Top time to target snapper

Geoff Thomas

This is a great time of year for targeting large snapper by straylining over reefs or pinnacles.

A good current, plenty of berley and large floating baits are the key. These can be anything from whole pilchards, a pilchard stuffed inside a squid which has had the tentacles removed, a slab of skipjack tuna or kahawai or whole mackerel.

Baits are cast away from the boat and kept moving so they don’t sink into rocks or kelp — or are pulled in by small fish.

When a good snapper is hooked the rod must be held high to try and keep it above the weed, and plenty of force applied to keep it out of the rocks.

While larger fish can be found around the outer islands and reefs; in close small snapper are plaguing fishermen, and although it is good for the future it can be frustrating.

One solution is to keep moving, trying different spots and, more importantly, different depths.

Changing the approach can also help, like using fresh kahawai or yellowtail for bait which will deter the little pickers.

Lures such as soft baits and kaburas tend to target bigger fish, so this is another option.

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 were 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, another important part of the process.

Dry hands can damage the coating of slime which protects the skin from infection, and if a fish must be picked up a wet towel or at least wet hands should be used. They were not designed for flying either, and a fish slipped gently into the water will be in better shape than one which is tossed into the air.

Squeezing fish to grasp them does not help as internal organs can be damaged. Fish held for a photo can be laid along the forearm with the hand under the throat, which supports the stomach.

Most involves common sense, but it is always disappointing to see how some people treat fish which are being returned to the water.

Larger fish like kahawai and small kingfish can be netted and the hook removed, while big kings to be released can be gaffed through the soft part of the lower jaw without harming the fish, lifted and photographed and slipped back. That kings survive such treatment is evidenced by the large proportion of tagged kingfish which are recovered some time later, and at White Island where hundreds of kings have been tagged over the years data from tags recovered shows that the fish do not move far.

Large numbers of anchovies, which are smaller bait fish than pilchards, are prevalent all along the coast and these attract everything from kahawai, kingfish and snapper to dolphins, skipkack tuna and marlin. Freshwater Fly fishing at the mouth of the Tongariro River has been hot, although last week’s rain will spark some runs of spawning trout.

March and April are the prime months for fishing the Tongariro mouths, anchoring the boat right in the current and casting fast sinking lines or shooting heads over the dropoff and waiting for them to sink.

A slow retrieve with smelt patterns, Red Setters or Woolly Buggers can produce some exciting action. And it is even better at night when the moon is in the sky.

This same approach also works well at the mouth of the TongariroTaupo River, and at the Log Pool on Lake Okataina.