TAILING LOOP - KAHAWAI MADNESS

TAILING LOOP

Kahawai Madness

By MARTIN DVOŘÁK

The Kahawai (Arripis trutta) is one of the most common saltwater species in New Zealand. They can be found all around the coasts of both islands and are often sighted close to shore, frequently schooling in large groups. Kahawai make lengthy migrations along the coasts, usually associated with spawning and changes in food supply. They are often very underrated by local sport fishermen but trust me, these fish are great fun to catch. If you’re a trout fisherman, you don’t need any special gear for targeting them. Just grab your streamer rod in the range of #7- 9WT and pair it with a weight forward floating or intermediate line and you’re basically ready to go. Ensure at least 100m of backing and a minimum of 15lb leader to complete your reel set up. For fly patterns I realized that baitfish patterns

with a bit of flash work best. Clouser minnows in white or white/ chartreuse are also good choices. My all-time favourite selection for Kahawai is the Surf Candy in natural colours, tied with Bob Popovics Fleye Foils. Great places to spend your hunting hours are around river estuaries on an incoming tide, but you can find these fish practically anywhere. I landed many Kahawai during my stay here on the North Island. A bad day on the water always beats a good day in the office, but there are always some days you’ll remember forever.

One day my friend Pepa called me and asked if I wanted to join him for some fishing on his boat. What a stupid question. Of course, the answer was YES! We met in Tauranga Harbour very early on

a Saturday morning. Pepa, his colleague Sam, and I assembled at daybreak at the start of May. Our main target was Snapper. They feed hard before the winter comes to put on weight for the cold months. First stop was Pepa’s favourite place. The fish finder showed a depth of 25m - pretty deep for fly fishing but I had to try. I was fishing a 350 grain extra fast sinking line and pulling a big Clouser minnow with heavy lead eyes. This was one of those cases where using a fly set up really isn’t the most ideal tactic for effectiveness but hey, I love it. I tried for about an hour, using all kinds of different flies but got skunked.

Meanwhile the guys were busy catching Snapper, Trevally and Kahawai bashing the bottom with bait. Deep water and a strong

current made fly fishing not an option, so I gave up and joined the guys with sinkers and hooks to get some fish for dinner. It was something new for me. I’ve never fished on the ocean with this technique, but we had fun. There is something about the combination of nice weather, cold beers, biting fish, and good company. What more you could ask for? Some action with the fly rod, of course! We changed spots but still found nothing suitable for fly fishing. While we were moving to another spot, I saw some action on the surface. Fish were actively crashing baitfish but when we moved in close for a cast the fish just instantly disappeared. It happened one more time and then we arrived at our final destination. – a small island which was a good spot for my kind of fishing. Pepa took his spear and went for a dive. Sam and I just opened another cold one and were relaxing. Pepa returned and he hadn’t seen a single fish. It was weird as this place is one of the best in the Harbour. We had lunch and decided to move somewhere else. Suddenly the water around our boat started boiling. A huge school of Kahawai had surfaced very close to us hunting the bait. I was on the deck of the boat in a second with my fly rod in hand and managed to land a hurried cast smack in the middle of the hunting fish. Some frantic fast stripping and a fish was on! I had never had a big Kahawai like this on my rod and the fight was good even on a #9WT. I fought the one on my line as hard as I could because fish were still crashing the surface around our boat and I wanted another one. For a while it was absolute madness. Another

five casts produced three more fish – what a luxury to have three good fights. Then bang, the fish all disappeared leaving just some scales and broken bait on the water. All the fish we caught were in great shape. They averaged 60 cm long and I estimated their weights between five and six pounds. Unbelievable how strong these fish are.

Big thank you Pepa for taking me out!!