Famous for its gamefishing history, the Bay of Islands can offer some of best snapper fishing action you'll experience. But there are some tricks to finding the fish and figuring which bait to use to nail the big ones.

Stuff you should know about tuna species caught in New Zealand

The Bay of Plenty is an angler's and seafood lover's paradise. Here you will find big game fishing, pipi and mussels, flounder in the estuaries, whitebait at the river mouths and large schools of kahawai chasing them as well as snapper easily caught from the beach.

No one knows why, but every year at this time the biggest snapper to be found off the west coast are migrating from the lower reaches of the island up past Whanganui, through the Egmont Bite, past Kawhia then Raglan and Port Waikato and on up to Piha and Muriwai.

Crossing west coast bars in New Zealand is one of the most dangerous assignments a Kiwi fisherman will undertake. It pays to have local knowledge, a good vessel and good contact with the Coastguard, as Peter Jessup explains.

Since the late 1980's when the market for snapper exports to Japan really took off, the iki jime method of killing fish spread and it has now become de rigueur for many amateur anglers.

Due to its unique environment and lack of fishing pressure, the far north is home to some monster fish. Here's a quick guide to some of the spots that have been productive for me during more than 35 years of intensive fishing along the Northland coastline.