Auckland Flats fishing

went out at high tide to a spot that i had fished plenty of times before but had not had much luck. I went there this time with some of the guys from the fishing club. I now know the easy way to get across to where to fish.
I managed to get one small kahawai on the mirror image interceptor pink and noticed there were loads of kahawai following my fly when i retrieved so i switched to a crease fly and had a great time catching 20cm kahawai. got 5 in total before switching to polar flash clouser and got another 5 on a fast retrieve.

one of the other guys managed a couple of snapper and something really large that managed to bust him off.

interesting i think what is possible from this spot.

i think from this experience what i have learned is that it is best to fish a couple of spots continuously until you know them really well and know how to fish than fish different spots all the time and never really get to know how it fishes. i now have 3 good spots that i now know like this.

Flytying Videos

I have recently found the Oregon fly fishing blog site that has some great videos of flies including this one for a craft fur clouser and other salt patterns on http://oregonflyfishingblog.com/fly-tying-videos/saltwater-fly-patterns/

New Spot 2

i thought i would head out to my new low tide spot. on getting there the tide was right on low and the best is a few hours after low so i moved round the rocks and tried up to another point that looked like it had potential but to get to the furthest part of the rock you needed to get along a channel and the only way is along a pipe so getting back is a bit dodgy if the water levl gets too high.
anyway i headed back to my spot and found the water level a little higher than i liked and i only had 20min till i needed to head back through the water that starts building round the other side of the rock. after catching nothing i figured that i was retrieving too fast because i was trying to cover the water to quick.

i headed down the southern end of the beach and there was some interesting current where two currents met creating a very strong current that i was able to cast into and swing my fly around in. i threw in some pilchard but still nothing. I left at 8.45pm which is usually the best time but today there was nothing. the southern end of the beach is a bit barren and i think the northern side is the best but would be good to get a water craft of some sort to get to the furthest rocks

this spot may be better in January when the snapper come inshore in larger numbers.

Salt fishing club day

On arriving at 7am we headed down to the most beautiful little bay with the sun steaming over the hill to ripple over the water.
we headed round the northern part of the bay to where some small kahawai were jumping around and fished our way round the rocks. The water was crystal clear but no sign of any weed structure and no sign of any fish.
Further round there was some great ledges and better weed beds but still no fish. I dropped some pilchard in to see what would come up but nothing. Further round again and there was a definite drop off where the weed finished but was too far to cast but certainly looked fishy(At low this became castable).

By the time we reached the point the wind was starting to whip round and make casting difficult. I threw in some more pilchard and within another 20 minutes i started strip faster and a group of kahawai started busting it up trying to get my fly. I managed to catch one small kahawai before they moved off and were not seen again.

Besides the Kahawai i also managed to catch some fishing line and find an old fishing reel

We headed back to the car park and had an afternoon BBQ and some general fishing chatter.


One of the guys metioned that fishing from shore for snapper is generally better on incomeing tide as they are more active right up to the top of the tide whereas on falling tide they drop back to their holes so you can still cath them but you need to focus your casting into the right places and get it right in front of them as they will come out to grab your fly and head back to their hole.

I also managed to get a few ideas on some new flies including some interceptors and shrimps.

Even though it was a slow day. i quite enjoyed and learned a few things along the way.

Something new

I decided to try a new spot last night. I had not seen the spot totally at low but new the rock system went out quite a way and i was hoping i could get all the way out. unfortunatly i only got halfway and new i would get stuck out there if i fished to long so i moved closer in to a large rock with plenty of kelp.

I thew in some pilchard and soon had a small kahawai and snapper. Seems to work really well throw in piece and then casting past it and retrive through area that the piece of pilchard was thrown into. I was using a hot pink clouser as water was a bit murky

I ran out of pilchard but the sun disappeared behind the clouds and i switched to a flashier polar flash clouser and caught another couple of snapper both on the pause. one i had thrown in and waited about 30 seconds with no pause and it was fish on.

It certainly worked having bright fly when water was less than clear and flashier fly when sun went down. I had used the flashy fly in bright sunlight and had nothing.

Also i had stopped retrieve so much so that the fly sunk to deeper level and caught more on stationary fly. so I was initially pull 3 strips to get in contact with the fly then waiting 30 seconds then strip 5 times then waiting 10-15 seconds then retrieve again. in between i was slowly drawing line to keep contact as current was creating slack.

I will post some pictures on some of the flies i was using in the flies tab of this blog.

Meola early season

I went out to meet a couple of the guys fishing out here. Being a Friday it was a bit of a mission trying to get out of the house as i had to get home then feed my boy. Then as i got there some random guy was interested in my set-up so i yacked for quite a while so by the time i got out it was near on 7pm. I got to catch up with the guys and have a bit of a yak before i headed further round the reef. I was trying some new craft fur clousers and they had some great action in the water but no takes so i switched to the old favourite polar flash clouser and threw some pilchard chunks in at the top of the causeway. interesting enough there was a clear current line and edge to it. so i stood at top end of it where i had thrown the pilchard and swung my fly round and a up it to be rewarded with a nice 45cm kahawai.

I did the same again but sung the fly round and held it in the current to be nailed again by a 25cm kahawai. it seems always the same time i get hooked up just when the sun has disappeared.

I headed back and realised that i had miss timed the tide and it was past the max i would normally head back and i had no choice but to just gun it through the channels. The water was going up and over my thigh waders making it hard to move. i had to take the waders off and empty them every channel i went through which was three but it never went over my waist otherwise i could have been in real trouble. i think i will take some sandles with me next time just in case.

I think its time to start looking further afield for some new spots.

Pt Chev 3/11/13

this was an interesting night but a bit of a disaster. I had have been here before but not on full of tide as there is a bit of wading involved and i was wet wading. i was unsure on how deep this was going to be. I went out at 6pm and high was 8pm. the water was just about up to my waist before i got to the shell banks and where it was knee deep although i didn't make it all the way to the tip where I would have had to do some waist high wading to get too.

After about an hours fishing and no fish I didn't want to risk any further for fear of getting totally soaked and i was already getting cold. the water was not too bad but my body doesn't handle the cold for too long anymore.  on the way back it was waist high and i wouldn't have wanted to risk it any longer.

I think to fish here the best would be to go out about 3hrs before high and stay there till 3hrs after high so you would need about 6hrs in total. the other option to be to use a paddle board and anchor it at shell banks and then paddle back. my preference would be for the second option but then that means getting a board. i think i will need to add it to the list.

Meola 26/10/13

This was a good place to start for newbies and certainly been the best place for me to get started. i caught plenty of small snapper last year and i am keen to repeat it this year. Trying to get out early so that i have enough time before the sun disappears has been fun as normally i would go at 7pm when my son goes to bed but with the sun going down around 8pm trying to get out of the house at 6pm is still a bit of a mission.

Low tide was at 8.20pm and i got out there close to 6.30pm. i threw in some pilchard and fished my way round till i got a 20cm snapper at around 7.30pm. unfortunately this was my only fish but it does show that the snapper are now coming into the harbour. at this stage there are probably only small numbers but this should become more over the next month. I caught the fish on a craft fur clouser which has some great movement in the water but doesn't last too long on fish teeth so might have to go back to the drawing board a bit to make them a bit more durable. i have just had a package of mirror image arrive that is great for making clouser flies but doesn't quite have the movement of craft fur.

CornWallis 10/10/13

This spot is well known for large kahawai and kingfish but most fish off the wharf as this is the easiest place to be for bait fisherman but this does not work for a saltwater fly-finger so i decided to head round the rocks. i have been here before and seen kahawai round this area and also seen work ups in the middle of the bay on a low tide first thing in morning so i know it can fire off. Low tide was at 8.45am and i got there at 10.30am. I managed to walk right round to the point where the current was pumping and i am sure that a few fish could be caught with a bit o pilchard but alas i didn't  have any so after a good mornings flogging the water i went home fishless again. I even tried the popper which had some great action in the water but no response.

Sometimes i think it takes a little perseverance on spot to really know how it fishes and the best tides/times etc. to fish it. i think i may go back to the low tide first thing in morning and see how i go with a bit of pilchard. there are certainly plenty of baitfish around

Orewa 8/10/13

My first time fishing here but since it was October my thought was there would be plenty of kahawai chasing whitebait. i started at bridge and worked my way down to the where it meets the sea and back up to the bridge. i had started at 10am and high tide was 12pm. I left at 2pm fishless but came back with a few ideas on the next trip there. 1st would be some much smaller flies more imitating the size of whitebait. I would think something more around the sz8-10 might be more the size of a whitebait. 2nd would be to maybe look at the other side of the estuary down to the sea and up round the rocks especially along the edges which is where whitebait would tend to congregate on the outgoing tide. according to one local the outgoing tide is the best and especially at night.

How to make your own line pallet

After getting my line tangled in rocks numerous times around my legs as I was trying to cast my heavy fly and envisioning me slicing my line as I stood on it while playing a big fish I decided to make a basket for my line or maybe should I say a line pallet.

It is basically modelled after the C&F line pallet and is both practical and lightweight. The problem with most line baskets are that they are usually cumbersome and don’t sit right to comfortably strip the line.

I have geared the pallet to sit low on the leg so there is room to strip the line down on the pallet with either long draws or fast retrieves.

At present the only draw back is with its light weight it can blow around a bit in the wind but this can be fixed by adding an additional piece of material to the bottom. Being something like wood or whatever other material you choose. You can also fit this on the floor of a boat or shape it to sit in the bottom of a basket if so choose.

What you will need

1. Piece of foam 1 1/2cm thick and 33x29cm

1. Dog clips x 2

1. Shoe laces

1. Elastic 3m

1. Pack of pull ties 20cm long but you could get away with a bit shorter

The foam is a pre-cut piece from Para rubber and the clips are just from a hardware store. You can use anything for the main braces including string so long as you can tie it to the clips

First make the shape of your foam. I made a half round at one end to fit to my leg only.

Next use a knife around 2-3cm wide and push through the foam then push through the pull ties

Next make a couple of slits for the main cord. Thread it through and attach a dog clip on either end

Next do the same for the elastic that will go round the bottom of the leg and thread it through the first hole along the bottom and back up the other side. This is easier than having to attach separate pieces to each side. It can then just be tied around the leg.

And that’s it. I have used this system all season and its been great with the only drawback being that in windy conditions it is not so stable so a piece of wood attached to the bottom may be helpful or you can place the tray in the bottom of a plastic box and attach to a belt. I used it this way first but the container was a bit big and it is a bit bulky.

 

Making your own Flyboxes

Here is a quick guide to making your own fly boxes.

1. Go to storage box or plastic box and get some plastic boxes without any inserts or with removable inserts.

2. Go to Parra rubber and get a piece of foam around .5cm to 1cm thick. i have been using 0.5cm.

3. Stencil the outline of the fly box and cut to shape with a pair of scissors.

4. With a sharp craft knife and ruler slice lines into the foam not quite all the way through but pretty close and not quite to each end.

5. glue the foam into the bottom of the box. make sure the glue is waterproof and holds both foam and plastic.

And there you have it one fly box. Here are some pictures of the ones i have made.

This box was procured from Warehouse stationary and its for holding A4 paper

Snapper on the fly–Getting Started

I have just recently had the fortune of getting into saltwater fly and it ahs taken me a while to get my first snapper but now that i have i thought i would share some knowledge on how i managed to do it. These tips and ideas can be used on other species and i don't declare to be an expert. this is just what has worked for me.

Gear

You can start with your fly gear and in fact i have had some great fun on a 6weight and kahawai but as a starting rod i would go for a an 8 or nine weight and move up to a 12wt when you start targeting the really big snapper and even kingfish. if you are going to use your trout gear just remember to clean it after each use with lemon juice.

You can use a any type of rod in the salt but when targeting bigger snapper and other slat fish the reel is the main player and this will be tested. i first used a really cheap trout reel but the drag was no good so the first fish i hooked just stripped line till i was in the backing then busted me off. The other thing to think about with reels is start up inertia. basically the smoother the start up of the reel the less likely you will get a bust off when you first hook a fish.

 

Location

This is one of the most important factors because if the fish aren't there they just aren't there. There seems to be two main water types. One is reefs where they can cruise around and pick up crabs and shrimps and the other is where there is current as they can sit and pick off food coming at them like a conveyor belt. Snapper also love having cover close by so anywhere they can hide like kelp is also good. The other thing is larger snappers diet changes as they get older so to bait fish so anywhere there are large congregations of baitfish will have snapper. So the main things to look at are structure and food.

Flies

I have had good success with clousers in a size 6 which is quite small and the bigger the fly the bigger the fish but i would start small to get an idea of what works and then start sizing up.

Here are a couple of flies that have worked for me. Having lots of flash adds to the attraction as baitfish have plenty when you see them in the water. other good flies are the interceptors, deceivers etc. action is the major factor (hence the clousers) and depth.

When fishing reefs you can use a float line with a sink tip or an intermediate line as the water depth is pretty shallow. You can vary the weight of your flies with the dumbell eyes to get extra depth or even use a heavier sinking line.

If fishing from rock points into deeper water you may need to sue a sink tip or and inter with heavier flies with split shot of heavier dumbells. tying with marabou will require heavier weight to get down.

The Retrieve

This takes a bit of experimentation to see what works for you but here is what has worked for me. Cast out and strip twice to get in contact with your flies. Stop and count down from 5 or 10 depending on the depth you may even need to count to 15. Keep an eye on the line for movement and strip strike if you see it suddenly move. Then strip 5 times of approx. 3 inches of line quite quickly then stop and count to 5 then strip 5 times again. and repeat. you will usually find that the fish will take just as you start to retrieve after the pause.

So far i have caught 8 fish with this method and will keep experimenting. Other retrieves may depend on the flies and the type of flies. EG for interceptors or crustaceans you may want to settle on the bottom and move very slowly.

Strip Strike

Unlike the traditional trout strike the strike for sea fish is slightly different. as you will usually have your rod pointed at the water all you need to do is strip the line and raise the rod.

Playing snapper

Always keep pressure on as fish can shake a fly out if you get too mush slack. Snapper will usually look for structure to hide and this is usually kelp so keep the pressure on and try putting your rod side on to the fish and change directions regularly to keep them off guard and tire them out more. If you get stuck in the kelp let your line go slack for a few minutes and then put the pressure on and try and walk it out. i have found this works.

First Legal Snapper

I have now become a believer in night time fishing. On Saturday I headed out to my favourite reef and decided to fish some of the smaller pools along the way. I cast out into the middle of the pool and started the retrieve. i stopped for 3 seconds and as i started to retrieve again boom i was into a fish. Turns out it was a nice 31cm snapper. I managed to get another 3 like this until i hit my usual spot at the end where right on 9pm i came up against something solid. it slowly drew line until it was on the opposite side of the causeway in the kelp and i was almost into my backing. At this stage the i let the line go slack as i was unable to budge the fish and i was starting to think that was it i was going to lose the fish but i picked the line back up off the water and put some pressure on and low and behold the fish came free. I managed to get it to shore and measured it at 39cm. This is now my personal best snapper and plan to try and beat this on my next outing. So the best fish came right on 9m when the light was disappearing and now i had to head tail it out of there.

On my way out i was getting in my car when i saw some Maori boys who had been swimming pulling their pants down and given each other brown eyes until i yelled out “nice” which sent them scrabbling and laughing down the road.

So i managed a total of 5 snapper and lost 2 others in one nights fishing. A good substitute for trout fishing when you don't have the time to get out.

tight lines

Waitemata Harbour snapper

One of my goals this year was to catch a snapper on the fly and well i managed to kick that goal already.

I headed out to the harbour at 7pm thinking i would get a couple of hours in before the sun went down. I could see from where i was a nice kahawai clearing the water as it chased the baitfish on the other side of a pool that try as i might i just couldn't quite get my fly to it. 

Just as the sun dipped over the hill the action started. I had just stopped stripping my little fly and was doing something then when i started stripping line in again it was “fish on”. It was of course only a little taker at 20cm but hey it was my first snapper on the fly. I then had another one on within a few minutes.

i then moved down to another area where on the third cast a nice 30cm kahawai took my fly. by now the light was really starting to fade and i had to head tail it back to the car before i got lost in the dark but it was a fun evening and i hope to do it again.

Waiheke Island

Had a weekend over at the island with some fly-fishing to boot. The first spot i tried was Kennedy Point where i did see a rat king cruise around the ledge in front of me but i feel my flies were not getting deep enough to tempt any fish. i did go for a walk round to the point to the right and saw a sting ray.

 

The next spot i tried was Enclosure Bay. Now here i did see quite a few kahawai cruising through and it was hart stopping stuff chucking my fly out and strip fast to get their attention but they were heading round so fast that it was very difficult trying to get your fly in the right place. I resigned to the fact that they weren't feeding and that i really needed to be there at the right time of the day. that being sunrise and sunset.

 

Although i didn't catch anything on the trip i did have some fun and learn a few things. certainly got to trial my new 8 weight rod which can shoot some serious line overweighed with 9 weight line.  It looks like depth is the next factor and i will be tying up some heavier flies and trailing using split shot.