Kahawai will also take baited hooks like this one caught Surfcasting at Birdlings Flat.
Typical kahawai spinning lures: hex wobblers and sliced rod. Weight 55-85 gm. Strong hooks are essential. The method is to cast as far as you can, then wind as fast as possible to simulate a fleeing bait fish.
Kahawai are great fighters for their size and will often jump clear of the water when hooked. This one was taken on baited hooks at Nape Nape Beach but they are much easier to catch on quickly retrieved spinning lures.

"Pound for pound a kahawai would tow any trout backwards through the water." They really are tremendous fighters and exciting to catch on rod and line. They repeatedly jump clear of the water when hooked and often escape to fight another day. I say kahawai are New Zealand's greatest fighting fishI They always give a good account of themselves and never let you down. If you really want to have some fun try casting into a school of big kahawai on light spinning gear, or try taking them on with fly fishing gear you normally use for trout.

Huge schools of kahawai can "hang around" a rivermouth for weeks on end providing exciting sport, and a fish or two for the smoker. Kahawai almost always jump when hooked. They are amazingly strong runners and powerful fighters for their size! Sometimes you can hook and loose several kahawai all on the same cast!

In past years I have witnessed large schools of kahawai at the mouth of the Waimakariri River that have "camped" there for weeks at a time. In recent years there haven't been these vast schools with their attendant screaming seabirds. However kahawai are still there. You best option is to cast out and see what happens. Often you think they aren't there because you can't see them. When the big kahawai schools were at the mouth of the Waimakariri, and other rivers, you could often see their backs as dark shapes in the breakers. Kahawai aren't afraid to come right into very shallow water when chasing baitfish like silveries. At the mouth of the Rakaia River I have often seen kahawai chase the silveries right up onto the stones.

With a big school of fish "sitting" in the rivermouth kahawai spinning can get very exciting indeed. To make really long casts at rivermouths when fishing for kahawai I use a 13 foot salmon rod matched with an Abu 7000 or Abu 7500C baitcaster reel. The best fishing method is to cast out across the surf as far as you can. Point your rod down towards your lure as you wind. Every now and again your ticer should pop out of the water and skim across the top just like a fleeing bait fish!

The rods I prefer are either Kilwell Enticers or my English Harrison. These make it possible to cast out over 100 metres. Much depend on how far out the kahawai school is. Sometimes they are very close right in the breakers. At the mouth of the Rakaia River this makes them easy to get to. But at the mouth of the Waimakariri River, where it is shallower, greater casting distance is a big advantage.

You also might like to see Canterbury Winter Kahawai.