A man who died while fishing in the Far North is thought to have died of a heart attack.
The 61-year-old man was pulled from the water at Whatuwhiwhi, on the Karikari Peninsula about 40km northeast of Kaitaia, about 3.10pm on Sunday.
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A police spokesman said the man had been fishing off the northern end of Tokerau Beach, opposite Whatuwhiwhi Top 10 Holiday Park, when a fish pulled his rod and holder into the water.
He was thought to have suffered a heart attack as he went in to the water to retrieve his rod.
Local residents - including a man fishing off nearby rocks and another fisherman who returning to the beach by boat and saw the incident unfolding - rushed to the man's aid and tried in vain to resuscitate him.