The weather is a bit up and down at the moment. There have been a few settled spells, but the wind has been getting up in the afternoons.

When inshore sea conditions are nice and calm kayakers and plenty of small boats can get out there taking advantage of the more settled days.

Kahawai.

Boaties report good numbers of nice sized kahawai that were in small spread out schools.

Snapper and gurnard around the 18m mark, anglers doing well with bonito baits.

Some great snapper fishing over the deep reefs, 70-80m mark, one report of fish caught between 8-20lbs.

The mid range reefs usually known for holding tarakihi, were holding some nice snapper last weekend, 30-35m the best depth to find them.

The kontiki fishermen report change of light sets the most productive, good numbers of gurnard and snapper.

The white baiters report some better catches after the rain and as suggested, the fishing has also been better after the rain and the Northerlies we've had recently.

This is a favourite time of year for rock fishing for me, spring is a time for change and fish start moving around again.

Well known areas like East Cape, Lottin Point, the top of Coromandel, The Barrier and Motiti Island are all spots I have fished at this time of year and they are well worth a visit. These more isolated areas are known for big snapper.

Large fish that are changing from school fish to a more solitary lifestyle.

These fish start mooching around the big kelp beds looking for any food source that may be there.

Local areas are also worth having a look at there is nothing to say these bigger fish won't be hanging around these busier spots.

A decent bait supply is the key to this type if fishing. A continual burley trail is a must, using your hook bait as berley the same as you would strayling from a boat.

The added bonus of doing this is that a lot of bait fish are attracted which is a dinner gong for kingfish.

Preparation for this type of fishing is vital. Having some heavier gear with you for when a kingie shows up is a recipe for success, being under gunned is a recipe for disaster. Picking a spot with a good rock pool to keep your live baits, a good platform to fish off and organising landing nets, gaffs, food, bait, and enough bodies to carry all the gear in is a major logistical exercise.

I spent a good few years doing heli fishing charters to The Barrier, we had a number of spots which we had found with the chopper, our favourite was fishing off Arrid Island off the North Eastern corner of The Barrier.

We would head over in four wheel drives, loaded with supplies and cans of aviation-gas for the chopper and set up camp.

My mate would head over in the chopper and meet us there and then ferry us out to various spots.

It is great to be able to fish rarely touched areas and the fishing can be fantastic.

We were lucky to catch many 20lb+ snapper from this area and some very decent kings as well.

The point of this is that we have areas locally in the Bay that aren't fished a lot and they are right on our door step.

They are accessible and are well worth considering if you are well prepared.