Wharf Fishing

Gary Kemsley has visited a lot of wharves in his long fishing career. This month, he takes us on a tour of the North Island, assessing the best and the worst of the wharves it has to offer.

Wharves are great fishing spots. They attract small fish which come to feed on the food growing on the wharf piles, which in turn, brings bigger fish in to feed on them. Wharves are almost always on the edge of channels, and that means deep water is close at hand, and there will be fish movement past the wharf with each tide.

Some wharves are a lot better than others, and some of the best ones have limited or little access. Sadly, there are also great wharves which are no longer available to us. In my opinion, the saddest loss of late has been the Miramar Wharf in Wellington.

Wellington & surrounds

Shelly Bay wharf is used by passenger ferries and not much else as far as I know. It can turn on a fish or two at times. It is a great spot to catch piper, so if you go there, make sure you have some light gear. Casting out big baits will attract kahawai and the occasional big snapper. But be warned, it can be a cold and windy spot!

At the other end of Wellington Harbour is the Petone wharf. It pokes well out from shore, has good currents around it and its share of kahawai and barracouta to keep the local yellow-eyed mullet honest. Use the current there and put in some berley to attract the fish up to where you are. Catch a small yellow-eyed mullet and put it out, two metres under a float, on a 5/0 circle hook. It won’t take long for a kahawai or ‘couta to turn up.

Wanganui

Wanganui gets a big high five from me for the ‘fishing wharves’ that were placed along the northern side of the river a couple of hundred metres inside the river mouth. These fishermen-friendly wharves with nearby toilet blocks, built-in rod holders and bait cutting areas make a visit with or without the kids a real treat. Red cod are the main catch along with a few kahawai. The fishing isn’t world-class, but the wharves are!

New Plymouth

The little wharf at Foxton on the Manawatu River is worth a visit. This can be a good kahawai spot, particularly when the whitebait are running, but the conditions are often far from desirable. You have a lot of current to deal with, and often the river is filthy dirty, high and barren of fish. Plan to get there as soon as the water clears and levels drop, and you should do alright. Pilchards are the ideal bait in this location.

Inside the little harbour at the Port of New Plymouth there is a long, easily accessed wharf worth fishing. I recently heard that a couple of john dory and a kahawai were caught there by a contestant in a big fishing contest when there was little caught elsewhere. Put this spot away for future reference when the weather keeps you away from other places.

Hawkes Bay

Crossing the island to Hawke’s Bay, you will find few wharves that you can access legally. Big business is more powerful than fishermen. We used to be allowed to fish the wharves in the Port of Napier when I was a kid, and the fishing was good and varied. I caught a 10kg trumpeter from the wharf on a handline with a livebait set deep beside the piles. We had to take it to the aquarium to find out what it was. We caught a lot of gurnard, kahawai, barracouta and trevally from the wharves, along with odd customers like a 1kg yellowbelly flounder that took a liking to a bait fished on a light rod. It was an awesome fight which I can vividly recall now, 55 years later. Some fish have that effect on a young fisherman. Moki were thick there too, as were parore. The lack of access to the wharves and breakwater is a sad reality for fishers in the bay.

The kids' fishing wharf in Napier.

Gisborne and East Cape

In Gisborne, some wharf fishing is available along the channel edges. Kahawai and kingfish are the main targets although a wily angler out at night with a bucket of crabs for bait could have a lot of fun fishing for spotted smoothhounds or lemonfish there as well.

Head around the coast, and you will experience the wonderful Tolaga Bay Wharf. It’s newly refurbished and a drawcard for all tourists passing through the area. There are good fish here to be caught, including gurnard, kahawai and kingfish. The wharf offers a safe fishing venue throughout the year. Drop a cray pot down beside one of the piles towards the end of the wharf, and you may catch a crayfish for dinner (just make sure to check they are legal).

The next stop is Tokomaru Bay. The wharf here is in the shelter of the cliffs at the northern end of the beach. It is in disrepair, and part of it at least is closed to fishing. Following Tolaga Bay’s lead, however, there is hope for restoration. This was always a great kingfish wharf.

Hicks Bay Wharf is next. Again, this is a wharf in need of repairs. It is tucked under the cliffs at the northern end of the beach and is always sheltered from the worst of the weather. While it was posted as ‘closed’ on my last visit, there were plenty of locals fishing there. Kingfish, kahawai, snapper, john dory, barracouta and gurnard are all species I have caught from the wharf. It is always a great livebaiting spot.

Bay of Plenty

The next likely wharf heading north on the east coast is at Opotiki. It is a kahawai spot with visits from kingfish at times. There’s plenty of room, and it’s safe for the kids. Casting spinners works well, as does bait fishing with pilchards.

On the opposite side of the Ohiwa Harbour, there is a solid concrete wharf on the channel edge that is a great fishing spot, well known for its kahawai and kingfish catches. Livebaits are best, and you can often catch piper there which are ideal baits.

The next location is the Tauranga Harbour. To fish here, you will need to grab a map and look for wharf areas with public access. There are several channel edge wharves, but you will need to check their accessibility.

Far North

Now we will skip up to the Far North and the best wharves in the country. There are several, and we can group them together as far as fishability goes. The list includes Mangonui, Whangaroa, Houhora (Pukenui and Monkey Point), Paua and Te Hapua. Kingfish rule at all these wharves but kahawai, snapper, john dory, piper, mackerel trevally, parore, sharks (bronzies and tope) and giant stingrays are all common catches. Livebaits, soft-baits and cut baits for snapper in low light conditions are the go. Once you have tried these wharves, all others will be forgotten. They are tide-related fisheries as the fish move around the estuaries so don’t expect them to bite all day long. Be ready for some of the best land-based fishing in the country.

I have missed out plenty of wharves either because I have not fished them or they are in shallows that do not produce a lot of fish. If on holiday, get out a map and have a search around. A wharf may provide you with the best and most comfortable fishing of your trip.