Spring Fishing

Keen young angler Hayden Speed takes every opportunity to cast a line, and his efforts have been rewarded recently with some great fish for the table.

In among the handful of genuinely stunning spring days there will be far more that are best described as ‘grubby’! Why is it that so often the cracker days land mid-week when I’m stuck at school, and the weekend gets dealt the dirt? But we are never ones to miss a small opportunity though, so we often look a bit closer at the forecasts and angling opportunities nearby so that we can still sneak in a trip or two. Some of these ‘mini’ missions might lead you to try landbased fishing or plan a quick dart out in the boat. It could even include changing your mindset totally and taking on an entirely new challenge – like, for example, freshwater fishing.

As is often the case, I was recently eagerly watching the weather forecasts looking for a suitable weather window. Windy and SwellMap both agreed that there was a small window coming with favourable wind, swell and tides. This would allow us to cross the Kaituna River bar known as ‘The Cut’. Due to the early morning tide, we would only have time for two hours fishing before the tide dropped too far. 

When crossing bars, it’s vital that you plan the crossing and returning time and stick to them. The Kaituna Cut is a very shallow bar and you need the higher part of the tide cycle, as well as a favourable swell height, to cross it. Each bar is different, and every bar demands respect – learn them and set strict time limits on when you will cross, and when you will return. The height and direction of the tide and the levels of recent rainfall, wind, and swell should all impact your decision whether to cross or not. 

Our plan was to head out for a quick soft-bait over a shallow reef that would hopefully see us return with a feed of snapper for dinner. Shallow reefy structures with good amounts of current are typically very productive, especially when soft-baiting for snapper. During winter and early spring, we find there are often fewer fish around; however, those that are present are generally of a larger size. These fish can be fickle as they are not as active during winter, so changing up lure sizes, colours and cast/retrieve patterns can be necessary to entice a bite. 

It was only a matter of minutes before my little brother Tyler was into a nice pan sized snapper. However, despite the promising start, things went quiet after this. Luckily Dad landed a modest 60cm model just in the nick of time! With only one other fish in the bin, this snapper was on the dinner menu. 

Usually these larger models would be released, but with only two on board, this one was destined for the table.

It’s also during these months that the whitebait prepare to run through the river mouths throughout NZ. This brings the kahawai right up into the shallows to feed, making for some very productive fishing. 

Recently we headed down to the Maketu Estuary to give it a crack. Tyler and Dad were surfcasting using bait while I waded out onto a sandbar in the entrance to cast a lure (a wetsuit is highly recommended to counter the cold and to provide some safety buoyancy should it be required!).

I was using a soft-bait set up with a small, hard-bodied, baitfish spinner. This was very effective and saw me land numerous kahawai cast after cast. While these kahawai were on the smaller side, it was interesting to know there were so many beautiful livebaits around! They also provided great fun and a good excuse to wet a line. Tyler and Dad were also happy with being able to get some hot chips from the cafe right next to where I was fishing too!

Another great fishing opportunity if the weather isn’t favourable out at sea is to target a trout, whether this be from boat or land. We have only very recently experimented with this form of fishing and having been solely saltwater fishermen previously, it was a big learning curve! 

This day the sea conditions were less than ideal, so we towed the boat over to Rotorua where we caught up with Malcolm and Pete in Hamills Rotorua. They were awesome and sorted us out with a license, some tackle and pointed us in the right direction. It’s important to check that the area you plan to fish is open at the time of year you’re visiting as many lakes are closed to fishing at different times of the year. 

There are many methods that can be used when targeting trout, but because of the gear we had available, we opted to try trolling, otherwise known as ‘harling’. I used a 1/0 J hook connected to a swivel via an ultra-small split ring. We then tied 1.5-2m of 10lb fluorocarbon onto the swivel before sliding a lure (known as a Tasmanian Devil) over the rig. This proved to be very effective. I found that trolling around 2.5 knots in depths between 1.5-2.5m was the most productive. We were trolling with our ultralight baitcaster setups (2kg and 3kg) and it was awesome fun on these trout, which averaged about 3lb. We kept a couple of the larger ‘hens’ as female trout have a delicate orange flesh and are very tasty when pan fried or smoked!

Lake Rotoiti produced this fine specimen for Tyler while he was harling lures in the shallows.

So, what have I learned over these months? Try something new, take the small weather opportunities, do some research, talk to the staff at your local tackle store (or online) and get out there and have a go!

October 2021 - Hayden Speed
New Zealand Fishing News Magazine.
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