Thread: Dunedin spot to take kids for salt water fish

Yeah, as yerimagineryM8 says, best bet to catch them a few fish would be sticking to fresh water. Licence free for under 12s, or only $25 from 12 up to 18yrs. Southern Reservoir, Sullivans Dam are great spots for young &/or inexperienced fishers. Chuck out tassies or tobys. Another popular option there is a booby fly, with a small sinker above it to give it the weight to cast. Tomahawk lagoon is another good option close to town.

Taieri mouth has been fishing well recently for both searunners & kahawai. Out there I usually just use softbaits, other lures will work too.

Without having a boat, the saltwater fishing in Dunedin is pretty limited. The salmon are starting to show up in the harbour, but still in low numbers. Even when they're running well it's not a very productive fishery, but great when you hook one.

If the kids are just keen to catch something you could just grab a sabiki rig, chuck some tiny pieces of squid on the hooks & drop em off the wharf. You won't catch much worth eating, but there'll be a few spotties & wrasse for the kids to have a bit of fun with. If you get really lucky you may get a cod, but they're usually undersize off the wharf. The mole at Aramoana has plenty of wrasse but with the big weedlines it's extremely prone to getting snagged.