Guys, pretty new to yakking (3 months), how Windy is too windy for fishing? are there any "rules of thumb" what about the swell? any advice appreciated I'm on the north shore of Auckland (torbay) so mainly fish there, Oh yes and where are all the fish ??????????

Hi DTL,

There are quite a few of us from "The Shore", there is regular fishing on a Tuesday night out of Waiake, from 5:30 onwards, you should find people either going out or already out on the Browns Bay reef and the general area.

As Charlie F said, it's different for each condition and each person, I personally have no issues (because i feel safe and stable) being out there when it's blowing 30 knots with a 1.5m swell BUT it makes fishing next to impossible. I don't encourage people go out in those conditions as to be honest it's a little pointless and not all that safe...

Unless you are a little crazy, you can very easily base it off how many other people (in boats and kayaks) you can see out there already... if no one else is mad enough to be out there then may be you shouldn't either...

The fish are here now too, had a mate this morning call me to say he had caught snapper for his breakfast off Waiake before 8:00am...

Cheers, Mental

Worth noting that even if you are confident in snotty water, there will be a lot less boats out there to lend a hand if you put out a distress call = longer response time until someone can get to you.

Your clothing etc on these rougher trips should reflect a higher level of safety accordingly.
Tethering yourself to the yak would be #1.  With a bit of wind behind it, there's no way you could swim fast enough to catch up if you part company.

As BF said - generally you have to be pretty desperate to go out in these conditions as it's definitely not a relaxation trip

All of the above and a really important thing to consider is the effects of land on the wind especially offshores. Here in canterbury we have fish around a volcanic cone, the coast consists of huge seacliffs punctuated by long, steep sided bays maybe 500m wide and 2- 5km long. the NE-NW winds that then get funneled down these bays can be doubled in stength and the directiopn can veer by up to 60 degrees. The result is you can be fishing up against the cliff without a breath of wind (blissfully unaware...) and come home time end up facing a grueling paddle into the teeth of a 40 knot offshore (when the forecast says 15-20 knots) There are other pretty unpleasent things that the wind does to- downdrafting, swirling, all sorts that make paddling a nightmare. Don't know anywhere else that cops this kind of effect, probably the Bay of islands and Coromandel in certain winds, but definitely something to consider.

If you are fishing anchored, it's directionally proportional to the amount of anchors you can carry to stop you from moving. I find that if it is a 2 anchor wind, the back well becomes a good live bait tank

Seriously though, if you are going out in wind stronger than you normally do then make sure it is NOT an off shore wind - yes the sea might be flat and it might be easy to paddle out, however it's not much fun when you have to paddle back in a wind that may be putting you at your paddling limits. If you do get caught in a wind that is too strong to paddle back in, try zig zagging rather than going head on to the wind. Another thing is to tether yourself to your yak - if you get tipped out, your kayak will be out of reach in no time.
If you are caught out in a strong on shore wind the thing to watch is the chasing sea - most yaks don't like being pushed by large chop. You can easily find yourself semi surfing, then almost stopping, creating an uncomfortable rocking effect. It can make an exciting trip home, but the concentration makes it very tiring. Once again, tether yourself to your yak.

Make sure you un-clip the tether before attempting a surf landing

"If you are caught out in a strong on shore wind the thing to watch is the chasing sea - most yaks don't like being pushed by large chop. You can easily find yourself semi surfing, then almost stopping, creating an uncomfortable rocking effect."
Good advice IMO - that's the one thing that got my attention pretty quickly when out in marginal conditions

Hi littlebigfishh - welcome to the forum

Bad practice I know but I quite often get out alone so I have set myself a personal limit of 10 kts. That way if it gets a bit worse which it often can I still feel comfortable.In reality if you are in open water at more than 15 fishing is going to be pretty difficult. OK if you are tucked up close to some cliffs or something but in open water white caps form at 15 kts wind against tide.

on waiheke i'll go out in anything...

have been out in 30knots and torrential rain before and all good i got 4 snapper so i was pleased...
of course because it's waiheke i have the advantage an island which i can find shelter anywhere.

still it is a pain fishing in this weather, and when ever i go out i make sure that i stick close to land, dress appropriately and only go out for short periods of time....

if i'm ever out fishing deeper water and the wind is due to pick up i always make sure that it is behind me when i am coming home... sometimes i will just paddle into the wind until i am buggered and do one huge long drift back into where i launched from and then maby repeat it one more time.

DTL   Since you are asking this question it is pretty certain that you have little or no experience in this game.    Therefore beware of all the brave talk of 30 (near 60km/h) or even 40 knots that some of this guys claim to be able to handle.    When the marine forecast talks of 30 knots this is the base line wind speed.   It will at times be gusting to 40+ knots .    At that wind speed you will have huge breaking waves up your arse or in your face.    In either case you are goner no matter what kayak model you paddle.    Make 15 knots your safe limit which gives you a bit of a safety margin as you can never totally rely on the forecast.