Hauraki Gulf

Grant Bittle breaks down the current Hauraki Gulf fishing picture - warm water, sleepy snapper, and the autumn feast that's just days away. From inner harbour markers to Colville Channel skipjack tuna, here's what to target right now and how to gear up for when it all switches on.

Late summer curveballs! Anchovy schools swirling around Whangaparaoa with kahawai smashing bait. Match-the-hatch madness, kingfish at Barrier, bluewater temptations, and 'A Fish Full of Dollars' film update

Hauraki Gulf fishing is firing! Yellowfin tuna smashing bait off Great Barrier, kingfish around city structure, fast-moving workups, and summer snapper action. Plus news about 'A Fish Full of Dollars' movie.

Kingfish are firing across the Hauraki Gulf, with inshore and offshore action heating up. Snapper remain hit and miss, but micro jigs and saltwater fly are producing. Get the latest tips, tricks, and tactics for early summer fishing from Captain Espresso.

Spring fishing in the Hauraki Gulf is heating up, with light tackle thrills, fast-moving workups, and trevally testing inshore skills.

Late winter snapper, explosive kingfish workups, and epic kahawai action—this week’s Auckland Gulf fishing report covers the top hotspots, moon phase tips, and booking info for fishing tutorials just in time for Father’s Day.

Crystal ball fishing: back to the future—your fishing forecast just got an upgrade

Full moon workups, inshore kahawai action, and winter jigging tips—discover why now’s the time to fish, with tactics for snapper, kingfish, and more across the Hauraki Gulf.

Snapper and kingfish are on the bite across the Hauraki Gulf, with epic autumn workups, inshore kahawai runs, and offshore encounters making for action-packed fishing.

Snapper are on the chew as dropping sea temps and autumn workups combine for some epic fishing across the Gulf.

The full moon brought mixed fishing fortunes, with workups producing solid snapper offshore while inshore waters delivered kingfish, trevally, and hard-fighting kahawai.

Early Autumn fishing is firing up, with anchovy-driven workups, inshore kingfish action, and snapper gearing up for their pre-winter feed—here’s what’s happening on the water.

Coastal fishing improves with an abundance of baitfish drawing predators near shorelines, promising a diverse range of choices just in time for the long weekend.

Anchovy schools and impressive workups have the Hauraki Gulf fishing firing. Even better weather is on the way.

Summer fishing in the Hauraki Gulf is heating up with abundant snapper, thrilling workups, and reports of yellowfin tuna and marlin on the horizon.

Bryde's whales are moving closer to Auckland, making for exciting fishing opportunities in the Hauraki Gulf, with solid snapper, kingfish, and kahawai catches to be had.

Prime snapper fishing in the Hauraki Gulf is heating up as early summer approaches, with great action for snapper, kingfish, and kahawai across various depths and methods.

The Hauraki Gulf's fishing scene is heating up with intense workups and excellent snapper conditions, signaling a promising start to the sport's high season.

Amid fluctuating weather conditions, fishing in the Hauraki Gulf promises good catches as the water temp approaches the magic 18 degrees C

Patient Auckland anglers rewarded by calmer days and solid snapper fishing near Great Barrier. A strategic approach to tackle and techniques is enhancing chances of success.

As male snapper gear up for the spring feeding and breeding season, expect to see more adrenaline-fueled feeding frenzies moving closer to shore, promising thrilling fishing adventures for those ready to take to the water.

Embracing the local approach to fishing has been fruitful this autumn, with diverse catches close to shore and dynamic marine life activity, reflecting the seasonal shifts and the unpredictability of nature.

It's prime fishing season in the Hauraki Gulf with anglers enjoying abundant snapper, superb land-based opportunites, kahawai, and mackerel, spurred on by the autumn workups.

Lots going on in the Hauraki Gulf right now as the king tides recede. Preparation is important but pattern recognition is vital to finding success.

Inshore fishing excitement peaks with terns and gannets diving for kahawai among anchovies, while ultralight and big game fishing thrive, and snapper gather around mussel farms, signaling a promising transition to autumn with abundant fishing opportunities.

Abundant anchovies attracting a variety of fish close to shore, offering prime opportunities for anglers with lightweight gear to enjoy successful catches in the summer weather.

Great weather to explore ultra light tackle fishing and and the culinary delights of catch 'n cook

Full-Moon-Friday, ideal for kabura fishing, with a focus on inner channels and shallow waters amidst abundant mackerel near Tiri and Whangaparaoa peninsula.

The new year in fishing has kicked off with a bang, featuring successful big game catches along the North Island coasts, surprisingly good snapper fishing in inner harbors, and exciting prospects for skipjack and marlin, all amidst a backdrop of stunning marine life sightings.

The Espresso Report - Good snapper fishing in warm inner areas, unpredictable results further out - all amidst a backdrop of prolific surface activity including whales and seabirds.

Tackling the December slowdown with shallow water softbaiting

The Hauraki Gulf is experiencing an exciting spring fishing season with abundant workups, whale sightings near the Mercury Islands, and promising catches of snapper and kingfish, especially around Flat Rock and the top of the Firth.

Spring brings a full reset, with land, sea, and air all experiencing the inevitable yet always surprising upheaval of seasonal change. Here's how it effects Kawau!

Local Hauraki Gulf hits and misses. North and NE of Tiri to Kawau area, Moehau range, Whangaparoa, Noises, Rangi channel, Motuhie, Tamaki Strait

The Espresso Report - The weather may not have put the fish off the bite but good weather is on the way. Here's what Grant's been up to...

The Espresso fishing report for the Hauraki Gulf from Grant Bittle

Whales right in and around the inner gulf of Tiri, Rakino, and The Noises area recently, have been an amazing sight in such shallow water, where if they dived/sounded head first, they’d hit their head on the bottom immediately.

Firstly, HUGE Congratulations to CASEY on Stiker Charters landing this awesome SBT on a Catch Double Trouble jig! Amazing! Winter fishing, and HOT tickets – with super deep water softbaiting. Some of the best table fish bar none are caught in winter, and to those who know and have experienced it, a clear winter day’s fishing is truly hard to beat.

Spring is just a month away with all that it promises for the upswing in fishing conditions and snapper numbers, but right now it’s best to go small to catch the big one, whether you are land-based, or water-based.

Winter fishing in the gulf can be a very rewarding experience when you find the action, as winter workups can provide exceptional fishing with the snapper sporting full winter weight.

Banner June fishing in the weather and bite-time windows

Some say winter is the best fishing, with its crystal clear skies, fat fish and when motivated the often super well-conditioned fish can be very aggressive on the bite, yes indeed it’s hard to beat a great day out on a clear winter’s day catching fish.

OK, it’s officially winter, as if we couldn’t feel that! Autumn was more about weathering extremes, to say the least, a lot like the fishing fortunes.

Skipjack tuna are back in the Gulf for a late run. Catch on to a few of these tasty little racers for fun on light tackle, and of course they make great bait, berley or sashimi

Here's a quick video from Captain Espresso out there in the Gulf with the latest goings-on.

Anchovy season! And it's on Fire.

Grade ‘A’ Autumn with A+ fishing! Feel that change?

The snapper fishing, as a general rule, gets pretty slow for a while now, as spawning condition and skinny fish can sometimes make it pretty challenging to get a decent bite going.

Are we there yet, are we there yet? Summer, and fishing that is?

Thanks for summer! Due to arrive at some stage soon hopefully? Aftermath of a cyclone can sometimes serve up the goods for fisho’s, so let’s hope that’s the case this week out in the gulf.

Snapper & Kingfish hunt in the Hauraki Gulf

Having been out in the gulf for a few overnighters this week, it’s been really encouraging to see such consistent workup action and good numbers of fish, including a few decent sized models.

A very warm and welcoming Merry Christmas to you.

The Espresso Report 2nd December 2022

Fishing Report Hauraki Gulf 18th November

The Espresso Report November 3 2022 Slow pitch strikes on camera, coaching seminars, kayak fishing extra, hot bite and when it’s not – what to do and more, this week’s Espresso Report via video definitely worth a good look!

Snapper fishing in full ‘spring’ force if you get the right day, with workups aplenty west of the Coromandel and Channel Island, and decent sized fish in around the Noises, Rakino channel and north of Waikehe. Here’s the Espresso report for this week.

The Espresso Report October 20 2022 Whales full-on feeding are having a great time both in the Hauraki gulf and the outer regions, feeding on baitfish too which is great news for us! Spring can be an intense time out there, workups are hammering in out in 50m, small to medium, and there’s been some big snapper (over 20lb) caught out by the gates, the channels of Jellicoe, Craddock and Colville are fishing well and not necessarily where the surface action is.

The area between Little barrier and Omaha can produce some good work ups throughout the year and offer all kinds of fishing opportunities. I tried some stickbaiting as well as lure fishing, saw a Bryders Whale and caught my fill.

Spring snapper start? Wild and dramatic changes typify weather in Spring, hail to sunscreen and back, similarly the fortunes of fishing.

The latest video report from our roving expert on the water grant 'Espresso' Bittle

Well surprise, surprise, this weekend looks like it’s still a bit blowie, however, there’s a promising window next week if you can get the day off. There’s been winter workups reported off the top of the Coromandel, and west of Channel Island if you make it that far, and the good old fingers are still worth a crack when the current is running at any stage this time of year.

That regular monthly calm-day around the full moon of Thursday July 14, school holidays – might be a few days taken off the weekly work site, and off out to see the sights of the gulf. Good times. Limited days of fishing for sure when there’re 60kt winds, yes even landbased has been very limited, and although some days of fishing coincide with a soft winter bite other days certainly don’t! Day trips from Auckland landing some superb spectacles in terms of workup wonders out wider in the gulf, heart pumping and adrenaline filled as always especially top of Coromandel way, and not too far outside the gulf winter hapuka no less.

ED NOTE: We fished the gulf this week, and as Espresso outlines there's steady action on your favourite winter lures, micro jigs and kaburas, pretty much right up the east side of the cable zone. Mostly the fish are pannies, but in stunning eating condition. There are certainly winter workups in the same zone, and they are tending to wander into the elbow of the cable zone so watch your location when you see the gannets doing their thing!

Winter fishing motivation waning? Bitingly cold squally showers, hail, minimal daylight hours with a very sleepy snapper bite, doom and gloom…hang ON!

Winter it is! Frosty starts a tad south spreading north, no surprises – but with the big chill down comes reward, and the rewards have been excellent a bit further out in the Hauraki Gulf lately, wonderfully so at times and as the saying goes, the whole 9 yards

Solid Autumn style fishing abounds whether you’re in the shallows, or mid-depth and deeper. All sorts from trevally to kahawai, gurnard, snapper and kingfish, JD and a few more types of fish too, it’s time to get into ‘em…here’s some good oil.

Goodies. Good fishing mid-week (yes Murphy’s Law), both near and far! Near – just off the North Shore Bays, the Rangi channel, and many more mid-inner areas around the gulf, good snapper to 50cm, good tidal flow, good surface/bird action particularly those easily spotted terns for at least a temporary hot Spot X, good solid snapper feeding well.

The latest action from the Hauraki Gulf thanks to Captain Espresso

Easter means predictable chaos and many people frantically going slow on roads at times, with weather and fishing a similar scene. Fishing will be very interesting with a full moon on Sunday, expect some great fun fishing the skipjack in the outer gulf, and bigger varieties out even further is still on the cards.

The Espresso Report April 6, 2022 Fishing weather, plenty of fish variety – yes Autumn is just the best time of year to be out there enjoying catching some fish for the table and having a lot of fun while you’re at it.

The Espresso Report 31st March 2022 Perfectly still air, perhaps gusting 2 knots, water like spilled mercury from a barometer, yet the odd tell-tale dark patch showing itself on the chrome sea just out from many shorelines – looking closer reveals it’s mackerel all over anchovies as the magnificent sunset changes from lemon to amber over the past few evenings.

The weather won’t be much good out there this weekend, so maybe spend a bit of time checking the boat and tackle supplies! In the meantime, here’s a bit of a fish-eyes view of what your softbaits look like bouncing along the seafloor

My sister was over from the UK and it was my job to get her a decent fish. We were in Whangamata for Xmas and found a nice morning to head over towards Slipper Island and try for some kingfish on the stickbaits and then shallow water softbaiting for snapper. Great trip, lots of fish and a shark encounter to make it exciting.

The Espresso Report March 18, 2022 Very low and slow tidal current moving around this past week – putting a bit of a dampener on snapper spirits, but this ebb has made for some fantastic sea conditions to be out there enjoying. Forecasters have been on point – remember for the sea state you need to account for swell, not just wind, and tide direction.

Warm summer water of 23c and higher out there in the Hauraki Gulf right now, at the surface anyway and the inshore snapper must be extra-red with sunburn lately with the bright sunny clear skies above whether windy or not.

Headed to Waiheke Island to chase snapper and kingfish and ended up going as far as the islands at Coromandel. Right at the end of the day Jody the Maori Fishing Legend hooks up his first kingfish on a stickbait.

The Espresso Report February 24, 2022 Awesome autumn - a single weekend of summer left, then autumn arrives! Some very good things fishing-wise happen in autumn…

The Espresso Report: 11th February. What’s all this buzz about Kayak Fishing? You’ve seen pictures of the mighty fish caught, of all types, some are astounding - and all from a kayak?! Maybe you’re one of the smart or lucky ones who already enjoy the kayaking fishing adventures. Either way – what a way to play, and catch fish for the entire family. Changing times, improving methods, materials and new ideas, kayaking is one of the fastest growing sport and recreational pastimes in New Zealand and overseas, no wonder…read on!

The Espresso Report 4 February 2022: Kite surfers are loving the hard core easterlies, not so much the fisho’s, but it will wane, soon, so what to look and prep for coming up..? Improved upper harbour snapper fishing! A surprising lack of sizeable snapper up the harbour according to quite a few, rather odd as this time of year it’s usually a great place to be catching good snapper, it just has to improve. And here’s some tips for getting in amongst the action as soon as you can wherever your at Spot X…

Workups are happily working away further out in the gulf, and just short of Gt Barrier with dolphins a few whales (some are venturing closer in) – and closer to Auckland this time of year there can be what look like good workups of various sea birds type e.g. just north of Tiri channel – yet underneath not the pot of gold.

The Espresso Report 15 December 2021 Start your engines! Fishing freedoms finally, and with finer forecasts expect some good fishing, from mackerel to marlin, snapper and kingfish to gurnard – so what’s on your Fishmas wish list? Sea temps are as high as mid-summer already in several places, the wild west coast is hot enough for early big gamers as far down as Raglan to already head out for a prospective look and learn.

Big gamers, medium gamers and small gamers – it is time to play the game, the fish are certainly keen to mix it up! And with big tides, that full moon a week away yet, tropical storm warnings and Auckland borders getting relaxed a bit, sounds like Mother Nature’s got a few of her own ideas - so how’s it shaping up for fishin’?

Exotic gamefish can be closer than you might realise! Check out this lovely mahi mahi caught on a trolled Catch Squidwings lure and Kensai/Jg2000 lightweight combo out back of barrier!

The Espresso Report 25, November 2021 Tuna - Right On Time! As mentioned, the previous Espresso Report or two it’s about now the YFT (and big eye) tuna showed up - BOOM! Out from Tauranga over last weekend the first of these tuna were targeted and caught recreationally.

Captain Loz from Hooked Up Charters reporting on the goings-on in the Hauraki Gulf and a bit of intel before commercial charters kick back into life again on the third of December.

The Espresso Report 19 November 2021 Beaver full moon today the 19th – more like a kingfish moon ‘round these parts! The planets are aligning, and the signs are good, November, kingfish, full moon...top water excitement is pumping up! And there is every reason to expect a particularly good kingfish bite this weekend.

Ed note: It’s not too hard to catch snapper at the moment, pretty much anywhere inshore or around the fairly obvious workups. Almost too easy and just about every lure in the shop seems to work if you find the fish on the chew. Bite times and moon phases can be really important, so check those bite times either side of the tides to make sure you are in the zone at the right time. Kawau is fishing very well, and you don’t have to go far for a good feed if you are launching from anywhere around there. Personally, at this time of year when snapper are spawning, I like to self-impose a limit, knowing it’s plenty easy to get back out there again another day. The really big snapper go back, and the ideal 40cm eaters come home 😊 It’s prime time lure fishing, so if you have been thinking of joining the revolution and leaving the bait at home, even a rod in the rod holder will get the job done at the moment, so maybe have a crack at a new type of fishing to renew that passion.

La Nina summer in New Zealand is on the cards according to weather forecasting experts which means both warmer air and warmer waters – which should bring even more fish variety, strangeness and pleasant surprises while out fishing as the summer unfolds

Extended Whangaparaoa Bay areas, continue to be a good place to be for many according to a lot of birds, baitfish and their hangers on – kahawai, snapper and humans. Lots of following the kahawai under frantically diving gannets on fast-moving bait going on, by that I mean many boats and skis keen to be where the birds are diving, a constantly changing spot. The gannets dive because they can see baitfish that are more than likely being hounded by kahawai, and possibly dolphins. Casting in or near this white water (let alone being actually in this forbidden white-water zone) almost guarantees a kahawai hookup soon after a lure hits the water, no chance of getting near a snapper 40m away below.

For my birthday, I decided I deserved a day out fishing and the forecast was good so off to Little Barrier Island I went. The plan was for bait fishing for snapper and live baiting for kingfish. Some stormy weather interrupted my bite session and I saw some birds feeding in some pretty crazy weather. Great day out!

Ed note: Having been out and about this week, the fishing pretty much anywhere around Kawau is really firing up, with plenty of good sized pannies around 40 – 45 cms being caught from the mouth of the North Channel right down the east coast. You’ll find fish from 15 to 40 metres, and there don’t have to be that many on the sounder for a good drift to produce plenty of consistent action.

Grunty gurnard are in and over the sand between Rangitoto and the North Shore Bays, so even when there’s a SW wind – combine with an outgoing tide and you have ingredients for several hours of good fishing. You’ll probably have to put up with by-catch of snapper, not such a bad thing right.

A 7kg Snapper and a school of trevally under the boat all day long made up one of my favourite days fishing shallow water on the Hibiscus Coast. We were stray lining in shallow water with pilchards and berley and at the end of the day we tried some mackerel live baits, scoring the biggest fish of the day.

Back fishing in the Hauraki Gulf! Where are the fish? Read on to find out. Ed Note: Being Auckland based, I must say it was awesome to get back out on the water yesterday. The crowds of like minded boaties were there but it was not too bad, and weather conditions gave us a pretty reasonable ‘opening day’ crack at it, until late afternoon at least.With no recent on-water reports to go on, we took a gamble based on previous year’s activity and headed from Okahu Bay out past Rangi, with a view to fishing either side of the cable zone and making our way towards Kawau and Flat Rock.We had a successful day with three on board easily achieving the modest limit of seven snapper each. I say modest, as most of the snapper were on the smaller side, with a lot of aggressive fish around 35cm, even hitting bigger kingfish jigs. There was the odd good 3 kilo fish in there though, and so end result was a solid feed. We were using lures exclusively as per usual, and everything from kaburas, soft baits, and slow pitch jigs were working. Here’s what we found and where.

Life in the slow lane for many, Auckland in particular, level 4 lockdown, ‘fortunately’ the weather has been absolute crud for being out in the open gulf waters, muffling temptation. Some seriously skinny isobar stuff too, over 100kph winds make for extremely poor conditions for most things outdoors, just right for being tucked up safe and sound at home, maybe tinkering with fishing things or enjoying the local land-based approach for a fishing fix (see link below), or continue to delve into the online world of all things fishing. Hail storm maelstrom, brilliant sunshine, momentary calms then banger winds thumping in, ah yes Spring it is! Spring is not calm serene scene, it is a time of major change, not too much dead wood (nature’s), and a good time to take a hint from her, get rid of the old unused fishing tackle – time to donate to a novice neighbour, a niece or nephew…most everyone can remember when fishing was ignited within, pass it on.

Wild and woolly weather, mostly, but there are still lots of those ‘weird’ pauses when you suddenly realize all is so very still, ‘not a breath of wind?’ Why aren’t I fishing?! Tide changes and offshore wind direction (from land out towards sea) especially when tide is out-going early morning say, can provide little windows of excellent calm, good fishing conditions particularly close inshore with a hill behind you providing a bit of a wind barrier, great for windy winter land-based, kayak even ski fishing.

This week we feature a little video from Grant on how to use inchiku jigs that are so effective at this time of year. Check out the video, and go try the lures out in the zone. Typical hit and miss winter conditions mean fishing is never guaranteed out there in the gulf at the moment. But, you can be assured there are plenty of good fish out there when you do hit the right area at the right time. What was there yesterday may not be there today, same time same place, but the fish do tend to hold in the zones where fishing has been solid, and you just have to be patient and wait for the bite to come on.

Thunder Full Moon this Saturday, and the day is looking reasonably calm out in the local Hauraki Gulf according to the current wind forecast. 10kts of wind to start with, plenty of tidal flow, looking for some good fishing in the morning on that outgoing tide before the wind and tide swings in the afternoon and that big bright Thunder Moon rising later in the arvo…a good time to already be back preparing fresh fish for the family, BBQ’d fish under a full moon kind of evening on the cards? Might be some good squid fishing too, that’d go very well seared on the grill with some fish.

Captain Lozza out there with the top tips for Fishing the Hauraki Gulf at the moment