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Post Options Post Options   Likes (5) Likes(5)   Quote Fishin' Chick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Manukau Harbour & West Coast fishing
    Posted: 15 Jun 2013 at 8:27pm
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After waking up and checking metservice this morning seeing the forecast wasn't too bad, Coxie and I decided to go out on the Manukau and look for gurnard.
We only managed to land 2 with the biggest one being 41cm.
We had quite a few gurnard bites but they were a bit shy today and the kahawai kept getting to the bait before the gurnard could.

We saw there were white pimples on the skin of the gurnard but kept them anyway because aparantly it doesn't affect their flesh.. Has anyone had experience with this before? 
Here's a couple of photos for anyone who hasn't seen them before..





Not long after we iki'd the gurnard, we realized there was a browny-greeny colour in by the gills.. Is this normal?
I've never seen it before




Not long after catching the only 2 gurnard of the trip, something reasonable size grabbed my rod. I thought it was a big kahawai, as we'd been catching them all day, but when I pulled up into the boat and saw it was a barracuda I couldn't believe it.. Second one in a week!

Feisty little mongrels they are! I caught one for my first time last week and only found out after we released it that they're good for bait, completely forgot today when I caught it to keep it for bait, but maybe next time! Has anyone else been catching them and those that use it for bait, is it any good to use on the Manukau?



Any help with either of those things would be greatly appreciated Smile

FC
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Dunwurkn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jun 2013 at 8:34pm
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Wouldn't worry about those spots fc seen it before and ate the fish no problems.

Not so sure about the green in the gills though and also never seen a barracuda in the harbour, infact never even heard of that before.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote Fishin' Chick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jun 2013 at 8:53pm
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Aren't the pimples like a parasite on their skin? I was thinking the green in by the gills might've been related to that, but then again i really have no idea...

Oh well, we'll find out tomorrow when we eat it LOL

And yeah i didnt know you could get barracuda in the harbour either until the guy in his boat not far from us pulled one up the other week. They're such awesome looking fish
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote Skoti Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jun 2013 at 9:07pm
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I 've caught a heap of  'couta in the harbour , not too uncommon at all at this time of year and yes they make good bait .
But like all bait it can be red-hot one day and untouched the next .
Pimples on gurnard is a new one on me though , caught a couple last weekend with this condition , didn't affect the fillets or taste .
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote Dunwurkn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jun 2013 at 9:08pm
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I think they are some of sort of virus. Smudge may know,hes caught quite a few with the same condition but i have eaten them like this as well as many others so you should be fine. Barracuda are great hapuka bait, havent used them for,anything else but dont see why they wouldnt work for other species.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote Fishin' Chick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jun 2013 at 9:12pm
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Thanks for that guys, we didn't keep the last fish with pimples on it but after hearing they were ok to eat we kept the 2 with pimples today Smile 

Skoti do you know what the green in by the gills may be caused by?
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote smudge Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jun 2013 at 9:36pm
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The pimples are a very  common condition, some years more common than others and more so in summer than winter. We caught a couple in the last few weeks like that. They are fine to eat but if they have it particularly bad they lose condition. That one in your pic is only a mild condition, they get much worse. I thought it was a parasite but it appears to be a viral condition harmless to people.

Here's a link to some info about it

That gill colouration is also nothing to be concerned about.

Barracoutta show up in the harbour some winters, I've gone several years without catching them but then I've caught several in one day. They can be an ok bait. They also get pretty big.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote daz500 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jun 2013 at 10:19pm
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we get the same up here on the kaipara little white spots when you get a bin of 20 at least a couple have it ,  and  we get the dark brown & green colouring around the gills but the fish seem ok,  its the pasty  flesh ones you need to keep your eye out for , even when you chill them right down they don't fillet as good, a bit soft and mushy ,  the kaipara is full of baitfish at the moment how is the manukau ?
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote cirrus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jun 2013 at 10:20pm
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Didnt head out today for solo mish. Rained early on ,and forecast for rising N.E About the time i should have been fishing it calmed down ,contary to forecast.
Green gills ,sure it isnt connected to too much booze being spilled at last weeks comp. Fish still getting over a hangover.Smile
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote smudge Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jun 2013 at 10:23pm
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Heaps and heaps of kahawai, big and small in the harbour Daz. Cirrus, we like our beer too much to spill it Big smile
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote samax Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jun 2013 at 1:21pm
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hi mate 
we headed out in our trusty bright yellow thundercat yesterday aswell from french bay and headed strait over to the port marker straight off the end of the airport and fished the verry end of the incomming tide and the first 2-3 hours of outgoing and didfairly well getting around 8 gurnard biggest weighing a touch under 2kg and around halph a dozen kahawai for raw fish. there also seemed to be alot of smaller snapper milling around. also with those lice we caught one gurnard almost completely covered with them and it made no difference to the taste. quite a good first propper trip out on the manukau in the boat.Big smile
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote crustycrab Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jun 2013 at 1:34pm
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we get barracouta in tga harbour over winter aswel
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote spaceships Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jun 2013 at 7:45pm
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Good to hear that manukau is going well with gurnard back in. Hoping to try an evening fish this week when the wind drops to get some gurnard and kahawai.  In an orange thundercat.......there could be a plague of tcats out there soon.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Fishin' Chick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jun 2013 at 9:39pm
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yeah the manukau's been awesome for gurnard at the moment, we've been catching them at almost every spot we try Smile nice change from tonnes of little snapper in the summer! that was all we seemed to be catching, haha
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote cirrus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Jun 2013 at 12:53pm
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Anyone know how freshwater effects Gurnard fishing. A lot of rain and runoff over the last day or so.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote Telecaster Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Jun 2013 at 1:57pm
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Originally posted by Skoti Skoti wrote:

I 've caught a heap of  'couta in the harbour , not too uncommon at all at this time of year and yes they make good bait .
But like all bait it can be red-hot one day and untouched the next .
Pimples on gurnard is a new one on me though , caught a couple last weekend with this condition , didn't affect the fillets or taste .
( Not sure what is up with this font Confused )

Skoti - CTRL + i turns Italics off and on - suspect you fat-fingered the shift key at the start of your post.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Fishin' Chick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Jun 2013 at 2:28pm
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cirrus we've been going out almost every weekend since the weathers turned to sh*t and we always manage to get gurnard in the bin raining or not.

i dunno if it has any effect on the gurnard fishing but if so, it's never affected us Smile 
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Fishin' Chick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Jun 2013 at 2:41pm
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but then again we wouldnt really know would we! 
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote cirrus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Jun 2013 at 3:27pm
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Thanks F C. Yes fresh water would probably dilute fairly quickly. Planning trip tomorrow or Wednesday before weather goes downhill. Either a French bay launch or Huia launch. Are you getting fish well up the harbour. If so maybe French bay would do the trick. Sheltered in a N.W
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Skoti Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jun 2013 at 6:14am
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Originally posted by Telecaster Telecaster wrote:

Originally posted by Skoti Skoti wrote:

I 've caught a heap of  'couta in the harbour , not too uncommon at all at this time of year and yes they make good bait .
But like all bait it can be red-hot one day and untouched the next .
Pimples on gurnard is a new one on me though , caught a couple last weekend with this condition , didn't affect the fillets or taste .
( Not sure what is up with this font Confused )

Skoti - CTRL + i turns Italics off and on - suspect you fat-fingered the shift key at the start of your post.
Cheers Patrick , thought it maybe a case of Beer fingers Wink LOL
COVID is no joke !
One former patient was so brain damaged after , he thought he won an election he lost by 7 million votes .
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