Fishing Report on the Kaipara

It has been an interesting few weeks fishing on the Kaipara Harbour.  With more than enough minute snapper but with them are some magnificent fish between 10 – 20lbs.

17.5lb snapper caught on the Kaipara Cat

 

large snapper caught on the Kaipara Cat

Out of the blue a real nice King fish was landed and with cooler water they aren’t usually around.

King fish caught on the Kaipara Cat

Summer has been kind to boat owners with many weeks of nice weather and low winds.  Over Easter, of the six charters, we had only one charter go away without their quota of snapper.  Other charters had all their snapper and also kahawai, gurnard and the odd trevally – very happy fisho’s.

large snapper caught on the Kaipara Cat

At last the shark numbers have dropped off and with that, the amount of sinkers lost on any one day.  Why they eat lead is any ones guess.  I remember being at a weigh-in for a shark fishing competition many years ago where the sharks were rendered down in a 44 gallon drum for the fertilizer.  The next day after it had cooled and the drum emptied there was a layer of lead in the bottom.  Most people were pointing the finger at various people but I believe now that they were already in the sharks and not placed there by the contestants.  Some of these were very big fish and an odd sinker here or there doesn’t really show on the total body eight.

Gurnard are back inside the harbour with some very good examples being caught of late.  I had one fisho on a charter who wanted to know how to peel a carrot.  After showing him, each gurnard was dispatched and peeled within minutes of being landed regardless of who caught it.

Gurnard caught on the Kaipara Cat

May dates are filling up fast so book now for gurnard season!