Targeting Snapper
Found consistently throughout the North Island, snapper are one of New Zealand’s most popular sport and table fish.
Snapper vary in both habits and growth rates, depending on where they are found. For example; west coast snapper grow quickly and have the potential to attain larger sizes although fish numbers are relatively low; in comparison to the east coast where snapper grow slower but numbers are greater.
The average size of a snapper is approximately 1 – 2kg; the size varies depending on where they are found. Bigger snapper can reach up to 15kg.
Breeding takes place in wide sheltered bays once the water temperature reaches 18C. Recognised breeding venues include the Bay of Islands, the Hauraki Gulf, Doubtless Bay, Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay, Tasman and Golden Bay.
The best fishing is before and after spawning.
Best Rigs
Snapper can be taken on a wide range of rigs as they are aggressive feeders. The best rigs for snapper are strayline and dropper rigs. Flasher rigs also work well. Soft baits are effective on snapper, especially in northern parts of New Zealand.
Best Baits
The best baits to use when targeting snapper include fresh kahawai, fresh mackerel, pilchards, squid, skipjack tuna, mullet, shellfish and crabs.
Best Spots
Snapper are found in different areas depending on the season. Hotspots include Nelson and the Marlborough Sounds in the South Island and from Hawkes Bay right around the top of the North Island to Taranaki.
Best Times
The best time to target snapper is early morning and evening. Night fishing can be good but snapper often stop biting a couple of hours after the sun goes down. The tide is important. A change in the tide dictates a change of venue and sometimes a change in technique. Fishing is better when the tide is running strongly.
By Samantha McPherson.
Targeting Trevally
Known as one of our top light tackle sportfish, Samantha McPherson provides advice on the best rigs to use when targeting Trevally.
Trevally are known as one of our top light tackle sportfish. The average size ranges from 2 – 4kg and they put up a powerful fight which makes them a great target on salt water fly.
Trevally have a soft mouth and they are often lost if you put too much pressure on them when attempting to lift them into the boat. Always use a net.
Due to their high oil content Trevally make delicious sashimi. Bleed the fish and put it into an ice slurry, when you come to fillet them make sure you remove any red flesh along the blood line.
The best rig for Trevally is a small hook attached to a short length of 30lb leader. Trevally are often caught on strayline and dropper rigs when targeting other species.
The best baits to use are small pieces of pilchards, skipjack, mackerel and other common bait fish. Jigs and soft baits are also effective.
Trevally are found throughout different water levels.
Spring through to Autumn are the best times to catch Trevally. They can be caught all year round.
Targeting John Dory
John Dory are one of our best table fish.
They are thin predators that eat small bait fish. Whilst they are not the fastest swimmers they are good at stalking at their prey.
The best rigs for John Dory are single hook dropper rigs.
You should always net John Dory, as they are known to ‘spit the bait out’ when they reach the boat.
The best bait is live bait, although jigs and soft bait are also effective.
Make sure you give the fish enough time to swallow the live bait before you begin to wind in.
Best Spots Where there’s a good supply of small bait fish – John Dory will be there! This includes estuaries, reefs, low broken foul areas and harbours.
Targeting Kahawai
Kahawai are one of New Zealand’s most widespread fish. Samantha McPherson gives us advice on how to target these light tackle game fish.
The Kahawai is widespread throughout New Zealand. They are sleek fish that have an average size of 40 – 50cm in length and an average weight of 1 to 2kg.
The appropriate tackle to use when targeting Kahawai is 6-10kg mono. Braid is even better as the bites are small.
Kahawai have earned themselves a reputation as a top light tackle game fish because of their fighting ability.
Best Rigs:
Soft baits, jigs, flies, spinners and flasher rigs are all very effective.
Tip: Match the hatch. If Kahawai are feeding on small silver baitfish you should use a silver jig.
Best Baits:
Kahawai eat any of our normal cut baits, such as pilchards, squid and mackerel.
Best Spots:
Kahawai can be caught in most of our inshore waters and are often found in schools on or near the surface. When you see a workup (birds diving and feeding) the Kahawai will not be far away.
Best Times:
Morning & evening are the best times but they can be caught all year round and at any time during the day.
Above: A workup
Catching Gurnard
Gurnard are bright orange fish with brightly colored pectoral fins. They have lower pectoral rays which are used for walking along the sea bottom and uncovering crustaceans and other animal food in the sand. Gurnard have a spine on each gill plate. This is not immediately obvious so be careful whilst you handle these fish as it can do some damage. Gurnard can grow up to 20 in. in length; the average size is 13 - 15 in. These fish occur abundantly in most parts of New Zealand.
Best Rigs.
The best rigs for gurnard are dropper and flasher rigs. Jigs also work well.
Best Baits.
Gurnard will take small cut baits, small jigs and flashers with small baits.
Best Spots.
Gurnard can be caught anywhere there is a flat sedimentary bottom. (Up to about 50m)
Any time
Targeting Kingfish
Known as New Zealand’s most accessible gamefish, Kingfish offer size and power to challenge fishing.
The largest Kingfish in the world are caught around New Zealand. Kingfish are found in reefs and waters that surround offshore islands. They are active predators who prey on the likes of squid and crustaceans. Kingfish hotspots include the East Coast and the Bay of Plenty – East Cape area.
Kingfish take a variety of bait, this includes jigged and trolled lures. They are susceptible to livebait such as Mackerel, Piper and Kahawai. Kingfish of all sizes will take smaller livebaits at times and soft baits work well, more in particular the quick retrieval of large lures.
Speed is the key to success as they are attracted to fast moving lures. Mechanical jigging is highly effective, as is high-speed vertical jigging. Surface poppers can be effective in some situations.
When purchasing tackle take into consideration the size and power of Kingfish. The larger the fish the heavier your tackle needs to be.
When trolling or livebaiting, the typical line weight you should look for is anything between 15 – 37 kg. This all depends on the size of the fish you are targeting. For mechanical and vertical jigging, this requires a heavier line weight 40 – 50 kg.
Whatever the size of the Kingfish, be prepared for a fight!
As mentioned before, Kingfish take a variety of baits. Dead baits include Flying Fish, whole Piper, Mackerel, Squid and Pilchards. Live baits include Kahawai, Mackerel, Koheru, Piper, Pilchard, Mullet and Squid.
If you are trolling skirted lures make sure they are equipped with good quality hardware. Jigs, poppers and Rapala lures are also effective.
Kingfish are on the bite for short periods of time. It is frustrating when you are surrounded by large schools of Kingfish and they ignore everything you offer them. Often there is a good bite just before dusk and sometimes early in the morning, but like most fishing bite times can occur any time during the day.
Summer is the best time to target Kingfish.
Crimping Tool Styles
There are four major types of crimping tools that you are likely to encounter in tackle shops. These are:
Pictured left: Lures
Point to cup resembles a large pair of pliers with semi circular cut outs on one jaw and a series of pointed teeth on the opposite jaw which match up with the opposing cups. They are used with round section crimp sleeves and they roughly flatten the sleeve around the leader. They make an inadequate connection and they are not suited to rigging for game fish.
Cup to cup resembles a large pair of pliers but the opposing jaws have matching pairs of semi-circular cut outs. There are usually three or four different sized cut outs but this depends on the brand of the tool. The jaws usually have markings to indicate the appropriate sized sleeves to use with each cut out. Each cut out will accommodate different sized sleeves either oval section or double barrel.
Cup to cup standard duty usually accommodate standard sleeves up to around 2.0mm – 2.2mm diameter, good enough for 300 – 400lb monofilament or 600lb cable.
Cup to cup heavy duty are a more costly version of the above tool. They are built to much heavier standards and are capable of handling standard and heavy duty sleeves.
Pictured left: Left hand point to cup, right hand point to cup
Cup to cup bench press uses the same jaws as the above tool. They have an extended handle and are bench mounted to facilitate crimping large quantities of heavy sleeves. They are not portable and are expensive.
Crimping Techniques
Crimping is a quick and reliable method for making joins in monofilament and cable. Due to poorly made crimped connections, game fish are often lost.
There are three main types of crimp sleeve that are commonly used among anglers. These are round section, oval section and double barrel.
Round section crimp sleeves are usually made from brass and are compressed with a point to cup type crimp tool. Whilst they don’t make a strong join they are nearly adequate for some light tackle applications. Basically, if you can’t tie a knot then use these.
Oval section crimp sleeves are used on commercial long line vessels. They are available in various brass and copper alloys and also in aluminium. You will need a cup to cup type crimp toll to compress these. They are a recommended choice for serious anglers as they create a strong and reliable connection.
Tip: In saltwater two dissimilar metals can set up a corrosive reaction and if aluminium sleeves are used to join steel cable they will corrode.
Prevention: Aluminium sleeves should only be used for joining monofilament.
Double barrel crimp sleeves make a strong and tidy join and there is no danger of the cable or monofilament crossing over itself inside the sleeve.
Double barrel sleeves are available in either brass or copper and in aluminium. They should only be compressed with a cup to cup style crimping tool.
Photo: Michael Green with a Marlin and his gear.
Tarakihi Fishing
Tarakihi is one of our most popular sport and table fish. They are a promising catch in Whitianga all year round, depending on where you go.
Best rigs
Tarakihi have relatively small mouths. They are best targeted using small 1/0 or 2/0 hooks. The most common rig is a dropper rig with one or more short branches off the main line. The sinker is at the bottom.
Soft baits fished on dropper rigs work well and small soft plastic crabs are excellent baits. If you are using multi-hook rigs, multiple hook-ups are not un-common, so it can pay to leave the rig down for a few moments after you hook a fish.
Best baits
Tarakihi take a variety of natural and soft baits. Try using shellfish baits if tarakihi are the target. Cut fish baits of skipjack tuna or pilchards are effective and easy to use. Remember to cut the bait small and rig them carefully to ensure you don’t choke the small tarakihi hooks.
Once you have located a school of fish, fishing can be fast and furious providing they are on the feed. Tarakihi are good fighters for their size and multiple hook ups can put a decent bend in the rod. You don’t need heavy tackle although super braid line is an advantage.
Best spots
Tarakihi are often found in deeper water 20m or more. They prefer clean water and are often found in the same areas as hapuku which prey on them. Tarakihi make excellent live baits.
The average size of tarakihi is near 1kg but they can reach up to 4kg and heavier.
Best times
Tarakihi can be caught anytime of the day, but like most fishing morning and evening fish well.
Boat Safety
Before you head out game fishing this summer, remember to check your boat and the weather. Ensure you have the following things onboard.
Navigation Aids include a reliable GPS system and a depth sounder.
Communication Equipment includes a VHF radio, flares, locater, beacons and cellphones. It is important to carry at least two means of communication on any trip and three means of communication if you are over 2 miles from shore.
“Don’t drown because you cannot tell someone you need help” www.boatsafe.co.nz
Bailing System
Always carry a bucket or a bailer onboard even if you have an electric bilge pump.
Anchor
To determine the right sized anchor for your boat here is a helpful tip. The anchor shouldn’t weigh less than 1.5kg per metre of the boat length.
Fire Extinguisher
Always carry a fire extinguisher onboard. Make sure your fire extinguisher is serviced regularly and is suitable for your type of boating.
Rope
Always carry an extra length of rope; you never know when you’ll need to use it.
Lifejackets and Buoyancy Aids
According to Maritime New Zealand these are both essential and a legal requirement. You must carry a correctly sized lifejacket for everyone onboard.
If lifejackets are not being worn then put them away ensuring they can be accessed immediately in an emergency.
Weather
Many fatal boating accidents occur in bad weather. If in doubt, don’t go out. Always use a marine weather forecast.
Knife
These always come in handy – keep it sharp!
Boat Hook
This can be used to pickup lines, objects and buoys in the water. It may be of some assistance in the recovery of a person fallen overboard.
Torch
Always carry a torch onboard with spare batteries.
Protective Clothing
Always carry protective warm clothing when venturing out.
A checklist
For more information about staying safe whilst boating this summer head towww.boatsafe.co.nz
Introduction to Game Fishing
Game fishing is a form of recreational fishing. Keen fisherman and women target large fish species such as Marlin and Tuna.
Striped Marlin:
The striped marlin is the most predominant billfish species in New Zealand waters and is the most common species targeted by anglers. It is believed a typical capture of this species is around 200lbs however striped marlin over 350lbs are taken every season. The best striped marlin catch to date fell short of 500lbs. Best fishing is between mid January to May.
Blue Marlin:
Blue marlin captures have become frequent in recent years. They prefer warmer waters and their season is shorter compared to striped marlin. Blue marlin are less targeted by anglers as they are found out wide in deeper areas. The typical size of blue marlin is around 400lbs. The New Zealand record to date was set earlier this year in April at 1.063lbs. Best fishing is between February and March.
Black Marlin:
Due to the nature of the black marlin they are seldom targeted as they are territorial and prowl inshore reefs. The New Zealand record stands at 977lbs. It is believed that the best fishing is between January and June but it can be all year as black marlin are tolerant of a wide range of water temperatures.
Yellowfin Tuna:
In New Zealand yellowfin tuna are regularly encountered during the summer months. These fish are usually taken on heavier gear intended for marlin, but by scaling down in tackle they can be a great sportfish. Best fishing is between December and March.
Albacore Tuna:
Albacore tuna reach weights of up to 40lbs. Best fishing is between November and June. This fish offers a longer fishing season for anglers as they are temperature tolerant.
Skipjack Tuna:
Skipjack Tuna or Skippy’s, as referred to by anglers can reach weights of up to 20lbs. Best fishing is between December and May.
The game fishing season is nearly here. Before the season starts I will be producing articles exploring key areas of this sport. These include safe boating, lures, rods and reels, setups and advice from the experts. Watch this space.
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