Big snapper - that is the buzz at the moment. And they are not far away. Auckland fisherman Paul Green, who fishes out of Half Moon Bay, reported his first "twenty pounder" of the summer season last weekend. He nailed the 9kg snapper between Waiheke and Rakino islands.
Another monster of 12.3kg came from the mussel farms in the Firth of Thames recently, caught by a local fisherman from Kaiaua.
On the west coast, a lot of good-sized snapper are being picked up at anywhere between 40m and 60m. Fishing is different on that side. With no islands and reefs creating channels and structure, it is a question of finding the fish somewhere on an extensive flat seabed. The schools of snapper will be attracted to features like shellfish or worm beds, so local knowledge is always paramount. Otherwise you look for sign on the depth sounder - schools of bait fish in midwater or fish sign on the bottom.
Elsewhere fishing has also picked up. Snapper are in close around Auckland. Channels like the Sargent and Motuihe are producing fish, mainly males which turn up first. The females are still around the 35-metre mark in any numbers. One spot that usually fishes well at this time of year when the males are gathering together for the snapper equivalent of a stag party is the shellfish beds off the eastern side of Rakino in about 18m.
Kingfish have also moved in and the first bronze whalers are also turning up, which is early for both species. A king of 30kg was caught at the back of the Noises, and fish up to 20kg are coming from the reef at Crusoe Rock, so they will also probably be around the bottom end of Waiheke, also at Gannet Rock and the Pakatoa Reef. There are two main methods of targeting kings - either setting live a bait under a balloon from an anchored boat, with another hard on the bottom anchored to a break-away sinker. Or, it can be slow-trolled with a hook through the point of the top jaw, or bridle-rigged.
