The murky water found throughout 
west coast harbours is a key factor 
to why the fishing is so good here, 
as fish don’t feel threatened when 
swimming about in the shallows due 
to the poor water visibility which 
offers protection from predators.
It is also surprising how much food 
is found up in the upper harbour, 
with mussels and pipis, crabs, 
mantis shrimp and a lot of bait fish 
like grey mullet, sprats and piper.
KAHAWAI BAITS
Kahawai are also found in good 
numbers in harbours and especially 
over winter in the Kaipara, I love 
using fresh bloody kahawai baits 
which snapper love.  Look for 
diving terns on the ride out from 
the boat ramp and kahawai will 
Fresh kahawai strips are top 
snapper baits, but don’t bleed 
the fish when using as bait.
Kahawai are either 
turned into fresh baits 
which snapper love 
or bled to take home 
for the smoker.
Taking the kids out fishing on the 
calm waters in a harbour is a great 
way to introduce them to fishing.
Feature
54  FISHING IN GODZONE MAGAZINE

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