[PanamaJack]

Hi Deckhand
And similarly, Welcome to the Forum. I'm sure your input will be invaluable.

So which ports have you been working out of? Up north, Bay of Islands?

And have you any background information on those huge Pacific Bluefins off of Greymouth - west coast, South Island? Reports just seem to be trickling out over the past year or so. I've heard of fish up to 280kgs (617lbs) coming from the Hokitika Trench.
Dave

 

[PanamaJack]

Hi Jetstream
Whoops! Many Thanks for pointing that out.

and Hi Jamie
It's some years since any of our members fished the Bay of Islands and then, from memory, it was this time of year - Striped Marlin time. They did as well fish out past the Three Kings.

Over the years I fished in both the Azores and Ascension Island (South Atlantic) with a Kiwi, Marty Bates, who comes from the Bay of Islands area. Let me try and track him down. I'm sure also I have back issues of an Aussie publication - Bluewater Boats and Sportsfishing - that might yield some answers. And they're several antipodean forums identified on our Club's web site that might be useful starting points. Here's the url - http://www.scbi.org.uk/pages/Forums_LinksToOtherForums.Asp.
Kindest regards
Dave

 

[PanamaJack]

Hi Jamie
Looking at a picture on a friend's web site it looks as if Marty's right in the middle of Ascension island's Blue Marlin season. So the chances of getting a reply for the next couple of months is questionable. Sorry!

But just looking around it looks as if the main species from the rocks will be Snapper with boatwise - on the reefs - Snapper, Grouper and the species they get very excited about - Yellowtail Kingfish. Looking through these sites might well be accessing.

http://www.fishnz.co.nz/. A reasonable Portal site.

http://www.fishing.net.nz/index.cfm. An excellent information site, complete with forums.

http://www.beachfishingnz.com/?CFID=16637107&CFTOKEN=36434364. Albeit slightly further south - Bay of Plenty area - this chap guides rock and kayak fishing trip. Well worth scanning through though for tips.

http://www.wildbill.co.nz/. A boat based in Bay of Islands which, during their winter months, our summer, organises reef trips for individuals targeting Snapper, Grouper and Kingfish (Yellowtail).

Hope, as a starting point, that's of some help.
Dave

 

[PanamaJack]

I fished at the three kings in may 2007, it's the fishiest place on earth!! we stayed on 'oracle' for a week as the kings is in the middle of nowhere and you don't touch land for 7 days but i absolutely loved it, we fished 14 hours a day and you catch everything. marlin, billfish, hapuka, bass, kingies, sharks, squid, snapper to name just a few, but the most exciting by far is the kingie fishing on a jig! some are so big and strong they were straightening our split rings on the jigs! i can't wait to go back. apart from that i lived in nz for a year and fished at least once a week mostly on the north island and you won't go far wrong with the bay of islands either.

Oracle - http://cascade-fishing.co.nz/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx - looks a first rate operation. I notice as well they now also run down to Greymouth to fish for the Giant Bluefin Tuna.

 

[PanamaJack]

I also fished with them in 2007 at the 3-Kings. The fishing was excellent but we did have a few problems....

.......

The other issue we had was that there was 12 anglers, yet the rule on the boat was that only 4 anglers could fish at one time to stop tangles, etc. I could understand their thinking but we spent a lot of time just watching and not fishing....very fustrating!

.......

I have friends who have fished on this boat in Greymouth and caught some huge Bluefin.....a trip I really have to do!

Cheers

Dave

Thanks for pointing that out Dave.

Given the current weakness in the NZ $, it's devalued EVEN more against the Euro and US$ that the £ Sterling, and discounted air fares New Zealand appears more and more tempting.

Having seen some of the video footage of those Bluefin in the Hokitika Trench I must admit I'm also sorely tempted as are others of our Club members. (Fortunately it seems to be the Hoki the mega trawlers are targeting.) Weather conditions down there, and the problems with the bar off Greymouth, do seem to present real issues with the probability of cancelled days. Any idea what their policy will be with weather cancellations?

Back to the Three Kings, or more importantly the Kingfish, though I'm currently trying to convince my wife that we should visit New Zealand later in the year - perhaps November. But I suspect a trip up there's going to represent an over-nighter at the very minimum. Any thoughts on other spots where I could target big Kingies just on a day trip?

 

[PanamaJack]

White Island is an easy daytrip for the big kings, (slightly) smaller specimens become more numerous as you head north. Pretty much any of the charters will be able to oblige if you tell them you want to target kingies.

Many Thanks. My Thanks also to Dave.

Just need to convince my wife, otherwise it will be a 'boys trip' and the Three Kings then becomes a real possibility.