Fishing: Best spots for good-sized catch in 20m of water

Hapuku can still be found in shallow water at the Chatham Islands.

The fish are getting closer to the channels, but the better fishing is still outside on the flats at around 20 metres of water. Close to Auckland, this means between Motuihe and Waiheke Islands and on the worm beds between Rangitoto and Tiritiri Matangi Islands.

Hopefully the good-sized snapper will turn up in the channels, but for the past three years, there have been more small fish than keepers.

Out in 20m drifting and working jigs and lures can be productive, but the tried and true approach of anchoring and fishing baits with berley is still hard to beat.

The area south of Kawau Island is still full of bait fish and plenty of snapper and if fishing is hard, it is a question of sitting it out with plenty of berley and the snapper should turn up. Of course, if a work-up starts, it is hard to resist the temptation to up-anchor and check it out.

Further out in the Hauraki Gulf, there are some good concentrations of fish at 50m, but if the wind picks up this weekend, it will be uncomfortable.

The area between Channel Island and Great Barrier Island is also fishing well, but watch the conditions, as a 3.5m tide this weekend will produce strong currents and when the wind opposes the tide, it can become dangerous.

With a 3.25am low tide today, there will be a good current at dawn, which is the perfect combination, and tomorrow is three days after the full moon, which can be a good day for fishing.

Snapper are also running in the Manukau Harbour, with the occasional big fish taken on a very long trace in the channels, and trevally can be found over the flats on a rising tide using small baits. Fishing off the west coast at 60m can be very good, but when the sharks usually turn up, it is time to find another spot.

Another feature of the fishing this spring has been the appearance of baby hapuku in the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames.

The occasional one has been caught north of Gannet Rock and in deep water off Coromandel township.

Hapuku are slow growing fish and resident populations can be easily decimated by fishing pressure, which is why they are regarded as a deepwater species.

They used to be common in shallow water but have long gone from inner coastal waters except for isolated areas such as Fiordland and the Chatham Islands where school groper - as they are known locally - of 10-15kg can still be easily caught in water as shallow as 10m.

In the top half of the North Island, the daily limit on hapuku is five fish, and there is no minimum size limit. A close relative, the spotted black groper, is protected and may not be taken.

Freshwater

Some good brown trout are coming from stream mouths on Lake Taupo at night, but with the full moon the deep rips at the Tauranga-Taupo and Tongariro Rivers will fish better. As the moon wanes, the Waitahanui should improve.

Tongariro is holding good numbers of trout. The better fishing is in the late afternoon and evening as insect life becomes more active. But small natural imitations fished deep during the day will hook fish.

In the Rotorua lakes, Lake Tarawera has been hard, but Lake Rotorua is fishing well with tobies and cobras around Mokoia Island and off the airport when the wind is right.