Awanui / Rangaunu Harbour
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: The Briny Bar
Forum Description: The place for general chat on saltwater fishing!
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=32125
Printed Date: 03 Jul 2026 at 8:17am
Topic: Awanui / Rangaunu Harbour
Posted By: Hairy Little Dwarf
Subject: Awanui / Rangaunu Harbour
Date Posted: 28 Aug 2008 at 12:42pm
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Anyone know how this harbour goes for flatties? Looks to be too shelly down Rangiputa way, but what about amongst the eel grass & mangroves etc? How's that area fishing generally at the moment? Coastal-wise out to the point on the western end of Puheke beach ( Planning my Fathers Day pressie  )------------- The Dreaded Shark-Eating Man! |
Replies:
Posted By: phill_nz
Date Posted: 28 Aug 2008 at 1:20pm
dump the idea of destroying our grass bed nurseries  and we might tell you
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Posted By: Hairy Little Dwarf
Date Posted: 28 Aug 2008 at 1:23pm
Okaaay....  Aside from the eel-grass fanatic, anyone else got any info on FLOUNDER in this water? (Incidentally Phil, I don't keep any fish under 30cm, incl flatties. Look forward to your next informative post in two years time )------------- The Dreaded Shark-Eating Man! |
Posted By: phill_nz
Date Posted: 28 Aug 2008 at 2:09pm
| no problem with taking flounder .. a spear and light work well in certain parts of the harbour ..and way more fun ... its the destruction of the nurseries with the nets that's the problem |
Posted By: Tomsta
Date Posted: 28 Aug 2008 at 2:31pm
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H.L.D.... I can tell you all about the Northern side of the harbour being my ole stomping ground (Read East Beach, Kaimaumau - Awanui area)... masses of Mangroves and masses of Flounder, Mullet and stingrays..... Fishes real good through out the year.... with the ole canoes used to set the nets in front of the mangroves at high, go for a paddle and come back and collect the dozens of flounder/mullet which were caught.... It's a premo spot... however you need to take some care with some of the locals, they're a mad bunch ... although it's not as bad as it used to be as some have moved down to Auckland... (for goodness knows what reason it seems!) ...
I'll Be Back.....
 ------------- Don't Moan about it, Just Do it! |
Posted By: Hairy Little Dwarf
Date Posted: 28 Aug 2008 at 2:44pm
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Phil, Didn't say I was going to use a net... Even if I owned one. But I agree with you. I prefer to stare my prey down before nailing them to the seabed. Now the toys are back in the cot.... (Bugger. Thought I had my first flame-war there) Thanks for that Tomsta. Cheers HLD ------------- The Dreaded Shark-Eating Man! |
Posted By: Tomsta
Date Posted: 28 Aug 2008 at 3:01pm
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No worries HLD ... if all you want to do is use a spear and a light at night..... you can't go wrong with that either, generally you will always nail a few good ones... anywhere in front of the mangroves...
Never had a problem with netting there to be honest.... under size flounder are always easy to release and found netting the only really effective method of picking up 30-40 mullet for the smoker....
A crazy thing with netting is if you don't keep a reasonable eye on it and you have caught a few mullet in it.... you will get back and only find it's skin left in the net...... stingrays can have the habit of hanging out on the outside of the net, feel when the mullet is caught and come over and suck the mullet through the net only leaving it's Skin behind! .... first time I saw this I though it was invasion of the body snatchers.... but soon learned that the harbour is litterally infested with stingrays..... which brings me back to the canoe chases with a spear in hand with a rope atteched to the front of the canoe.... stingray sleigh rides.... awesome buzz ------------- Don't Moan about it, Just Do it! |
Posted By: phill_nz
Date Posted: 28 Aug 2008 at 3:12pm
then yup ... most of the shallow areas .. grass included on the south side of rangiputa past the last becon next to the beach are pretty good areas .. tokerau is probably better though ( needs fairly flat seas and a westerly there ) .. as for the fishing there are some resonable ( i hooked and lost a 15 lbr ( mates estimate and he is pretty accurate ) monday ) fish in the harbour but most productive areas are still outside in karikari bay ( somewhere  )
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Posted By: corosanta
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2008 at 10:19am
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I have been known to puddle around the southern end of the harbour, sort of at the end of KUMI ROAD and towards Awanui River entrance. Usually some good flats around, and the mate dropped off a few nice mullet to us yesterday from same area. Fishing has been pretty slow over on the Kaimaumau side of late but have had some good catches north of East Beach. With these big tides was planning a trip to Puheke to indulge in some fat tuatuas.
Damn, I just love the Far North for fishing. ------------- Sitndrinkntalknbullman |
Posted By: JK
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2008 at 11:11am
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Caught a few ok fish off the wharf down the end of the Unahi Road as a boy.
Water can be pretty muddy at times but that is when the snapper are there. Never tried floundering there ------------- LedgeNZ LBG |
Posted By: Tomsta
Date Posted: 29 Aug 2008 at 11:33am
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Yip... Unnahi wharf was always a favourite place to go in the summer evenings (top end of the harbour)... the place literraly crawls with flounder, mullet and kawhai at times...
Bro (Coxy da Miller at Ngataki) was given 5kgs (hyperbole) of shucked scallops last weekend, in return for a couple of macrocarpa slabs..... got to love the barter system the locals have up there... (and here I am in Jaffa land.....  )------------- Don't Moan about it, Just Do it! |
Posted By: CapnHook
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2008 at 8:29am
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The upper harbour holds loads of flounder and mullet.
An alternative to netting in the daytime is snorkling in the mangroves on a high tide. That's where the flounder are feeding and are easily speared. Mullet also can be speared with a gun or sling.
"Bro (Coxy da Miller at Ngataki) was given 5kgs of shucked scallops last weekend, in return for a couple of macrocarpa slabs..... got to love the barter system the locals have up there...
" Tut tut Tomsta - serious rules infractions there !!!!!!!!!!! ------------- If you're not on the edge you're taking up too much room. |
Posted By: CapnHook
Date Posted: 01 Sep 2008 at 10:22am
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Apparently the scallops were washed up beyond high tide mark after a recent storm.
STILL NOT OK TO BARTER THEM Tomsta ------------- If you're not on the edge you're taking up too much room. |
Posted By: Tomsta
Date Posted: 01 Sep 2008 at 10:25am
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Damn Fine Battered though mate....
------------- Don't Moan about it, Just Do it! |
Posted By: phill_nz
Date Posted: 01 Sep 2008 at 12:34pm
| wouldn't be many that make it to the high tide mark ... somebody must have missed them |