Grab rod, reel and get out there to bag slice of best season in 10 years

EASY PEASY: Thirty seconds from the boat ramp, near Limestone Island (pictured), and right now it is hard to not find a snapper.PHOTO MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM

Wow, the Whangarei Harbour is fishing well.

Some anglers are telling us it is the best year in a decade, what with fish numbers and, in places, size being well up.

Limestone Island in particular is producing a number of five and six-kilo snapper. Scout about on different tides and use plenty of berley for best results.

I popped out last Wednesday and caught fish the whole day. Drifting and soft-baiting got me plenty of snapper and I lost a monster trevally at the boat. Then berleying and baiting in the afternoon produced many fine snapper and even flicking out a softie produced a decent 2kg fish.

The second channel will produce for you if the inshore channel cools off and vice versa. The trick for me is to find some current but not too much as I'm fishing and -ounce stray-line rigs. But I know the heavy sinker and long trace blokes are doing really well in the deeper channels, so all options are open to you.

Snapper are in the bay and there are some big fish about - just not concentrated in the schools we are used to seeing. Probably due to cleaner water forcing baitfish offshore, so work the shellfish beds for better numbers of feeding snapper.

What a great time of year this. With so many options it is hard to decide what to do when planning a day out.

Go wide for marlin, tuna and hapuka or stay in 40m-60m for tarakihi and snapper, fish the pinnacles and edges for kings, target big snapper in the shallows or seek a bit of everything around Three Mile and the 15m-30m areas.

It seems the hardest part is to decide what kit to take with you and what to leave out (small-boat curse). Of course, if getting food is the sole aim, then 30 seconds from any ramp will probably suffice.

The abundance of sharks is a fantastic sign that there's enough food out there and any old spearo will tell you that when sharks are about then there are good fish.

We hear many stories of strange sightings, from sunfish to sunning broadbills, unusually patterned sharks etc that it is clear you have never seen the half of it out there and any given day can produce a lifetime experience.

A word to the new reel owners out there ... not splashing your reel doesn't mean there is no salt getting to it. Simply winding in your line will bring plenty of water on to the spool and if you have a "geared" or "drum" reel, then water will pass over the edge of the drum on to the inside of the reel.

Simply remove the sideplates and clean the reel out regularly to prevent unnecessary damage. A spot of grease and gentle spray of lubricant - promptly wiped off - can give years of extra use.

Regular servicing of your gear is much easier than you think and will save you money and land you more fish.