Fish are out there waiting, when wind allows some breathing space
When the wind finally allows some breathing space, the fish are out there waiting.
So are the birds and the dolphins. There have been huge work- ups all over the Hauraki Gulf, from just outside the Noises to a short distance off Whangaparaoa Peninsula. But not all of the activity translates into good fishing. In fact, there may be no snapper under some of the areas where the activity is congregated. But it is in every fisherman’s nature to stop and check it out, either by dropping a soft bait or slow jig or a metal jig, or a bait. It is always worth dropping the anchor along with some berley and waiting for some action. This has been working well for some anglers at around 40 metres, and it is only the weather that has stopped people getting out in the past two weeks.
Things are also picking up in close around Auck- land with male snapper in schools in the Motuihe Channel, at Crusoe Rock and Church Bay. The first kingfish are also turning up on the reef at Maria Island and the David Rocks, while the best conditioned scallops are coming from the Noises.
Divers working the reefs at the bottom end of Waiheke Island are scoring some crayfish. John dory continue to surprise fishermen, and the Tamaki Strait is holding good numbers.
In the Bay of Plenty, the gurnard are still in close, but snapper are also starting to move in and soft- baiters are gearing up for some better weather conditions. Snapper can be found off the beaches in about 15 metres over the sand.
Gurnard are also still predominating on the Kaipara Harbour but some catches of snapper have surprised those who are expecting to catch only gurnard while fishing inside the harbour. The feature film of this year’s RISE Fly Fishing Film Festival, Pure Fly NZ, is from a new television series that sets a new benchmark in fly fishing entertainment.
The film from Gin- Clear media explores the myriad of fly fishing opportunities on the West Coast of the South Island. In its 12th year, the festival showcases exclusive premieres from the world’s best fly fishing film- makers.
Another festival highlight, Corazon, is the work of master film- maker R. A. Beattie and is a tribute to a remarkable Mexican fishing guide Sandflea.
Another film, Providence, recounts the first trip back to Providence Atoll in the Seychelles since the waters were closed to all boat access in 2010 due to the threat of pirates.
Yakutia is the latest effort from up- and- coming film- maker Jakp Lucas, and chronicles an extreme adventure deep into the uncharted wilderness of Siberia where giant trout- like taimen and pike await adventurers, as well as predatory fish species never before caught on fly.
Gin- Clear director Nick Reygaert said the festival allowed the fishing community to share their passion for the sport by attending film screenings across the country, just before the new trout season opens.
The festival screens in Auckland on Tuesday, Hamilton on September 20 and Taupo on September 21, and will tour the country. Tickets can be obtained at gin- clear. com.
This year marks 150 years since trout were first introduced to this country. They came from ova, or eggs, shipped from Tasmania where they had been successfully introduced from Britain only three years earlier. There are no trout or salmon native to the southern hemisphere, and browns were the first trout to make the long journey southwards. The first trout hatched here was one of three eggs which survived out of 1200 brought from Tasmania, and they were hatched on October 10, 1867, in the Canterbury Acclimatisation Society’s grounds in Hagley Park.
A year later the Otago Acclimatisation Society sent their curator, Charles Clifford, to Hobart to obtain more brown trout eggs. He returned on the ship Free Trader with 800 eggs, of which 724 hatched. The Nelson and Southland acclimatisation societies also procured trout ova from Tasmania the same year, and the country was assured a healthy trout population.
Rainbow trout were not introduced here until 1887 when the first shipment of eggs from California survived the six- week voyage.