NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport

'Go west' is answer in quest for snapper

By Geoff Thomas
NZ Herald·
11 Dec, 2014 04:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Spawning trout in small streams are susceptible to poaching, but penalties are heavy. Photo / Geoff Thomas

Spawning trout in small streams are susceptible to poaching, but penalties are heavy. Photo / Geoff Thomas

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Hauraki Gulf fish move into shallower water, but are hard to find

The west coast is where it's happening at the moment, with snapper up to 8kg coming from Raglan, and good fish reported all along the coast.

The Graveyard on the Kaipara Harbour has also benefited from the influx of big snapper on the coast.

Off the Manukau Harbour it is a matter of dropping the anchor, catching a couple of snapper and then moving to another spot as the sharks are everywhere and they turn up quickly when a fish is hooked.

In the Hauraki Gulf the pattern has changed, and where two weeks ago there were good numbers of snapper at the 40m mark, they have moved into shallower water.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

On the western side, from Tiritiri Matangi to Kawau, the better fishing can be found between 20 and 25 metres, but with no work-ups happening many fishermen are anchoring and sending out berley to attract the fish. Drifting and dropping slow jigs and soft baits will pick up some fish, but it is a matter of trying different spots until you find fish.

The pattern is the same in the Firth of Thames where snapper can be found in 18 to 20 metres of water.

Stray-lining with light line in water only three or four metres deep has also been working well along both sides of the Tamaki Strait. Break the head off a pilchard to let the blood and juices run out and cast it unweighted well out from the boat down a berley trail.

Scallops in the Rakino Channel are in good condition, and they are also nice and fat on the Manukau Harbour with no sign of the rotting weed which plagued those who were dredging for scallops in past years.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Some anglers are using the frill from the scallop meat for bait, threading it on to a size 2/0 hook with a very small sinker on a soft bait rod and casting over the banks in the areas where they have been dredging, and hooking some nice trevally.

School snapper are also in the harbour in reasonable numbers, although they are not widespread, being more concentrated at the top of the harbour.

Fishing around the Mercury group of islands has been quiet and crayfish are in deep water around 25m.

But casting soft baits along the coast of Great Barrier Island has been good, from Tryphena to Cape Barrier and Wellington Head.

Discover more

New Zealand

Flying Kiwi fishing line

13 Dec 04:00 PM
New Zealand

Fightback after years of exploitation

16 Dec 04:00 PM
Lifestyle

Back-country kai on the fly

06 Jan 04:00 PM

Kingfish are being reported in good numbers around reefs all through the Bay of Plenty, but snapper fishing is better in deep water.

In the Bay of Islands, anglers on the water at dawn are doing well drifting in 50m, and during the day some nice snapper are being taken on the up-current side of Centre Foul.

Fresh water

Fish and Game officers welcomed help from members of the public after poachers were spotted in the Utuhina Stream at Rotorua last week.

A local person reported seeing four men, one with a rod, in a section of the upper stream which is closed to fishing to protect spawning trout.

The officers found two men holding a net across the stream while a third man tried to drive fish into the net and a fourth man acted as a lookout. The officers called for police assistance, and when two men fled a passing motorist spotted them and directed police.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Fish and Game manager Andy Garrick said: "This quick-thinking motorist allowed us to intercept the offenders - still dripping wet from the stream - and interview them. Two other men were intercepted as they made off across a nearby reserve.

"The member of the public who alerted us at the outset did the right thing by phoning 0800 POACHING."

Anyone convicted of poaching spawning trout could be jailed for up to two years or fined up to $100,000.

Bite times
Bite times are 6am and 6.25pm tomorrow and 6.45am and 7.05pm on Sunday.

Tip of the week
When looking for snapper, in the absence of work-ups follow contour lines on the chart, and look for little nooks and crannies or small patches of foul bottom on the depth sounder. These are places which will hold fish, and can be checked by drifting.

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

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Premium
Analysis

Gregor Paul: The message Scott Robertson sent with squad selection

10 Jul 06:01 PM
Sport

Herald Hat-trick sports quiz: July 11 (Ardie Savea theme)

10 Jul 05:55 PM
Racing

Foote stable favoured by global racing giant in coup for NZ

10 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

Premium
Gregor Paul: The message Scott Robertson sent with squad selection

Gregor Paul: The message Scott Robertson sent with squad selection

10 Jul 06:01 PM

OPINION: The failings in Dunedin fell into the camp of being execution mistakes.

Herald Hat-trick sports quiz: July 11 (Ardie Savea theme)

Herald Hat-trick sports quiz: July 11 (Ardie Savea theme)

10 Jul 05:55 PM
Foote stable favoured by global racing giant in coup for NZ

Foote stable favoured by global racing giant in coup for NZ

10 Jul 05:00 PM
'Angel riding with us': Teen jockey remembered for selfess act just before tragic death

'Angel riding with us': Teen jockey remembered for selfess act just before tragic death

10 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP