Successful fishers are observant. They look for features. Streams entering the harbour are important. Steep dropoffs into deep water help, too. Headlands and structures assist predators. These features help them round up baitfish. A classic example is Tipitai Point. It is also known as Cake Island.
Tipitai Point is a well-known spot. Many target kingfish here. Get to Tipitai Point early. Berley attracts the baitfish. An early morning start is best. Fish on an incoming tide. This may be what you need for Tipitai Point to fire.
Many fishos quickly discount the muddy Manukau Harbour. They do not see it as a land-based option. But there is quality fishing here. You must pick the right spot at the right time. The Manukau Harbour is New Zealand’s second biggest harbour. It sits on Auckland’s mighty West Coast.
The harbour is very tidal. This can frustrate many anglers. Yet this may be what makes the harbour great. With a big shoreline and shallow mud flats, tides move fast. Unprepared fishers have met their doom. They get caught by an advancing tide, especially at night. This happens while netting or spearfishing.
Land-based fisherman tend to stay in one spot. This is especially true if they walked two hours to get there. But that is unlikely for the Manukau. We learn to explore different options. We experience different tides and wind conditions. We might write these off when planning the trip.
Smart fishing means thinking about your target species. Consider the likely times and tides to target them. Many land-based anglers turn up and hope for the best. The very good fishermen don’t fish like that. There are more fishing options available to the land-based angler on the Manukau than many realise.
Kahawai can be caught year-round. They come in big and small sizes. Trevally are common from August through November. Snapper are almost year-round if you’re good. But typically they are around from November through June. Kingfish appear in the summer months. Gurnard are most frequent from April through December. They too can be caught year-round.
Flounder and mullet can be abundant. Some people catch flounder on a rod and reel. But it is not easy. Spearing is a great summertime activity for dad and the kids. Good luck catching grey mullet, though. Legend says they can be caught. But the only time anyone managed that was by casting a treble hook and jagging one. The harbour is rich with baitfish. Yellow-eye mullet, piper, and jack mackerel are easy to catch with the right approach.
Sometimes something special shows up. Orca cruise and play close to the shore. A brilliant blue coloured fish was once caught at Whatipu. It was a blue fish. People have even heard of John Dory being taken from the shore. Octopus snake eels and even a turtle add to the mix. But no one seems to catch squid in the harbour.
Shellfish beds are important to the land-based fisher. Pipi and scallop beds are a great place to target trevally, for instance.
While some struggle to catch a fish using bait, Manukau master Michael Gordon fishes stickbaits, hardbaits, poppers and even slowjigs at times. Michael uses small slowjigs. He casts them out and retrieves them slowly. They skip across the bottom. This catches gurnard. The most impressive catch was a John Dory. He caught it while using a floating topwater lure. That is a seriously good result from the harbour. John Dory are not a common catch.
It’s all about fishing smarter. Going out armed with the right information is a great start. The Manukau has plenty of land-based spots. Kahawai are very common in the harbour at times. They are very accessible from the shore. They love straylined pilchards.
The harbour has vast areas of mudflats. At high tide, you will struggle to get your baits out into deep water. This happens in many places. Fishing a couple of hours either side of low tide means you can easily get your baits out into the transition zone. This zone goes from banks to channels. That’s the gurnard zone. Your baits should be there. Use flasher rigs on a 4/0 recurve hook. Use a break out sinker on the end. That is a hard to beat combo.
Keep your baits small. For gurnard, use mullet or grungy old freezer-burnt kahawai. Most gurnard fishers prefer skipjack tuna. If there’s a gurnard on your line when you reel in, you aren’t paying enough attention. The fish may well have been sitting there for 20 minutes. That means you’re missing out on other prospective catches. Gurnard have a soft bite. It’s typically indicated by a slow nodding of the rod tip. After three or four of those, wind in and you’re in business.
Some good surfcasting spots for gurnard and kahawai are Grahams Beach, Orua Bay and Wattle Bay. So next time you’re thinking of casting a line, remember Tipitai Point. It might just be the spot where you land your next big catch.