Bay of Islands Fishing Report - 27th November 2025
Finally! The Bay is officially on fire! I’m pleased to report a number of workups have been observed and some great school snapper under them. A story, too good not to be told! Last Tuesday morning we were out in a strong easterley wind with greater than 1 meter swells, which was quite “sporty” to say the least! I was fishing a slow pitch jig and hooked into a nice string puller when pop! I lost my lure. Knot failure!!! Reminder to self! Pay attention and check your rigs! Well, imagine our surprise when a few minutes later Barbara fishing on the other side of the Stabi, hooked into a nice fish and when netted there was my jig hanging out of its mouth! I tied it properly this time!
Kingfish have also been seen busting up near Centre Foul where dense schools of jack mackeral are to be found. Carl from the Longbeach Coffee Cart took Lauren from Zimabawe out for her first fish in New Zealand. I think she’s “hooked” as her first fish went 17lbs and her 2nd went 15lbs. I hear her Dad, an avid fisherman back home, is green with envy!
Last weekend the Rockhoppers comp was a great success with 73 adults and 23 children competing for a prize pool of over $11,000! A record of nearly 200 kgs of fish were weighed in with the heaviest snapper at around 22lbs. Next up on the calender is the Top 10 Ice Breaker Comp, to be held 6-7 December. With over $10,000 in cash prizes for Snapper, Kingfish and Game fish, this should be a cracker!
And the game fish are here. Some nice yellowfin tuna have been weighed including a beauty of 57.2kgs caught by Swordfish Club junior, Tyler Davey. Rumour has it that a big blue marlin was hooked and subsequently lost after 35 minutes last weekend. Its time to dust off and check the game gear!
Come into the shop to check out the latest in gear, get your bait, ice and berley, and most importantly, some genuine intel! We are now operating on our Summer hours, Open 7 days from 8.30am to 5.00pm, but close on Sundays at 4pm. As always, if you urgently need some supplies after hours just give me a call.