Sunny start for whitebait season and meteorological spring in Hawke’s Bay

Whitebaiters on the Tukituki River by Black Bridge on the opening morning of whitebait season 2025. Photo / Jack Riddell

It was a good start to the week for little-fish fishers and sunshine lovers in Hawke’s Bay.

The opening day of the 2025 whitebait season and the meteorological start of spring both landed on Monday, leading fishermen to stake out their spots along riversides across the region.

Veteran Hawke’s Bay whitebaiter Alex Sutton was at the Tukituki River by Black Bridge by 7.30am on Monday for his 18th season.

Whitebaiter Alex Sutton on the Tukituki River at the start of the 2025 season. Photo / Jack Riddell

He said it was way too early to tell if this would be a good season but called last year’s season “mediocre”.

“I got 5kg last season while some of the others got 15kg, but they’re here all day. I was only here three days a week,” he said.

Sutton said he wouldn’t be able to gauge if it was a good season or not for at least another two weeks.

But further down the Tukituki, Murray Goodall had already managed to net a few whitebait at the start of his second season.

In his first season, Goodall managed to net 2kg of whitebait in one day after everyone else on the river had left, which he attributes to “potluck”.

This year he’s hoping for whatever he can get.

Murray Goodall and his first catch of the 2025 whitebait season. Photo / Jack Riddell

MetService meteorologist Kgolofelo Dube said Hawke’s Bay whitebaiters can expect mainly sunny skies to start this week.

However, she warned of some showers about the ranges, moving up from the south from Tuesday and Wednesday before clearing again on Thursday.

Westerly winds that blew throughout the weekend will make way for calmer southwesterlies from midnight Monday for most of the region, but Dube said winds would pick up in coastal areas on Tuesday before dropping off Wednesday.

Daytime temperatures are expected to remain higher than they have been, with 18C predicted for Hastings and 19C for Napier on Tuesday.

A slight drop is expected Wednesday before a rise again on Thursday.

However, Dube said mornings this week will remain chilly around Hawke’s Bay, with lows of 3C and 4C expected in Napier and Hastings on Wednesday.

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier.