I love this time of the year when the inner harbour starts firing with an abundance of hungry fish and the occasional big one as well. I often keep this spot for the end of the day after we have been wide on my charters. At this time of the year it can be hit and miss out wide, so it is always good to have a backup plan.
Over the years I have mainly drift fished this area dragging softbaits with good success and occasionally tried the slow jigs. For the last 3 years I have mainly fished Kabura style slow jigs on my charters and found them to be the most effective and efficient way to get a feed from these areas. I have a few favourite spots but tend to find my drift line and then prospect an area to find where they are feeding. I test out fishing with or without the drogue depending on wind and current and find that sometimes we drift better and catch more fish without it (and other times better with). The fish we are catching have been feeding on small shellfish and crustaceans which the spew up into the boat. Once I have found an area then we concentrate on this area with 60-100gr Sliders and find the Candy Apple and Orange to be most effective. As we are in 10-15mtrs of water we simply drop the lures to the bottom and winds 3-4 times then drop and repeat. When the weight comes on simply lift the rod and play the fish (no striking or aggressive lifts).
I have been fishing down town Auckland area between the container wharves and the Naval base and believe the fish we are catching have spawned and are moving out. This theory is based on the fact that they bite aggressively (hungry after spawning) and have no roe in them when I fillet them (they have done their thing).
I think we will have a good long inner harbour season this year so get out there and take advantage of it!
See ya out there.
Cheers Capt. Snap (Nik)
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