Police have named the fisherman found dead this week on a Whangarei harbour beach.
He was Raymond Tiki, who was 67 and lived nearby.
Mr Tiki's body was found washed ashore on Tuesday morning, at Tamaterau, where he often fished.
He was clinging to a life jacket, and there was no sign of his boat.
Police found the dinghy this morning - sunk about 200 metres off-shore, still attached to a mooring.
A post-mortem confirmed Mr Tiki died by drowning.