March 2009
Bay of Islands Fishing Report
2nd March - The storm has passed so we were itching to get out fishing again. Remembering all the snapper caught last trip we were hopeful that they were still there.
For the past few trips the Kahawai have left us alone but today we got their full attention. Every bait was being grabbed by large Kahawai. It was frantic, it was exciting and people were getting pretty tired fighting these huge fish. No sooner had I help pull one fish aboard then I was off to help with the next. We only kept the wounded ones and even then we were starting to accumulate too many.
Luckily around 1pm the Kahawai suddenly stopped biting and we were able to get the bait down to the Snapper. It took a while before we were able to prove that there were good snapper down below us but the wait was worth it. Once again, nobody went hungry.
3rd March - Another calm day and once again the fishing was different from the previous two trips. We caught Kahawai, Snapper and Trevally but not in the same huge numbers as before. Still a successful day anyway.
7th March - We just had a ripper storm but apparently it wasn't as bad as forecast, thank goodness, because it was promised to be close to hurricane strength.
The bay is now full of muddy water and it is proving to be a bit too brown for the snapper unfortunately. We tried out our current spot but although the fish are there they are proving to be uninterested.
So we relocated to a spot we weren't planning on checking out until tomorrow. We hoped the water would prove to be clearer than our first choice. There was a discernable difference but the water was still very brown.
Although it was a bit slow, by the end of the day we had 4 Kahawai, 5 Snapper, and 2 very nice John Dory. We also lost 3 rigs from something large (possibly a Barracuda) and failed to land a Kingfish because of a couple of tangled lines. There are pretty good fish out there and it's just a matter of getting the timing and circumstances right.
8th March - We left the wharf with only six people as a couple of people didn't show up (turned out to be a big mistake on their part). The water was still pretty muddy so we headed further out into the bay. Our first and only stop was the only place in the bay that seemed to have any fish. We started with a combination of stray lines and one ledger rig. Within ten minutes we were getting fish but the best were coming on board via the ledger rig so we converted every rod accordingly.
It was obvious that this spot was going to produce but unfortunately a rich dickhead came screaming past in a huge gin palace. He had the whole bay to himself but he had to do it 50m off our bow. The resulting wash dislodged our anchor and we slowly drifted for the next half an hour. We had some hits but not to our satisfaction so we pulled anchor and backtracked to our pre-dickhead episode. Turned out to be a great choice, as the fishing was brilliant all day. Unfortunately for the fish, we now have a new fishing addict. Jo was having such a good time that she's vowed to fish wherever she goes in the future. Mind you, after today's great result, I cannot blame her.
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.jpg "Jo and James with a pretty impressive catch (most of them Jo's)")
It was a fun day with the Anderson Family competing fiercely for the best fish. There was lots of propaganda (polite word) flowing from the person with the best fish at the time. Dad (Dan) was receiving a lot of flack about his inability to catch fish but he came back with his monster and soon became king of the propaganda. Debbie was saved from endless ribbing with her two very respectable snapper.
Meanwhile Jo and James had a competition going as well. No matter how hard James tried however, Jo pipped him everytime with something better.
12th March - Good old forecasters kept changing their guesses all week (often after we had left home to go out on the water) so it was no surprise to see that once again the wind was stronger than forecast.
We've had several days of strong southwesterly winds and this seems to have affected the fishing once again. We tried the same spot as on the 8th but for the brief time we managed to stay there (the wind was strong enough to drag our biggest anchor) we were only catching barely legal snapper. On top of that we had a small Mako Shark hassling us and wrecking our gear. So to provide a bit of excitement we went off in the hunt for some Kahawai. On the way we had the bonus of a large pod of dolphins swimming alongside for about 5-10 minutes.
We got to our Kahawai spot and for awhile we were catching goldfish (I'm not sure if I've ever seen such small Snapper) but as the burley in the water started to work the Kahawai turned up. Then it was all on, with only a couple of people failing to get one. Good fun and the perfect end to a pleasant day. Shame about the large snapper being absent again though.
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Jocelyn gets together with her two sisters every year for a week. We had the pleasure of hosting them on our trip today. They seemed to have fun, especially pulling in these large Kahawai. The sister on the right (sorry I've gone blank on your name) caught the same Mako Shark three times. It left everyone else alone and just picked on her line time after time.
Young Matthew and his dad traveled all the way from Alaska to catch this fish (plus several snapper). It was a shame not to find the big schoolies but Mathew got a buzz from this Kahawai anyway.
26, 28 and 30th March - We knew of a spot that was producing some good Snapper, so we headed out there. It always started slow but we definitely were catching good numbers of Snapper up to around 5lbs. The water was calm and very light winds, and proved to be very pleasant days.
Best of all, we watched the other charter boats scream past heading way out in the bay for what we suspected were poorer results. Just proving that it is experience, not speed, that counts.
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14th March - You could not have asked for nicer weather, the sea was flat and the wind that the dreamers in the MetService forecast wasn't there. It became so hot and still that the fish just weren't interested. We had the choice of waiting for some wind in the hope the fish would wake up or move to an area that produces lots of Kahawai. The group was keen on Kahawai so we decided to move. It turned out to be a good choice as we ended up in Kahawai heaven. The fishing was frantic and exciting, these fish are huge and put up a really good fight. We kept a few then checked as to how many people wanted. It was amazing to be able to fish to order - in the end we came home with five snapper and fifteen very large Kahawai. It was a great way to finish the day.
15th March - In complete contrast to yesterday we had a very windy day. A swell of around 1.5 metres built up overnight and the wind was howling once we got past Tapeka Point. We tried a few places in amongst the islands, where we were reasonably sheltered from the wind and there was no swell. The first spot produced quite a few good sized pannies to start with but gradually the fish got smaller and smaller. So we pulled stakes and checked out an area around a scallop bed but the snapper were goldfish sized. Plan C was an area off Roberton Island where there is a large hole that often produces good results but once again, the fish were too small to warrant staying. Plan D however worked a treat. On the way we were joined by three dolphins that escorted us for a good ten minutes plus. Everyone was hanging over the handrail trying to get decent shots of these beautiful creatures. Our last stop (plan D) was in very shallow water, we were in about 5-7 metres and within 5 minutes of dropping the anchor we were into some very nice fish. Admittedly only up to around 2 kgs but we caught enough to keep people interested. The Kahawai were absent unfortunately but these snapper were putting up enough of a fight to make up for it.
16th March - The wind had dropped to 20 knots but the weather was nice. Unfortunately the swell was still there so we stayed in areas that were sheltered. We tried around the Brampton Reef but there were only tiddlers. The second spot we tried was a place that our sources (a past owner) had suggested might be worth checking out after an Easterly wind. The fish caught here today were plentiful and of fillet-able size so we think that it might be worth coming back again. Next stop was Nobby's which is only 5 minutes from the Paihia Wharf. Normally we stay away from here but we needed a Kahawai fix and we got it in spades. These fish are enormous and great scrappers. By this time our customers were confident in the use of their rods and reels and had lots of fun fighting with 6-7lb fish that fight like salmon and trout.
17th March - I tried to cancel this trip as I had a heavy cold and wasn't sure if I would make it through the day but I was unable to reach everybody so I bit the bullet and went out. Luckily the weather was beautiful and I was rugged up anyway and the day went perfectly. We started with the spot recommended by a past owner and had good success. We caught Gurnard, Trevally, a John Dory and numerous snapper from 30-36cm. When it started to get quiet as the tide started to turn we headed for Nobby's again. We had enough fish so once again it was time for some fun. The Kahawai were enormous again and some of the Snapper were exceptional (even bigger than the last spot). We broke a few lines, had a few tangles but overall we had fun. Hell of a job but someone's got to do it.
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We had a real mix of fish today but we were stunned when Peter pulled in this lovely John Dory. He'd been practicing different ways that he could hook up a fish all day so it shouldn't have been a surprise when he caught this one near it's bum. Regardless of his methods, Chris took home possibly the nicest tasting fish of the day.
18th March - This was a very pleasant day with only five clients so it was a bit like a holiday. We had the Campbell family from Mississippi in the States and Janet from Tauranga in NZ so it was interesting, as well, hearing about a different part of the world. The fishing started off very slow but everyone got a little bit of practice in and had a chance to perfect their techniques before we started catching Kahawai. I enjoy watching the disbelief on people's faces after they've just caught a small to medium Kahawai and we tell them that they come a lot bigger. We usually turn them into believers by the end of the trip and this one was no exception. Nice fillet-able snapper and several big Kahawai ensured everyone went home with fish and all the rest went back for another day.
20th March - We decided that this was the day to try our old spot (the Quarry) where we had done so well on the 8th March. Unfortunately there is still nothing worth writing home about there. Our bait was being stripped halfway down and any Snapper actually hooked (and it was rare) was too small - most were between 25-27cm. We gave it a decent go but headed back to shallow water when it became increasing obvious the fishing wasn't going to improve. Back in the shallows we had immediate success. Suddenly everyone was pulling in fish and the ration of "keeper" to "undersized" was a lot closer to 50-50 than previously. We started getting some very nice snapper and then the Kahawai started to bite. Lots of fun but the highlight of the day was when our client from Finland (Mikko?) hooked into a big one. Initially it seemed like a Kahawai, then we thought that it was a Kingfish (and a very big one), then we started to wonder if it was a Stingray. It wrapped itself around the anchor rope five times so we ended up having to pull the anchor up to unwrap the line. After a battle lasting nearly half an hour up to the surface came ................. a Bronze Whaler!! Terry estimated that this huge shark was around five metres in length and weighed about 300lbs. What a catch and way too big for our net. We didn't want to keep him so when he smashed the line with his tail we didn't mind at all. I hope to post a photo here soon. Helmut from Germany managed to get a couple of photos and has promised to send me a copy. What a great way to finish the trip.
21st March - The day started out grey and chilly (for Northland) but gradually improved over the trip. We headed back into the shallows around the Brampton Reef as it was now very obvious that nothing of significant size was out in the deeper water within the bay. The fish started out very slow but after about an hour we started to pull in some reasonable snapper along with the strong fighting Kahawai. By the end of the trip we were very happy with the results with quite a lot of fish caught.
22nd March - We had a Sole Charter to day and we were reasonably confident of catching good fish. However the Brampton Reef was very quiet and we could not find anything even half the size of yesterday's fish. So we moved across the bay to Nobby's. We'd caught and kept about 8 Kahawai, so I filleted them on the way to save time at the end of the day. Just as well, as it turned out. When we got to Nobby's we found a huge crowd of about 10-15 boats already there so it took a bit of juggling to find a suitable spot for us. Within five minutes of dropping anchor we were into good Snapper. The action was fast and furious for the rest of the trip. We had fish coming on board just about all the time so I was kept really busy. We got very fussy with what we kept, nothing under 40cm got as far as the fish bin and we were regularly releasing fish up to 2kgs. Terry started filleting half an hour before we came home and we still had more to do when we got to the wharf.
23rd March - With only five customers we were looking forward to a reasonably relaxing day. We were the only boat at Nobbys today and the fish appeared to be absent too. So we relocated into slightly deeper water about 50 metres away and gradually the fish got better and better. Lots of Kahawai were caught again and our visitors had a lot of fun battling them but we were all eager to get into some decent Snapper. The fish, when they started biting, were not as plentiful as the previous day but regular enough to keep young Sam (5yrs) interested. Plus our Irish lady (Susan?) even managed to catch a couple of Snapper bigger than Skipper Terrys. For the second day in a row we came home with enough fish to enable me to take some home as well.
Our Next Trip was....
4th April - Good fish but scarce....