New Zealand Marlin Fishing

Striped Marlin
The striped marlin is the most common of the larger game fish found in the waters around The Bay of Islands.
 Striped marlin are brilliantly coloured with vertical pale blue stripes across the body, dark metallic blue on the back fading to silvery white underneath. The high dorsal fin is marked with blue spots. Its slender bill, high dorsal lobe and straight rear edge of the pectoral fin distinguish the striped marlin from the other breeds.

Our New Zealand striped marlins are amongst  the largest in the world, with  the weight range of these fish being between 70 and 220 kg and a length of up to  four metres.
Most current and past world records for Striped Marlin were set in New Zealand, with the Bay of Islands boasting many of them.  The heaviest striped marlin ever recorded is 224.1 kg and is  the current New Zealand and world record.

The Striped marlin’s main food source is other fish, of all sizes and includes bottom as well as surface fishes.
Adults arrive in New Zealand waters, from the central South Pacific,  in December or early January  when the ocean temperatures are 19 to 20 degrees celsius. The Striped Marlin season normally finishes in May when the water temperature drops to 17 to 18 celsisus.

Striped Marlin Fishing
Beginning with  the introduction of a moratorium on the commercial catch and sale of marlin, numbers have dramatically increased. Since 2001 recreational captures have been the highest on record, which means that your chances of catching a marlin during your Bay of Islands fishing holiday are very good.
 Up to 75% of all Striped Marlin caught between the Bay of Islands and the top of New Zealand are "tagged and released"

Striped Marlin captured on a Blue Sea charter

Blue Marlin
These are by far the most numerous, and common  marlin species in the Pacific.
New Zealand is at the extreme limit of the blue marlin's range and blue marlin are mainly caught between the Bay of Islands and North Cape in the height of summer between February and March. In the last few years captures and tags of Blue Marlin have increased  dramatically with more boats working  further offshore in the blue marlin's favourite deep water habitat. 
These fish average around 200kg, The record for the largest Blue-Marlin caught with rod-and-reel  is 461.3kg, with an average weight, around, 200kg.

Catching a Marlin relies heavily on the skill of the boats skipper, not only in how he handles the boat after the strike but more importantly, the techniques he uses  when trolling, his choices of teasers and live bait etc. The Skippers on our Blue Sea Charter boats are all very experienced and passionate about their fishing

If you are planning a New Zealand fishing holiday in the Bay of Islands and need our advice on the best times to come, where to stay or any other local information please dont hesitate to contact us. If you want to talk fishing, we can do that all day.

If you are planning a New Zealand fishing holiday in the Bay of Islands and need our advice on the best times to come, where to stay or any other local information please don't hesitate to contact us. If you want to talk fishing, we can do that all day.