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Small Kahawai

Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: Saltwater Flyflingers
Forum Description: A forum for saltwater fly fishing enthusiasts
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=51668
Printed Date: 11 Jun 2026 at 10:17pm


Topic: Small Kahawai
Posted By: Mark R
Subject: Small Kahawai
Date Posted: 13 Mar 2010 at 9:08pm
Last week I fished at the Waitara River mouth (New Plymouth) as well as the TukiTuki River mouth (Hawkes Bay) both River mouths were producing good size Kahawai for the bait fisherman, but I was only hooking small fish, being fairly new to SWF, I was wondering if anyone had some advice on how to get into the larger fish. I tried different fly pattens and sizes, different retrieve rates, different weight tippet, fast sinking line, slow sinker and floating, but no big fish!
 
Regards
Mark


Replies:
Posted By: FishMan
Date Posted: 14 Mar 2010 at 4:52am
Mark,
Sounds like a case of the bigger kahawai holding further out. Finding out where-abouts the bigger kahawai are in the 'close' water you can reach fly casting should solve the problem. I have struck the same problem at a local rivermouth. I find though that the bigger fish come in close along the edges of the outgoing river current (but not in the river water itself) and can reach them there with the fly rod. Also in the channel of the main river towards the top half of the incoming tide as the tide pushes in.
 
Always lots of baby ones in the shallow surf..

Posted By: StPaul
Date Posted: 14 Mar 2010 at 7:48am
I have also found that changing up a couple of sizes in the fly department can help at times.  

Posted By: flyfishingsfinest
Date Posted: 14 Mar 2010 at 10:29am
Hi guys

I was wondering if the larger kawahi are starting to come in close around the river mouths north of auckland, like wenderholm and waiwera etc. I fished them a bit during the height of summer and got pleanty of small ones. Been anxiously waiting to hear if the big ones have come in close yet!!?!??!?!?

Posted By: FishMan
Date Posted: 14 Mar 2010 at 1:08pm
Dunno, look for bird acitivity close by. We've got big kahawai all over the place in the Bay of Islands at the moment but they're staying very much with their schools and not coming into the rocks much. Too many bronzies making them nervous..

Posted By: jamesdaulton
Date Posted: 15 Mar 2010 at 8:26am
bigger ones are just starting to get close at the moment.

Posted By: Mark R
Date Posted: 15 Mar 2010 at 8:39am
Hi Guys
Many thanks for the advice, I did find that I was hooking most of the small fish when I was using a sinking line with only lightly weighted flies.  Is this the best set up for river mouths???
After 20+ years of fresh water FF I decided to give SWF a go,  naively thinking there can't be that much to it!  So I really apppreciate the help.
 
Graig "Green Tide" is a great introduction to SWF, I've lost count of the times I've watched it.
 
Thanks again
Regards
Mark


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