Shallow Water Lures for Snapper

Experienced angler and skipper Nik Key moved from Auckland to Northland two years ago. He has found learning new territory both challenging and rewarding as he finds his way around Whangarei Harbour and the wider Bream Bay.

There is something about learning new areas that I find both exciting and rewarding. Understanding where the bait is at any time of year is one of the most important aspects to master to ensure success. I have been obsessed with this in the Hauraki Gulf over the past 40-odd years (recording every trip), which has meant I could do what I love for a job, with confidence. Providing guided lure fishing charters means I have to find the bait, and therefore find the fish, to produce the results so my clients learn from my experiences (good and bad). I always look for birds and mammals to show me where I can start fishing.

Before I found the amazing skinny water fishing discussed in this feature, located just minutes from where I launched, I would drive past many good-looking areas wondering when and how they fish. It was easy going wide to the spring pilchard workups in the greater Bream Bay/Mangawhai area, so the inner harbour was of no real interest to me. As the season went on and the pilchards moved closer in, the fishing in the bay got harder. Around the beginning of February, I decided to try shallower around Frenchman’s Island and Urquart’s Bay with some success. I was leaving Parua Bay early one morning to head to these areas and noticed three or four gannets diving just off Snake Bank. They were working in 2-6 metres of water. I went over to investigate and was glad I did as there was a big brown anchovy ball under them!

Nik’s preferred lures for shallow-water work-ups – note that he likes to rig soft-baits with a worm hook and sliding sinker.

I had a 40g orange Kabura head with a pink and red skirt on my 4kg gear, so I positioned myself just downcurrent from them and dropped it in four metres. It never got to the bottom, and the line started peeling out at a great rate. The fish took off sideways; I immediately thought ‘kahawai’ as I could not stop it. After a few strong runs, I knew it was a snapper by the head nods and weight. I netted the fish, around 65cm at a guess, before releasing him untouched.

The fishing was full on for about an hour, with lots of 45-50cm fish. I changed to my 6kg soft-bait gear and it was also getting hit on the drop, but I enjoyed the 4kg rig with the little Kabura more, so I stuck with that – it also seemed to get the bigger fish. More gannets came and started working other bait balls, so I moved around a bit. The anchovies were herded against Snake Bank by the snapper. Strangely, there were no kahawai amongst it all, but there were gurnard, a most welcome by-catch.

As I was fishing the area, I would have seen over 20 boats exiting Parua Bay and aiming for the wider Bream Bay, passing this great action. I am not complaining, as it meant I had undisturbed fishing, and it probably wouldn’t have been so productive if they had driven near or maybe even through it!

A great haul of snapper!

Tides and bite times

I went to this area over the next two weeks and found that the early morning from 6.00 to 9.00am on an outgoing-to-low tide was best (but if the bait was there being worked, it didn’t matter). This inner Whangarei harbour fishing is great if the wind is blowing anywhere out of northwest, north or northeast. You can tuck in along the heads, and often the bait and snapper will do the same.

Last summer was particularly windy out of the east in late January-early February. I was talking to Grant Dixon from New Zealand Fishing News about fishing in Bream Bay – I often share information for his fortnightly Bream Bay fishing report ­– and he said it was hard to get out with all the bad weather. I mentioned my new find close to Parua Bay, and the next day I met him, his daughter (and former editor) Miah, and her partner James, in the general area where the birds and bait were. We both had an awesome morning catching gurnard, good-sized pannies (Grant’s crew using soft-baits, and me sticking to the 40g Kaburas) with the odd bigger 60cm plus snapper thrown in. Taking on these bigger fish on 4kg gear in skinny water is my favourite way to catch snapper – it is very addictive!

For the next few months, I fished around Manganese Point, Snake Bank, Little Munro, McGregor’s and Urquart’s Bays – wherever I saw either gannets or terns working. Some days when I went out wide to Bream Bay or the Hen and Chicks and it was hard fishing, I could stop on the way back at these inshore areas to top the bin up with some very respectable snapper.

Shallow-water kingfish on light gear - a recipe for good times!

Another four days after this trip, on February 9, my former deckie Joshua Newman came to visit, and I took him to the same area to show him what I had learnt. The anchovies had moved into the harbour big-time now; the workups were much bigger and spread out. We started off Parua Bay at Manganese Point and moved up to Urquart’s Bay, where the best workups were going off. On this trip, there were also many legal kingfish in the workups. I managed to boat a nice 82cm fish in eight metres of water on my 4kg setup using a green and red speckled Zman Lizard on a lightly-weighted worm hook. We also lost four other kings that appeared to be bigger on the light 4-6kg gear, which was all we brought for the snapper fishing. We hadn’t expected legal-sized kingfish.

I look forward to fishing the inner Whangarei harbour in late January and early February in 2023. And I will certainly include something a little heavier than four-kilo tackle; you never know what will turn up!

October 2022 - Nik Key
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