This area report was written by Alan Ryder of Masterton and appeared in the Feb issue of the fishing news in 1993. It is a big area so if you have a fishing spot to add please send it in. Contact Us

This info will be extremely useful for kite fishers who are uncertain of how or where to fish in the Wairapa area. Alan had fished with the bottom longline, reef and sand-dropper rigs around the treacherous wind-blown Wairarapa coastline for five years prior to writing the article.

Castlepoint:

Here you will find two reefs commonly known as the high top and low reef. The latter is best used for kitefishing. North westerlies are ideal but are mostly around the 30 knot mark.

Winds can be checked in Masterton by looking towards the Tararua ranges: if there is a build up of' black cloud this often indicate gale force winds on the east coast.

In fact I have hardly had the chance to use my skyhook because of these conditions. I use the 30 hook bottom longline rig and set at 1000 metres just on the edge of foul ground where I have taken numbers of blue cod.

A set of 200 to 500 metres is good for gurnard. The reef only allows five paces when hauling in the line, so unless you have arms like Mike Tiresome you should only do short distance sets.

The species of fish I have caught at Castlepoint include gurnard, kahawai and blue cod in good numbers but there is a possibility of kingfish and groper.

This possie can be fished in up to three metre swells. Kahawai is the best bait. Best moons are new and full.

Mataikona:

The reef dropper rig is best here to overcome the risk of snags. Sea conditions of one metre or less are best. Fish commonly taken are red cod, kahawai. and gurnard; all are usually good size fish.

Whakataki:

I personally have not fished this area but have heard of kontiki fisherman taking the odd snapper here.

Otahome:

My favourite haunt; a beautiful golden beach with nobody for miles. This is what kitefishing is all about. The local farmer told me that when he was a boy he could hear the snapper close in, crunching on pipis in the night.

I never arrive at Otahome without the expectation of another big red or leave with less than eight gurnard.

7 large kahawai taken off Ocean Beach in Palliser Bay

A huge river pours into the sea here.

Many years back it was only a small stream Reclaiming land from swamps and fitting automatic flood gates on Lake Wairarapa are causing tons of silt to flow down and smother the sea floor.

Apparently it was a breeding ground for snapper when there were pipi beds.

Now, that great opportunist the paddle crab, is in plague proportion.

Consequently when setting the kite anywhere along Lake Ferry, make sure it's at walking pace and try not to stop the set.

There arc other places around Wairarapa - Tora, Flat Point, Glendu and Riversdale - that are all good kitefishing spots. This kitefishing is exhilarating madness.

One learns very quickly about burnt fingers and covering bait when preparing for the next set, as gulls can create time consuming tangles. My most unusual experience was when we sent up the skyhook in 10 knots to conquer an easterly rip.

On retrieving the wind had increased to 25 knots or more with rain squalls thrashing at my face.

The thrill of the awesome power of the kite skyhook combination was overwhelming.

After battling to retrieve my nylon I felt the mainline load up near a school of kahawai that I had been aware of when setting.

Anyway, to cut the story short, in no time I had 20 kahawai and the bottle all flying 100 metres in the air.

Great fun.

Mark Bannister with a great catch of kahawai and red cod taken from Awatoto Beach, Napier