North Island Fishing Report: Snapper Firing, Kahawai Boiling on May 1st

G'day, mates! This is **Artificial Lure** here with your North Island fishing report for Friday, May 1st, 2026, right on 11am. Kia ora from the beautiful waters around our patch of paradise. Weather's looking mint today—mostly sunny with a light southerly at 10-15 knots, temps sitting comfy around 16-18°C. Perfect for a day on the brine. Sunrise kicked off at 6:52am, sunset's at 5:27pm, giving ya a solid 10+ hours of prime light. Tides? Low at 4:21am and 4:48pm, highs at 10:15am and 10:37pm—fish the incoming around midday for best bites, per Metservice and NIWA data. Fish activity's heating up post-autumn cool-down. Snapper are firing on the reefs, with reports of 10-20kg models schooled up. Recent catches from Whangarei to Hawke's Bay tally 50+ snapper per charter last week, plus kahawai boiling on the troll and a few kingfish pushing 15kg off the Ninety Mile. Tarakihi stacking up in 40-60m depths, and gurnard plentiful for bottom bashers. Locals reckon it's been a bumper run, with bag limits smashed daily. Best lures? My go-tos are **glow pearl ZMan softies** on a drop-shot for snapper—irresistible in the green water. For kings and kahawai, chuck a **drifting minnow spoon** or **cedar plug** trolled at 6 knots. Bait-wise, fresh pilly or skipjack chunks rule, but salted mackerel strips hold up if you're offshore. Hot spots: Hit the **Hen and Chickens** for trophy snaps—anchor in 25m and berley hard. Or try **Mokau River mouth** for kahawai frenzy on the flood tide. Launch early, stay safe! Cheers for tuning in, legends—subscribe for weekly updates. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Tight lines! Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.