Kayak Fishing for Trout in Auckland, New Zealand

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A few weeks ago we received a very excited email from a young Kiwi that wished to surprise her Australian boyfriend with a special birthday present.  They were just in the process of moving from Sydney to Auckland, so something special needed to be done to entice him to live in beautiful New Zealand.  Lucky for us, she thought of Kayak Fishing since she had heard of our unique and NZ-first Kayak Fishing Tours through a friend of hers.  She booked 2 weeks ahead and as we always do, we checked the weather conditions and reconfirmed the day before.

 

 

In this instance, the weather forecast was for very windy conditions and we discussed the options, since we decided that it was too windy for an enjoyable and fully safe day sea kayaking.  The alternatives were either our Kite Fishing Tour or Kayak Fishing for Trout on a sheltered, clean, beautiful and productive lake in Auckland.  After discussing the options with her boyfriend, they decided on our Trout Fishing Kayak Tour the next day.

 

This was the middle of Winter, the best time of the year for Trout Fishing in many locations around New Zealand and especially the North Island and Auckland.  It’s also the coldest time of year with a temperature of around 14 degrees in Auckland.  Our Summer temperatures are usually between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius, which makes for a fantastic and mild climate in Auckland!

 

 

After fitting them out with some paddle gear such as paddle jackets, paddle pants, reef shoes and gloves (first time we used gloves since normally not necessary at all in Auckland), we set off just as a shower passed over us.  But not to worry, that was the end of the rain and the rest of the day was changeable with sunny spells in between.  We kayaked along the edge of the lake and along its Pohutukawa (New Zealand Christmas Tree) fringed edges, enjoying the scenery.  It didn’t take long for the first Trout to take our lure and despite its struggle, it was destined for the frying pan.  Did you know that it’s illegal in New Zealand to buy or sell Trout?  You can't even buy Trout in a restaurant!  The only way to enjoy Trout for dinner is by fishing for it yourself – even more of an incentive for those who like to experience something really special that is away from the crowds.

 

Lunchtime crept up on us quickly and we really enjoyed our extensive lunch and especially the cups of tea, coffee and hot chocolate.  The hot soup, sandwiches and chocolate went down really well too!  Then we relaxed a bit before being full of energy again for the second half of the day.  It didn’t take long for the action to heat up and soon after they caught the second Trout from the kayak, which was slightly bigger than the first one.  Fishing from kayaks – or yak fishing, as it is sometimes known – is very exciting for many reasons, one of them being that you are so close to the action and don’t have a motor etc. to take away from the unique experience that comes along with being so close to nature.

 

By the way, only a few weeks prior to this tour, Ceillhe Sperath from our company won the annual Trout Fishing competition held on this lake – fishing from our kayaks of course!

 

Another Trout followed, as well as one lost right beside the kayak, before we decided to head back to shore and to call it a (very successful) day.  Some fishermen often catch nothing, while we had 3 landed Trout that our guests would be able to take home for dinner.

 

In the words of our clients Olivia and Carl:

“Hi Neil & Ceillhe, just wanted to thank you both for such a great day on Sunday. Your professionalism combined with a relaxed laid back approach to everything made the day very enjoyable. We learnt a lot about kayak fishing & had a great time - the waterproof jacket & pants certainly helped make things more comfortable & the lunch was excellent, especially the hot cup of tea. I would not hesitate to recommend you to other people & may even come back again myself!”.

 

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