Northern Coromandel Peninsular

fishing report

October 11, 2023

Supplied by

Scott MacDonnell

NZ Fishing World

Mid-Spring Coromandel update near the Mercury Islands from keen yak fisherman, Scott Macdonnell

Note: If map is showing it is created by LINZ / New Zealand Hydrographic Authority and made available by Creative Commons 3.0. Maps should not be used for navigation

Mid-Spring Coromandel update near the Mercury Islands from keen yak fisherman, Scott Macdonnell

Spring is one of the best times of the year to fish for snapper in the Coromandel.

When the typical windy spring conditions let up for a bit, you don’t have to go far to find plenty of fish.

There have been a lot of workups out in the middle ground between the Mercs and the mainland, with the full complement of dolphins, whales and gannets all getting in on the act.

The presence of the commercial longliners out there off Kuaotunu is always a sign that this is where the action is happening.

This area has been running hot during active bite times, usually when there’s a little current moving. There’s a ton of bait on the sounder and when the predators push this up towards the waiting birds it’s all on.

Anything from soft baits to dropper rigs is doing the job, it’s more about cruising around, watching your sounder and looking for bird activity. Alternatively a good berly trail will often bring the snapper to you if you are more a traditionalist.

Snapper are now feeding right in shallow, and are clearly visible on fishfinders anywhere from as shallow as ten metres. Soft baits from a kayak or small boat are deadly, but make sure you have a drift chute out when the breeze picks up at all.

Finding fish and dropping straight down onto them has been working a treat, with some good sized fish in amongst the pannies.

The continual offshore wind has also kept the swell down so beach fishing has been pretty easy, particularly early mornings.

There’s a lot of good sized gurnard about in roe currently, and they are particularly fond of dark green or natural soft baits fished hard on the bottom.

The Mercs are fishing well around most of the popular reef structures, and there are always kingies about that will react well to a towed livie. Dropping sabikis straight down onto the plentiful bait sign will usually fill the bait tank pretty smartly.

It’s not far away from gamefish season, and remains to be seen whether the forecast long, dry, windy summer will eventuate and what sort of a season it will bring.

Tight lines

Scott MacDonnell

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Meet the Author

Scott MacDonnell

NZ Fishing World owner, content guru, softbait aficionado

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Previous reports

June 30, 2023

One of the best times of the year to be fishing the mighty Coro, as long as you’re not suffering from man-flu like I am at the moment.

April 27, 2023

November 3, 2022

Sheltered spots all the way down the eastern coastline are starting to fish well in close for snapper, with some nice sized fish of very solid average size and condition being caught from shore by surf casters, drone fisho’s and kayak fishermen, best either at change of light or on bite time either side of the tides.

April 27, 2023

December 21, 2022

It’s so great to see yellowfin tuna in good numbers to kick off the season with a real bang.

June 23, 2022

Winter is such a good time to fish in the Coromandel, with light boat traffic, and some awesome mild days mixed in with the wild ones. The conditions change where the fish are holding, and the days are shorter, in fact right now the shortest of the year, which means a good session can be had without getting up too early or staying out too late to enjoy the benefits of change of light fishing.

May 20, 2022

Autumn is one of our favourite seasons to fish in the Coromandel, as the on-water traffic is down to a minimal and most fish are in superb condition when you do find them. The season can feel like the middle of summer one day, when the weather is in a settled pattern, and conversely can suddenly be like mid-winter, so it is a time to pick the windows.

February 4, 2022

It’s been a big year for the gamefishing so far, perhaps thanks to global warming or whetever else, marlin of all flavours, swords, yellowfin, have all been out there being caught in good numbers when the conditions allow it.

January 7, 2022

It’s been a while for many of us since we’ve been able to get to the Coromandel, and for many, it has been worth the wait. As expected, boat ramps are chocka, even from early morning on many days, as keen boaties head out for a fix of fishing targeting inshore and wider out for gamefish. A big run of easterlies has put a pretty good swell in place, with surfers likely enjoying the big seas more than fishermen

September 24, 2021

Biggest recent news is the closure of the scallop fishery for two years in order to restore the scallop population to a sustainable level. This from MPI...The east Coromandel scallop fishery will close for a period of 2 years from this Saturday, 11 September following a request from the Ngāti Hei Trust. The closure covers scallop fishing in an area extending along the east Coromandel coastline from Anarake Point to Ruahiwihiwi Point, where Ngāti Hei exercise mana moana, and includes Opito Bay. Other fishing in the area can continue under existing rules. Director of fisheries management, Emma Taylor says public consultation on the request took place between April and May.

August 6, 2021

Now that the southern bluefin tuna have moved on from Waihau Bay and are heading up past Mayor Island, there is still a chance of picking up one of these magnificent fish when the weather allows. We fished Waihau Bay last week, and although most are calling it for a done deal, there were only five boats out (as opposed to the usual 50 or so!) and two out of five still hooked up and boated fish.

June 23, 2021

Recently the Coromandel has been fishing typically for this time of year, and a few good easterly fronts coming through have really put the blockers on getting out wide to chase the deepwater species. That is never too much problem in the Coro though, as inshore fishing has plenty to offer for good snapper and kingfish action.