Whitebait season underway today
Brae Scott is so fanatical about whitebaiting he takes his nets to school.
The 14-year-old Opunake fisherman is a second year boarder at New Plymouth Boys’ High School and often heads down to the river after class in his pursuit of the tiny fish. He would go before if he could.
‘‘It’s fun and you gotta have patience,’’ he said.
He started whitebaiting with his Granddad when he was six at Himatangi Beach.
‘‘He actually just came up the other day to help sort out some nets for this year,’’ Scott said.
Scott prefers to use a set net over a scoop and during whitebait season, when not in school, can generally be found chasing the fish at Kaupokonui Beach in South Taranaki.
‘‘In the holidays I’ll usually go 12 out of the 14 days. Mum drops me and my little brother Tait off at seven and picks us up at five, after they’ve finished on the farm.’’
Scott said he was looking forward to the new season but would not be able to try his luck at New Plymouth’s Te Henui Stream until Thursday.
‘‘I’m gonna go down after school today and scout out some spots. I would go down tomorrow but I’ve got rugby training,’’ he said.
When Scott catches enough for a fritter the kitchen staff help him enjoy the fruits of his labour by cooking it up for him.
Last year some of the boys at school had tried to barter with him for a taste, and while that didn’t usually work he said they were more than welcome to come help him catch it.
Deputy headmaster and director of boarding Sam Moore said the students were encouraged to chase the fish for themselves, if they so wanted.
‘‘We have rural kids here that live away from home and we let them embrace the hunter gathering side by letting them go fishing and doing other activities.’’
Whitebait season opens today, except for the West Coast and the Chatham Islands where it opens on 1 September, and runs through till 30 November.
Dave Frandsen, owner of Stratford’s Magnum Sports, said there had been a lot of interest in whitebaiting this season. ‘‘Everybody likes whitebait,’’ he said.
Set nets were proving more popular than scoop nets and people were coming in from Hawera and Manaia to stock up on their gear.
‘‘We’ve been selling at least one net every day for the last couple of weeks,’’ he said.
‘‘People are also buying netting as well and waders were also selling well too.’’
Department of Conservation senior ranger-biodiversity Callum Lilley said things were looking promising for the start of the season.
‘‘We have had reports of a few early runs. We always see a lot of