Snapper fishery still going strong

Certainly no fishing on the cards this week with very strong winds over large parts of the country, the Cook Strait ferries have stopped, and it is being recognised as the strongest winds through the Cook Strait region for the last 10 years.  

However, last weekend was a stunner! Anzac weekend produced three days of light winds and sunny skies, resulting in many boats on the water throughout the top of the south.  Stephens Passage was very popular on Anzac Day, with reports of over 40 boats chasing kingfish in what is a relatively small area.  However, kingfish are not silly and they were nowhere to be seen; they had left the area due to the sheer number of boats, and I don’t blame them either! 

Despite the lack of kingfish being caught, there have been great numbers of snapper being caught in a wide range of depths.  And what is more pleasing is that the snapper are still being caught in good numbers right throughout Tasman Bay.

Dan with a stunning Tasman Bay snap.

This is awesome to see - the beginning of May and the snapper fishery is still going strong.  I fished on Anzac Day in Tasman Bay and had a great session with the snapper.  I fished out deeper, but I spoke with a number of people back at the boat ramp and it sounds like the fish are still in as close as 12 metres and everywhere inbetween to deeper waters. 

Gurnard are still being caught in good numbers as well, which make a great addition to the fish bin. 

The fish are in very good condition at the moment, very healthy, and Tasman Bay is full of life. There was a lot of chain jelly in the water, kahawai schools working everyone, and a number of pods of dolphins came in to check me out as well.  Certainly a great place to be on a nice day! 

There is still a lot of wood in the water at the moment with all the recent rain and big tides, and a few logs that are certainly showstoppers.  So please take caution and I would strongly advise against travelling in the dark at the moment. 

Don’t let the cooler mornings put you off, chuck another layer on and get out there. It is certainly worth getting amongst it at the moment as you will have to travel a lot further than you do now for the next few months until the fish return in spring. 

Cheers!

Dan Govier 

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