September 2010
Bay of Islands Fishing Report
4th September - The maintenance is finally finished and we're back in the water just in time for our first charter. Twenty four hours previously the weather gurus (and I use the term loosely) were promising beautiful calm water and very light SW winds. Twelve hours later they had changed the forecast to 20 knt winds and on the day it was supposed to be gusting to 40 knts (which it did.)
So what was supposed to be a perfect day was very windy and cold but we believed that we could get out of the worst of it. Unfortunately the very strong winds had a very detrimental effect on the fish. We'd tried a half dozen spots and although there was very good sign in several places, they just wouldn't bite.
Towards the end of the trip, the wind dropped and we started to catch some keepers at last. The final tally was only three Snapper and a large John Dory but from what I understand, it was a better result than all our competition lumped together.
We had a great group on board and it was a shame that we couldn't produce the perfect day but at least they seemed to enjoy it anyway.
So what was supposed to be a perfect day was very windy and cold but we believed that we could get out of the worst of it. Unfortunately the very strong winds had a very detrimental effect on the fish. We'd tried a half dozen spots and although there was very good sign in several places, they just wouldn't bite.
Towards the end of the trip, the wind dropped and we started to catch some keepers at last. The final tally was only three Snapper and a large John Dory but from what I understand, it was a better result than all our competition lumped together.
We had a great group on board and it was a shame that we couldn't produce the perfect day but at least they seemed to enjoy it anyway.
5th September - The weather previously promised for yesterday finally turned up. It was fantastic, hardly any wind, tons of sun and the fish were a bit more plentiful. We were catching small Snapper for most of the trip but in the last hour the quality picked up. We doubled yesterdays catch with fewer people on board. This time, every one got a feed but it was still hard going.
Sharlene Rowe put all the guys to shame today with her John Dory.
Well done and make sure they never forget the skills of the ladies on todays trip.
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Naresh Sreedharam caught a few fish today but this Porae was the best of the day for both him and the boat.
7th - 26th September - We only had a few trips during this period - whenever we could find a break in the rubbish weather and some clients at the same time. We've checked every part of the bay but the storms have driven the fish that we found on the 5th somewhere else, so the search starts all over again.
The fishing has been very hard with everyone experiencing true winter fishing. The fishing result on the 10th was the worst result that we've had in four years with only two keepers between four people. We're still one of the few charter boats that have yet to come home with zero fish but we were sweating for a long time on that trip.
The fishing has been very hard with everyone experiencing true winter fishing. The fishing result on the 10th was the worst result that we've had in four years with only two keepers between four people. We're still one of the few charter boats that have yet to come home with zero fish but we were sweating for a long time on that trip.
28th September - The water in the bay has gotten dirtier and dirtier, so we headed out past Urupukapuka in an unsuccessful search for clean water. The fishing was okay with Terakihi, Porae, Snapper and one Golden Snapper being caught. Once again, not great numbers of fish but enough for a couple of meals for nine people, plus the quality of the fish was amongst the best we've seen all month.
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Sue Cogger's son is a very keen fisherman but there was no way that he was going to beat his mum today, so she let him share the glory.
Sally is shown here with her first ever keeper. Plus it was the best Terakihi of the day - well done.
Todd Mayo, the youngest on board, showed everyone up today with the biggest keeper. He had a great fight with this Porae (Angelina Jolie of the sea)
Todd Mayo also caught this very respectable Barracuda. He's not quite ready to hold it up for a photo though. Maybe next time.