April 2010 - Part 3
Bay of Islands Fishing Report
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18th April - Beautiful weather, beautifully calm seas, very very light winds and another nice small group. After yesterdays disappointing results we checked out a few spots along the way. We were catching lots of really small Snapper and although there was nothing particularly exciting, everyone had a chance to perfect their fishing skills. By the time a few Kahawai turned up everyone was able to handle these great fighting fish. Our biggest Snapper were hovering around the 2-3lb mark but most of those kept were only 30-34cm. It looks like the Kahawai have spawned and are starting to leave the bay and it now looks like the time of the big Snapper has passed for another season.
17th April - We headed out just a few people today but I'd been looking for a chance to fish myself so I didn't mind too much. The weather was pretty good but unfortunately there was a brisk southerly breeze for most of the trip. The old saying "when the wind blows from the south the fish close their mouth" was true today. There was no evidence of any of the big Snapper today, hopefully this was because of the wind rather than because they have moved. The tally of fish caught was pretty good in the end but nothing bigger than 2lbs was caught.
22nd April - We had perfect conditions today but we had a difficult task ahead of us as we searched the bay for some reasonable fish. Our first spot produced some reasonable Snapper but a hell of a lot of tiny ones too. Hoping we could do better, we tried a further three spots but it became more and more obvious that the first spot was probably the best. We had been amongst a giant workup of birds and Kahawai but the Kahawai weren't interested in our baits as they (and the birds) are gorging themselves on the tiny whitebait-like fish that are prevalent in the bay at the moment.
Our final spot (which was also the first) started to show promise when we arrived for the second time. The tide had just turned and the outgoing was proving to better than the incoming. The Snapper were getting steadily bigger and better. Our biggest Snapper by the end of trip was only 3.5lb but none of the other Snapper were below 30cm and most were bigger. Several good sized Trevally and three Kahawai finished off today's catch. We were aware of one nearby boat (old owner of the Arline) hooking into an estimated 10lb Snapper, so the potential is still there. We just have to get the right conditions.
25th April - We were lucky that it was so calm today as the bigger fish didn't seem particularly interested in biting. Our first spot produced a multitude of tiny Snapper but nothing worth keeping. After putting in a bit of time here we tried another and another and then another spot. Unfortunately the best potential for fish seemed to be at our first spot, so of course we ended up there for a second shot. By this time the tide had changed and this seemed to make a difference. The size of the Snapper had increased, admittedly the biggest were only around 3lbs but the majority were in the 1-3lb range and we had plenty for everyone.
25th April - We were lucky that it was so calm today as the bigger fish didn't seem particularly interested in biting. Our first spot produced a multitude of tiny Snapper but nothing worth keeping. After putting in a bit of time here we tried another and another and then another spot. Unfortunately the best potential for fish seemed to be at our first spot, so of course we ended up there for a second shot. By this time the tide had changed and this seemed to make a difference. The size of the Snapper had increased, admittedly the biggest were only around 3lbs but the majority were in the 1-3lb range and we had plenty for everyone.
29th April - Although the weather was beautifully calm, the sea wasn't. It was a 2m swell in the middle of the bay and the waves were smashing pretty dramatically on the Black Rocks so we headed into the perfect conditions amongst the islands. On the way there we came across a large pod of Dolphins but couldn't get close enough for a better look. We found a large patch of fish just before we left the rough water but although we gave it 10 minutes drifting amongst them, we didn't get a single bite. We were hoping that the rough weather of the past two days had brought the fish back in so we checked out our old spot that had been so successful. It was stunningly calm and warm here but we were only pulling in the odd keeper (30-32cm.) There was evidence of Kahawai and the birds feeding on the Inanga (adult Whitebait.) The Kahawai are tending to prefer the Inanga to our bait but we had to try. So we moved amongst the birds and tried our luck (unsuccessfully as it turned out.) There were Kahawai everywhere but we only caught a couple and definitely no significant Snapper.
Terry had spotted a school of fish halfway between the last two spots so we checked this one out and it was where we had the best success. Once again the best Snapper were only between 1-3lbs but we managed to average 3 fish per person to take home so that, with the weather, made it highly successful.