Geoff Thomas: Wise fishers tailor their tactics

Tiritiri Matangi Island. Photo / The Aucklander

There is a spot 6.4km north of the Noises and 4.8km east of Tiritiri Matangi Island, where it is 44m deep and there are a lot of fish.

All snapper there are kahawai and kingfish in good numbers. The jack mackerel are big, too, and one of the slippery yellowtail will yield 10 chunky baits from each flank - these are the baits which will hook the biggest snapper.

Fresh kahawai is also popular and wise fishermen will always use fresh bait, often in conjunction with a squid or pilchard bait on the other hook. The preferred rig is a ledger or dropper rig, tied so the hooks hang close to the bottom. The lower hook can dangle right over the sinker and the next one up need only be far enough away so they cannot connect and tangle. Store-bought flasher rigs will work fine but the sinker is too far below the hooks for our liking. This is easily remedied by cutting off unwanted line and re-tying the sinker just below the hooks.

A small yellowtail hooked through the nose and dropped to the seabed with a heavy sinker to prevent it swimming in large circles and collecting other lines will attract a John Dory, kingfish or even a mega-sized snapper.

Whether the anchor is dropped is a question which attracts varying answers. The advantage is that berley can be deployed. The disadvantages include somebody having to pull it up at the end of the day, and this approach does rely on fish passing by with the tide or being attracted to the berley. If the day is calm or the breeze is opposing the tide then drifting is a better option, but heavier sinkers will be needed to keep the terminal bits in the hot zone.

The sea is a good 2C warmer than it is at places like the Rangitoto Channel, which is why the snapper are moving either up into the rocky shallows around the islands or out to deeper water. Straylining in only a few metres where there is a good current swirling past a reef or drop-off with a good berley trial and baits such as whole fresh piper can produce some impressive results.

There have been reports of snapper up to 6kg coming from the reefs around the Rangitoto lighthouse. Fluorocarbon monofilament trace material can be an advantage in this situation, not only for its invisibility but because it is resistant to abrasion. While it is costly, it is worth the investment.

Soft baits in darker colours seem to be working better than the bright colours, which is the usual pattern in winter. They show up better in low light but, as with all lure fishing, it is a good idea to vary the offering until the right one is found.

The hot fishing on the other coast is continuing and gurnard are showing up in the Manukau Harbour in good numbers. It may be an indicator of a better gurnard season than that of last winter, which was disappointing. Snapper up to 5kg are still coming from the upper reaches of the harbour and are in top condition.

Surfcasting for the first three hours of the outgoing tide at Hamilton's Gap on the coast is also producing snapper, kahawai and the occasional gurnard.

In Northland waters, snapper fishing continues to keep anglers happy with surfcasting, rock fishing and harbours all continuing what has been a bumper season.

Fishing over horse mussel beds in the Bay of Islands can be good and one way of finding such spots is to dive or hunt around at low tide in fine weather when visibility is good.

More mega-sized trout have been reported from Lakes Okataina and Rotoiti, and Lake Tarawera is also improving in terms of the quality of the fish being caught. This fishing should get better as winter bites.

Wherever anglers are on the water this weekend, spare a thought for duck shooters who will also be out and about for the season opening.

They will be well hidden but decoys bobbing on the surface are a giveaway.

More fishing action can be found on Rheem Outdoors with Geoff, 5pm on TV3, and online at FishnHunt.Tv.