Drifting will be the best way 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 outgoing 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, so fishing from a moving boat with lures or baits, or a combination, is the way to go.
There are concentrations of bait fish, snapper and kahawai between 40m and 45m in the areas which normally fish well at this time of year - between Tiritirimatangi and Kawau Islands, outside the cable zone, about 8km north-east of The Noises and in a radius of 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 only improve as more snapper move in.
The 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. Not all work-ups are holding snapper, and often it is worth fishing in the general area rather than among the activity, unless kahawai are the favoured species, as they are plentiful. But if there is no action, and sometimes it does not start up until late in the afternoon, then it is a question of looking for signs on the fish finder.
Bait schools will show up as a red mass in mid-water. 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 than their bigger cousins.
