Northern Hauraki Gulf - May 2010

Kingifhs thin out as water cools

Allan Merrett with a "wee snapper" he caught at the Moke's on RnR using a jack mackerel bait out the back of a berley trail.

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The kings will be a lot thinner on the ground from the middle of the month.

Snapper will still be biting, but the bite time will be a lot shorter, as will the daylight hours. May is definitely the start of the decline on the fishing front.

The Mokohinau group, although not producing the goods over the last couple of months, will still produce big fish as they depart the inner gulf. These islands are a long way out, of course.

A better bet is Great Barrier. If the weather dictates that you can’t get on the east coast, then there are more options on the west side of the island. Miners Reef will have snapper and an assortment of other species.

Amongst the Broken Islands, pannie snapper will be in close and can be brought on the bite with berley.
Further down the coast, big snapper can be found in good numbers on the foul outside of Tryphena. Colville Channel will still have fish moving through. You need to pick your tides through here.

Little Barrier will have snapper and trevally on the deeper foul, with red snapper starting to make their presence known. If you want big snapper, set up in close, with plenty of berley and good current to match.

At Horn Rock kings will be declining rapidly, while snapper should be around in the deeper regions. We have always done best drifting the edges, particularly on the northern end.
As you get closer to Auckland the fish become harder to find, unless you are out there on a regular basis keeping tabs on their movements. The fish will move around depending on where the main food source is.

Birds are still your best locator, even if they have finished feeding and are just sitting around on the water.
Kawau will have some snapper around the coast, but a lot will be undersized. You would be better to get out wider to Flat Rock. There is a large area of foul out here that can be fished on the drift or at anchor with a decent berley trail. You must get your berley down deep, as the current is swift.

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