Target Charters
Target Charters offers action packed trips around lucrative fisheries of the Bay of Islands, NZ. These waters are known around the world for Marlin. Striped, Black, and Blue―their season runs from late December until May, but peaks from February through April. Yet, that's not all. Snapper and Kingfish can be readily caught here.
Target Charters has a seasoned captain and professional crew to help you land your dream catch. They know the local waters, and will prepare for the trip, to select the best lures, lines, and tackle.
You will join the crew onboard their John Wade offshore sport fishing boat. She is powered by a 315 HP Cummins engine, and can cruise at the speeds of up to 22 knots. The boat can take up to eight anglers. She is rigged with marine electronics, has a cosy sheltered cabin with lounge seating. There is also a fully private onboard marine toilet. Anglers will find AC, a galley, live bait well, outriggers, and a fighting chair. You get it―this is a boat fit to fish for big game!
Once onboard, the crew will supply you with rods, reels, and tackle. They will also get the lures and live bait, depending on your target. The fishing license is included in the trip.
You will want to bring a camera, sunblock, sunglasses, a cap. Wear comfortable clothes and footwear, as you will need to be able to move easily the action starts. Pack food and drinks. Kids are welcome onboard. If prone to seasickness or if you haven't been on a boat before, it might be a good idea to consider taking medication beforehand.
When you're ready to go, come go after that fish!
Target Charters offers action packed trips around lucrative fisheries of the Bay of Islands, NZ. These waters are known around the world for Marlin. Striped, Black, and Blue―their season runs from late December until May, but peaks from February through April. Yet, that's not all. Snapper and Kingfish can be readily caught here.
Target Charters has a seasoned captain and professional crew to help you land your dream catch. They know the local waters, and will prepare for the trip, to select the best lures, lines, and tackle.
You will join the crew onboard their John Wade offshore sport fishing boat. She is powered by a 315 HP Cummins engine, and can cruise at the speeds of up to 22 knots. The boat can take up to eight anglers. She is rigged with marine electronics, has a cosy sheltered cabin with lounge seating. There is also a fully private onboard marine toilet. Anglers will find AC, a galley, live bait well, outriggers, and a fighting chair. You get it―this is a boat fit to fish for big game!
Once onboard, the crew will supply you with rods, reels, and tackle. They will also get the lures and live bait, depending on your target. The fishing license is included in the trip.
You will want to bring a camera, sunblock, sunglasses, a cap. Wear comfortable clothes and footwear, as you will need to be able to move easily the action starts. Pack food and drinks. Kids are welcome onboard. If prone to seasickness or if you haven't been on a boat before, it might be a good idea to consider taking medication beforehand.
When you're ready to go, come go after that fish!

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We had a family of 6 with a 16 and 10 year old and it was nonstop fun. The crew were knowledgeable and gracious. Would definitely come back to fish with them again!
this was my daughter's first fishing trip. she had a great time. She caught 3 snappers that were keepers and a trevally and caught half a dozen small snapper that went back in. Ross and Harley were great. thanks for a brilliant day.

Had the best experience with this charter! Ross and Harley were absolutely awesome, easy to find, taught me (who doesn't go fishing) how to catch and reel in a FAT snapper! Never thought i would like fishing, but after being on that, I would definitely go again. Best weather, best crew, great laughs, Best experience !👌
Had a great trip with my two sons and friend on board with Ross and Harley. In tricky conditions the guys worked extremely hard to make sure we all had a great time, caught fish and went home with a good feed. Highly recommend Target Charters who were extremely professional, knowledgeable and friendly.

Finally caught a Kingy! My son (11) and I had a really great time on the trip. Crew was great and even managed to catch my first ever Kingy! Highly recommend Target Charters great with kids too. They looked after us.

Ross reaccommodated us to another boat as there was a double booking and we hoped it was a good decision as we only come to Paihia once in a blue moon. We understood the situation and it was out of our control. Ross offered us the option to get rebooked in the afternoon of March 31st or the morning of April 1st. In that moment of decision making, we chose the former schedule as we thought we would not be extending in Paihia for one more night. I enjoyed the whole experience of being able to hold the rod, cast (a little), control the line to not result into a birds nest, wind, and catch fishes. On the other hand, my partner was a bit frustrated as he expected the return value of his money by catching more fish in the afternoon session. We both believe that the morning session would be better so book yours in the morning. We had a bit of a challenge in catching live baits in the afternoon so the boat crew opted to use their frozen (but still fresh) fishes. For the whole afternoon experience, we only caught 2 legal sized fishes (1x snapper and 1x kawhi) that we took home. We caught a total of 5-7 undersized fishes. To Ross, Ross' wife, Heather, Trent, and Kit, thank you for your responses and the experience. We would still like to join the charter boat in the future in Paihia and we will come back. The turquoise boat (May Marie) was neat and has a toilet in it. The boat has a second floor which was perfect for unwinding and not for fishing which is understandable. Chiller bins were provided and they marked the fishes you caught. The equipments were working as expected. Maybe fishing in the afternoon is not recommended if you wish to catch a lot of legal sized fish.
Captain Ross and Harley were great! Very helpful and attentive. Dedicated to finding finding fish for us to catch!! Highly recommended.
Great experience with Ross and his deck hand Luke. They were very knowledgeable and happy to assist newbies. Great day out for the whole family, highly recommended.

Wonderful experience, 5 times heavy bite by kingfish, never experienced so exciting fishing before.
An awesome day out with Capt.Ross. Good fishing good weather an all round great experience. When it comes to Kingfishing Ross will put you on the money. Great job well done. Many thanks Geoff.
We had a fantastic fishing trip.The weather was perfect and Captain Ross and his First Mate Harley couldn't do enough make us welcome. Ross put us straight on to the fish. My partner, Carol, had never fished before and Ross and Harley coached and helped her all the way and she was soon catching fish like a pro. We soon caught enough keepers, as we still had plenty of time Ross took us for a tour of some of the Ilands and a stop over at Otehei Bay which was beautiful. Ross also suggested going to Oceans 68 Fish and Chip shop who cooked some of our catch for us beautiful!! Nothing better than fresh caugt fish. Thank you Ross and Harley.

Thanks for the awesome review David it was our pleasure to get you both out on the water and great you got to catch sone nice snapper to enjoy later for dinner. enjoy the rest of your adventures in NZ. Cheers Ross

Thanks Kerry thanks for coming onboard with us 🎣🐡

We had a family of 6 with a 16 and 10 year old and it was nonstop fun. The crew were knowledgeable and gracious. Would definitely come back to fish with them again!

Thanks for the great review Emily it was a pleasure taking your family out on such a beautiful winters day with the fish on the bite Cheers Ross
We loved that we only had to travel for 20mins and we were on the fish. Thanks for allowing me to catch my first Kingfish and John Dory, especially on my Birthday. A relaxed and enjoyable fishing trip that was fun and friendly, thanks for a great day out. 😊

Thanks Leigh great to hear you enjoyed your day out fishing in the Bay of Islands and caught some nice fish. we welcome you back anytime 🐠
this was my daughter's first fishing trip. she had a great time. She caught 3 snappers that were keepers and a trevally and caught half a dozen small snapper that went back in. Ross and Harley were great. thanks for a brilliant day.

Thanks Steven happy to hear you and your family enjoyed your day onboard and especially your daughter catching so many fish. it wad a pleasure having you all onboard
Paihia, New Zealand
Having had a love of fishing for over 40 years, and owning my own aluminum boat, I came across an opportunity to buy a charter boat. So, with a life style change and relocating to the Bay of Islands in New Zealand, my wife and I bought Target Charters about 14 years ago and continue to operate in the Bay.

Ross T.
Captain

Frances T.
Business partner


You can cancel or modify your booking up to 3 days before the trip date, free of charge. If you cancel or modify your booking later, or fail to show up, you'll forfeit 100% of what you've paid.
Pickup not included
Transfer to/from departure site is not included in trip rates.
When the captain confirms your trip, FishingBooker charges your credit card a 15% deposit to guarantee your reservation.
The remaining balance is to be paid directly to the charter operator on or prior to your trip date in one of the following payment methods:
Cash
Bank transfer
