Fishing: We've weathered storms

Dolphins and gannets are a magnet for boats searching the Hauraki Gulf. Photo / Geoff Thomas

Fishing is all about the weather, and after some serious weather going from one extreme to the other, things are looking brighter.

Around Auckland there are some good snapper being picked up at 35 metres north of The Noises, over the worm beds off Rakino Island and east of the Ahaaha Rocks.

From the area north of Kawau Island up to Omaha there are also good reports of snapper moving south with schools of pilchards. One large work-up could be found east of Kawau last week, and that area should just get busier.

The west coast should also fish well after recent weather stirred up everything. One area that is popular after a storm is fishing at 30 metres, south of the Manukau Bar. You find that the fishing usually comes on as dirty water starts to clear. This also applies to trout streams, to harbours and inshore waters after stormy weather.

All the signs of spring are turning up, including kowhai trees in flower. But the fish are not yet consistently hot in one spot, and what works one day can be barren the next. The answer is to look around, using the depth sounder to look for patches of fish on the bottom or schools of bait fish in midwater; and there are more fish on the sand than over foul at the moment. The other obvious indicator is birds working, and that is always a magnet that charges up every snapper angler's attitude.

When approaching a work-up it is not a good idea to drive through the centre, as some boats often do, but check the direction of the current by dropping some berley, then drifting down current away from the activity.

In water of 30 or 40m the snapper will be some distance away from the surface action as the current carries scraps down to them. If the motor is switched off you will often find pilchards or anchovies sheltering under the boat, and the fish will come to you. A landing net can also be used to scoop up some fresh bait, which is the best option to use. You are giving the fish what they are feeding on.

But lures like jigs and soft plastics are also a good way to find the snapper and after locating the fish you can always drop the anchor and start bait fishing, or motor back up and repeat the drift. This type of fishing is about as exciting as it gets, and from now through to Christmas should be easier to find.

This time of year is also good for targeting john dory, affectionately called johnnies. Like kingfish, they can be relatively easy to catch when the right technique is employed. For kings, it is presenting a live piper, kahawai or mackerel tethered under a balloon or on the seabed, or slow-trolled around a reef. Live baits are also the key to catching johnnies.

They are occasionally caught by accident when they swallow a small snapper which has been hooked, but dropping a live yellowtail or jack mackerel when fishing over, or on the edge of, a patch of foul or reef will catch the strange-looking fish.

The livie can be hooked through the back on a recurve hook rigged as a ledger above a heavy sinker. If the sinker is too light the bait will swim in circles, tangling other lines.

It can also be fished well away from other rods, up the front of the boat with the rod in a holder or lashed to a side rail, with the drag lightly set and the ratchet or clicker on to signal a strike.

Johnnies feed on live prey, and drift up to small fish before opening their telescopic mouths engulfing the meal along with a mouthful of water which is expelled out through the gills. This propensity for live prey also makes them vulnerable to jigs or soft baits, but such lures are usually fished from a drifting boat.

This weekend sees one of the best moon phases of the month and after a new moon last Monday we are heading to the first quarter on Monday.

There is a lot written about the influence of the moon, but one seasoned and very successful angler always maintained that, "if you can see the moon in the sky, that is when you will have the best fishing". It is not hard to plan; just look in the paper or online and check when the moon rises. There is no doubt it does have an influence.

Fresh water
Fish and Game in Rotorua report the most spawning trout recorded in Lake Tarawera this winter.

Fisheries officer Matt Osborne said: "We finished our fish trapping for the season at the end of August, with a very high total – 2100, the highest on record, and the condition of the fish was really nice. The condition picked up a lot following the summer period where they weren't at all great."

He was referring to the fish trap on the Te Wairoa Stream, at the Tarawera Landing. He added : "Also our drift dives in the Outlet picked up more than we had seen since 2006, peaking in July with 1000 spawners."

Tip of the week

When live-baiting for kingfish a soft bait lure can be hung on a hook set above the live bait as a second attractant. The swimming action of the bait will impart enough movement to the lure, and it will often hook a john dory or snapper.

• Bite times

Bite times are 4.30am and 4.55pm tomorrow and 5.20am and 5.45pm on Sunday. More fishing action can be found at GTTackle.co.nz