Snapper galore

This year is racing by, and I hope many of you have taken some time to get out on the water to chase some fish when you can. On the top of the South Island, we are very fortunate to still be enjoying some great fishing. Despite the weather not always being favourable, a lot of people are getting out on the water and having great success.

Over the last few years, the snapper fishery has been improving year on year, not only in numbers but the average size has also been increasing. With this, more and more people are getting into fishing, and there are certainly more boats out on the water if a weekend aligns with fine weather. This is good for the region and the economy as well, as there are many supporting businesses required for fishing and boating activities.

A lot of the snapper are being caught between that 50-70cm size class and they are all in prime healthy condition – it’s great to see how healthy our fishery is. You can easily tell how good the condition of fish is at the moment too, as after you have finished filleting, you can see a layer of fat on the knife.


Some solid snapper in shallow water up the coast being caught on softbaits.

With the warmer waters, a few more kingfish are starting to turn up in the shallower waters and more people are getting out and chasing them, both fishers and spearos. However, the population of bronze whalers does seem to be increasing in the region and they just love finding a kingfish on the end of a line or spear.

Some of the snapper have spawned already and I would expect some will continue to do so over the next few weeks. The tides are becoming more favourable over the next week ahead so if the weather allows, I would suggest it is well worth getting out on the water if you can. As I have said before, the snapper can go off the feed during spawning, but they need to feed at some stage, and you won’t catch anything with the boat in the driveway.

This will be the last fishing report before Christmas, so I hope you all have a relaxing and enjoyable Christmas and New Year period and get to enjoy some time out on the water with friends or family over the festive season.

Cheers!
Dan Govier 
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