The spring workups are in full swing now with large areas of the gulf producing some exceptional snapper fishing.The pilchards are getting rounded up and smashed by dolphins, gannets, kahawai, kingfish, snapper and humans! I believe we are in for an outstanding spring workup season this year. Please show respect for others and learn how to fish the workups so that you and others catch fish! Here is an article I wrote last year explaining how best to fish the workups so you and others catch fish – http://oceanangler.co.nz/spring-has-sprung-and-the-workups-are-here/
We have been fishing an area north of gannet rock and NE of the Ahaaha’s over the past 2 weeks and it has been full of dolphins rounding up bait and gannets raining down in vast numbers for hours on end. These intense workups are now producing a way better kahawai to snapper ratio than the previous workups in close and we are coming home with full bins after just a couple of hours of fishing. We believe in sustainable fishing and at 40mtrs where these workups are we take our 7 fish each and then stop fishing. We do not put fish back whether they are 35cm or 75cm as we believe they will more than likely die from Barotrauma.
We have also been coming home with good legal kingfish in the last couple of trips as these hoodlums are also in the workups and are taking the jigs we deploy for snapper. This is a nice by-catch from our target fishing!
We are finding that the bigger jigs in 130-200gr are working best for us. This is because they get down quicker through the kahawai and to the hungry snapper below. They also keep in the zone at the correct and most efficient angle (45 degrees) for longer than lighter jigs. The pink and lime pickle 130gr Jitterbugs have been our most successful lures in the workups of late catching the biggest spring snapper.
See ya out there.
Cheers Capt. Snap (Nik)
Snap Fishing Ventures
“Nothing ventured nothing gained”
http://snapfishingventures.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Snapfishing