b'KAIPARA SHALLOWS Eagle ClawLAZER SHARPOctopus 6/0 hooks are an ideal hook to use for straylining or on a ledger rig, lazer sharpened with a needle point.Secure the hook to your mono using an Improved Clinch or Uni knot.The snapper were in excellent condition, fat on shellfish and small crustaceans found in the upper harbour.Fresh bait is the best and I like to spendwatch out for the diving terns as kahawaiincoming tidal push up the harbour.The the morning drifting first up castingwill always be present under them, thedeeper channels hold fish but as soon as softbaits for trevally and kahawai whichKaipara is full of trevally and they lovea metre or so of water is over the sand are then turned into snapper bait whensoftbaitsespecially Zmans, so we catchbanks, the fish will swim up onto these to at anchor later.You can of course buyseveral when softbaiting the harbour. feed, locating the shellfish and crabs that mullet, tuna, or squid which all workOften snapper will also take thelive here.fine, but save your dollars and use yoursoftbaits as we drift over the sandbanksThe fish have been living in the harbour lures to catch fresh fish is better.Keep athat get covered by water on theover summer and autumn, moving with the tide each day to reach the shallows, The channels hold fish but as soon as a metre or so iscreeks, rivers, and remote places where barely any people are found along the over the sand banks, the fish will swim up onto theseKaipara shoreline.This largest harbour to feed, locating the shellfish and crabs that live here. in the southern hemisphere, offers those anglers keen to explore it an amazing fishery.A great day when the Icey-Tek bin is full ofOnce winter arrives in force with higher fish taken from less than 3m of water!rainfalls, the snapper will leave the harbour to either reside in the deeper channels or swim out past the Kaipara Heads and move offshore.Some will however stay in the harbour to live and feed, while other species like the gurnard move into the wider harbour over winter.The Kaipara also offers good winter fishing for gurnard, with large specimens up to 60cm often caught.So, the next time you think about heading out in the boat, perhaps go along the coast or harbour a bit just a few minutes from where you launched and explore the shallows, you might be surprised at how good the fishing can be.FIGZ64FISHING IN GODZONE MAY/JUN 2021'