Dirty water. Once it starts to clear (even before) – it’s prime time to target snapper, they’re searching the gloopy soup for food, add a bit of clarity so they can see their ‘prey’ i.e. your lure, jig or softbait and they’re in with a grin, often striking aggressively.

Luminous softbaits do well putting out the bright ‘fast food’ sign e.g. Livies softbaits like White Warrior or Glowing Gurnard (pictured) are ideal. Be seen, be eaten!

Also – drag those softbaits, whatever colour you have.

Drag ‘em along on the drift, lifting with the boat motion, or yours added, but not much. You’ll probably need to let out a few metres of

line every 5-15 seconds or so, the lure then plops back down onto the sandy, muddy sea floor, puffing up a smoke signal of the potential food kind, and a nice drag line mud trail giving its position away to a hunting snapper or gurnard. If you really want to come on feel the noise style, add a Blade for vibration as well as flashing that all important silver eye-catcher.

Further out the ‘dirty water’ isn’t as prevalent in fact seemingly unaffected by the surface state for several days and yes out in the gulf, deeper water has been, and will be, doing well, whether right-side of the gulf down from the Moehau range under some workups, or left, over by Little Barrier – again good fishing often with gannets and dolphins too.

Slow Pitching: Prime time is right now! Your fluttering falling ‘baitfish’ is easy money for the fish, and you.

Try the ultimate in slow pitch jigs the BOSS, match that with the slow pitch rod Kensei and you have the right stuff to battle and land those big reds you see on Facebook and Instagram posts.

Easy to choose the right weight of jig, what ever water depth you’re in, time it x 2 = grams.

Fishing in 40m or thereabouts? X 2 = 80gram BOSS jig. Perfect. Slow pitch with the standard haltering retrieve (say 3 separate 1/3rd short sharp turns of the handle leaving rod alone/horizontal) with a pause of 1-3 seconds between each partial wind, or a slow steady retrieve, or a more aggressive slow-mechanical style retrieve. All work very well, try each as the action imparted on the jig is quite different and some variations often entice a strike when others don’t.

It may seem strange at first, and you’re thinking how can this work, a few slow pitches later you’re hooked up to a hard charging snapper, with a big grin from ear to ear. Easy, exciting, effective, economical.

Skipjack – out of the gulf on the other side of the entrance gates (Colville, Craddock and Jellicoe channels), in the next paddock as it were, not that obvious on the inside of the gates lately, but with their speed, these easterly winds and the gulf’s water temps – expect and hope for many to be inside in the blink of a Katsuwonus pelamis, or skipjack tuna’s, eye. Recommended lure for skipjack:

Too easy, Lil' Squidwings is perfect trolled around 6kts – or go to the 100gm Squidwings when there are big, hungry barrels around.

Marlin – start again, but where they were, start there, and watch those SSTs for progression along the coast, those edges of temperature changes the place to be for both marlin and the tuna turning up. YFT eastside and juvenile SBT westside N.I., choices ay!

Yes it’s windy, so prepare well, the fishing will be all-on, on the (wind) drop…

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Tight Lines

Cheers

Espresso

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This report is supplied by Grant 'Espresso' Bittle from Catch and Wave Dancer Charters.

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For Wave Dancer Charters: Visit www.wavedancer.co.nz

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