Bay of Islands

Hot marlin season and good prospects for snapper and kingfish as the fishing moves to deeper water later this month.

The fishing is heating up with kingfish busting up in the middle ground, trophy snapper near the main workups, and good catches on deeper reefs, although increased shark activity is making it challenging to land fish.

Rising water temperatures and lighter mornings are key for successful early fishing, with great results using various lures in areas like Middle Ground and Whale Rock, while kingfish remain elusive but can be found near the Cavalli Islands and Cape Brett, and the approach of summer promises excellent game fishing opportunities.

With rising water temperatures and settled weather, the fishing scene is heating up, especially around the main reefs and Nine Pin to Whale Rock, offering promising catches of sizable fish and kingfish.

The Bay of Islands is enjoying a subtle warm-up in water temperatures. The fishing conditions in both offshore and inshore waters are showing promising improvement, with notable catches of puka and snapper.

The seemingly never-ending winter has set its grip in, but there's still some great fishing to be had, with some massive snapper and winter kings in close, and tasty hapuka starting to show up out wide.

Given the crazy weather patterns in recent times, even getting out on the water is a win at the moment.

Long may the good weather continue into Autumn, it’s certainly been great for the fishing.

Happy new year to everyone out there. So far it’s been a couple of weeks to remember for radical changes in the weather.

A season of great summer fishing is shaping up well.

Before all this frontal weather arrived, the fishing had been great, with bag limits of snapper coming on board pretty quickly most days we do get out.

At last, we are seeing some great gannet action over some huge bait schools which are holding everything from anchovies, pillies, jack mackerel and slimmeys, attracting kingfish and trophy snapper, and who knows what else?

With spring well and truly here, the fish have really started to move in, with plenty of snapper showing signs of pre spawning. The water is really starting to warm up and it’s looking like being a great season so far.

Ed note: Our Day’s Out skipper, Dazza, has just spent a good part of the Bay of Islands winter basking amongst the lovely crocodiles, snakes, spiders, jellyfish, and deadly poisonous octopus that inhabit the northern Australian Albany Island. Lucky for some right?

Winter is definitely here, and the temps in the morning can make it pretty tricky on the old fingers to thread a soft bait onto a hook. It's all worth it though, as this is the time of year to chase those big reds right in close, and then head out wide for the deeper species. Winter condition on the fish make them the best eating, with high fat content and perfect condition fillets.

Easter has been and gone, and with that, the water temp is getting colder. We are all hoping that these easterly winds give us a break at the moment, as it’s making fishing nigh on impossible some days. On the plus side there are lots of small snapper around with the occasional more solid fish coming in as well.

For all you regular boaties, the fishing is great but the price of getting there and back not so much fun at the pump. This month will be a hard one for all industries including our charter fleet in New Zealand, with a lot of people having to stay at home due to Covid it has been a hard haul, and we couldn't have done it without the support of all the awesome kiwis and local fishos. On the plus side, the fishing action is heating up, and with restrictions getting lifted, some relief will come for us charter guys with more anglers turning up from overseas again.

This certainly has to be one of those summers to remember. The Bay has been blessed with a mighty game fish season this year. Whatever factors go into making the gamefish hotspots, the stars have aligned over the Bay for some of the most consistent and exciting action ever on the billfish front. We’ve caught blues, and there are a ton of stripeys out there too. The Ninepin trench fishing like crazy this year, and plenty of fish out wider.

This year we are really in the right place at the right time for game fishing. The season has been on fire, with plenty of fish around including some good blues. Out past the Nine-pin starting in anywhere from 130 metres there are good numbers of fish around all the way to the ninepin trench where the action has really been pretty intense, with double hookups, blue’s and plenty of stripeys lighting up the action.

As we like to expect in summer, up here in the bay, the fishing has been on fire, with some solid snapper being landed both locally in the shallows, and a bit further up the coast. This time of year also brings the on-water traffic, and there can be a great number of boats charging around which can make the fish bite a bit softer.

Hi team. This month up in the bay is shaping up to be as good, if not better than the last few years, which is saying something given that the fishing here continues to be simply awesome usually. Thanks to Covid’s effects on travel, we’ve certainly been impacted as a commercial business, and really look forward to eventually getting more clients up this way to enjoy it with us. Without the tourists, and a large majority of people who want to come up from Auckland and further south, it’s very quiet up north and for the whole region that means less pressure on the fishing.

Covid lockdown shackles are off again for now, and we are finally able to get out for a fish! Things are pretty busy getting ready for the season and all, and the weather has been crazy with some amazing days and some not so amazing.

We’re still really waiting for the spring weather to settle into its rhythm, and recently it’s still been pretty blowy. When it occasionally is good enough to get out there, the fishing is on fire with good fish being caught shallow and out wide. The middle ground in towards Tapeka Point, either drifting with a live bait or soft baiting, has been producing some healthy fish with the odd male starting to milk.

We're so lucky to be in an area like the Bay of Island's and do feel for the fishermen stuck down Auckland, hopefully we can all soon get back to normal life. Since getting out of lockdown the weather has remained consistently challenging, so we’ve not really had a great opportunity to hit the fishing to any decent level. However, in the limited time we have had out there, the fish have been in good numbers with most of the spring spots firing well, particularly in the shallows.

After a good spell off the water, and a nice winter holiday, we finally got the boat back on the water all repowered and ready to go . The Bay is in full winter mode so the fishing is sometimes slow, and they can take a bit of work to get on the bite, but once you do connect and get it all right the fish are usually in excellent condition for both eating or returning.

Now that it’s officially feeling colder on land, the water temps can confirm that being down around that 15 to 16 degree mark, which will have a natural effect of slowing down the fish metabolism, and subsequently the bite as well. There’s still great fishing though, and often winter fish are in the best condition of the year. We’re finding pulling some really nice moochers out of the shallow water is starting to pick up with good sizes of fish particularly keen on hitting the softbaits and mackerel live baits.

Hey team. The last month has been fishing very well in close places like Parua Bay and all along the Long Beach area, and also the sand banks between Roberton Island and Mosquito Point. The incoming tide being the best tide to fish. On the Centre Foul there are a lot of small fish, so going to bigger hooks and a good size bait you can reduce the chance of hooking small fish and get the bigger ones.

Now with the days getting a little shorter, and not to mention a bit cooler, it can be harder to get out of bed early in the morning. However, thanks to this time of year delivering some of the best fishing to be had, it is worth it most every day the alarm chirps.

Even though it’s been a month or so since our last report, the fishing has not changed much since then. The notable exception is that there are a LOT of bronze whalers seemingly everywhere, we are pretty sure even following the boat, so there’s a real challenge sometimes when you’re up against the ocean’s best predators.

Fantastic fishing this month, which has seen a full-on bite up here in the Bay of Island's. The shallow water, and by shallow we mean anything under 15 metres, has been fishing particularly well. We often fish the banks inside the islands, along Brampton Reef and over towards Kemp Passage, and it has been the place to be lately, with the fish in prime condition, including some good snapper over the magic mark, putting a few of our clients into the twenty-pound club.

Thankfully we are allowed back on the water again, and just as well as the forecast is pretty great. For us, the shallows have been fishing exceptionally well, with some great fish snapper caught including a couple over the magic 20 lb mark. The Snapper we’ve been filleting, have been feeding on all the shellfish species, so targeting them over the sand is a good option.

The water temp has definitely gotten a lot hotter, and with it has come some great catches up and down the coast. If you are keen to motor a bit further north, there are good numbers of yellowfin and striped marlin being landed in fairly shallow out of Hohoura. In fact, it’s only an hour or so out to the hot grounds in a trailer boat to the Parengarenga canyons and the 300 metre mark off Karikari Cape.

Happy new year to you. Well, this year has been one to remember already! It appears that when nobody can leave the country, they come to the magnificent Bay of Islands to go fishing. We sure have had a big increase in boat traffic up here in the Bay this year, which does bring its own challenges when it comes to tempting fish to get on the hooks.

At last! Christmas is just around the corner, and as if to celebrate, the fish are still around in good numbers, both inshore and out a bit deeper. Offshore, things are starting to heat up, with lots of yellowfin tuna being landed in the band of water running between the 200 and 300 metre mark. We all know what loves to eat tuna right? Not just anglers. Dust off your blue marlin lures team it’s looking like shaping up to be a good year for the game fishers.

I would love to have more to report, but it has been a hectic week with strong winds from just about every direction, which has really hampered our ability to get out there. Mother nature protecting the fish in her own way.

Well sometimes you wouldn't think we are heading into summer! We’ve had huge rain clouds over the Cape most of the day and a stormy looking horizon. On the fishing side, it’s still a little bit of hit and miss. Recently we had a good run on some great fish in the middle ground, with plenty nudging the magic 20 lb mark which we happily released.

At this time the water is still not up around that magic temperature number, and although there are some fish starting to move in, it’s going to be a few more weeks before the snapper are in full spawn mode.

With the water trying to warm up, we are just starting to see some good sign out in the 50-metre mark. There’s a lot of pan sized fish, mostly males, starting to gather up ready to head into the bay to spawn.

Hi guys, the last week has been a bit hit and miss with some nice fish caught but a lot dropped. The shallows have been the go to for me, with a bit of berley. I prefer to cube rather than using a fine burly trail, trying to keep the smell and food close to the boat so we don't attract too many sharks. This often works well but you have to be conscious to keep a steady trail going, rather than just leaving a bomb or a chum bucket to do its thing with the natural water wash.

Hopefully, the alert levels will be dropped soon for our friends in Auckland, so the fishos can get back out there. If it makes you feel any better, the weather has been anything but nice up in the Bay here, with rain and strong winds in all directions. Typical of pre-spring weather. On the upside, when the weather allows, there are good fish both in close working the shallows, and fish also out in the deep.

With spring not too far away, fingers crossed, the fishing should start to improve, and the days will let us have a few more hours out on the water too. Fishing in close has been paying off, with some nice snapper on either the incoming tide or out-going.

Ed note: Here’s a nice shot of Dazza with a lesser spotted fairy Hapuka he picked up just off Cape Brett. Very rare in the Bay these days. Well Darren picked a good time to go on holiday, having a crack at the overgrown beasts down at the Tekapo canals. We think this may be a snap of his 22.8 pound trophy that he sneaked into the mix perhaps. This fish was caught on a piece of orange soft bait cut into an egg. Heading for the taxidermist by all accounts. Well done Darren, nice fish by any measure.

Not the target species, but incredible eating nonetheless. This granddaddy Hapuka (aka mother in law, aka poor man’s crayfish) went back, but our Japanese clients absolutely treasure these fish as a real delicacy. Just watch the spines! as their defense venom will make you dance, and not in a good way.

The fishing situation has not changed much from last report, but there are a few noticeable differences brought on by the cold winds and dropping temperatures.

Hi guys. Well, with the move down to level two lockdown finally here, I'm sure there were hundreds if fishos amped to get out there and wet a line, and maybe a few still to do so yet. After a break from us recreational anglers, the conditions in the bay were really not much different from pre – lockdown. There were lots of anchovies around, but surprisingly not a lot of other bait fish such as the jack mackerel that we prefer as live baits.

Ed note: Darren is one of the charter skippers that operates from a high tourist area, and as such has been naturally impacted quite hard by the covid 19 virus preventing tourists from going about their usual business. If you ever wanted a good time to get a small group out on the water and into some great action, feel free to support your local guys and give Darren a call.

Hi team.Well, as I sit here looking at the well-deserved rain I’m thinking just how long it’s been. We badly need a lot more as well and that is always an indication that this has been an unusual year for weather, which in turn, can affect the fishing if it changes water temperatures enough. What the future summers hold will remain to be seen

The fishing continues to be firing well at all the reefs in the Bay. The water temp is getting up and the majority of the school fish will start to head out a bit deeper now, but there are still a lot of nice fish in close.

As I write this we have just dropped a really nice blue marlin. Nothing like that feeling which is the exact opposite of hooking up, the moment your heart sinks. Ah well, that’s fishing, but great to see such magnificent fish in the Bay.

This run of fabulous weather, and the passing of the major spawning period has certainly changed the fishes attitude back towards eating, with some sizable snapper coming on board from right out deep, all the way into the shallows to around six metres.

Just a quick game fish update. I think this year is looking like a real bumper for the big game species already.

Hi guys and gals, a very merry Christmas to you all from Days Out Charters If its snapper that you are after, the inner reefs are on fire with large amounts of school fish. Along with them, the males (with the dark chins) are in very good numbers, and its going fire up even better once the ladies come into the breeding areas.

The big summer snapper are on the chew with good numbers coming from all the inner reefs. Live bait and soft bait are doing the real damage and generally you can be confident of some good fishing in 30 metres and less. If using soft baits just flick them ahead of the direction you are drifting and engage the bail arm early as they will smash the lure on its way down as often as not. These artificial lures are certainly easier to deploy than catching and rigging mackerel, but there’s also a good chance of kingfish and john dory when you are fishing livies. As long as the wind and tide are in the same direction, it is not hard to get some good fish as you want to be drifting.

It’s been fantastic to have a little spell of great weather. This last few months have certainly been pretty frustrating, and finally getting a nice break over the long weekend was the first of it’s kind for a while now.