Ever fished in New Zealand ?

[Lionel Korach]

Hi All my name is Lionel Korach I am a charter boat owner/Skipper running out of the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand, this area is a premier fishing location and one anyone wishing to catch a quality trophy should consider adding to their list of must visit locations. World class opportunities genuinely exist from this location, anyone planning or seeking extra information on this fantastic location, I am only to happy to share any information you may require about the New Zealand fishery, be it fresh water or salt-water. Information on species such as Kingfish, Yellowfin tuna, snapper, Hapuka,Bass, Kahawai (salmon) or any of the freshwater species rainbow, Brown or tiger trout

[sleepy1]

seems like a good days fishing mate. never fished Zealand. but i have fished india and jamaica. i wish the fishing around uk was half a good,

http://www.worldseafishing.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3000&stc=1&d=1143439418

JACK FISH..

[PanamaJack]

Hi Lionel
And firstly welcome to the forum. Air fares to New Zealand from the UK are relatively cheap now, certainly when you bear in mind the distance, and many of us Brits have relatives living there. Now if you wanted an excuse, there's certainly one to sample the fishing!

I'm guess like many I'm aware of the quality of the Trout fishing, but the sea fishing in that part is a different proposition. So I'm sure a number of us would appreciate further details, particularly a note of the seasons you can catch the various species and average sizes.

There're some amazing images of specimens you've included in your post. Is the second one, one of those fabled Yellowtail?
Kindest regards
Dave

[Lionel Korach]

Nice looking GT's a very similar type of fight to Kingfish which are related to GT's the second fish along in my thumbnails is a NZ Kingfish
all the best mate

[Lionel Korach]

Hi Lionel
And firstly welcome to the forum. Air fares to New Zealand from the UK are relatively cheap now, certainly when you bear in mind the distance, and many of us Brits have relatives living there. Now if you wanted an excuse, there's certainly one to sample the fishing!

I'm guess like many I'm aware of the quality of the Trout fishing, but the sea fishing in that part is a different proposition. So I'm sure a number of us would appreciate further details, particularly a note of the seasons you can catch the various species and average sizes.

There're some amazing images of specimens you've included in your post. Is the second one, one of those fabled Yellowtail?
Kindest regards
Dave
Again thanks for the welcome,
Yes the second one is a Yellowtail Kingfish just prior to release, in reply to the seasons questions: The beauty of a location like NZ is that there is alway's a target year round an example would look like this Dec-June gamefishing for species such as Striped,Blue,Black, Marlin (Broadbill swordfish August-May) Kingfish year round althogh the hottest period would run from Nov-April, Yellowfin Tuna Dec-March, Skipjack Tuna Late Jan-June, Albacore Nov-June
Other notable species such as Snapper, Terakihi, Kahawai run year round with the trophy sized snapper more prevalent during late Nov-april
Other deep-sea species such as Groper and Bluenose run best Jan-May but are regular catches year round, the bluenose are spawning right now and fish in excess of 30kg are being taken often with the average being 15-23kg

on the fresh water scene the Rainbow fishery is really firing now with these fish putting on condition for the spawn the lakes and streams in the Bay of Plenty area are returning some very nice fish in the 3-7kg range a very exciting time to fish this area
Hope this is of some help
All the best Lionel

[bigfish4you]

hello lionel,greetings from homer alaska,i wanted to ask you a question,do you guys jig with big grubs .being in the charter industry here we were needing something bigger so a friend and i desined a rubber grub 11inches long i know this season they will be great.we plan on marketing them everywhere,just wanted to get your opinion thanks

[Lionel Korach]

Hi,
When you are talking about grubs I take it they are a soft plastic if so yes we do if not please tell me more, perhaps you could e-mail me some pictures and a brief description of application
Cheers mate Lionel

[Lionel Korach]

Hi,
When you are talking about grubs I take it they are a soft plastic if so yes we do if not please tell me more, perhaps you could e-mail me some pictures and a brief description of application
Cheers mate Lionel

[Jamie Donnelly]

hi guys,

im coming to NZ in December around russel and phaita (i think). im looking to going fishing EVERY DAY!!! could you give me a list of tackle that isnt to $$$$ but is good for sapper and kingfish. (of the shore)

cheers,

Jamie

[bigfish4you]

hello lionel,yes they are soft plastic,the body is 5inches long,the tail is 6 inches long the nose is 1 1/2half wide. we use them on 24 oz. and 16 oz. jig heads because of the tides .we also use 12 ''and 9' soft plastic shads. do you guys have any grubs that size there. thanks for your input, jim

[Lionel Korach]

Hi Jamie, good to hear mate you won't be dissappointed, any local tackle shop will be able to help you here, the fish you refer to are to different critters, Snapper a very powerful fighter in the initial run are overcome a bit easy than Kingfish (especially large ones) I will start with a couple of options and a guess at price

Shore based off the beach: for this type of fishing you will need ideally a 14ft surfcaster with a pretty standard type egg beater reel and beach spike (rod holder) 20lb nylon should be sufficient to land most of the fish you will encounter. the set up is either a running type sinker with a trace of around 1/2 yard long the trace should be around 40lb breaking strain, fish a hook size of between 3-5/0 best baits off the beach are pilchards,squid, skipjack, or fresh shell fish (tuatua or pipi) you should be able to buy all the equipment you will need for around a $120-$150 NZ
You will be able to use the same rig from the rocks as well although it may be better to fish a floating line as opposed to the sinker, but do retain the 40lb trace and hook sizes baits are the same.

Catching Kingfish is a different prospect requiring a different method usually fishing livebaits under a balloon or high speed jigging or fishing poppers. And to be honest your tackle will have to be a bit more robust, a shorter stronger rod and heavier line 15-24kg and it costs quite a bit more. Don't get me wrong you still can land Kingfish on the first set I mentioned but it generally requires a lot of skill and a touch of luck, whenever fishing from the rocks burley or chum is the favoured method for firstly attracting the bait and then the predators, to you so long casts from the rocks should not be required short casts just outside your burley arc will turn up snapper and Kings most of the time depending of course on location (again talk to the locals) Finally Kingfish are very visable so even if you don't manage to land one it is almost certain you will see some, they are not afraid of much and regulaly show up in your burley trail, go to the pubs when you get here and tie up with some locals, generally they are only to happy to help, buy them a few beers that should do it. If you do make it down our way look me up all the best mate Lionel and good luck

[Lionel Korach]

Big fish 4u, sounds similar to what we have can you send me a picture of what you have memorymakers@xtra.co.nz

[roger buggy]

hey lionel just took a look at your post nice thumbs
I lived in edgecombe as a kid and remember the place well. I left for ireland when i was 11 and am now 40 and will always have a place in my heart for new zealand .I started fishing for trout in alexandra at age 5 and could fly fish at 8 my fist fish from the beach at thornton was a kawi (i think thats the spelling) now at 40 i still fish once a week mostly for bass /cod and pollock and think i will till i,m dead hope to get back to nz when the kid get bigger when i do the bop is top of my list
roger

[Ravelling Tangler]

How does your area compare with the Bay of Islands ( the Kerikeri area) ?

Is it busier ? more charter boats ? very similar ?

[finatic]

hi Tangler, both have fantastic fisheries. From my experience, and lionel may correct me here but where the plenty excels in Kingfish, the snapper in the islands over Xmas (spawning time) are prolific. That is not to say that either species isn't found in both areas!

Hi Jamie, check out golf course, fantastic lbg fishing there. If you like surfcasting and your in the north you might wanna head over to the west side and try out the famous 90 mile beach! 30lb snaps from the beach! best of luck

[suggsey]

Been out to NZ for the last five years...fished all over...(the north island) from welly to the 90 mile beach.. and the bay of islands.. fantastic fishing...and the regional fish quotas are a great thing to stop over fishing....:clap3: :clap3: :clap3:

[i hate whiting]

i went to n.z this time last year. great fishing. the best boat was west out of caifi(cant really remember) i think cant remember the name. we had loads of snapper, kiwahia, and my bro had a blue shark around 70lb on the snapper tackle lol that was funny. also loads of slimey macky, red cod, terraki and our tub gurnard. great fishing only about 600 yards from the shore!

[Flathead]

I visited NZ South Island nearly 2 years ago and loved every minute of it. Sadly didn't get the chance to do much fishing as i was on the move nearly everyday. Did a bit of lake trout fishing in Wanaka and caught a couple of 2lbers.
Looked into the fishing up at Marlborough Sounds area. Next time will visit North Island and experience the fishing there.

[finatic]

For a wicked kiwi thrill check out youtube search ITM fishing show! Marlin from a skidoo!

[LilBrit]

Yes indeed, fished there from Bay of Islands with Mr Steve Butler, had a great day on the Kingfish. Sister lives in Kerikeri and she caught the biggest fish of the day!

Also had some fun fishing at Monganui Wharf catching rays (well hooking them) John Dories and littl;e yeller tails for the kids to have a bit of fun with.

Can't wait to go back!!

[colhaze]

I was buying some bait and saw some brown softbaits (fish like) made of soft plastic that were about the length of a banana with a fat body about 3 finger width deep, I guessed they were for trolling as they looked a bit big for jigging.
I live in Whangarei New Zealand. south of the bay of islands (Paihia and Russel mentioned above.
I am not into big game but our Kahawai (sea trout ) and king fish are classed as game fish and readily available, Snapper from 5 to 15 lb are common and up to 30lb not impossible to catch in some quieter areas.
The move to smaller tackle (initiated by soft bait) and releasing big breeders is taking on in NZ so we may have great fishing in the future.
Apart from a few trout fishermen I don't know anyone who fishes freshwater (coarse? course? fishing) but anyone can fish the ocean, no licenses required to fish or for private boats.

[colhaze]

i went to n.z this time last year. great fishing. the best boat was west out of caifi(cant really remember) i think cant remember the name. we had loads of snapper, kiwahia, and my bro had a blue shark around 70lb on the snapper tackle lol that was funny. also loads of slimey macky, red cod, terraki and our tub gurnard. great fishing only about 600 yards from the shore!

Thats probably Paihia (no c in Maori) Kahawai and Terakihi respectively, not critisizing, just tryin to help