Game fishing through January has been red hot in all areas, apart from the eastern Bay of Plenty. The game fishing tournament season starts this weekend with ladies' tournaments at Whakatane, New Plymouth, Whangamata, Tutukaka and the Bay of Islands.
One of the pleasing aspects of the season has been the number of tuna caught - yellowfin, skipjack and albacore.
The smaller tuna are top baits for bottom fishing and for the large predators, but they are also fine table fish provided they are treated properly when caught.
They should be bled immediately by inserting a knife on the lateral line three fingers' width behind the pectoral fin, which severs an artery, then the head and guts should be removed and the fish put into a slurry of saltwater and salt ice.
It is important to reduce the core body temperature quickly as tuna is the only fish which heats up while fighting the line and the flesh will start to go off if left in the sun.
But when bled, cleaned and iced they are beautiful eating. Steaks about 2.5cm thick marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, oil and grated ginger and cooked like a rare steak on a barbecue are hard to beat.
Snapper are running well around Great Barrier Island, with good fish in deeper water around 40m and in the bays in the evenings.
There are also a lot of marlin outside the Barrier, but they are small fish of 70kg or 80kg and are proving hard to hook.
A kayak or dinghy is a good option for catching snapper at the moment, because fishing in a few metres of water is producing good results in many areas.
One party in a small boat brought home 14 lovely snapper after fishing in 3m in the early morning near Thames last week.
A big boat is a handicap in shallow water, as the noise scares fish, and a dinghy or kayak is quieter and less obtrusive.
Light line and floating baits cast well away from the boat combined with a strong berley trail are the key when fishing the shallows.
Freshwater
Rain this week put some much needed fresh water into the streams running into Lake Taupo.
The lake level is low, which means strong rips at the stream mouths, and night fishing is picking up. The trout are reported to be in top condition.
While there has been some cicada activity, it is not a great summer for hatches of the large insects, but caddis and mayflies on the Tongariro River are producing some dry fly action.
Some nice fish are coming from Lake Rotoaira where a small green nymph imitating a damselfly larva works well when fished along the edge of weed beds. In Rotorua, jigging on the deep lakes is working well, as the lakes stratify into layers in the hot conditions.
Bite times
Bite times are 3.20am and 3.40pm tomorrow, and 4am and 4.25pm on Sunday.
Tip of the week
It is a great time of year for surfcasting from the shore or the rocks, and using bait elastic will ensure baits last much longer.
• More action can be found tonight on Rheem Outdoors with Geoff, 5.30pm TV3.
