2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th December - I've decided to combine the reports for these days as nothing is changing. The continual SW winds are making the fishing very hard.
We have the odd highlights like the trip on the 5th that started with a huge pod of over 50 Dolphins going hard out chasing bait fish near the Brampton Reef. We'd headed out early to see if we could get "bite time" when we spotted the dolphins and their feeding frenzy. The Gannets were diving amongst them, the Dolphins were leaping and cavorting- it was chaos and exciting. We stayed amongst them for about 15 minutes but didn't find any Snapper underneath. Worth a try just for the spectacle.
Apart from that, we have days when the fish are low in numbers and days where they bite all day but unfortunately although we are getting quantity, we aren't getting quality.
Come out if you want good company, fantastic weather and plenty of fresh fish to eat but in all honesty - if you want to come out just to catch fantastic giant Snapper - it's not happening yet.
First sign of a Northerly to Easterly wind and it will be all on. Until then ..... it's still better than being crammed on a Fullers or Explore boat with several hundred people going to a hole in a rock and definitely better than being at work ..... So come out with us. Today could be the day it all happens.
December 2009 - Part 1
Bay of Islands Fishing Report
8th December - We were out again today and if anything the fishing has got so bad that I'm not keen to go out again until the wind changes.
Although the weather is beautiful and the water is fantastically calm, there is very little evidence of good fish being anywhere in the Bay. In fact we're having trouble even ensuring that people will catch enough to get a good feed.
We had one good hit from a large fish early in the trip that we suspect that it was a very large Snapper. It peeled the line off at a fantastic rate but unfortunately got away. We were unable to catch anything like that again, in fact until the sea breeze arrived in the early afternoon, we only had one keeper between six anglers. The sea breeze brought the "bite" on but although everyone took fish home it was still a very disappointing result for me.
12th December - With the fishing being what it is, I haven't been in a huge hurry to get out there again. Fantastic weather but the lack of Northerly or Easterly winds are keeping the water temperature down and preventing the Snapper spawning. Temperatures are fluctuating all over the Bay (14-18 deg Celsius) but the consensus is that the shallower waters are producing reasonable fish.
Today we checked out a few of the shallower areas without a lot of success. The fish were biting all day but we were only managing to find "keepers" in the 30-34cm range with the odd fish hitting 3-4 lbs. Not spectacular but we were slowly picking up enough fish to give our group of 9 a reasonable meal. Our last stop produced something very big. It was a short intense battle before it got off the hook. With the promise of something decent out there we put in a bit of extra time but after an extra half hour we gave everyone five more minutes and we were going home.
That five minutes turned the trip from average to spectacular. We got hit by five big snapper simultaneously and while we were rushing around making sure that everyone had everything under control, we got hit by two more. Everyone was buzzing and we continued trying until it became obvious that the bite time had indeed finished. It was short but very intense and everyone could now appreciate the power of these huge fish.
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.jpg "Liz Goodall with her 10lb Snapper (Best of the Day)")
I was impressed by the way everyone got stuck in and tried everything from baiting hooks, releasing their own fish, plus interest in "gutting and gilling" and filleting techniques.
It's great seeing people who aren't afraid of getting their hands dirty.
It's great seeing people who aren't afraid of getting their hands dirty.
Thanks for choosing us Renee, I hope we see you guys again. You work with a great group of people and I'm very thankful that we managed to get onto these fish to finish the day.
13th, 15th, 16th December - The fishing has been so far below average that I've been reluctant to write a fishing report as it was a depressing reminder how hard the fishing was. We had the odd good fish and were just managing to get enough fish for people to take home. Often we stayed out for an extra hour to ensure some sort of success. The ongoing SW winds were having a toll on the fish. Great weather but bad for fishing.
19th December - Two trips today and I was not looking forward to them. Unless something changed out there, we were going to be experiencing a very hard, frustrating day.
First Trip - We were intending a search of the grounds extending from Roberton Island to the Whale but modified it slightly when we spotted quite a bit of Gannet action around the Whale itself. The conditions were perfectly calm so we drifted (amongst about 20 other boats) for a while and started to score reasonable Pannies (pan sized Snapper). When the wind arrived, although it was less than 10 knots, we decided to drop anchor. The good quality fish continued for the entire trip and we were buzzing. No huge fish but definitely signs that the School Fish were starting to make an appearance.
Second Trip - We dropped off the first group and 5 minutes later headed out with our second. The wind had increased slightly, unfortunately it was opposing the tide so we were slightly side on to the half metre swell. It was hard work keeping our balance but the fish quality was improving all the time so we hung in there. Wouldn't you believe it, when the tide changed .... so did the wind, so we continued to roll uncomfortably until the wind dropped slightly. With an hours fishing to go we were only keeping the biggest fish as we had plenty already. After so many weeks of struggling we were now declaring 3lb fish as too small and throwing them back. Biggest Snapper was around 8lbs and the majority around 2-3lbs. A good result with the promise of better to come over the following days.