In the far north, I have fished deep water rock ledges like Cape Brett, Cape Kari Kari, and North Cape through the winter and it’s incredible the amount of really big fish hanging around close to the rocks.įor surfcasters XOS snapper move in close to beaches south of Wanganui and in Hawkes Bay in late October and early November (pre spawning time). The mass of snapper population often turns fish into very picky eaters over summer spawning months as their focus changes from eating to breeding. In the mid to upper North Island, the snapper are present all year, and can even bite better in the winter, especially the bigger moochers. Whole pillies - always a top snapper bait If you are fishing lures, slow the action right down, or use kabura type jigs that slowly waft around in the current. This means fish are on the lookout for a big easy feed, and a bigger bait such as whole pilchard or squid can present an irresistible meal. In winter, baits will often work better than lures, and colder temps force the snapper’s metabolism to slow down.
In recent years there have been some excellent winter runs of snapper in 50-70 metres off Boom Rock and Hunters Bank, extending down towards Ohau point right in to 20-30 metres. This February to March period is normally the peak of the snapper fishery in Wellington, with the west coast firing earlier than the inner harbour, where fish may hold well into May. In Wellington it’s around February to March, whereas up north it kicks off much earlier in January to Feb where snapper can be caught in good numbers right under the Auckland harbour bridge. This transpires at different times of the year in different parts of the country normally from October through to March. This is normally nutrient rich areas commonly adjacent to large harbours and estuaries.
Winter snapper can be a very good size and condition
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