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Hi team,
Me and a couple of lads are heading up to Whatuwhiwhi for 6 days next week. Never fished this area before.
Any fishos on here that may have some intel? Likely areas, rigs, techniques?
Weather permitting we will hit the coast otherwise the Rangaunu harbour.
Target species are kingfish, snapper and trevally. 3 of us fishing out of a 4.6m kingfisher cat tiller styles so cant go too wide at all!
Thanks in advance to all you helpful buggers ad buggeresses!
I don't have any specific knowledge of Whatuwhiwhi . I've fished it once on a kayak I think. All the standard North Island tactics will work, you won't struggle to catch fish. Rangaunu Harbour is loaded with fish. You can easily catch big snapper surfcasting. The only downside is the sea grass which clumps up on your line and is a general pain in the arse when surfcasting. Boat fishing is better for this reason. I have done well at the harbour entrance with softbaits. Current inside the harbour is very strong, so it's better suited to anchoring, bait and burley. Lots of sharks, with no exaggeration, some may be bigger than your boat. It's not a spot for diving.
Awesome, thanks MB. Looking forward to it, may even crack my 20lb snapper with some luck!
Rangaunu Harbour sounds like a good spot - The name in Māori means "To pull out a shoal of fish" :thumbsup:
That's got to be good aye!
good beach launching on waikato bay, nice hard sand, shot a few decent snaps up the top of the penisula in those broken islands, was a rahui up there on the eastern side last time we were up there, mint spot for the 20lb challenge
A big shark on topwater gear sound like you gibo [emoji106]
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Last trip to Rangaunu Harbour. First cast at first light. Snapper taken on microjig/ultralite rod from a sandy beach in 50cm water. Stoked!
https://i.ibb.co/dKCT6Rp/0-AE8-D89-A...F1-EE90588.jpg
Mrs MB having fun with one of the many local rays.
https://i.ibb.co/tLG1HHg/Fishing-Kaimaumau1.jpg
Gibo that is the east coast of far north. Anywhere there is water under your boat will be spot X. Have fun.
Pass!Quote:
Originally Posted by kukuwai
Recommend you pay particular attention to the trevs have a dedicated rig with 40lb or lighter fluorocarbon trace with small hook to attach fresh cube
of kahawai. Create cube trail of fresh kahawai and then drift your baited rig down cube trail, no sinker or very light sinker depending on current.
The real big fellas are cunning as all heck. Anything less than 4 kg's is ordinary. Pull like freight trains.
Wicked, thanks mate!Quote:
Originally Posted by trapperjohn
@RugerM77 may have some advice for the area.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gibo
Been watching the thread, but have never fished up there, so can't really comment. I'm a few k's south, inside the cavalli's. The advice above looks pretty good though. In my area, similar to Doubtless Bay, I use soft baits in 40 metres on sand and drift. That's for snapper. Don't look for fish on sounder, just get your depth right. Must use a drift or sea anchor otherwise pretty much wasting your time. In that depth 3/4 to full ounce jig heads. Expect good trevs up there. I'd use my soft bait gear with small soft baits on them. The other advice above is good too. Kingi's, jig or bait, but you'll need good specific gear. Find a chart, look for good bommes or foul coming out of 30 to 40 metres of water. The harbour, I hear fish's very well. No idea about conditions though. Be aware that big rays and bronzies abound.
Thanks mate
you are going to fish city know it well - have fun- burley and a 20lb snapper plus is on the cards - Rangaunu is magic spot- huge stingrays and I mean huge 5-6 feet across - bronze Whalers I have seen bronzies in there that were close on 12 feet -- breeding ground for them - but fishy -have fun - you are in wonderlandQuote:
Originally Posted by Gibo
You can no longer launch there. the gate to beach is closed and locked by the local maori. You can launch at Whatawhiwhi and at Rangiputa. Whatawhiwhi is a shallow beach with not much drop off so launching and retrieving needs a little care, but you should be Ok with a couple of guys and the small boat, from there all the coast up to Knuckle is good for casting soft baits into the wash and foul ground and for stray lining. The Whatawhiwhi side of Brodies creek is particularly good for big snaps. There is a pin which comes up to around 6 metre which is a couple of K's off Brodies creek (shown on the charts) which is good for Kings, Also right on Knuckle point if the weather allows it. Over the Rangiputa side if the weather is crappy go up into the harbour and fish the channels right up to the mangroves in the shallow water with Burley for big Snapper. The channel between the the entrance beacons is good for trolling for Kings or nose hook and slow troll a Kahawai. Further out try the Motorara rocks which are just of the RHS headland. Really good for soft baiting on the harbour side of those rocks and big kings hang out around the rocks. For snapper drifting off East beach can be good, look for the birds, or just start a drift a couple of Ks off the beach and sooner or later you will usually run into fish.Quote:
Originally Posted by nickbop
Hope this helps, Good Luck.
There were some monster kings patrolling off Rangiputa around new years.
If launching from Parakerake Beach (whatuwhiwhi) best to stick to the LHS near the rocks, the sand is soft where the creek comes out in the middle of the beach.
try mooching down the southern side of karikari towards bumper point. Soft baits. got a couple of donkeys out of there over the years.
Its foul though with lots of rocks. Be careful.
Plenty of fish in Rangiputa and out in front of the mouth of the houhora harbour.
Your spoilt for choice up there. Thats why I have a house at Hihi.
How'd you go Gibo?
I’m there for two weeks every January for the last 12 years. Awesome area. Stick baiting kingis and softbaiting snapper is what we do most of the time. Occasionally we will do deep drops over the garden patch for bluenose. Watched a stripey free jump along the 200yd buoy line off rangiputa beach.
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is Waikato Bay open to the public againQuote:
Originally Posted by nickbop
I have Spearfished a lot of that area, great place . The group of rocks just out of Rangiputa entrance were awesome , very fishy, nailed some big Kings there.
Free dived and speared the Garden Patch twice, unreal spot to jump in. Your not top of the food chain out there .
was fishing those Rangiputa rocks one day - burley trail out and drifting baits - a school of fish appeared towards us - could not pick immediately what they were - not trevs or kahawai - when they got close looked bronze coloured - yup big school snapper - chucked baits in - caught two around 8 pound and they disappeared up into harborQuote:
Originally Posted by viper