There are some good snapper to be caught at the moment - when the weather allows fishing. The fish are either well out, as in the middle of the Firth of Thames; or in very close in the shallows. Surfcasting from the rocks at places like the coastline at Waiwera, Whangaparaoa Peninsula and East Coast Bays is producing some nice snapper. It is the odd adult snapper that is mooching around the rocky shallows at this time of year that will occasionally fall to a floating bait. Small baits dipped in berley with no sinker are the best approach. Quieter and less intrusive small craft like kayaks and dinghies are better suited for shallow-water fishing than larger craft. But noise travels further underwater and a sinker dropped on the floor of an aluminium boat can scare any snapper nearby, so a layer of old carpet or sacking on the floor is a useful addition. As with all fishing, being on the water at first light or last light always increases the chances of taking home dinner.
The other mid-winter option on a fine day is to head out wide to a recognised spot like a reef or pinnacle in 40m or 50m of water. A few circles checking the fish finder for sign on the bottom and working out how to drop the anchor up-current from the fishing zone is a far better approach than just dropping the pick near another boat. Berley is harder to deploy in deep water, but if ledger or flasher rigs with three hooks are used it doesn't take long to get a bite going if chunks of pilchard are impaled on all hooks. The gut section is best as the blood and juices act like a stimulant to the snapper and other fish like kahawai and trevally which will also be hanging around the area. But the size of hooks used should match the size of the baits.
When the fish are biting well different baits like strips of fresh kahawai or trevally, whole pilchards or whole or half jack mackerel can be tried.
It is always worth dropping a live bait in these situations as it may score the biggest snapper of the day, a roving kingfish or, more likely, a John Dory. When trevally or "johnnies" are brought to the side of the boat they should always be netted. Lifting them up while dangling on the line is a recipe for disaster, as the hook will probably tear out of their soft mouths, or they may not even be hooked at all - just holding on to the bait.
Being poor swimmers, John Dory do not fight hard but their lack of energy is more than compensated for by their marvellous eating quality. Their favourite prey includes cockabullies, sprats, jack mackerel and baby snapper.
