Catching 
Gurnard
Carrot Of The Sea
Gurnard, or ‘carrots’, may not be prized for their fight, but they rank 
high on many Kiwi fishos’ lists of the best-eating fish.
G
urnard aren’t renowned 
for their line screaming 
runs!  They are, 
however, an excellent 
fish to pan-fry which 
I rank right up there 
alongside blue cod or 
John dory as one of 
Godzone’s best table fish.
I am often amazed at many anglers’ 
surprise on landing a carrot only to 
exclaim, "Oh it’s a gurnard, I was 
hoping for a snapper."  I couldn’t 
disagree more, they are far better 
to eat than snapper, but they 
can be tricky to fillet with their 
sharp spikes under the gill plate, 
and this makes people wary.
Gurnard are typically found in close 
to shore in harbours and coastal 
waters, but also out in deeper water 
over 150m. This is quite a depth 
range over most other inshore fish 
species, and they can live surprisingly 
for 15-16 years and grow up to 
50-55cm in length.  Being a bottom 
dweller, they typically prefer sandy 
bottoms where they prey on crabs, 
baby flounder, and shellfish.
BY MATHEW HEWETSON
Brent with a fat Kaipara 
gurnard taken on a Black Magic 
Snapper Snack, a good ledger 
rig to target gurnard with.
 /FISHINGINGODZONE  51

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