September Fishing Forecast

Welcome to spring, something I’m sure we have all been hanging out for! A few settled weather patterns and longer days are making it feel like we have turned a corner from winters fierce grip. Spring, for all anglers is a time to get excited, as we emerge from the winter doldrums, the fish do too. 

In Auckland / Bream Bay there has been plenty of chatter that workups are in full swing and the chatter is not wrong. The pilchards are thick out there and that’s kicked the Hauraki Gulf food chain into full flight. The better workups seem to be a bit wider at the moment, the outside of the cable zone towards Great Barrier and the northern end of the Firth of Thames are the spots to venture to. A trip last week reintroduced us to the usual workup scenes, boats ripping around and killing them before they really ramped up. So we headed wider where we found a handful of gannets, seals & dolphins with a large ball of pilchards trapped on the surface. It’s a National Geographic experience watching the mayhem unfold before your eyes and the as to be expected the fishing action was second to none, we had a lot of fish in the 50 – 65cm range and had to leave the action as we had enough fish to keep us happy. From a first-hand perspective I can confirm it is all on out there, so if there’s a weather window, drop everything and get out there! 

With the influx of bait, hard fighting Kingfish are also in hot pursuit. We’ll start to see the usual spring hotspots start to fire up, for both the land based and boat anglers. Targeting spring Kings can be both rewarding and frustrating, it can take a while to get on to them and the bite times can be short. But kingfish at this time of year can be in peak condition before spawning, so make sure your gear is up to speed as these fish will push you and your tackle to its limits. To really ensure success on Kings at this time of year, make sure you have your bases covered. I’ll take a tank full of livies, my topwater and jig sets, so no matter where the fish are sitting I’m prepared to get something in front of them. Another good tip is to make sure the tide is running and avoid the full moon, Kings can be notoriously difficult around this time. 

For the freshwater fraternity, it’s countdown till the season opens up on October the 1st. That being said some of the water that has been closed around the canals opened up on September the 1st, undoubtedly there will be some incredible fish that will come from the areas that have had a break from angling pressure. Most of these fish will be spawned out and great for a quick picture and a healthy release but not much else. The next few weeks are definitely the time to get the gear out of the cupboard and check everything is intact for the season ahead.

There is also some light at the end of the tunnel for the surfcasting crew too. Spring heralds the arrival of fish in greater numbers back in to casting range, particularly species like Snapper after the winter staples of Trevally, Gurnard & Kahawai. With warmer weather on the horizon it certainly makes the thought of spending hours at the beach more appealing! 

Overall, no matter what your preferred style of fishing or target species is, September is a great month to do some prep work to get ready for the fishing season ahead. Fingers crossed we get a few more settled weather patterns so we can take advantage of one of the most productive times of the year. 

Good luck out there.