When the smile says it all!
Full-Moon-Friday it is, so what should we expect? Sluggish snapper slowly feeding a lot of the time i.e. kabura time, and that always useful goto of burleying up and targeting the bigger fish in your trail with softbaits/microjigs, a great option for windy weather. Inner channels, and reef areas like the Ahaas i.e. shallow water stuff is the go, in the channels themselves but also along the sides e.g. the banks of Waiheke channel when the tide runs will often hold fish when the main channel is busy with boats or fish just don’t seem to be there. Check out the area off the north end of the channel itself, worth a flick around with a little 5” softbait (try the dynamite little Jack Mack 😉 ). Wind against tide can be a bit choppy but your drift is slower, these smaller more tempting softbaits and micros can used more effectively, keeping them in the snapper bite zone longer. Don’t forget your light leader and perfect presentation, 20lb leader can be too heavy, the lighter your braid the better – again even 20lb can be too much. Light gauge hooks is popular for big game, and with summer lethargy and full moon, applying that approach to snapper and kingfish will get more hookups stealthy easy-eat options are key right now.
What about this fish of a lifetime! @NovaWalsh and her big blue marlin of 200+kgs! Huge congratulations on the mammoth time, effort and skill required along with the supporting Catch Fishing legends aboard @strikercharters too, yes truly the fish of a lifetime Nova after an hour-long battle on stand up gear! Epic fishing.
At the other end of the size scale, yet oh-so-tasty as well, lots of mackerel hanging around Tiri and out towards the end of Whangaparaoa peninsula – dolphins and gannets have been onto them, so perhaps the mackerel Livie softbait the go here too for snapper and a kingfish. Only one way to know! And for a bit of extra fun, the little tungsten 7g Pocket Rocket - perfect for the mackerel themselves. The tungsten weight/size ratio of the jig helps it get down to the fish without getting push horizontally by current or drift. Scaled, skin on, hot chilli sauce or a spicy rub onto the skin, seared on high heat on the BBQ, snapper or mackerel, absolutely delicious!
House guests and fish go off after 3 days I’ve was told many moons ago, add this hot humid weather and it can make us short tempered and go off even quicker – a lot like fish. Here’s great link on why and what to do about keeping fish fresher, for days and days, a good quick watch with great info from someone who knows their stuff. Keeping fish FRESH
2024 lure coaching workshops
Getting the best out of our limited and very valuable time fishing is even more important these days, what with windy weather and work. Learning to maximise the effectiveness of technique and tackle the key. Watching what fish react to (and not!) for yourself and bring your own gear along – get some help with that, it’s time to really get a lot more out of our fishing passion pastime. Whether you’re part of fishing club, a favourite store or keen to have a couple of dozen mates or more around…let me know, let’s put something together right now.
There are still a few seminars possible this year to schedule, whether covering a wide variety of methods like softbaiting/slow pitch/speed jigging/inchiku/microjigging or going in-depth on a selected method. The aim is to help everyone enjoy catching fish even more on lures. Let’s do it, make it happen. Contact details below.
Stay in the game with good gear and good tackle, prepared and presented well = fresh fish.
Cheers
Espresso
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