Smashing old trick hooks the big fish

Barry Warrander's big snapper - one of several large specimens reeled in on the day - fell for a good old dribbly, oozy mullet head.

Crushed mullet’s head proves the right bait to lure 8.4kg snapper.

Fishing is all about learning lessons, often relearning them, and the smart angler will always have an open mind.

A good example arose when a report of a huge snapper caught in the Manukau Harbour came in this week. It weighed 18.5 pounds (8.4kg) and was boated by an old Manukau hand, Barry Warrander.

This bloke lives close to the southern shore of the harbour and lives and breathes fishing its waters. As it happens he has been doing this for a long time, and the next generation is also skilled at removing fish from the waterway.

What is interesting is the approach Barry used to nail his fish, and it was one of several good-sized snapper he and his brother boated in two hours. They fished deep water close to some foul. They know snapper like the rocks that constitute a reef, and with the powerful currents that race through the channels on the Manukau they also know that a long trace of 10m anchored by a heavy weight will allow the bait to waft around. And they know that snapper like a moving bait. They also know that it makes no sense to thread a pilchard or squid on to their hooks, for small fish will beat the old "moochers" every time. So Barry took the head off a mullet and squashed it with his boot heel before dropping it over the side. The blood and juices and other liquids oozed out and the hard cranium bones had been transformed into a mouthful that suits the strong jaws of an old snapper just perfectly. And the small fish couldn't tear it off the hook. Bingo! A beauty of 8.4kg was soon in the bag.

This is the second time in two weeks we have heard of a smashed head doing the business on the biggest snapper of the day. The former was when the head of a blue cod treated the same way was cast from the rocks near Lottin Point, on the East Coast. We have the evidence on camera also.

These incidents reinforce a lesson learned long ago. In the 1960s, then-Auckland Star sports editor Cliff Ashby recounted how he had cast a mullet head off the rocks at Whatipu, on the other side of the Manukau from Barry Warrander's haunts. Ashby pulled in a 5.5kg snapper, but it was the bait which stuck in the memory. Then there was the now well known catch of a monster estimated at 14kg which fell for the bloody, juice-leaking split head of a bonito lobbed out from a rocky platform on an island in the outer Hauraki Gulf while making the original Snapper Secrets video in 1989. The impulsive label "me old favourite" stuck on that particular bait and it has since been put to good use by many anglers around the country. The weight was estimated because the fish was returned to the water.

So it was with no surprise that we learned of Barry Warrander's catch this week, but snapper of that size do not come from the Manukau very often these days. They will be there, but getting a bait down in the fierce current is a challenge, and if that bait is not a broken head then the result will be small fish for the pan. And the big boys have to beat the sharks and rays, which also love nothing more than a fresh, squishy, leaky fish head.

It is often said that the big ones are too smart or cunning to be caught; such wisdom usually coming from anglers returning with empty fish bins. But big fish are not clever and it is unwise to attribute anthropomorphic traits to simple creatures like fish. They are driven by very basic instincts - to survive, to eat and to reproduce. So they have learned to blend in with the terrain, to avoid clear, open water in bright light and to not expend energy chasing small morsels like a chunk of pilchard hanging unnaturally above the sea bed attached to a thick string. Conversely juvenile snapper live in a very competitive world, and they have to beat their siblings - who number in the millions - to any potential mouthful on offer. Hence the prevalence of "pickers" which frustrate anglers hoping to catch dinner. These baby fish are not afraid of a boat and will race in and tear a bait to pieces in seconds.

Enter the fish head bait.

Freshwater

Fish and Game officers have dealt with more than 25 incidents involving offences at stream mouths on Lake Rotorua.

The problems have centred on the Hamurana, Awahou and Waiteti Stream mouths and include fishing without a licence, using illegal tackle, giving false particulars and obstructing officers. Officers stepped up compliance activities after responding to tip-offs from members of the public. Obstruction of a ranger is a serious offence, punishable by up to two years imprisonment or fines up to $100,000.

Bite times

Bite times are 2am and 2.20pm tomorrow, and 2.45am and 3.05pm on Sunday.

Tip of the week

If the head of a fish like a mullet or kahawai is not available, a whole yellowtail or sprat will suffice and it too can be squashed. The bait will stay on the hook if it is inserted through the bony part of the nose.

More fishing action can be found on Rheem Outdoors with Geoff, 5pm Saturday, TV3, and at GTTackle.co.nz.