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.
Māhia Tide Times & Bite Times Today
Updated Thu, 8 Oct 2026 from LINZ tide predictions and the weather forecast
The Māhia Peninsula settlement beside the Horokaka mātaitai, one of three mātaitai around the peninsula, each with its own bans on shellfish, kina and rock lobster.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 10:26 am LINZ
Air / High
14 °C / 17 °C
Wind
S 10 km/h
Sources: LINZ tide predictions, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Māhia tide times for the next 7 days
High and low tides in New Zealand time, calculated from LINZ's prediction for Gisborne, its standard port, with the differences LINZ publishes for Happy Jacks Boat Harbour (7.9 km from Māhia). Next: low tide at 10:26 am.
| Day | High tide | Low tide |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 8 Oct (today) | 4:13 am (1.9 m) · 4:41 pm (2.0 m) | 10:26 am (0.7 m) · 11:00 pm (0.7 m) |
| Fri 9 Oct | 5:13 am (1.9 m) · 5:36 pm (2.0 m) | 11:23 am (0.7 m) · 11:55 pm (0.7 m) |
| Sat 10 Oct | 6:09 am (1.9 m) · 6:28 pm (2.0 m) | 12:17 pm (0.7 m) |
| Sun 11 Oct | 7:01 am (1.9 m) · 7:17 pm (2.0 m) | 12:47 am (0.7 m) · 1:08 pm (0.7 m) |
| Mon 12 Oct | 7:50 am (1.9 m) · 8:04 pm (1.9 m) | 1:36 am (0.7 m) · 1:57 pm (0.7 m) |
| Tue 13 Oct | 8:36 am (1.9 m) · 8:49 pm (1.9 m) | 2:22 am (0.7 m) · 2:43 pm (0.7 m) |
| Wed 14 Oct | 9:20 am (1.9 m) · 9:33 pm (1.9 m) | 3:06 am (0.7 m) · 3:28 pm (0.8 m) |
Times and heights follow LINZ's method for secondary ports (the standard port's prediction plus the published mean differences and range ratio); checked against LINZ's own daily prediction for Raglan over a week on 7 October 2026, the method came within 13 minutes and 0.2 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
Māhia is in its cooler-water pattern: slower baits and the turn of the tide. Today brings cloud cover, wind S around 10 km/h, steady pressure near 1021 hPa and a high of 17 °C. Tides: high 4:13 am and 4:41 pm, low 10:26 am and 11:00 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 14 °C for the season (estimated). With the waning crescent, the solunar majors run 10:00 AM-12:00 PM and 10:16 PM-12:16 AM: the windows to build the day around.
Snapper
Good
In spring the schools bunch up before moving onto their spawning grounds; in autumn and winter they spread into deeper, more open water. Either way, fish the 15 to 60 metre marks with baits on the bottom and time the session around the tide change.
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 gurnard
Good
Fish slower as the water cools: an anchored ledger rig in harbour channels or on the sand off the beaches, with fresh bait.
Kingfish
Good
Fewer people chase kingfish in the cooler months. Deep pinnacles and offshore reef are where to look, with jigs or live bait worked through the tide change.
Blue cod
Good
The spawning season runs through late winter and spring: fish reef and gravel patches with cut bait on a large hook.
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: 10:00 AM-12:00 PM, 10:16 PM-12:16 AM, 4:42 AM-5:42 AM. Similar at 16 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Fishing times for Māhia today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:33), sunset (19:19), the moon and today's score, with the tide times above. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:00 AM-12:00 PM and 10:16 PM-12:16 AM; minor 4:42 AM-5:42 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)
Calculated from LINZ's prediction for Gisborne, its standard port, with the differences LINZ publishes for Happy Jacks Boat Harbour (7.9 km from Māhia). Heights above chart datum. Fish the moving water either side of each change.
Thu
HIGH4:13 am1.90 m
LOW10:26 am0.68 m
HIGH4:41 pm2.00 m
LOW11:00 pm0.68 m
Fri
HIGH5:13 am1.90 m
LOW11:23 am0.68 m
HIGH5:36 pm2.00 m
LOW11:55 pm0.68 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp14 °C
High / Low17 °C / 14 °C
WindS 10 km/h, gusts 22 km/h
Pressure1020.9 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset06:33 / 19:19
MoonWaning Crescent, 9%
Water temp (seasonal)~14 °C est.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Māhia
Today is the pick of the week on Māhia, at 3 out of 5.
Best day this week: today, 8 Oct — fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
Today, 8 Oct — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 10:00 AM-12:00 PM and 10:16 PM-12:16 AM
- Minor period
- 4:42 AM-5:42 AM
- Sun
- 06:33 to 19:19
- Moon
- Waning Crescent, 9% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 19 km/h
- Rain chance
- 100%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Māhia: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
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.
Snapper
Year-round; spawning schools gather in November and December, and winter fish sit deeper
Tāmure or kouarea in te reo Māori. MPI describes snapper as the dominant fish of northern inshore waters, most common where the sea is warmer and especially in the Hauraki Gulf, at home on reef as well as sand and mud, usually between 15 and 60 metres. The Fisheries Assessment Plenary calls it the largest recreational fishery in New Zealand. In spring the schools bunch up before moving onto their spawning grounds; in autumn and winter they spread into deeper, more open water. Either way, fish the 15 to 60 metre marks with baits on the bottom and time the session around the tide change.
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.
Red gurnard
Year-round; spawning through spring and summer, peaking in early summer
Kumukumu in te reo Māori. Red gurnard live across harbours and shallow coastal waters, which the Plenary says makes them an important recreational species, often caught by people fishing for snapper and tarakihi. They spawn through spring and summer, and small juveniles shelter in shallow harbours. Fish slower as the water cools: an anchored ledger rig in harbour channels or on the sand off the beaches, with fresh bait.
Kingfish
Year-round in the north, with most trips in summer; MPI sets a 75 cm minimum length
Haku or kahu in te reo Māori. MPI says kingfish are most common in the northern half of the North Island but range from the Kermadec Islands to Foveaux Strait, around reefs, pinnacles and rocky outcrops with strong current or tidal flow. Adults grow past 1.5 metres, and MPI puts the average recreational fish at about 10 kg. The Plenary notes that a high share of the recreational catch is released. Fewer people chase kingfish in the cooler months. Deep pinnacles and offshore reef are where to look, with jigs or live bait worked through the tide change.
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.
Fishing rules at Māhia: MPI Central 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 Māhia is in the Central 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 | Central area, excluding baitfish (50 combined) and freshwater eels (6) | 20 | — |
| Snapper | Central area | 10 | 27 cm |
| Kahawai | Central area | In the combined limit | None set |
| Kingfish | Central area | 3 | 75 cm |
| Trevally | Central area | In the combined limit | 25 cm |
| Gurnard | Central area | In the combined limit | 25 cm |
| Tarakihi | Central area | In the combined limit | 25 cm |
| Blue cod | Taranaki to Titahi Bay (FMA 8); landed whole or gutted | 2 | 33 cm |
| Blue cod | Titahi Bay to Cape Runaway (FMA 2); landed whole or gutted | 20 | 33 cm |
| Red cod | Central area | In the combined limit | 25 cm |
| Flounder | Central area | In the combined limit | None set |
| John Dory | Central area; not listed; "all other finfish" | In the combined limit | None set |
| Shellfish | Where it applies | Daily limit | Minimum size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scallops | Central area; season 15 Jul to 14 Feb | 20 | 100 mm |
| Cockles | Central area | 150 | None set |
| Pāua (blackfoot) | Central area | 5 | 125 mm |
| Pāua (yellowfoot) | Central area | 5 | 80 mm |
| Rock lobster (crayfish) | Cape Runaway to Wairoa River | 3 spiny, 3 packhorse | Tail width spiny 54 mm male, 60 mm female; packhorse 84 mm male, 90 mm female |
| Rock lobster (crayfish) | South of Wairoa River | 6 (no more than 3 packhorse) | Tail width spiny 54 mm male, 60 mm female; packhorse 84 mm male, 90 mm female |
- Rock lobster (crayfish): Telson clipping from Cape Runaway to East Cape lighthouse.
Rules change often, sometimes at short notice: check MPI's Central 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 Māhia 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
Kahawai
Snapper
Tarakihi
Red gurnard
Kingfish
Blue cod
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 14 °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 Māhia 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. Kahawai led the card at good. High of 17 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Tue, Oct 6
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Kahawai led the card at excellent. High of 17 °C, wind to 27 km/h.
Mon, Oct 5
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Kahawai led the card at good. High of 14 °C, wind to 18 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 Māhia 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
Māhia is a bay or coastal water in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, covered from the Hawke's Bay reports and listed in all New Zealand waters.
Fishing Māhia: the full guide
Three mātaitai
MPI’s map shows the Horokaka mātaitai starting at Māhia and running east past Mahia Reef, Toka Tāmure further round to the east, and Te Hoe across the isthmus in the bay off Māhia Beach and Ōpoutama. In Horokaka and Toka Tāmure the bylaws ban the taking of pāua, mussels, cockles, pipi, tuatua, surf clams, packhorse rock lobster, conger eel, sea cucumber and karengo, among other species, and ban underwater breathing apparatus and loops for rock lobster.
Seasons inside the reserves
Horokaka is closed to spiny rock lobster from 1 May to 30 September and to kina from 1 April to 30 September, with daily limits in the open months. Toka Tāmure is closed to kina from 1 March to 31 July. In Te Hoe, the stretch from Waikōkopu to Ōpoutama is closed to kina, rock lobster, mussels and pāua.
Ramp and tide
Wairoa District Council’s works notices refer to the Mokotahi boat ramp at Māhia, where it planned to widen the access road and extend the boat park. The page’s tide comes from LINZ’s Happy Jacks Boat Harbour station, about 8 km north, which LINZ predicts from Gisborne with the same mean times.
Common questions
Can I take crayfish at Māhia?
Not in the Horokaka mātaitai between 1 May and 30 September, and never from the Waikōkopu to Ōpoutama part of Te Hoe. Packhorse rock lobster cannot be taken in Horokaka or Toka Tāmure at any time.
Can I gather pāua at Māhia?
No pāua may be taken in the Horokaka or Toka Tāmure mātaitai, or between Waikōkopu and Ōpoutama in Te Hoe.
Is there a boat ramp at Māhia?
Wairoa District Council refers to the Mokotahi boat ramp at Māhia in its works notices.
Which fishing rules cover the Māhia Peninsula?
The Central area rules, plus the mātaitai bylaws that MPI links from that page.
Is fishing good at Māhia 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
- mpi.govt.nz/fishing-aquaculture/recreational-fishing/fishing-rules/cen
- mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/13432-Horokaka-Toka-Tamure-and-Te-Hoe-Mahia-Pe
- mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/55453-Fisheries-Declaration-of-Horokaka-Matait
- mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/55459-Fisheries-Declaration-of-Te-Hoe-Mataitai
- wairoadc.govt.nz/our-council/news/archive/article/123/mokotahi-boat-ra
- linz.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2026-06/NZNA_Secondary-ports-2026-27.
- 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.