Fishing: Snapper this weekend's afternoon Gulf delight

Gannets are the angler's eye in the sky and some people like to follow the birds.

The afternoon is the best time to find a snapper on the Hauraki Gulf this weekend. That is when the fish are biting, and with the tide turning around the middle of the day it will be an incoming tide.

Fish always prefer a moving bait, and in strong currents the bait will move around when set on a long trace. But tides are small at the moment so there won't be much current out wide. In these conditions drifting will be preferable to dropping the anchor, so the baits or lures are continually moving.

There are concentrations of bait fish, snapper and kahawai in the areas which normally fish well at this time of year - between Tiritirimatangi and Kawau Islands, outside the cable zone, about 8km northeast of The Noises and a few kilometres around Gannet Rock. Fish are also starting to turn up on the worm beds north of Rangitoto Island, and this area will improve as more snapper move in.

Gannets are the angler's eye in the sky, and they can often be seen travelling in one direction. Some people like to follow the birds, as at some point they will start circling, then diving into the sea. If there are no birds in sight a pair of binoculars is a great help. But if there is no action, and sometimes it does not start up until late in the afternoon, then look for signs on the fish finder.

Bait schools will show up as a red mass in midwater. These will be pilchards, anchovies or mackerel and snapper will not be far away. If using baits a ledger or flasher rig is a better option than a long trace as you have two or three baits above a sinker and bites are easy to detect. More fish will be hooked if small baits are used, and you don't need big baits to catch big fish. While large baits, like a whole pilchard, will certainly attract fish they are easily stripped by smaller snapper, which are more aggressive.

Young fish live in a competitive world and the stronger, more aggressive individuals will survive. So they attack baits vigorously, while large fish are more cautious. So a cocktail of baits is a good idea, with something like fresh kahawai or mackerel which will stay on the hook longer mixed with chunks of pilchard on the same rig. The blood and juices in the pilchard will attract fish, while the fresh tough bait will resist the small teeth of the 'pickers'.

But baits will often be snaffled by a passing kahawai before they get near the snapper and this can be frustrating. This is where the lure fishermen have an advantage, and a lot of anglers will not take bait on the boat - preferring their light casting outfits with braid line and jigs or slow jigs.

The flutter-style jigs work well and are easy to use. Simply flick the lure out ahead of the boat's drift, let it sink to the sea bed and give the rod a few quick flicks. It is important to keep in touch with the lure as it drops by lightly applying pressure to the spool, because fish will often pick up the jig before it reaches the bottom.

So if any hesitation is detected you quickly stop the line and lift the rod, then flick the reel into gear and start winding. A hard strike is not needed, it is just a question of keeping the line tight and winding.

This applies to all fishing, whether with bait or lures. A smooth, steady application of pressure and winding quickly will result in more hook-ups than a violent upward heave of the rod, because when the rod is lowered the fish will gain a little slack line and may escape.

When dropping the lure or baits they will sink much faster if the rod is pointed down, with the tip almost touching the water so the line is going down in a straight line. If the rod is held at right angles to the sea, or even pointing up, the angle between rod and line slows the rate at which the line runs out, defeating the purpose, which is to get the business end to the bottom as fast as possible.

You are fishing more efficiently when the gear is directly below the boat, and as the boat drifts it is lifted off the bottom so line has to be continuously slipped out to compensate. This is easily done, keeping the reel in free-spool with a thumb on the spool ready to react when a bite is felt.

Freshwater

An angler fishing on Lake Rotoiti could walk away with $25,000. The promotion by Fish and Game involved 40 specially tagged trout which were released into Lakes Rotorua, Tarawera, Rotoiti and Okataina and catching one of the fish could win the big prize. Neil Stockley, from Waihou on the Hauraki Plains, caught his fish on Rotoiti. Fisheries officer Mark Sherburn said Neil "got quite a shock when he noticed the flash of red. He was going to put it back but quickly changed his mind".

The promotion ends tomorrow and the numbers on the tags are linked to four sealed envelopes, one of which contains the big prize. The others contain $200 tackle vouchers. Whether one angler walks away with the cash will be revealed when the envelopes are opened on Monday at the Eastern Fish and Game headquarters at Ngongotaha.

Tip of the week

When live-baiting for kingfish a soft bait lure can be hung on a hook set above the live bait as a second attractant. The swimming action of the bait will impart enough movement to the lure, and it will often hook a john dory or snapper.

Bite times

Bite times are 11am and 11.25pm today, and tomorrow at 11.45am.

• More fishing action can be found on Rheem Outdoors with Geoff, 6.30pm Saturdays, TV3, and at www.GTTackle.co.nz.