There is no doubt that snapper is New Zealand's favourite fish. You can catch these in all over the North Island and the top of the South Island. Places like Northland, Auckland, the Bay of Plenty and Waihau Bay have a good success rates with trophy Snapper but a line off the local wharf is just as likely to secure dinner.

The soft plastic revolution has accounted for some very big snapper with catches of over 14kg's being recorded in the past year. Snapper are a veracious predator in the summer months, normally hunting from below, and will readily take a soft plastic or live baits when they are in 'hunt' mode. Over the winter months they tend to be slower, conserving energy, and are harder to land on live or plastic baits, but a well positioned boat, loads of burley and big cut bait normally produces the results in colder times.

Depending on the ground your fishing over you can get away with light gear over the sand but will need to resort to heavier lines and traces over foul ground. Patience is also called for with big Snapper as many a trophy has been lost with a hair trigger strike.

Check out some hot soft plastic Snapper Action here.