Fishing: Snapper a good challenge

By PETER JESSUP

The snapper are particularly picky at the moment and you may not even feel them bite.

In the recent fine weather I've fished a fair bit of water and the picture is the same from the Rangitoto Channel to Northland - the fish are mouthing the bait, suck-it-and-see style. Strike too hard, too early, and you'll pull the bait straight out of their mouths.

It's often better to tie straight to a light mainline, say 6kg, rather than use a trace because you get more feel. Cut baits are better than whole for the same reason, so one hook is all that's necessary.

Squid and salted bonito are working well. With pilchards, ensure the barb is looped around the backbone and sticking straight out, facing away from the head or towards the tail, and fixed so it will not roll over and bury into the flesh.

If the barb is not exposed your chances of a hook-up are well down through the winter because of the way the fish crush, then mouth the bait, rather than hitting it hard.

Stay in touch with the line and keep tension on, but let the fish have a good chomp before striking. A very slow retrieve back towards your berley trail is also useful to bring fish on the bite.

There are still plenty of snapper around and the surprising thing is the number of 3- to 4-year-old fish that have already adapted reef colour and taken up residence.

This shows good recruitment from that breeding stock and suggests those fish will be around for some time, hopefully going on to breed themselves.

But the catch has been predominantly in the 2-3kg range, the winter fat slicking up the filleting knife, so these fish are very good for eating.

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Kahawai remain scarce. Fisheries Minister David Benson-Pope has promised a decision that veers towards the conservative when allocating kahawai stocks in July for fishing under Quota Management System rules from October 1.

"People can expect a pretty robust decision," he told the Herald. "I'm pretty conservative in this area and where there is doubt, I will come down on the side of preserving and protecting stocks."

Commercial access to a public resource could not be at the expense of the public, the minister said, and while he would be as helpful as he could to the industry, he had to consider nett benefit to the country. He was aware of the high level of public concern about kahawai.

Stocks of kahawai would be assessed annually following the July allotment, and adjustment could be made in future if the population improved or declined.

Benson-Pope acknowledged the anecdotal evidence of depletion of surface schools.

Under the Fisheries Act he must make a decision that allows stocks to be fished at a sustainable level.

He said he had no reason to doubt the validity of the argument from charter skippers and fishing guides, who rated the value of kahawai highly when caught by international visitors.

That was one argument which would carry weight in his thinking. But the industry disputed that its catch was low-value.

Recreational concern was a big reason for initiating research aimed at measuring the size of the amateur catch, the minister said. He expects details of how that will be achieved to be delivered next week.

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The New Zealand Fly Fishing team had a good test of their ability when they competed against former national representatives on Lake Rotoaira near Turangi in preparation for international competition this August.

The team is Ian Gibbs of Auckland, John Pellew and Rob Vaz from Hamilton, Steve Brown and national champ Aaron West of Palmerston North plus manager and travelling reserve Paul Dewar. The former Kiwi reps were Dave McLellan, Rene Vaz, Gary Kemsley, Doug Rankin, John Murphy and John Bell.

Over two days of drift-fishing round the weed beds at the edge of the lake, they caught and released more than 150 rainbow trout, the best 600mm in length and about 3kg.

The team compete at the world champs in Slovakia in August and then at the Commonwealth champs on Loch Fiti in Scotland.

They have fished the Whakapapa and Whanganui Rivers, the Tongariro-Taupo, the Whaeo Canal and Rangitaiki River in the Bay of Plenty, Tukituki River in Hawkes Bay, Lakes Otamangakau and Kuratau near Taupo and have two more training days coming up before departure in August. The aim is to sample as many styles and types of water as possible.

They are learning European techniques such as Czech nymphing, where a heavy nymph is used basically as a sinker to pull a lighter one, attached further up the leader, into the water column. Very little line is used and the nymphs are worked upstream rather than floated downstream. The broken, tumbly water is worked to conceal the movements of the angler.

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The Kawau Island 10kg one-base competition is on again this Queen's Birthday Weekend. The target species are snapper, kahawai and kingfish, with fishing on Saturday and Sunday from 5am and the weigh-in starting at 4pm at the headquarters of the Warkworth Gamefishing Club at Pah Farm. Ph (09) 425-8765 for details.