The snapper are showing up in increasing numbers, coming down the Firth of Thames, they are still in deeper water, with 30 to 35 metres the most reliable depth.

They can be hard to find but they are in quite big schools, so a good fish finder is a real help, when the school is located, just fire over a softbait, or jig, or a ledger rig.

The most consistent results have been had with a Ledger or flasher rig, baited with chunks of tough oily fish like mullet and bonito, rather than softbaits or Pilchards, There are a lot of squid around as well, which are good for bait, and many people enjoy eating them, A squid jig costs around $10.00, and works well, just watch out for the ink though.

Snapper are still pretty fussy at this time of year and can often just mouth the bait, so if you are getting bites but not hooking up go down in size, both in hook size and a small bait, don’t forget to have the point and barb of the hook sticking out well clear of the bait.

A group of successful anglers have done very well recently off Shag Rock, they wouldn’t tell us exactly where, but they were using live small jack mackerel, and sending them down with a one or two ounce ball sinker, and they picked up some huge snapper, and had massive grins on their faces when they showed us the results, this method often works well for John Dory, and of course has accounted for quite a few Kingfish, over the years in New Zealand. If you haven’t been out fishing recently, it may be time to get your reel serviced and your line re-spooled, don’t wait, till labour weekend like everyone else.

In these tougher times we all like to save a few bucks & in this case more than a few.........

Huge Sale at all Top Catch stores and online

Thursday 11th September to Sunday 14th September, Pilchards from $2.00 per kilo, Squid from $3.00 per kilo, Penn 320 GT sets $129.99, Okuma Classic 10 kilo boat sets, with line $70.00, up to 50% off Dive gear and clothing, all the major Brands of fishing tackle reduced.”

Visit www.topcatch.co.nz for shop locations, fishing tips and our online store.

This report was supplied by Joe from Top Catch Clevedon.