But when small fish are brought to the surface, the way they are treated will influence their chance of survival.
For example, a snapper's eyes are not designed to be exposed to bright sunlight so keeping them in the water is a good start. The hook can be flicked out with long-nosed pliers and the fish released without touching it.
Dry hands can damage the coating of slime which protects the skin from infection, so fish should be picked up by using a wet towel or at least wet hands.
A fish slipped gently back into the water will be in better shape than one tossed into the air. Squeezing fish to grasp them should also be avoided, as internal organs can be damaged.
Most of these tips are common sense, but it is disappointing to see how some people treat fish being returned to the water.
Smaller tides are better for fishing in harbours such as the Waitemata, and this weekend is good with a 2.9m tide on Sunday.
In large tides, currents are too strong to get baits to the bottom, but fishing can be planned around the turn of the tide. This also applies to the Manukau and Kaipara harbours.
There is a fun day of fishing for women in the Clevedon Lions Ladies' Classic fishing contest tomorrow, and tickets can be obtained at the Clevedon Hotel and tackle outlets in the area and at Kawakawa Bay.
Entry is $30 and there is a range of prizes including $500 for the average weight snapper. Weigh-in is from 2-4pm at the hotel, and money raised will go to Clevedon Plunket.
Freshwater
Fish numbers in eastern Bay of Plenty rivers are up this summer, reports Eastern Fish and Game after a drift-dive survey, in which officers swim in formation down a river, counting fish.
"We monitored three 500m stretches of the Opato Stream and eight stretches of the Waioeka River," said Matt Osborne. "We counted 291 medium-to-large fish in all our sites this year; well up on last year. This equates to 53 fish in this size class per kilometre in the river, compared to 36 last year."
Large numbers of juvenile trout were also seen, indicating a successful spawning season last winter. "Trout numbers were very high in the Opato Stream and the middle reaches of the Waioeka in the 4km stretch below the confluence with the Opato Stream," said Osborne.
"Given the current warm, low flow levels the areas with higher water flows and rapids which oxygenate water provided good refuge and cover for the trout.
"Water temperatures topped 20C, which was high for trout which sought cooler, deep water."
The upper and lower reaches of the river were almost devoid of fish - apart from some large brown trout in the deepest pools - but once temperatures cooled and fresh rainwater entered the river, fish would spread throughout the river system.
Osborne reminded anglers to clean and dry gear to stop the spread of aquatic weeds and pests.
Bite times
Bite times are 9.10am and 9.30pm tomorrow, and 9.55am and 10.20pm on Sunday.
Tip of the week
When snapper fishing, try using a lure like a kabura and put some bait on the hooks. While lures are usually employed from a drifting boat, they can be used in place of a sinker while bait fishing. The combination of the colour of the lure and the bait attracts fish, but it does result in a lot of small snapper being hooked so correct handling of fish being returned to the water is paramount.
• More fishing action can be found on Rheem Outdoors with Geoff, 5pm Saturday, TV3, and at GTTackle.co.nz.
