Fishing – Negotiating holiday angling

Holiday fishing brings the best out of anglers, be they locals who fish Mangawhai and Bream Bay waters regularly, or visitors from out of town. For the locals, used to having unfettered access to the ramp and parking, the solution is as simple as going to locations that are a little more out of the way, which won’t see as much boat traffic as the hot spots closer to home.

For the casual angler, and especially those new to the region, catching a fish requires a little more thinking than simply hooking the boat up, gathering your crew and heading to the ramp. The first hurdle is the ramp, a hive of activity from 5.30am onwards! Be prepared as you can be. Load all the gear back at your accommodation, check that the bungs are in, tiedowns have been freed up from how you left them last summer, there is plenty of water and food aboard along with plenty of salt ice, your tackle, sunscreen, hats and sunnies.

If you have any newbies in the crew, explain to them the launching procedure and what they are expected to do. With the boat in the water, slide it as far back along the pontoon as you can with the Second-in-Command loading any other passengers while the driver parks the vehicle and trailer. Make sure your windows are up and lights off. If it is very early in the morning or late in the evening, turn your lights down to park when at the ramp so as not to blind the person trying to negotiate the lane beside you.

If you are unsure of how and where to cross the bar, ask someone ahead of you on the pontoon if they are experienced and wouldn’t mind you tagging along behind them.

Now that we have you safely over the bar, deciding where to fish is the next major hurdle. The birds, and a decent depth sounder, are your friends. If you come across a few birds sitting on the water – gannets, shearwaters, terns will do – stop and have a slow sound around the area. Often your feathered friends, like you, are waiting for something to happen with the baitfish never far away.

If you are lucky enough to come across a workup involving diving gannets, dolphins and whales, don’t be that person who charges into the middle of the action scattering it far and wide. I like to fish in the area around a workup known as the ‘exhaust’ – in other words ‘where the workup has been, not where it is going.’ What is happening is while the baitfish have been corralled to the surface by the underwater predators, body parts missed in the melee slowly filter toward the bottom where the scavengers – snapper – await a free meal.

The longer you allow a bait workup to work up, the better. So many times we have filled our bin with this technique. It only takes 30 minutes of workup action to turn a very average day ending with a trip to the butcher, to one where you proudly present your guests with a feed of fresh fish.

So, what do I need by way of lures to make the latter happen you ask. The tackle stores have displays full of options, but if I was allowed just one lure to fish for snapper the rest of my life it would be an orange livery and either a slider or a 5” softbait. Having said that, the drawers aboard my vessel – appropriately named Tackle Tester – are full of options in all sizes, shapes and brands. One day, one of them will become my new best friend!