Eastern Coromandel - May 2010

Bronzie problem for divers

Bluenose, especially beauties like this 26kg specimen, are a rare catch from Whitianga waters. The fish was caught off Red Mercury by George Baloghy from Auckland on a trip with Stingray Charters.

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As the nights get cooler, thoughts turn to maimai building rather than fishing.

But at the time of writing, there are still marlin in very close – and plenty of them. Two were caught over Easter inside Red Mercury, along with numerous fish sighted as close as Cobra Rock, and a small swordfish was landed from around the Alderman Knoll, too. Find the bait and you will find the fish. It is looking like another season that won’t end till early May or when we all stop fishing, whichever is the sooner!

Snapper fishing has been excellent everywhere, with the sand still being the pick of the spots. Cooks and Simpsons Beaches are fishing especially well, as is Kennedy Bay.

Out further, Home Bay, Bumper Point, the Sisters and the Bookcase are all producing nice fish consistently at all times of the day, and also on the sandy areas surrounding the foul.

On rough days there are still good numbers of snapper and kahawai in the estuaries, with limit bags taking less than an hour to catch.

Crays have been a bit harder to come by in the shallows and seem to be hanging out around the 10m mark. Everything found shallower than that is not of takeable size.

A word of caution to divers in the area: we have large numbers of big bronze whalers around Mercury Bay that are proving quite aggressive towards divers – and not only those spearing fish. There have been incidences of divers being chased out at the Twins and Needle in Mercury Bay, and the Sisters and Bumper Point at Great Mercury Island. Even after the divers are out of the water, the sharks have been rushing and attacking engines and duckboards, so it pays to be vigilant until the cooling water sees them off.

- © Fairfax NZ News