Te Ariki Nui Charters

Fishing Charters
Te Ariki Nui was built for deep-sea fishing charters and is ideally suited for Marlin fishing and other big game fishing (see ‘What we catch’).

Big Game Fishing
We cater for anglers wishing to fish for just a single day or anything up to a 10-day extended live-aboard voyage. Trips to the Three Kings Islands or the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island would require a minimum of five days. Each charter is taylor-made for you. Just tell us how long you would like your trip to be and your target species.

Bay of Islands
We will fish single days from the Bay of Islands, but would recommend at least two.

Saltwater fly-fishing
We cater for saltwater fly-fisherman targeting kahawai, trevally, kingfish, and mako sharks for the more adventurous.

The Boat

Te Ariki Nui is a 52′, Salthouse designed sport fisher.

After her launch in 1986 she became widely known for the development of the now world famous Three Kings Island fishery.

She is also well-known for her exploits in the South Pacific, namely two voyages to the tropical islands of Tonga and two trips to the Great Barrier Reef, Australia under her original owner Bill Hall.

Te Ariki Nui is very sea-worthy comfortable vessel and is well set up for extended live-aboard voyages.

Tackle
The boat is well-equipped with top quality Shimano and Penn tackle covering most line classes.

Vessel Specifications

Designed Salthouse
Built Robertson Bros.
LOA 54 feet
Beam 16 feet
Engines two 320 hp Caterpillar Diesel
Top speed 20 knots
Fuel capacity 4,500 litres
Range 1,800 nautical miles
Freshwater 900 litres
Accommodation 7 single bunks and one double berth
Amenities
Two bathrooms and showers
Large freezer and three fridges
Electronics
Two Furuno GPS plotters
Nobeltec computer navigation
Two Furuno fish finders
75-mile Furuno radar
two VHF radios
Autopilot
Single sideband radion
Digital sea temperature
LCD TV and DVD player
Stereo/CD player

The Crew

Skipper Jason Wootton is a well-regarded captain with 16 years experience fishing the Northland coast from the Poor Knights Islands in the south to the Three Kings Islands in the north. He has fished in several overseas locations and has the experience to make your trip a successful and enjoyable one.

The crew has a high standard of professionalism and is well trained in all aspects of safety.

What we catch

Striped Marlin

Looking at the record books you will see that New Zealand is home to the world’s largest striped marlin. The Northland coast of New Zealand and the Three Kings Islands in particular are famous for this magnificent species.

Broadbill Swordfish

New Zealand is arguably one of the best locations in the world, if not the best, to catch a large ‘swordy’.

Blue Marlin

Blue marlin are now caught in reasonable numbers during the summer months, although they are still much less common than striped marlin.

Black Marlin

Black marlin are not common in New Zealand waters, although they can be encountered at any time during the season.

Yellowfin Tuna

Yellowfin tuna are commonly caught around the Northland coast.

Yellowtail Kingfish

Large kingfish are also a common species aroung the Northland coast and the Three Kings Islands.

Shark

Mako, thresher, bronze whaler, and blue sharks can be targeted successfully.

Blue Fin Tuna

An incredible gamefish to catch off the West Coast of the South Island – often over 300kgs and in physically tough conditions make this one of the worlds most exciting fish to catch.

As well as the above we will fish for a myriad of other species: shortbill spearfish, mahimahi, big-eye tuna, skipjack tuna, grouper, and snapper to name but a few.