Words and Photos: by Tony Orman
The name Izaak Walton is synonymous with trout fishing. He wrote a famous book The Compleat Angler, published in 1653, and in it he wrote “Angling may be said to be so like mathematics that it never can be fully learnt.” He was speaking of trout angling of course but I think it’s just as applicable to snapper fishing, particularly in an area like the Marlborough Sounds.
I liken Marlborough Sounds snapper to brown trout in the need for success. You constantly are learning.
My first encounter with Marlborough Sounds snapper was in the 1970’s. I initially just fished from the shore and caught snapper here and there - but it was a friend from Nelson, Jim, who introduced to me to a new style of light spinning tackle. We fished out from Nelson’s Kaiteriteri in a 3 metre dinghy and, using light gear, landed several snapper of about 2kg each.
The idea had originated with a friend of Jim’s, Dave, who used trout spinning gear on snapper on the mudflats of Auckland; he’d found by using lighter gear he was able to take snapper when the heavier orthodox tackle of those days failed. In essence, Dave and Jim were the forerunners of today’s light tackle snapper approach with soft bait rods.
In Marlborough I applied the same technique, and found it thoroughly successful on shallow mudflats and channels, particularly on an incoming tide. I worked with one chap who was a keen snapper fisherman, but one who never caught much. He used to launch his boat at the same place near the head of Pelorus Sound. But he never caught much because he used the then standard gear, rods – and the rods used then I likened to broom handles, such was their stiffness. No doubt frustrated at his lack of success he would tail me, anchor just 30 metres away and start fishing. I don’t think he ever realised it was tackle and technique that spelt the difference - not fishing location. The problem was his failure to learn and adapt.
There are several basic requirements for catching snapper in the Marlborough Sounds that I gleaned from top Marlborough Sounds exponents like Rob and Scott.
I liken Marlborough Sounds snapper to brown trout in the need for success. You constantly are learning.
My first encounter with Marlborough Sounds snapper was in the 1970’s. I initially just fished from the shore and caught snapper here and there - but it was a friend from Nelson, Jim, who introduced to me to a new style of light spinning tackle. We fished out from Nelson’s Kaiteriteri in a 3 metre dinghy and, using light gear, landed several snapper of about 2kg each.
The idea had originated with a friend of Jim’s, Dave, who used trout spinning gear on snapper on the mudflats of Auckland; he’d found by using lighter gear he was able to take snapper when the heavier orthodox tackle of those days failed. In essence, Dave and Jim were the forerunners of today’s light tackle snapper approach with soft bait rods.
In Marlborough I applied the same technique, and found it thoroughly successful on shallow mudflats and channels, particularly on an incoming tide. I worked with one chap who was a keen snapper fisherman, but one who never caught much. He used to launch his boat at the same place near the head of Pelorus Sound. But he never caught much because he used the then standard gear, rods – and the rods used then I likened to broom handles, such was their stiffness. No doubt frustrated at his lack of success he would tail me, anchor just 30 metres away and start fishing. I don’t think he ever realised it was tackle and technique that spelt the difference - not fishing location. The problem was his failure to learn and adapt.
There are several basic requirements for catching snapper in the Marlborough Sounds that I gleaned from top Marlborough Sounds exponents like Rob and Scott.
Light snow had fallen on the hills beside the saltwater inlet. It truly was mid-winter! We rigged up and began to fish, and were immediately into big snapper. I lost count of the fish caught that day.
1. Be patient.
You just have to wait and wait and only then you might be rewarded. Often you will be, but not always. One classic example of this was the day Scott and I headed out to the Kenepuru Sound and fished up near St Omer. It was still and sunny. We sat and we fished and fished but the sound was seemingly devoid of fish. I recall thinking of the line in the poem The Ancient Mariner - “As idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean”!
Now, Scott’s a very experienced and competent snapper fisherman. About 3pm, he suggested we shift as it was an outgoing tide. He knew more than I did; he knew that a point just around the corner often fished well after high tide once the current was flowing. So we shifted to Point X and set out our running rigs. For 30 minutes nothing happened. The “idle” times continued ... then suddenly about 4 pm, as though someone had thrown a switch, the snapper hit. We boated about a dozen good sized fish, kept six and released the rest.
So to P for Patient, add P for Positive” and another P for Perseverance. The Three P’s - patience, perseverance and positiveness.
2. Don’t be Hidebound.
It’s generally considered snapper leave the Marlborough Sounds in winter - but it’s a myth. Another top snapper fisherman was the late Rob Jones. He said to me one day in July, “Wanna come snapper fishing?”
My reaction was “But snapper aren’t in the Sounds in winter.”
His reply: “Bulldust. Come along and see.”
So one cold, overcast, but still day we headed down the Pelorus Sound, past the Kenepuru entrance and further down the main sound. Squalls of southerly-born rain drifted through and after one, light snow had fallen on the hills beside the saltwater inlet. It truly was mid-winter! We initially tried drift fishing but after 20 minutes gave that up. So Rob manoeuvred the boat in by a mussel farm line in 12 metres of water. We rigged up and began to fish and were immediately into big snapper. I lost count of the fish caught that day. It was probably 20 or 30 and again we kept enough for our needs and released the rest.
As Rob explained, a good number of snapper, usually bigger fish, do remain in the Sounds, the only difference being that they forsake the summer time inclination to forage shallow water, and go deeper where the temperature is more to their liking. You just need to be flexible and adapt.
Scott, whom I mentioned earlier, was always seeking to try new methods, particularly if the usual tactics weren’t working. One day in particular in the Mahau Sound stands out when somehow he realised the snapper were in very close to the shore. He rigged up a float and a metre under it suspended his pilchard bait and anchored off the shore, tossing the rig to within just a couple of metres of the rocks. Bingo! Several snapper were boated.
Being innovative is a key attribute.
3. Be quiet
Snapper, just like the brown trout I earlier compared them to, are spooky, canny fish. They are wary and easily scared by unnatural noises. And noise travels underwater, as we all know.
Noise within a boat must be kept to an absolute minimum. If you’re fishing in an aluminium dinghy, put a sack on the floor of the boat to deaden noise. Avoid dropping sinkers and minimise noise while putting the anchor over. I cut the dinghy’s outboard a hundred metres from my intended fishing position and quietly row into place.
Similarly I tend to cast away from the boat to get beyond the “noise” range. Of significance I believe is that when I owned a bigger 5 metre boat, I had far more success from a 3 metre-plus dinghy, particularly in shallow water, i.e. two to four metres deep - as long I was quiet.
4. Change of light.
The change of light from dark to daylight or vice versa is naturally the optimum time - plus it avoids peak times of boating activity likely to spook snapper. Generally - and it is ‘generally’ for there’re no hard-and-100-percent-fast rules - but snapper shun bright, hot summer daylight hours.
5. Fresh Bait
Fresh bait scores so much better than frozen or preserved bait. One of the best baits in the Sounds is freshly caught gar fish. So a small rod, a wee hook and tiny pieces of bait are ideal to catch fresh bait. Yellow-eyed mullet are good too, as can be kahawai.
6. Berley
Ground baiting really enhances your chances. Make sure your ground bait’s effect is within your casting distance, though. It’s no good, in 30 metres of water in a tidal current, having your berley bag or pot at the surface - as by the time the trail nears the bottom, it may be 200 metres away.
7. Running rig
Almost always use a running rig unless you’re targeting pannies. Snapper can be extremely touchy, dropping a bait at the slightest unnatural resistance.
8. Land-based Worthwhile
Fishing from the shore in the Sounds can be very productive. It strikes me as odd that boat fishers tend to cast in to the shore while land-based anglers cast as far out as they can! As Scott showed with his float and bait tackle, snapper can be very close in to the shore.
9. Keep a Diary
In it record dates, catches, phases of tide, moon etc., and you’ll see a pattern emerging even down to individual spots. For reasons only the fish know, some spots fish better on an incoming tide than an out-going one and vice versa. I haven’t kept a diary and I regret it.
Summary
So, there you are: a few thoughts on Marlborough Sounds snapper which may just help. I know keen fishermen in Marlborough who have lived there all their lives, fished regularly and have never caught a snapper. The snapper are there though; it’s just that their approach, attitude and techniques need tuning up. Remember the three Ps - patience, perseverance and positive thinking.
The Sounds are a unique place to fish too. The labyrinth of saltwater inlets offers sheltered fishing even in windy weather by getting in the lee of a ridge or spur. And there’re none of those incessant swells you get on the open ocean. All in all, it’s a magical area.
1. Be patient.
You just have to wait and wait and only then you might be rewarded. Often you will be, but not always. One classic example of this was the day Scott and I headed out to the Kenepuru Sound and fished up near St Omer. It was still and sunny. We sat and we fished and fished but the sound was seemingly devoid of fish. I recall thinking of the line in the poem The Ancient Mariner - “As idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean”!
Now, Scott’s a very experienced and competent snapper fisherman. About 3pm, he suggested we shift as it was an outgoing tide. He knew more than I did; he knew that a point just around the corner often fished well after high tide once the current was flowing. So we shifted to Point X and set out our running rigs. For 30 minutes nothing happened. The “idle” times continued ... then suddenly about 4 pm, as though someone had thrown a switch, the snapper hit. We boated about a dozen good sized fish, kept six and released the rest.
So to P for Patient, add P for Positive” and another P for Perseverance. The Three P’s - patience, perseverance and positiveness.
2. Don’t be Hidebound.
It’s generally considered snapper leave the Marlborough Sounds in winter - but it’s a myth. Another top snapper fisherman was the late Rob Jones. He said to me one day in July, “Wanna come snapper fishing?”
My reaction was “But snapper aren’t in the Sounds in winter.”
His reply: “Bulldust. Come along and see.”
So one cold, overcast, but still day we headed down the Pelorus Sound, past the Kenepuru entrance and further down the main sound. Squalls of southerly-born rain drifted through and after one, light snow had fallen on the hills beside the saltwater inlet. It truly was mid-winter! We initially tried drift fishing but after 20 minutes gave that up. So Rob manoeuvred the boat in by a mussel farm line in 12 metres of water. We rigged up and began to fish and were immediately into big snapper. I lost count of the fish caught that day. It was probably 20 or 30 and again we kept enough for our needs and released the rest.
As Rob explained, a good number of snapper, usually bigger fish, do remain in the Sounds, the only difference being that they forsake the summer time inclination to forage shallow water, and go deeper where the temperature is more to their liking. You just need to be flexible and adapt.
Scott, whom I mentioned earlier, was always seeking to try new methods, particularly if the usual tactics weren’t working. One day in particular in the Mahau Sound stands out when somehow he realised the snapper were in very close to the shore. He rigged up a float and a metre under it suspended his pilchard bait and anchored off the shore, tossing the rig to within just a couple of metres of the rocks. Bingo! Several snapper were boated.
Being innovative is a key attribute.
3. Be quiet
Snapper, just like the brown trout I earlier compared them to, are spooky, canny fish. They are wary and easily scared by unnatural noises. And noise travels underwater, as we all know.
Noise within a boat must be kept to an absolute minimum. If you’re fishing in an aluminium dinghy, put a sack on the floor of the boat to deaden noise. Avoid dropping sinkers and minimise noise while putting the anchor over. I cut the dinghy’s outboard a hundred metres from my intended fishing position and quietly row into place.
Similarly I tend to cast away from the boat to get beyond the “noise” range. Of significance I believe is that when I owned a bigger 5 metre boat, I had far more success from a 3 metre-plus dinghy, particularly in shallow water, i.e. two to four metres deep - as long I was quiet.
4. Change of light.
The change of light from dark to daylight or vice versa is naturally the optimum time - plus it avoids peak times of boating activity likely to spook snapper. Generally - and it is ‘generally’ for there’re no hard-and-100-percent-fast rules - but snapper shun bright, hot summer daylight hours.
5. Fresh Bait
Fresh bait scores so much better than frozen or preserved bait. One of the best baits in the Sounds is freshly caught gar fish. So a small rod, a wee hook and tiny pieces of bait are ideal to catch fresh bait. Yellow-eyed mullet are good too, as can be kahawai.
6. Berley
Ground baiting really enhances your chances. Make sure your ground bait’s effect is within your casting distance, though. It’s no good, in 30 metres of water in a tidal current, having your berley bag or pot at the surface - as by the time the trail nears the bottom, it may be 200 metres away.
7. Running rig
Almost always use a running rig unless you’re targeting pannies. Snapper can be extremely touchy, dropping a bait at the slightest unnatural resistance.
8. Land-based Worthwhile
Fishing from the shore in the Sounds can be very productive. It strikes me as odd that boat fishers tend to cast in to the shore while land-based anglers cast as far out as they can! As Scott showed with his float and bait tackle, snapper can be very close in to the shore.
9. Keep a Diary
In it record dates, catches, phases of tide, moon etc., and you’ll see a pattern emerging even down to individual spots. For reasons only the fish know, some spots fish better on an incoming tide than an out-going one and vice versa. I haven’t kept a diary and I regret it.
Summary
So, there you are: a few thoughts on Marlborough Sounds snapper which may just help. I know keen fishermen in Marlborough who have lived there all their lives, fished regularly and have never caught a snapper. The snapper are there though; it’s just that their approach, attitude and techniques need tuning up. Remember the three Ps - patience, perseverance and positive thinking.
The Sounds are a unique place to fish too. The labyrinth of saltwater inlets offers sheltered fishing even in windy weather by getting in the lee of a ridge or spur. And there’re none of those incessant swells you get on the open ocean. All in all, it’s a magical area.