Fishing: Plenty of snapper close to home

Now the filthy weather has blown over, the big high-pressure area promised for the weekend offers fine fishing chances, and the best advice is not to go to far.

The snapper have been feeding in close, and anglers choosing to go into deeper water have often not scored as well as the land-based or kayak fishermen.

Off the west coast, the easterly winds offer a bonus for kite fishermen.

Kite expert Paul Barnes was out conducting tests for the option4 group last weekend and noted that every kite fisher along the length of Muriwai was catching snapper.

"The bigger fish were out the back," he said, up to 1500m offshore. As he set lines closer in at 100m, 700m and 500m the size of the fish declined. Right in close it was mostly kahawai.

He recommends the area north of Rimmers Rd but not much further up.

But on the east coast the big fish have been right in, in as little as three metres. Kite fishers have been doing well off Orewa Beach in the evenings.

Lance Paniora, on charter boat Smokin' Reels, said they had done well straylining in three to four metres around Rakino and the Three Sisters, as well as off the back of Waiheke Island.

Best baits are fresh pilchards or skipjack. Best time is late afternoon to evening.

Lots of good-size kahawai are in the Hauraki Gulf at all depths.

Kayak fisher Paul Morris has caught a number of snapper over 10kg long-lining in shallow water behind Kawau Island. Morris uses a short line of around 10 hooks, and quick set and recheck times, covering fresh ground if nothing is biting.

Further north the land-based fishers have been doing well around Doubtless Bay in the last couple of days, once the storm wash died.

The snapper still appear to be feeding up post-spawning, unlike those further south where waters are cooler, so they bite harder and more frequently.

Eugyn de Bruyn, from charter Sea Genie, had a good day at the "Garden Patch"off Doubtless Bay, nailing good bluenose.

He also had a nasty experience when a shark snapped his catch as he was leaning over the side to retrieve it. Weighed on board, the remaining head of the bluenose went 14kg.

Data from the marlin tagging programme continues to be gathered and reviewed. Five more tags popped off in late April/early May, one was lost and two more are due to come off at the end of the month.

One fish tagged off the Kaipara Harbour showed unusual behaviour in regularly diving below 300m, well below the usual depths the billfish inhabit. Speculation is that it was feeding on the bottom.

Others tagged at the Wanganella Banks spent all their time in nothing deeper than 200m. They all appear to be headed towards New Caledonia.