The whitebait season opened last week and reports of early runs at Port Waikato and the Bay of Plenty will fuel the enthusiasm of whitebaiters.

Some rare settled weather last weekend allowed boats to venture out into the Hauraki Gulf in search of work-ups, with some good results.

There has been a heart-breaking discovery in the search for a missing Kiwi and his three friends after they disappeared while on a fishing trip off Hobart.

The annual RISE fly fishing film festival will tour the country over the next two months, and trout fishers will be treated to some spectacular fishing around the world.

A change in the weather helps the fishing and any improvement would be welcome.

Forty years ago, we used to tow a runabout from Rotorua to the coast near Whakatane and launch at the mouth of the Rangitaiki River.

"Want to catch some big snapper on light tackle?" asked the caller. Well, what do you say to that? "No, I'm too busy working ..."?

An Auckland family reeled in more than they bargained for when they discovered they had a snake eel on the end of their fishing line.

There is no doubt winter has arrived but warm water temperatures persist, and this was demonstrated at Great Barrier Island this week.

COMMENT: If we are to have faith in our government and the system that governs our fisheries we need to know more, writes Richard Baker. Nathan Guy needs to show strong leadership and demand a comprehensive, independent inquiry with broad terms of referen

Legal advisers for recreational fishing lobby group have been put on notice as the fallout continues over illegal fish dumping by commercial operations.

Heavy rain and a changing barometer put a smile on the faces of fly fishers in Rotorua and Taupo.

When chasing work-ups, the first item to pack should be binoculars with good optics.

At Lake Taupo, the delta of the Tongariro River has been fishing well for the past three weeks.

MPI's crackdown on illegal fishing activity in Hawke's Bay and Mahia has netted two more people.

Large kahawai and good-sized snapper and big trevally are producing a windfall for anglers fishing from the shore around Auckland.

The Indian Summer continues to bring warm sea conditions and snapper fishing has taken off.

The lesson took place on a remote section of our rocky coast about eight hours' drive from Auckland.

David Baty, the director of Prestige Events, still hasn't handed over ute prize to contest winners.

There could and should be millions more snapper in the Hauraki Gulf.

Dean Young caught a 136.6kg fish but had to take a polygraph test to prove the catch was legitimate. He was told he failed the test.

A stoush over whether an ex-cop really caught a marlin in a competition continues after the event's promoter wants witnesses to take a lie detector test.

The man who put a Hawke's Bay fisherman through a lie detector test over disputed catch stands by the results but admits the test isn't perfect.

All four men aboard the fishing boat are adamant they caught the fish and should be handed the $48,000 prize, but the event promoter is so far standing firm. David Baty from OddsOn Promotions said former police detective Dean Young, who says he hauled in the 136.6kg catch, failed the polygraph test "terribly".

Details have emerged about how an angler allegedly failed a lie detector test after reeling in a huge marlin.

Snapper are proving a challenge to most anglers at the moment, and while there are plenty of fish around, the larger specimens can be hard to hook.

What is so amazing is that the marlin took a bait on a flasher rig which was aimed at snapper.

While snapper fishing is proving patchy at best, game fish are keeping anglers occupied.

John Key has downplayed the likelihood of a strict reporting regime for recreational fishers.

Recreational fishers may be required to report their catch in some of New Zealand's most popular fishing spots.