But Government plans to banish commercial operators from catching fish that are popular with recreational fishers.

Details of a controversial new marine park for recreational fishing that will banish commercial operators from the inner Hauraki Gulf will be released today.

Fishing has taken off and the summer season looks like being a bumper one.

Fancy foraging for fish like your forefathers? Look no further than the fruitful Kiwi foreshore this summer.

Fishing is hot in the Far North, with surfcasting on 90 Mile Beach going well and kontiki-launched long-lines pulling in snapper from Tokerau Beach.

Having hung up their boots for summer - or for good - rugby's world champions went fishing.

Looks like Matt had one hell of a time with the AB's. Courtesy: ITM Fishing Show

Hapuku are slow growing fish and resident populations can be easily decimated by fishing pressure, which is why they are regarded as a deepwater species.

Anglers dusting off their rod and reel for the new trout season have been assured that access to their favourite fishing spots won't be blocked by new health and safety laws.

It would be nice to think the Webb Ellis trophy will be on the aircraft when the All Blacks leave London to return home early in November.

If you had to pick one month of the year that is bad for fishing, August would have to take the prize.

A simple glove could make a difference, Finn Ross reckons. A decent fishing rod would be a game changer.

The whitebait season opened today, and whitebaiters will be out on the river banks at Port Waikato, the Bay of Plenty and Taranaki looking for their first catch.

Late afternoon and evening are the best times to catch a fish in early August, writes Geoff Thomas.

Dave Haskell's chance viewing of a fishing show may have been the difference between life and death.

Some keen types ventured out on to the water last weekend, and Saturday was a stunner. Fishing was hard around Auckland, although one nice 6.5kg snapper did come from the Ahaaha Rocks.

They start off by piping in the oyster, an old Scottish tradition associated more with haggis than oysters. But not in Bluff. Oysters rule in Bluff.

They were a few kilometres off the coast of Coromandel trying to catch some snapper - they then hit a 63kg pig.

There are some good snapper to be caught at the moment - when the weather allows fishing.

John Waenga can see the funny side of a fishy tale which cost him more than $700 after he lost a rental car key in Bay of Plenty surf.

Big Al has been trying to catch a big GT for about 10 years. He has made thousands of casts with a surface popper on heavy tackle in waters from Vanuatu to the Cook Islands to Tonga.

Just as hunters swap their rifle for a shotgun when the attention switches from stags to ducks, so the fishermen who never stop pursuing their love change with the seasons.

Sometimes you don't have to go far from Queen St to find the sort of fish and seafood that normally involves extensive travel around the country.

After a four-hour battle with a monster tuna, an exhausted Donna Pascoe didn't need to be told she'd just hauled in a record-breaker.

A fishing boat captain has died after being impaled by a 1.82m-long swordfish in a Hawaiian harbour.

When you reach Welcome Rock 800m above the homestead at Blackmore Station you can see why visitors are amazed by the breathtaking 360 degree scenery.

A reader writes: Is it safe to eat the oysters growing in clumps in the Manukau Harbour?

Although they are frequent visitors to the Manukau and Kaipara Harbours, white sharks are rarely seen in the gulf.