Updated Thu, 8 Oct 2026 from LINZ tide predictions and the weather forecast
A Tasman town whose boats go out over the shifting Motueka bar, with launching at the power boat club marina and scallops closed since 2018.
Sources: LINZ tide predictions, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
High and low tides in New Zealand time, calculated from LINZ's prediction for Nelson, its standard port, with the differences LINZ publishes for Motueka. Next: high tide at 8:51 am.
| Day | High tide | Low tide |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 8 Oct (today) | 8:51 am (3.7 m) · 9:22 pm (4.0 m) | 2:50 am (0.9 m) · 3:17 pm (1.0 m) |
| Fri 9 Oct | 9:40 am (3.9 m) · 10:02 pm (4.2 m) | 3:36 am (0.8 m) · 4:01 pm (0.8 m) |
| Sat 10 Oct | 10:22 am (4.1 m) · 10:39 pm (4.3 m) | 4:17 am (0.6 m) · 4:39 pm (0.7 m) |
| Sun 11 Oct | 11:00 am (4.2 m) · 11:14 pm (4.2 m) | 4:55 am (0.6 m) · 5:14 pm (0.6 m) |
| Mon 12 Oct | 11:36 am (4.2 m) · 11:48 pm (4.2 m) | 5:31 am (0.6 m) · 5:45 pm (0.7 m) |
| Tue 13 Oct | 12:10 pm (4.2 m) | 6:06 am (0.7 m) · 6:16 pm (0.7 m) |
| Wed 14 Oct | 12:23 am (4.0 m) · 12:44 pm (4.1 m) | 6:40 am (0.8 m) · 6:47 pm (0.9 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.
Motueka is fishing in the cool band: give each spot time and work the tide change. Today brings cloud cover, wind WSW around 6 km/h, falling pressure near 1022 hPa and a high of 18 °C. Tides: high 8:51 am and 9:22 pm, low 2:50 am and 3:17 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 10:21 AM-12:21 PM and 10:36 PM-12:36 AM: the windows to build the day around.
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.
Fish slower as the water cools: an anchored ledger rig in harbour channels or on the sand off the beaches, with fresh bait.
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.
The spawning season runs through late winter and spring: fish reef and gravel patches with cut bait on a large hook.
Fish the deeper harbour channels at low water and the flats as the tide comes back in.
Anchor or hold over the deeper reef edges with small baits close to the bottom, and move when a mark goes quiet.
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: 10:21 AM-12:21 PM, 10:36 PM-12:36 AM, 5:04 AM-6:04 AM. Similar at 18 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:50), sunset (19:40), the moon and today's score, with the tide times above. Tap a bar to see why.
Solunar majors 10:21 AM-12:21 PM and 10:36 PM-12:36 AM; minor 5:04 AM-6:04 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.
Today's tides from LINZ and the forecast for the day, which is a model.
Calculated from LINZ's prediction for Nelson, its standard port, with the differences LINZ publishes for Motueka. Heights above chart datum. Fish the moving water either side of each change.
Latest readings
Today is the pick of the week on Motueka, at 4 out of 5.
Best day this week: today, 8 Oct — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
The species that matter on Motueka: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Motueka is in the Challenger 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 | Challenger area, excluding baitfish (50) and eels (6) | 20 | — |
| Snapper | Challenger | 10 | 25 cm |
| Snapper | Marlborough Sounds area | 3 | 25 cm |
| Kahawai | Challenger area | In the combined limit | None set |
| Kingfish | Challenger area | 3 | 75 cm |
| Trevally | Challenger area | In the combined limit | 25 cm |
| Gurnard | Challenger area | In the combined limit | 25 cm |
| Tarakihi | Challenger area | In the combined limit | 25 cm |
| Blue cod | Tasman: Farewell Spit to Clarence River incl. Marlborough Sounds; whole or gutted; possession up to 4 when entering from outside with proof | 2 | 33 cm |
| Blue cod | Kahurangi: Heaphy River to Farewell Spit | 10 | 33 cm |
| Blue cod | Westland: south bank of Haast River to Heaphy River; headed and gutted allowed, 24 cm headed | 15 | 33 cm |
| Blue cod | South West: Sandhill Point to south bank of Haast River | 10 | 33 cm |
| Red cod | Challenger area | In the combined limit | 25 cm |
| Flounder | Challenger area; flatfish 25 cm; no separate sand flounder row | In the combined limit | 25 cm |
| John Dory | Challenger area; not listed; "all other finfish" | In the combined limit | None set |
| Shellfish | Where it applies | Daily limit | Minimum size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scallops | Challenger area; season 15 Jul to 14 Feb | 50 | 90 mm |
| Cockles | Challenger area | 150 | None set |
| Pāua (blackfoot) | Tasman, Nelson and Marlborough | 5 | 125 mm |
| Pāua (yellowfoot) | Tasman, Nelson and Marlborough | 5 | 80 mm |
| Pāua (blackfoot) | All other Challenger areas | 10 | 125 mm |
| Pāua (yellowfoot) | All other Challenger areas | 10 | 80 mm |
| Pāua (blackfoot) | Marfells Beach to Conway River (season 1 May–31 Aug) | 3 | 130 mm |
| Pāua (yellowfoot) | Marfells Beach to Conway River (season 1 May–31 Aug) | 3 | 80 mm |
| Rock lobster (crayfish) | Challenger | 6 (no more than 3 packhorse) | Tail width spiny 54 mm male, 60 mm female; packhorse 84 mm male, 90 mm female |
Rules change often, sometimes at short notice: check MPI's Challenger 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.
Activity by species and month for the southern year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 14 °C (estimated, not a reading).
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.
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Snapper led the card at good. High of 17 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Snapper led the card at excellent. High of 16 °C, wind to 14 km/h.
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Snapper led the card at good. High of 13 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
No licence is needed to fish the sea around New Zealand (MPI). Rivers and lakes need a licence: New Zealand fishing licence.
Daily limits, minimum sizes and closures are set by MPI for each area and change often: the rules for Motueka are above, with the date they were read and the link to check them before you keep anything.
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Motueka is a bay or coastal water in Tasman, New Zealand, covered from the Tasman reports and listed in all New Zealand waters.
Tasman District Council lists the Motueka ramp at the Motueka Power Boat Club marina, sealed and with a small maintenance fee. Its water safety guide reserves a transit lane for boats crossing the Motueka bar, at any safe speed under 15 knots and keeping to the right of the channel entrance, and warns that the marker buoys in the approaches move with tide and weather, so the passage is at the skipper’s own risk. The council adds that the Motueka wharf is now in private ownership and that Talley’s wharf at Port Motueka has a diesel pump intended for fishing vessels.
According to the council, the Tasman coast has New Zealand’s largest tidal range, and many of its channels and bars should be attempted only with local knowledge or on a rising tide on a calm day. MPI has kept Tasman Bay, Golden Bay, the Marlborough Sounds and Port Underwood closed to scallop fishing since 15 July 2018, and its map of the set-net ban out to 4 nautical miles between Farewell Spit and Cape Soucis marks Motueka.
At the Motueka Power Boat Club marina, which Tasman District Council lists as a sealed ramp with a small fee.
No, MPI closed Tasman Bay to scallop fishing on 15 July 2018 until further notice.
LINZ’s Motueka secondary port, calculated from the Nelson standard port.
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Pablo Ruiz QuinteroThe 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.
