What is the best bait for snapper in NZ?
Bait. Snapper are scavengers and opportunist feeders, and will take just about anything, but the most consistently successful baits seem to be pilchard, skipjack tuna and squid. Piper and mullet are good performers especially in the mid to upper North Island, while octopus, mackerel and kahawai all work well at times.
What is the best bait for snapper fishing?
Live shrimp are a top bait anywhere that snapper are found. Small live bait fish such as hearing, sardines, inch pin fish are also very effective baits. Live bait certainly produce offshore as well. For the most part, anglers fishing and deep water use live bait fish.
What kind of lures do snapper like?
BAIT OPTIONS Mainstream options like squid and pilchards should be the cornerstone of your attack, while fresh strip baits from fish like salmon, slimy mackerel, yakka, tuna and other bait species will also be gun alternatives.
What size rod should I use for snapper?
A “standard” snapper outfit is a 4000 sized threadline reel spooled with 20lb braid and coupled to a 4–7kg rod of around 7′.
What depth should a snapper be?
Snapper are commonly found in the depths of between 15 to 25 metres in larger bays, however, they can be found anywhere from 5 to 120 metres.
What size hooks for snapper fishing?
5- to 1-ounce egg weight onto the leader, then tie on a 6/0 to 8/0 circle hook, depending on the bait size. Federal regulations require that fishermen use only non-stainless steel circle hooks when fishing natural baits for red snapper.
What’s the best reel for snapper fishing?
The Stradic FL and Twin Power FD reels in the 2500-4000 size range are well suited to snapper fishing. These reels should be matched to a lightweight graphite rod like the Raider and Jewel series, rated to fish between 4-10kg braid Power-Pro or Kairiki line.
How much drag do you need for bottom fishing?
So how much drag is enough for your style of fishing? For sailfishing, it might be just 6 pounds at strike and 12 pounds max, says Littau. For bottomfishing, it’s maybe 12 pounds at strike and 20 pounds max. Most anglers don’t ever need to go above 25 to 30 pounds of drag, says Rice.
What are the best fishing rigs for snapper in NZ?
Flasher rigs also work well, at anchor but particulary on the drift over sandy areas. Softbaits/soft plastics are proving phenomenally effective on snapper, especially in northern parts of New Zealand – for more about softbait fishing tips and techniques, see our articles on softbaits:
How to catch a snapper fish?
You can throw anything you like at the water, fishing the best moon phase with the best baits, the latest lures, on your favourite gear all means nothing if you are not in the right place. The single most important factor in catching snapper is finding the right location. The fish have got to be there for a start.
Where do snapper breed in New Zealand?
Breeding fish gather in dense aggregations in mid-water. The Hauraki Gulf, Bay of Islands, Doubtless Bay, Bay of Plenty, Hawke Bay, Taranaki Bight, Tasman and Golden Bays are recognised snapper breeding venues. Recreational fishers target breeding fish and the ‘schooling season’ is marked in many snapper fishing calendars.
What are the best baits for snapper fishing?
However best baits include fresh mackerel, fresh kahawai, pilchards, squid, skipjack tuna, mullet, shellfish and crabs. For big snapper, try live mackerel, live squid – even live kahawai if they’re not too large – fished near the bottom. Soft baits, jigs and flasher rigs are also very effective on snapper.