Northern Coromandel Peninsular

Mid-Spring Coromandel update near the Mercury Islands from keen yak fisherman, Scott Macdonnell

One of the best times of the year to be fishing the mighty Coro, as long as you’re not suffering from man-flu like I am at the moment.

Sheltered spots all the way down the eastern coastline are starting to fish well in close for snapper, with some nice sized fish of very solid average size and condition being caught from shore by surf casters, drone fisho’s and kayak fishermen, best either at change of light or on bite time either side of the tides.

It’s so great to see yellowfin tuna in good numbers to kick off the season with a real bang.

Winter is such a good time to fish in the Coromandel, with light boat traffic, and some awesome mild days mixed in with the wild ones. The conditions change where the fish are holding, and the days are shorter, in fact right now the shortest of the year, which means a good session can be had without getting up too early or staying out too late to enjoy the benefits of change of light fishing.

Autumn is one of our favourite seasons to fish in the Coromandel, as the on-water traffic is down to a minimal and most fish are in superb condition when you do find them. The season can feel like the middle of summer one day, when the weather is in a settled pattern, and conversely can suddenly be like mid-winter, so it is a time to pick the windows.

It’s been a big year for the gamefishing so far, perhaps thanks to global warming or whetever else, marlin of all flavours, swords, yellowfin, have all been out there being caught in good numbers when the conditions allow it.

It’s been a while for many of us since we’ve been able to get to the Coromandel, and for many, it has been worth the wait. As expected, boat ramps are chocka, even from early morning on many days, as keen boaties head out for a fix of fishing targeting inshore and wider out for gamefish. A big run of easterlies has put a pretty good swell in place, with surfers likely enjoying the big seas more than fishermen

Biggest recent news is the closure of the scallop fishery for two years in order to restore the scallop population to a sustainable level. This from MPI...The east Coromandel scallop fishery will close for a period of 2 years from this Saturday, 11 September following a request from the Ngāti Hei Trust. The closure covers scallop fishing in an area extending along the east Coromandel coastline from Anarake Point to Ruahiwihiwi Point, where Ngāti Hei exercise mana moana, and includes Opito Bay. Other fishing in the area can continue under existing rules. Director of fisheries management, Emma Taylor says public consultation on the request took place between April and May.

Now that the southern bluefin tuna have moved on from Waihau Bay and are heading up past Mayor Island, there is still a chance of picking up one of these magnificent fish when the weather allows. We fished Waihau Bay last week, and although most are calling it for a done deal, there were only five boats out (as opposed to the usual 50 or so!) and two out of five still hooked up and boated fish.

Recently the Coromandel has been fishing typically for this time of year, and a few good easterly fronts coming through have really put the blockers on getting out wide to chase the deepwater species. That is never too much problem in the Coro though, as inshore fishing has plenty to offer for good snapper and kingfish action.

As we head into the cooler months the beaches are becoming a little more inconsistent with less school fish in close and more heading out for deeper water. Recently there has been some very good snapper fishing way up north (by boat) north – west of Channel Island in around 45 metres, and there has been a lot of fast fleeting workup action moving down the west Coromandel coast mostly driven by feeding kahawai.

This is a great time of year to be fishing the Coro, with snapper having pretty much done their spawning thing, they are now starting to put on some good condition for the cooler months ahead. The fish are still schooling around over the sand in patches, and we had some great fishing recently in just ten metres of water early in the morning, following the fish out a bit deeper to the thirty metre mark off Whangapoua as the sun rose. This year we got a lot of really good sized pannies, great eating fish, but it was very noticeable that the bigger fish we normally like to return, were far fewer in numbers than in previous years. Hopefuly this is just down to our luck fishing the times we did get out there, and the bigger moochers are still around and not victims of over zealous fishing.

Snapper fishing right up the east coast, targeting the 20 to 30 metres zone off the beaches, and any of the inshore reef structures is good at this time of year, and a lot of the holiday boat traffic has thinned out so there’s a bit more space out there. Kingfish are also found lurking around the reef structures and they are often difficult to keep out of the rough if you do manage to hook up, so make sure your gear is heavy enough with at least 80lb braid and 100lb leader.

This is the time of year that snapper really move in close in schooling numbers, and it can be very rewarding to target them in relatively shallow water off almost all the beaches on the east coast of the Coromandel. Now that the full moon has passed, the fishing has been fantastic over the last few mornings.

It’s heating up as can be expected in the Coromandel, with good fishing from right in close to way out wide. The really exciting news is the yellowfin tuna have arriving as per last year, which is a very welcome return, and means last year was not just a freak anomaly. We can expect to see these amazing fish appearing anywhere from Mayor Island, right up the Alderman Rise, on past Great Barrier and the Mokes, right up to the Bay of Islands.

We have been out pretty much a week straight, every day, and the fishing in the Coromandel has been going off. Mostly fishing out wider has been where the action is, with kingfish really firing up on the chew. The inshore snapper fishing generally takes a little bit longer to really get going, and by all reports the fishing is typically hit and miss depending on tides and other factors. We expect the good snapper fishing inshore to really start picking up a bit closer to December.

Springtime in the Coromandel means a few things change up. The awesome bluefin run has moved on up north to traverse around the top of the country, so attention now is firmly back on snapper, kingfish, and deepwater species, with a bit of diving in the mix. Gamefish action won’t kick off until much closer to Christmas, so until that fires up properly the outriggers will be stored away for a few months

The big excitement at the moment off the Coromandel is all happening with the migration of the southern bluefin tuna moving up from Cape Runaway in their trek north, and now are in reach of trailer boat fishermen leaving from the east Coromandel coast. These magnificent fish are definitely a bucket list ticker, and this year seems to have been one of the best on record for them.

Ed Note: We are stoked to have report input from Tom Maxwell, Mad Max Sportfishing Whitianga.

Autumn fishing in the Coromandel can be some of the best we get with most fish in superb condition when you do find them. The big game has tailed off, but there is still the chance of a stray billfish hanging around for another couple of weeks. Snapper fishing can be good at the moment, with plenty of good resident fish holding in close to the reef and foul structures. Many of the school snapper have moved off the sand out deeper, so fishing the beaches can be really hit and miss depending on the tides other factors. Last week we had plenty of really good beach fishing off Kennedy Bay, Matarangi, Kuoatunu and Otama with 40 plus cm fish in pretty good numbers in around 20 metres.

It’s about as dry as you can get in the Coromandel at the moment. Most of the grass is burned off around the entire coastline townships, which means we have had heaps of great weather for fishing? Ummm between the 15 knot winds that is. It’s been one of those seasons that has presented us with some spectacular fishing across just about every species you could hope to be targeting.

The fishing this time of year in the Coromandel can be extremely rewarding, and if you are just off the mark or in the wrong moon phase or what have you, just as frustrating. Inshore the persistent winds this year have limited the days that it’s comfortable to get out, but last week with the passing of the full moon well and truly behind, there has been some very good snapper action in close around early morning. Snapper are now schooling in shallow and surf casters and small boat fishermen are doing well around the popular holiday destination beaches and headlands. Having just spent the week in the Coro, we saw some great action and plenty of other boats doing well.

The biggest fishing news in a long time for anyone fishing out of the eastern Coromandel. An unprecedented run of yellowfin, and we seem to be getting the lion’s share of the action east of the Alderman’s, and south between the Aldies and Mayor mostly in the 200 – 400 contour range as per the map. Tuna have been caught as far inshore as close in to Red Mercury and Whangamata in less than 80 metres of water though, so if you’re out there dragging plastic, you are in with a shot.

This is the time of year that kingfish are really firing up. Between now and the end of January, it can traditionally be the best time for kingy fishing, and the big, strong-fighting game fish are hitting lures both top water and jig, and smashing live baits. Just about anywhere you can find current and structure is great for targeting kingfish. Pins and drop offs will hold fish, but not always in the same place.

With a steady long term period of wind from the west, the east coast of the Coromandel has been awesome to fish right in close.