A bit of history, the west coast snapper fishery was hammered in the 1970 and 80s by mostly foreign pair trawlers, as the stock plummeted this was stopped' and there was reduced effort by the NZ fleet. The stock sat at a low level for years, but for some reason over the last 5 years things have improved.
We do not see the trawlers on the horizon now. I have also learnt that the best fishing for snapper is when it is rough. Because there is a huge distance for the swells to build we get a pulsing swell often 2 to 4 feet while you have to be carefull of the big sets it is mostly the 2 ft ones coming through every 16 seconds or so.
Tuesday 2nd after picking Judy up from town I arrived at 11-30 just as a mate pulled a 3kg snapper up. I was soon into it and after missing the first bite, the second came up solid, a couple of minutes later he helped me pull a 3.9 kg snapper up, soon followed by a 2.6 and a 2.3 all in exelent spring condition
Then near high an hour later it went dead.
The next trip Wed 10th I was there about 3 hours before high with a 3 to 4ft swell but easing. It was too stirred at the front of the rock and likely to get nasty as the tide rose, so I opted to fish an area of calmer water from the side of the rock, and they were there.
I ended with 3 kept, and 6 released, also broken off by 2 good ones on the rock.
It was chalenging to say the least with water frequently around my knees but without any power to it, The waves kindly floated the fish on to the rock.
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