b'SOFTBAITING Gordon hasnt tried softbaiting much before and as I told him about the intended tactics on the way out, he could see the merits as he is a very experienced diver and had seen plenty of good snapper over the years in the shallows around the island when exploring underwater.SUNS POSITIONOne of the key points I have found for better success when in the shallows softbaiting, is the earlier the better.From daylight to about 11am the fish will be found in the shallow water but as the sun climbs in the sky and is higher overhead, they tend to move out and back into deeper water.It makes sense as they must feel nervous in bright conditions when in shallow water.We arrived at the island around 8am and started fishing, instantly getting strikes and landing fish on both the Atomic Sunrise 5 and Motor Oil 7 Jerkshadz softbaits.The fishing was The writer changed to asteady, and we soon had nine fat kelpies Z-Man Motor Oil 7 and it wasin the bin by 10:30am with several nailed by this solid kelpie.released.The softbaiting approach was working well and Gordon was enjoying Gordon was a happy anglerhimself on the light tackle, he also liked softbaiting the shallows ofthe no mess approach compared Slipper Island. the old bait and berley fishing he has traditionally used when snapper fishing.We were back in at his house at midday and I was glad the fish had played ball so Gordon could see the success of this style of fishing.My job was done with two more anglers now softbait convertsand both were happy to release fish as being hooked in the mouth and in such shallow water, the fish have the best chances of survival.It also meant we didnt take our combined limit of 14 snapper and ensured more fish are left out there for others and to breed.FIGZVIEW OUR SOFTBAITINGHOW-TO VIDEOS!Scan to visit www.fishingingodzone.co.nz56FISHING IN GODZONE NOV/DEC 2021'