Blue cod
Good
The spawning season runs through late winter and spring: fish reef and gravel patches with cut bait on a large hook.
Kaikōura Tide Times & Bite Times Today
Updated Thu, 8 Oct 2026 from LINZ tide predictions and the weather forecast
The Kaikōura Peninsula inside MPI’s separate Kaikōura Marine Area: no set nets anywhere, a closed reef at Wakatu Quay and a slipway at South Bay.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 9:21 am LINZ
Air / High
12 °C / 13 °C
Wind
W 16 km/h
Sources: LINZ tide predictions, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Kaikōura tide times for the next 7 days
High and low tides in New Zealand time, LINZ's daily prediction for Kaikōura, 1.3 km from Kaikōura. Next: low tide at 9:21 am.
| Day | High tide | Low tide |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 8 Oct (today) | 3:09 am (1.6 m) · 3:39 pm (1.7 m) | 9:21 am (0.2 m) · 9:53 pm (0.2 m) |
| Fri 9 Oct | 4:03 am (1.6 m) · 4:31 pm (1.7 m) | 10:17 am (0.2 m) · 10:44 pm (0.2 m) |
| Sat 10 Oct | 4:56 am (1.6 m) · 5:22 pm (1.6 m) | 11:10 am (0.2 m) · 11:33 pm (0.3 m) |
| Sun 11 Oct | 5:48 am (1.6 m) · 6:11 pm (1.6 m) | 12:02 pm (0.2 m) |
| Mon 12 Oct | 6:38 am (1.6 m) · 6:59 pm (1.6 m) | 12:22 am (0.3 m) · 12:52 pm (0.2 m) |
| Tue 13 Oct | 7:27 am (1.6 m) · 7:47 pm (1.5 m) | 1:09 am (0.3 m) · 1:41 pm (0.3 m) |
| Wed 14 Oct | 8:14 am (1.6 m) · 8:35 pm (1.5 m) | 1:56 am (0.3 m) · 2:29 pm (0.3 m) |
Heights are above chart datum. These are LINZ predictions, not the official tide tables for navigation, and wind and air pressure can move the real tide by tens of minutes.
Today's Fishing Report
Kaikōura has cool water today, and fish holding nearer the bottom. Today brings a mixed sky, wind W around 16 km/h, rising pressure near 1025 hPa and a high of 13 °C. Tides: high 3:09 am and 3:39 pm, low 9:21 am and 9:53 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 12 °C for the season (estimated). With the waning crescent, the solunar majors run 10:18 AM-12:18 PM and 10:33 PM-12:33 AM: the windows to build the day around.
Sea perch
Good
Drop to the bottom over reef and foul ground with cut bait, holding position over the rough patches.
Kahawai
Good
Schools are harder to find, so go to them: river mouths and harbour channels at the turn of the tide, with a strip of fresh bait under a float or a soft bait retrieved slowly.
Tarakihi
Good
Anchor or hold over the deeper reef edges with small baits close to the bottom, and move when a mark goes quiet.
Red cod
Slow
Late autumn is the tail of the run and late spring its start; between them the schools are offshore.
Tie on: Two-hook ledger, fresh bait · Slow jig worked close to the bottom · Flasher rig, slow drift · Strip of kahawai or mullet. Prime windows: 10:18 AM-12:18 PM, 10:33 PM-12:33 AM, 5:02 AM-6:02 AM. Warmer at 16 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Fishing times for Kaikōura today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:47), sunset (19:39), the moon and today's score, with the tide times above. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:18 AM-12:18 PM and 10:33 PM-12:33 AM; minor 5:02 AM-6:02 AM. Waning Crescent, 9% lit.
The moon phase here is astronomy, not a maramataka: what the maramataka is, and why this site does not rate days by it.
Water and weather
Today's tides from LINZ and the forecast for the day, which is a model.
Tide times (LINZ)
LINZ's daily prediction for Kaikōura, 1.3 km from Kaikōura. Heights above chart datum. Fish the moving water either side of each change.
Thu
HIGH3:09 am1.60 m
LOW9:21 am0.20 m
HIGH3:39 pm1.70 m
LOW9:53 pm0.20 m
Fri
HIGH4:03 am1.60 m
LOW10:17 am0.20 m
HIGH4:31 pm1.70 m
LOW10:44 pm0.20 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp12 °C
High / Low13 °C / 11 °C
WindW 16 km/h, gusts 39 km/h
Pressure1025.2 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain56% cloud, 16%
Sunrise / Sunset06:47 / 19:39
MoonWaning Crescent, 9%
Water temp (seasonal)~12 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Kaikōura
The best day on Kaikōura this week looks like Monday 12 Oct, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Monday, 12 Oct — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 8 Oct — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 10:18 AM-12:18 PM and 10:33 PM-12:33 AM
- Minor period
- 5:02 AM-6:02 AM
- Sun
- 06:47 to 19:39
- Moon
- Waning Crescent, 9% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 16 km/h
- Rain chance
- 16%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Kaikōura: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Blue cod
Year-round; spawning in late winter and spring
Rāwaru or pākirikiri in te reo Māori. A bottom fish found only in New Zealand, living near rough ground to 150 metres and more common south of Cook Strait. The Plenary rates it the most important recreational finfish in Marlborough, Canterbury, Otago and Southland. Blue cod can change sex from female to male, and males grow larger. The spawning season runs through late winter and spring: fish reef and gravel patches with cut bait on a large hook.
Sea perch
Year-round on reef and foul ground
Pōhuiakaroa in te reo Māori. The Plenary says sea perch are seldom targeted but widely caught, almost all on rod and reel from boats, and are now more often kept as an eating fish. The 2022–23 national survey placed most of the recreational harvest off the east coast of the South Island. The inshore species lives on or near the seafloor, mostly shallower than 250 metres. Drop to the bottom over reef and foul ground with cut bait, holding position over the rough patches.
Kahawai
Year-round on every coast; most fishing trips happen in summer
Kahawai (Arripis trutta) live right around New Zealand in coastal seas, harbours and estuaries, and run into the brackish lower reaches of rivers. A schooling fish that takes bait readily and eats mostly small fish and krill; MPI notes a second species, the Kermadec kahawai, which turns up seasonally around Northland. The Plenary records kahawai as an important customary food fish for Māori. Schools are harder to find, so go to them: river mouths and harbour channels at the turn of the tide, with a strip of fresh bait under a float or a soft bait retrieved slowly.
Red cod
About November to June on the Canterbury coast; the schools leave for deeper water over winter
Hoka in te reo Māori. A fast-growing, short-lived species. The Plenary says feeding schools arrive in the Canterbury Bight and around Banks Peninsula around November and are gone by about June, and that recruitment swings widely, so catches change a lot from year to year. The 2022–23 national survey estimated a recreational harvest of about a tenth of the 2017–18 figure. Late autumn is the tail of the run and late spring its start; between them the schools are offshore.
Tarakihi
Year-round on deeper reef; spawning in summer and autumn
Tarakihi are mostly taken on lines, often by people fishing for snapper or blue cod (Plenary). Juveniles grow up in shallow inshore nurseries such as Tasman Bay, the Kaikōura coast, northern Pegasus Bay, the Canterbury Bight and Otago, then move out to 50 to 200 metres at about 25 cm. The minimum fork length is 25 cm in every area. Anchor or hold over the deeper reef edges with small baits close to the bottom, and move when a mark goes quiet.
Flounder
Year-round in harbours and estuaries; young adults move offshore to spawn in winter and spring
Pātiki in te reo Māori. Four flounder species make up most of the recreational flatfish catch, taken in harbours, estuaries, coastal lakes and inlets around the country (Plenary). Most are netted or speared from the shore rather than caught on a line. Flatfish stay in water shallower than about 50 metres, and juveniles grow up on sheltered mud and sand flats. Fish the deeper harbour channels at low water and the flats as the tide comes back in.
Fishing rules at Kaikōura: MPI Kaikōura area
You do not need a licence to fish in the sea around New Zealand, but the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) sets daily limits, minimum sizes and closures for each area, and Kaikōura is in the Kaikōura area. The figures below are per person per day, as MPI's area page printed them on 7 October 2026. Fishing in rivers and lakes needs a licence: New Zealand fishing licence.
Near an area or zone boundary. Kaikōura Marine Area (Clarence Point to Conway River, 12 nm) sits inside the South-East FMA with its own rules; the Kaikōura Peninsula taiāpure is closed to pāua all year.
| Fish | Where it applies | Daily limit | Minimum length |
|---|---|---|---|
| All finfish combined | Kaikōura area, excluding baitfish (50) and eels (6) | 30 | — |
| Snapper | Kaikōura area | 10 | 25 cm |
| Kahawai | Kaikōura area | 10 | None set |
| Kingfish | Kaikōura area; albacore, bluenose, groper/bass, kingfish and ling: 5 combined, no more than 3 of any one | In the combined limit | 75 cm |
| Trevally | Kaikōura area | In the combined limit | 25 cm |
| Gurnard | Kaikōura area | In the combined limit | 25 cm |
| Tarakihi | Kaikōura area | 10 | 25 cm |
| Blue cod | Kaikōura Marine Area | 6 | 33 cm |
| Blue cod | Te Taumanu o Te Waka a Māui and Oaro-Haumuri taiāpure | 2 | 33 cm |
| Blue cod | Everywhere else within Kaikōura | 10 | 33 cm |
| Red cod | Kaikōura area | 10 | 25 cm |
| Flounder | Kaikōura area | In the combined limit | None set |
| John Dory | Kaikōura area; not listed | In the combined limit | None set |
| Shellfish | Where it applies | Daily limit | Minimum size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scallops | Kaikōura area | In the combined limit | None set |
| Cockles | Kaikōura area | 50 | None set |
| Pāua (blackfoot) | Marfells Beach to Conway River; season open 1 May to 31 Aug | 3 | 130 mm |
| Pāua (yellowfoot) | Marfells Beach to Conway River; season open 1 May to 31 Aug | 3 | 80 mm |
| Pāua (blackfoot) | Oaro-Haumuri Taiāpure; season open 1 May to 31 Aug | 2 | 135 mm |
| Pāua (yellowfoot) | Oaro-Haumuri Taiāpure; season open 1 May to 31 Aug | 2 | 80 mm |
- Scallops: not listed on the Kaikōura page
- Rock lobster (crayfish): MPI's Kaikōura page gives a daily limit but also says rock lobster may not be taken in the Kaikōura Marine Area; check with MPI before you take any.
Closures that name Kaikōura
- Te Taumanu o Te Waka a Māui Taiāpure (Kaikōura Peninsula), Oaro, Mangamaunu and Te Waha o te Marangai mātaitai: pāua, closed in and out of season.
- Kaikōura Marine Area: set nets.
Rules change often, sometimes at short notice: check MPI's Kaikōura fishing rules or the NZ Fishing Rules app before you keep any fish. Source: Ministry for Primary Industries and licensed by MPI for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
When to come: the Kaikōura calendar
Activity by species and month for the southern year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
Species activity by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Blue cod
Sea perch
Kahawai
Red cod
Tarakihi
Flounder
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 12 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Angler reports
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. Nothing here is copied from a shop or a charter. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
No angler reports yetBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Kaikōura today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataWed, Oct 7
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Blue cod led the card at good. High of 18 °C, wind to 8 km/h.
Tue, Oct 6
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Blue cod led the card at excellent. High of 18 °C, wind to 5 km/h.
Mon, Oct 5
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Blue cod led the card at excellent. High of 14 °C, wind to 11 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
No licence is needed to fish the sea around New Zealand (MPI). Rivers and lakes need a licence: New Zealand fishing licence.
Regulations
Daily limits, minimum sizes and closures are set by MPI for each area and change often: the rules for Kaikōura are above, with the date they were read and the link to check them before you keep anything.
Access
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About this water
Kaikōura is a bay or coastal water in Canterbury, New Zealand, covered from the Canterbury reports and listed in all New Zealand waters.
Fishing Kaikōura: the full guide
A separate rules area
MPI treats the coast from Clarence Point to the Conway River mouth, out to 12 nautical miles, as the Kaikōura area: it sits inside the South-East area but has its own rules. The whole Kaikōura Marine Area is closed to set netting, and MPI has a separate blue cod management area here.
Closed reefs and pāua
Hikurangi Marine Reserve and the Waiopuka (Wakatu Quay) reef area are closed to all fishing at all times. Since the earthquakes the pāua fishery from Marfells Beach to the Conway River opens only from 1 May to 31 August, and Te Taumanu o Te Waka a Māui Taiāpure on the Kaikōura Peninsula stays closed to pāua even in season, along with the Oaro, Mangamaunu and Te Waha o te Marangai mātaitai.
Launching
Kaikōura District Council’s South Bay Marina, on the south side of the peninsula, has a slipway, boat wash-down area and trailer parking. Recreational launches are paid at the slipway pay-and-display machine, or by monthly or annual ticket. The council’s North Wharf is on Wakatu Quay, on the north side of the peninsula; MPI’s closed Waiopuka reef area takes its name from the same quay.
Common questions
Can I fish at Wakatu Quay?
MPI lists the Waiopuka (Wakatu Quay) reef area as closed to all fishing at all times. Check the exact extent before fishing near the North Wharf.
When can I take pāua at Kaikōura?
Between 1 May and 31 August on the Marfells Beach to Conway River coast, but never in the Kaikōura Peninsula taiāpure or the Oaro, Mangamaunu and Te Waha o te Marangai mātaitai.
Where do I launch a boat at Kaikōura?
At the South Bay Marina slipway, run by Kaikōura District Council, which charges per launch.
Where does the Kaikōura tide come from?
From LINZ’s Kaikōura secondary port, about 1 km from town, calculated from Lyttelton; on average the tides arrive about 17 minutes after Lyttelton’s.
Is fishing good at Kaikōura right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Nearby places
Where this page's numbers come from
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- Pages checked
- The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
The forecast refreshes on a 30-minute window; tide predictions are LINZ’s for the year. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on How our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.