The following is an account of an epic fishing trip to New Zealand by Damien Carr, who grew up in Narooma. The trip was filmed and the Narooma News had a Snapper Assassin DVD to give away to a reader who brings in their own snapper picture for us to run on the fishing page...
After fishing for Snapper for the last four years with soft plastics up and down the east coast of Australia catching fish up19lb we once again decided to cross the ditch and head for New Zealand with the aim to catch and release the elusive 20lb snapper on our soft plastic outfits.
We left Sydney early on Anzac Day and arrived in Auckland around 11am local time and we then made our way to the domestic terminal to catch our connecting flight north to Keri Keri in the Bay of Islands. On arrival we were picked up in Keri Keri by the owner of the house we were renting and taken to do some shopping for the 4 days supplies that would be needed. We were then driven north for about 45 minutes to Whangaroa Harbour which would be our base.
Here we caught up with our friend Brett Rathe who had driven his boat Assassin up down near Auckland to meet up with us. We met Brett on our last trip to New Zealand where we fished further south at Great Barrier Island with him. The rental accommodation was comfortable and had a great view of the harbour and within walking distance of the wharf.
After a few beers and 18 months of catching up we were all a bit anxious as the next days forecast was pretty bad. Brett was pretty confident that we would be able to fish in the 30 knots & driving rain that was forecast. We all crossed our fingers and called it a night at around 1am.
The alarm seemed about twice as loud as normal when we woke at about 5.30am. It was raining and the wind was blowing pretty hard even though the harbour is protected from the southerly winds. I rang Brett expecting bad news but he said lets go. We made our way the 3klms to the mouth of the harbour and ventured south towards the Cavalli Islands. The going was pretty rough but Brett believed we would be able to shelter in behind some of the islands and still get some good fishing in.
Covered from head to toe in wet weather gear we pulled up behind one of the islands on a nice deep ledge and started to fish the washes. Well it didn’t take long for the first fish to spot our soft plastics and here is where the fun began.
The rain and wind did not stop all day but the fish just seemed to love the conditions. We caught plenty of salmon, rat kingfish and well over 100 snapper on the first day ranging from 2lb to 18lb as well as being busted off and having hooks straightened by some unstoppable fish on our 12lb outfits. We kept 3 fish for dinner and the rest were all released.
That night after a feed of snapper we were keen to get the latest weather update as our plan was to head back down south to some pinnacles that looked great on the charts and we gathered would hold some bigger kingfish so we could do a bit of jigging first thing in the morning before chasing snapper. The update was exactly what we wanted to hear, the wind was forecast to back off and the rain to ease.
On day two, we woke to a foggy morning but the wind had dropped and we were looking forward to a much more comfortable days fishing. Once again the fishing was great catching numerous kingfish and again well over 100 snapper but still couldn’t catch the big one we were after.
After cooking dinner we were again keen to get the latest weather update as our plan was to head north about 30 miles to Doubtless Bay and fish some areas that looked great on the charts and we gathered were not fished very often. The update was good, light winds with the chance of some afternoon rain.
Day 3 started with a stroll down to the boat where we settled in for the 2 hour trip north. The trip up there was fantastic with some amazing scenery and some areas that we were looking forward to fishing on our way back down the coast in the afternoon.
On arrival just north of Doubtless Bay we fished the washes were there was plenty of current and managed some really nice fish in the shallows. Double and triple hookups were happening all morning and the weather was starting to get better as the sun broke through. We stopped in one of the many bays for some lunch and a quick swim before moving out to an under water pinnacle that we had spotted on the map rising from the bottom of 40 metres to within 15 metres of the surface. When we got there the sounder was marking a lot of bait near the bottom so we decided to work the edges.
The anticipation was electric as our soft plastics were heading for the bottom and we were waiting for that initial strike followed by the line burning runs that big snapper are capable of and the battle to follow trying to stop them from rubbing our lines against the bottom. My first cast resulted in a fight that we thought might be the 20lb fish that we were after. However after the 10 minute fight a fish just under 20lb was caught and released.
The next cast was followed by a blistering run and the fish seemed to be winning the battle early.. could this finally be the one I was after? For the first five minutes the reel was screaming and the rod felt like it was within and inch of breaking but the battle continued in my favour. Deep down we could see colour and we realized that this could finally be the fish we were after. Slowly the fish was bought to the surface and netted at the boat. The mad rush for scales and cameras ensued as I thought this fish would go close. The lie detectors were fitted to the fish and I lifted him off the deck.. the fish tipped the scales at 23lbs.. After a few photos the fish was released to hopefully get even bigger.
Many more fish were caught that afternoon as we worked our way back down the coastline. Again we caught over 100 snapper for the day keeping a few for the caretaker of the house we were staying at.
When we got showered we headed down to the Game Fishing Club for dinner and a few drinks. We were welcomed by the locals who had obviously been in there all afternoon and just getting ready for the raffles. After another great days fishing we enjoyed a few drinks and some yarns with the locals.
Day 4 was again good weather and we headed back to the Cavalli Islands where we again did some jigging for kingfish and caught more snapper up to 18lb. The highlight of the day was a free swimming mako shark that took a liking to one of our soft plastic baits. We were all laughing our heads off at my mate getting lead around the boat as the fish dictated terms. The shark was finally managed to bust the 20lb leader at the boat and swim away.
Day 4 was coming to an end so we decided to call it quits and head back to the harbour for a quick look around in the daylight as we really hadn’t had much of a chance. It is a beautiful harbour and has a great marina for all vessels. This area is New Zealand’s best marlin fishing grounds with fish regularly caught within a couple of kilometers of the coastline.
After looking around the area the next day we were picked up by the owner of the house who we gave a few snapper from the day before and she took us back to the airport for our connecting flight back to Auckland and then home.
Again we experienced snapper fishing that im sure couldn’t be matched anywhere else in the world. The great thing about the area is that we saw about 3 boats on the water the whole trip. With more fisherman only keeping enough for a feed and practicing catch and release especially on the bigger breeding stock fish the fishing will hopefully be preserved for many years to come.
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