Auckland fishing.

The most popular recreational fishing around Auckland, is sea fishing from a boat on the Hauraki Gulf. Because the prevailing wind is from the west, the east coast is more calm and sheltered.
The west coast harbours can be fished successfully,but leaving the harbours require crossing treacherous shallow sand bars, often with breaking waves, therefore is only for experienced skippers, and passengers who are not prone to sea sickness. Generally the larger the boat the safer it is to handle larger waves.

The most commonly caught fish are:
Snapper, Yellowtail Kingfish, Kawhai, Trevally, with the occasional John Dory, Gurnard and Bluecod.

The common methods used include:

Bait - Dead or live fish, or shellfish on a hook. The most productive bait fishing is to anchor and berley (minced up fish remains, mixed with fish oil ) is released into the water either at the surface in shallow water. Or in deeper water, where currents carry it too far away, it is lowered to near the bottom in a small container especially designed for this purpose.

Lures - There are specialised lures for each of the following methods:

Trolling - the lure is dragged behind a moving boat at a set distance from the boat, the rod is usually left in a rod holder until a fish strikes, then the rod is picked up and the fish struck to set the hook into the fish.

Jigging- ( lifting up and down ), from a drifting boat or cast from a boat. The lure is usually kept near the bottom or retrieved up and down from the surface to bottom, then back repeatedly.

Spinning - A lure is cast from the shore and retrieved usually near the surface to reduce snagging the bottom and thereby losing the lure.

Soft bait - A plastic replica of a fish, shell fish , crab or similar edible marine life often incorporating a fluid scent to attract fish. This is usually done from a drifting boat and either lifted up and down along the sea bottom as the boat drifts, or cast towards structures such as reefs and retrieved with a jerking motion.






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