Kahawai caught at Tapotupotu Bay

Kahawai caught at Tapotupotu Bay at the tip of Northland - March 1999 The following morning at Tapotupotu Bay Pete went swimming and he could see lines of 40/50 cm fish outlined against the sun through the curling over surf. We never realised that they came in close and swam in the surf line like that. We had already decided it was so nice we should maybe stay another day and this indicated we ought to have a more serious attempt at fishing especially as we had run out of fresh food. The rest of the morning was spent making up tackle whilst the tide went out enough to get on to the rock platforms.

We tried the original side where there had been the big bite the previous day but nothing so we walked round to the other side and picked a couple of spots. First cast from Peter was slowly pulled in until he was just about to retrieve it before it tangled in the kelp below him when there was a flash of silver and there was a three and a half pound Kawahai on the line only a couple of meters away. It was rapidly hauled out and as it was being grabbed on the rocks it cut through the line but too late - we had supper. There seemed no point in continuing after that single cast so we walked back. We had no scales but got an estimate of the weight from the water displaced in a bucket and measured it at 53 cm - real beginners luck. It tasted great grilled on the Red Devil with Kumara with lemon completed by a bottle of Alan Scott Sauvignon Blanc - there was plenty left of the Kawahai for another meal.