Plenty of snapper in Whangarei Harbour

The numbers of snapper in and around the Whangarei Harbour are staggering, almost every boat is reporting throwing heaps back and still coming out with as many as they need or are allowed.
Although it went a little bit quiet in the harbour on Saturday evening for an hour or so, gurnard are starting to appear again. One was taken in McLeod's Bay and another at Fisherman's Pt last week. That would indicate they are offshore in decent numbers although it's fair to say that not many anglers have been targeting them as game as the snapper fishing has been so hot.
The area from the Four Poster right down to Waipu is lousy with fish and you can drop a bait in almost anywhere you see some sign and expect a pannie at least.
Dropper rigs and small softbaits are killers at the moment, and the evenings have been producing a lot of fish between 10lbs and 18lbs.
Larger baits are most effective here - whole butterflied yellowtail, mullet head, half a bonito head or a whole baby bonito.
Peach Cove and northwards is holding good numbers of snapper with the big fish tight up on the rocks and in around 30 metres. The Hen and Chicks have it all really.
Just check your weather before you go and let someone know where you are going and when you will be back - there are old anglers and there are bold anglers but there are no old bold anglers.
Kingfish are going strong and shore fishermen are having a ball with live baits and poppers. Urquharts Bay and Busby Pt being two favourite spots.
Mark from Topcatch was out in his dinghy on Friday and saw two marlin around four miles inside Sail Rock but neither would take his lure.
He reports good-sized snapper in 40m and smaller fish in shallower.
There are still plenty of game fish out wider and skipjack are present around Three Mile Reef and behind the reef with larger numbers out deeper off Guano Rock too (hence the marlin probably).
Hapuku are being successfully targeted now too with "puka squid" and baby bonito - two deadly baits for these beauties.
If there is a nicer bit of fish to eat than a medium-sized hapuku steaked crosswise on the bone I am yet to taste it.
Trevally have been taken at the Urquhart's jetty lately and squid are being taken in numbers at most of the jetties in the evenings.
Worth a visit when the weather doesn't play ball for boat fishing, they make great eating if you cook them quickly.
There is an old saying in fishing "fish your feet first".
I am almost embarrassed to say that on Sunday I was out with a mate and we whizzed all over the ocean softbaiting for snapper and, over the course of a couple of hours, we got a dozen or so lovely eating fish averaging about 2kg.
Anyway we were quite satisfied with our morning's work but, on the way home, we ran over a work-up with the biggest school of snapper I have seen in years, 500 metres long in eight metres of water less than a kilometre from the boat ramp. We could have used a litre of fuel and caught just as many - if not more - fish in half the time, but that's fishing.