Whether you’re hoping to win one of the six day guided kayak fishing adventures or considering taking a holiday to New Zealand,
Rob Fort has some tips for fishing these waters.

Regarded as one of New Zealand’s best locations when it comes to holiday destinations, Coromandel boasts stunning landscapes, plenty of tourist attractions and the prime coastal environment for water sports activities. With around 400 km of coastline and over 100 offshore islands, Coromandel is one of New Zealand’s marine playgrounds. The peninsula has three coastlines that are facing east, west and north directions and within these three coastlines are many sheltered bays, estuaries and harbours so there is always somewhere to go and enjoy your time on the water no matter what the wind is doing.
Coromandel is located in the north-eastern part of the north island and just three hours’ drive from Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. The peninsula’s length spans 85 km to the northern tip and is littered with offshore islands on all sides. These islands are great places to find fish with all of them offering food, shelter and terrain for marine life to exist. Not only do the many offshore islands around Coromandel feature prime areas to fish, the mainland has a large area of fishing country found in close to shore. The place boasts some of New Zealand’s best quality fishing and autumn usually means the fish can be found in closer to the shore line around the mainland and islands.
Species on offer and preferred habitat
One thing this part of the country can offer is trophy fish of all types however snapper are most commonly targeted by kayak anglers. During autumn they are predominantly found in close around the mainland with larger than normal kingfish cruising around too. To target kingfish use either live baits or mechanical jigs and softbaits. Live baits under a balloon require you to sit on anchor but livies can also be sent down into the depths if drifting along over an area kingies are likely to be holding.
Mechanical jigging involves drifting, much the same as when using soft baits. Casting large six inch grub soft baits out and allowing them to sink to the bottom before quickly retrieving up with some twitches thrown in can entice a kingfish. This powerhouse fish can be found in epic sized proportions and prefer places like headlands, deep pinnacles and reef as long as they have good current running. Baitfish and other fish schools also attract kingfish where you tend to find them swimming around the outside of the school.
New Zealand is well-known for its snapper and Coromandel offers prime country for them to feed up before winter sets in. They can be found over most types of terrain however during this time of year shallow water as little as five meters is best during certain times of the day. There are many ways to catch snapper with soft baits proving deadly on big fish as well as large whole and cut baits. Lures including inchiku, jigs and hardbodies are also effective on both snapper and kingfish.
Silver trevally and John Dory are also common and are located around bait schools, weed lines, sand and reef areas along with blue cod that are more common down in southern parts of New Zealand. Tarakihi are also around in these areas preferring to congregate close to areas where the kelp weed meets the sand. Small schools of golden snapper are often on offer in close to the mainland during autumn but are found in deeper water over reef with gutters and pinnacles. Other not so common fish that can be caught are paroe and blue moki found within the reefs and weed covered areas.
In terms of baitfish the main one found around Coromandel are jack mackerel and kahawai with larger sized ones perfect for big yellow tail kingfish. Chances are you may also find other species like pigfish, wrasse, rock cod, blue cod, goat fish, perch, blue mao mao and gurnard on the line. There is also potential for offshore adventure using a mother ship where you can find species like hapuka (grouper), bass, bluenose and kingfish which can be incorporated into your trip.
Techniques
The common fishing techniques used from kayaks in New Zealand are:
Soft plastics and soft baits prove effective on many types of fish. To work them cast ahead of the drift and work them back to the kayak or drop down directly below and bounce along, twitching and lifting the rod tip as you move. You can also let one sit just above the bottom with the rod in the holder as you drift along using an elevator type rig for the soft bait.
Stray lining involves letting a bait drift down current and is enhanced by using berley to attract fish. It is best done while the kayak is anchored to the bottom using a weighted fixed type anchor. The preferred rig has two hooks that are spaced correctly for the size of the large strip bait or whole pilchard or squid.
In addition to these techniques, there is a decent amount of anglers using lures and mechanical jigs of all sizes. This involves lots of different techniques especially where lures are concerned and there are just too many to cover in this article. Bibbed lures can be trolled during paddling and jigs like the inchiku types are slow lifted or fished as a second rig in the holder while you work a softbait over sandy terrain. Mechanical jigging involves fast erratic movements to make the jig flutter and dart as it speeds towards the surface. This is done by big lifts of the rod and a turn of the handle on the way down for your next lift.
Equipment
By now you probably have a fair idea on what is needed for your visit and high on the list will be rods and reels. I would suggest at least three set ups as a minimum with the first choice a softbait combo with a 3 to 7 kg rod and a 2000 or 3000 spin reel with 20 lb braid. The second can be a baitcaster or spin reel on a 6 to 10 kg rod and 30 lb braid and this will be used for inchiku, softbaits and small jigs. This leaves a heavier combo that will work for targeting kingfish and other big fish species with a jig setup going to cover quite a few bases. For kayak use, a 5 to 6 ft jig rod rated for 270 g weights is ideal when matched with spin or overhead reels loaded with 50 lb braid. The overhead is much easier to use in the sitting position within the kayak. On top of these if you have room it is worth packing one more combo that can be similar to that recommended with the jig setup but with a longer rod at seven foot. Spin is better with a 4000 to 6000 size reel as this can be used for live baiting, casting stickbaits and soft plastics in deeper water.
When considering your kayak fishing holiday to Coromandel one of the best places to start would have to be Coromandel Town where you find the well-known Coromandel Kayak Adventures. We offer guided kayak fishing tours, kayak hire plus a kayak and fishing tackle store. It is located on the western side of the Coromandel Peninsula and is the gate way to some of the most prime country. From here you can either take yourself on an adventure or you can organise a guided trip with me. Either way you will be well catered for with all the information you require on local fishing action and spots to make this a successful holiday. On top of kayak fishing around Coromandel Peninsula itself there is also the option of mother ship kayak fishing excursions that allow you to visit some more remote locations found to the east and north-east of Coromandel Peninsula. This opens up further potential to target deep water fish species as mentioned and Coromandel Kayak Adventures can arrange this in advance.

The Peninsula
Starting with the east coast is Mercury Bay, which has a lot to offer fishing-wise and well-known for holding good numbers of John Dory, kahawai, trevally, kingfish and snapper. Heading north out of the bay around the coastline which opens to the Pacific Ocean you are greeted with some of the best country the peninsula has to offer. Devils Point and the coastline along to Rabbit Island found at the southern end of Opito Bay are ideal places for big snapper. There is plenty of launching on the beach at Opito Bay with many access points and boat ramps. Once again it is possible to find John Dory, terakihi and kingfish throughout Opito Bay at certain times with the area boosting patches of reef where kingfish patrol during summer to mid-winter. This area opens other opportunities when heading offshore to any of the islands, reefs and pinnacles found out to the east.
Known as the Mercury group of islands the area that you will find them is vast and covers many kilometres. Out between the islands deep blue water can be found that offers game fish during warmer months. Places like Danger Rocks and Whale often hold abundant schools of fish including pelagic predators and big snapper that will follow the action. From Opito Bay we head to Kuaotunu passing Sarah’s Gully well known for John Dory and big kingfish moving along this coastline in close to shore. This area joins on to Otama Beach offering another launching site and excellent reef systems to fish. The Blackjacks offers a chance encounter with trophy snapper and runs to Kuaotunu where more beach launching is available.
Reefs closer in like the one located just off the boat ramp at Kuaotunu are worth checking out and can produce excellent fish at times as does the sandy ground all along the coast heading north from Kuaotunu. From here we have many beaches along the coast that all offer places to launch the kayak. Rings and Matarangi beaches offer sandy areas with reef fringing the edges of the bays right up to Whangapoua beach and along to north of New Chum beach with numerous shallow reef areas and foul ground in close to shore. These are all accessible by road from the main highway that joins to Coromandel Town and from here you need to take a new road north to Kennedy Bay and Tuateawa which is a 40 minute drive. There is excellent fishing just out from the road along the coast here and access is by dirt road only but most vehicles can use it. Launching is easy at the DOC car parking area with toilet facilities.
Another excellent place to launch 20 minutes up the road is Little Bay and directly around the next headland is Waikawau Bay and the DOC campground that also offers easy

Coromandel has a healthy kingfish population

beach access for launching kayaks. The area has some major reef systems that span across to Little Bay and much further out with these patches of foul ground containing some deep drop offs and big fish. Nearly every bit of coast line north of here is ideal fishing country – offering plenty of places to find big snapper and kingfish however they are only accessible from Waikawau and Port Charles which is a further 30 minutes up the road.
From here it is possible to launch at a couple of places including Port Charles and Sandy Bay and from here you find a large headland that punches out on the southern end. Lion Rock sits 1.5 km off the coast, slightly north-east on the outside of the headland and the whole area offers good sized schools of yellowtail kingfish. From Port Charles and Sandy Bay the coastline north to Stony Bay has produced many trophy snapper over the years. More access to this water is available from Stony Bay that also has a DOC campground right on the shore overlooking the bay. From here you have access to some prime country heading north from the bay up to Poley Bay and around to Fletchers Bay. The road ends at Stony Bay and to get around to Fletchers Bay by vehicle you will need to head back and across to the western side and follow the road up until it finishes.
Fletchers Bay is about one hour’s drive from Coromandel Town but it’s worth the effort at this time of year. The place offers a campground and good launching access that has waters containing a network of reefs to explore plus Square Top Island holding kahawai and kingfish during much of the year. The inside reef closer to Fletcher’s Bay is well worth a cast around for big snapper and heading west onto the deeper sand flats will offer the same opportunity. From Fletchers heading west along the coast it is possible to find some underwater pinnacles located out deeper and these can hold many different species.
Down the road is yet another campground at Port Jackson with nice safe launching and headland on the eastern end of the beach. The area has good reef running out from the tip and lots of fish holding in the fairly swift current that washes over it. Out from here 1.5 km offshore we find Channel Island that supports many fish including massive schools of kahawai, trevally and kingfish. The place should not be taken lightly though with big currents moving large masses of water past it that can be dangerous when the wind is up.
At the western tip out form Port Jackson beach you will find a stretch of reef running out from it and good fishing from here all along and down to Goat Bay that offers another launch spot right by the road. The fishing out from here and down the coast heading south towards Colville is all fantastic country with prime opportunities here during the annual snapper runs into the Hauraki Gulf. All the way down the coast on the western side to Colville you can find unlimited places to launch kayaks so the opportunities are endless. From Colville the road goes inland then returns to the coast at Waitete Bay, Amodeo Bay and Papa Aroha all offering launching spots. This area has good country in close plus you find sandy terrain with worm beds and some of the best snapper fishing during this time of the year.
Papa Aroha is 20 minutes from Coromandel Township and is the perfect kayak fishing destination with campground right on the water and fishing right on shore. It is also the gate way to many accessible islands which all offer prime fishing locations. The place is also home to a gannet colony that occupies Bush Island plus other small islands close by. From Papa Aroha you can find the Hautapu channel that acts as a highway for fish moving down towards the many mussel farms this area contains. Access to this area is also possible from Oamaru Bay that is only 15 minutes from Coromandel Town. From here there are many places to launch with a vast network of islands all offering great fishing right down to Coromandel harbour. If you are planning on fishing the mussel farms it is important to respect the barges working them and most importantly use the correct method to anchor in and around them. Mussel farms span all along the coast as you travel south to Coromandel harbour as well as at the entrance with all of them producing great fishing.

South from Coromandel harbour you find more good terrain, islands and reef systems which all hold fish. Te Kouma harbour is another place ideal for fishing with most of it fairly shallow and ideal for light tackle snapper fishing plus kingfish on live baits. From here we have Mania harbour that is tidal and exposed at low tide however the opportunities for kingfish here are worth the effort. At the southern end of Mania is Deadmans Point offering very productive mussel farms and shallow reef systems all along and down to Wilsons Bay. Launching at Wilsons Bay, 20 minutes from Coromandel Town will give you access to the spots found north of here at Deadmans Point.
If you are interested in making the trip to New Zealand and want to undertake some kayak fishing then Coromandel should be on your bucket list. For more information contact Coromandel Kayak Adventures, website: www.kayakadventures.co.nz