Geoff Thomas: Anchovies and smaller fry keep the big ones in the area

Caught a snapper this week. It was not large, so it went back. Nothing unusual about that. But what was unusual was the two small, silver bait fish it coughed up before it started swimming again. They were about 7.5cm long, and fitted nicely into the palm of a hand.

"See, that is what these are feeding on," said our boat skipper, Alan Viskovich, gesturing at the splashes which punctured the calm surface of the Hauraki Gulf, out in the middle somewhere between Waiheke Island and the Coromandel Peninsula. The swirls were feeding kahawai, and everywhere the boat had stopped that morning there was similar activity. Big kahawai, too, around 3kg and more.

When they grabbed a bait on a ledger trace dropped for snapper they gave those wielding the rods a tough old time, particularly when two or three connected at once and if they didn't all try to head in different directions the angler would probably be pulled over the side.

The little bait fish were anchovies, with their distinctive gaping angled mouth and low-hinged jaw. And therein lies the key to the fishing at present.

Kahawai have been around in good numbers and sizes this past summer on both coasts, and bait fish like anchovies and other even smaller fish are keeping them in the area - but pilchards, not so. The pillies are not out there is the usual concentrations.

The bait shops can't get New Zealand pillies, and it is the lack of pilchard schools which has contributed to the lack of fish concentrations.

The work-ups are rare, and when they do occur are small and short-lived. The whales and masses of dolphins which one would expect to run across out in the gulf are gone. Dolphins are scattered in small groups, and as a result the snapper are scattered also.

Which can make them hard to find.

The water temperature is hovering around 17C and 18C, and once the temperature in the harbours and inner gulf drops below that found out in the deep water the snapper will move out.

There are still fish to be found in patches, like between Motuihe and Browns Islands, and off the East Coast Bays and at times around Rangitoto Island. The Noises and Tiritiri Matangi are spluttering along. The bottom end of Waiheke has had some bright spots, and straylining floating baits along the cliffs there has been useful. There are some big fish coming from Little Barrier and Great Barrier Islands and the Mokohinaus, but that would be expected at this time of year.

The same applies to the Kaipara Harbour and the west coast. Snapper are running well, and there have even been reports of soft baits doing well at the Graveyard although this is most likely going to be at slack tide.

The lack of pilchards in the surrounding sea makes other baits better options, and fresh mullet would have to be the first choice - which it always is anyway for many anglers. But squid is fine, and the large jack mackerel and occasional blue mackerel which are commonly encountered are a bonus. Cut them into strips or cross-sections and the troublesome small snapper will be deterred.

Big tides around the full moon are going to make fishing hard this weekend, and a good approach will be to drift with both firm mullet baits and soft baits, covering a lot of ground.

Those chasing trout will be sharing much of the water with duck-shooters in many parts of the country, so tolerance and common sense are called for. It is the biggest weekend of the year for the shooters, and we wish them all good luck and stay safe on the water.