Every fourth year, we get that extra day — 366 days this year.
Women propose to men, La Bougie du Sapeur is published just once each leap year, and with a full moon thrown in, it’s made for some comical stories over the past week or so!
The season of summer is shifting into autumn awesomeness, and fishing really kicks into gear around now — perfect timing.
Food Inspiration: Snapper for Dinner
Here’s some fantastic food motivation from Anil Nathoo, showing not only some great how-to preparation using the entire fish but also a mouth-watering way to cook and serve snapper.
Your taste buds are in for a thrill: snapper for dinner!
What’s Coming Up
📰 Espresso articles are on the way in upcoming issues of NZ Fishing News magazine, covering a variety of fishy topics.
👉 Keep your eye out for the new issues before the magazine shifts to quarterly publishing.
🚤 The big annual Hutchwilco Boat Show is also just around the corner — one not to miss!
Inshore Fishing Antics
There’s plenty of action close to shore:
- Fish schools are easy to spot thanks to little white terns flitting about.
- Gannets are getting into the action too, bombing into just a few meters of water, chasing the same little kahawai that are after anchovies.
- Strong winds are making life tough for the terns — watching them flutter backward in gusts is a sight, though I imagine it’s a tiring meal for them!
Big Game & Ultralight Setups
- Ultralights are gaining popularity and momentum.
- Big game fishing is still going strong, with marlin and tuna out there.
- And the ever-reliable snapper fishing around mussel farms is producing well right now.
Mussel farms are full of food — not just mussels but anchovies too, creating a snapper buffet!
Time to Mix Up Your Approach
This is the time to experiment with different tackle and techniques:
- Snapper are feeding right up near the surface — dorsal fins breaking the water.
- Try sight-casting with a small 25g stickbait and enjoy some thrilling topwater snapper action!
- Use barely weighted soft baits (1/4oz jighead) or even no weight at all. Go big with 10-inch soft baits if they’re hungry.
Tip: If snapper are feeding aggressively, cast high and let your softbait slap the water — just like a pilchard dropped by a bird. It’s incredibly visual and exciting fishing.
If they’re more cautious, scale down in soft bait size. Use light weights, slow retrieves, and mimic a lone, lost anchovy — exactly what snapper are hunting for.
What’s Happening Out Wide
- Workups by the top of Coromandel are happening.
- Upper Firth workups are okay but not yet producing big numbers or quality snapper.
The Season Is Changing — And That’s Good News!
You can feel it:
- Days are shorter.
- Air temps are dropping.
- And the fishing action is heating up — big fish, small fish, and everything in between.
Time to Get Out There!
Smacko!
Grab your gear, head out, and get into them! 🎣
Anil Nathoo snapper prep and cook:
Landbased opportunities abound right now, see the terns – cast the micro, at hand in the car: 7gm Pocket Rocket, 2 piece softbait rod and S3000 reel, always be ready 😊