Best Boat Fishing Spots

by Geoff Thomas

Published by David Bateman Limited. First published 2005. ISBN 1 86953 429 8
112pp. Size: 185mm x 110mm. Colour photographs and/or maps on every page. Soft Cover.

As the book’s name suggests Best Boat Fishing Spots is exactly that a book listing in reasonable detail the best sea fishing spots for boat anglers around the coastline of New Zealand. Each listing includes exact Global Positioning System (GPS) co-ordinates so you will be able to put your boat right on the spot. This is helped along by Jeoff Thomas including the best fishing depth for many of the locations. This is particularly useful on a drift as you watch the sounder in anticipation of a strike on your bait or jig.

The author also discusses what is likely to be the best wind and swell conditions when fishing the spots. Some are best when the sea conditions are calm, or when the wind is blowing from a particular quarter, while with other deeper spots this is less so. Tides must also be considered particularly in the many harbours looked at in the text

Also covered are the target species for any given location, best baits to employ, hook size to use and other little tips peculiar to a particular area.

Coverage over the whole of New Zealand is irregular. For example there are 24 spots looked at around Northland, 20 for the Eastern Gulf/Firth of Thames/Coromandel, Auckland and the Hauraki Gulf 26, Manukau Harbour 6, Canterbury 6, Nelson and Marlborough 6, but only three for Otago, none at all for Fiordland, and none at all for the Kaikoura Coast, none at all for Southland (including Stewart Island).

The book’s size which is a “narrow A5″ fits easily in the bag and boat and as such would be well worth having if you live in the North Island, however, coverage of the best boat fishing spots around the South Island is minimal with only 13 of the book’s 112 pages devoted to the ” Main Land.”

Allan Burgess