Bad weather hits start of whitebaiting season

A haul of whitebait. Photo / Alan Gibson

The rain fell and the wind blew, but nothing was going to stop Neil James from dunking his net into the cool waters of the Wairoa River on Saturday - for the opening of the whitebait season.

Wrapped in his winter woollies, the 53-year-old Te Puna orchardist, said it had been a disappointing start to a much-anticipated event, and blamed the weather for his small catch, which he wouldn't disclose, joking it would be "kind of embarrassing to even print".

Heavy rain on Friday night meant his usual hunting ground - the Wairoa River - was a muddy mass.

"It was dirty and they [whitebait] really don't like that. There were logs and rubbish coming down ... discolouration of the water is a no-no with them."

In anticipation of a slow start, he hit the banks of the river at 8.30am, when in previous years, he's been up as early as 4am.

There were fewer whitebaiters out enjoying opening morning - maybe because of the weather - but die-hard fans weren't deterred.

"I look forward to the season every year, it's quite exciting leading up to the time it's going to happen. I was totally surprised at the small number of people there, but it was raining and blowing."

Mr James said whitebaiting was a hobby that required patience and was "a bit like a lot of fish stories", in that if you don't put in the time, you won't get the catch.

Traditionally, the fishing starts slowly and improves throughout the spring.

Mr James spent three hours whitebaiting on Saturday but said it wasn't uncommon for him to spend more than half a day.

A keen fisherman also, he owns two boats, and said he had been a whitebaiter for the past 30 years, spending 20 of those along the banks of the Wairoa.

He whitebaits mostly on his own, and has been known to try his luck at Matata also.

"I never miss it. My parents did it at Opunake in Taranaki, and even the old uncles did it down there. As I got older I started doing it myself."

Mr James said he would be out enjoying this year's season whenever he got time.

Department of Conservation staff will patrol whitebaiting sites to check that people are abiding by the rules.

The regulations include using only one whitebait net at a time, to stay within 10m of the net, and the net should not exceed more than one-third of the water channel width.

Fines of up to $5000 can be imposed on people who breach regulations.

Whitebaiters are being reminded to clean nets and other gear between waterways to prevent spreading didymo and other aquatic pests.

The whitebaiting season finishes on November 30. Fishing is permitted between 5am and 8pm or between 6am and 9pm during daylight savings.

- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES