Winter fishing in Northland

Winter is a great time of year forabit of rock fishing for snapper and I like to set upaberley trail and use whole pilchards or squid as floating baits.

Or you could try a half a bonito head or whole mullet head. And if you're fishing shallow from your boat, casting the bait out and away from under the boat seems to help.

Big snapper are shy fish. When I've been diving I've watched them hanging back from a burley trail just because of the noise coming from a boat.

Tarakihi will be starting to come into the shallower grounds in the next month or so.

For these fish using a ledger rig with one or two hooks seems to work well, and you can use pipi or tuatua for bait.

I often get asked when is the best time to fish.

From experience, and from having been told by others, fishing during the first week of the new moon seems to make a big difference.

So does dawn and dusk fishing at the change of light and you match this all up with the last couple of hours of an in-coming or out-going tide.

So if you apply all of these tactics to June, then a morning fishing trip on the 20th at 6am around the shallow reefs at Tapeka Point could mean you can't go wrong!

In summer time I enjoy cooking my catch on the barbeque but at this time of year it can be a bit wet and miserable.

Snapper in a spicy tomato sauce served with steamed rice is great on a winter's night.

Just saute´ some onions, garlic and capers, add your tinned tomatoes and a little white wine.

Once it thickens add the snapper fillets to the pan pushing it down into the sauce.

Cover and cook on a low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes. And, to spice it up a bit, I add a bit of our own Kaitaia Fire!

Safe fishing through these winter months and always remember to let someone know where you are going and when you will be back.

If you are going for a rock fish then don't forget to take your mobile phone.

If you're out on a small boat,a handheld VHF is great in areas where phone coverage is patchy. Don't forget your life jacket either.

We are so lucky to have some great fishing in Northland through the winter months.

Craig Johnston is the owner of Paihia Dive.