Whangaroa Harbour, North Island, Northland, New Zealand

Fishing charters, game fishing, new zealand, boat charter, whangaroa fishing charters, charter boats, whangaroa, three kings islands

(What we do)

Rick Jacobson invites you to fish the famous East Coast of New Zealand, with its protected, deep blue waters, aboard the Reel Awesome. Rick and his friendly, professional crew are Reel keen to take you on your Ultimate Big Game Fishing Adventure! The Reel Awesome FISHING TEAM guarantees to do everything possible to catch you that trophy fish.

The Reel Awesome is a 51’ OA Riviera Passagemaker, designed & built in Australia by Riviera PTY Ltd for the serious Sport Fisherman, as well as the first time angler. Designed with “luxury” in mind, the saloon, as with all ensuites and cabins, offers superb accommodation.  The Reel Awesome is powered by twin 485hp Supercharged Detroit diesel engines, which provide a fast and comfortable ride. The Reel Awesome is equipped with the latest in electronics and top-of-the-line Shimano Tiagra & Penn fishing tackle. Reel Awesome is uniquely full walk-around making it ideally suited to salt water fly-fishing. With its huge approx 130 sq ft cockpit and massive 15’3” beam, this is a serious Three Kings boat.

Reel Awesome operates from the beautiful Whangaroa Harbour situated just 40 minutes north of the Bay of Islands. Whangaroa Harbours marina is the most northern marina in NZ and is therefore the closest to the legendary Three King's islands where the most production gamefishing and bottom fishing in New Zealand is experienced.  Whangaroa is without doubt the Marlin capital of N.Z. with the fishing grounds being just 15 minutes away! During the peak part of the game fishing season, a significant number of the Bay of Islands charter boats base themselves from Whangaroa Harbour.  

Reel Awesome is a DRUGS FREE boat. Please respect our boat policy.

Conservation and information are extremely important to the sportfishing industry. The Reel Awesome fishing team support &  encourage tag and release, the final decision being with the angler.

GENERAL INFORMATION

 Three Kings Typical itinerary

During the Peak of the Marlin season (15 January to end of May), we fish Whangaroa and the Three Kings for Marlin, Kingfish and Hapuka.

Due to the distance to the Three Kings which is a total distance just to the Three Kings Islands (in straight lines) alone of approx 110 to 130nm depending on the route we follow, we cruise at trolling speed while enroute. We carry approx 2000 litres of fuel. This gives us a SAFE range in trolling days of approx 6x with reserve of 2x days should we need it in bad weather.

 On a typical 5x day Three Kings trip, guests would arrive and load up around midday having driven or flown up in the morning. We would depart Whangaroa by around 1:00pm of that day. Our destination would either be Cape KariKari or North Cape depending on weather for the first night.  If in the opinion of the skipper, the weather is unsuitable to continue through to the Kings, the skipper will make the call to either stay around North Cape or some other safe haven of his choice an fish there until the weather improves. We troll up with lures all of the way over some of the best Marlin fishing grounds in N.Z. Day 2 and day 3 would involve game fishing through to either the Pandora bank, Three Kings bank or Middle sex bank whichever is more productive. The 4th  day’s fishing would be at one of the 3x Banks mentioned above depending on where we feel the most concentration of marlin are or whether it will be a Kingfish or Hapuka fish then return back to North Cape or Cape KariKari for the night. All evenings where possible, at the end of the marlin fishing day, we would hope to get 1 to 2 hours of bottom fishing in before dark or before the night sharks turn up. This can vary depending on whether we leave the fishing area later than expected. The final day 5 would involve then trolling back, again over some of the most productive Marlin fishing grounds in N.Z. to Whangaroa Harbour with an expected ETA of around 1:00pm for disembarking. Arriving back at this time of day will allow the charter guests to either catch a flight back to Auckland or drive back depending upon their itinerary requirements. Te option of staying at Reel Awesome Charters very own Lodge will also allow the charter guests to relax and wind down after a successful game fishing charter.

 Any day of this itinerary is subject to weather (as always) but it is fair to say it is very rare that we do not get to North Cape on the first night. In getting to the Three Kings, if we find the weather unfishable for Marlin, we would convert to bottom fishing as an alternative and will usually target the XOS Kingies. Refer to Three Kings weather policy for further info in regards bad weather contingencies.

Local Area Coastal charter Typical itinerary

During the peak of the season, Marlin fishing out from Whangaroa Harbour can be extremely productive. Whangaroa is considered the Marlin Capital of NZ for very good reason. Fishing the Cavalli Canyon area often results in hookups of the mighty Blue Marlin during February and March with Striped Marlin in abundance at this time. Multiple hookups of Striped Marlin in this area alone is not uncommon during a days fishing. We have experienced multiple TRIPLE hookups of Striped Marlin in this area over the years and many anglers truly wonder why on earth we bother to go to the Three Kings Islands when marlin Fishing can be so productive within a few short nm's from the entrance to Whangaroa Harbour. The answer here is diversity and the uniqueness of the Three Kings.

Other areas local to Whangaroa Harbour that we fish is an area called the 505 which is located approx 25nm's north-east from Whangaroa Harbour. This area is renown for both Striped Marlin and Blue Marlin and as soon as you see this small area looming on the horizon, you know it looks fishing because of the birds ducking and diving on the surface around milling tidal eddies.

Not least of all, directly due East out of Whangaroa harbour, past Stephenson Island and 10 nm's due east will find you at the 200m drop-off area. This area is extensively fished during the season and results in numerous Striped and Blue Marlin hookups. MahiMahi frequent this whole area during February and March with YellowFin Tuna also daily catches.

All of these local area destinations are comfortable day trips out of Whangaroa Harbour but when the weather is settled, overnighting at the Cavalli Islands is something special. We also overnight at Cape KariKari during local area charters where you can enjoy the crystal white silica sands of Parengarenga and beautiful blue water at the anchorage.

For those charter guests for that are time challenged in regard the length of their charter or prefer the luxury of a settled anchorage at night, a Local Area charter is for you. February through to end of March are favourable times for fishing success in the Whangaroa local area.

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