you at North Shore Hunting and Fishing. We loving giving the latest fishing news and advise on gear. So swing in and see me Dave or one of the fishing experts in store and good luck ‘out there doing it’.
For fishing and tackle advice, talk to Dave and his team at Hunting and Fishing North Shore
NorthShore.Store@huntingandfishing.co.nz
Tel 098693331
