Graeme Christie | Tuesday, 8 September 2026
Some kayaking friends told me last week that dolphins had been swimming in and out of their group, ducking, diving and jumping. Birds were hitting the water and fish were jumping, work-up style. Auckland has spent years putting a large sewerage pipe under the city. Not a pretty topic, but the water is cleaner already and the life in the harbour has responded.
That was enough to get me out, even though not all the stars were aligned for harbour fishing. The temp of the water is 14.4 degrees C, still a little cool for the migratory species that are some excellent sport on a fly rod.
Life has been demanding this year and fishing, let alone casting, has been hard to prioritise. In spare moments I plan trips. Over the last few weeks I have made sure the boat is going. This weekend I ran the final checks, confirmed all the electronics I installed were working, and set off for the ramp. Last year's work is still holding up well, which was heartening. So was the planning that went into the amenities. The 12v outlet meant I could pump up the trailer and car tyres before leaving.
The wind was low in my suburb. The swell map said the day would start calmly and go to sea state 5 or 6. That is not easy casting, but it is manageable as long as the wind is offshore later so I can get the boat back on the trailer on my own.
I set off before high tide. The wind picked up and I understood why they had predicted six.
I had two rods rigged. The first was a 10 weight with a 250 grain RIO Striper line sinking at six inches a second, a 9 foot leader with another 6 feet of level tippet, and a heavy sinking Clouser. The plan was to dredge and hope to snag something.
The second was for a boil-up if I stumbled onto one. A RIO 15 foot intermediate sink tip, a 7 weight line at about 210 grains, which works very well on the HT 8. Short leader to 40lb and an anchovy pattern.
I fished the likely spots. Nothing. No boil-ups either. As fishing goes it was a zero.
The casting was still nice. Not competition level, but sitting down in the boat I was putting out some very fishy distances, which pleased me. I would like to test that on a lake.
Using the boat with everything I have installed confirmed it is a highly useful fly fishing platform. The next job is finishing the red and green navigation lights, so if dusk goes to dark the big ships on the harbour at least know which way I am pointing.
The trailer developed a disturbing wobble on the way home. I will finesse the front post and hope that cures it by sliding the boat towards the car. That is part of boats. There is always something to learn, and that is what I am enjoying about them. The engine is on the large side for the size of the boat and it is tail heavy.