With a break in the weather finally, we headed out on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday the southerly was still blowing at approx 20 knots but we managed to tuck in behind Taranga Island.  Unfortunately the water temperature had just dropped to around 15 degrees which seems to have made the fish lethargic & difficult to bring on the bite!  There were plenty of schools of juvenile snapper around so after giving them a good feed we decided to try something different.  Although only a half day trip was planned, we stayed out for the full day & ended up stray lining the shallows which ended up producing some nice pannies which made the day worthwhile.

Sunday looked more promising with the wind easing up so out we headed out again. Fishing the deeper water was easier due to lighter winds so we did manage to bring some bigger fish on the bite this time although they were still playing hard to get.  Stray lining in close to the mainland again proved to be the most productive with several good size snapper and a lot of fun with kahawai on the light gear.  All in all pretty damn good considering the cold southerly blast we’ve just experienced!  Winter fishing should get better & better from here on in.