Before the recent rain hit, I made a point of getting down to the Wairau Bar for a fish to see if I could catch a kahawai on the out-going tide. The river had just started to clear, and I knew the rain would make a bit of a mess again.
I started using a softbait setup but changed to a small gold 'ticer' - everyone else seemed to be using the big silver versions, often on surf casters. There must have been twenty-something people near the mouth. I prefer fishing in more solitary surroundings, but had heard of kahawai being caught here so wanted to give it a go.
Other people were catching fish, so I knew they were there. I eventually landed the kahawai shown above, destined for a slow smoke in the bbq.
I hooked two more feisty fish, but the current was quite strong by then, and my nylon wasn't up to it - I kept breaking the line when merely trying to tie knots, so it obviously needed replacing.
More nylon has been ordered, and another trip planned in the coming week. I’ll try stripping off 30 metres of line or so and see if the nylon at that point is still useful if the new nylon hasn’t turned up in time for my next mission. (Update: stripping off line didn't work - it needed replacing, so I took heavier line off another reel to make do in the meantime, before my new 6 pound line turns up in the mail)