Auckland Upper harbor

Hi guys, well after the worst summer weather in a long time i have given up waiting for the rivers to be nice and instead yesterday went for a walk along Meola Reef in the upper Waitamata harbour. I have ben playing with swf for a while but have never realy given it a serious go. I met a friend out there and he showed me the area and the chanels and holes and also very graciuosly let me fish along side him.
Well what can I say, I forgot to take a camera! Matt manged about 5 or 6 snapper up to about 18 inches and I managed my first ever salt fly snapper at about 12 inches, then another a little bigger plus a couple of small kahawhai. All in all a great afternoon fishing from the oyster covered reef in 25 knots of howling wind and only casting to water about knee deep. I have to say it was an absolute blast! So much so that I am planning to head back there today after work.
My wife rekons I am mad as I already have a cold, but hey how can fishing ever make anything worse?
All the best.
Mike

I have always found that spending time outdoors in the fresh air speeds up the recovery process. Fish on mad man!

Well I hit the same spot last night, wind was howling again, but this time straight in to our faces, made getting any distance a problem.
I managed two small snapper about 12 inches long and my mate Matt managed about 4 up to about 16 inches long.
Then it rained. My cold however is not getting any worse, so I may give it another go on the weekend. This spot is right in the middle of the city, while fishing we are looking directly at the harbor bridge and the sky tower, it is remarkable to be able to fish so close to home from the shore.
By the way it does not pay to try walking a mile or so over oyster covered rocks in neoprene booties, even the ones with a hard sole. They are now retired to the bin. My old felt-soled boots however have found a new use and to think I nearly chucked them in the rubish when felt-soles were banned in fresh water.
All the best.
Mike

Hi Mike; I have been doing very much the same thing here in Tauranga Harbour.

Unfortunately the weather has been real grotty with near gale force winds and a lot nof rain putting a lot of Fresh water into the harbour. Then of course there is the Sea Lettuce. Spent and hour trying to fish but all I did was gardening removing weed from the fly.

Last week my fishing buddy landed a Rat Kingie of close to 12 pounds. It was a blast. My First Kingie is still out there waiting to give me a hard time. Hoping to get out in the boat soon ans see if any Kingies want to play.

Do you tie your own S/W Flies? Have Fun. Jax

Sounds like a great time! Don't forget the camera next time though. I made it out on the harbour with my brother in law and 3 of his kids last week. Between the 5 of us we landed heaps of snapper and 3 travelli. Had one of the snapper tonight for supper. Very yum.

- Jeff

Hey Jax, good to hear you are giving it a bash in the Harbour. Do you know Clark Reid? he lives in Katikati and fishes the harbour flats. I spent a day with him hunting the Stingrays on the flats, the thinking being that the Kings shadow the rays and swoop in on any baitfish disturbed by the rays. We did see a couple near bowentown but the kings had a quick look and then left! Oh well next time.
Jeff, hope you are having a good new year, if you fancy hitting the meola reef one afternoon let me know and we can give it a bash. You will need good boots and a fly line that you don't mind if it gets a few nicks in it! Add a handfull of clousers or similar and you are all go.
All the best.
Mike

Hi Mike,

Will keep it in mind. I'm pretty sure I've got a line that would suit. Time is still a bit tight with the new little one, but I'm sure I could negotiate a day trip :)

Speaking of salt, did you ever try the mouth of the Waikato? I recall we chatted about that a time or two.

- Jeff

Hi Jeff, no I never made it down to the Waikato Mouth, other things like work just kept getting in the way!
You do not need a day trip for the Meola reef, I have been fishing it for maybe 3 hours at a time, when the tides in you cant get out there.
Talk soon.
All the best
Mike

Sounds interesting. Must have a look at some salt water patterns.

- Jeff

Hi Mike; yes I do Know Clark but have not fished with him yet.

I have been chasing The Sting Rays in the hope of picking up a Kingie but as of yet No Luck. Seems Not one Kingie has seen my magnificent flies yet which to my mind explains the lack of action.[" G "] :wink:

Going out in a boat after Kahawai on Tuesday and if we can get below them we might just score a Kingie or two. Hope springs eternal!! Jax

Hi Jax!

Good luck on the kingie hunt. Even if they don't play, kahawai on the fly would be a lot of fun too.

- Jeff

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jax

Hi Mike; yes I do Know Clark but have not fished with him yet.

I have been chasing The Sting Rays in the hope of picking up a Kingie but as of yet No Luck. Seems Not one Kingie has seen my magnificent flies yet which to my mind explains the lack of action.[" G "] :wink:

Going out in a boat after Kahawai on Tuesday and if we can get below them we might just score a Kingie or two. Hope springs eternal!! Jax

---

Hi Jax, please post a report, with pics, I would love to see how you go! I saw a small Kingi in Omaha Harbor on Friday but my first cast was, as usual, a bit sloppy and I spooked it. Never mind, next time I will be more carefull.
All the best.
Mike

Hi Guys, I managed a couple of hours after work on Wednesday at Meola reef, had a great time in bright sunshine and managed to catch 3 snapper in the 30 - 35 cm range as well as a couple of small kahawai. I also managed quite a few long range releases!
All in all a great way to spend a lovely summer afternoon.
All the best.
Mike.

Cool beans Mike! I was wondering how you fared. It was a lovely day for it.

- Jeff

Attachment 9715Attachment 9716Hi Guys; These are pics of my first Kahawai on the Fly.

Found that SPEED in the retrieve was critical when the Kahawai were feeding on schools of small bait fish.

Hooked and lost another three. Guess my Rolly Polly Retrieving need a lot of work.

Saw five nice Rat Kingies off a channel marker. Wind and tide spoiled our approach and we duffed it big time Spooked the Kingies taking evasive action. "Next Time!" Jax

Nice Kahawai Jax, looks like fun.
All the best.
Mike

Very nice kahawai Jax! They would be great fun on a fly.

- Jeff

Hi guys, fished Meola Reef again last evening, man did it blow, made casting very interesting. 4 bait guys were fishing the spot I wanted to fish so I fished another large hole with a good chanel leading out. My mate Q bought along a bait fishing outfit and he managed 3 snapper for the table and a few released or lost. I fished a small yellow and white Clouser and matched Q fish for fish. Biggest snapper were 45cm, guess what I'm having for tea tonight!
All the best.
Mike

Hi Mike; Sounds as though you had a lot of fun. The wind is also a real dog here in TGA at the moment and the Kingies are not playing ball at all. They seem to be hiding. Went for a quick look at Rotorua. Reports are that the Fresh Water is just as bad as the Salt at present.

Looking to go out to the seaward side of Leisure Island to try for a kingy will let you know the results. Have Fun. jax

Hi Jax, good luck with the Kings, I finaly got some time to sort out some pics from Meola reef.
The quarry
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/p...olasnapper.jpg
The Spot
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/p...bourbridge.jpg
And the wind!
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/p.../Meolawind.jpg
Some locals.
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/p...ercatchers.jpg
All the best.
Mike

Nice Pics Mike. That looks like ankle twisting Country. Is the reef submerged at high tide?

My fishing buddy sorted another Rat yesterday. Seems they are beginning to move into the harbour as there were a few about on the incoming tide. Going to try to stretch a line today. Having Fun. Jax

Good luck with the Kings Jax! The reef is under water at full tide, I found 2 outboard props on the reef on Sunday, both smashed, must have been a few guys around who thought they were good in shallow water! I use my old felt soled boots on the reef and they are excelent, it is not a place for Jandals.
All the best.
Mike

Hi mike thanks for the info on the reef. Some boaties will never learn.

Have you ever thought there must be a Jonah is the house and it might be you??

Went down to the water this A.M. No wind tide on the way in all appeared to be just fine and very promising.

Set up the rod bent on a fly and turned arround to find a stiff Westerly blowing with scudding dark ominous looking clouds suggesting rain.

No chance of sight fishing so we set about fishing the water. Narry a sign! I do believe the fates have me lined up and they are having fun.

BUT!!! then of course there is always. "NEXT TIME" Still having fun. Jax

Spent Saturday morning on the reef, first time out there with no wind, great for casting but the fishing was a bit more difficult.
Had a mate with me who wanted to learn a bit about swf, he did okay, did not catch anything but he was getting regular hits so he will start catching when he gets the strike right.
I managed a few Snapper and a big kingfish just about gave me a hart attack when it erupted out of the water right beside me! Moved too fast for me to get a shot at it, probably just as well.
Here are a couple of pics.
Lovely Morning
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/p.../Troutman2.jpg
Some Snapper for tea
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/p...ola18feb12.jpg
All the best.
Mike

Hi Mike,

Saturday would have been a great day for it. I was busy reading a Master's thesis draft by one of my students (who has to hand in at the end of the month, so it had to be done despite my desire to sneak off to a river). Those are two nice looking snapper though, and with signs of large Kingies around, I suspect we'll be hearing more from you soon. Weather looks to be packing in this week, but unlike fly fishing, with weather the forcast is never as accuracate as the backcast. :)

- Jeff

Attachment 9947
This is me just sat there sitting waiting for the weather to improve enough to have another flick at a Kingi. ;) Jax

Are you at least managing to get out on the streams Jax? I am going to Turangi tonight for a weekend of trout fishing, can hardly wait!
All the best.
Mike

Hi Mike; No I'm afraid the waikato streams I like to fish are up some and I have not been over the hill for some time. Hope things look up soon. Local streams High and Hot Chocolate.
Have fun in Turangi. Hope the trout are in a plafull mood and ready to play. jax

Hi guys, I managed to get out on the reef for an hour after work, 2 other guys I know were there when I arived and one of them was just landing a small Kingi.
I managed one small Snapper then things went a bit slow so I chucked in a little bit of dryed burly and first cast after that a Snapper hit the fly as it sunk and took off for the open water! it took me a good 5 minutes to get it under control and another 5 to land it, my best Snapper on fly yet, about 19 or 20 inches and chunky. The other guys managed a fish or two each as well.
I have not had a chance to download any pics yet, will post one when I do.
All the best.
Mike

A mate just sent me this pic.
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/p...ike_T_Snap.jpg
All the best.
Mike

That be a nice Snapper there Mike. Seems you had a good day in the Salt. Tauranga has been real mean with plenty of wind lately. The Only real good day I had other commitments and naturaly it was the day " I should have been there"
One friend went over to a stream in Waikato and the Trout were lined up just begging for a Cicada to pass their way. The wind dropped and the harbour was just right. Next Day back to Fishing for high flying owls weather.NEXT TIME. Jax

Weathers not looking too bad for a fish this weekend Jax and I hear the small streams like the waiomu are starting to fire!
All the best.
Mike

I have the same info Re:- the small streams Mike. All we need is for dear Mother Nature to smile on us and run out of puff for a few days.Crossed the Waiomu yesterday. Looking good but still a bit Green. She is my fishing buddies favourite stream from the gorge back up to the highway [matamata] Have Fun. Jax

Finaly got to get some pics downloaded from my camera.
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/p...olasnapper.jpg
Same fish, different angle.
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/p...napper0312.jpg
All the best.
Mike

Hi Guys, managed an early morning trip on the weekend, It was "interesting" crossing a waist deep creek in the Dark, funny how your mind starts to think about stingrays! Anyway it was a lovely morning and I managed to land about a dozen and Keep a few for the BBQ, yum!
Here are a couple of pics.
The Dawn
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/p...olasunrise.jpg
And one of the nice fish invited to the BBQ
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/p...ingsnapper.jpg
I will not get out again for a week or so as I am working in Christchurch for the rest of the week, but I do hope to make it out again before the fish start to move out to deeper water for the winter.
All the best.
Mike