Fishing: Welcome rain does the trick

The rainfall in the central North Island has brought trout to stream mouths and improved the shoreline fishing no end.

At Rotoiti, fish are coming into the winter spawning areas and on Lake Rotorua they are gathering at stream mouths.

Fish and Game's Steve Smith reports that 80 to 90 trout are regularly being caught overnight in the Ngongotaha trap, and at times as many as half have been browns. Half of the browns have been in the 4kg-plus range, good fishing in anyone's book.

"The rain has really stirred things along," Smith said. "It's still very dry but it's brought them in, particularly on the smaller stream mouths. Shallow trolling has improved, though plenty of fish are still being taken on jigs."

At Taupo, Glenn Maclean reports similar change. The Waitahanui and Hinemaiaia streams are enjoying good runs of fish through the day, mostly in the 2kg range, during southwesterly winds. There are far fewer browns in the Taupo fishery. With the lake level down the mouths, including the delta, are well-defined and easy to fish, Maclean said.

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Although game fishing is ending off the coast it is heating up further offshore, at the Three Kings and Wanganella Banks, where charter boat Ultimate Lady scored 52 billfish in a week while filming for Matt Watson's Fishing Show on Sky.

The banks are a run of volcanic pinnacles and reefs covering a huge area well northwest of Cape Reinga.

While towing underwater cameras, the crew took as many as 11 striped marlin in a day and also got footage of baitfish meatballs. Only one of the billfish was kept; the rest were tagged and released.

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Around Auckland the fishing is patchy. Some good catches of snapper in the 5kg to 8kg range have been reported in the Tiri Channel, off Little Barrier, around the Noises and the Ahas.

But it's been much slower in the Rangitoto and Motuihe Channels.

Fresh squid is the best bait. These can be caught with squid jigs hung below the boat and if you feel light pulling on a pilchard-baited line but every time you pull in there's nothing there, it's squid. Personally, I eat it and use the frozen stuff for bait.

There have been big schools of large kahawai along the east coast bays from Cheltenham to Browns Bay. Follow the working birds. The kahawai are feeding on schools of anchovies in the 3cm size range. They will hit baits but a small trolled lure is best.

The major schools of snapper appear to have headed further out to sea.

They are still thick in the area between Rangitoto and Tiri and in some places on the Firth of Thames.

The Bays Fishing Club holds its fourth annual tournament out of the Browns Bay Club on the weekend of May 14-15, with entrants able to fish anywhere in the area covered by marine chart 53.

Organiser Lawrie McGrath reports good catches of snapper around Tiri and large trevally also being taken. The contest covers all major species and there will be an average-weight snapper winner as well as a size winner.

Bill Hohepa's Honda tournament is held the same weekend.