Moutohora Island, or Whale Island as most like to call it, is situated 9km north of Whakatane; when looking out from land from the Matata straights through to Ohope this very obvious whale-shaped island is the most prominent one on our coastline. Many boats have sheltered in Moutohora’s lee when things have got rough on the way back home to Whakatane.
There is no surprise that the fishing here can be outstanding – with snapper & tarakihi being the main target species around the island.
Words & Photos Chris Firkin
Whale Island has had more than its share of 30lb-plus snapper over the years, and every time a good one dusts you, you have to wonder just how big he might have been.
Kingfish are here all year round but particularly during mid to late summer if you’re looking for good numbers. If you’re targeting kingfish always look for current near structure (preferably deep structure); this will hold bait which of course attracts predators like kingfish. The south-western point on the left hand side of Boulder Bay is a popular area for them, while another good spot where plenty of bait tends to congregate is around the right-hand side of McEwans Bay, right around to the caves on the eastern corner of the island. Find the bait and the kingfish won’t be far away.
Live-baiting under a balloon with a small fresh kahawai, blue mackerel, koheru (if you can find them) or jack mackerel works a treat. Koheru are probably the best baits but, as I say, they can be hard to find.
If snapper is your target species they’re fairly plentiful anywhere around Whale but I personally like to sound the areas looking for good structure in 10 – 20 metres, preferably with current so that your burley gets put to good use attracting fish from far and wide. If you get into the unfortunate situation of having the wind against the tide, with your burley and baits heading to the bow instead of the stern at the back of your boat, tie the anchor to one of your stern cleats - this will let you fish into your burley properly. This is probably only for bigger boats though; tying your anchor off one of the stern cleats in a smaller boat with big swells running could have you swamping and sinking your vessel. So use your common sense and move to a safer spot - there are plenty of areas to fish here.
If a big snapper is what you decide to target use one of the dozen or so live baits you caught on the way out: butterfly the mackerel and send it out the back with as little weight as it needs to get the bait to the bottom. If you’ve been berleying up a storm it shouldn’t take long to hook into a good one, although landing it could be a different story.
Whale Island has had more than its share of 30lb-plus snapper over the years, and every time a good one dusts you, you have to wonder just how big he might have been. 15kg main line and 60 - 80lb Black Magic tough trace, fixed with 2 big j-style KS hooks, never fails to get ‘em, though.
Good areas to target big snaps around Whale Island are the big slip around the northern face - but basically have a thorough look around, sounding sign and fishing the edges of the drop-offs ... the countless number of good spots to fish soon becomes apparent.
If the tasty tarakihi is your objective then the deeper waters that surround Whale are well-stocked, with the closest spot to Whakatane being the bubbles on the southern edge of the island. The obvious volcanic disturbance shown on your sounder and the small bubbles that break the surface while you’re looking for sign will tell you when you’re are in the right area.
Fishing the northern side of the island for tarakihi is quite different to the southern side, we go deep to 100m and then sound back until we find good sign to fish, although to be honest 100m anywhere behind Whale is a very good place to start, and you get the added bonus every now and again of a pup puka or two.
Tarakihi and big snaps also provide good sport on the offshore reef off the northernmost point off Whale Island.
As far as NZ game-fishing history is concerned Whale Island has seen more than its share of big yellowfin tuna, with Whakatane well-known in the past as the “Yellowfin Tuna Capital of NZ” (how times have changed!). But now this area is becoming one of the country’s premier daytime swordfishing spots, its deepwater trenches being so accessible that small boats have as much of a chance as the bigger vessels.
And there have been people who’ve hooked big black marlin accidentally while live baiting for kingis on the northern side of Moutohora!
The Ten Mile Reef behind Whale sees big numbers of skippies late January through to April and this of course attracts plenty of stripies with some nice blues among them; every year you hear anglers talking about the marlin that came up with a snapper or kingi they were pulling in - or marlin just basking on the surface near the caves at the eastern end of the island.
Whale Island is a Department of Conservation wild life protection area with a host of endangered birds breeding and living there, while tuatara and 2 other lizard species also call Whale Island home, so landing on the island without a permit is a no-no.
All-in-all, Whale Island is a cool place to fish and well worth the effort to put in some hours here. No matter what you prefer to target – there’s something here for everyone.
I look forward to seeing you out there.
Kingfish are here all year round but particularly during mid to late summer if you’re looking for good numbers. If you’re targeting kingfish always look for current near structure (preferably deep structure); this will hold bait which of course attracts predators like kingfish. The south-western point on the left hand side of Boulder Bay is a popular area for them, while another good spot where plenty of bait tends to congregate is around the right-hand side of McEwans Bay, right around to the caves on the eastern corner of the island. Find the bait and the kingfish won’t be far away.
Live-baiting under a balloon with a small fresh kahawai, blue mackerel, koheru (if you can find them) or jack mackerel works a treat. Koheru are probably the best baits but, as I say, they can be hard to find.
If snapper is your target species they’re fairly plentiful anywhere around Whale but I personally like to sound the areas looking for good structure in 10 – 20 metres, preferably with current so that your burley gets put to good use attracting fish from far and wide. If you get into the unfortunate situation of having the wind against the tide, with your burley and baits heading to the bow instead of the stern at the back of your boat, tie the anchor to one of your stern cleats - this will let you fish into your burley properly. This is probably only for bigger boats though; tying your anchor off one of the stern cleats in a smaller boat with big swells running could have you swamping and sinking your vessel. So use your common sense and move to a safer spot - there are plenty of areas to fish here.
If a big snapper is what you decide to target use one of the dozen or so live baits you caught on the way out: butterfly the mackerel and send it out the back with as little weight as it needs to get the bait to the bottom. If you’ve been berleying up a storm it shouldn’t take long to hook into a good one, although landing it could be a different story.
Whale Island has had more than its share of 30lb-plus snapper over the years, and every time a good one dusts you, you have to wonder just how big he might have been. 15kg main line and 60 - 80lb Black Magic tough trace, fixed with 2 big j-style KS hooks, never fails to get ‘em, though.
Good areas to target big snaps around Whale Island are the big slip around the northern face - but basically have a thorough look around, sounding sign and fishing the edges of the drop-offs ... the countless number of good spots to fish soon becomes apparent.
If the tasty tarakihi is your objective then the deeper waters that surround Whale are well-stocked, with the closest spot to Whakatane being the bubbles on the southern edge of the island. The obvious volcanic disturbance shown on your sounder and the small bubbles that break the surface while you’re looking for sign will tell you when you’re are in the right area.
Fishing the northern side of the island for tarakihi is quite different to the southern side, we go deep to 100m and then sound back until we find good sign to fish, although to be honest 100m anywhere behind Whale is a very good place to start, and you get the added bonus every now and again of a pup puka or two.
Tarakihi and big snaps also provide good sport on the offshore reef off the northernmost point off Whale Island.
As far as NZ game-fishing history is concerned Whale Island has seen more than its share of big yellowfin tuna, with Whakatane well-known in the past as the “Yellowfin Tuna Capital of NZ” (how times have changed!). But now this area is becoming one of the country’s premier daytime swordfishing spots, its deepwater trenches being so accessible that small boats have as much of a chance as the bigger vessels.
And there have been people who’ve hooked big black marlin accidentally while live baiting for kingis on the northern side of Moutohora!
The Ten Mile Reef behind Whale sees big numbers of skippies late January through to April and this of course attracts plenty of stripies with some nice blues among them; every year you hear anglers talking about the marlin that came up with a snapper or kingi they were pulling in - or marlin just basking on the surface near the caves at the eastern end of the island.
Whale Island is a Department of Conservation wild life protection area with a host of endangered birds breeding and living there, while tuatara and 2 other lizard species also call Whale Island home, so landing on the island without a permit is a no-no.
All-in-all, Whale Island is a cool place to fish and well worth the effort to put in some hours here. No matter what you prefer to target – there’s something here for everyone.
I look forward to seeing you out there.