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We have all noticed the cooler autumn morning and lower sea temperatures which heralds the tail end of the game fishing season (other than broadbill that is). This is also the signal to start targeting snapper and kingfish on our local reefs and deep water pinnacles and reefs further out in the gulf.
It’s a natural instinct for the fish to put on as much condition so they can to recover from a busy spawning season and to add a layer of fat under the skin to insulate them for winter. To do this they need to feed and we are very lucky to have a fishery as abundant as we do, both with fish and life for them to feed on.
Vast schools of anchovies become the target for the inshore snapper and are usually indicated by flocks of fluttering shearwaters and terns. The whitebait, anchovies, pilchards, squid, mackerels and kahawai all fall prey to the feeding snapper and kingfish in open water and around the reefs, while the reef fish and shellfish like mussels, kina, crabs and crayfish also supplement the snapper’s diet. It’s all part of a balanced food chain and the seasonal movement of fish that relies on it.
It makes sense then to fish these food rich areas. With such a long coastline in our area we have plenty of options when it comes to targeting inshore snapper and kingfish at this time of year. Soft baiting and jigging the shallows early in the morning and moving out a little deeper as the sun rises is a proven tactic and well known to kayakers and small boat fishers. The snapper will move right up onto the flats during the night to feed and also find cover and food in the reefs during the night. Kingfish patrol the beaches and reefs for bait schools of piper, sprats, pilchards and mackerel. They are also never too far from the kahawai schools that shadow the anchovies. A good berley trail set up with wind and tide flowing in the same direction over your chosen reef is also a very good way to target the waiting snapper. Floating baits back with just enough weight to get down to the fish or alternatively and in deeper water try dropping heavier rigs down to them.
Kingfish will respond to jigs, stick baits and trolled bibbed lures such as Rapalas and Nomad Maverick lures but it is usually live baits that get the biggest fish. Make sure to collect a few as you head out on your next trip.
If you don’t have a live bait tank, a 20 litre paint pail with an aerator pump will keep them alive for hours.
Pop into store and I will show you how to catch and rig them for best results or how to set up a live bait pail.
