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Fishing Reports and Trip Reports

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 12th to 16th April 2025
 We’re back in the safety of Mangonui riding out Cyclone Tam after cutting our latest trip short with the imminent cyclone. Not something we have to do often but this weather system is WILD!
This week the big kingys were well on the chew with the guys picking up PBs every single drift all day long. The biggest at 42kg put up a huge scrap and the all of the lads landing kingys well up over 30kgs.
Bottom fishing was short and sweet before we had to head for the hills with more then enough fish to take home for the guys. Big Bass were well on the chew and the boat limit was reached by lunch time!
A quick couple of sword drops on the way home before the weather packed in resulted in slashed baits coming back up but no cigar unfortunately ending our Swordy streak of 7 Swordfish in 4 weeks!
Another epic mission with a awesome group of blokes. Can’t wait to see them back again soon!
Looks like some great weather is creeping up for our next trip so stay tuned for some epic updates.

Trip Update - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 13th April 2025
Well in to the big hogs this morning at the Three Kings. Second drift for Sam and he’s whipped this 42kg monster out. This fish is an absolute barrel! Huge congratulations for that catch of a lifetime.
Caught using a Shimano Fishing New Zealand Talica 16 paired up with an Abyss SW PE8

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 5th to 10th April 2025
 Another week for the books with a full on trip to the Three Kings with a awesome group from Taranaki! The boys battled the weather this week but as per usual the fishing surpassed expectations all around.
This week Ethan took a break and skipper Mark Collins stepped up to the plate to tick off all the big bucket list fish and boy did he do that and some.
Kingfish were hard on the chew this week with plenty of huge models coming aboard over the 30kg mark and the kingy of week at a whopping 37kg. So epic to hear that each and every one of the boys ticked off their PB kingy! Fishing was hot both on the banks this week and around the islands with the thumping trevally keeping the lads entertained between bites.
The bottom fishing did not disappoint at all again with plenty of PBs coming aboard with massive Bass, Hapuka and plenty of bluenose for the team to take back to the Naki for friends and family to enjoy.
A great surprise for the boys to have a nice striped marlin come up and take the short corner and the lads landing that in some sporty conditions and sending him home with a tag in it to fight another day.
But the start of the show on the final day was Christos 200.9kg Swordfish. This fish put up a hard scrap for just under 2 hours and came up foul hooked and wrapped up in the leader. This fish was taken in for a quick weigh and a restock on some beverages for celebrations to see the last of the trip out.

Trip Update - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 9th April 2025
What a way to top off an already epic adventure to the Three Kings for these boys!
A huge congratulations to Christo for winching up this 200.9kg Swordfish today on board Te Ariki Nui after a hard fought battle. A quick visit in to Houhora tonight for some refreshments and a weigh on this catch of a lifetime.

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 29th March to 3rd April 2025
Back to back SLAMMERS!!!
Just when you think the bar cannot be raised any higher, we go and do it again. The Three Kings continue to turn it on for our guests week after week and blow their minds! (and ours!)
The trip up with everything looking favorable for day a time swordfish and no suitable weather ahead for any night time fishing this week, I told the boys before we even left the wharf ‘were going to go catch a Swordfish today’ and that we did, TWICE! Day one started with an absolute bang and two drifts resulted in two really nice swordys with Meech having a hearty scrap with the first respectable fish. That first bait was in the water for literally 7 minutes before the bite and the second was soaking for no more then 8 minutes for the next fish. Simon put in a mammoth effort for almost 2 hours on this one and up popped another real nice fish. A quick visit to Houhora Sportfishing Club on the way north for a weigh and to ensure the two fish caught so early on in the trip were looked after with upmost care. Meech’s fish going 69kg and Simons at a healthy 183kg. Also great to keep the eyecrometers in check.
After one epic start to a 5.5 day trip, the next challenge was to back it up. Day two the lads awoke at the Three Kings and it was straight in to the big kingys. Big Kingfish were on the chew hard the whole way through the trip with PB after PB pulled over the rail for a quick photo and thrown back to fight another day. Its always fun seeing everyone’s reaction when a big kingy first bites and does its first grueling run.
Late in day two it was all on again with the billfish with a bite that csught us all off gaurd and no one saw and didnt see for the next 3 hours. After a crazy run at the start that took around 1000 meters of line off the reel and climbing by the time we had Stan in the harness. Even chasing the line as fast as we could go in reverse to keep up we were still loosing line like there was no tomorrow. After the fish slowed and the end of the spool less then 200m away, Stan had the hard task ahead of him gaining that line back which he made look easy being the big man he is. Unfortunately by the time we had the line tight, it was straight up and down with 500m still out and straight down towards the bottom. It was obvious this fish was dead, with no signs on movement in the rod tip. Thats when the grueling task of winching up a dead weight on maximum drag begun which he did like a champ. With the sun long gone and darkness well set in, inch by inch he got line back until a shimmer of silver appeared and holy heck another Blue Marlin. Again a fish i would rather release but we do everything in our power early on to get the fish for release but again this wasn’t ment to be. But well done once again to Stan, that was no easy task for a first time billfish angler.
Some time spent around the islands got some more great Kingfish up to 30kgs and in between kingy bites the lads were kept busy with the stonker silver trevally thats is abundant to us at the kings.
We didnt spend too much time on the bottom fish this week with all of the bounty already on board but a few drops yielded some great Bass, Hapuka and Bluenose to got with the other goodies.
The trip home saw us come in to some great water and the fun was not over with a nice stripey falling victim to our short corner which made for good viewing from the dance floor for those watching the bite. It was Chucks turn in the reel and that man reeled better then a lot of seasoned marlin fishermen I’ve seen and it was his first game fish I later found out so congratulations to you too mate. Not long after that fight, the long rigger was bit and it was fish on for Scotty. It was great to see him haul in a a solid yellowfin after a proper fight in sporty conditions trumping his precious PB by 30kgs!
Not quite the 24hr grandslam this week but a slammer with out a doubt, ticking off more Pelagic species in 6 days then more people would see in a lifetime. Literally world class and the stuff dreams are made of.
Cheers, Ethan & Kale

Trip Update - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 29th March 2025
What a bloody start to a trip. 4 hours in to the trip we hooked into our first swordy after soaking the bait for 7 minutes. Following that fish, 2nd bait took a painstaking 8 minutes to get a bite out of.
Being day 1 of this trip and we’re still on the coast, we’re going to swing in to Houhora for a quick weigh and drop these fish off to be processed. We’ll update you guys on how they go!

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 22nd to 27th March 2025
Another week, another absolutely epic week on the big dogs and whoppers and spoiler alert, this one’s another novel.
With the majority of the lads that jumped on board this week having been to the Three Kings before and we were off the back of a real slammer of a trip, the pressure was surely on this week to show the team what a good week at the Three Kings is really like and I truely believe we did that once again.
The trip up was fairly uneventful until not far off the islands. We had our first striped marlin enquiry but this fish outsmarted us and we didnt get the hook in him. Bit of excitement but with plenty of time ahead, we know we’ll get these lads another one, surely! That night, bait fishing was very slow even with the guys putting in the hard yards pulling an all nighter.
With our bait supply limited and kingfish on the cards for day 2, its always a worry but the start of the day saw the kingys on the chew hard eating every piece of bait and every jig we had on board. Getting everyone hooked up at once is always the goal and it was how the morning transpired every drift. Plenty of kingys up to 30kg were pulled over the rail, a quick photo opp and sent home.
Once the bite dried up an afternoon troll was on the cards and a sword drift that night on the horizon. Not long after the marlin lures went in, the guys were hooked up to a Shortbil Spearfish not far off where we got our Blue Marlin last week. Unfortunately before we could snap a pic after the hook pulled with leader in hand. Some would call this a caught fish, but with out a pic or a tagshot, I just can’t claim it. At this stage im thinking ‘who the hell bought the bananas? ‘
With the sun on the horizon the day wasn’t over. The boys spotting a big swirl behind our long rigger as i was riding along a big current line. And after a bit of encouragement from Kale working the KM Lures Guru in Rotten Banana, we had a Blue Marlin taking a bite of the lure and we had em on. After some spectacular jumps, greyhounds and big runs, we had the fish with in reach but she was tired. We got a tag in her and did our very best to revive this huge fish that we have estimated at 700lbs but with no kick, movement in the jaw or eyes we made the call to bring her aboard. This thing was massive. Bigger then any marlin any of us have seen before.
That night with the sword baits deployed, it was very quiet. Not a nibble or movement of the rod until late that night then boom fish on! Everyone scuttled to prepare the boat for a swordfish and we had em on. After a quick but fierce 15 minute fight, the fish came up upside down and tail wrapped and again this fish was a true monster of the night. Estimating this fish at 450lb we pulled the Swordfish on board and again celebrations all around! With the bait swiftly deployed with in 10 minutes and the 2nd bait about to go over, we were bit again! Literally straight away! This time with another nice sword. This fish put up a great fight but we got it boatside with in half an hour for a photo op and it was a quick, swift release after a wicked jump boatside.
With the Swordfish and Blue Marlin captures and a shortbil pulled off on the leader (‘Technically’ a caught fish), should we claim back to back Grandslams? 
The next day, a tired crew rested while we processed our swordfish on the deck and Unfortunately we missed opportunities on another 2 Striped marlin. We de-stressed later that day with some excellent bottom fishing with a nice bass over 50kgs, and plenty of smaller Bass and Hapuku soon followed by an early night in the bay for a beer.
We topped off the trip with some more bass and hapuku and another hot session on the kingys before pointing the boat back to the mainland.
Once again another trip that is going to be hard to top with a hard case bunch of boys that will remember what has been one of our top charters this year. Congratulations guys on some amazing, once in a lifetime fish onboard Te Ariki Nui.
Thank you to Simrad Yachting for supplying the gear we need to find these fish and safely navigate our boat and a huge thanks to Shimano Fishing New Zealand for making the best fishing gear that we can rely on to catch these fish and make dreams become a reality.
Cheers , Ethan & Kale

Trip Report - Auckland's West Coast

MV Pelagic – 26th March 2025
What an awesome day Marlin fishing with this amazing family on Auckland’s West Coast.
Mum and Dad (Kelsie and Ryan) had already caught multiple billfish and marlin so their children Brynlee and Hunter got the strike times.
Brynlee is 11 and Hunter 16.
A combo of around 10 skipjack plus albacore tuna got everyone warmed up
That was followed by a stunning pack attack of marlin that came in going nuts on a skipjack tuna they had hooked up.
They then looked at all the lures but didn’t hookup.
That was followed a little later by a big free jumping marlin that Ryan spotted.
30 seconds later a marlin hit the shotgun and hooked up with a series of spine tingling jumps.
16 year old Hunter took the rod and made a incredible job taking control of the marlin and fighting it to the boat.
Another feeding Marlin was spotted by Kelsie but we didn’t manage a bite from that one.
On our way in Kelsie was on fire spotting gannets from a great distance away. We trolled to them and hooked up again with another outstanding display of frantic jumps across the ocean. 11 year old Brynlee took the rod and with almighty grit plus determination she fought the marlin once again to the boat.
The great quote “pain is temporary but glory is forever” could not be truer than with these fights. This quote certainly gets recited a fair bit by decky Hayden and the rest of our crew to inspire anglers to keep going when fighting monster Pelagic’s
This was a magic day to share with this amazing family and I feel so very lucky with this and every incredible experience our ocean offers.
Thanks to the family and Hayden for making it all happen!!

Trip Update - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 24th March 2025

Another cracker night on the Swordfish last night on board Te Ariki Nui with the lads going 2 from 2 on a pair of real nice fish!
With the bigger of the 2 coming up backwards he’s coming home and one released to fight another day

Trip Update - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 23rd March 2025

Wee bit of De Ja Vu here after last week. Te Ariki Nui have just landed another Blue Marlin with Ryan on the handle and this thing is a bloody monster.We didn’t want to have to take this one and gave it a good go to revive her but she didn’t have any kick left in her what so ever.
What a way to start another epic Three Kings trip!
EDIT: We’ve done the measurements on her and we’re happy to call her 300+kg!

Trip Update - Auckland's West Coast

MV Pelagic – 18th March 2025
Monster Striped Marlin – Released on Auckland’s West Coast.
The current striped marlin all tackle world record is an impressive 224kg. It was caught near the Poor Knights Islands in New Zealand by Bill Boniface.
Hmmmm do you think we should have weighed this one?
This was the 5th Striped Marlin of the day. Our customer Jason swapped from angler to leaderman after 3 marlin so he got the full experience of both on the rod and on the leader.
Congrats to Jason and Richard for their mastery on the leader and the rod and thanks to Hayden for the epic deck work!
Monster Marlin Fishing New Zealand

Trip Update - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 17th March 2025
***GRANDSLAM***
Overnight the boys have sealed the deal on board Te Ariki Nui with a grandslam at the Three Kings with a nice broadbil, and a Striped Marlin to go with our Blue Marlin. (Stripey on a sword bait).

Trip Update - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 16th March 2025
Big Congrats to Rolly on his first Marlin on board Te Ariki Nui just now which also happens to be a nice fat Blue estimated at 180kg.

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 1st to 6th March 2025
 We’ve come and gone from our last trip with a hard case bunch of lads from Wellington. The fishing was a bit tougher for us this week but some great fish amongst the slower times kept everyone on their toes.
We saw kingfish up to 30kgs a nice mahimahi in at the islands and a marlin that popped up to say hello chasing a jig but it was the bottom fishing that were standouts for the show. With plenty of double hook ups, Bass up to 50kgs, more then enough hapuka and a few bluenose thrown in the mix for good measure.
It’s a quick turn around each week and we’re already on our way back to the kings so stay tuned for updates as they happen via our Facebook or Instagram stories!

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 22nd to 27th February 2025
We’re back in town after what has been once again another insane trip far far north with a group of keen kiwi anglers.
The kingfish have been firing hard trip after trip and this week was no exception. On day one the boys managing to pick out 60 kingys in around the islands with non stop hot bites everywhere we went. With plenty up over the target 30kg size and 2 in the 40kg bracket the boys were kept on their toes working hard all day.
Marlin were thin on the ground this week but picking out a nice feisty fish in between the islands was a welcome surprise for everyone and put on a hell of a display at the boat.
Bottom fishing was good this week with plenty of delicious Hapuka and Bass for the guys to take back to the mainland for friends and family to enjoy.
With a damn near perfect forecast, the call was made to load up on baits and spend a few nights on the bank. Night one we hooked in to a real nice swordfish that put up a crazy scrap for Hayden but unfortunately pulled hook at the boat. Then night 2, the man himself was back on the reel at 4.30am and picked up a huge Big Eye Tuna that again put up a solid fight and this time sealing the deal with a couple of healthy gaff shots.
Time to rest for a couple of days and then we’re back north on Saturday

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 15th to 20th February 2025
 How’s this for the ultimate Three Kings experience. 
This week we were joined by a group of anglers all the way up from Nelson. Not really knowing what to expect we managed to blow their minds with unreal scenes day after day.
The kingys made sure the lads were kept busy with every session with the final tally of caught kingfish up around 70 for the trip with plenty up over that target 30lg mark. Around the islands the treavali were in full force with jawdropping filter feeding fish on the surface that made for an amazing spectical.
Bottom fishing was on fire once again this week with the guys loading up with more then enough Hapuku, Bass and some bluenose to take back on the plane.
But it was the marlin this week that were the stand outs of the show. 2 hours in to trolling, the lads hooked in to a double of real nice fish landing both, keeping one for the smoker and tagging the 2nd. The next day we put the boys on to another 2 really nice stripeys that put on a hell of a show to round up what was already an epic trip.
We’re loading up as we speak to trot on back to the kings so stay tuned to the story this week because I’m sure it’ll be another cracker!

MV Pelagic Update - New Engine

 MV Pelagic – 20th February 2025
Following extensive research we made the decision to go with the BF350 and I’ve listed some of the reasons below.
What we found:
Reliability and safety:
Our past experience with Honda has been perfect and we have heard nothing but positive things regarding the BF350 so we feel we are confident we are choosing a very reliable and safe engine.
Fish Attractor:
Catching gamefish is always our number one consideration after reliability and safety. We have always found and witnessed Honda’s are great at attracting Marlin, Tuna and other game fish. Whilst this one is a new technology V8 it still has the same basic exhaust principles so we are hoping it will be at least as good as previous ones. We have also heard good things from people using them for game fishing.
91 Fuel:
Learning that these are tuned for 91 fuel and comfortable to run on 91 was a big plus. This of course saves $1000s which is a big positive for us.
Locations for operation:
Many locations such as Waihau Bay and Tauranga Bridge Marina only have 91 fuel. This is a real problem with many engines that are not compliant with 91 fuel and it is the reason we found the Honda BF350. Running on 91 means we can operate hassle free from any location around NZ that has petrol which is a big bonus for us.
Economy:

We have heard some very good economy figures with the Honda and we have witnessed them with previous ones so we are hoping to save $1000s here. We look forward to sea trials where we will see the actual numbers.
Warranty:
Honda back these and others with an incredible 7 year warranty which is quite exceptional given the marine environment. Honda are clearly very confident in their product.
Seakeeping:
With more torque, power and efficiency we will be able to run a larger prop which should in turn improve Pelagic’s seakeeping and stability
Speed:
Once again more torque, power and efficiency should mean a higher cruise speed and a higher top speed.
Emissions:
Doing what we can to help the environment is important to us so we are happy to be running such an efficient environmentally focused low emission engine.

Well there’s a lot of hopes above but until we put it into practice in our environment we really won’t know what gains there actually are. The expert engineers at Woodbine Marine are doing a superb job of the installation and we should be at the sea trialling very shortly.

We will keep you posted on the actual changes and gains we get.

Cheers, Andy, Ronny, Amanda, Richard, Ethan, Kale and the rest of the team at Pelagic Charters

Trip Update - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 18th February 2025
Great result from a double of striped marlin today for our group on board Te Ariki Nui at the Three Kings today.
Two really nice fish with the smaller one in the boot for a ride to the smokehouse and the bigger one we’re calling 130, sent back as lively as ever! Great to see some real nice stipeys hanging around up this way!

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 8th to 13th February 2025
 What an absolute blinder of a trip to the Three Kings this week. A trip to remember for a lifetime.
The kingys bit well all round the islands as per usual with the biggest fish estimated at 44kg and countless in the high 30s. The kingys out on the banks were hot with a small session yielding a heap of kingys up to 32kg.
Bottom fishing was on point again with the team being plagued by Hapuku everywhere we went! We had a few nice Bass thrown in the mix for a great bounty to take home.
And the Pelagics were on fire this week with the guys landing 2 nice stripeys on the way up and a double hook up of huge Big Eye Tuna up over the 100kg mark.

Trip Update - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 10th February 2025
Barrels aboard!!!! 
The tuna bite at the Three Kings is still hot with the lads hauling out a nice double hook up of Big Eye this afternoon for finish the day off.
If there’s a tuna around, we’re definitely going to raise em that’s for sure!

Trip Update - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 9th February 2025
 Warren has just set the benchmark to beat for the season with this 44kg Kingfish. Definitely the biggest we’ve seen for a while so a huge congrats to Wazza.
And yes the fish swam back healthy as ever after some quick shots for the memory bank!

Trip Update - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 8th February 2025
Exciting start to this charter to the Three Kings today with a couple of Marlin virgins getting put straight in to expert mode with some sporty conditions on the way north.
They didn’t let the showers of tropical water put them off doing a great job so congratulations to Vita and Warren!
Great to see some marlin showing up here on the East Coast again after a slow 2 weeks.
Remember to keep your ears to our stories with live updates on how our adventures are going!

Trip Update - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 4th February 2025
A huge well done to Seth who man handled this Pacific Bluefin Tuna in this afternoon on board Te Ariki Nui after a mamoth 1hr 45mins on the handle.
This fish is a monster compared to the last Northern we caught with another 100mm on the length and 150mm on girth.
Bonze Lures Angel getting the bite on this one.
Pacific Blue Tuna New Zealand

Trip Update - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 3rd February 2025
 Day 2 at the Three Kings for our group this week has been a sensational day on the deep drops.
Every drop was yielding some great fish and we had the bins full in no time at all. Some awesome Hapuku and the big boy bass were on the chew with one at 55kg and the horse of the day went to Gibby with his 65kg model.
The order has been put in for more kingys tomorrow so we’ll go put these suckers for punishment through the ringer again.

Trip Update - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 2nd February 2025
Epic day on the Kingys today with the fish playing hard to get for the first few hours but once they came on the chew the boys we have on board this week, got more then they bargained for.
Plenty over that target of 30kg for almost everyone with the biggest at 38kg. To give a rough idea on how many fish the boys got today, we started with 200 baits this morning and there’s 30 left at the end of the day.
Day 1 of this charter is going to be hard to top.

Trip Report - Auckland's West Coast

 MV Pelagic – 1st February 2025
8 Marlin in 4 days!! NOW THAT’S STUNNING MARLIN FISHING. WE ARE ABSOLUTELY STOKED FOR OUR CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE ALL BEEN SUCCESSFUL WITH MARLIN OUT WEST OF AUCKLAND!!
Shout out to the following teams who were all very successful in battling and landing – tagging marlin.
Willem, Hany, Tijoe and Jin who got two excellent Striped Marlin plus tuna!!
Steven and his team. Epic family and friends charter that got two awesome Striped Marlin and Tuna!!
Terrence and Dawn. Dawn and Terrence got Tuna plus Terrence got two massive and very strong plus feisty striped marlin at and estimated 140kg and 120kg.
Andy and Sarah got 2 good sized Striped Marlin. I shared a few pics of Andy with one of them to share the absolute joy, elation and love for his amazing catch!
We have done 5 days out there this season and only had one day where no Marlin were landed. Luckily that was for Andy and Sarah who had booked two days and got into epic fishing the following day.
For all the Marlin landed there has been others that came and made the Tiagra’s sing but didn’t hookup. This includes double strikes and a 20 min fight yesterday.
If you want to catch a Marlin NOW IS THE TIME SO FIND A WAY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. THE FORECAST IS GOOD and you can avoid the 20 year of effort people often make trying to catch them. The Marlin fishing is the best it’s been out West for a long time so we encourage you to get out there and into them! We can of course help with this so feel free to get in touch.
Cheers and good luck.
Andy, Richard and the team at Pelagic Charters!!

Trip Update - Three Kings Charter

 Te Ariki Nui – 1st February 2025
Another great week away at the Three Kings for these lads this week with minds blown day after day. It was the Kingfish around the islands this week that were the stars of the show with hot bites all day and the team playing the Te Ariki Nui tango from sunrise to sunset. The fun didn’t stop at sunset with some insane kingy fishing all night long
The bottom fishing was back on this week with some real stand out catches with the biggest bass going 58kg.
The yellowfin are still in good numbers with the lads plucking out a ton of those and a few missed opportunities on the marlin kept everyone on their toes.
We’re on our way back north so stay tuned for updates this week!

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

 Te Ariki Nui – 20th to 24th January 2025
The trip up had the account opened with some small Yellowfin setting us up with plenty of sashimi for the next few days and not far off the islands we picked up our first trophy catch for the trip with Regan knocking over his first marlin.

With a bit of weather upon us and the decision made to shelter at the islands for some comfort was a great call with some phenomenal kingy fishing. The boys were put straight in to expert mode with the monster greenbacks on the chew and keeping them occupied until their arms were about to fall off. Plenty of fish over 30kg with the stonker of the trip at 39kgs.

Once the guys couldn’t take the pain of being railed time after time anymore, we popped out for a afternoon troll and were rewarded with another trophy catch of a 50kg yellowfin and some more interest from a marlin that was quickly shaken off.
The bottom fishing was reasonably slow this week which is very unusual but the lads were rewarded with some nice Bass, a couple of puka and plague amounts of bluenose. A quick tow of the lures in the afternoon over the bank and after the most insane bite any of us have seen, we were connected to Tom’s monster Pacific Bluefin Tuna. After a hard and fast 45 minute scrap, we had the beast boatside and well, we’re all happy with that catch.

The trip back to the mainland saw the lads pick up another whole heap of yellowfin up to 45kgs bringing the trip total to 10 yellowfin with a few kept to take home and the majority released.

And to close this epic adventure off it was once again Regan turning the handle on a real nice swordy in perfect conditions before pointing the boat home.
Amazing trip, amazing fishing with a great group of lads.
– Ethan, Kale & Colby

Trip Update - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 20th and 22nd January 2025

It may be raining but the marlin still eat lures in the rain. Congrats to Regan on his first stripey that fell victim to our short corner and was not happy about it.

Whabam! This boat is a bloody tuna magnet. Huge congrats to Tom for knocking over this huge Pacific Bluefin just now at the Three Kings on board Te Ariki Nui. Smashing over another KM lure right in close to the boat.

A welcome surprise after a slow afternoon marlin fishing. I’ll take this by-catch any day of the week 🤙

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 11th to 16th January 2025
The perfect day doesn’t exi….. never mind.
Day 1 at the Three Kings for this shared crew from all over NZ and Australia has probably been one of the most action packed days I’ve had up here.
Usually day 1 is strictly kingfish and there was a tonne of those up to 36kg but we were lucky enough to be loaded with bycatch including a marlin and 3 bass over 60kgs. All caught on kingfish gear including the marlin. Unreal day!!!
As if this trip couldn’t get any better!
Congrats to James who’s all the way over from Australia for picking up this stonker of a Big Eye Tuna this afternoon after a solid day on the bass.
Total fight time 1 hour 10 minutes and caught on a lure that’s close to my heart, the KM Lures Rotten Banana.

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 6th to 9th January 2025

Season Opener!!!

Well we couldn’t have asked for our first trip for the 2025 three kings season to go better. Being a shorter trip then usual with only 2 days at the kings to pull some tricks out of the bag the pressure was on to deliver the goods.

The trip up saw the boys land a good handful of small yellow fin to kick it all off and night number one the bait fishing was out of this world with the lads racking up obscene amounts of squid. The kingfish haven’t been fed for a while so they were hungry with bait after bait being smashed giving the guys a solid work out on day 1. He trip back to the islands saw a cheeky marlin in the cold green water come up on the bonze Madmax express and in turn, came home for a trip to the smoker.

Bottom fishing started real slow but after a tide change and a bit of persistence, the lads were rewarded with a good bounty of mainly hapuka with some real nice bluenose thrown in the mix.

We’re back in to the usual back to back trips so look forward to giving our followers regular updates. Follow our stories on Instagram and Facebook for up to date updates daily.
~ Ethan, Kale and Colby.

Auckland Charters on MV Pelagic

MV Pelagic – October to December 2024

MV Pelagic also focused on Hauraki Gulf and Great Barrier Island Charters throughout October, November and December.

With MV Pelagic being very fast she was able to easily do day trips to Great Barrier and distant hot fishing spots. The Kingfish action and Snapper action was awesome as seen in the photos below. Everyone had a fantastic time with the Hauraki Gulf and Great Barrier Island providing an absolutely superb experience.

Crew and charter updates - Auckland

October to December 2024

Our  legendary crew, Ethan and Kale took a well deserved break over October.
Kale then headed for the Great Barrier reef in pursuit of the huge black Marlin there and Ethan brought Te Ariki Nui to Westhaven Auckland for the pre Xmas snapper charters. Te Ariki Nui had some awesome snapper trips with large groups as seen in the photos. The snapper fishing was often non stop with some big snapper and the odd Kingfish.

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 7th to 12th September 2024

Awesome day out wide of the Islands today with some excellent catches for the team with some monsters of the deep.

The girls and guys got in to some great sized Bass, Hapuka and a handful of bluenose, filling the bins before lunch. Dennis even lucky enough to pick up an absolute horse Trumpeter.
If you saw our little clip this morning we had a school of bluefin come in and tease us while we had baits on the bottom and if that wasn’t bad enough, they popped up on my Simrad Evo3s right where our baits were getting devoured by Bass and Hapuka under the boat.
We put in some hours this afternoon to try plug one of the tuna but they disappeared on us. Tomorrow is another day so we’ll try again then.

Trip Report - Bluefin Tuna Charter

MV Pelagic – 7th August 2024

Awesome day out on Pelagic with an early morning double strike resulting in tasty bluefin for Brent and Christian with captain Andy and decky Ben.A couple of other Bluefin hit but didn’t hook and then an afternoon bite resulted in a bluefin for Jye.
As usual everyone got a good workout and enjoyed the challenge plus power of the mighty Bluefin. Even Jye who is an MMA fighter got a good sweat up during his epic battle.

Trip Report - Bluefin Tuna Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 6th to 8th August 2024

Back in the marina after an epic few weeks out east and finishing off with a “strictly jigs only” bluefin trip.

The boys were camera shy so not many pictures but they put in the midnight oil, jigging from dark until the wee hours for both nights picking up a total of 10 bluefin. The lads fishing with extremely light gear for a lot of the time and as expected they got rolled by a few bigger models.

That tips the tally over 150 Southern Bluefin for the season in 32 days of fishing on Te Ariki Nui alone! (an average of 4.7 per day)

It’s not over yet, a few days of maintenance and re stocking and then back in to it next week!

Trip Report - Bluefin Tuna Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 3rd to 6th August 2024
25 Bluefin in 24 Hours!!!!

Well just when you thought the fishing was tapering off we have is probably one of our most chaotic 24 hours of Bluefin fishing with a total of 25 Southerns landed.

This group of gents from North Auckland jumped on and we blew their expectations out of the park with one hell of a couple of days.

The bite on lures was phenomenal with a total of 10 fish on lures and a few missed opportunities and the night time jigging was even more out the gate.

Jigging was very consistent all night until the boys could go any more and then after the lights went out even the deckies got amongst the action knocking over another heap while the lads slept.

Back out in to the darkness for another crack on the Jigs with another crew tonight

Trip Update - Bluefin Tuna Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 4th August 2024
Great day at Ranfurly Bank today ticking all the boxes!

The early morning Kingy bite on the jigs was plenty of fun with some great sized winter kingys for the lads. Pukas were hard on the bite with some nice models amongst the pups and a beauty Bass to go with them. And to top it off, a cracking bluefin surprise in the green water which was a welcome treat.

Back in to the barrels tomorrow!

Trip Report - Bluefin Tuna Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 1st to 3rd August 2024

Back in for another turn around trip with more great news from out wide!

The Southerns are still well on the chew. Again, having to do the miles for the smiles and it was all smiles for this shared charter with everyone on board landing a bluefin. 3 double hook ups getting the lads all side by side to winch in fish next to their mates!

The average size is down this week but there’s still some XL models about with one absolute horse pulling the hook at the boat which was so heart breaking for all of us so finishing up with a total of 7 bluefin with a few albies in the mix.

One more trip out of Waihau, leaving tonight for this swing of charters before we head back to Tauranga for a well deserved break. 

Trip Report - Bluefin Tuna Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 30th July to 1st August 2024

Great day on the water for the young and old with this group getting in to a nice patch of Southern Bluefin today on board Te Ariki Nui.

Massive shout out to Paul who was friends with the late, great, Bill Hall and has fished on Te Ariki Nui back in the 90s and at the ripe age of 73 still made light work of his 70kg barrel!
The fish have been tricky to track down but once we got in to them it was all on.

Unfortunately after a good scrap with a real nice fish the hook pulled but the team still binning up on some good eaters!

Trip Report - Bluefin Tuna Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 26th to 28th July 2024
Absolutely spoiled for conditions this past few days so when this keen group of lads from Auckland jumped on board there was no plan of putting the anchor down what so ever until they got off the boat!

The fish have been rather tricky to get in to this week but we did the miles for the smiles and got in to some nice fish on the lures and into the night on the Jigs with the boys landing a total of 6 southerns over the 2 days with some good sized ones fish in the mix.

But the season is not over yet with reports there a more bluefin on the way up the East Coast which is good news.

With a northerly front on its way through, we have a couple of days parked up and back in to them soon!

Trip Update - Bluefin Tuna Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 24th to 26th July 2024

Relatively slow fishing out there today for everyone but this epic catch
by Jake deserves some credit. An absolute monster of a Bluefin!!!

Trip Report - Bluefin Tuna Charter

Te Ariki Nui Shared Charter – 16th to 19th July 2024
Well the good times keep on rolling on board Te Ariki Nui and it’s still good news from out east.
With another run of bluefin fresh around the corner this shared charter the lads created some cool bonds and were treated to some exquisite fishing and the proof was in the pudding that this was the right boat to jump on to.
The stats for the trip were right up there with some of the best including a quad, two triples a couple of doubles a few singles and 2 on jigs at night. Average size was well up there around 60kg and the biggest around 130kg. Total southern bluefin caught: 16 in 2 full days.
A quick visit to the mighty Ranfurly Bank did not disappoint with the guys picking up their fair share of Hapuka on every drop and a few nice kingfish.
These shared trips are a great way for individuals to jump on board and they always end up being a great time with great food and plenty of laughs and to top it off, bloody great fishing.
 

Fishing Report

Waihau Bay Blufin Tuna Fishing Report – 15th July 2024

We broke all our records last week with 59 bluefin tuna caught in 5 days of fishing.
Around half of them were at night on jigs which is several levels up when it comes to jigging.
The biggest on a jig was around 120+ kg. Absolutely insane!!

This picture is of our amazing decky Kale who’s getting ready to release this night jigging caught bluefin.

The normal departure location for bluefin Tuna is Waihau Bay near Cape Runaway. It’s a large drive but well worth it! Pretty dam scenic also.

Trip Report - Bluefin Tuna Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 12th to 14th July 2024

We’ve just dropped off our latest group to Waihau Bay and pointed the boat back west to head to Tauranga for a little wind down before we’re back in to it.

The boys were treated once again to some spectacular bluefin fishing on board Te Ariki Nui. Night one we boarded the crew and it wasn’t 2 hours before we were in to the big boys. The lads cracking in to some epic fishing on the Jigs landing some real nice models straight off the batt. Once of which around the 120kg mark which put up a solid 45 minute scrap on the jigging gear at max drag which would be a struggle for anyone.

The lure fishing this trip was even better then the last with 3 triple hook ups on day one and another one on day 2, a hand full of doubles and the boys managing to crack 24 Southern Bluefin in their short time on board.

Finishing up week for with a grand total of 59 Southerns in 5 days of fishing between our charters.

Trip Report - Bluefin Tuna Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 8th to 12th July 2024

What has been one of our most spectacular bluefin charters has now come to a close and it’s truely quite hard to fathom the insane action that we’ve just been treated to. Night time jigging for tuna a is no new thing for us but it has become clear this week the behavior of these fish is somewhat different to previous years for us. The sounder is alive every night with huge packs of good sized fish under the boat and making it easy for our boys to put the jigs where they got to be getting railed time after time. The only reason why we stop is because we run out of anglers. Even our decky Kale getting in on the action.

We’re finding the morning bite on surface lures is somewhat where it is on this trip with 13 of the 35 bluefin we caught were all before 10am. And yes that’s no typo, we caught 35 bluefin on this one 3 day trip and we were fishing for hapuka on one of these days, which was spectacular itself.

Huge shout out to Jordan who today released his 10th bluefin and the rest of the crew for being put through their paces. Going to be some sore forearms for them this week. One fish per angler was taken and the rest have been released. And all swam away with strong kick after being looked after with the upmost care.

Fishing Report

Waihau Bay Bluefin Tuna Fishing Report 11th July 2024

Well it’s been an astounding week with a staggering 30 Bluefin caught in just 3 days. The night fishing for Bluefin Tuna has gone ballistic resulting in an 27 Bluefin between Tuesday and 7pm Thursday!

21 of those Tuna were caught at night using predominantly jigs. If you love jigging for kingfish or you’re going to be in heaven as you hookup to a big barrel with no rocks to worry about. It’s not easu though, we had one barrel just power straight down like a train. Even on maximum drag with 120lb line we failed to stop it’s unrelenting run.

It’s safe to say the Bluefin fishing is very hot off Waihau right now with great numbers of fish in large schools from 6 miles west of the sea valley to cape runaway in 800 to 1600m.  

Trip Report - Bluefin Tuna Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 10th July 2024 update

Fairly spectacular fishing last night under the lights on the Jigs for this mixed group onboard Te Ariki Nui.

After a reasonable day towing lures and the lads picking up 4 nice bluefin and a mission to Ranfurly Banks on the card the next day, the call was made to shoot east for the night and it wasn’t long before the hammers were pulled back and the call was made to ‘drop the jigs’.

The sounder was lit up like something we haven’t seen for a long time and instantly we had multiple bluefin hooked up. The boys not really knowing what to expect got instantly spanked having one reel get spooled as the fish powered straight down and even with 22kgs of drag on it, there was no stopping that beast.

Once the boys got in the groove, it was hard to keep a talley of how many were coming boatside with a few nice ones coming on board up to 100kgs and a whole heap let go. As soon as the sounder lit up, boom hooked up. We even got a spectacular show with fish coming up in to the lights and smashing the bait that was hanging around the lights.

Unreal scenes and were lucky enough to be back in to it, to give it another nudge tonight!

Fishing Report

Ranfurly Banks Fishing Report – 10th July 2024

The banks are fishing very well for Hapuku with some nice bass in the mix also. We’ve also caught the odd kingfish and trumpeter there lately but Kingfish are not in season. We landed 19 Hapuku and Bass before 11am on Wednesday which is simply outstanding fishing.

Fishing Report

Tauranga Fishing Report – 9th July 2024

It’s not as easy as mid summer but there’s some great kingfish fishing and bluenose fishing happening right now as seen. Snapper fishing is a little slow but they are about around Motiti and other areas. Over 40m has generally been better for snapper and over 60m for Terakihi.

Trip Report - Bluefin Tuna Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 3rd to 5th July 2024

Waihau Bay is firing on all cylinders today with this group tucking in to some outstanding fishing for Southern Bluefin Tuna on board Te Ariki Nui.
The lads managing to hook into a quad, two doubles and a single hook up with the single being the donkey of the trip touching the 90kg mark!
With a 100% hit rate the boys are on fire.

Back to Tauranga tonight for a weekend off and in to it again on Monday!

Trip Report - Bluefin Tuna Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 28th June to 1st July 2024

Here is is folks. After finding a fairly incredible patch of fish yesterday the lads tucked in to the hottest morning we’ve had. The first lot was a 5 way hook up. These were some truly amazing sized fish so the call was made to weigh 3 of these ones for the Tuna Tournament.

Unfortunately for us we lost one of those and doubly unfortunate was the fact the lines got tangled and due to the rods having to be handled and untangled, the fish were disqualified. Regardless, they were some monsters with the heaviest being 151.8kg gilled and gutted which would make it very close to the 173.6kg gross weight word record. We can’t wait to get back out there in pursuit of the next world record.

The action didn’t stop there with the boys picking up another 6 bluefin which were all let go. All of this before lunch time! The call was made to get in to some bottom fishing before the big steam back to Whakatane for a weigh, topping up the bins with hapuka and kingfish.

Tough pill to swallow for everyone but we all had a great time regardless.

Trip Report - Bluefin Tuna Charter

Te Ariki Nui – Week 1 June 2024 report

Well week 1 of the Southern Bluefin season for us is done and dusted today finishing up with 11 bluefin for the week. A couple of slow days in there for everyone but we still put all the boys this week on the meat with some nicer models in amongst the mix up to 90kgs.
A bit of weather had us seeking a bit of shelter at white island but there was bluenose on the chew and that group taking home a good feed of those along with their bluefin.

Still have spaces for this season for multi day trips on board Te Ariki Nui and day trips from Waihau Bay on board our off shore trailer boat MV Pelagic. The results speak for themselves.

Trip Report - Bluefin Tuna Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 15th to 17th June 2024
SEASON OPENER 2024!!!

First trip of 2024 southern bluefin tuna run for us. It’s not always wasy and we had to hunt them down but we put the miles in for the smiles.
Great results with 4 nice Tuna!
Congratulations to our anglers espexially to Mark for plucking out the barrel of the rtip which we stimate around the 90kg mark (the photos don’t do justice but this thing was round as). Not long after we were in to a triple hook up of nice school sized models between 40-50kgs. The tuna are well and truly here folks so our anglers on future trips have a lot to look forward to!

Trip Report - Whangaroa Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 27th to 29th May 2024
** World Record Bycatch! **

Here’s an interesting one. Whilst swordfishing in the far north this week we had an interesting fish take our bait and it’s not something we would usually see! (I didn’t even know it existed!)

We had a bite which appeared to be a text book sword bite and it dropped the hook. A quick wind to tease another bite and boom the tip loaded up. Now we thought angler Cam was on here and it did all the right things to indicate we had a swordfish coming up. When it appeared it wasn’t what we though it was, we were all stunned.

Apon a bit of research, we found that we had a Large Scale Pomfret on the deck and that this one was a particularly large one. A quick weigh and a search on the IGFA database and we found we had a potential all tackle world record here.

A quick stop in to Whangaroa Sport Fishing Club (Inc) for an official weight and confirmation that this fish is infact a world record contender at 21.4kgs. Blowing the previous record out of the water by more then 11kgs! The paperwork was completed and we have submitted the application for the record ratification.

For those wondering, the flesh was white and quite tender with a bland flavour.

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 20th to 25th May 2024

This week’s final excursion to the renowned Three Kings was a thrilling adventure for this group of enthusiastic anglers from across the country! With high spirits and higher goals, they set out to catch their PB’s plus make unforgettable memories. And that’s exactly what they did – overcoming challenges of behemoths and achieving PB success in one of worlds most greatest fishing destinations!

The kingfish seemed to put their heads down for a lot of the days but some hot bite times gave the guys some real hot sessions around the islands. Bait fishing was slow in the bay this week but lucky for us, the kingfish were munching back everything we threw at them. The presence of sharks was still there this week but the guys worked hard and fast and bet the toothy buggers more often then not. Check out the shot of the great white that angler Adam snapped around the islands!

Thankfully a lull in the weather for a few days allowed us to venture out futher on to one of our many ledges off shore for some wreckfishing and the big boys were on the chew with some real nice Bass up over 40kg along with a few pukas and bluenose and a real rare catch for us of a 20kg Trumpeter was a welcome sight!

That’s all she wrote for the 2024 summer season and it’s been one hell of a season for us. We thank and congratulate all of the anglers this year that joined us for some seriously epic fishing week after week.

For all those who are locked in for the already booked up 2025 season, we can’t wait to see you on board!

Upcoming Bluefin Charters

Bluefin season is fast approaching – 24th May 2024 update

The Bluefin have arrived in the Bay Of Plenty with one caught out from Waihau Bay yesterday (23rd May) and big schools of them have been seen busting up.

Numerous are being getting caught down the East coast as they migrate up also. The numbers in the BOP will keep increasing over the next few weeks with big numbers arriving in June. We like the early season as there’s usually an abundance of jumbo models but school of big ones turn up at anytime.

Every season has improved recently and we were stoked to land 148 bluefin tuna last year.

The only thing better than a screaming Tiagra at daybreak is six screaming Tiagra’s. Amazingly this happens and we were privileged to enjoy the incredible symphony of 6 bluefin heading for the horizon from a single pack attack last season. They hunt in large schools so pack attacks are common and unlike billfish the hook-ups are often very good. In this case we were lucky enough to land all six after unknitting the web they had weaved. Just seeing one of these barrels of colossal power is an unforgettable experience on it’s own. Battling one just takes everything to the next level.

Bluefin are legends of the ocean with their massive size, brute power, screaming runs, pack attacks, surface feeding displays and incredible battles. On top of that they are spectacular eating in all ways.

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

 Te Ariki Nui – 13th to 18th May 2024

The days are getting shorter and the nights colder but that doesn’t mean the summer fishing will slow down just yet and this weeks mission shows just that!

This week’s group were delt some tough conditions but that’s didn’t stop them from giving it a good nudge and their efforts prevailed.

The kingys were hard on the bite this week but so was the tax man. It’s still a problem we have to deal with from time to time but perseverance showed the lads beating the big meanies to the boat with some great sized Kingfish
Bottom fishing was again spectacular with big bass after big bass was welcomed aboard until enough was taken to feed the lads and their family’s back home.
And the Marlin are still about with a big striped Marlin falling victim to our long corner lure and being welcomed aboard and in for a trip to the smoker.

We were lucky enough to be treated treated to some amazing kaimoana this week thanks to decky Jacob jumping in and fetching the boys some delicious crayfish, Paua and fat three kings Kinas.

One more trip to the kings for the season and it’s definitely bitter sweet. 100% going to miss the place but at the same time, bluefin season is just around the corner!

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 6th to 11th May 2024 
This week’s excursion north had a great group of guys from all over New Zealand and Australia jump on board Te Ariki Nui for a full on week of big dogs only.

First day at the Three Kings saw a nice Stripey landed by Mike before a whopping session on the greenbacks seeing plenty of nice fish welcomed aboard with a few over the magical 30kg mark. It was the kingys around the islands that stole the show once again with non stop action in the shallows seeing PB after PB pulled over the rails.

Bottom fishing was easy as always with one request from angler Neal and that was a bass “like the one from last week” so naturally we did it! Neal managing to get himself a whopping 71.3kg Bass. Along with Neals monster, other great Bass, Hapuku and bluenose were welcomed to the bin for the crew to take home!

A strong front of weather had us retreating to the mainland a day early, however the fishing around the north coast did not disappoint with moochers all round and some nice kingys. A visit from some big great whites kept the day interesting!

Time to load up for the next one and we can’t wait to show you what we come back with next week!

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 29th April to 4th May 2024

Well even though we’re in to the last 4 weeks of the Three Kings season, the fishing is showing no signs of slowing down at this stage. We’re extremely spoilt with this fishery and I’m so grateful I get to share it with literally the world.

This week’s clients from Australia were not disappointed and treated to some epic fishing.

Bait fishing was mind blowing at the start of the trip and generally that’s a sign everything else will be the same and it was true, the kingys were non stop to start the trip off and some true beastly green machines were hauled over the rail one after another until the boys had nothing left in them.

Bottom fishing wasn’t really on the top of the list with just enough to be consumed on board being required but in 3 drifts, we pulled up some absolute horse bass including a absolute whopper 74kg model. Good to get straight in to them and have the bottom fishing done with in an hour!

After all the boxes were ticked for the team, the call was made to go spend a day targeting a swordfish. Now I’m not sure of many charters that will so this as often as us, but we’re always more then happy to deviate from the plan and put the effort in to secure a dream fish like a swordy and that’s what we did this week. Whether is in the day in the deep or at night time on the surface, were always keen on conquoring a gladiator. It was a slow morning with no bites or action but plenty of bait around and after tracking out a little deeper then usual we we straight in to a textbook bite and then we were tight.

After a good 1 hour and 45 minute cat and mouse fight with plenty of arieal displays we had an absolute beast of a broadbil boat side. The call was made to take it in to see how good our weight estimations were at Whangaroa Sport Fishing Club (Inc) and our 5th swordfish of the year pulled the scales down to a whopping 174kg (1kg from our estimation)

The fish was butchered on board, vacuum packed and is ready to be distributed to family’s all across the North Island to enjoy. We have a special plan with the frame so stay tuned with that one.

Congratulations to the guys on an epic trip and we look forward to seeing them on their next one

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 22nd to 26th April 2024
Back for the weekend after another epic week at the Three Kings with yet another great group of guys from the mighty Waikato.

The kingys around the islands continue to steal the show with a tonne of great fish caught with some nice ones up over the 30kg mark. A pesky 4 meter great white was giving us a hard time but keeping the boys on top of their pump and wind game kept things interesting.

Bottom fishing was easy work this week with the bins loaded with Hapuka, Bass and Bluenose for the crew to take home including some real nice Bass averaging 40kgs.

A half day marlin fishing on the King Bank saw a big crash bite from a blue marlin which unfortunately didn’t stick and a Striped Marlin all over the teasers took a nibble of a lure but unfortunately for us and lucky for him, he didn’t end up pinned.
Gearing up for the next adventure and couldn’t be more excited!

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 15th to 20th April 2024
The weather gods have been well on our side this week for the latest Three Kings trip for this group of keen fishos and the fishing did not disappoint either.

It was definitely the bottom fishing that stole the show this week and it was 100% quality over quantity with some real nice puka and bass including Martys thumping Bass at 65kgs.

Kingfish had short and sharp bites and when it was on, it was non stop action pulling some nice fish on board.

Great to see Marlin hanging out on the banks in numbers again with with 2 nice stripeys hanging on until we got them boat side from 5 bites with in 2 hours and reports from private boats on the other bank catching multiple fish in a day. So as we wind in to the last 5 weeks of the season, our next anglers can expect plenty of incoming Marlin action.

Another great bunch of guys on board and one hell of a good time.

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 25th to 30th March 2024

Wee bit behind on the updates as she’s been a flat out week last week but here’s some pics from 2 weeks ago with a hard case bunch of blokes.

Top water kingys were the stars of the show with some unreal sessions around the islands seeing some wicked models pulled over the rails by the lads who stayed committed to casting. The kingys continuing to take baits one after another but at one stage, favoring the stick baits!

The bottom fishing was on fire once again with more then enough pulled on board to take home to feed the whole crew and their families!

Great to tuck in to some good cray diving between sessions and an added bonus to pick up a nice sized striped Marlin on the way up.

The highlight for the trip had to be the on board tournament between the Fruits of the Sea and the Ninja Turtles with the Turtles extremely unfortunate to fall victim to the punishment challenge. (We won’t go in to what that involved).

Can’t wait to have these lads back on board for the next adventure!

Trip Report - Auckland's West Coast Charter

Marlin Charter on MV Pelagic – 18th March 2024
Yesterday (Sunday 18th) we had the pleasure of having Max, Chris, Craig, Nat and Mathew out west of Auckland with us yesterday.
We left later than usual to allow conditions to settle and found it was still pretty choppy early on but that didn’t slow the Marlin action down. We had 6 Marlin bites including bites on pitch baits. There was three early on that included the always exciting jumping and thrashing action but the first six Marlin all got off.
The seventh bite came in on small light gauge rigged black purple before disappearing. We were dropping the pitch bait back when it smashed the big lumo on our port rigger making for what seemed like a better hookup.
Max was on strike and was quickly at the rod and making sure he kept the weight on and wound quickly when possible. Max had it to the boat quickly and Brayden had it leadered with bill in hand in no time.
Stoked to see Max get his dream fish yesterday and it’s always a fantastic time experiencing all these fish have to display.
Max who is an ultra keen fisherman is visiting here from Germany. I don’t think he could believe his luck when he caught a Marlin on his first day Marlin fishing!
Here’s a text Max since sent me today. “”I had the best day ever yesterday which I cannot imagine being topped. Thank you again for the unbelievable experience!! You guys did such a good job!” We simply love hearing how much this means to you Max and it was an absolute pleasure. Great spotting work bv you too my friend!
Everyone got Tuna as usual which is always great to see and even better to eat.
Sorry for the delay on updates. The weather has generally been keeping everyone inshore and our previous charter was on Sunday the 10th. The bad weather certainly means the fish have had minimal boats after them which is a big part of the reason the West coast can provide so incredibly well.
We had stopped to catch live baits and had hundreds of smaller Mahimahi swim under the boat as we became the FAD. They stayed there for 2 hours and we managed to catch them on snapper rigs plus sabiki rigs even.
We of course had live baits out but surprisingly no marlin hits on them. The area was absolutely teeming with life, birds and bait.
We started trolling lures again and followed the gannets south. Just prior to arriving at a large workup we had a marlin hit but no hookup and no interest in our pitch bait.
We arrived at the workup to see the boat beside us hookup to a Marlin so we moved away to give them space.
Lot’s of action, bait balls getting smashed on the surface and workups continued but no more Marlin bites that day.
Every one got plenty of Tuna though and a total of 5 Mahi-mahi were caught.
Interestingly the Marlin we caught yesterday had two of the same size Mahi-Mahi easily reachable from it’s mouth.

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 10th to 15th March 2024
Back home from another epic trip to the kings this time had by a group from the Wairarapa and the boys experiencing the full buffet this week.

The kingys still continue to fire hard around the islands trip after trip and the ones was no different with plenty going over that target 30kg mark. The unreal scenery makes these days even more incredible getting to see the islands up close and personal.

Bottom fishing was above expectations with some monster bass, hapuka and once again huge bluenose on the banks for the lads to take home and feed friends and family well.

Now I’m not sure if Patrick is lucky or not here but he plucked out a huge stripey that we estimate around the 120 mark but the boys had an agreement that who ever caught a marlin would be getting a tattoo when they get back in. Poor bugger has fresh skin so we’ll see how that goes later on!

Another bloody good time had on the good ship this week and looking forward to the next one!

Fishing Report

Auckland West Coast Fishing Report – 9th March 2024

Out across the Manukau bar in 50 to 65m has been providing good fishing lately with the bite usually very consistent.
Obviously only go out there if you have plenty of experience there and conditions are safe. It’s a very dangerous place.

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 3rd to 8th March 2024
On our way back in after another thumper of a trip aboard Te Ariki Nui to the Three Kings this week.
After an absolute blasting from the weather gods for the first couple of days, the decision to stay down towards the coast for 2 nights was not a bad choice. Swordfish was on the skippers mind with the team not really knowing what they were in for the boat was pointed out wide and we were lucky to get straight in to them. Our first bait was sent to the depths and bit in a short time and the first fish was connected. Ryan made short work of that one and before you know it, we had a nice small sword in the boot.

The bait was inspected and still in good nick so we thought why not double down on the same bait so down she went and once again, within minutes the next sword was on. James the angler had a second sword boatside in no time. Not a bad effort for his first bilfish and this time it was a couple of sizes up! Bare in mind this was all on day one and shortly after on the way in to the anchorage, we had Mickie hooked up to his first marlin which put on an impressive show for the team right up until the end.

With the bar sitting high for the rest of the trip, the pressure was on for the skipper to deliver and deliver he did. With the water warming up on the King Bank finally and with that the billfish are showing up there. First baits were dropped for some puka and a bloody marlin got tangled in one of our puka rigs on the way down! He managed to shake it off but it was a good show of what was ahead. With free jumpers and another first marlin being hauled in by Mark and released to fight another day.
The bottom fish bit their heads off with a large range of bluenose, bass and hapuka for the family at home to go with the teams bounty of tasty treats.

And once again the Kingys were on fire around the islands with plenty of fish over 30kg and Michelle who was an absolute weapon hauling the biggest reef donkey in at 36kg to show up the boys!
A great trip with a real fun group of people. Plenty of laughs had and looking forward to seeing them again on board!

Trip Report - Auckland's West Coast Charter

Marlin Charter on MV Pelagic – 2nd March 2024
What an awesome day getting Britney out fishing for her birthday. Britney was especially keen on catching kingfish but the kingi fishing in the Manukau has been a bit slow lately so I gave them a heads up prior to the charter.
 A plan was hatched to go out after Tuna and Marlin instead as the fishing for these has been great recently. After trying the local kingi hotspots first thing we made our way out to where the action has been.
Whilst getting the lures out we spotted gannets circling with the odd one diving. We headed over and were welcome by a Marlin breaching whilst feeding. We spotted another was seen in the same area so we kept working there without managing to entice one into a bite. The VHF was lighting up with multiple reports of feeding marlin and hookups. We ventured out further to find good bait sign on the sounder and great tuna action with everyone getting at least one Tuna.

Early in the afternoon two marlin were spotted in the lures with one tearing some line off the starboard rigger. It came back for another bite on the same lure before subtly taking a pitch bait. The superb sound of the howling Tiagra followed along with the majesty of a grey hounding Marlin. The fight was on and this feisty Marlin put everyone through their paces with plenty of aerials and runs just when we thought we were getting the upper hand.
Congratulations to Britney for doing a superb job on the rod along with help from the whole team Jacob, Ray, Harmony, Greg and Karri.
Lots of boats were reporting pack attacks of between 3 and 6 marlin.
Thanks to Darrel for coming out as decky also. It’s great to have your help and continue the streak of always a good Marlin or huge bluefin when out with you mate.

The fishing out west is ultra hot right now everyone. Despite windy conditions keeping many boats inside the harbour there was over 25 Marlin tagged or caught on Auckland’s West Coast last Friday/Saturday.

Trip Report - Auckland's West Coast Charter

Marlin charter on MV Pelagic – 22nd February 2024

Fantastic to see Rudee doing the business with this nice striped marlin today.
It hit the short corner and crossed to starboard whilst tearing off line at high speed.
It then proceeded to light up the ocean with its aerial displays.
Rudee got to work and did a great job getting the marlin in!

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 18th to 23rd February 2024
Conquering a Gladiator!!!

We’ve done it folks, the beast we endeavor to capture every chance we get was finally welcomed aboard at 0245 on Tuesday morning after a hard fought battle for our angler Wella.

After a solid morning of kingfish at the islands and a variable forecast for the next few days, the call was made to spend a few days up in the sword grounds. Marlin were at the top of the crew from the South Islands bucket list and with a reasonably slow bite at the kings still, we pointed Te Ariki Nui towards the north west for a big afternoon steam.

Well just as predicted, there wasn’t a lot of Marlin action unil a stray striped Marlin smoked our right rigger and put on an epic display for the group from start until finish! None of the team had seen a marlin before so it was great to have such a feisty fish on. The fish was swiftly released at the boat so a huge congratulations to Mort on that one!
 
Once at our usual sword grounds, baits we deployed on dark and the anxious wait begins. At 12.59am I was awoken by the sound of the engines firing up, and a bang on my cabin door “We’re on skip!”
So up I got and the sweet sound of the talica 50 was blazing through the whole boat. Wella was our man for the job, straight out of bed and straight in to the gimbal and harness.
After a good game of cat and mouse for just under 3 hours with a heap of drag on and the reel in low gear after one attempt of the swordfish to impale our hull with his mighty bil, the fish gave up on us and the fish was ours. We didn’t know the true size of him until he floated up and the whole team was in complete awe including myself.
 
The fish we have tried for countless nights was ours. A swordfish over 200kg off the surface. We’ve got them before but never this big. After taking measurements of the beast, we knew we had one a lot bigger then 200kg. After some calculation, we estimated it at 300kg and after comparison with past swordfish lengths and girth that are similar, this fish could have been well up over 330kg. This really is the fish of a lifetime!
 
Being 130 nautical miles from the nearest weigh station and only day 2 of a 6 day trip, the call was made to cut up and preserve the massive amounts of meat for people from the top of the north to literally the bottom of the south to enjoy and loose 2 days of their trip, potentially impacting the quality of the fish.
 
Congratulations to the whole team on board for this trip, especially Wella. I’ll never forget it and I’m sure the boys won’t either. Ready to do it all over again

Trip Report - Auckland's West Coast Charter

Marlin charter on MV Pelagic – 17th February 2024
Marlin on a Tuna Lure!
It was an absolute pleasure seeing Justin catch this feisty marlin on out on Auckland’s West Coast.

Justin and his 14 year old son Connor came out with his mates Tristan, Justin, Professor Steve and Tristan’s 14 year old Son Eli. They didn’t really expect to get a Marlin and really wanted to make sure they caught at least Tuna and hopefully a MahiMahi. Great news for them!

The first Tuna was hooked up within 5 minutes of putting a lure in the water and the Tuna fishing continued to be hot up right until this good striped marlin took a small Tuna lure at the same time as another Tuna hooked up. It ran harder than the other Tuna but only when it took to the air displaying some impressive acrobatics was it confirmed as a marlin.

Justin did an awesome job on the rod and had the marlin within 20m of the boat after 35 minutes but the marlin was very stubborn and we had to be very careful given the small tuna hooks along with lighter leader.
60 minutes later we had the marlin after some great team work and Tristan on the gaff.

Thanks to Colby for some great work on the leader again and congratulations again to Justin and all onboard!!

Interestingly this marlin was missing its bill but it was fat and healthy so it was getting by fine without it. I guess that shows they’re smart enough to adapt their feeding behaviour/technique as the bill is usually an important of subduing their prey.

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 11th to 16th February 2024

Well the good times keep on flowing on board Te Ariki Nui trip after trip this year and this weeks tour to the Three Kings certainly has not disappointed.

Once again the Kingfish around the islands are where it’s at with hog after hog being hauled over the rails with all 7 of the boys pulling out a PB on the first day. It was definitely quality over quantity with the smaller 15kg “rats” no where to be seen. All kingfish were released for us to come back and visit next week!

Bottom fishing was something you just have to be there to believe it. The big bass were hard on the chew with 4 over the magical 50kg mark. The heaviest pulling the scales down to 72kg was one of an epic double header with a 40kg model for Charlie so a massive effort for him.
The 2nd heaviest at 64kg was plucked out of the shallows livebaiting for Kingfish! A good mix of bluenose and hapuka also being welcomed on board and a swordfish putting up a battle on the electric reel gear for an hour was an exciting treat for the boys.

Marlin are still fairly quiet north and east so the call was made to shoot for some good water on the west coast and once we found it, 3 hours of mayhem towards the end of the day. A total of 5 fish raised with one getting the welcome aboard batt for the smoker.

Another great trip with great company and a chiller full of meat to take home.

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 4th to 9th February 2024

Another wicked trip for our latest guests on board Te Ariki Nui with this week’s star of the show was the mighty Three Kings Kingfish.

With the greenbacks hot on the central North Islanders minds and not knowing what they were getting themselves in to, they certainly got the kingfish thrashing they wanted. Day one seeing the boys land a total of 52 kingfish in what should be all anglers dream part of the world to fish for them when the bite is hot. With the absolutely stunning back drop of the Princess Group, fish after fish was hauled over the rail with some solid fattys cracking the epic 30kg mark.


Top water action was also running hot with spastic kingys smashing stick baits all over the surface!

In between kingy sessions at the islands the lads were kept busy with super sized trevalli with some huge models pulled out of the big boil ups of fish with the heaviest one being weighed in at 7.6kg!

With the boys sore and broken, we had no choice but to do it all over again on day 2. But this time on deeper pins of the King Bank and giving the boys even more of a work out hauling XXL sized hogs up from the depths.

Bottom fishing this week was a little harder to get past all of the spawning bluenose (what a problem to have!) which were in plague proportions but still managed to get some baits past them and in to the hungry mouths of some good sized Bass and Hapuka along with more then enough super fat Bluenose.

To put a cherry on the top of what was already an epic trip, traveling between banks a nice fat stripey popped his head up and in no time at we had him boatside, popped a tag in it and sent him swimming home.

Congratulations to all the boys on their epic trip and their epic catches.
Definitely one to remember and with the kingfish bite so hot, I really hope the next group have been training their arms for what’s to come when we leave on Sunday!

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 30th January to 3rd February 2024

This week’s trip to the Three Kings saw a group of keen spearos jump on board Te Ariki Nui for the ultimate experience in not only fisherman’s paradise but any free divers dream destination.

The boys warmed up well and showed us nice and quickly how seasoned all 6 of them were with a nice warm up dive around the bays bringing in tasty treats like Paua and good sized trevalli. Once that was out of the way they were ready to the ripping currents of the Princess Group.

Not for the faint hearted or under experienced diver, the boys in small groups of 2 or 3 got some unreal drift dives in and finding some great schools of Trevalli, Maomao, Koheru and then lurking bellow, the big schools of Kingfish.

Apart from the Makos and Bronzies taking a small handful of kingys, the boys successfully managed to haul in some solid fish with everyone getting PBs and a huge congratulations to Jesse who organized the group on spearing his once in a lifetime 40.4kg greenback!

A half day between dives out on the king bank got the guys something other then kingfish to take home with some tasty XXL Bass, Bluenose and Hapuka pulled up from the deep to top up the bins.

Once the last dive was out of the way, not far from the islands a real nice Stripey come up on the shot gun and put a wild show on for the boys (who none had landed a marlin before) but with big Chaz on the winch, the marlin stood no chance.

Once again, another good bunch of guys on the boat and one hell of a trip! Back up there tomorrow!

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 23rd to 28th January 2024
This week’s trip to the Three Kings saw 16 keen as mustard west Aucklanders split between Te Ariki Nui and our good mates on Demelza have what they have told us “the trip of their lives”
 
We strive to deliver the best experience possible in every way from the hard core fishing to food and entertainment and after the boys got off today, the feedback we have was the stuff we love to hear after each and every trip.
Bait fishing was popping off with the full moon with our group managing to catch a grand total of 94 squid on the first night which was the sweet nectar to feed the kingfish the next day which also bit hard non stop. They almost bit a little bit too good with non stop action weeding through the 15-20kg “three kings rats” to pull out some nicer models in the mix.
 
The tasty bottom fish were as usual on fire making short work of loading up the bin with plenty of meat to take home and some really impressive fish being pulled out like Beaus 50kg Bass! Another interesting catch was Jesse’s deformed Hapuka which he plucked out of 30m of water hard up against the islands!
While we wait patiently for the water on the banks to warm up the trip back down the coast almost guaranteed us to get in to some pelagic action. A tasty yellowfin was first on the menu followed by a stripey that put on one hell of a show for the boys and to top it off, on the way in to Whangaroa this morning, a nice sized mahimahi come in and bit a lure and had a warm welcome aboard.
 
Great fishing with a great group of guys which was more like a mates trip then a fishing charter with all the laughs and banter had. Cheers boys!

Trip Report - Northcape Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 19th to 21st January 2024

What an epic way to end an epic 3 day Stag-do trip on the East Coast for these boys. Good sized fish to go in the smoker along with bins full of Kingfish and Bass!

Trip Report - Auckland's West Coast Charter

Marlin Charter on MV Pelagic – 14th January 2024

Great to get Darren out fishing on Auckland’s West Coast yesterday.
It was Darren’s first time Marlin fishing and the weather was stunning!

At 1pm the port corner tiagra ratchet screamed but only for seconds. A minute later the Marlin was seen taking the port rigger but again it didn’t hook up.
Finally 2 minutes later it attacked the shotgun with vigour and headed for the horizon followed by a series of exciting jumps. A 50 minute fight followed.
Darren won the battle was rewarded with this chunky Striped Marlin.

Following this Darren was also hooked and showed his commitment by keeping watch 100% of the time from our mini tuna tower.

We’ve done 2 days Marlin fishing out west this season and have had marlin on both days plus have seen 6 other Marlin including witnessing them feeding under gannet workups. Seeing that is always incredible.

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Season Opener on Te Ariki Nui – 12th to 17th January 2024
First trip back up to the Three Kings for 2024 is now done and dusted and continues year upon year to blow people’s minds.
 
Kingys were on form giving this mixed group from Australia and New Zealand a real good stretch out with plenty of nice models landed through out the trip.
Some nice Bass, Hapuka and bluenose were landed after scoping out some new ground for us for the year with the boys taking their bag limit for the trip with in a few hours and some hog bass being hauled up was a welcome sight with the biggest going 45kg and 2 others up over 40.
 
 While water conditions up at the kings aren’t yet optimal for the pelagics and the boys all wanting marlin, the call was made to come back to the mainland and fish the east coast for the last day and that was a bloody good decision. Once we found a good patch of bait, we worked it and plucked 2 nice striped Marlin out just before dark and on the way home this morning it would have been rude to not do a couple of passes through and bang, double hook up which were both caught by our anglers. All 4 marlin were landed with in 20 minutes to ensure they were healthy to swim away with tags in them to fight another day.

Trip Report - Great Barrier Island Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 11th to 16th December 2023

Back in Auckland from an awesome 6 days with the Menzies family all the way from Australia around Great Barrier Island.

Hammered by westerlies our first few days we sheltered around Fitzroy harbour and were treated with some amazing snapper fishing as we timed it impeccably with the snapper moving in for spawning seeing everyone catch some great sized fish in the shallows.

Smokehouse Bay provided excellent entertainment with the facilities for us to smoke up our catch in true kiwi fashion for the family and shared some chats with some families who are sailing around the world. The large population of Bronzewhalers gave the boys a lot of fun around the boat and off the shore with them landing a whopper and the fish was released to see another day.

Once we had a lull in the weather and were able to creep around to the western side the snapper fishing and kingy fishing was a wicked spectacle for the group and we had great conditions for diving and kayaking in and exploring the coastline.

And as promised the weather played ball yesterday and it was our time to show the team what we do best. Putting Braden on to his PB yellowfin was a great way to wake the family up after the steam out to an area we picked to look good on Timezero. 

As we tracked further north to warmer water that would be best suited to Marlin, the signs be amended apparent something good was going to happen. Knocking on 20°c, bait, birds, great water colour and marling flying out of the water. We counted 5 free jumpers right near us through out the day but unfortunately failed to raise any before the trek back to Auckland had to begin.

Very awesome charter with a good crew, great food and a cool laid back family. Not our usual charter but we’re able to tailor make any charter for any need!

Trip Report - Auckland Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 25th & 26th November 2023

A sensational weekend to kick it all off on board Te Ariki Nui out of Auckland with both charters binning up with some excellent quality and
 good sized snapper coming over the rail!

Fishing Report

Auckland East Coast Fishing Report on MV Pelagic – 20th November 2023

Some berley and stray lining can result in some good fishing in under 20m at present but the snapper fishing has thinned out there which is common this time of year. There’s been some very good workup fishing just outside the cable zone off Kawau Island with good size snapper the main catch but the odd kingfish also.
Between Anchorite and channel Island has also been fishing well.

Trip Report - Hauraki Gulf Charter

MV Pelagic – 11th November 2023

Couple of young slayers on board MV Pelagic today in the Hauraki Gulf showing the old boys how to get it done!
Congratulations to Kyden, plucking out his PB 48cm snapper and 16yo Flynn with his PB 68cm horse!
Had to do the miles to get the smiles today but everyone on board took home some excellent fish!

Snapper fishing charter Auckland

Trip Update - Shared Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 6th to 9th October 2023

You never know what’s going to happen on anchor at the Three Kings but one thing is for sure, it’s not unusual for these reef donkeys to disrupt your beer time.

Kingfish fishing charter Three Kings Islands

Couples that slay together, stay together!
Anelize and Hanre tucking in to some good sized Bass side by side was a epic to see on board Te Ariki Nui yesterday!

Bass Charter Three Kings Islands

Trip Report - Three Kings Charter

Te Ariki Nui – 20th to 23rd September 2023

Check out a few of shots we grabbed from our latest short and sharp off season trips.

The weather gods were kind and the fishing was on with the boys loading up with ease on Bass, Hapuka and Bluenose in no time at all! The kingfish played a little hard to get but once we got in to them it was non stop action for the lads from Taupo!

The kingys are only going to fire harder moving forward in to the warmer months and we can’t wait to get you guys amongst it!

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