Fishing Report
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Tairua-Pauanui Sportfishing Club (TPSFC) June 2022
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)has recently released data confirming that autumn sea surface temperatures are again above average, and that we could be seeing another La Nina event “making for a rare, back-toback, ‘triple dip’, and that we can usually expect more north-easterly winds that bring rainy conditions to North Island’s northeast”. The weather conditions of late certainly bear this out.
I was fortunate enough to get out last week on a tarakihi hunt with my mate, Andrew. Heading out northeast of Shoe Island, we were very happy to observe several hectares of kahawai schooling on the surface, and there are also large numbers of these around Paku’s base and in the Tairua Harbour. Obviously, the word has got out about these as there have been large numbers of anglers present on Tairua’s main jetty trying to get their share. And yes, we did catch some tarakihi and a few nice snapper as well.
Our Kilwell Winter Tournament is progressing well despite the often-dismal boating conditions, with several of our entrants resorting to land-based fishing from the rocks north of the Tairua main beach. This has resulted in several snapper over 6kg being weighed from this area and a great catch of a 10.4kg snapper by an angler who was a non-entrant. Current leaders are: snapper, Ian Jowett 8.18kg, trevally, Frank Watkins 2.425kg and kahawai, Julie Elliot 2.24kg.
In the shooting section, Harry Clark has the most Canadian Geese with nine birds and his brother, Sam the heaviest with a bird of 4.705kg. Full results next month.
On the afternoon/evening of Wednesday, 1 June, a pod of orca not only entered the Tairua Harbour, but also decided that the marina complex would be a great place to find a nice meal of stingray. They set up immediately west of our clubroom deck, much to the delight of members who were in the clubrooms at the time.
Tairua-Pauanui Sports Fishing Club members are eagerly awaiting the commencement of our inaugural Southern Bluefin Tuna Tournament which will commence late June and finish late August (exact start and finish times will be agreed next week). Contestants may join this competition any time between these dates, but must pay their entry fee prior to commencing fishing, which is confined to the TPSFC defined grid zone. There will be prizes for both southern bluefin and albacore tuna, and anglers must be current financial members of TPSFC or an affiliated New Zealand Sport Fishing Club.
Our Fish of the Month for May was kahawai and was won by Ron Cross with a fish of 2.45kg. Ron won a 1l bottle of Black Heart Rum sponsored by Asahi Beverages. Our Fish of the Month for June is albacore.
Tight lines,
Wayne Barnes
Tairua-Pauanui Sports Fishing Club
Pictured on On Wednesday, 1 June a pod of orca entered the Tairua Harbour enjoying a nice meal of stingray within the marina complex.