Fishers part of wharf allure

Angling community and its jolly vibe should be part of any talks on waterfront’s future

Travelling down the Waitemata Harbour this week we noticed some hectic activity along the container wharf, and as the guests on the boat were in the construction game they knew exactly what was happening.

“Look at the concrete trucks,” said one fisherman, pointing at lines of trucks spread along the wharf. “That is all new construction,” he pointed out, and the gleaming white, new concrete was obvious. Diggers were busy moving piles of rocks and other fill, and the work extended for hundreds of metres.

It appears that in spite of all the recent public fury and official dithering that the Ports of Auckland is busy extending the container wharf with reclaimed land.

Who owns the foreshore on the Waitemata Harbour? Who owns the various wharves along the city waterfront? The people of Auckland, through the Auckland Council and its subsidiary, Ports of Auckland. Correct?

In which case the debate currently on the extension of wharves and reclamation of portions of the harbour should include access for fishermen. For Auckland city has some of the best snapper fishing in the country, which makes it some of the best in the world. At this time of year the snapper come right into the harbour, and are being regularly pulled in by the footpath casters who can be seen guarding their rods along the breakwater under the harbour bridge, and on the edge of the Tank Farm. But there are actually few spots where a line can be cast from that point all the way along the waterfront until you get to Orakei Wharf. And how much room is there now for fishermen on that old icon on the other side of the harbour, the Devonport Wharf?

It would be nice to think that in any discussion about the future of the wharves, some access was to be included for fishermen. For the further out into the harbour a wharf protrudes, the better it will be for fishing. It is all about currents and where the strongest flows run past a structure like a breakwater, that is where the fish will come within casting range.

The wharf at Orakei is always popular and the platform at the end often resembles a porcupine with rods sticking out at all angles. But it little species as they have never been considered of much value. So they are caught in their hundreds. This will have to be addressed before the common littlies which hang around the wharf piles are no longer so common.

But the strong currents don’t race past the end of that wharf, unlike the breakwater at the Tank Farm where on every tide the current sweeps past the rocks and it is not necessary to cast out into the middle of the harbour. Like fishing everywhere, there is a handful of experts who have honed their angling skills to the situation. They use wafer thin braid line, which has less drag in the current than monofilament, with a short trace which clips on to a clip which slides down on to a swivel, which sits above the sinker. So the sinker is on the end and pulls the gear out when cast. Bait will be half a pilchard which is sewn on to the 5/0 super sharp hook or a long, thin piece of white squid; not frozen, but fresh from the fish market. They know how to work the tides so that a good current will be running into the harbour at first light, or in the evening. And they will often fish into the night.

It is a friendly place where there is always a helping hand if a climb down the rocks to the water’s edge is needed to grab a large fish, with plenty of banter and shared stories; a mini-community in the heart of the city.

It would be preferable to leave the wharves as they are, with the powers that be not rushing to push extensions into a harbour which is already quite narrow, but carefully considering how the waterfront can be put to the best use for the people who own it.

One can imagine the atmosphere with cafes and fun stores along the water (think San Francisco), with space in between for seating and rodholders bolted to the rail every couple of metres. So let’s put fishing on the agenda when it comes to planning the future of the wharves.

Or do we just want to continue looking at rows and rows of vehicles? Freshwater Fishing on the deep lakes at Rotorua and Taupo has picked up, which is to be expected as temperatures cool and the trout become more active in preparation for spawning later in the winter. Deep trolling and jigging is producing the best results, and the old favourite — the black toby — is one of the best lures.