Snapper move in to Auckland Harbour
- Please log in to create your legend
You don’t need to go far from the boat ramp to catch fish in Auckland this time of year; the snapper have moved in close within the harbour. The charter boats haven’t been venturing past North Head, anchoring and bait fishing off Bayswater Marina or in close to the Devonport naval base. You can see from the photos they’re right in the middle of the channel. If you’re heading out, it would be best to anchor in this very busy stretch of water as a drifting boat will need to be carefully monitored with so much harbour traffic.
We were out last week in NZ Fishing World’s Fyran 640 and the snapper were feeding hard up to the high tide. Ledger rigs with pilchard baits accounted for most of the fish. The fish were all up to 40cm and well conditioned. There has been larger snapper caught in the 2-3kg (50cm+) range in these spots over the past fortnight, too. If you can get a high tide coinciding with sunrise or sunset then you should have some great fishing.
Staff from Westhaven tackle shop WS Laurie said they had a lot of fun catching rat kingies around the channel markers. There are larger legal kingfish present at the markers, but because of their extra power they are more difficult customers to land. Try casting poppers or stick baits around the markers – the new Waxwing lures are proving popular.
(Photos courtesy of Alex Wallace)
