November 2019

Bluenose often hang out up off the bottom a bit, so if you see sign sitting up higher than you might expect for puka then it can often be bluenose.  This time of year we expect they will be there for a while so it’s a matter of keeping an eye on the conditions and being ready to go.

Snapper and kingies have come on a bit but at this early stage of summer they are not exactly raging just yet.

Mana and Pukerua Bay are producing good fish but not yet in the big numbers we expect closer to Christmas. 

We are now starting to see the south end of Kapiti fishing well too.  It’s been a bit quiet there to date, but good to see some fresh action at one of our better fishing locations. Here you can get good terakihi off the southern contour changes and reefy pins, and off Pinnacle Rock (see map), and also trevally and the odd decent snapper.

With strong north-west winds forecast the weekend looks a bit average for boaties everywhere but close in to the south and east coast.  There’s no swell there at the moment though, and nice clear water so perfect for surf casting and shallower diving missions.

Launching off Owhiro Bay and staying in really close watching out for the marine reserve could be an option, and it shouldn’t take too long to pick up some nice blue cod and terakihi at least. 

Five Mile reef is still good for big cod and terakihi in 50 – 75 metres if you fish the turn of tides when there’s not too much current running.

The weather might be a bit uncooperative this week, but when you can get out Sinclair Head to Karori Rock, and out deeper around 80-100 metres there’s a good chance of catching Hapuka and trumpeter.

Trumpeter are a fantastic fish, and they have been appearing in a few spots lately. 

Normally they are more of an east coast fish, but we’re seeing them more south now. There’s a good bank out past, and to the south of Nicholson’s Trench where some really nice specimens have been landed.  It’s a huge area between 100 – 150 metres that gives you plenty of options to cruise about with the sounder and pick up sign.

Being at least 10 miles offshore it’s a bit further to travel, but as such, has not had the angling pressure and can therefore produce unexpected results.

Trumpeter are a fantastic looking fish, a bit like a big moki with distinctive horizontal stripes.  They can grow pretty big, up to 25kgs, and they are a great fight and will scrap like a kingfish all the way to the surface.

They make great eating so are a good reward for the effort.

Trumpeter are usually caught on normal puka gear, but have much smaller mouths than the groper family so a smaller sized hook is better.

Out west looks pretty unfishable in the short term, but those that have been able to fish Hunters are being rewarded with some really nice kingfish.  These are mainly on jigs, but of course livies also work well, often a big live bait being responsible for hooking the bigger fish.

South-west of Hunters we hear the 78 metre rise is fishing well for kings.  It’s primarily a well-known puka spot but being a rise with a bit of current running the kings are there too.

Surfcasting

Where they have been catching gurnard the surfcasting crew are now steadily picking up a few snapper in the harbour now at places like Evan’s Bay. Greta point has been good but inconsistent, and it’s supposed to be a good time to be moki fishing at White Rock (even though the surfcasting club did not do so well off Wainui last week).

October 2019

22 October 

South - have heard of a few snapper getting caught off island bay. I presume they are on their way into the harbour.
Fitzroy bay is full of tarakihi, gurnard with a few trevs

West - the best snapper and kingfish have Been caught on the north end of kapiti recently. Hunters was full of Teri’s last time we were there with some boxes big trevs and bluecod. Slider jigs have been doing the damage on the snapper and kingis. We await the warmer water and more consistent snapper fishing around mana, pukerua bay and down to makara. At the moment it’s a bit hit and miss.

Trench - I’ve heard of some good trumpeter and puka on some of the seamounts sth of Nicholson’s recently. That’s a place worth some serious investigation as it hasn’t been fished much by recreationals. Small bluenose still biting well off Wainui in 120-180mtrs

Harbour - good gurnard and kahawai around ward island with the odd elephant and Trev.
Evans bay is still full of gurnard as well as pt jenningham, halswell and seatoun.
One or two snapper getting caught off pt gordan and some nice Teri’s there too.

Surfcasting - Greta point has been rampant one day and barren the next for gurnard. Some anglers have been slide baiting oriental and moki fishing at white rock. It’s perfect timing for those places to start producing a few nice fish. Who’s going to be the first?

10th Oct

WEST - Theres been a resurgence in numbers of snapper in the last week after a quite a few 20lb+ fish over the previous month. Slow jigs and bait have been doing the damage and Plimmerton, Pukerua bay and Kapiti have all produced some good fishing. 40-60mtrs has been more productive for numbers but the biggies have been anywhere from 15 - 70mtrs. Tarakihi have made a comeback around Mana and Makara, hopefully they will continue to improve. Kahawai which have been harder to catch have been a biting a bit better particularly around the Mana bridge. Some good kingis have been caught at Hunters and Kapiti. As usual Trevally have been in good numbers around Mana, Makara, Pukerua and Hunters - its just a matter of tracking them down!      

SOUTH - There are plenty of crays around if you're a diver or keen to set a pot or two. Tarakihi and cod are around the normal haunts but its been hard to find conditions that aren't swelly over the last week or two. Howewver today there is virtually no swell on the coast and it looks great when the northerly drops out for fishing and diving over the next few days. Divers have reported kingfish on the coast and plenty of butterfish.  

HARBOUR - Its still gurnard city particularly in Evans bay but the initial spring run may have ended with numbers taking a bit of a hit over the last month. Now its almost snapper time which should happen over the next dew weeks and then its kingi time especially slidebaiting off Oriental Bay Wall. Point Gordan has been good on tarakihi and gurnard and a few elephantsfish and trevally have been caught at Seatoune and around Ward. 

SURFCASTING - not too much to report but it is perfect time to catch bluecod close to shore on the south coast shingle beaches particularly when the water is clean. Theres been more kahawai building up but its still not really firing as it does throughout summer. The blue moki are normally at there best from october - december so places like Cape Pallsier, White rock, Fitzroy bay, Karori light and Wainui should all be worth a crack over the next wee while. The usual spotty sharks (rig) are the most abundant quality fish being caught recently - use crab for bait!  

TRENCH - The bluenose are still biting particularly off Wainui - bluenose heaven. The turn of tide for bass on the far side is always worth a crack as well. Ive heard of a few puka getting caught off the back of 5 mile and down Windy Point way inside Palliser bay 

September 2019

Surfcasting - the South coast has had limited opportunities with swelly conditions but as soon as the swell goes try these spots - White rock, the Spit & Wainui beach. Inside the harbour there's been a few gurnard off Greta point, a few moki from Kaiwharawhara and Point Howard and kahawai appearing on and off around the traps. West coast - try Otaki and Tehoro for early season snapper or Opau bay for trevally & bluecod 

great days fishing - 24 August

There were plenty of snapper, kingfish, trevally and other stuff caught out west for the keen anglers who braved the elements. The day just got better and better weather and fish wise with 2 snapper around the 20lb mark taken around Mana Island plus snapper, kingis and trevs caught south of Makara. It was a real mixed bag for us just south of the bridge with bluecod, tarakihi, trevally, snapper, kingfish, gurnard, butterfly perch, kahawai and assorted lesser species 

August 2019

16th august

august

Boat - The snapper and kingfish are still around in good numbers at the 70-80 mtr mark. Out deep its still good fishing for hapuku (out west) and puka, bass and bluenose on the south and east. Tarakihi and bluecod, gurnard and trevally are also regular catches inshore with the occasional warehou, john dory and blue mackerel. If it was warmer you may be fooled into believing it was still summer with the good fishing at the moment.

Hot spots - Hunters bank, Boom, Turakerei, Falcon Shoal, Tora

Shore - good kahawai on the south coast with spotty sharks, gurnard and the odd moki and trevally. Perfect time for nice bluecod when the water is clean. Out west its warehou & tarakihi time from Makara to Titahi bay (especially Boom). In the harbour its gurnard time with kahwai at queens wharf and the hutt river entrance.

Hotspots - Queens wharf, Greta point, Hutt river mouth (harbour), White rock (east), Longbeach and Wainui (south) 

1st august

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks with amazing snapper and kingis our west, bluenose at the trench and good inshore fishing pretty much everywhere. The snapper and kingis have been around the 70 mtrs marks off makara and hunters bank. Further north at foxton the snaps and kings have been good on the 40ntr mark as well as kingis st Tora on the east coast. I was out on the harbour yesterday and the gurnard weee in the bite off seatoun in 10mtrs and I even caught a couple of snapper as well. I’ve heard point Howard wharf car park has been quite good for moki recently. As soon as the weather comes right I strongly suggest you go and give your favourite haunts a go because the fish are biting well. The hapuku should still be having a final feed before the September spawning run. 

July fishing report

Boat Fishing report -29.7.19

great fishing, great weather!

The fishing has really been firing lately, due mainly to the 6 days of flat calm weather and that there's been excellent snapper, kingfish, hapuku & bluenose getting caught in numbers.

July 13

Our last report (see below) still stands as pretty much all the fishing is affected by the weather conditions which have prevented us getting out much of late.

We are hearing from customers  reports of good warehou fishing returning, with one fish of 8kg landed off the south coast inshore along the airport reef.

The airport reef, as the name suggests found on the southern coast off the airport, can be a great place to fish all year round, if you concentrate efforts along the southern end in around the nooks and crannies in the 40 – 45 metre mark.

Stay away from anything too shallow as the 20 – 40 metre zone will often host nothing but parrotfish and varies other rock – nasties.

This south coast spot is very handy to small boats launched from in the harbour or off Moa Point ramp and is less than a couple of kms offshore.

Snapper in late summer can be found in good numbers, as can some big blue cod, terakihi, warehau, and trevs.  Head out a bit wider and there are good gurnard off the sand

As this reef is in nice and close it is not too badly affected by the straight’s tidal flows.

WARNING! The biggest ‘hazard’ as such is from the ferries piling past and they can get quite close and be pretty intimidating.  If you expect them, respect their size and be aware to move if you need to it’s not an issue.

The reef is quite extensive and is mecca for crayfish, as it is unsafe to dive due to the ferries, and cray pot lines get cut off by the ferries also.  If you set out some pots, expect to lose a few to the big ships.  However, wherever there are crayfish there is usually good fishing.

Also be aware of the Taputeranga Marine Reserve marked out from shore (see map) which is a no fishing zone.  

Our Fishing comp is on next weekend and if it’s not good weather we will postpone, so stay tuned for details mid next week.

This comp is a measure only and we hope to see as many of you taking part as we can J.  All details on our website as Facebook page   

July 3rd

Thankfully, we have had some pretty good fishing, with weather smiling upon us in some good spells, with a bit to come in the week ahead.

Pretty much everywhere has been producing fish of one sort or another, with snapper, Hapuka, kingies, gurnard, and tarakihi leading the charge in most of the usual haunts.

West coast around Mana and Makara has been fishing particularly well recently, and in quite close right up into only 15 metres of water.

This time of year you will find big snapper mooching right in amongst the shallower foul, but they also move out quite deep.

Many people don’t realise that snapper can be readily caught in up to 100metres of water plus. Quite often you’ll get the big ones where you might not have otherwise expected.

You can also try fishing big heavy (150 gram plus) Inchiku jigs and kabura style lures for snapper and kingfish with good success. In fast currents these lures jet straight to the bottom well but you will want to be drifting over a likely passage.

If the fish are not firing on lures double your chances by dropping some good old flasher rigs down loaded with a bit of kahawai, skippy or half pilchards.

The harbour is going ok too, with a stack of gurnard coming in around Eastbourne.

Surfcasting has been up and down with the swells.

We’ve had some good trips and some dry ones out around Red Rocks.

The warehou seemed to come and go pretty quickly as we have not had many reports of good catches this week. They will still be out there though, so be ready with the net as they do have soft mouths.

It’s been great puka fishing though, with one of the charters boating a fish over the magic 100lb mark down south. We know there have also been good specimens of 50 – 60lb caught out by Fisherman’s in the last few days.

If you make it as far down as Durville at this time of year big double figure snapper are around in good numbers around 90 metres in the channels.

John dory are popping up a lot as by catch recently, just on normal baits, not their usual favourite livies. We’ve soaked a lot of live baits but they seem to prefer the plain old bait at the moment.

With these awesome table fish appearing to come on in good numbers, it could be worth targeting their preferred areas with live baits or slow moving soft baits though. JD’s like a lot of cover so fish for them around weed lines or broken rock zones, and if you are using livies there’s always a chance of a good snapper or kingfish.

The trench reports have been pretty quiet mostly because of the swells more than anything.

What has been really noteworthy is reports from the Wairarapa guys who have been smashing some really good puka right in shallow and out deep.

Areas like Riversdale, Ngawi, and Castlepoint has been just the place for good puka fishing and a few trumpeter.

Puka go really well in the shallow so not only are they great eating but good sport if you get onto a nice one.

It’s all firing and the weather is not too bad even though it’s a bit cold. Those that can harden up and tough out the temperatures are being treated to some awesome fishing, so don’t be afraid to set that alarm early and give it a go

fishing report 24 may 2019

Well we have a week of heavy wind from the north west ahead of us, so getting out in the boat is going to be for those not faint of heart.

It will be better for the land based crew or boaties that are happy to stick to the inner harbour.

When you can get out the fishing is going pretty well for snapper, kingfish, trevs and of course cod and terakihi.

The harbour is fishing well, and west and south coast are ok in the right conditions.

Ward Island, Point Gordon, and Point Halswell still top spots.

Last weekend a mate managed 30 snapper, and a couple of kingies out at Kapiti.

South end of Kapiti up to Aeroplane Island is the zone.  Nothing too adventurous in the technique, just good old squid and pillies with a good berley trail, ledger rigs and the odd strayline when current allows.

We like 3/0 to 5/0 flasher rigs on the charter.  The circle hook versions that hook fish in the corner of the mouth are great for releasing unwanted fish unharmed.

They may not last that long but they are worth it, and it pays to have a quality one as kingies are often happy to grab a piece of squid on a flasher at any time.

If you are keen on trying some of the new lures available for fishing deeper, our friends up north have been having great success on the new Shimano Tiger Baku Baku lure in jet black.

The big performer though, is for deeper water targeting kings, puka and bluenose, which is the Catch Fishing Giant Squidwings.  We sell a few in the shop here, and they have been working really well up north according to my Editor, so no reason not to give them a crack down here.

Mana is going ok, with good snapper south of mana on the pins and foul there.

South end is good but there are a lot of kahawai around there that can be an issue if you don’t want them.

Surf casting and targeting moki off Palliser Bay, Rock Point, and White Rock should be ok in the Nor-wester.

We like to use mainly crab and mussel baits on a smaller recurved hook for moki.  And these are also good for snapper.  Generally, take the legs off or cut the crab in half and secure to the hook with a binding thread. 

Two hooks on a ledger rig with an upside-down pyramid sinker usually holds nicely.

It’s a good time of the year for moki, and you don’t have to cast too far. What you’re looking for is shingle beach meeting weedy rock, so if you can get a bait to sit in the right zone it can be better than hurling out as far as you can cast.

Where all the dead weed is floating around after a bit of a blow is a good place to target fish, as they are often there foraging amongst the fresh nutrients.

Moki hit pretty hard so it can be a good wake-up call if you’re drifting off J

The Trench has produced some awesome bass lately, 25 – 30kg for the boats that have been able to fish it, but west coast has been the talk for big puka.

Out a bit deeper than usual both north and south of Fisherman’s around 300 metres rather than 200 has been good for really nice sized fish, up in the 30 – 40kg+ mark sometimes.

It will probably be a week or so before it’s very fishable out there, but once the wind clears out it could be all on.

Good luck

Pete

Fishing reports

Wellington Fishing Report 5 April

It's a good time to be chasing tuna at the moment, as plenty of albacore have been caught between Mana and Kapiti.

The weather is not so cooperative for us this weekend, but there is a window on Monday/Tuesday (wouldn't you know it).

4.3.19

There have been a lot of exotic and often untargeted fish turning up this year.

Sometimes we all think within our box and don’t actually set out to target fish that would really be something special.

The fish are there, so why not have a dedicated go.  Broadbill are a good example.  The only way you’ll catch one is to set out to do so.

Here are a couple of videos to help you get set up, https://www.nzfishingworld.co.nz/latest/2017/05/daytime-swordfish-rigs

next move is up to you to find a good area on a good day, and have a drop or two.

We have several reports of broadbill in anything from 30 – 40 metres of water off the south coast, several off Fitzroy Bay, and out past the 100metre mark towards the trench, all on the surface during day. 

If you are really up for a challenge, these fish are there to be hooked, but it won’t happen by accident, you need to commit.

Try targeting good knolls out in 400-500 metres with a daytime drop, there is always the chance of also hooking good bass or Hapuka as a by-catch on the type of big baits that attract broadies.

Another fish to target at the moment is albacore tuna.  We are getting a really great summer run of these fish out wide.in areas such as 100metre mark around Hunters bank, back of Mana all the way to Kapiti, and out the back side of Kapiti.  These fish are fun to chase and catch, spectacular eating and are a real summer treat that you can target for a change of pace.

They are brilliant fun on light gear and are not that hard to pursue.  Simply get some small 4 – 5 inch tuna or skippy lures and tow them at around 6.5 knots heading for any birds, tide or current lines, water temperature change zones etc. 

Have some run right in close only 5 – 10 metres behing the boat and another further back and you are in business.

Palliser Bay been hard to fish due to weather but good spell coming up this week, so there could be a good opportunity to get out there soon enough. 

There’s been a few good kings, big terakihi, and Hapuka off Turakerei head fishing around 220 metres.

Baring Head and the inner harbour is still fishing really well.

The good hauls of snapper are coming off the Eastbourne side .  Most consistent results more north of the Eastbourne bus shelter towards Rhona wharf being the good place for shore based snapper.

Surf casters are doing well off Evens bay, with really good kahawai, trevally and a few snapper too.

This has really been the year of the trevally. 

Last year it seemed to be more gurnard being commonly caught, but this year the trevs are around in greater numbers and size.

There are good fish off the sand around Ward island and other areas in the harbour.

These fish are premium sashimi and great smoked, particularly the bigger ones that can be a bit tougher raw.

The kahawai are on steroids at the moment.  It is the best fishing we have seen for ages for these fish, thick with roe and often going 4kg plus,we are seeing absolute barrels in amazing condition.

This makes them great sport and great eating, particularly if you are limited to being land based.

The humble kahawai is still the staple of the surf caster, and it’s great to see them in such good nick.

Try kahawai sashimi, or fresh cooked just cut the dark meat out and you might be surprised how good they are fresh.

In the freak-catch bag, we caught a couple of really good crayfish the other day on dropper rigs off Wairaka point in Pukerua Bay, which usually only happens about once a year, so to get two in a day was highly unusual.

Snapper fishing pretty good, especially west coast places like Pukerua Bay.

When it’s too rough to get further out top sea, we like Rocky Point, a good spot to fish close to shore out of the tide protected from the current.

Kapiti is fishing well off all coasts with good mixed bags of all the species from cod to puka, so just target wherever is the most sheltered.  There’s good consistent snapper fishing off all the reef structures around the island at the moment..

There’s a great spell of weather coming up which should open up the fishing doors for some nice opportunities, whether you choose to stay in close or head right out wide.

Cheers, Pete

latest catches (below)

Fishing Report

Jan 11th

We've been lucky to enjoy such a great spell of weather, and at the moment west is best.

There are now plenty of snapper and good kingfish being caught consistently off the west coast.

Hapuka are also good to target as they have moved back in to full feeding up mode.  Out wide searching the contour lines with you sounder or just targeting Fisherman's Rock and it's surrounding structure would be the way to go.

The Trench has sparked in to life a bit when you can get out there, with bass, bluenose and hapuka all being caught recently.

Really good snapper are being caught by surfcasters in Evans Bay.  I'd be going for a very early start or fishing in to darkness as the tide is moving.

The challenge at the moment is that the bite is all on one day, and then dead as a doughnut the next, with no particular rhyme or reason.  The only answer really, is to have a line in the water and hope for the best.  

The southern end of Mana seems to be very reliable lately, with good catches of terakihi, trevally, and kingies.

If you are hunting snapper, we've been getting the best results by trying a likely spot in 25 metres for about half an hour, then slowly move out to 35 and then 45 etc until you can actually locate where they are holding.

Sometimes you have to move around a lot, but we have seen the best fishing result from moving around as necessary between Mana, Pukerua Bay, Boom Rock, and Makara.

January 3rd 2019

The fishings been pretty good lately, I've had a couple of very busy charter periods over the last three weeks. Weve been lucky with some pretty good weather out west. The snapper have been a bit flighty - sometimes we get em, sometimes we dont. Kingfish, gurnard and trevally have been a bit more consistent to catch, even if we're sheltering up behind Mana Island. Hapuku fishing has at its most consistent at Fisherman's Rock but im sure there are other places firing as well.

December 2018

For snapper try 40 metres mark off Pukerua Bay off the sand.

We have had a great run of weather providing the opportunity for some fantastic fishing when the bite is on.  Happily, the forecast looks good for the next while too.

West is best currently, and fishing from Ohau right up north to Kapiti is where we have been concentrating our efforts.

The hapuka fishing continues to produce really good results - Hunters, Fishermans, out from Mana still seems to be the best and most productive area. 

The snapper fishing has started to pick up with some really good fish, in both size and numbers. The best fishing has been from 15 - 50 metres depending on where you are.  Good fish have been caught off the sand, the mud, and in close in the structure, so there is no real silver bullet to finding them.  This is a key point really, with fish moving about you have two options.

Either invest a lot of time slowly and quietly prospecting with your sounder to identify fish, and then get baits and lures down fast when you do.  Or, locate a good area and try to keep fish around or attract them with a good berley trail and just be patient.

As good as the fishing can be, the fish will only bite for a certain time, so there are never any guarantees, you just have a line in the water.

The outgoing tide on the west coast has proven best for snapper. They can be quite widespread so searching or drift fishing is a solid option.  Make sure you have a drift chute on board of course, as you'll need to slow a drift down to keep your gear moving naturally across the seafloor.

Also fishing the later hours and evening has worked well if you can manage to stay out a bit longer or just want an afternoon fish.

Kingies are still around in good numbers for boaties and land based anglers, so targeting this species specifically will mean you are always in with a good chance.  Nothing beats livies for kingfish, so try slow trolling a small kahawai or jack mackerel inshore, or using a running rig to get down around the structure out deeper.

We have seen some awesome fishing when it is on fire.  A surf caster got 9 snapper in the harbour last week, another got 15 or so moki and broke the all time points record for the Wellington club, so what better time to get out there and get into it.

23/10/18

here are a few snapper, kingis and hapuku around now, but it has been very hard to get out with the southerlies. Thankfully the south coast is now flat as with minimal swell and is clean.

There are still good gurnard and kahawai in the harbour, and someone caught a 5kg moki surfcasting which is not a typical catch for inner harbour.

We caught an 18 pound snapper last week in Pukerua Bay (off Wairaka Point) that might have cracked the magic 20 mark if it had been in better condition. There have been a number of big snapper caught and a few smaller ones in good numbers north of Pukerua bay

Hunters has been producing some excellent kingfish so that is worth a jig or live bait session there now particularly early morning or on the turn of tide.

If you are keen on targeting snapper or kingfish, I would head to Mana or better yet Kapiti. It will have not had a lot of fishing pressure so the north. Fishing 30 – 45 metres seems to be the magic depth, and this would be the plan to target snapper. Berley up off the sand north of Kapiti in 30- 40 metres, or try the boulder bank for kingfish and terakihi. Gurnard have been numerous on the sand north of kapiti as well

Heading south off Makara around Boom rock would be worth a go for an early season kingfish or a late season warehou. It is also really consistent for blue cod and terakihi here so at least you should be guaranteed a good feed.

Fishing Ohau point is much the same story, a guaranteed good catch of cod and terakihi for the table plus the chance of hapuku out wide and the odd kingi and trevally.

There have been a few Hapuka starting to come back from spawning now, so with good weather it could be worth targeting any of the deep spots such as can be found off Hunters or out at the trench on or around slack tide. There should also be bluenose out at the trench now also.

Karori light is your guaranteed blue cod fishing, but Baring Head would be one of my favourite go-to places to head with great blue cod fishing in around about 50 metres. You might always pick up a school hapuka, warehou or good trevally out here and with good weather conditions the beauty of this spot is that you can head out to have a look at the trench as it approaches slack tide.

Taking the leading line out from the harbour (see map) it’s worth fishing the 100 metre mark for big terakihi and kingfish, and then out a bit deeper on the same line to target the deepwater species.

There seems to be a window of good weather this friday and next monday but the weekend looks a bit breezy from the north. perfect conditions for surfcasting the south coast particulary the Red Cod Classic comp at Lake Ferry this weekend

11.10.18

We’re in the transition between winter and summer and so the snapper fishing is yet to really kick in, although there is still a good chance of getting fish a bit further north from Makara, Pukerua Bay and out at Kapiti. Some real stonker snapper turn up at the begginning of our season in Wgtn and thats been the case recently. Ive heard of two or three 20lb+ fish caught already including one off the beach at tehoro.

Makara and other spots on the west coast such as Opau Bay, Ohau point and Cape Terawhiti are fishing really well for cod, trevally and terakihi, and there’s always the chance of a good snapper out that way. Fishing the edges of the reef with berley around the turn of the tide is a good way to overcome the tidal currents and catch the bite either side of the slack water.

fishing report 1 Sept

Absolutely brilliant fishing for this time of year, especially the kingfish action we are getting both in the harbour and around the coast.

Not only are the kings around in good numbers but the size is good too.

august report

It was a great spell of weather last week with some great fish getting caught too. I got out to Fishermans (tough going) and Hunters (plenty of fish) and there were boats at all over the place.

West coast
Kingis, trevs, snapper, JD's, warehou, big teris and cod
Pretty much up and down the coast from Pukerua down to Ohau. Kapiti is also going well for inshore species and snapper a bit further north.

June fishing reports

24.6.18

Overall the fishing is as good as can be expected this time of year, with some really good catches of hapuka being a welcome feature.  The tricky part is that the fishing can be quite sporadic, with an area fishing very well, then not at all next time around.

It's peak hapuka season, with fish in their best condition.  The trick is to not thrash away at areas that are just not producing.  Move around and track contour lines looking for where the fish are on the sounder.  Time and patience spent looking can easily be worth it when you eventually come across the fish.

For hapuka the most consistent areas are around Fishermans rock at the moment, with the trench being both difficult to access in inclement weather, and fishing is quite hit and miss when you do get there. Karori light and Turakerei 200mtr marsk are also worth a crack at present.

Probing areas with a combination of baits and big hapuka jigs such as the Catch giant squidwing and Diamond eye can give some rewarding results at the moment.

As can be expected for The colder temperatures the snapper fishing has become much harder.  Big winter resident fish can still be found, but they are fewer in numbers so harder to target.

Some really good fishing off the last three bays of the west coast - Ohau/Opau etc. 

Fishing for cod and tarakihi is good in all the usual coastal haunts.

Now is prime season for trevally, and surfcasters can reap some great rewards targeting these fish as well as boaties.  Boaties might want to try some small soft baits or flasher rigs to score some of the best sashimi on offer. Off the shore they come in close after dark at beaches like Pencarrow and Makara and can be caught during the day at places like Boom rock, Castlepoint, Cobham Drive and Point Gordon.

Elephantfish have been a common catch for boaties at Ward island and Eastbourne and around the sandy areas off Seatoun. 

Warehou are present off most tarakihi reefs around Wgtn at the mo and can be taken on the same gear that teris like. At deeper reefs like hunters, 5 mile, fishermans and at Ohau and Karori, they school up well off the bottom and can be caught in numbers on jigs, flasher rigs and squid baits. The kahawai are plentiful as usual, but there have been some seriously big fish landed upwards of three kilos.  Kahawai of this size give a really good account of themselves and provide some great fillets for the smoker, or sashimi platter.

The large amount of rain recently has made harbour and river mouth areas very muddy which tends to put off the more quality table fish, so best steer clear of those areas until they wash through a bit.

Dont write off the kingfish at this time of the year. Places like Point Gordon in the harbour, Hunters bank and the 78mtr rise can produce big fish as Steve Brown found in the harbour recently with his 17.3kg fish.

10.6.18

Good to see some nice weather over Queens birthday weekend after a couple of weeks of cold and sometimes strong southerlies. Overall the fishing was pretty good but certainly the numbers of snapper and kingfish were down a bit. Hapuku and bluenose fishing was pretty good as were the bluecod and tarakihi.

West coast - some good snapper have been caught from Ohau to Opau bays, Plimmerton Reef and north of Kapiti. Ive heard of good gurnard fishing at Makara and some good puka fishing at Ohau and fishermans rock. Theres been a few puka at verns mixed in with the tarakihi there. The best snapper was 24lb caught at Plimmerton at the weekend.

South coast - Prior to the southerlies there were some great snapper getting caught off the airport reef and east of Sinclair head. Im not sure if there are many left now. blue cod and teris have been good at most locations as well as a few warehou and gurnard. Breaker bay has produced some nice gurnard over the weekend.

Harbour - good snapper fishing at Seatoun recently with an 8kg fish the biggest reported. fishing 20mtrs depth of point gordan and 15mtrs west of ward are traditionally good snapper places at this time of the year. Ive heard the elephantfish have made a comeback with good catches reported off ward and Seatoun recently. The kahawai have been there one day gone the next - evans bay has been good along with point Hallwell and Jenningham.

The trench - some good bluenose were caught on the weekend along with a few puka as well. 

Surfcasting - spotty sharks, moki at white rockl. Bluecod, kahawai and the odd moki at longbeach and batch beach. Wainui is certainly worth a crack for a big moki and spottyb shark this time of the year. There maybe a snapper or two lurking at Ocean beach as well. Don't write off the kingfish. There is a real chance of a biggie off the beach or rocks at this time of year.   

May fishing reports

West coast

The snapper and kingis continue to be in good numbers up and down the coast as well as hapuku out wide. A few warehou are getting caught as well. We got a nice one around 4-5kgs off the north end of mana yesterday. Havnt heard of any tuna. The water temp is around 16/17 degrees but that can change from day to day up and down the coast. The last southerlys which came through were more from the east and didn't plummet the water temps the previous one did.

Snapper spots - 30 to 40mtrs depth south of the bridge, 30 mtrs off the plimmerton quarry, south end of Kapiti

Puka spots - fishermans, eastern side in 200mtrs

trevally spots - hunters in 30-50mtrs, on the edge of the mana bridge in 20mtrs

cod and teri - makara fenceline 25mtrs, tecam reef  - 40-60mtrs

South coast

Some good kingis have been getting caught of homes, turakerei and into pallsier. the trench has been a little quiet but a few bluenose and gemfish are around. havnt hear of any bass or puka. its perfect time for puka at karori when the weathers good. Weve had alot of swells on the coast recently which given the fish a bit of a break

Wgtn Harbour

Ive heard of quite a few snapper caught around Ward island , Pt Gordan and sth end of Somes. Some good trevally have been caughgt in amoungst the gurnard at Ward and at Steeple Rock. Elephantfish have made a bit of a comeback recently around Ward and at Seatoune.

Its coming up to a pretty good time in the harbour for snapper and kingis as they move out or go into hibernation.

Surfcasting

Theres been some really good  Blue moki fishing of late. These places have fired - White rock, Batch beach, Oteranga. Otgher places worth a crack are Pencarrow/Fitzroy, Wanui, Cape Palliiser and Long beach.

If the swells stay away there should be some good fishing over the next month. Ocean beach can be good for spotty sharks, gurnard, moki and snapper

Before and after shelly bay in the harbour has produced quite a few snapper in the last 2 weeks. a few at eastbourne and greta pioint as well. Mahanga bay has been good for teris after dark. Sunshine bay has been producing a few snapper the odd kingi and trevally as well. 

Theres still a few kingis around. May has traditionally bee a time to catch a real biggie off the shore in wgtn.

March/April reports

April 15

April 1st

Still plenty of albacore and skipjack tuna getting caught off the back of mana and kapiti

Plimmerton reef and points have been great for snapper and trevally recently, a friend got a 24 and 30lb (released) snapper there.

Hunters has been amazing for kingis of late. livebaits and jigs going well

The mana bridge and nth end have been great for snapper and trevally. we picked up a 22lber there the other day   

March 15

Snapper and kingfish are still fishing well particularly on the west coast.  

In the harbour - some great snapper fishing off the south end of Somes island recently, the south seas wreck and around ward island have been producing kingis of good size too.

Many surf casters have been doing well off Oriental Bay catching kahawai, with a few nice kingis as well on slidebaiting rigs.

Eastbourne has been a good night fishing spot for land based fishers too.

Out west places like Hunters, Pukerua, Mana bridge, Boom Rock and Kapiti have all head there fair share of kingfish and the snapper have been good up and down the coast.

I've heard of a few bluenose getting caught at the trench but that's about it from the south coast. The usual cod and teris from baring head to turakerei in 50-70 meters are worth a crack and also homes rock for kingis

February reports

2.2.18

Its good to see plenty of albacore getting caught from mana to kapiti recently, some skipjack as well. There's been rumors of some bigger tuna getting hooked but lost and a chance of a billfish this season seeing the waters so warm. New Plymouth caught 10 marlin the week before the king tides.
Snapper and kingi fishing out west has picked up recently. A 26kg and 22kg kingi were caught recently amongst many others.
Surfcasters in the harbour and out west have been doing alright too with fish up to 4.5kgs caught last weekend with one angler catching 7 legal snapper off the shore.

Albacore have been caught out wide from the trench so i wouldnt be surprized if they are caught on the south coast soon, its certainly the time of the year for it

Good luck if your fishing the WSAC shore fishing comp or the Petone workingmans club boat comp this weekend

january reports

31.1.18

What an epic month for weather and fishing. The albacore tuna have started to come on now with a few skipjack tuna as well. There are plenty of kingfish and snapper around the deepwater fishing has been firing as well. surfcasters have been doing well on snapper in the harbour and on the west coast with a few in pallsier bay as well. moki fishing fired recently with white rock being the hot spot. gurnard fishing in the harbour has been quite good bt not to the same levels as last season. tarakihi and bluecod continue to dominate the southcoast fishing and when the waters clean and not to tidal the fishing has been great. I had the last charter on the daniel on the 17th of Jan and we finished on a high. 2 x monster bass 22 and 28kg with gemfish, bluenose, cod and tarakihi as well as frostfish, a blueshark with dolphin galore and a couple of sperm whale sightings.

8.1.18

Prior to the bug southerly things were going pretty well in the wgtn fishing scene. deepwater fishig has been very good out west for hapuku and reasonable at the trench with a mixed bag of puka, bass, bluenose, gemfish ling and hoki.

We played with a pod of orca off baring head the other day which was a real highlight. the dolphins have turned up recently in good numbers as well. wont be too far away before the sperm whales make an appearance.

snapper fishing out west has been a bit harder but if you wrk for them you'll get them.

kingis in the harbour havnt slowed down but the fish were hard to find yesterday maybe because of the earthquake the day before, who knows?

pictured here is richard chambers with his dad al and inga in background - xmas day in breaker bay

December reports

5.12.17
west - good numbers of puka out wide, snapper and kingfish have been a little harder to get onto with slightly colder temps after the southerlies, they shold be back in full swing after these strong northerlies psuh the warm water back in.
john dory, trevs and gurnard are around if you target them. not much to report from the shore

south - the cod a teris have been hit and miss. the 50mtr wreck has been pretty good i hear. theres been a number of kingis and a few snapper around on the inshore and deeper tarakihi reefs.

the trench - theres been some excellent bass fishing at the trench with patches of good bluenose and a few puka as well. trumpeter and puka have been caught from sinclair to karori recently.

surfcasting/rock - the return of the kingis have got the oriental slidebaiting brigade out there doing it again. some good snapper have been caught at great point, pt gordan and in evans bay. a few over at eastbourne too.
Some nice moki have been caught around the harbour and on the south coast along with some good gurnard a few trevally and spotty sharks as well

15.12.17

What a great spell of weather we're having

 The trench - plenty of gemfish around at the moment with the odd good catch of bass as well

West deepwater - good puka fishing continues off most known haunts

West inshore - snapper continue to fire up and down the coast but not as consistent as previous summers

Surfcasting - moki have started to fire in good numbers  White rock has been the best spot although they are all around the east and south coast at present. a few snapper are getting caught in the harbour and up past Paikak. kahawai have been good one day gone the next.

LBG - the kingis have been firing well off oriental bay and in evans bay

Harbour - a good mixed bag of teri, cod, gurnard, snaper, kingi, trevs and elephants. the entrance in around lambton harbour have been good fishing as well as point gordan occaisionally. ward island has been a bit tougher fishing

30.12.17

Probably one of the best decembers for fishing and weather that i can remember. Although the weather wasnt quite as good for the last week, overall it was a good month. 

All places produced good fishing but sometimes you really had to work for it. I suppose when the tides were big and the water was dirty it was harder fishing, 

the snapper fishing out west has been a little tougher of late but the puka are still firing out wide

water temp has been 18-20 around alot of the coast with albacore seen but not caught

November reports

13.11.17

October Reports

23.10.17

Its been a good week of variety. On thursday I got out with my mate Roscoe for a snapper fish in his 4.7mtr surteese centre console. although the tide wasnt favourable until the afternoon when i had bait deliveries on we did manage some good snapper, gurnard and kahawai. we fished the 35mtr south of bears head. On friday werer out to the trench for a mixed bag of bass, bluenose and hoki. the fishing in the deep has been good particularly with the outgoing tide. bluenose and hoki are around in good numbers with basss and puka on the turn of the tide. On saturday we caught our first two kingis for the season at west ledge, unfortunatelly they were fraction undersize so were released for another day. Trevs, gurnard, bluecod and tarakihi made up the rest of the catch. The harbour was a bit quieter than normal, as was breaker bay but all in all it was a good four days on the water

17.10.17
It was a tough weekend out for us with the weather.
We had a good catch of gurnard at Kaiwharawhara on Friday afternoon, A mate of mine Tane, caught a good stash of gurnard off cobham drive on sunday morning *surfcasting"
Saturday was rather more blustery than expected. We managed a nice hapuku at the trench before the tide turned and a stash of big tarakihi on the 100mtr mark just inside Palliser bay. Once the gale northerley got up it was off to breaker bay for bin or kahawai a few large gurnard.
I hear some elephantfish, kahawai and gurnard were caught in the harbour on sunday but the sth coast was virtually unfishable with the 20-30knot southerly which hit about 8am.
Surfcasters had a good weekend on the bluemoki on the stgh coast with about 15 being weighed in the the WSAC comp.

2.10.17

We got a couple of bass and ling at the Trench on Sunday and a dozen teris on the way home at the Wreck and West ledge. There's been a number of big snapper caught on the west coast recently, looks like an early season out there.
The Harbours been going well for gurnard, kahawai, trevally and elephantfish (boat). One surfcaster did well on the gurnard in Evans bay last week as well.
Some good whitebait catches have been reported from the Hutt river mouth.

September 2017

august reports

fishing report 30.7.17

Fishing report form the weekend

It was ling city out at the Trench on Sunday. One of my mates got a nice bluenose and bass after we left the far side.
The tarakihi were biting at the back of 5 mile on the 100mtr mark and some good mackerel, orange perch and big scarpies helped fill the bin.
Out west theres been some nice puka taken out wide and some good gurnard and snapper in close.
Kahawai have been good on the south coast for surfcasters and theres a few elephantfish, gurnard and trevally at Seatoun. When the harbours been dirty the fishings been good at Halwell and in Evans bay

11 july

West coast still producing good fish ie Kingies and Snaps,Warehou have shown up around the traps as well with one boaties taking 12 in half an hour.

Blue cod,Tarakihi fishing is abundant around the south coast currently.

The red cod and spiny dogs should be loading their suitcases and leaving for their winter holidays in the Wellington waters this week,as our first real polar rodent blows into town.

Some very good catches of mature Blue Mackerel(slimies) still continue to plague the local waters.

Big Trevally and good sized Barking carrots are still making an appearance also,shell fish baits is a good option for these two species.

Puka,Bass and Bluenose are thin on the ground with the odd report of 'ones' and 'twosies' being taken.

It's mid July and still very good fishing despite the incoming forecast,thermals on and stay warm,spring and its wind are not far away.

fishing report 27 june 2017

Fishing report

West coast - Theres been some good fish been coming in over the last week. I had some blokes in the shop the other day who caught 4 john dory, 3 kingis and some good cod off makara in their kayaks last week.
Theres been some nice hapuku getting caught out west at fishermans, makara and ohau.
Inshore the snapper have been biting well south of Makara but have gone a bit deeper further north.
Tarakihi fishing has been pretty consistent off Plimmerton, Mana and around north Makara.

Wellington fishing is awesome!

FISHING REPORT June 2017
Theres plenty of fish out there, the snapper are still biting with the odd kingi too. The west has been red hot and the harbour is still producing the odd good fish. Definately fish a bit deepwater when the waters colder.
Deepwater fishing has been a little patchy but the puka are out there if you put the time in. The commercial guys have been getting some good bass and bluenose at the trench and puka on the west coast.
ITS WAREHOU SEASON
Out west its worth targetting warehou at places like Fishermans, Hunters, Boom, and the north and south end of Mana/Kapiti islands - fish up off the bottom with jigs and flasher rigs. We also count to 10, 15 or 20 seconds freespooling ourt lines to find what depth they are hanging out. We catch a few off Island bay, 5 mile, Sinclair and Baring head with smaller ones coming into the harbour.
OTHER STUFF
Gurnard, tarakihi and bluecod fishing has been excellent on the sth and west coasts particularly when the waters been clean. Gurnard and kahawai are still in good numbers in the harbour with a few elephantfish and trevs too.
Surfcasters have been catching nice spotty sharks with a few gurnard and moki on the south and east coasts. Reddies and spineys have moved in with kahawai in good numbers at many spots.

fishing report 26.2.17

Well there's certainly been a change in the weather in the last couple of weeks, summer has struck Wgtn WHICH IS GREAT.

fishing report 4.2.17

fishing report 10.11.16

surfcasting
west coast a few snapper getting caught. Titahi bay rocks, nth of makara, paikak and tehoro all worth a crack

sth and east coast spotty shark, gurnard and moki all getting caught but we havnt had perfect conditions yet to really get into them. large bluecod in close too on the shingle beaches. white rock/tora worth a crack. big kahawai getting caught at wainui/lake ferry. some good sea run browns have been caught at lake ferry recently.

Fishing Reports

Surfcasting - theres been a marked increase of kahawai around this week and some big gurnard getting caught off the back of the airport. One our our regulars got a nice moki off the rocks this week around 2kgs. Ocean beach is my pick for spotty shark, moki and elephantfish and even maybe an early snapper! Dont forget your crabs...

fishing report 6.10.16

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fishing report 5.9.16