Fishing: Snapper bonanza right on your doorstep

Aucklanders are enjoying a snapper bonanza as warm water, around 23C in some patches of the Hauraki Gulf and Manukau Harbour, holds schools in close.

Fish your feet as these northerly winds continue to push warm water into the shallows.

There are big schools in the upper Waitemata Harbour, best fished on the outgoing tide. The area around North Head and up the east coast beaches is also productive.

The fish are feeding in places on worm beds, which is early-season behaviour dragging on late because of the water temperature, and in other places following schools of anchovies that are the target of kahawai.

Best times are early morning and evening and best rig is a baby squid or pilchard with head removed, straylined with as little weight as possible. You need to strike, and often what feels like a small throwback will surprise you with the weight as it feels the hook.

The fish are well-fed and in superb condition, as proved by the slick of fat left on the knife after filleting.

Charter operators Eugyn De Bruyn on Sea Genie and Lance Paniora on Smokin' Reels both recommended the Rangitoto Channel between the island and the channel for an easy limit of snapper in the 1.5kg to 3kg range, with the odd bigger one.

On an outgoing tide try the hole off Matiatia on Waiheke, fished on the outside.

There was again spectacular bird and baitfish activity between there and Rakino Island this week and we had no trouble filling bins with kingfish, kahawai and snapper on Lee Wynyard's boat My Mistress.

The Manukau's "gurnard guru", John Moran, was out east last weekend and landed 5kg snapper in less than 2m of water off Kawakawa Bay at dusk. On his home waters, best fishing was in the upper harbour, he said, particularly the Papakura and Waiuku Channels.

Gurnard are starting to come in. One oddity - three boats in the Huia Fishing Club's contest last weekend were within eyesight of each other; one caught nothing but kahawai, one caught nothing but snapper and one landed nothing but trevally.

Find the schools of 1kg to 3kg snapper on the sounder and they will prove ravenous, Moran said, taking any bait thrown at them. Gurnard are on the edges - use flasher rigs with bait cubes.

Elsewhere fish have been bait-picky. On the gulf, piper was useless one day but re-frozen and used a week later it proved deadly. If trolling for kahawai the secret is to use small lures because the fish are feeding on those 3cm anchovies. A paravane to take the line down a metre helps hugely.

Up north, the land-based fishing that traditionally goes off at this time of year has been patchy. Perhaps the water is too bright and clear. There have been lots of kingfish but few big snapper. That will change as the schools congregate up there as they are around Auckland now.

There are patches of blue water close to the Northland coast that have produced big yellowfin and blue marlin. It's been hot out from the Bay of Islands with Geoff Stone on Major Tom II reporting schools of skipjack at 180m depth. It's also been good off Cape Karikari but North Cape has been cold.

Derek Gerritsen on Wild Bill reported good kingfish schools off the Cape and at Spirits Bay, feeding hard and snapping their kahawai lures off - bar one, a 24kg king caught on a small lure and light tackle.

At Whakatane, gamefish club manager Kevin McCracken reported a 148kg blue taken off East Cape this week and boats still getting striped marlin, though in decreasing numbers, with attention now turning to bluenose.