Whangaroa - June 2010

Kingfish in the harbour

Water temperatures remain around 18-19°C and marlin are still around.

At this time of the year they can be big, like the 205kg stripey that Primetime brought in. There are still plenty of bait fish out there, but with very few game boats fishing, the marlin can be hard to find.
In the depths there have been some good catches of bluenose and hapuku, and there are some good-sized gemfish in the same areas.

The kings are around in good numbers: jiggers are having a ball and live-baiting is working well in the shallower water, with john dory and large snapper as by-catches. Kings are in the harbour, too, and can be caught off the Clansman Wharf or any headland. Some good ones have also been taken from boats catching live baits on sabikis in the harbour in the mornings.

Sharks have been a bit quiet, thankfully. Snapper fishing has really improved in the last couple of weeks, with some good-sized fish caught on the sand off Tauranga and Taupo Bays, as well as in the harbour.

Kahawai have made a bit of a comeback in the harbour, off the Sunken Rock, Tauranga Bay and Cone Rock – a very under-rated table fish and great to catch on light gear. There are still plenty of bait fish in the harbour, along with john dory and stray kings.

- © Fairfax NZ News