Tasman and Golden Bay snapper still running hot

We are not far away from daylight savings ending, but don’t let that put you off from getting out on the water as there are some great fish to be caught. Tasman Bay and Golden Bay are still producing some great fish, and the snapper are feeding up hard at the moment. They are in great condition too – very fat as they are putting on the condition for the winter months.

The Dawnbreakers Fishing Club Snapper Cup was held two weeks ago and there was a great turnout for it.  The weather made Saturday’s fishing difficult, but Sunday resulted in fishable seas and a number of boats and kayaks got out on the water. Prizegiving has not been held yet so we don’t know the outcome, but despite who wins, I know it will be a great night had by all.

The water will start to cool if the cooler mornings are anything to go by so we will start to see the fish moving out into deeper waters. Likewise, the cooler water will bring the spiky dogfish back into the shallower waters so it will start making sense to stop using berley and start using slowjigs or softbaits to stay away from the sharks.

Family fun on chunky autumn snapper.

There have been some good schools of kahawai along the Boulder Bank. Kingfish are still among them, but there are also a few bronze whalers about – the spearos are finding that out when chasing kingfish over at the mussel farms.

Anyway, I certainly won’t let the darker mornings or cooler days put me off, as I am looking forward to getting out and doing as much as I can while the snapper are still close to port.

Cheers

Dan Govier 

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