January 2008 Fishing Report from Captain Steve Butler of Earl Grey Fishing Charters

Water temperatures are now up around 18° - 20°, a good sign for fishing in the Bay. Patches of schooling Snapper are still about with some decent catches coming in but fishing areas are not overly consistent.

 With the warm water Yellowtail Kingfish have come in closer too. Small fish (50 – 70cm) can be found in plague proportions in the northern Rocky Point area, a good sign for the future hopefully. The bigger fish are there to be caught when you can get your baits past the small guys. These smaller fish put up an excellent fight for their size though – a lot of fun on jigs for those with the energy.

 Fishing around Cape Brett has been a struggle with the large swells we have been experiencing lately causing a decent kickback from the rocks. Surface fish don’t appear to be as abundant under these conditions with the kickback making it difficult to get at those fish that are there.  Waiwiri rock has then been a good option for those wanting to do saltfly fishing.

We had some great sea conditions around the Christmas period but have since had to endure large swells and muggy North to N’Easterly and Easterly winds. The swells have been a battle for those who are inclined to suffer seasickness but this can be avoided if precautions are taken.

 Only a couple of Marlin have been taken so far this season with the first being just before New Year.One Blue Marlin has been caught along with a few good Yellowfin Tuna. Yesterday saw a few hook ups called in so it will be interesting to hear the final outcome on these. Some smaller Albacore and Skipjack keep up the interest while trolling for the big guys. Once these big swells settle down hopefully we will see a lot more boats out there doing it. Certainly the signs are good for the next couple of months.
 
We recently had a Marine Biologist from California on board taking DNA samples from 26 Yellowtail Kingfish caught. Samples are being collected from a wide area around the Pacific including Mexico, California, Japan and Chile. The aim of the study is to find out where these fish come from, how far they travel, and a host of other information about the species. We look forward to hearing the results and passing this on to you via our fishing report.