Hi All,

At long last the wind has changed and has brought some fish into the Bay with it .

Good catches of gurnard over the last two weekends with Merv and James, taking 20 on Saturday, other reports of 7 and 8 good size on a couple of sets.

The rip has been too strong for the electric kontikis and even the kontiki bags have been experiencing trouble.

In westerlies gusting to 50 knots over the weekend the super kites weathered the condition the best with only the corners of the kite a little the worse for wear (if yours got a little frayed on the edges in the gale don't forget to get it stitched before you head out next time).

Those with super kites had no trouble with the rip although retrieving was difficult at times.

We have still had no snapper reported yet but this time last year James Fringe had landed 9 all over 20lb for the year.

Over the last week we had a number of reports of kahawai being caught along the beach and in the river on spinners and also a number were taken on the long lines, good for the bait supply.

The crays are a bit slow at the moment, but the bucks wont be far away, usually mid to late May. Don't forget if you are in the area call in and see us and check out our beach.

Regards, Maureen & John Pothan

Hello Peggy

Enclosed please find a photo of some nice snapper displayed recently by the Golden Years Fishing Group at the Rimmers Road car park, Muriwai beach.

Four of our members put out three sets on a bottom rigged kite line in ideal conditions and landed eight snapper, two gurnard and a small shark.

The biggest snapper was 5 Ibs 8 oz.

We prefer using a bottom rig, but the strong rip (longshore current) at Muriwai can be a problem.

In an attempt to overcome the rip we are having an engineer put together a lightweight pulley which we will attach to the end of a 100 metre line connected to a second stationery kite flying tethered to a post or vehicle on the beach.

We will run the mainline straight up and through this pulley and down to a roller fixed just before the rear end of our hook section ( to keep the hook section on the sea bed).

Then through a second roller on the other end of the hook section before rising to the surface attached to a bottle and continuing to the main kite, or even directly to the kite from the nearest roller.

We are hoping that using this method we can keep our bottom line well above the surf for some distance from the shore and away from the worst of the strong current which seems to run for only a short distance beyond the outward edge of the surf.

This should overcome the problem we have in keeping the bow out of our bottom line caused by the current taking our line along the beach.

This sometimes restricts the distance we can set our hook section from the shore.

We have been impressed by our use of Paul's floating traces especially the double ones.

Pic Above : A great recent catch from Muriwai taken by the Golden Years Fishing Group

When tested with bait attached the single floats have difficulty lifting the baits in the water.

Provided the baits are not made too large the double floats can float them easily above the crabs on the way out so we do not expect to have too many problems with crabs.

We would be interested to hear from any other kite fishers using a similar method and to hear about their results.

Meanwhile, dead plankton being washed ashore on Muriwai beach and attaching itself to the underside of our 4WD is a major problem.

It is very difficult to wash it all off so we have decided to leave kite fishing in the meantime until this clears.

Left : The biggest snapper of the day was this five and a half pounder

John Donaldson, HBC Golden Years Fishing Group

Hi Paul

I thought you might like to see this photo.

I went out fishing with the Wild Cat Charter up at 90 mile beach.

I took my 9/0 which I use for kite fishing and we trolled for marlin.

After a couple of hours my line got hit and 1 hour 10 mins later we had this marlin.

Cheers Kevin Griffiths

Ed:

Congratulations to Kevin on a great fish caught by one of our regular newsletter contributors.

Hopefully Kevins next one will be with a kite from the shore.

Renowned kitefisher Joe Tuhimata of "Joe's Rig" has shifted across the ditch to Australia and recently phoned in his first kite fishing report from Moreton Island.

Moreton Island is a two hour ferry ride from mainland Queensland and is frequented by surfcasters and boaties.

Joe was keen to get his gear in the water, this being his first opportunity to kite fish since he moved to Australia.

The response was the same from all, a stunned or dazed look, shrugging shoulders and a clear "dunno mate".

Joe picked a spot and baited up his 6 hooks with fresh mullet, as a point of interest, Joe purchased his bait, 10 good sized fresh mullet, for just $14.00 from Scarborough Market.

As soon as Joe pulled out his trusty Nighthawk Kite he found himself surrounded by confused and intrigued fishers. Joe ran his first set to just 500 metres offshore and left it to fish for only 5 minutes.

There were two reasons for this, he didn't know what was out there in the way of rocks etc., and secondly he was uncertain about the numbers and sizes of the local shark population.

As Joe began retrieving his gear a larger crowd gathered to see the results. The crowd stared in disbelief as Joe pulled in 2 flathead, 1 grinner and 1 snapper on the six hook set. The snapper was the first fish to hit the beach. Then, to the amazement and disbelief of the already intrigued onlookers, Joe proceeded to release the snapper back into the water. Joe firmly believes that the first fish, no matter what it is, should always be returned to sea in order to ensure good fortune on the next fishing trip.

According to other fishers on the beach, snapper were never caught in this area so they couldn't believe their eyes when Joe released the only one they had ever seen.

By this stage, growing weary of the audience and all their incessant questions, Joe packed up his gear and headed off down the beach to fish in peace and quiet. To his surprise they all followed him, they just had to see it all again. On Joe's second set he wasn't so lucky. No snapper but another 2 flathead and 1 more grinner, and alas he found out the hard way where the rocks were, snagged and lost the kite.

This definitely won't put Joe off his fishing though, he's putting together some more gear and will be heading back out again soon. Joe explained that he'd forgotten his camera on this particular trip but assures us he will packing it with the rest of his essential tackle next time.

Joe also commented that he was fishing over the full moon and believes that next time he goes out he will really clean up! Another point of interest for those fishing in Oz, according to Joe the height regulations on kites is 300 feet maximum and the maximum allowable hooks per line where Joe was fishing is six hooks.

Good fishing Joe, and we look forward to the photos next time.

Peggy Barnes