FISHING GUIDE - WHANGAREI, THE BAY OF ISLANDS , NORTHLAND NEW ZEALAND

Fishing
The North Island of New Zealand is home to some of the most spectacular and superb boating, fishing and diving sites in the country and indeed the world!

Northland is noted for its fishing destinations, including harbour, surf, rock, boat and big game fishing opportunities. There are also trout in the lakes and streams.

Fishing and boating are part of the Northland lifestyle. Take a half hour drive through Ngunguru to Tutukaka and you’ll be fascinated by the luxurious boats anchored there. This is a fisherman’s paradise. Here is the chance for you and your mates to go Big Game Fishing. Booking is essential for these day long boating trips and can be quite expensive, but let’s face it, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. Imagine the thrill if you finally landed the "big one". Marlins are often caught on these outings and weight records broken at Tutukaka.

There has been no need for boaties to go offshore, as the best fishing has been in close, and a lot of big snapper have been caught. Shore-based fishers have had it very good also, with plenty of snapper in the 4-8kg range being taken. And kites and torpedoes have been effective, too, with good snapper catches and quite a few trevally and big kahawai obliging.

Whangarei Harbour snapper fishing is also very good. Onerahi father and son locals, Glen and Shane Baker, have experienced good snapper catches consistently all month. Fishing close to Limestone Island into the darkness, they have managed limit bags just about every time they got out. Once he has his snapper limit, Shane has been getting his spears out and chasing flounder, also with great success. He says the only drawback is filleting fish at 3am!

The inner channels throughout the harbour and the edges of the shipping channel have been good for snapper also; one-and-a-half hours either side of low tide gives the best results. Some reasonable snapper and trevally have been caught off the shore within the harbour, with Fishermans Point, Manganese Point, the rocks at the Nook and the harbour's many small wharves all being quite good.

Out in Bream Bay, drifting over the sand in depths of 10-20m has returned good catches of 30-40cm snapper from outside the Power Station; right down to the Waipu River Mouth area has been consistently good. Game fishing has been okay, with yellowfin, albacore and a few marlin being caught.