Bay of Plenty

Located on New Zealand’s East Coast, the Bay of Plenty has front-row seats to some of NZ’s most pristine coastal waters. Its collection of small towns and a large city makes it a unique fishing destination.

Overview

Take to the seas in the Kingfish capital of New Zealand. If casting poppers and stickbaits or jigging offshore pins for these greenbacked ‘Hoodlums’ is right up your alley? Then the Bay of Plenty is the place for you. It’s not called the Bay of Plenty for nothing, with Kingies commonly ranging from 15kgs through to over 35kgs.  Although your skipper is totally committed to offering you spectacular kingfish action through stickbaits, jigs, poppers and live baiting techniques. If you are wanting more, there is also the opportunity to have a crack at some big snapper on soft plastics, or troll for striped and blue marlin at certain times of the year.

Top Fish Species

  • Yellow Tail Kingfish
  • Snapper
  • Kahawai
  • Trevally
  • Marlin

Best time to Fish

  • Jan – start of Aug: Really good for livebaiting and jigging
  • Aug – start of November: Jigging and live baiting is still good but this is the best time to target Kingfish on the surface with top water lures
  • Nov – Dec: The top water seasons is coming to an end and this is one of the best times to target trophy fish with live baiting

Other Activities

  • Scenic flights to White Island
  • Track and trail adventures
  • Cultural tours and activities
  • Jetski hire
  • Water park

Getting there

The Kingfish capital of New Zealand and just a short flight or 2.5 hour very scenic drive from Auckland!  This is fishing action at its best, all just 30 – 90 minutes from the harbour!

Accommodation

The Bay of Plenty has a variety of options when it comes to accommodation.