Fish Species common in NZ

Active fishing grounds here makes recreational sport fishing one of the most popular outdoor activities and things to do in Auckland City. The vast extent of the Hauraki Gulf holds an abundant and healthy number of some of the best saltwater fish that New Zealand has to offer. These fish stocks are also well regulated. The common species of fish are snapper, yellow tail Kingfish, and Kahawai (Sea Salmon). In addition there is a range of other species like John Dory, Gurnard, Trevally, Terakihi, Hapuku (Groper) etc. Fish stocks are preserved by a "Quota management System" set by the Ministry of Primary Industries and which keeps changing from time to time. The quota of different species are maintained through research and educating the general public.

Since snapper is the most common species and most desired fish by most angers , I will give you a general overview of the fish movements here. You can read all about their habitat etc by clicking on the individual tab below.

Snapper can be found all year round. In the warmer months they move up and close into harbours and estuaries and can just about be found everywhere. Fish at times move as close as the harbour bridge which is just off the entrance of Westhaven marina. Often when fish are found here ,there is also abundance of snapper all the way along the contours leading up to West Harbour. The holes at Kauri point can produce some better results at this time. However it is important to keep an eye out on what the tides are doing. The tidal stream from Kauri Point to North Head could be quite strong with a 2 knot tidal speed that added to the wind speeds could mean that you would require 8 ounce sinkers to even find the bottom. It’s not pleasant to fish with very heavy sinkers so the best would be to fish an hour on either side of the slack tide. 
It's during this time of the year that decent size snapper will be in the shallows of Rangitoto and Motuihe channels. Including the Cruseo rock, the Tamaki and Rakino channel. Fishing is at its best during this time of ther year.
On the other hand, Winter fishing is good as well. Fish in winter are lathargic and the bite times can be short. There will be some good fish holding out in the deep kelps and holes in the gulf. From about August onwards, snapper start congregating in the gulf and getting ready for the oncoming spawning season. Big snapper come in first and start fattening up. Very often snapper over 20 pounds can be caught at the time. These are breeding fish and we tend to take a few quick pictures and send them on their way.