‍

No one has been out off the coast in recent days as the conditions haven’t been the best but in past years big schools of snapper have started to build out deep at this time of the year.

This year will be no different. There will still be sharks around for sure but somewhere between 55 metres and 65 metres you will find snapper – big schools of them - all out to put on condition as their energy levels increase thanks to the warming water we get in spring.

They need to put on condition for spawning after their metabolism has slowed down over winter and now, they are hungry. They will mostly take any bait you drop in front of them.

Spring is the perfect time to catch snapper on jigs and soft baits and gurnard will be a welcome by catch. Too many sharks? Move on.

With the west coast having little in the way of structure to hold fish it pays to wait a little if you’re not getting bites. It won’t be long before the fish find you and as long as there are baits going in the water, snapper will hang around.

Snapper have started to make an appearance in the harbour and the ever-present kahawai generally mean you won’t go home empty handed. Trevally are also a common catch at this time of the year and are one of my favourite fish to catch.

Small straylined baits of squid or shellfish work a treat. Trevally are one of the best for smoking or as raw fish and are often caught over shellfish beds. Snapper are starting to appear just as gurnard start to become less prominent although they are still a regular catch.

Another common catch in the harbour at this time of year are seven gill sharks.

They get pretty big and 2m plus jobbies aren’t unusual but the bulk of them will be 1 metre or less. They are an unusual looking fish with a broad rounded nose and their grey spotty skin colour along with a very long upper tail fin make them easy to identify. The seven gills generally come to the boat or shore relatively calmly but go nuts once they realise things are getting serious. Handle with care as they are known to be aggressive.

Scallops are plentiful and starting to fatten up but there is a good chance that shellfish biotoxin will be found in the harbour in the next few weeks as it has been identified off the coast reaching all the way to Manukau South Head.

Whitebait catches in the Waikato river have been amazing but we can expect to see controls coming in over the next year or two.

There you go, just the facts, not stories. That should keep that editor off my back for a couple of weeks 😉

‍

‍

Good luck out there and stay safe.

Smudge.

‍

This Manukau / Auckland west coast report is supplied by Michael "Smudge" Parker and supports the Counties Sportfishing Club​

For more information on the Counties Sportfishing Club visit its website here.

‍