Blue cod
Good
The spawning season runs through late winter and spring: fish reef and gravel patches with cut bait on a large hook.
Timaru Tide Times & Bite Times Today
Updated Thu, 8 Oct 2026 from LINZ tide predictions and the weather forecast
A port city on the South Canterbury coast, a LINZ standard port with three mātaitai reserves along its shore, north and south of the harbour.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 7:59 am LINZ
Air / High
9 °C / 14 °C
Wind
WSW 5 km/h
Sources: LINZ tide predictions, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Timaru tide times for the next 7 days
High and low tides in New Zealand time, LINZ's daily prediction for Timaru, 1.7 km from Timaru. Next: low tide at 7:59 am.
| Day | High tide | Low tide |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 8 Oct (today) | 1:49 am (2.4 m) · 2:20 pm (2.5 m) | 7:59 am (0.6 m) · 8:27 pm (0.6 m) |
| Fri 9 Oct | 2:39 am (2.4 m) · 3:07 pm (2.5 m) | 8:48 am (0.5 m) · 9:12 pm (0.6 m) |
| Sat 10 Oct | 3:27 am (2.4 m) · 3:52 pm (2.4 m) | 9:36 am (0.6 m) · 9:56 pm (0.6 m) |
| Sun 11 Oct | 4:13 am (2.4 m) · 4:35 pm (2.4 m) | 10:23 am (0.6 m) · 10:41 pm (0.6 m) |
| Mon 12 Oct | 4:58 am (2.4 m) · 5:17 pm (2.3 m) | 11:10 am (0.7 m) · 11:26 pm (0.7 m) |
| Tue 13 Oct | 5:44 am (2.3 m) · 6:00 pm (2.2 m) | 11:56 am (0.7 m) |
| Wed 14 Oct | 6:30 am (2.3 m) · 6:46 pm (2.1 m) | 12:13 am (0.8 m) · 12:42 pm (0.8 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
Timaru is in its cooler-water pattern: slower baits and the turn of the tide. Today brings a mixed sky, wind WSW around 5 km/h, rising pressure near 1028 hPa and a high of 14 °C. Tides: high 1:49 am and 2:20 pm, low 7:59 am and 8:27 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 10:28 AM-12:28 PM and 10:43 PM-12:43 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: 10:28 AM-12:28 PM, 10:43 PM-12:43 AM, 5:14 AM-6:14 AM. Similar at 15 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Fishing times for Timaru today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:55), sunset (19:50), the moon and today's score, with the tide times above. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:28 AM-12:28 PM and 10:43 PM-12:43 AM; minor 5:14 AM-6:14 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 Timaru, 1.7 km from Timaru. Heights above chart datum. Fish the moving water either side of each change.
Thu
HIGH1:49 am2.40 m
LOW7:59 am0.60 m
HIGH2:20 pm2.50 m
LOW8:27 pm0.60 m
Fri
HIGH2:39 am2.40 m
LOW8:48 am0.50 m
HIGH3:07 pm2.50 m
LOW9:12 pm0.60 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp9 °C
High / Low14 °C / 8 °C
WindWSW 5 km/h, gusts 12 km/h
Pressure1027.7 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain58% cloud, 24%
Sunrise / Sunset06:55 / 19:50
MoonWaning Crescent, 9%
Water temp (seasonal)~12 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Timaru
The best day on Timaru this week looks like Sunday 11 Oct, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Sunday, 11 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
- 10:28 AM-12:28 PM and 10:43 PM-12:43 AM
- Minor period
- 5:14 AM-6:14 AM
- Sun
- 06:55 to 19:50
- Moon
- Waning Crescent, 9% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 16 km/h
- Rain chance
- 24%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Timaru: 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 Timaru: MPI South-East 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 Timaru is in the South-East 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.
| Fish | Where it applies | Daily limit | Minimum length |
|---|---|---|---|
| All finfish combined | South-East area, excluding baitfish (50) and eels (6) | 30 | — |
| Snapper | South-East area | 10 | 25 cm |
| Kahawai | South-East | 15 | None set |
| Kahawai | Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō (closed Rāpaki) | 5 | None set |
| Kingfish | South-East area; groper/bass and kingfish 5 combined, no more than 3 kingfish | In the combined limit | 75 cm |
| Trevally | South-East area | In the combined limit | 25 cm |
| Gurnard | South-East area | In the combined limit | 25 cm |
| Tarakihi | South-East area | 15 | 25 cm |
| Blue cod | Kaikōura blue cod area: Kaikōura Marine Area | 6 | 33 cm |
| Blue cod | Kaikōura blue cod area outside the marine area and taiāpure | 10 | 33 cm |
| Blue cod | Canterbury: Hurunui River to Rakaia River (incl. Akaroa Taiāpure); closed in Rāpaki, Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō and Extension mātaitai | 2 | 33 cm |
| Blue cod | North Otago: Rakaia River to Taiaroa Head | 10 | 33 cm |
| Blue cod | East Otago Taiāpure | 2 | 33 cm |
| Blue cod | Southern: Taiaroa Head to Sand Hill Point; headed allowed | 10 | 33 cm |
| Red cod | South-East area; closed in Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō mātaitai | 10 | 25 cm |
| Flounder | South-East | In the combined limit | None set |
| Flounder | Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō (closed Rāpaki) | 5 | None set |
| Flounder | Ōpihi, Te Ahi Tarakihi, Waitarakao | 10 | None set |
| John Dory | South-East area; not listed; "all other finfish" | In the combined limit | None set |
| Shellfish | Where it applies | Daily limit | Minimum size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scallops | South-East area; season 15 Jul to 14 Feb | 20 | 100 mm |
| Cockles | South-East | 150 | None set |
| Cockles | East Otago Taiāpure | 50 | None set |
| Cockles | Akaroa Taiāpure | 20 | None set |
| Cockles | Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō outside closed areas | 15 | 40 mm |
| Pāua (blackfoot) | Canterbury | 5 | 125 mm |
| Pāua (yellowfoot) | Canterbury | 5 | 80 mm |
| Pāua (blackfoot) | South of Waitaki River | 10 | 125 mm |
| Pāua (yellowfoot) | South of Waitaki River | 10 | 80 mm |
| Pāua (all kinds combined) | Timaru mātaitai and Moeraki mātaitai | 3 | None set |
| Pāua (all kinds combined) | Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō; 9 per boat | 3 | 130 mm |
| Pāua (all kinds combined) | East Otago Taiāpure | 0 | None set |
| Rock lobster (crayfish) | South-East | 6 (no more than 3 packhorse) | Tail width spiny 54 mm male, 60 mm female; packhorse 84 mm male, 90 mm female |
| Dredge oysters | South-East area; season 1 Mar to 31 Aug for dredging and UBA; hand gathering not restricted by season (MPI) | 50 | 58 mm |
Rules change often, sometimes at short notice: check MPI's South-East 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 Timaru 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 Timaru 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 17 °C, wind to 13 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 10 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 14 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 Timaru 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
Timaru is a bay or coastal water in Canterbury, New Zealand, covered from the Canterbury reports and listed in all New Zealand waters.
Fishing Timaru: the full guide
Three mātaitai
MPI lists three mātaitai reserves at Timaru, with bylaws in force since 24 June 2019. On MPI’s map Waitarakao lies furthest north, Te Ahi Tarakihi runs from the Smithfield and Dashing Rocks shore down towards Caroline Bay, and Tuhawaiki is south of the port beyond Scarborough. In Tuhawaiki and Te Ahi Tarakihi no shellfish may be taken except pāua, kina and mussels, under daily limits, and both Te Ahi Tarakihi and Waitarakao have a flatfish limit.
Nets and blue cod
MPI prohibits set netting to 4 nautical miles off the coast, with estuaries, rivers, lagoons and inlets exempt. Timaru falls in MPI’s North Otago blue cod management area, which runs from the Rakaia River to Taiaroa Head.
Tide
Timaru is one of LINZ’s standard ports, so the page shows LINZ’s daily predictions for it, about 2 km from the town centre. LINZ also uses Timaru as the reference for Oamaru.
Common questions
Are there mātaitai reserves at Timaru?
Yes: Waitarakao, Te Ahi Tarakihi and Tuhawaiki. Their 2019 bylaws limit which shellfish can be taken and set daily limits; MPI publishes a map of all three.
Which MPI area rules apply at Timaru?
South-East. For blue cod, Timaru is in the North Otago management area.
Is the Timaru tide a LINZ prediction?
Yes, Timaru is a LINZ standard port with its own daily predictions.
Is fishing good at Timaru 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.