Fishing Destination - Mercury Island Group Coromandel
Coromandel is regarded as one of New Zealand’s top holiday destinations with the region boasting stunning landscapes – including of course one of its biggest assets, the ocean. This is a prime coastal environment for water sports activities, including the most popular, fishing. Having coastlines to the north, east and west means plenty of areas to play on and within these coastal environments you find all sorts of places to explore, including offshore islands.
Coromandel is regarded as one of New Zealand’s top holiday destinations with the region boasting stunning landscapes – including of course one of its biggest assets, the ocean. This is a prime coastal environment for water sports activities, including the most popular, fishing. Having coastlines to the north, east and west means plenty of areas to play on and within these coastal environments you find all sorts of places to explore, including offshore islands.
With such a variety on offer your choices are really only limited by your vessel’s capabilities and the fishing equipment you have in your arsenal. For the spearfisher, free-diver and diver there are other fish to target, like butterfish and giant boarfish plus scallops, crayfish and, if you’re lucky, the odd legal paua.
Islands
Starting at the southern end of Coromandel Peninsula on the east coast we find islands out from Tairua including the Alderman group, famous for clear water and excellent fishing. Moving north there are two other areas containing a large number of islands that are located in quite close proximity to each other. There are groups on both sides of the peninsula: one to the west, spread out from the central point of Coromandel Town, and the other, the Mercury Group, to the east, and offering completely different waters.
The Mercury Group is situated east of Opito Bay and consists of seven islands positioned in Pacific waters. The largest is Great Mercury Island, which is privately owned. The other six islands are Middle, Double, Koropuki, Red Mercury, Stanley and Green; these are all volcanic and nature reserves so are home to many of New Zealand's endangered bird and reptile species. Because of this, landing on these six is prohibited, and Great Mercury is soon to be given the same status.
As an adventure playground all the islands offer sheltered bays including safe anchorage for overnight stays, so there is always somewhere to go and enjoy your time on the water, no matter what the wind is doing. They also offer great places to find fish, with all of them containing food, shelter and terrain for marine life. The options in the area are endless, with plenty of excellent fishing country in close to the islands as well as further out on any of the many pinnacles and reef systems.
And more islands
Just south of the Mercury Group are other fantastic areas like Ohinau Island and many reef systems that spread over large areas, out to Whale and Danger rocks. Further east towards Red Mercury is Cobra Rock, a popular place to fish for deep water fish species. With so many options available there is massive scope for gathering seafood; the area has an abundance of marine life, especially during certain times of the year, so it’s a paradise for fishing, diving and spearfishing. This article is by no means a comprehensive guide to fishing the Mercury Group of islands and its environs though; the area’s size plus the variety of species on offer there mean it would require a separate story to cover it fully.
If you’re visiting the area for the first time I strongly recommend visiting the local club or tackle store to get a handle on what’s happening; in this instance the Mercury Bay Game Fishing Club, based in Whitianga, is best. In these places you will find information on local fishing conditions from anglers who have had some time on the water and are usually only too happy to share their experience with you.
Getting access - Places to launch your vessel
Depending on the type of watercraft you use the closest facilities and launch areas to the Mercury Group are found between Kuaotuna and Opito Bay. If you’re in a smaller craft like a kayak, jet ski or inflatable though, there are a number of beaches in this area that are an option, with Opito Bay being ideal. Opito has excellent beach launching for most sizes of vessel – however the beach is open to swells, especially when from an easterly direction. Kuaotuna has the main boat ramp; it’s usable in most conditions and tides although it can become quite busy during peak times. Matarangi and Whangapoua offer ramps also but do require crossing the Whangapoua bar when exiting the estuary, and give you longer distances to travel. But if you are planning to use this option you’d be wise to check with locals on the best way to cross the bar. The boat ramp at Whitianga is another possibility if you are prepared to travel a bit further, with Mercury Bay not that far from Ohinau Island and the reef systems situated to the east.
Fish species
One of the keys to fishing a particular location is figuring out the habits of the local marine life. This kind of knowledge can take many years of experience to develop of course, as you study your intended prey and learn their habits, and what terrain they prefer. Some fish prefer to eat live food for example, while others scavenge; and crayfish are found in a wide range of depths at different times of the yearDuring the course of a year in the waters surrounding the Mercury Group of islands you can expect to find numerous species of fish in various numbers, with many of them resident there. The main varieties on offer include snapper, kahawai, kingfish, trevally, John Dory, golden snapper, pink mao mao, terakihi and grouper. Porae, blue moki and blue cod can add to the variety of catch at times, along with game fish like marlin and tuna – however they are not so commonly caught.
The islands’ adjacent waters hold plenty of bait fish, including piper, herring, koheru and jack mackerel. Obviously different parts of the season favour certain species like game fish, that prefer warmer water in the summer months, but with such a variety on offer your choices are really only limited by your vessel’s capabilities and the fishing equipment you have in your arsenal. For the spearfisher, free-diver and diver there are other fish to target, like butterfish and giant boarfish plus scallops, crayfish and, if you’re lucky, the odd legal paua. Most species can be found in their preferred habitat that includes the blue waters pushed in by easterly winds and swells.
The islands and surrounding areas
Great Mercury Island is probably the most diverse of them all within the Mercury Group, including those situated just south. The island offers many types of marine terrain that are favoured by most of the species listed above. On the east coast kelp-covered rocks with patches of individual reef fringed by sand are common, especially on the eastern side. This includes some sheltered bays that offer great areas to go diving or snorkelling, with clear waters often available. The fishing is great also and it’s a fantastic area to prospect close to shore using soft plastics/baits for snapper. On the west side of the island you have the Huruhi Harbour including Bumper Cove offering scallops and a safe anchorage for the night.
Fishing can be productive here: just outside the harbour, around some of the small rocky islands and over the sand ... and further out your chart will help you locate a pinnacle that rises up from forty metres. It’s not uncommon to find kingfish around this pinnacle, with most smaller in size but still a lot of fun on lighter gear. Both the north-eastern and south western headlands are great places to set up a berley trail and strayline floating baits down the current. On the northern end you find many rocky areas that offer excellent spearfishing and diving for crayfish. Just offshore on the north-western point are some productive reefs that are quite shallow, with deep water not far away. Out further, in deeper water of fifty metres is a reef system that has a variety of fish on offer; however this can be tricky when the commercial craypots are around.
Just east of this area is Never Fail Rock, a well-known pinnacle holding good schools of kahawai and other fish, like blue mao mao, during most times of the year. It also has kingfish; but they can prove hard to entice at times because of the amount of food available.
From here you find a massive area of patchy reef and rubble spread along the sea floor for some distance as you move in both eastern and northern directions. Although it’s not marked on the chart it can be worth drifting over this using softbaits on elevator rigs, baits on ledger rigs, inchiku lures, jigs and slow jigs with a chance to catch snapper and other deep water fish species. Use the sounder here to locate the irregular sea floor and mark areas on your chart plotter.
Head east
Heading further east towards Red Mercury Island you find Richards Rock, another pinnacle with reef around its base. This can be a good place to try for a hapuka as well as the odd large kingfish lurking around the vicinity. On the other side is Cobra Rock, around 1.5km south-west of Red Mercury Island and great for targeting deep water species like grouper and golden snapper. Most of Red Mercury Island itself offers excellent snapper fishing, with the larger reef systems found on both the north and south-eastern points of the island being good places to start, using most techniques. Prospecting close in to the island using floating baits and soft plastics is also rewarding, but the foul ground can be challenging.
Anchoring or drifting between the western end of Red Mercury and Double islands can be very productive for snapper plus the odd trevally or John Dory, while a lot of shallow reef areas are found between Double and Stanley Islands and offer plenty of fishing opportunities. Drifting around to the south of Middle Island will pay off with a snapper, and sitting in closer on the reefs along to Green Island can reward those putting a berley trail down and stray lining baits, as well as softbait anglers drifting along in the current. Care is required here though, as the reef can get very shallow in places; it’s ideal for those in kayaks.
Korapuki Island
From here we find Korapuki Island, and some shallower reef areas dotted around just to the south of it; these require some care when navigating but are worth it when you present your baits in the right way for big snapper. Out from Korapuki Island towards the west, between Great Mercury Island and Opito Bay, is a large area that has good current running and is ideal for drifting baits, softbaits, inchiku lures and slow jigs for snapper and gurnard that move around close to the bottom. You can often find schools of kahawai here, moving along the surface feeding on smaller baitfish. They can be hard to get though, and will require a careful approach to prevent them spooking and heading down deep. Catch them by casting smaller lures and softbaits, or even small flies that are of a white colour. Below them will be the odd kingfish, so it can be worth casting a stick bait or popper around as well. Down deeper, snapper can be lurking ... with larger specimens quite common at times.
These schools of kahawai are often found all the way down past Old Man and Black Rocks, areas that are also prime reefs for finding decent snapper, as well as out over the sand. Ohinau Island is the most southern of the Mercury Group of islands and offers good snapper fishing, especially at its north-eastern point. The southern end is great for targeting kingfish, with good numbers often holding around the area during the season. Heading north-east to Ohinauti Island it is well worth a drift when the current is right off the north-eastern point into deep water.
Moving east we find the last two significant places to explore, with Danger Rocks the closest. Here you have significant reef that is shallow and often home to schools of trevally and kahawai, with kingfish usually not far away. This is a great area for spearfishers also, with the reef productive for snapper and other species like John Dory. Lastly we have Whale Rock, a few kilometres north-east; it holds abundant life too, with large schools of trevally and kahawai staying in close proximity. Here, using live baits and jigs, you have a good chance of finding pelagic predators like kingfish. And all that surface activity attracts other predators also – with large snapper quite common on the reef and out over the sandy bottom. Even the odd marlin has been known to patrol this area at times; you never know what can turn up around this place.
With all this amazing coastal environment available it can be hard to choose a place to go; your best bet is to look at the chart and start with one area. On one day it may not be as good as another, but be prepared to move around and find some action. Whether you have fishing, diving or spearfishing in mind, one thing is certain: the Mercury Group of islands and its areas described above will offer any marine adventurer some stunning places to discover and explore.
Islands
Starting at the southern end of Coromandel Peninsula on the east coast we find islands out from Tairua including the Alderman group, famous for clear water and excellent fishing. Moving north there are two other areas containing a large number of islands that are located in quite close proximity to each other. There are groups on both sides of the peninsula: one to the west, spread out from the central point of Coromandel Town, and the other, the Mercury Group, to the east, and offering completely different waters.
The Mercury Group is situated east of Opito Bay and consists of seven islands positioned in Pacific waters. The largest is Great Mercury Island, which is privately owned. The other six islands are Middle, Double, Koropuki, Red Mercury, Stanley and Green; these are all volcanic and nature reserves so are home to many of New Zealand's endangered bird and reptile species. Because of this, landing on these six is prohibited, and Great Mercury is soon to be given the same status.
As an adventure playground all the islands offer sheltered bays including safe anchorage for overnight stays, so there is always somewhere to go and enjoy your time on the water, no matter what the wind is doing. They also offer great places to find fish, with all of them containing food, shelter and terrain for marine life. The options in the area are endless, with plenty of excellent fishing country in close to the islands as well as further out on any of the many pinnacles and reef systems.
And more islands
Just south of the Mercury Group are other fantastic areas like Ohinau Island and many reef systems that spread over large areas, out to Whale and Danger rocks. Further east towards Red Mercury is Cobra Rock, a popular place to fish for deep water fish species. With so many options available there is massive scope for gathering seafood; the area has an abundance of marine life, especially during certain times of the year, so it’s a paradise for fishing, diving and spearfishing. This article is by no means a comprehensive guide to fishing the Mercury Group of islands and its environs though; the area’s size plus the variety of species on offer there mean it would require a separate story to cover it fully.
If you’re visiting the area for the first time I strongly recommend visiting the local club or tackle store to get a handle on what’s happening; in this instance the Mercury Bay Game Fishing Club, based in Whitianga, is best. In these places you will find information on local fishing conditions from anglers who have had some time on the water and are usually only too happy to share their experience with you.
Getting access - Places to launch your vessel
Depending on the type of watercraft you use the closest facilities and launch areas to the Mercury Group are found between Kuaotuna and Opito Bay. If you’re in a smaller craft like a kayak, jet ski or inflatable though, there are a number of beaches in this area that are an option, with Opito Bay being ideal. Opito has excellent beach launching for most sizes of vessel – however the beach is open to swells, especially when from an easterly direction. Kuaotuna has the main boat ramp; it’s usable in most conditions and tides although it can become quite busy during peak times. Matarangi and Whangapoua offer ramps also but do require crossing the Whangapoua bar when exiting the estuary, and give you longer distances to travel. But if you are planning to use this option you’d be wise to check with locals on the best way to cross the bar. The boat ramp at Whitianga is another possibility if you are prepared to travel a bit further, with Mercury Bay not that far from Ohinau Island and the reef systems situated to the east.
Fish species
One of the keys to fishing a particular location is figuring out the habits of the local marine life. This kind of knowledge can take many years of experience to develop of course, as you study your intended prey and learn their habits, and what terrain they prefer. Some fish prefer to eat live food for example, while others scavenge; and crayfish are found in a wide range of depths at different times of the yearDuring the course of a year in the waters surrounding the Mercury Group of islands you can expect to find numerous species of fish in various numbers, with many of them resident there. The main varieties on offer include snapper, kahawai, kingfish, trevally, John Dory, golden snapper, pink mao mao, terakihi and grouper. Porae, blue moki and blue cod can add to the variety of catch at times, along with game fish like marlin and tuna – however they are not so commonly caught.
The islands’ adjacent waters hold plenty of bait fish, including piper, herring, koheru and jack mackerel. Obviously different parts of the season favour certain species like game fish, that prefer warmer water in the summer months, but with such a variety on offer your choices are really only limited by your vessel’s capabilities and the fishing equipment you have in your arsenal. For the spearfisher, free-diver and diver there are other fish to target, like butterfish and giant boarfish plus scallops, crayfish and, if you’re lucky, the odd legal paua. Most species can be found in their preferred habitat that includes the blue waters pushed in by easterly winds and swells.
The islands and surrounding areas
Great Mercury Island is probably the most diverse of them all within the Mercury Group, including those situated just south. The island offers many types of marine terrain that are favoured by most of the species listed above. On the east coast kelp-covered rocks with patches of individual reef fringed by sand are common, especially on the eastern side. This includes some sheltered bays that offer great areas to go diving or snorkelling, with clear waters often available. The fishing is great also and it’s a fantastic area to prospect close to shore using soft plastics/baits for snapper. On the west side of the island you have the Huruhi Harbour including Bumper Cove offering scallops and a safe anchorage for the night.
Fishing can be productive here: just outside the harbour, around some of the small rocky islands and over the sand ... and further out your chart will help you locate a pinnacle that rises up from forty metres. It’s not uncommon to find kingfish around this pinnacle, with most smaller in size but still a lot of fun on lighter gear. Both the north-eastern and south western headlands are great places to set up a berley trail and strayline floating baits down the current. On the northern end you find many rocky areas that offer excellent spearfishing and diving for crayfish. Just offshore on the north-western point are some productive reefs that are quite shallow, with deep water not far away. Out further, in deeper water of fifty metres is a reef system that has a variety of fish on offer; however this can be tricky when the commercial craypots are around.
Just east of this area is Never Fail Rock, a well-known pinnacle holding good schools of kahawai and other fish, like blue mao mao, during most times of the year. It also has kingfish; but they can prove hard to entice at times because of the amount of food available.
From here you find a massive area of patchy reef and rubble spread along the sea floor for some distance as you move in both eastern and northern directions. Although it’s not marked on the chart it can be worth drifting over this using softbaits on elevator rigs, baits on ledger rigs, inchiku lures, jigs and slow jigs with a chance to catch snapper and other deep water fish species. Use the sounder here to locate the irregular sea floor and mark areas on your chart plotter.
Head east
Heading further east towards Red Mercury Island you find Richards Rock, another pinnacle with reef around its base. This can be a good place to try for a hapuka as well as the odd large kingfish lurking around the vicinity. On the other side is Cobra Rock, around 1.5km south-west of Red Mercury Island and great for targeting deep water species like grouper and golden snapper. Most of Red Mercury Island itself offers excellent snapper fishing, with the larger reef systems found on both the north and south-eastern points of the island being good places to start, using most techniques. Prospecting close in to the island using floating baits and soft plastics is also rewarding, but the foul ground can be challenging.
Anchoring or drifting between the western end of Red Mercury and Double islands can be very productive for snapper plus the odd trevally or John Dory, while a lot of shallow reef areas are found between Double and Stanley Islands and offer plenty of fishing opportunities. Drifting around to the south of Middle Island will pay off with a snapper, and sitting in closer on the reefs along to Green Island can reward those putting a berley trail down and stray lining baits, as well as softbait anglers drifting along in the current. Care is required here though, as the reef can get very shallow in places; it’s ideal for those in kayaks.
Korapuki Island
From here we find Korapuki Island, and some shallower reef areas dotted around just to the south of it; these require some care when navigating but are worth it when you present your baits in the right way for big snapper. Out from Korapuki Island towards the west, between Great Mercury Island and Opito Bay, is a large area that has good current running and is ideal for drifting baits, softbaits, inchiku lures and slow jigs for snapper and gurnard that move around close to the bottom. You can often find schools of kahawai here, moving along the surface feeding on smaller baitfish. They can be hard to get though, and will require a careful approach to prevent them spooking and heading down deep. Catch them by casting smaller lures and softbaits, or even small flies that are of a white colour. Below them will be the odd kingfish, so it can be worth casting a stick bait or popper around as well. Down deeper, snapper can be lurking ... with larger specimens quite common at times.
These schools of kahawai are often found all the way down past Old Man and Black Rocks, areas that are also prime reefs for finding decent snapper, as well as out over the sand. Ohinau Island is the most southern of the Mercury Group of islands and offers good snapper fishing, especially at its north-eastern point. The southern end is great for targeting kingfish, with good numbers often holding around the area during the season. Heading north-east to Ohinauti Island it is well worth a drift when the current is right off the north-eastern point into deep water.
Moving east we find the last two significant places to explore, with Danger Rocks the closest. Here you have significant reef that is shallow and often home to schools of trevally and kahawai, with kingfish usually not far away. This is a great area for spearfishers also, with the reef productive for snapper and other species like John Dory. Lastly we have Whale Rock, a few kilometres north-east; it holds abundant life too, with large schools of trevally and kahawai staying in close proximity. Here, using live baits and jigs, you have a good chance of finding pelagic predators like kingfish. And all that surface activity attracts other predators also – with large snapper quite common on the reef and out over the sandy bottom. Even the odd marlin has been known to patrol this area at times; you never know what can turn up around this place.
With all this amazing coastal environment available it can be hard to choose a place to go; your best bet is to look at the chart and start with one area. On one day it may not be as good as another, but be prepared to move around and find some action. Whether you have fishing, diving or spearfishing in mind, one thing is certain: the Mercury Group of islands and its areas described above will offer any marine adventurer some stunning places to discover and explore.