I've read that it is illegal to catch and release koi carp due to them being regarded as pests. A guy in Huntly sells them for bait. They're certainly quite big but I aint quite sure as to how well they fight. Has anyone caught one? Are they easy to catch? Could be a fun way of stocking the bait freezer!!!

d

 Checked with fish and game you do need a licence to fish for course fish.

It is illegal to release coarse fish after they have been caught aas they are all classed as noxious pests.

To catch koi carp i have read in the nz fishing news that people berly up with sweetcorn kernels then use the rest of the sweetcorn as bait. Mark ketteridge wrote a few articles on how to catch koi , in nz fishing news awhile  a go. The waikato river is a good spot ,especialy around the delta at akeake or the drains at meremere. one of the members at the kite fishing club has been using koi for bait on the kite fishing gear and has been reporting good results. the koi is very tough skinned and very oily stays on the hooks well, I have used some koi on my own kite gear and have caught fish when others havent . try it and see if nothing else you will have a pleasant day fishing.   

                         cheers fishwid

Not all coarse fish are regarded as noxious. You need a licence to fish for "acclimatised" fish such as Perch, Tench and Rudd. These can be returned but Koi carp must not be returned. You don't need a licence to fish for noxious species. You can go fishing for Catfish in Lake Taupo without a licence but be careful of by-catch.

I have fished for Koi in the Waikato in Hamilton a couple of times and they are a very shy fish and what ones I've hooked they've snagged me and got off. Going to try for mullet as they are so prolific, some big ones too. I thing they're vegetarians so peas, sweetcorn or weed for bait? Any suggestions? 

If you're having trouble with shy biting carp try this.

use a supple braid for your hooklength around 5-10 kilo. make a small loop in one end of the trace the size of your little fingernail. attach the hook using a snelled longliners knot leaving the tag end (1 1/2 - 2 inch) with the loop on sitting off the back of the hook. To attach the sweetcorn you need to thread the grains up a needle with a wide'ish hole. Push the loop through the hole in the needle and thread the sweetcorn back up on to the tag. Put a small piece of grass or splinter of matchstick through the loop to stop the sweetcorn sliding off.

What you are left with is a hair rig (the bait sits on the hair/tag not the hook). Due to the way it's tied and the way carp feed if a fish picks it up and spits it out the hook lodges in the corner of the mouth. Also it can't feel the braid in it's mouth because it's softer and more supple than nylon. Used in conjuction with a fixed leger rig of 1-2 1/2 oz the takes can be impressive from the spookiest fish. 

Another advantage of this set up is that you can step up your main line to haul them away from snags.

The best mullet I ever caught were in Spain and always had best results on bread flake. Don't know if there the same here though.

Absolutely! It sounds like prebaiting would be the way to go. These fish have obviously been munching on natural food too long. Have to say that after having fished for carp for years, trout pellets are the biggest carp magnet I've used. I wouldn't leave home without them now and would fish sweetcorn over the top. Trout pellet flavoured luncheon meat (and nice n' spicy!) is magic stuff as well but I doubt you'd get it here. Just my thoughts anyway.

Would love to hear how you get on as my mate back home (carp fishing nut) is pestering me to explore the coarse fishing potential.

I wonder just how just how big those Koi go if you've spotted them to 15lbs already!?

Hi Chris

Those are the bullhead catfish and they get up to about 1 kilo. They look pretty yucky but have a delicate pink flesh. The ones in Taupo would be grat eating.

I hear that some of the  koi carp grow to 1 metre and upwards of 20kg in the whangamarino river near Meremere.

great pictures and rig JW, will give it a try. Some of the mullet in Hamilton during summer would be up to about 8 lb, thousands of them.

I caught some rudd on a globug in the Waikato while I was trying out a new fly-line.

Roy, I love mullet fishing - the biggest ones I've seen were in Funchal harbour at Madeira and they must have been 10 to 15 pounds, just a handful of them that lived in the open water between the pontoons and occasionally you'd see them finning or even free jumping ... hooked a few, but never came close to landing em...

anyway, regarding mullet fishing...if they are already scavenging on waste food (bread etc) then that's half the battle, if not hand feeding them really helps, chum em up till they're in a feeding frenzy and they're pretty much a no brainer, use light line and a small hook - say 4 to 6# line and a size 2 to 6 hook - bread flake works ok but the little ones tend to remove it too quickly , tough bait like a piece of squid stays on the hook far better

the problem with chumming is that it tends to attract thousands of mullet and singling out the larger models can be more difficult, tho normally the smaller fish are right in the thick of it and the larger ones hang about on the edges of the commotion, cast your bait accordingly...

if you don't need to cast far just flick the bait on a light rod and let it free sink, you'll see them sucking in the bait and tasting it but I find that striking just pulls the bait out of their mouths, wait till they've taken the bait and turned away, tighten up the line and they'll hook themselves.  If you need a bit of casting weight use a small float a few feet ahead of the bait but don't rely on the float as a bite indicator, keep your eye on the bait and the fish ... most bites seem to come on the sink so after the bait has sunk all the way I'll reel up and cast again

they are lots of fun on very light tackle

cheers dustin

Hi Chris

I've done the weed clearing bit a couple of times at Lake Otamangakau, Taupo. I used a metal rake head tied to a length of rope. Throw it out and drag in the weeds. You'll need to do this several times to clear a suitable sized area. Leave for a few hours and when you come back all the disturbance will have attracted fish. Groundbait up and away you go.