Gladiator Charter Boat

13/02/2022

The calm before the storm. Gladiator safely tied up in our new home Mana Marina. I’ve added a few pics of the relocation trip . We spent nights at the Mercs , Tauranga, Hicks Bay , Mahia , a month in Napier then down the east coast and around Cape Palliser and Cape Terawhiti to Mana . Pleased to have her closer to home .

08/11/2021

The sun is going down on our time running Gladiator out of the north peeps . Trying to run our vessel from a city we can’t get to , while hoping our customers will commit to a trip we don’t know if we will be able to deliver and with some of our favourite crew stuck overseas the current environment makes it impossible to operate with any sort of efficiency. We will move her south in the weeks ahead to Mana marina and will enjoy time in the Marlborough Sounds this summer. We have made some great friends in the north and are especially grateful to Tim Strange , Braden Weber , The Savoy team , Scott Thompson, Simrad guy Scott 😂, Greg at Fridgtech, Enertec Marine and the Gulf Harbour team for caring about our boat these past couple of years.
Our boat is in her element chasing trophies and making memories so we may return when the world returns to the whatever the new normal is . Keep safe and tight lines .

15/03/2021

15/03/2021

What a day . Tomorrow could be interesting........ who is keen ?

14/03/2021

Light winds out on the race course means a bit more lounging around waiting for the breeze to kick in. Our other boat GLADIATOR has had a last minute cancellation and is now available for Race 8 (Monday 15th). Give us call if you’re interested in securing this day.

22/01/2021

Want to enjoy the water but worried about feeling sea sick?? Enjoy Gladiator's non-roll comfort with our built in Gyro. Haven't heard about Gyro's before?? Then checkout this clip comparing the difference between two boats with and without a Gyro. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhhabFKxQvE. Call us to book a day on Gladiator 0800 223 223 or email [email protected]

12/01/2021

Gladiator looking sharp after some elbow grease these past few days! Getting ready for the summer charter season. Still a few days available so get in touch if you want a day out with friends, Family , staff or clients .

30/11/2020

With the on the water action about to heat up and a major increase in marine traffic to go with it the below video is worth a watch . We want everyone to keep safe while enjoying the action. Not long to go now , cant wait!!

https://youtu.be/Sq1N6sY_avE

Planning to watch all the AC36 action from on the water? Find out what rules apply before you go, and stay up to date with any changes by signing up to our O...

16/10/2020

The fishing is starting to heat up in the Hauraki Gulf and generally will only get better as we move into November and December. Our base at Gulf Harbour is proving popular with fishos enjoying more time fishing and less time steaming. Bookings are coming in earlier than usual this year so get your group together and book a day with the Gladiator crew in our fantastic back yard !
Look forward to seeing you soon.
Tight Lines peeps

03/09/2020

Great to get Gladiator out for a run today and run all her systems after another lockdown. Breezy today but suspect tomorrow will be nice 😎 . Keep safe peeps

31/05/2020

Who would have thought Saturday could be a stunner and Sunday could get as miserable as it now is !! After two months of being locked down with our families we finally picked a very small weather window to bring Gladiator home to Gulf Harbour. Dylan and his team at Tutukaka kept an eye on her while we couldn’t which was appreciated. Farewell T***s we will see you again. After a big cleanup Gladiator was looking majestic cruising just south of Sail Rock captured by our friends on “Whirlpool” .

22/03/2020

The team needed to move Gladiator back to Tutukaka today after wrapping up the Truckers and Loggers ............. be silly not to fish their way home ......... really pleased for Lisa Noble and skipper Bruce Clarkson after a big couple of weeks. Nice Stripie for the pair with Lisa on standup gear and Bruce on the load pedals !!! Awesome short handed teamwork. The fish fell for a B***e Trojan in fruit salad colours , unfortunately ending up tail wrapped and couldn’t be revived so was taken which will be appreciated by many in these challenging times . Gladiator will remain in the north for a few more weeks so looking forward to finding some isolation and maybe some gamefish soon . Tight lines and keep safe Peeps . Mike

19/03/2020

On the board for the 2020 Truckers and Loggers tournament in the Bay of islands !! Tag & Release stripie which put on quite a performance at the boat .
First Marlin for angler Jason , he and his team are absolutely over the moon . Great reward for our fantastic repeat customers who have travelled from the Deep South for this trip . Super stoked also for our experienced game fisherman and new Skippper Bruce and #1 crew extraordinaire Lisa Noble. Righto go get another one !

Lisa Noble

03/03/2020

Feels good to have Gladiator back in the north with the BIG gear out !! Unfortunately the B***e Marlin Skins tournament has been postponed due to the poor weather. We have a couple of groups of repeat customers headed out in the next two weeks and have space for a couple more later in March/ early April if anyone is keen !!

We will keep you posted. Tight Lines

30/01/2020

With the game fishing heating up and some customer trips booked for the weeks ahead we lifted Gladiator this week for below the waterline clean and a fresh coat of antifoul . Programmed maintenance was carried out and the annual conversion to “Game fishing Mode “ completed. Tutukaka and the Bay of Islands will be our bases through March and April this year and the team can’t wait to point her bow north and get into em!!
We have limited space still available so if you are keen to target the fish of your dreams get in touch with our team today . Tight lines

02/12/2019

Great to be back in our old stomping ground over the weekend, entertaining clients with an onboard dinner in the Viaduct 🍽🥂🍾
Working with our clients to bring their event to life is what makes this industry so enjoyable 💯

27/11/2019

The early start this morning was totally worth it, the snapper were flying at us left right and centre! There wasn’t even any time to take photos!! Good last minute call by the clients to head out first thing 👏🎣💯

The Fish Freak

22/11/2019

Fantastic day for Gladiator and our friends Savoy X to be transferring a group of local conservation heroes who were releasing kiwis on Motutapu Island today. Great job guys 🙌

05/11/2019

05/11/2019

Good morning Facebook fam 🤩 We have been having a busy time of it here recently, doing a lot of work on the boat getting her ready for the season up ahead and we've also built a new website 👍
The team at Savoy Charters in Auckland are managing all our bookings for us now also, so take a look at our new site and contact details and get in touch with them to book your next epic fishing adventure 🛥🎣

https://gladiatorcharters.co.nz/

See us for the best fishing charters in Auckland. 55 ft traditional kiwi sport fisher. Snapper, Kingfish, Marlin, Tuna, Swordfish. Epic fishing. Book today!

27/06/2019

A new day and a new home for Gladiator. After a busy game fishing season and one last Viaduct based corporate trip we moved Gladiator to her new home in Gulf Harbour Marina on the Whangaparaoa peninsular in early June . After a few thousand nautical miles and 400 engine hours some end of season maintenance was due. It was great to meet our boats original builder Alex in March and One of the cool things he told me in our first conversation was all about the beautiful piece of timber Gladiator was made from and how strong she is ! Great history and As a very accomplished fisher woman once told me she is Special. Alex together with engineer extraordinaire Nick and the team at Steve Mabbett ship Surveyors she had her scheduled compliance checks and some R&M . With some of our crew moving on to the next chapter in their lives and increased responsibility in my “proper” job 😂 back home we have decided to wind back the volume of trips we will offer next season . We are on the lookout for a skipper who wants to be a part of something a little special and help us run a few trips from GH in the spring and early summer but won’t be offering many game fishing trips as we have in recent years. Gladiator will likely enter a few comps next year with a crew of guys and girls who have expressed interest in having fun and helping me achieve a few of my goals while having a blast along the way !! With the boat all serviced up we are going to hunker down for winter and are already looking forward to some more adventures when the days are a little longer. Thanks for the support Mike

20/03/2019

Last week we really enjoyed the company of a fantastic couple from the U.S who booked Gladiator with the goal of landing billfish and were especially keen to catch the famed “Broadbill Swordfish” . Two and a bit days was the time we had to try to achieve their goal so the pressure was on !! The Swords played hardball despite multiple drops we had little to show for the hours invested but that’s fishing. After a long day and a short night 😎 the team headed back out early to fish an area that has proved successful for us this season and were rewarded with a very nice Blue Marlin estimated at 550-600 lb which was released in great condition. Peggy did a great job on the rod and it was cool to see the big smiles from her and Kirk. Following their trip we received a really cool email from them including some pictures of their highlights. Obviously the big Big Blue Marlin was up there but NZ’s stunning scenery, roast lamb from Gladiators galley and our fine team all appear to have made a positive impression. Nice job team

18/03/2019

Our team were at sea with international clients when the horrific events in Christchurch were unfolding. The overwhelming sadness we feel and the realization our country will never be the same is confronting. Great to see New Zealand responding the way kiwis usually do. We will post a couple of trip reports in the days ahead and let you all know where we have been of Late . ❤️ all NZers . Mike

07/03/2019

Last weekend we had the pleasure of hosting long time customer and friend, Ian Graham & his son Steven. Their goal was all about catching and releasing different species and finding some of the best table fish NZ has to offer.

Day 1, we started the day fishing for kingfish and trolling from A to B. The guys were delighted with a few kingis, all tagged and released, bar one, which was kept & turned into beautiful sashimi the following day. We anchored up in North West bay and had a productive session on bait fishing. Hunter managing to net Koheru from right under us! Ian & Steven both catching “plus size” Squid, these squid were taking hole mackerel!

Day 2
We spent the day hanging around the islands which provided us with some excellent fishing. Both Ian & Steven collecting some red snapper, kingfish and big blue cod. Steven was rewarded with his PB kingfish, an est 18kgs and also a perfect eating sized Puka.

We came across some trevally foaming on the surface, Lisa started to chum them closer to the boat and not long after, Ian hooked up to a really nice fish. There was cheers all round when Ian’s Trev came into sight! A whopping 68cm and tipping our scales to 8kgs in our kingy sling. By far the biggest Trev any of us had ever seen! Safe to say there was smiles all round!

Day 3
We set off to target some pelagic’s, as we all know the excitement of game fishing can go from 0-100 real fast. Off went the short rigger and Ian was tight with a Striped Marlin! We got the fish to the boat and noticed it had a circle hook in its top Jaw and remains of skippy around it, but no tag - so if you lost a fish recently we think we may have found it! We removed both our hook and the other, popped a tag in and watched him swim off strongly.

Well, within 10 mins of Hunter & Lisa putting the gear back in the water, bang we were on again! Not one, but 2! Was pretty special to have a father & son to land a double on Striped Marlin.

We made our way down the coast & the reel screamed off again, 2 nice albacore for Ian & Steven! Not long after we caught & released a Mako, this was the first Shark Steven had seen up close.

Day 4.
With not much time up our sleeve we zipped out to have a quick Puka drop. The Puka weren’t cooperating but a highlight was spotting a pod of pilot whales before we had to make our way home as Ian & Steven needed to be back in time for their drive home.

It was our pleasure hosting Ian & Steven and we look forward to having them on board again.

We have a couple of days off before heading out again. Tight lines, Gladiator.

05/03/2019

Well the 2019 Nationals results were finalized last week and the team on Gladiator have been confirmed as 2nd in the Blue & Black Marlin section, winner of the overseas team ( thanks Frank from Melbourne) and highest points for the Whangaroa sport Fishing club !
Congrats to all the winners, and especially to our Skipper Ken , Crew Lisa & Hunter for helping make this trip a success for my friends and I . Regards Mike

26/02/2019

What an experience the Nationals were last week ! Ken ,Lisa and Hunter guided us through the competition and as far as the fantastic fishing grounds surrounding the Three Kings Islands . The fishing was harder than we had hoped for but the teams resolve was strong and we grunted out a solid result. We will wait for the final results to be published but the indications are a number of top 3 positions and a strong performance for our club Whangaroa. Two solid Blue Marlin, a Striped Marlin , Short Billed Spearfish , An angry Mako and a number of Solid Kingies were our T&R competition fish along with a PB 20kg Hapuku for Mike were among the rewards for our team. Thanks to Skipper, crew and my fellow anglers for a cool week . The video was put together by Hunter Bryce with the bulk of the footage coming from his headcam hence the salt spray and rain drops helping to convey the conditions!!
Mike.

14/02/2019

Trip Report

We just got in late yesterday from our first Far North trip for the season. Repeat client Bevin set us up with a great team keen to experience the three Kings . Heading out blind always makes us a little anxious but we were far from disappointed with the fishing. We left Whangaroa and made our way to the kings on Sunday, right on dusk the excitement started! A 10kg yellowfin for Angler, Steven. Which made for a delicious sashimi platter the following day. Day 1 of the trip we decided to target some kingfish, anglers David (22kg fish) Brad (26kg fish) and Bo (36kg fish) were pleasantly rewarded with solid fish & all personal bests for the anglers. The fish were tagged and released to fight another day, our Junior angler Bo’s fish would have been a serious contender for the NZ record on 24kg line had he decided to keep it (the record is 32kgs for a Juniour angler). Day 2, the lures were set in the wake and we managed to stumble across a nice Blue Marlin for Angler Bo, a nice 35 minute fight and excellent angling technique made quick work of getting the fish to the boat & being able to tag and send him back home. This was Bo’s first marlin and first marlin for gladiator for the season! The following day the boys wanted to have a crack at diving, as we know diving at the three kings isn’t for the faint hearted. Experienced spearo JP, caught a fine 24kg kingfish. We then went onto live baiting for kingys, where we got many fish from 15-20kgs. JP also tagging a 24kg kingi. Later on we decided to put the lures back out, Ken & I spotted a drum floating around, we trolled over and next thing 3 lures went off, we had a blue on and 2 Mahis mahi, unfortunately we dropped the Blue, but managed to get the other 2 Mahi mahi! After a couple passes of we got nice mahi mahi for anglers, Bevin, David, Jp, Steven and Brad. Bevin’s Mahi mahi was a stand out at a solid 16kgs. Day 5 we thought we would try for some Puka, again we were presently surprised, Angler Brad getting a 16kg bass and Steven getting a little tasty Bass. We had a fantastic first trip, full with banter, good food & most of all good fishing. Hunter Bryce has joined us now And we set off for the Nationals this afternoon and it’s safe to say we are very excited. Tight lines, Gladiator.

10/02/2019

Fresh Yellowfin sashimi anyone?? Nice little YFT right on dusk! First YFT for angler Steve nice job .

10/02/2019

Three Kings here they come !! Having been converted to full on game fishing mode Gladiator departed Whangaroa harbour this afternoon on her first game fishing trip of 2019. Skipper Ken Pascoe has pointed her nose toward north cape and I’m sure he and experienced crew Lisa Noble are itching to get our repeat clients into the fantastic fishing and diving the Kings can offer . This trip is the beginning of a very busy 6 weeks for Team Gladiator so look out for the updates. Good luck guys .

29/01/2019

Hi Gladiator followers . A massive few days work across anniversary weekend by crew members Lisa and Hunter, engineer Nick and fast learner Mike saw Gladiator on the hard at Pier 21 for some annual maintenance and fresh antifoul/propspeed in anticipation of the game fishing season in the far north. After a lot of elbow grease she is looking slick and ready to head north this coming weekend. Whilst the team enjoy the corporate work we do from Auckland the far north has been calling Skipper Ken and our crew and they are counting the sleeps 😎. We will keep you up to date with our progress as Lisa will be sending reports back to base . We will be based in Whangaroa mainly with a few trips from the BOI so the action should be close to hand ! Tight lines . M