wwwnzfisherconz 1

f sherISSUE 22 March 2013

wwwnzfisherconz

NZFisher take on the Chesters lsquoFanatical Fishosrsquo Comp

Rarotonga Still Delivers

SOLO MARLIN

2 wwwnzfisherconz

Can you hang on to 454kg of drag Okuma Makaira delivers

market breaking drag and complete over engineering -

delivered with dual drag cams to suit your fishing style

THE MAKAIRA REELS FEATURE

bull Up to 454kg of drag with complete free spool

bull Patented T-Bar handle

bull Custom thrust bearing to alleviate side load

bull Cold forged spool

bull 17-4 stainless steel components

bull Silent retrieve

bull Helical cut gears

bull Abec 5 ndash Sapporo stainless bearings

MAKAIRA

The new weapon in the Makaira army This rod is equipped

for the Makaira 80II or 50II and is a big game legend New

to the Makaira range is the Makaira 15kg stand up

THE MAKAIRA RODS FEATURE

bull ALPS bearing roller guides

bull Aluminium ALPS reel seats

bull Detachable ALPS butt section

bull Durable E-Glass construction

bull Composite Development designed tapers

MAKAIRAGAME RODS

Makaira Reel

Makaira Rod

Get a new Okuma Game

setup this weekend

TO DO

for 2013HOT

wwwcdrodsconz

bull Cold forged p

bull 17-4 stainless steel components17 4 stainless steel components

bull Silent retrieve

bull Helical cut gears

bull Abec 5 ndash Sapporo stainless bearingsbull Abec 5 ndash Sapporo stainless bearings

The new weapon in the Makaira army This rod is equipped

for the Makaira 80II or 50II and is a big game legend New

to the Makaira range is the Makaira 15kg stand upto the Makaira range is the Makaira 15kg stand p

THE MAKAIRA RODS FEATURE

bull ALPS bearing roller guidesALPS bearing roller guides

bull Aluminium ALPS reel seats

bull Detachable ALPS butt section

bull Durable E-Glass constructionble E-Glass construction

bull Composite Development designed tapers

Makaira RodM

weekend

for 2013

wwwcdrodsconzwww

Mini sprocket Jet head sprocket

Deckies mate pliers

Jet hea

Deckies mate plieersate plieCarbon solo gloves Lure leader

PAKULALEADING EDGE TACKLE TECHNOLOGYPete Pakula is a legend in the field of Marlin Fishing amp Lure Design He is responsible for the design of the biggest range of lures availiable in New Zealand amp his lures are responsible for a tonne of bill fish and other game species His extensive fishing experience constant research in fish behaviour and lure behaviour has resulted in this truely tried tested and successful lure range Many are included in the ldquotop 10 lures of all timerdquo

d

wwwnzfisherconz 3

Pg 6

1216

Pg 24

CONTENTS

editorial

TRAVELFISHING

6 Rarotonga still has the Goods

SPORTFISHING

12 NZFisher at the Mokes16 The Chesters lsquoFanatical Fishosrsquo competition

28 New Stuff20 Reader Pics amp competition

JETSKIFISHING

24 Just Dooing it at the Work-upshellip

BOATFISHING

27 The Boat Show is Coming in May

28 Video of the month

29 Coming soon

4 wwwnzfisherconz

The day you caught your first fish The first time you climbed into a boat These moments make up the beginning of the future

Today Hondarsquos forward thinking comes together to bring you a reliable fuel efficient range of outboards

The Beginning of the Future

Contact your local Honda Marine Dealer todayFreephone 0800 478 765 wwwhondamarineconz

From 23hp to 250hp

Scan me for a free cap

BeginningFuture190x225 Traderboatindd 1 15112012 85910 am

The day you caught your first fish The first time you climbed into a boat These moments make up the beginning of the future

Today Hondarsquos forward thinking comes together to bring you a reliable fuel efficient range of outboards

The Beginning of the Future

Contact your local Honda Marine Dealer todayFreephone 0800 478 765 wwwhondamarineconz

From 23hp to 250hp

Scan me for a free cap

BeginningFuture190x225 Traderboatindd 1 15112012 85910 am

wwwnzfisherconz 5

THERErsquoS A WEE STORM brewing in

the north that may bring some rain

but even if that does touch down

before we go to print this will go

down as the driest fishiest summer I

can remember Therersquos reports every

day of Marlin being landed on both

coasts the kingfish numbers being

caught are unprecedented (if not by

size anyway) and the Hauraki Gulf

snapper fishery has fired back up

again as the fish finish their spawning

amp look for a winter hide-away If this is

the effect of climate change I can see

why some want to deny its existence ndash

from a fishing point of view big highs

amp light winds means more time on

the water Our thoughts do go out to

the farmers whorsquore suffering from the

drought and we do hope rain is not

far away Inner harbour snapper have

been hard to find and therersquos a theory

that this is due to no fresh water

flushing the rivers ndash I guess wersquoll see

what the rains bring

Something pleasing in the mainstream

media is the coverage the likes

of Sealord are receiving for their

unsustainable fishing practices in the

south Pacific Fishers ndash our voice is

being heard More pressure and we

might even see some yellow fin tune

back in our waters

Forsyth Thompson was lucky enough

to spend some time in Rarotonga

recently amp managed a PB yellow fin ndash

something we largely donrsquot see here

at all anymore ndash but at least we know

there are SOME left

Autumn is a great time to spend

time in the shallows with stinky bait

relaxing while waiting for the big

moochers to arrive especially at

change of light With the right tides

a relaxing evening fish after-work can

be the way to go as shallow water

pannie snapper get hungry before

their move Whatever your target

species I hope the weather plays

along and you all have a very fishy

Easter break too

Tight lines

Derrick

From the EDITOR

editorial

ABOUT Short and sharp NZ Fisher is a free e-magazine delivering thought provoking and enlightening articles and industry news and information to forward-thinking fisher people

EDITOR Derrick Paull

ART DIRECTOR Jodi Olsson

CONTENT ENQUIRIES

Phone Derrick on 021 629 327

or email derrickpNZ Fisherconz

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES

Phone Richard on 09 522 7257

or email richardlespiremediacom

ADDRESS NZ Fisher

C- Espire Media PO Box 137162

Parnell Auckland 1151 NZ

WEBSITE wwwNZ Fisherconz

Main pic ldquoSOLO MARLINrdquo Angler Mike Feather Credit Derrick PaullInset ldquoKenepuru Snapperrdquo Angler Bevan Middlebrook

This is a GREEN MAG created and distributed without the use of paper so its environmentally friendly Please think before you

print Thank you

6 wwwnzfisherconz

By Forsyth Thompson

travelFISHING

Rarotonga Still Has The Goods

(Even when the weather doesnrsquot play along)

wwwnzfisherconz 7

SOME OF OUR READERS might recall

last my trip report from last yearrsquos trip

to Rarotonga when I set out to catch

a land based GT Standing knee deep

in water trying to keep a footing on

coral hooked up to monster GTs with

as much drag as I could hold on to is a

memory that will be with me forever

This year it was something different

chasing yellow fin with fingers crossed

for a slightly out-of-season marlin And

along the way I got more up close and

personal with big GTs than Irsquod have

thought possible

Irsquom lucky enough to have both family

and friends in the Cook Islands and

amongst them I count Junior Ioapa

and his wife Diane who run Marlin

Queen Charters Irsquove fished with them

a number of times over the years but

this year was the first time Irsquod fished

with Captain Willie who runs their

second boat Bobbi Marie a custom

built Stabicraft hard top Over the last

few months before I arrived Captain

Willie had landed a 300kg+ blue

marlin which was so big it had to be

cut into pieces to be weighed Willie

not only has the biggest marlin for

the season but also the most landed

so if anyone was going to get an

unseasonable but first marlin for me

it was the Marlin Queen guys Theyrsquore

also holders of the Cook Island

record Yellow fin at an impressive

852kg so whenever I fish with them

expectations are high

This year the weather was particularly

unkind with Cyclone Garry putting

in an unwelcome appearance and

shutting down fishing for a number of

days before and after its arrival But

once past Bobbi Marie and Marlin

Queen were the first boats back in

the water The first trip with Captain

Willie was after marlin to see if he

could break my marlin duck Hersquod

warned me that he got his 300kg+ on

stand up with no gimbal but I was so

excited at the thought of getting one

Irsquod have used a surfcaster if hersquod told

me to (I did in fact do that in Aitutaki

one year for GTs but thatrsquos a back-

breaking story for another day)

The lures went out literally just as we

left the harbour including a really big

one targeting big Blues Irsquod only just

finished putting out the last lure and

was looking back at the spread when

the big one went screaming off Captain

Willie screams ldquoitrsquos a big Bluerdquo and

came steaming down to get the rod out

of the holder as I started clearing the

rest of the gear I could hardly believe

we had hooked up to a marlin and only

a minute or two out of the harbour

and had just enough time to get on

the wheel and think ldquothis is too easyrdquo

before the line suddenly parted

I thought I was gutted until I saw

Williersquos face he looked even more

disappointed than me and he fishes

travelFISHING

Hooked up to a good YFT Raro style Captain Willie offering advice and encouragement

wwwnzfisherconz 7

SOME OF OUR READERS might recall

last my trip report from last yearrsquos trip

to Rarotonga when I set out to catch

a land based GT Standing knee deep

in water trying to keep a footing on

coral hooked up to monster GTs with

as much drag as I could hold on to is a

memory that will be with me forever

This year it was something different

chasing yellow fin with fingers crossed

for a slightly out-of-season marlin And

along the way I got more up close and

personal with big GTs than Irsquod have

thought possible

Irsquom lucky enough to have both family

and friends in the Cook Islands and

amongst them I count Junior Ioapa

and his wife Diane who run Marlin

Queen Charters Irsquove fished with them

a number of times over the years but

this year was the first time Irsquod fished

with Captain Willie who runs their

second boat Bobbi Marie a custom

built Stabicraft hard top Over the last

few months before I arrived Captain

Willie had landed a 300kg+ blue

marlin which was so big it had to be

cut into pieces to be weighed Willie

not only has the biggest marlin for

the season but also the most landed

so if anyone was going to get an

unseasonable but first marlin for me

it was the Marlin Queen guys Theyrsquore

also holders of the Cook Island

record Yellow fin at an impressive

852kg so whenever I fish with them

expectations are high

This year the weather was particularly

unkind with Cyclone Garry putting

in an unwelcome appearance and

shutting down fishing for a number of

days before and after its arrival But

once past Bobbi Marie and Marlin

Queen were the first boats back in

the water The first trip with Captain

Willie was after marlin to see if he

could break my marlin duck Hersquod

warned me that he got his 300kg+ on

stand up with no gimbal but I was so

excited at the thought of getting one

Irsquod have used a surfcaster if hersquod told

me to (I did in fact do that in Aitutaki

one year for GTs but thatrsquos a back-

breaking story for another day)

The lures went out literally just as we

left the harbour including a really big

one targeting big Blues Irsquod only just

finished putting out the last lure and

was looking back at the spread when

the big one went screaming off Captain

Willie screams ldquoitrsquos a big Bluerdquo and

came steaming down to get the rod out

of the holder as I started clearing the

rest of the gear I could hardly believe

we had hooked up to a marlin and only

a minute or two out of the harbour

and had just enough time to get on

the wheel and think ldquothis is too easyrdquo

before the line suddenly parted

I thought I was gutted until I saw

Williersquos face he looked even more

disappointed than me and he fishes

travelFISHING

Hooked up to a good YFT Raro style Captain Willie offering advice and encouragement

8 wwwnzfisherconz

twice a day 6 days a week I put the

boat in neutral and on retrieving

the end of the line the game swivel

has pulled in half at nowhere even

approaching its test pressure

Willie tells me this was a really good

Blue the big ones are apparently the

ones you never see in the lures and

in the short time it was connected

he called it for a good one Hersquos

caught not just the biggest for the

season but also the most so I take

his word for it and feel even more

disappointed But also excited thatrsquos

the nearest Irsquove got to a marlin and

I want more We troll lures out wide

and follow birds up and down the

islands and around the FADs Another

boat hooks up a stripey then loses

it when it leaps landing on the line

travelFISHING

and breaking it Meanwhile we put

out a flying fish dead bait with the

lures and head back down towards

home for one final look Suddenly the

80W with the flying fish on it goes

off a few clicks then a lot and then

nothing We paid the bait back and

slowed down the boat in the hope

of inducing another take but it just

wasnrsquot going to happen and we get

back a beaten up bait and head

home with some great stories but

sadly no marlin this time

With another break in the weather (a

second Cyclone came near enough

to cause rough weather) I got a

call from Diane saying they were

heading out first thing so at 5am in

the pitch black we set out to chase

some yellow fin As ever in Raro we

deployed lures pretty much as soon

as we left the harbour as the drop off

is so close in and fish are often taken

right there

Making our way down the island

we found the swell running a bit and

it wasnrsquot long before the other 2

passengers were getting a bit green

around the gills (Top tip for tourists

wanting to have a go at game fishing if

you donrsquot know if you get seasick or not

therersquos a good chance you will A quick

trip to the pharmacy is all it takes)

Other times out there wersquove watched

big yellow fin coming clean out of the

water chasing bait but this morning

although there were birds working we

werenrsquot treated to this After fishing

one FAD then the next along with just

A new PB for me and not just fantastic fun but fantastic eating too

wwwnzfisherconz 9

a single strike which failed to produce

a hook up we travelled back up the

island to the Panama FAD and Willie

got old school on us Traditional fishing

involves an un-weighted baited hook

a banana leaf containing chopped up

bait and a rock tied to it with a slip

knot which releases all on the end of a

hand-line attached to a float

So determine to put us onto some fish

we pulled the lures in and set a couple

of lines like this Then the Lasers were

swapped out for a couple of little 4

inch Tsunami soft baits (swim shads) on

40 hooks to see if something smaller

would get the fish excited

These are fished in a way the locals

call jigging but it bears no relation at

all to the vertical jigging we do here

in NZ itrsquos simply a case of leaving

the rod in the holder and constantly

pulling back and forth on the line

with your hand as the lures are trolled

slowly around imparting a more

irregular action to them And it is

absolutely more effective than trolling

alone especially on these small baits

these guys have been catching YFT

since just about forever and itrsquos safe

to say they know a thing or two

Within just a few minutes I hooked

up on the lighter gear we were using

and this was clearly no skipjack In a

rolling swell of 15+ metres stand-up

is always great fun and the tuna took

advantage of this making life tough

on me by getting deep under the

boat and just digging in A couple of

minutes into the fight our still-pretty-

green-looking passenger hooked up

too ndash this always has the miraculous

effect of making people forget about

their sea sickness This fish came to

the boat much more easily and our

first yellow fin around 12kg was on

ice Meanwhile I was doing my best

impression of an absolute rookie and

couldnrsquot persuade the fish to come

to the gaff as it did those long tuna

circles under the boat

The tiny 40 hook held on though and

travelFISHING

A good day at the office with the Marlin Queen And that was a tough fishing day

10 wwwnzfisherconz

a fish around 20kg joined the first

While all this was going on one of the

baits had been hit and one of the local

fishermen out there was waving his

arms and offering a certain amount of

advice to us But by the time we got

back to the float the fish was gone

sharked or otherwise so we reset it

and went back to trolling By this point

wersquod covered a lot of ground around

the island fished all kinds of lures at 3

different FADs and Captain Willie was

still doing everything he could to put

us on more fish ndash these guys really do

go the extra mile for you

The birds came in again and out the

back of the lures we saw a good sized

fish leave the water chasing bait To

be honest I couldnrsquot say what it was

but Willie shouted ldquoyellow finrdquo and

less than 30 seconds later the line was

ripped out of my hand and a much

angrier tuna went storming off And

on the little TLD I was fishing it just

kept going Man I love the sounds of

screaming drag therersquos nothing like

it to get the adrenaline goinghellipThis

was clearly a much stroppier fish and a

couple of times I thought Irsquod lost it as

it ran straight at the boat faster than I

travelFISHING

Cptn Junior supervising Cptn Williersquos work

CI Record Yellow Fin Tuna Large

wwwnzfisherconz 11

could wind even with Willie shouting

encouragement but both times the

weight came back on and I could

breathe again The fight wore on and

with such small hooks and relatively

light leader I had to stay on a light

drag setting so progress was slow

but so much more fun than if Irsquod been

on the 80W (Did I mention that in the

Cooks real men donrsquot use gimbals

The bruise lasted days ndash I wasnrsquot going

to look soft and ask for one) Willie

was worrying that the hook would

wear loose but apparently not that a

shark would have it apparently the

Cook Island sharks are well trained

and normally only take much smaller

tuna off the hook More on that

laterhellipFinally we could see the fish

under the boat and the circling began

Through a lot of laughter advice and

general piss-taking I finally got the fish

near enough to gaff and in it went

Not a huge fish by record standards

but at ldquoa bit over 25kgrdquo it was a best

for me and with the amount of effort

wersquod put in a hugely satisfying one

I always thought that our NZ kings

were the hardest-fighting fish for their

weight but these two fish had been a

much harder proposition than all but

the biggest kings Irsquod been connected

to up at the 3 Kings With the added

bonus of stand up gear light trace

small hooks and no gimbal it took me

a long time to stop grinning In fact

when we sat down for dinner at the

Pacific that night having it served first

as the freshest sashimi Irsquove ever had

and then as huge char grilled pieces I

was still enjoying these fantastic fish

On a more sober note though it does

make me think just what a terrible

loss they are to us in NZ now that

theyrsquove been all but cleared out by

commercial fishing It puts the work

that Legasea and Greenpeace are

doing into real context when you get

out there and experience yellow fin

fishing (and eating) first hand Perhaps

if we all act together by choosing

carefully what we buy and donrsquot buy

wersquoll all be able to enjoy this kind

of fishing back here in NZ again I

certainly hope so

Irsquod like to take the opportunity to

thank Junior Diane and Willie for

being such fantastic hosts and for

working so hard to put us onto fish

Therersquos a reason that these guys

are the busiest charter operators

on the island and catch the most

and biggest fish Check them out

on Facebook for regular updates

of fishing in paradise Itrsquoll make you

jealous but itrsquos worth it

travelFISHING

300kg+ Blue Marlin Next time marlin next time

12 wwwnzfisherconz

sportFISHING

3AM STARTS ARE few and far

between for fishing trips for me

but this was a bit special

Getting to head out and fish

around the Mokes (Mokohinau

Islands) was definitely worth it

This was only my second time

fishing for Kingies and first time

having a go at mechanical jigging

I was really looking forward to

having my arms pulled

We left from Marsden Cove on the

good ship Nimble II and settled

in to a fairly lengthy journey

out there through some pretty

sloppy waters Once there we

werenrsquot too long in finding some

promising sign and everyone

dropped their jigs to the bottom

The first hook up came pretty

quickly but it turned out to be a

baracouta This looked to be the

way of it with couta after couta

coming aboard Then one of the

boys realised the kingies were

sitting at 50m rather than on the

bottom Within a few minutes it

was a bit of a frenzy as there were

multiple hook ups and decent

sized fish being boated I landed

By Forbes Thomson

Forbes leaves the rocks behind in search of a kingfish

NZFisher at the Mokes

Ariel with the first king that got the ball rolling

By Forbes Taylor

sportFISHING

one estimated to be about 12kgs

by no means a monster but it put

up a good account for itself I

was also bust off on what was

definitely going to be a PB for me

[Ed Damned couta accounted for

what was easily the best hook-up

of the day The fish dealt to Forbes

who did end up getting it almost

all the way up before the leader

knot was hit by a couta A real

shame after all Forbesrsquo hard work]

To make matters worse I had put

in all the hard yards on him and

almost had him to the boat Never

Diamond Fusionsrsquo Simon Bell with his first Kingfish

Going lightweight

Diamond Eyes for the depths

Toothy critters took their toll on gear

14 wwwnzfisherconz

sportFISHING

mind there will be another time

We did a few more drifts but

struggled to find the fish in

numbers like we did on the first

one In the end we all ended

up catching a King so not a bad

result The skipper finished off

the fishing with a bit of a bottom

fish at Maori Rocks at the back of

Fannel Island The highlight of

which (for me anyway) was seeing

a few sizeable schools of Trevally

feeding on krill on the surface

Then it was in to the long journey

home which gave us ample

opportunity to tell tales of the one

that got away

One for the binThe author with his first legal kingfish

No kingfish pain no gain

Stickbaits barely raisesd a fish even with schools of trevally circling the boat

14 wwwnzfisherconz

sportFISHING

mind there will be another time

We did a few more drifts but

struggled to find the fish in

numbers like we did on the first

one In the end we all ended

up catching a King so not a bad

result The skipper finished off

the fishing with a bit of a bottom

fish at Maori Rocks at the back of

Fannel Island The highlight of

which (for me anyway) was seeing

a few sizeable schools of Trevally

feeding on krill on the surface

Then it was in to the long journey

home which gave us ample

opportunity to tell tales of the one

that got away

One for the binThe author with his first legal kingfish

No kingfish pain no gain

Stickbaits barely raisesd a fish even with schools of trevally circling the boat

wwwnzfisherconz 15

1

2

3

4

5

5 simple rulesto help you stay safe

Life jacketsTake them ndash Wear them

Boats especially ones under 6m in length can sink very quickly Wearing a life jacket increases your survival time in the water

Skipper responsibilityThe skipper is responsible for the safety of everyone on board and for the safe operation of the boat Stay within the limits of your vessel and your experience

CommunicationsTake two separate waterproof ways of communicating so we can help you if you get into difficulties

Marine weather New Zealandrsquos weather can be highly unpredictable Check the local marine weather forecast before you go and expect both weather and sea state changes

Avoid alcohol Safe boating and alcohol do not mix Things can change quickly on the water You need to stay alert and aware

For more information about safe boating education and how to prepare for your boating activity visit wwwadventuresmartorgnz

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

The Boating Safety

Before you go boating on our seas lakes and rivers get familiar with New Zealandrsquos Boating Safety Code no matter what kind of boat you use

CODE

wwwadventuresmartorgnz

The Water Safety The Outdoor Safety

CODE CODE

Also available

16 wwwnzfisherconz

sportFISHING

IrsquoM NOT USUALLY that excited by

fishing competitions With NZFisher

itrsquos part of the game so we get I

and support as many as we can and

of course we run the Roctoberfish

competition ourselves When I do

get involved Irsquom always surprised

by how much I enjoy myself and

the way others are so buzzed by

the event and especially the prize

giving Whatrsquos always bugged me

is the wastefulness of competitions

especially ones that glorify the

relentless culling of species like kahawai

that often end up as fertiliser

So itrsquos a real pleasure to say how

much I enjoyed and appreciated

the Chesters New Lynn lsquoFanatical

Fishosrsquo 2013 competition held in

late February Alan Radcliffe has

been driving the Fanatical Fishos

competition for all of its 23 years and

after all that time itrsquos no surprise that

they have ironed out the kinks

Instead of anglers bringing in their fish

and simply taking them away once

weighed the fish are collected by the

organisers amp kept in great condition in

troughs of ice ready to be auctioned

off often back to the very angler that

The Chesters lsquoFanatical Fishosrsquo

competitionBy Derrick Paul

landed them This practice places a

real value on the fish weighed in and

anglers are not only encouraged to look

after their catch better but to bid high

and handsome as all proceeds from

the auction are split evenly between

Titirangi Coastguard and Legasea

So with this knowledge in hand I

hooked up with my cabinet maker

friend and Chesters client (NOTE You

must be a Chesters New Lynn client

to gain entry this is not a lsquopublicrsquo

competition) Brendan Jury and made

a plan to win this competition We

needed a team of three so Diamond

Fusion NZ owner Simon Bell was

drafted to Team NZFisher

Despite not being a huge fan of most

competitions Irsquove managed to win

and place in a few over the years and

one thing that I always remind myself

of is that you need to plan to win Itrsquos

not often you just head out drop a

line any-old-where and you pull the

winning fish We checked out the

species list and chose kingfish as our

target species While therersquos always a

chance of getting skunked if you do

get a decent king they normally place

well Fighting it out over snapper can

mean entering good fish but getting

no-where (I once came 11th with a

92kg snapper in a lsquoPubrsquo competition

lost my fish and didnrsquot get a prize)

The Chesters competition allows

anglers to fish anywhere in New

Zealand and is not too restrictive on

tackle They have also learned not to

allow kahawai ndash one of the most fun

fish to catch but often the easiest and

they come in huge numbers often just

to be wasted

Alan Radcliffe amp Scott Macindoe - keeping the Chesters comp on target for 23 years

wwwnzfisherconz 17

We are fishing from a 5 meter boat so

despite the near perfect conditions we

couldnrsquot get to places like the back of

Great Barrier The decision was made

and we chose Little Barrier Simpsons

Rock as our target area with a shot at

the Coral Patch on the way out

Part one of the plan was to stock up

on livies in Omaha Bay once exiting

Whangateau Harbour but that was

soon sidelined when the huge schools

we encountered refused to take

anything we offered up

Step two was a jig for kings on Leigh

reef While I havenrsquot personally landed

any large kings here therersquos no doubt

they frequent the reef We were there

on about high tide so with little water

movement it was a tad on the slow

side (one hit amp subsequent drop) This

trip wasnrsquot panning out so well at all

Next to try was the coral patch a 35m

reef that comes out of 50meters and

covers an area of about two football

fields On our previous trip here two

weeks earlier it had been crawling

with kings and trevally schooling up

smashing bait and producing really

nice fish Today ndash dead as a doorknob

That feeling of dread was starting

to creep in We even resorted to

burleying up to try amp get a snapper or

two but Tanagaroa was not cutting us

any slack

The decision was made to cut

Simpsons from the plan and focus

on a few spots at Little Barrier that

had produced well in the past The

first was a very popular haunt for

fishos on the north western corner

of the island a rugged reef that

comes up from 20 meters and causes

the current to build as it passes by

The sea was very calm and the sun

beating down it was feeling less amp

less fishy all the time We drifted past

a couple of times jigging amp tossing

stick-baits into the white water but

nothing was interested ndash not even

kahawai this day

While we were trying options Simon

noticed a hammerhead shark cruising

by and upon mentioning it I got the

first of three follows by a pack of two

or three kings On the forth cast one

hit the lure amp I was hooked up solidly

The king had taken an Orion Bigfoot

stick bait (one of my favourites) and

very kindly it headed to deeper

water following the boat as Brendan

motored us away from the rocks I

was using the Okuma Salina II stick

bait combo on loan from Composite

Developments Itrsquos a nice set-up

especially for the price ($499 RRP) but

I had no idea how much hurt I could

put on the fish it dug in and made

a few deep runs trying to get to the

bottom With real fear of losing the

fish I ratcheted up the drag and the

Salina responded beautifully lifting

the fish and getting line back Simon

sportFISHING

Auctioning the NZFisher winning kingfish

18 wwwnzfisherconz

sportFISHING

mentioned a few times the presence

of now two hammerheads so we

worked hard to get the king to the

boat before it became dinner for the

sharks Brendan did the gaff-work (his

first time on the gaff) and we had our

first king (around 15kgs a nice start)

We measured the fish and put it on ice

ndash although on ice is a bit misleading as

the fish was far from fitting inside the

chilly bin

We had a few more casts around

the reef but failed to raise another

fish On advice from a young lsquoold

saltrsquo Alastair at Go Fish we headed

to the south western corner of

Little Barrier a spot Irsquod never fished

before Alastairrsquos advice paid off as

another 8 or so kingfish were landed

none bigger than what we already

had so all were released ndash but it felt

good to get into numbers of fish

after such a hard day We anchored

up for a quick snapper fish before

heading back in for the weigh-in and

prize-giving

The weigh-station at Chesters was

manned by Scott Macindoe amp Paul

Barnes scarred old warriors of the

Option4 amp Legasea recreational

fisheries management lobby groups

Scott tells me hersquos been at as many

of the Chesters competitions as Alan

so Irsquod say this relationship has been

cemented for a very long time

The weigh-in auction amp prize-giving

ran like clockwork After twenty two

previous events itrsquos no surprise they

have it down pat Our 1568kg kingfish

took out the top kingfish prize and cost

us a satisfying $150 to buy back in the

charity auction I did learn that snapper

is the lsquotrophyrsquo fish at the Chesters comp

so maybe wersquoll target them next time

So as a better educated fisher

with some ideas to translate to the

RoctoberFish competition I thank

Grant Chester Alan Radcliffe and the

rest of the team for a really fun family

orientated competition Irsquom looking

forward to getting involved

next year

The Chesters lsquoFanatical Fishosrsquo Snapper winner amp his winning cheque

Derrickrsquos Winning Kingfish

Scott Macindoe on the value of the Chesters - Legasea relationship

Brendan with one of the hard fought snapper

wwwnzfisherconz 19

NEWstuff

Tackle-it lsquoOdour Eliminatorrsquorsquo

Tackle it 179a Archers rd Glenfield

After more than 15 years research

amp development Tackle-it has

established itself as a suit of

eco-friendly effective cleaning

products virtually unparalleled in

New Zealand The tackle-it range

includes products as diverse as lake

amp pond cleaners to deodorisers

and metal cleaners and just about

everything in between

In an age of real environmental

awareness Tackle-it is a beacon of

common sense and practicality

We have been provided two products

to use the Tackle-it lsquoRevive-itrsquo and

Tackle-it lsquoOdour EliminatorSanitizerrsquo

I have seen too many lsquowonder knifersquo

infomercials to be easily swayed by a

product that claims to be everything

to everyone but tried the Odour

EliminatorSanitizer immediately on

our bench-top compost bin that had

been ripening in the summer sun

The results were pretty surprising It

actually worked That brief trial was

a good start but after Forbes forgot

to take three mackerel out of the

live-bait tank 7 the boat sat outside

for three days I the sun the stench

was tear-jerkingly bad Once the

offending macks had been removed

amp the tank bleached it still stank to

the heavens so we tested the Odour

EliminatorSanitizerrsquo once again and

it has (four days later) removed the

smell to at most a lsquowhiffrsquo of fishiness

Wersquore I the testing stages of the

Revive-it on the NZFisher boat amp

wersquoll report back next month But if

yoursquod like to try Tackle-it yourself

click here to leave your details on

our Facebook Event page and go

into the draw to win one of two

packs of Tackle-it Odour Eliminator

and Revive-it

Tackle Tests As tested by NZFisher

20 wwwnzfisherconz

READERpicsAlan McKinvens crew of Brad Kimbo Scott amp Millie

ands their bag of fish from Channel Island

Big Azza with a spring schoolie

Aaron McDonald got into the workup action with this pair of Hauraki snapper

wwwnzfisherconz 21

READERpics

Paul Steffenson - A 20lb+ Snapper released

Bevan Middlebrook proving there are great snapper in the South Island This beauty was pulled form Kenepuru Sound

Dianne Thompson with her first snapper off the beach

Murray Kee amp friends grabbed this haul in a one day mission to Great Barrier via Anchorite

22 wwwnzfisherconz

This monthrsquos winner of the ReelWear tee is Dianne Thompson for her first snapper from the

beach Dianne wins a Reel Adventures ReelWear Tee-Shirt The OKUMA Hoody goes to Bevan

Middlebrook for that stunning Kenepuru Sound Snapper Bevan amp Dianne drop us a line to

arrange your size amp delivery details

Win this Reel Wear tee shirt next month by sending in your fishy pics to Facebook

READERpics

Steve with a great inner Gulf Puka - thats right INNER GULF

Not the desired result for Azza

Steversquos best snapper for the season not shabby at all

wwwnzfisherconz 21

READERpics

Paul Steffenson - A 20lb+ Snapper released

Bevan Middlebrook proving there are great snapper in the South Island This beauty was pulled form Kenepuru Sound

Dianne Thompson with her first snapper off the beach

Murray Kee amp friends grabbed this haul in a one day mission to Great Barrier via Anchorite

22 wwwnzfisherconz

This monthrsquos winner of the ReelWear tee is Dianne Thompson for her first snapper from the

beach Dianne wins a Reel Adventures ReelWear Tee-Shirt The OKUMA Hoody goes to Bevan

Middlebrook for that stunning Kenepuru Sound Snapper Bevan amp Dianne drop us a line to

arrange your size amp delivery details

Win this Reel Wear tee shirt next month by sending in your fishy pics to Facebook

READERpics

Steve with a great inner Gulf Puka - thats right INNER GULF

Not the desired result for Azza

Steversquos best snapper for the season not shabby at all

22 wwwnzfisherconz

This monthrsquos winner of the ReelWear tee is Dianne Thompson for her first snapper from the

beach Dianne wins a Reel Adventures ReelWear Tee-Shirt The OKUMA Hoody goes to Bevan

Middlebrook for that stunning Kenepuru Sound Snapper Bevan amp Dianne drop us a line to

arrange your size amp delivery details

Win this Reel Wear tee shirt next month by sending in your fishy pics to Facebook

READERpics

Steve with a great inner Gulf Puka - thats right INNER GULF

Not the desired result for Azza

Steversquos best snapper for the season not shabby at all

wwwnzfisherconz 23

Built-in StructureScanreg HD sonar imaging plus award-winning Broadband Sounderreg with DownScan Overlaytrade and TrackBacktrade feature The ultimate fish-and structure-finding display wwwlowrancecomfind

Personalised or optional Navionicsreg charts View both at once in 3D perspective view plus StructureMaptrade and Broadband Radartrade capability wwwlowrancecomnavigate

New super-bright widescreen displays in 7 9 and 12-inch sizes with touchscreen control Dominate your time on the water with greater command and control thatrsquos now easier to learn and customize wwwlowrancecomdominate

P R E V I E W T H E N E W H D S G E N 2 T O U C H A T L O W R A N C E C O M

wwwenlconz

COMPETITION

Win a Rod amp Reel with OKUMA amp NZFisher

JUST POST A pic of you with a fish

to our Facebook page and yoursquore

in the draw to win an Okuma Salina

II Rod and Reel combo plus tackle

worth $75000

Not only that but every month wersquoll

give away an Okuma Hoody and

ReelWear T-shirt between now and

June 2013 Every image you enter

has a chance to win each month and

also the big prize The more and

sooner you enter the better your

chances so get fishing and posting

those images to Facebook

24 wwwnzfisherconz

jetskiFISHING

Just Dooing it at the Work-upshellip

WITH THE WEATHER in New Zealand

gifting us with some late summer heat

it is encouraging us to spend our time

enjoying Jetskifishing This session

being a mid week fish between

obligations of work and preparations

for the Sea-Doo King of Jetskifishing

in association with Woodbine Marine

Competition I invited one of our

event sponsors to come out with me

on his Sea-Doo GTX to see what we

could find on local fishing adventure

Not much encouragement needed

Ian was all over it knowing he was in

for the X factor of Jetskifishing

We headed for our destination with

my leisurely speed of fully tapped -)

to Flat Rock area with Ian eagerly

keeping up with the pace First stop

was some Kingfish jigging which only

Doubtless Bay Pannie

By Andrew Hill

Ianrsquos first drop produced a chunky 19lb snapper

Feisty kingfish

wwwnzfisherconz 25

jetskiFISHING

raised some rats for those new to

fishing ldquoratsrdquo are undersized or close

to legal Kingfish

My wingman couldnrsquot complain

his first drop was the bonus of this

nineteen pound Snapper on the jig

The heat was getting the better of

us on a glorious day on the Gulf so I

opted for a cool down ride in search

of work-ups If you can find them

it is the most exciting atmosphere

for Jetskifishing The more intense

work-ups involve Gannets diving from

above while Dolphins are rounding

the bait fish with other predators of

the food chain beneath

All going well we usually find easy

fishing amongst the work-up activity

with good sized Snapper

Doubtless Bay Pannie

26 wwwnzfisherconz FN47

18

LEADERS IN BOAT TRAILERDESIGN amp PERFORMANCE

Trade in your existing boat trailer for a new Voyager and receive minimum 10 DISCOUNT on the value of your new replacement trailerbull We service repair and re-galvanise any boat trailerbull Parts servicing multi-roller and tandem conversion

6 Kaimiro St Pukete Industrial Estate Hamilton ndash Ph 07 849 3158

wwwvoyagertrailersconz

Used bylsquoSuperbly BuiltrsquolsquoThe boat goes on and off the trailer like a dreamrsquolsquoit tows like a breezersquo

Matt Watson ITM Fishing Show

Lots of nice sized Snapper with the

day finishing with another fish just

over fifteen pounds after the cameras

stopped The video link shows how

great the day was and I am sure that

those that have experienced it before

can relate to our enjoyment

If yoursquod like to get started with Jet

Ski fishing come see Andrew Hill

at the Jetskifishing Store You can

follow Andrewrsquos adventures here on

FacebookTheres plenty of healthy snapper

outwide amp the weather makes it

perfect to chase them this year

Two snapper pon one jig - thats just greedy

wwwnzfisherconz 27

VISITORS TO THE 2013 Hutchwilco

New Zealand Boat Show who book

their tickets online before May 8 will

go into the draw to win a spectacular

$3000 Viking Profish 440 Evolution IV

fishing kayak package

The Viking Profish 440 Evolution IV

is a top of the line fishing kayak with

incredible stability in all conditions

This makes it the ideal kayak from

which to fish safely either off the coast

or in calmer harbour waters

The Viking Profish 440 Evolution IV

is also an incredibly practical fishing

kayak with an unprecedented number

of places to safely stow everything

from cell phones and refreshments to

bait and the catch

The lsquoearly birdrsquo prize package also

includes an amazing array of practical

extras designed to further enhance

the fishing and kayaking experience

These include a Hutchwilco multi-fit

safety vest deluxe fisherman seat

Propelz speed paddle insulated fish

bag running rig and drift chute two

Railblaza rod holders paddle leash

and two rod leashes C Tug kayak

trolley safety flag fish stringer and

Propelz deluxe seat cushion

Tickets to the 2013 Hutchwilco New

Zealand Boat Show are now available

by clicking the lsquoBuy Ticketsrsquo tab at

wwwboatshowconz

Those attending the show will also

have the chance to win a large

number of other great prizes too

These include the incredible $100000

StabicraftYamaha prize package two

$2000 Viking kayaks each day (8 in

total) and a trip for two to Sipidan in

Malaysia to the worldrsquos only dive rig

The Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat

Show is New Zealandrsquos longest-

running largest and most popular

boat show It will be held at the ASB

Showgrounds in Greenlane Auckland

on May 16-19 2013 Hours are 10am

until 6pm daily with a single late night

on Friday May 17 when the show will

be open until 9pm Admission is just

$20 for adults and there is no charge

for children 16 and under

More at wwwboatshowconz

By Derrick Paull

The Boat Show is Coming in May

boatFISHING

Get in early to win

28 wwwnzfisherconz

Fishing Video of the Month

WE MIgHT NOT be the country music

loving type like they are in the USA

but this track from Trace Atkins is a

universal take on the father daughter

son fishing trips we take (well some of

us take ndash and some will hopefully get

the chance to one day too)

Just Fishinrsquo

But on a fishier note herersquos something

to get the heart pumping

Day one two and three of Stefanorsquos

Far North Jetski adventure in

February 2013

And from the very far north I think

this might be the very first time

a GoPro has been attached to a

wild fish amp retrieved ndash check out

lsquoHallibutCamrsquo

VIDEO

wwwnzfisherconz 29

regionalREVIEWSNEXTmonth

Have you subscribed to NZ Fisher Itrsquos freeSimply visit wwwnzfisherconz to get a copy of NZ Fisher

delivered straight to your inbox every month

In next months issue

- West Coast Marlin Madness

- East Cape LBG Mission

- Take a kid fishing tips