The New Zealand Whitebait Book

by R. M. McDowall

First published 1984. Published by A.H. & A.W, Reed, Wellington. ISBN 0 589 01533 8. Size: 215mm x 135mm. 210 pp total. Soft Cover.

This must be the best and the only book on the subject available. It is well written and contains all the information on whitebait and white-baiting you could ever need. Subjects covered include: Where do whitebait come from? Their upstream migration, Different species, Their life cycle, Whitebait and the Maori, History of the whitebait fishery in New Zealand, and What the fishery was like in the good old days!

On a more practical side, the book also covers how to catch whitebait. The author looks at the different whitebait nets such as the pole and set nets, the Southland Sock, Traps, Whitebait stands, Screens and so on. There are many interesting old black and white photographs of white-baiting and the traps and contraptions used to catch them.

No longer available new. Copies can occasionally be found in second-hand book stores.