Boating New Zealand — January 2018

104 Boating New Zealand

B

y the time this magazine hits the newsagents

the red-hot snapper fishing we have enjoyed

in the Hauraki Gulf and elsewhere around

northern New Zealand will have cooled

somewhat, as it always does.

Further south, the best may still be to

come, as spawning kicks into gear with warming water, but

as the old year wanes, sooner or later, snapper lose their

suicidal tendencies and become more challenging to catch.

Usually this coincides with peak summer holiday season...

I sometimes think this is nature’s way of protecting

the resource. When the spring run of pre-spawn and early

spawning fish is in full swing, the fishing can be phenomenal

and big catches are easily achieved.

Spring 2017 produced some wonderful snapper fishing

for those in the know. When it was on, it didn’t matter

what you used: bait, soft bait, hard baits, jigs, inchiku jigs –

everything worked. At other times, even though the seafloor

was carpeted in snapper, getting a bite was a real challenge.

Snapper don’t feed all the time, but as is often the case with

fishing, perseverance usually pays off: the fish will come onto

the bite at some stage during the day.

When it’s easy to catch fish, there is a tendency for people

to get caught up in the excitement. Some fishers take full

advantage of the seasonal abundance, filling their bins with

fat snapper. It’s easy to do when the fish concentrated in

small areas for spawning.

Unfortunately, too many people taking more fish than

they really need can and does have a negative effect on fish

stocks. Big snapper are particularly vulnerable. For many

anglers, the spring spawn may be the only opportunity of

The best fishing doesn’t always

coincide with the festive

break – but don’t despair.

Perseverance usually pays off.

with JOHN EICHELSHEIM

THECATCH

Holiday

fishing