Whitebaiting

Through my dad being such a passionate angler, I have been fortunate enough to land game fish from all over New Zealand. From the thrill of landing a huge blue fin tuna off the West Coast of the South Island, to a majestic striped marlin off Taranaki, to the yellowfin of Whakatane, to snapper out from home in Hawkes Bay, I've got some awesome memories. Yet I still get fired up chasing some of the smallest fish around - whitebait! Whitebaiting has all the ingredients of other forms of fishing and without the pressure its just plain fun!

In Hawkes Bay we have many rivers and streams that have the August - September runs of the delicious little fish. These tiny guys school to head up-stream where they spend their adult life before eventually spawning themselves. They make their way up following the grassy edges and often stick close to the river bank, following a course that's not too swift to swim against.

Your first opportunity to catch them is by scooping the incoming tide at the river-mouth. It's here they congregate waiting for surges to help push them up the mouth and into the main river. A good set of waders and a strong scoop net are essential. Last year was the first time we got to use the new grey netting on our scoop nets and it definitely seemed less spooky to the whitebait whether scooping or fishing with set nets. If you miss them at the river mouth you can try the much more relaxing method of setting a set net. First find a nice channel with depth that comes at least half way to the top of your set net. This is best if it's close to the bank and has a steady current. A warratah at each edge of the set net and a peg in the top end to keep it tight. Sometimes a screen or two helps lead the little critters into the set net, this is a much more relaxing way to sit back watch them pass over the hoops into the trap at the back of the net.

All you need now is a frying pan, eggs, salt and pepper, add 1 cup of whitebait and cook to a firm patty, yum!

My Tips:

Polarised sunglasses make whitebait much easier to see, and try a net fitted with the grey coloured netting I mentioned - the whitebait are less spooky about going into it.!!