Northern Coromandel Peninsular
fishing report
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.
There are still bluefin being marked on the sounder, and these stragglers still need to make their way up the coast past the Coromandel on their journey north.
At the moment out of Whitianga and Tauranga, you probably have a better chance of hooking a bluefin than the average day in summer trolling for marlin, so it’s not quite time to give up completely.
For one out of the books, young angler Flyn Jack (@flynjackfishing) was on a charter boat out of Tauranga and managed to land what we believe may be the first ever bluefin tuna on a jig. A magnificent 60kg specimen on a kingfish rod, incredible effort.
Inshore fishing is typical of winter, with resident snapper holding in all the reef structures, and kingfish still happily grabbing live baits and jigs if you can put them in the right place. Finding fish on the sounder is key, so spend all the time you need over the pins trying to locate some decent sign and get you gear down quickly before drifting off it.
The weather is looking pretty bleak for the next few days out of the Coromandel, so what better opportunity to hang up the gear for a bit and go see the Grady White Tairua Boat Show. It’s on from the 13th to 15th August. Details HERE
Catch Fishing will be there, promoting the new Black Label LIVIES in person as well as so much more bait-free fishing tackle goodness. Beautiful boats to pore over, exhibitors with all manner of fishing equipment and enhancement on display too. It’s a great time to walk and talk amongst fellow fisho’s, suss out your next dream boat – maybe turn that dream into reality. 3 days to choose from and such a stunning part of the country for a great day out with the family.
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