Bay of Islands Fishing Report 22Aug24

The word on the street is that some bluefin tuna were spotted around the bird trench so I couldn’t help myself and geared up for a look. We towed some lures around for a few hours but never spotted anything on the sounder or surface to maintain our interest. I did see a few of the bigger boats out there so maybe they are or were around?? While fishing this morning there were a number of boats calling it and stating they were heading out wide. I hope they get onto them!

The snapper fishing has been slow but we decided to vary the menu and drop some lures and baits a bit deeper in the hope of snagging some terakihi. No terakihi caught but we did get a john dory on a jig and some golden snapper for the bin. This morning, we loaded up with bait for a strayline session, and there is plenty of blue mackerel at the moment.

We were also first time fishing new PENN softbait combos loaded with 15lb braid. Early on Pete got sharked but we chased it around and got back all the line including the fluorocarbon trace. I was quite impressed by my FG knot! He then proceeded to catch the snapper of the day on his new combo. After that rigorous workout, I’d say he’s happy with it!