wwwnzfisherconz 1

ISSUE 4 December 2010

Sharpening up ndash being on target for landing Marlin

The Sc-iwiA Scott in Aotearoa

Lazy Fishy Days of

Summer

wwwnzfisherconz

2 wwwnzfisherconz

THE RUM THAT INVENTED RUM

wwwmountgayrumcom Enjoy the adventure drink responsibly

wwwnzfisherconz 3

Pg 6

12

186 Sharpening Up

Game fishing

11 Fishing Video of the Month

Gurnard capers with Espresso

12 From Haggis to Hell-Yes

A Scotsman on fishing in NZ

18 Getting it right before you

hit the water

Kayak fishing

20 Beating the Christmas Skunking

22 Product Review

Rovex lsquoVirosrsquo Braid

23 New Product

Berkeley Diablo Softbait Rods

24 The Clubhouse

Hibiscus Coast Kayak Fishing Club

26 Regional Reviews

28 Name that Species Pg 3023

2 wwwnzfisherconz

THE RUM THAT INVENTED RUM

wwwmountgayrumcom Enjoy the adventure drink responsibly

wwwnzfisherconz 3

Pg 6

12

186 Sharpening Up

Game fishing

11 Fishing Video of the Month

Gurnard capers with Espresso

12 From Haggis to Hell-Yes

A Scotsman on fishing in NZ

18 Getting it right before you

hit the water

Kayak fishing

20 Beating the Christmas Skunking

22 Product Review

Rovex lsquoVirosrsquo Braid

23 New Product

Berkeley Diablo Softbait Rods

24 The Clubhouse

Hibiscus Coast Kayak Fishing Club

26 Regional Reviews

28 Name that Species Pg 3023

wwwnzfisherconz 3

Pg 6

12

186 Sharpening Up

Game fishing

11 Fishing Video of the Month

Gurnard capers with Espresso

12 From Haggis to Hell-Yes

A Scotsman on fishing in NZ

18 Getting it right before you

hit the water

Kayak fishing

20 Beating the Christmas Skunking

22 Product Review

Rovex lsquoVirosrsquo Braid

23 New Product

Berkeley Diablo Softbait Rods

24 The Clubhouse

Hibiscus Coast Kayak Fishing Club

26 Regional Reviews

28 Name that Species Pg 3023

4 wwwnzfisherconz

Find your local

dealer at

Applies to non-commercial use only Conditional on annual service by authorised Honda Marine dealers

DaggerHonda test boat did 73km on a 25 litre tote tank at 40kmhr cruising speed

wwwhondamarineconz0800 4 STROKE (0800 478 765)

Take your mates fishing for less than $4 eachDagger

ECONOMY

HM

AR

_08

3

23 5 8 10 15 20 25 30 40 50 60 75 90 115 135 150 175 200 225

The all new Honda fuel-injected

115hp delivers class-leading

performance with unparalleled fuel

efficiency and reliability

bull Most powerful 115hp outboard on the market ndash actually produces 121hp

bull ECOmo lean burn control gives truly amazing fuel economy

bull BLAST (Boosted Low Speed Torque) for phenomenal acceleration

bull Extremely low vibration and noise levels with twin balancer shaft

bull NMEA 2000 compliant so all engine and fuel data can be displayed on GPS screen

ALL NEW

HONDA 115HPLook for it at your

local dealer

wwwnzfisherconz 5

This is a GREEN MAG created and distrib-uted without the use of paper so its envi-ronmentally friendly Please think before

you print Thank you

Happy Fishing

Derrick

ssue four amp wersquore at the wonderful

month of December Nine months

ago when we really began winding

up for issue one December wasnrsquot even

a consideration We had targeted the

first three issues as our make or break

and issue four would be a bonus and

each month after the same

With over 2000 readers amp a growing

online following we feel that the idea has

developed into a great little read and

wersquore giving our readers what they want

Or at least thatrsquos what we think Please

click here to send us a quick note on

anything you think we can do differently

or better to improve your reading

experience Thanks to readers of issues

1 -3 who have given feedback we really

appreciate your ideas and strive to give

you a better product as a result

On the fishing front spring has come

and gone and now wersquore into summer

for real The fishing is still firing in most

areas and game fish are bound to be

just days away The Christmas break

is a time to relax and I for one will be

taking a much slower approach therersquos

no need to get too wound up about

it ndash the real fun will kick in in February

when the Gamefish amp moocher snapper

come by for a visit

Christmas is a great time to spend

lsquofishing timersquo with the family especially if

you can incorporate the likes of shellfish

gathering netting or spearing flounder

or simply snorkelling around the bays and

inlets of your fishing areas ndash you never

know what you might see and learn

Enjoy your holidays good luck with

your fishing and please be safe this

holiday period ndash we canrsquot afford to lose

any readers

EDITOR

ABOUT

Short and sharp NZ Fisher is

a free e-magazine delivering

thought provoking and en-

lightening articles and indus-

try news and information to

forward-thinking fisher people

EDITOR Derrick Paull

ART DIRECTOR Jodi Olsson

GROUP EDITOR Trudi Caffell

CONTENT ENQUIRIES

Phone Derrick on 021 629 327

or email

derrickpNZ Fisherconz

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES

Phone Alastair on 021 866 036

or email

alastairnespiremediacom

ADDRESS NZ Fisher

C- Espire Media PO Box 137162

ParnellAuckland 1151 NZ

WEBSITE wwwNZ Fisherconz

wwwnzfisherconz 5

This is a GREEN MAG created and distrib-uted without the use of paper so its envi-ronmentally friendly Please think before

you print Thank you

Happy Fishing

Derrick

ssue four amp wersquore at the wonderful

month of December Nine months

ago when we really began winding

up for issue one December wasnrsquot even

a consideration We had targeted the

first three issues as our make or break

and issue four would be a bonus and

each month after the same

With over 2000 readers amp a growing

online following we feel that the idea has

developed into a great little read and

wersquore giving our readers what they want

Or at least thatrsquos what we think Please

click here to send us a quick note on

anything you think we can do differently

or better to improve your reading

experience Thanks to readers of issues

1 -3 who have given feedback we really

appreciate your ideas and strive to give

you a better product as a result

On the fishing front spring has come

and gone and now wersquore into summer

for real The fishing is still firing in most

areas and game fish are bound to be

just days away The Christmas break

is a time to relax and I for one will be

taking a much slower approach therersquos

no need to get too wound up about

it ndash the real fun will kick in in February

when the Gamefish amp moocher snapper

come by for a visit

Christmas is a great time to spend

lsquofishing timersquo with the family especially if

you can incorporate the likes of shellfish

gathering netting or spearing flounder

or simply snorkelling around the bays and

inlets of your fishing areas ndash you never

know what you might see and learn

Enjoy your holidays good luck with

your fishing and please be safe this

holiday period ndash we canrsquot afford to lose

any readers

EDITOR

ABOUT

Short and sharp NZ Fisher is

a free e-magazine delivering

thought provoking and en-

lightening articles and indus-

try news and information to

forward-thinking fisher people

EDITOR Derrick Paull

ART DIRECTOR Jodi Olsson

GROUP EDITOR Trudi Caffell

CONTENT ENQUIRIES

Phone Derrick on 021 629 327

or email

derrickpNZ Fisherconz

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES

Phone Alastair on 021 866 036

or email

alastairnespiremediacom

ADDRESS NZ Fisher

C- Espire Media PO Box 137162

ParnellAuckland 1151 NZ

WEBSITE wwwNZ Fisherconz

6 wwwnzfisherconz

gameFISHING feature

Double hook

ups like

these donrsquot

happen by

accident

Sharpening Up

Credit Graeme Heapy

wwwnzfisherconz 7

trsquos about now with the weather

warming up that the keen game

fisherman starts thinking about the

season ahead And if yoursquore anything

like me you find yourself asking ques-

tions like whatrsquos the weather going to

be like Are we going to have a lot of

fish this season What competitions are

we going fish When are the best week-

ends to be away

With all these thoughts running

through your mind itrsquos time to get the

gear out and get stuck in to make sure

itrsquos all in perfect working order for the

Like a good boy scout

Kurtrsquos motto is lsquoBe Preparedrsquo

By Kurt Bennetto

fast approaching season

The first things to get sorted are your

rods and reels Itrsquos so important to make

sure the drags have been serviced and

reset to the correct settings Something

that often gets over looked is the state

of your nylon I have seen nylon that is

almost 10 years old and has never been

replaced A lot of people also forget

that when you catch a fish whether it be

a marlin or a tuna the nylon is wound

back on to the spool under immense

pressure Over time this stretches the

nylon as you could imagine the effect of

this stretching is decreased line integrity

ndash ie it breaks at lower weights

Itrsquos fairly easy to strip down a reel

and if yoursquore careful and follow the

instructions it will probably be ok If

yoursquore not too sharp with tools donrsquot

have the time or inclination get your

gear into a trusted tackle shop By this

time of year theyrsquoll be pretty busy so

plan early for next year

Reels need love and an annual

service is the least you can do Many

great fish have been lost through

rough drag seized bearings and

corroded teeth on cogs Be safe and

get it greased up in advance

A simple but common glitch is when a

game rod roller (guide) seizes up It only

takes a bit of salt to get stuck in the roller

and as your gear is stored over winter

it slowly locks up This could cause you

some serious heart ache if the general

maintenance is not kept up Check your

rollers before each trip a drop of oil

will do wonders as will a decent rinse

when you get home We only get limited

chances throughout the game season so

make every chance count

Common debates that pop up year in

year out are ldquoSingle hooks VS Double

hooksrdquo ldquoHard drags VS Light dragsrdquo

Open gape hooks VS Closed gape

hooksrdquo This is a completely different

story which I could spend hours waffling

on about and even then itrsquos not science

However we will save that for another

time In the mean time itrsquos time to get

You never know where the hook will end up

Credit Kurt Bennetto

wwwnzfisherconz 9

159kg of w

ell

planned B

lue

Marlin

Credit Kurt Bennetto

10 wwwnzfisherconz

To maximise your chances you need to be consistent Make sure your rods reels and tackle is up to standard so that when you do hook up you have absolutely no doubt in your mind

the lures out of the bag and rigged up

One thing I can say that I guarantee

will increase your chances is having

extremely sharp hooks Its simple marlin

have hard mouths and therefore the

sharper the hook the better the hook up

rate I believe only about 25 of game

fisherman have sharp hooks Sharpening

a hook in itself is an art and takes time

to perfect The key to it is filing the right

amount of barb off so it penetrates

easier In a sense what you are doing is

minimising the cross sectional area of

penetration You would be surprised to

know how many people buy new hooks

and think they are sharp enough Thatrsquos

definitely not the case

To maximise your chances you need to

be consistent Make sure your rods reels

and tackle is up to standard so that when

you do hook up you have absolutely no

doubt in your mind I donrsquot mind losing

a marlin that falls off or just didnrsquot hook

up Thatrsquos fishing But when a fish is lost

due to gear failure thatrsquos devastating

And should never happen

So next weekend get the gear out on

the deck pour yourself a Mount Gay rum

and start planning the season ahead

Canrsquot wait

wwwnzfisherconz 7

trsquos about now with the weather

warming up that the keen game

fisherman starts thinking about the

season ahead And if yoursquore anything

like me you find yourself asking ques-

tions like whatrsquos the weather going to

be like Are we going to have a lot of

fish this season What competitions are

we going fish When are the best week-

ends to be away

With all these thoughts running

through your mind itrsquos time to get the

gear out and get stuck in to make sure

itrsquos all in perfect working order for the

Like a good boy scout

Kurtrsquos motto is lsquoBe Preparedrsquo

By Kurt Bennetto

fast approaching season

The first things to get sorted are your

rods and reels Itrsquos so important to make

sure the drags have been serviced and

reset to the correct settings Something

that often gets over looked is the state

of your nylon I have seen nylon that is

almost 10 years old and has never been

replaced A lot of people also forget

that when you catch a fish whether it be

a marlin or a tuna the nylon is wound

back on to the spool under immense

pressure Over time this stretches the

nylon as you could imagine the effect of

this stretching is decreased line integrity

ndash ie it breaks at lower weights

Itrsquos fairly easy to strip down a reel

and if yoursquore careful and follow the

instructions it will probably be ok If

yoursquore not too sharp with tools donrsquot

have the time or inclination get your

gear into a trusted tackle shop By this

time of year theyrsquoll be pretty busy so

plan early for next year

Reels need love and an annual

service is the least you can do Many

great fish have been lost through

rough drag seized bearings and

corroded teeth on cogs Be safe and

get it greased up in advance

A simple but common glitch is when a

game rod roller (guide) seizes up It only

takes a bit of salt to get stuck in the roller

and as your gear is stored over winter

it slowly locks up This could cause you

some serious heart ache if the general

maintenance is not kept up Check your

rollers before each trip a drop of oil

will do wonders as will a decent rinse

when you get home We only get limited

chances throughout the game season so

make every chance count

Common debates that pop up year in

year out are ldquoSingle hooks VS Double

hooksrdquo ldquoHard drags VS Light dragsrdquo

Open gape hooks VS Closed gape

hooksrdquo This is a completely different

story which I could spend hours waffling

on about and even then itrsquos not science

However we will save that for another

time In the mean time itrsquos time to get

You never know where the hook will end up

Credit Kurt Bennetto

wwwnzfisherconz 9

159kg of w

ell

planned B

lue

Marlin

Credit Kurt Bennetto

10 wwwnzfisherconz

To maximise your chances you need to be consistent Make sure your rods reels and tackle is up to standard so that when you do hook up you have absolutely no doubt in your mind

the lures out of the bag and rigged up

One thing I can say that I guarantee

will increase your chances is having

extremely sharp hooks Its simple marlin

have hard mouths and therefore the

sharper the hook the better the hook up

rate I believe only about 25 of game

fisherman have sharp hooks Sharpening

a hook in itself is an art and takes time

to perfect The key to it is filing the right

amount of barb off so it penetrates

easier In a sense what you are doing is

minimising the cross sectional area of

penetration You would be surprised to

know how many people buy new hooks

and think they are sharp enough Thatrsquos

definitely not the case

To maximise your chances you need to

be consistent Make sure your rods reels

and tackle is up to standard so that when

you do hook up you have absolutely no

doubt in your mind I donrsquot mind losing

a marlin that falls off or just didnrsquot hook

up Thatrsquos fishing But when a fish is lost

due to gear failure thatrsquos devastating

And should never happen

So next weekend get the gear out on

the deck pour yourself a Mount Gay rum

and start planning the season ahead

Canrsquot wait

fast approaching season

The first things to get sorted are your

rods and reels Itrsquos so important to make

sure the drags have been serviced and

reset to the correct settings Something

that often gets over looked is the state

of your nylon I have seen nylon that is

almost 10 years old and has never been

replaced A lot of people also forget

that when you catch a fish whether it be

a marlin or a tuna the nylon is wound

back on to the spool under immense

pressure Over time this stretches the

nylon as you could imagine the effect of

this stretching is decreased line integrity

ndash ie it breaks at lower weights

Itrsquos fairly easy to strip down a reel

and if yoursquore careful and follow the

instructions it will probably be ok If

yoursquore not too sharp with tools donrsquot

have the time or inclination get your

gear into a trusted tackle shop By this

time of year theyrsquoll be pretty busy so

plan early for next year

Reels need love and an annual

service is the least you can do Many

great fish have been lost through

rough drag seized bearings and

corroded teeth on cogs Be safe and

get it greased up in advance

A simple but common glitch is when a

game rod roller (guide) seizes up It only

takes a bit of salt to get stuck in the roller

and as your gear is stored over winter

it slowly locks up This could cause you

some serious heart ache if the general

maintenance is not kept up Check your

rollers before each trip a drop of oil

will do wonders as will a decent rinse

when you get home We only get limited

chances throughout the game season so

make every chance count

Common debates that pop up year in

year out are ldquoSingle hooks VS Double

hooksrdquo ldquoHard drags VS Light dragsrdquo

Open gape hooks VS Closed gape

hooksrdquo This is a completely different

story which I could spend hours waffling

on about and even then itrsquos not science

However we will save that for another

time In the mean time itrsquos time to get

You never know where the hook will end up

Credit Kurt Bennetto

wwwnzfisherconz 9

159kg of w

ell

planned B

lue

Marlin

Credit Kurt Bennetto

10 wwwnzfisherconz

To maximise your chances you need to be consistent Make sure your rods reels and tackle is up to standard so that when you do hook up you have absolutely no doubt in your mind

the lures out of the bag and rigged up

One thing I can say that I guarantee

will increase your chances is having

extremely sharp hooks Its simple marlin

have hard mouths and therefore the

sharper the hook the better the hook up

rate I believe only about 25 of game

fisherman have sharp hooks Sharpening

a hook in itself is an art and takes time

to perfect The key to it is filing the right

amount of barb off so it penetrates

easier In a sense what you are doing is

minimising the cross sectional area of

penetration You would be surprised to

know how many people buy new hooks

and think they are sharp enough Thatrsquos

definitely not the case

To maximise your chances you need to

be consistent Make sure your rods reels

and tackle is up to standard so that when

you do hook up you have absolutely no

doubt in your mind I donrsquot mind losing

a marlin that falls off or just didnrsquot hook

up Thatrsquos fishing But when a fish is lost

due to gear failure thatrsquos devastating

And should never happen

So next weekend get the gear out on

the deck pour yourself a Mount Gay rum

and start planning the season ahead

Canrsquot wait

wwwnzfisherconz 9

159kg of w

ell

planned B

lue

Marlin

Credit Kurt Bennetto

10 wwwnzfisherconz

To maximise your chances you need to be consistent Make sure your rods reels and tackle is up to standard so that when you do hook up you have absolutely no doubt in your mind

the lures out of the bag and rigged up

One thing I can say that I guarantee

will increase your chances is having

extremely sharp hooks Its simple marlin

have hard mouths and therefore the

sharper the hook the better the hook up

rate I believe only about 25 of game

fisherman have sharp hooks Sharpening

a hook in itself is an art and takes time

to perfect The key to it is filing the right

amount of barb off so it penetrates

easier In a sense what you are doing is

minimising the cross sectional area of

penetration You would be surprised to

know how many people buy new hooks

and think they are sharp enough Thatrsquos

definitely not the case

To maximise your chances you need to

be consistent Make sure your rods reels

and tackle is up to standard so that when

you do hook up you have absolutely no

doubt in your mind I donrsquot mind losing

a marlin that falls off or just didnrsquot hook

up Thatrsquos fishing But when a fish is lost

due to gear failure thatrsquos devastating

And should never happen

So next weekend get the gear out on

the deck pour yourself a Mount Gay rum

and start planning the season ahead

Canrsquot wait

10 wwwnzfisherconz

To maximise your chances you need to be consistent Make sure your rods reels and tackle is up to standard so that when you do hook up you have absolutely no doubt in your mind

the lures out of the bag and rigged up

One thing I can say that I guarantee

will increase your chances is having

extremely sharp hooks Its simple marlin

have hard mouths and therefore the

sharper the hook the better the hook up

rate I believe only about 25 of game

fisherman have sharp hooks Sharpening

a hook in itself is an art and takes time

to perfect The key to it is filing the right

amount of barb off so it penetrates

easier In a sense what you are doing is

minimising the cross sectional area of

penetration You would be surprised to

know how many people buy new hooks

and think they are sharp enough Thatrsquos

definitely not the case

To maximise your chances you need to

be consistent Make sure your rods reels

and tackle is up to standard so that when

you do hook up you have absolutely no

doubt in your mind I donrsquot mind losing

a marlin that falls off or just didnrsquot hook

up Thatrsquos fishing But when a fish is lost

due to gear failure thatrsquos devastating

And should never happen

So next weekend get the gear out on

the deck pour yourself a Mount Gay rum

and start planning the season ahead

Canrsquot wait

wwwnzfisherconz 11

ldquoIf it works for the NZ Army itrsquoll work for yourdquo

As used by the NZ Defence Force

Ask for the Active Duty sun and bug skin defence range at selected pharmacies and retailers throughout New Zealand or order online at wwwskinshieldconz

f yoursquore anything like the staff at NZ Fisher yoursquore learn-

ing about or already fishing for kingfish amp other game-

fish with jigs poppers or Stickbaits These new tech-

niques have exposed us to a number of new phenomenonrsquos

like regular use of 150lb mono amp 80lb braided lines Therersquos

a bit of an issue in joining these without a huge profile knot

until nowhellip

This video shows a brand new knot the FG that can be

easily tied on the water and most importantly ndash without the

need for a bobbin (as the PR knot does) The PG can be tied

on your yak on the rocks or in your lounge at home Go here

to see this great instructional video

For those of you looking for a slightly lighter hearted vid

ndash check out how these guys catch their fish at this time of

year ndash click here and here Nice fish but Irsquoll stay in NZ for the

weather alone

The right knot

12 wwwnzfisherconz

his is only my second full sea-

son on the water since arriving

from Scotland 4 years ago with

my Kiwi missus and dreams of rekin-

dling my childhood passion for fishing

We used to hike miles into the moors

and camp beside the lochs on the Isle

of Lewis fishing for brown trout and

the occasional salmon when the gamies

werenrsquot looking

This year I have spent a lot of time on

the water and have been lucky enough

to get out on several charters and have

gone from catching my first kingfish last

July to the dizzy heights of catching a

marlin at the Three Kings in May this year

My first charter last this was aboard Eagle

Magic with Paul Senior in late November

and the fishing was mental There was 8 of

us onboard and we were putting snapper

to 10lb back after only 45mins all on

softbaits One of my mates announced

ldquobest days snapper fishing everrdquo and Irsquom

in no doubt you would need to be real

lucky to get a better days fishing

Before the trip on Eagle Magic my

fellow fishing buddies Derrick Sea

boatFISHING

A-Mac comes to the Fishermanrsquos El Dorado By Aaron McDonald

From Haggis to Hell-Yes

Aaron McD with a solid Three Kings King

wwwnzfisherconz 13

Ox Simon and I booked a trip on Epic

Adventures out of Tairua I had been

out with Carl before in July 2009 and

had a ball catching my first kingfish and

experiencing mechanical jigging for the

first time Its hard to explain the pain of

7hrs jigging to your missus when its self

inflicted but also worth every minute

Our trip in December was just as

good with plenty of good fish around

the 15kg mark Highlight of the trip was

Sea Ox and Derrick on the call for last

drop hooking into 2 beauties around

the 20kg mark We had jigged for the

whole day with little rest and Sea Ox was

just about out when he hooked up The

determination on the last drop was a joy

to watch as was the near 180 deg bend

on his new Synit acid wrap rod as the

kingie put the throttle down There were

several loud ldquoholy shtsrdquo as the rod bent

nearly to a circle Luckily he landed the

fish and finished the day off just as it had

started with a good fish

During the run up to Xmas me and

my mate John started venturing further

afield in my Haines with some reasonable

snapper catches I tried to fit in as much

time on the water as possible as I was

working over the festive period and

would not get out on the water for

several weeks The day before Xmas I

got a call and a completely unexpected

invite to White Island from one of my

mates who had booked a trip with

Enchanter With heart racing I couldnrsquot

get the word ldquoyesrdquo out quick enough I

had read about White Island and could

only dream about what might await me at

one of New Zealandrsquos fishing meccas The

trip was like a dream from the evening

live bait session getting bombed by

flying fish to the full-on day of hooking

up with nearly every drop I would say

the highlight of the trip was the live bait

session The water was full of life and the

backdrop of White Island and the smell of

sulphur made the whole setting surreal

The flying fish were everywhere

hounded by the kings which prompted

us into a 2 hour session on the softbait

rods Myself Kerry and Hannes must

have got a good 10 kingies to the

boat before retiring for the night Next

day was full-on and we landed some

awesome kingfish to 25kg gemfish and

a couple of nice bluenose Before the

trip 2 of us had purchased a low to

mid priced Jigging rod A reasonable

investment I thought at the time but the

White Island kings demolished both rods

in about an hour The second rod going

on the first drop

A very healthy Gemfish caught by Kerry Earl at White Island while deepwater jig fishingrsquo (Credit Aaron McDonald)

14 wwwnzfisherconz

Back in November I had the

opportunity to go to the Three Kings

with a group led by my mate Sea Ox A

regular on the trip had pulled out and

there was an opportunity for some else

to jump aboard At the time me and

my lovely wife Catherine decided it was

probably out of our reach as there was

only one of us working at the time I

reluctantly declined but was unaware

of the amazing chance I was letting slip

through my fingers Sometime in March

a second member had to pull out of

the trip and Sea Ox asked again if I was

interested Now after experiencing

White Island I was on the blower to my

missus in minutes To my utter shock and

delight she said ldquoyeah if really want to

go then go - but Irsquom off to Invercargill

for a week to see my sister and your

payingrdquo Deal done

The trip departed on 29th April so

I had little time to get ready A quick

review of my tackle revealed I was

Bluenose are a great by-catch of deepwater jig fishing

(Credit Aaron McDonald)

wwwnzfisherconz 15

(Credit Graeme Cox)

Oh what a feeling ndash my first Marlin

(Credit Aaron McDonald)

16 wwwnzfisherconz

return when she helped me empty the

car ldquoWhorsquos is that rodrdquo ldquo Whatrsquos in that

bagrdquohellip ldquoWhere did that reel come fromrdquo

ldquoEhhelliphellip itrsquos Jasonrsquosrdquo

The look said it all

I visited every shop and internet site

possible looking for a deal on a Goldie

Finally after weeks of searching I found

a Penn 50 wide 2-speed and harness

set up I also gave in to a year long urge

since my first jigging trip and got myself

a Stella 20000 to grace the ldquobananardquo

In the run up to the trip I was dreaming

every night of what the trip would be

likersquothe fishing scenery wildlife boat

weather There had been talk of Marlin

big kingfish bass and hapuka in the

run up but I could never imagine what

it would be like to catch one - nor the

effort and concentration required

On the first day we spent an hour

filling the live bait tank with Koheru and

Sea-Ox and his fly rod went for his 48th

world record attempt on a Trevally

Donrsquot remember seeing him putting any

Koheru in the tank though With livies in

the tank we were off to the King Bank

to drift for marlin It was my first time

fishing for marlin and my gear had never

seen the water until the fist bait was

dispatched under a balloon The rest of

the team were at various depths of the

water column The Koheru had only been

in the water for about 2 mins when all

hell broke loose First up was Sea-Ox line

screaming from his 70 wide seconds later

it was Reubenrsquos new 50 wide screaming

and then my balloon disappeared it took

my brain a few seconds to register with

the impending chaos

I grabbed the rod from the holder

and with the word ldquo REELrdquo ringing in

my ears I reeled like never before until

the line went tight and then decided

to start going the other way at great

pace Meanwhile the other two lads

were dancing round the boat and

remarkably Reuben had his fish to the

boat and tagged in no time Sea-Ox was

in difficulty at the rear of the boat with

no line left and I was out the front with

what must have been only six turns of

line left Fortunately for me the call was

made to chase my fish and Sea-Ox made

the Ultimate Sacrifice The next 45 mins

were a blur as I developed a new style

of reeling a right handle reel with my left

hand ldquoScottish style ldquo was my reply to

ldquowhat the ldquohelliphellip hellrsquos thatrdquo Somehow

the fish was brought to the boat and

tagged even with a dramatic feespool

moment thrown in for luck Late in the

afternoon John hooked up on another

marlin which was tagged and released

I donrsquot know how he stayed clothed

through out the fight with a bloody

wwwnzfisherconz 17

woolie hat on as my face was like Saturn

after 5 minutes earlier in the day

Next day we were all fired up after

the previous days exploits we filled the

tank with livies Sea-Ox had is 49th world

record attempt on Trevor and I nearly let

go my bowels when I hooked up on the

first drop again after only 5 mins on the

drift This time we decided to keep the

fish if we could get it to the boat as we

were all keen to secure one between us

After my crash course in marlin fishing

the day before I only reeled ldquoScottish

stylerdquo for about 1 minute and forced

myself to concentrate and try to follow

all the advice I had got from the pursuit

team the day before I went on the trip

thinking myself to be reasonably fit ndash

wrong These fish rip you up big style

On one of the hook-ups I had been taken

down to the point of seeing the knot on

the spool - some 600m of line being out

The Pursuit teamrsquos assistance and

encouragement throughout was

awesome and an education Itrsquos amazing

how different the process of catching a

marlin varied from my original thoughts

Itrsquos a mental and physical battle that

does not compare to anything The

nerves of not wanting to drop it are hard

to contain but it pairs into insignificance

with the elation of actually catching one

of these magnificent beasts

On day four Trevor was subjected to

record attempt number 50 and with

beautiful weather we cruised out to

the Middlesex bank via the Princes

Group which have some awesome rock

formations and cliffs This was going to

be our first session of bottom bouncing

and serious jigging I was working

the jigs at the front of the boat with

moderate success and decided to go

down to the rear to have a blast on the

bottom rigs As I came down the boat

Zane handed me a rod that he had just

put to the bottom I picked it up and

immediately went into ldquoholy shitrdquo mode

as a 58kg bass decided it was going to

take me for a swim

The ensuing fight seemed to last

forever and was hampered by a faulty

roller on the tip of the rod The line kept

tracking over the roller and was getting

shredded between the tip and the roller

holder Luckily Zane noticed this and

kept diverting it back on as the fish came

up What a tasty beast

That day was unbelievable as we had

some real quality hook ups and a great

mix of fish highlightrsquos being Jasonrsquos

double Hapuka hook up the fish being

25kg and 28kg Richard and Johnrsquos huge

Hapukas and Rueben catching fish the

same size as him Next up was a 305

kg kingfish which ignited the ldquoholy shitrdquo

factor in me again as it pinned me to the

rails a few times This was another first

for me a kingfish in the 30kg range

Unfortunately after record attempt

number 51 Trevor lived to fight another

day our trip was coming to an end

and we headed for home on day six

We decided to stop off on the way

home for a 1 hour jigging session and

at one point all six of us were hooked

up on real good kings during which

we witnessed a pack of kings surface

mauling saurie at first I thought they

were dolphins What a way to end a

fantastic trip

I still canrsquot believe this type of fishing

is available and that I have been lucky

enough to experience it I caught a

marlin a huge bass (both first timers for

me) and my biggest kingfish all on one

trip in Northland Bloody awesome

A big thank-you to the charter boat

skippers and crew Rick Karl Tobes Paul

Zane and Sam who made my year of

fishing and of course my long suffering

fishing widow Catherine who lets me enjoy

my fishing (at a fair price of course)

Roll on next year The sleeps

countdown has begun and I look

forward to the pain

I still canrsquot believe this type of fishing is available and that I have been lucky enough to experience it

wwwnzfisherconz 13

Ox Simon and I booked a trip on Epic

Adventures out of Tairua I had been

out with Carl before in July 2009 and

had a ball catching my first kingfish and

experiencing mechanical jigging for the

first time Its hard to explain the pain of

7hrs jigging to your missus when its self

inflicted but also worth every minute

Our trip in December was just as

good with plenty of good fish around

the 15kg mark Highlight of the trip was

Sea Ox and Derrick on the call for last

drop hooking into 2 beauties around

the 20kg mark We had jigged for the

whole day with little rest and Sea Ox was

just about out when he hooked up The

determination on the last drop was a joy

to watch as was the near 180 deg bend

on his new Synit acid wrap rod as the

kingie put the throttle down There were

several loud ldquoholy shtsrdquo as the rod bent

nearly to a circle Luckily he landed the

fish and finished the day off just as it had

started with a good fish

During the run up to Xmas me and

my mate John started venturing further

afield in my Haines with some reasonable

snapper catches I tried to fit in as much

time on the water as possible as I was

working over the festive period and

would not get out on the water for

several weeks The day before Xmas I

got a call and a completely unexpected

invite to White Island from one of my

mates who had booked a trip with

Enchanter With heart racing I couldnrsquot

get the word ldquoyesrdquo out quick enough I

had read about White Island and could

only dream about what might await me at

one of New Zealandrsquos fishing meccas The

trip was like a dream from the evening

live bait session getting bombed by

flying fish to the full-on day of hooking

up with nearly every drop I would say

the highlight of the trip was the live bait

session The water was full of life and the

backdrop of White Island and the smell of

sulphur made the whole setting surreal

The flying fish were everywhere

hounded by the kings which prompted

us into a 2 hour session on the softbait

rods Myself Kerry and Hannes must

have got a good 10 kingies to the

boat before retiring for the night Next

day was full-on and we landed some

awesome kingfish to 25kg gemfish and

a couple of nice bluenose Before the

trip 2 of us had purchased a low to

mid priced Jigging rod A reasonable

investment I thought at the time but the

White Island kings demolished both rods

in about an hour The second rod going

on the first drop

A very healthy Gemfish caught by Kerry Earl at White Island while deepwater jig fishingrsquo (Credit Aaron McDonald)

14 wwwnzfisherconz

Back in November I had the

opportunity to go to the Three Kings

with a group led by my mate Sea Ox A

regular on the trip had pulled out and

there was an opportunity for some else

to jump aboard At the time me and

my lovely wife Catherine decided it was

probably out of our reach as there was

only one of us working at the time I

reluctantly declined but was unaware

of the amazing chance I was letting slip

through my fingers Sometime in March

a second member had to pull out of

the trip and Sea Ox asked again if I was

interested Now after experiencing

White Island I was on the blower to my

missus in minutes To my utter shock and

delight she said ldquoyeah if really want to

go then go - but Irsquom off to Invercargill

for a week to see my sister and your

payingrdquo Deal done

The trip departed on 29th April so

I had little time to get ready A quick

review of my tackle revealed I was

Bluenose are a great by-catch of deepwater jig fishing

(Credit Aaron McDonald)

wwwnzfisherconz 15

(Credit Graeme Cox)

Oh what a feeling ndash my first Marlin

(Credit Aaron McDonald)

16 wwwnzfisherconz

return when she helped me empty the

car ldquoWhorsquos is that rodrdquo ldquo Whatrsquos in that

bagrdquohellip ldquoWhere did that reel come fromrdquo

ldquoEhhelliphellip itrsquos Jasonrsquosrdquo

The look said it all

I visited every shop and internet site

possible looking for a deal on a Goldie

Finally after weeks of searching I found

a Penn 50 wide 2-speed and harness

set up I also gave in to a year long urge

since my first jigging trip and got myself

a Stella 20000 to grace the ldquobananardquo

In the run up to the trip I was dreaming

every night of what the trip would be

likersquothe fishing scenery wildlife boat

weather There had been talk of Marlin

big kingfish bass and hapuka in the

run up but I could never imagine what

it would be like to catch one - nor the

effort and concentration required

On the first day we spent an hour

filling the live bait tank with Koheru and

Sea-Ox and his fly rod went for his 48th

world record attempt on a Trevally

Donrsquot remember seeing him putting any

Koheru in the tank though With livies in

the tank we were off to the King Bank

to drift for marlin It was my first time

fishing for marlin and my gear had never

seen the water until the fist bait was

dispatched under a balloon The rest of

the team were at various depths of the

water column The Koheru had only been

in the water for about 2 mins when all

hell broke loose First up was Sea-Ox line

screaming from his 70 wide seconds later

it was Reubenrsquos new 50 wide screaming

and then my balloon disappeared it took

my brain a few seconds to register with

the impending chaos

I grabbed the rod from the holder

and with the word ldquo REELrdquo ringing in

my ears I reeled like never before until

the line went tight and then decided

to start going the other way at great

pace Meanwhile the other two lads

were dancing round the boat and

remarkably Reuben had his fish to the

boat and tagged in no time Sea-Ox was

in difficulty at the rear of the boat with

no line left and I was out the front with

what must have been only six turns of

line left Fortunately for me the call was

made to chase my fish and Sea-Ox made

the Ultimate Sacrifice The next 45 mins

were a blur as I developed a new style

of reeling a right handle reel with my left

hand ldquoScottish style ldquo was my reply to

ldquowhat the ldquohelliphellip hellrsquos thatrdquo Somehow

the fish was brought to the boat and

tagged even with a dramatic feespool

moment thrown in for luck Late in the

afternoon John hooked up on another

marlin which was tagged and released

I donrsquot know how he stayed clothed

through out the fight with a bloody

wwwnzfisherconz 17

woolie hat on as my face was like Saturn

after 5 minutes earlier in the day

Next day we were all fired up after

the previous days exploits we filled the

tank with livies Sea-Ox had is 49th world

record attempt on Trevor and I nearly let

go my bowels when I hooked up on the

first drop again after only 5 mins on the

drift This time we decided to keep the

fish if we could get it to the boat as we

were all keen to secure one between us

After my crash course in marlin fishing

the day before I only reeled ldquoScottish

stylerdquo for about 1 minute and forced

myself to concentrate and try to follow

all the advice I had got from the pursuit

team the day before I went on the trip

thinking myself to be reasonably fit ndash

wrong These fish rip you up big style

On one of the hook-ups I had been taken

down to the point of seeing the knot on

the spool - some 600m of line being out

The Pursuit teamrsquos assistance and

encouragement throughout was

awesome and an education Itrsquos amazing

how different the process of catching a

marlin varied from my original thoughts

Itrsquos a mental and physical battle that

does not compare to anything The

nerves of not wanting to drop it are hard

to contain but it pairs into insignificance

with the elation of actually catching one

of these magnificent beasts

On day four Trevor was subjected to

record attempt number 50 and with

beautiful weather we cruised out to

the Middlesex bank via the Princes

Group which have some awesome rock

formations and cliffs This was going to

be our first session of bottom bouncing

and serious jigging I was working

the jigs at the front of the boat with

moderate success and decided to go

down to the rear to have a blast on the

bottom rigs As I came down the boat

Zane handed me a rod that he had just

put to the bottom I picked it up and

immediately went into ldquoholy shitrdquo mode

as a 58kg bass decided it was going to

take me for a swim

The ensuing fight seemed to last

forever and was hampered by a faulty

roller on the tip of the rod The line kept

tracking over the roller and was getting

shredded between the tip and the roller

holder Luckily Zane noticed this and

kept diverting it back on as the fish came

up What a tasty beast

That day was unbelievable as we had

some real quality hook ups and a great

mix of fish highlightrsquos being Jasonrsquos

double Hapuka hook up the fish being

25kg and 28kg Richard and Johnrsquos huge

Hapukas and Rueben catching fish the

same size as him Next up was a 305

kg kingfish which ignited the ldquoholy shitrdquo

factor in me again as it pinned me to the

rails a few times This was another first

for me a kingfish in the 30kg range

Unfortunately after record attempt

number 51 Trevor lived to fight another

day our trip was coming to an end

and we headed for home on day six

We decided to stop off on the way

home for a 1 hour jigging session and

at one point all six of us were hooked

up on real good kings during which

we witnessed a pack of kings surface

mauling saurie at first I thought they

were dolphins What a way to end a

fantastic trip

I still canrsquot believe this type of fishing

is available and that I have been lucky

enough to experience it I caught a

marlin a huge bass (both first timers for

me) and my biggest kingfish all on one

trip in Northland Bloody awesome

A big thank-you to the charter boat

skippers and crew Rick Karl Tobes Paul

Zane and Sam who made my year of

fishing and of course my long suffering

fishing widow Catherine who lets me enjoy

my fishing (at a fair price of course)

Roll on next year The sleeps

countdown has begun and I look

forward to the pain

I still canrsquot believe this type of fishing is available and that I have been lucky enough to experience it

14 wwwnzfisherconz

Back in November I had the

opportunity to go to the Three Kings

with a group led by my mate Sea Ox A

regular on the trip had pulled out and

there was an opportunity for some else

to jump aboard At the time me and

my lovely wife Catherine decided it was

probably out of our reach as there was

only one of us working at the time I

reluctantly declined but was unaware

of the amazing chance I was letting slip

through my fingers Sometime in March

a second member had to pull out of

the trip and Sea Ox asked again if I was

interested Now after experiencing

White Island I was on the blower to my

missus in minutes To my utter shock and

delight she said ldquoyeah if really want to

go then go - but Irsquom off to Invercargill

for a week to see my sister and your

payingrdquo Deal done

The trip departed on 29th April so

I had little time to get ready A quick

review of my tackle revealed I was

Bluenose are a great by-catch of deepwater jig fishing

(Credit Aaron McDonald)

wwwnzfisherconz 15

(Credit Graeme Cox)

Oh what a feeling ndash my first Marlin

(Credit Aaron McDonald)

16 wwwnzfisherconz

return when she helped me empty the

car ldquoWhorsquos is that rodrdquo ldquo Whatrsquos in that

bagrdquohellip ldquoWhere did that reel come fromrdquo

ldquoEhhelliphellip itrsquos Jasonrsquosrdquo

The look said it all

I visited every shop and internet site

possible looking for a deal on a Goldie

Finally after weeks of searching I found

a Penn 50 wide 2-speed and harness

set up I also gave in to a year long urge

since my first jigging trip and got myself

a Stella 20000 to grace the ldquobananardquo

In the run up to the trip I was dreaming

every night of what the trip would be

likersquothe fishing scenery wildlife boat

weather There had been talk of Marlin

big kingfish bass and hapuka in the

run up but I could never imagine what

it would be like to catch one - nor the

effort and concentration required

On the first day we spent an hour

filling the live bait tank with Koheru and

Sea-Ox and his fly rod went for his 48th

world record attempt on a Trevally

Donrsquot remember seeing him putting any

Koheru in the tank though With livies in

the tank we were off to the King Bank

to drift for marlin It was my first time

fishing for marlin and my gear had never

seen the water until the fist bait was

dispatched under a balloon The rest of

the team were at various depths of the

water column The Koheru had only been

in the water for about 2 mins when all

hell broke loose First up was Sea-Ox line

screaming from his 70 wide seconds later

it was Reubenrsquos new 50 wide screaming

and then my balloon disappeared it took

my brain a few seconds to register with

the impending chaos

I grabbed the rod from the holder

and with the word ldquo REELrdquo ringing in

my ears I reeled like never before until

the line went tight and then decided

to start going the other way at great

pace Meanwhile the other two lads

were dancing round the boat and

remarkably Reuben had his fish to the

boat and tagged in no time Sea-Ox was

in difficulty at the rear of the boat with

no line left and I was out the front with

what must have been only six turns of

line left Fortunately for me the call was

made to chase my fish and Sea-Ox made

the Ultimate Sacrifice The next 45 mins

were a blur as I developed a new style

of reeling a right handle reel with my left

hand ldquoScottish style ldquo was my reply to

ldquowhat the ldquohelliphellip hellrsquos thatrdquo Somehow

the fish was brought to the boat and

tagged even with a dramatic feespool

moment thrown in for luck Late in the

afternoon John hooked up on another

marlin which was tagged and released

I donrsquot know how he stayed clothed

through out the fight with a bloody

wwwnzfisherconz 17

woolie hat on as my face was like Saturn

after 5 minutes earlier in the day

Next day we were all fired up after

the previous days exploits we filled the

tank with livies Sea-Ox had is 49th world

record attempt on Trevor and I nearly let

go my bowels when I hooked up on the

first drop again after only 5 mins on the

drift This time we decided to keep the

fish if we could get it to the boat as we

were all keen to secure one between us

After my crash course in marlin fishing

the day before I only reeled ldquoScottish

stylerdquo for about 1 minute and forced

myself to concentrate and try to follow

all the advice I had got from the pursuit

team the day before I went on the trip

thinking myself to be reasonably fit ndash

wrong These fish rip you up big style

On one of the hook-ups I had been taken

down to the point of seeing the knot on

the spool - some 600m of line being out

The Pursuit teamrsquos assistance and

encouragement throughout was

awesome and an education Itrsquos amazing

how different the process of catching a

marlin varied from my original thoughts

Itrsquos a mental and physical battle that

does not compare to anything The

nerves of not wanting to drop it are hard

to contain but it pairs into insignificance

with the elation of actually catching one

of these magnificent beasts

On day four Trevor was subjected to

record attempt number 50 and with

beautiful weather we cruised out to

the Middlesex bank via the Princes

Group which have some awesome rock

formations and cliffs This was going to

be our first session of bottom bouncing

and serious jigging I was working

the jigs at the front of the boat with

moderate success and decided to go

down to the rear to have a blast on the

bottom rigs As I came down the boat

Zane handed me a rod that he had just

put to the bottom I picked it up and

immediately went into ldquoholy shitrdquo mode

as a 58kg bass decided it was going to

take me for a swim

The ensuing fight seemed to last

forever and was hampered by a faulty

roller on the tip of the rod The line kept

tracking over the roller and was getting

shredded between the tip and the roller

holder Luckily Zane noticed this and

kept diverting it back on as the fish came

up What a tasty beast

That day was unbelievable as we had

some real quality hook ups and a great

mix of fish highlightrsquos being Jasonrsquos

double Hapuka hook up the fish being

25kg and 28kg Richard and Johnrsquos huge

Hapukas and Rueben catching fish the

same size as him Next up was a 305

kg kingfish which ignited the ldquoholy shitrdquo

factor in me again as it pinned me to the

rails a few times This was another first

for me a kingfish in the 30kg range

Unfortunately after record attempt

number 51 Trevor lived to fight another

day our trip was coming to an end

and we headed for home on day six

We decided to stop off on the way

home for a 1 hour jigging session and

at one point all six of us were hooked

up on real good kings during which

we witnessed a pack of kings surface

mauling saurie at first I thought they

were dolphins What a way to end a

fantastic trip

I still canrsquot believe this type of fishing

is available and that I have been lucky

enough to experience it I caught a

marlin a huge bass (both first timers for

me) and my biggest kingfish all on one

trip in Northland Bloody awesome

A big thank-you to the charter boat

skippers and crew Rick Karl Tobes Paul

Zane and Sam who made my year of

fishing and of course my long suffering

fishing widow Catherine who lets me enjoy

my fishing (at a fair price of course)

Roll on next year The sleeps

countdown has begun and I look

forward to the pain

I still canrsquot believe this type of fishing is available and that I have been lucky enough to experience it

wwwnzfisherconz 15

(Credit Graeme Cox)

Oh what a feeling ndash my first Marlin

(Credit Aaron McDonald)

16 wwwnzfisherconz

return when she helped me empty the

car ldquoWhorsquos is that rodrdquo ldquo Whatrsquos in that

bagrdquohellip ldquoWhere did that reel come fromrdquo

ldquoEhhelliphellip itrsquos Jasonrsquosrdquo

The look said it all

I visited every shop and internet site

possible looking for a deal on a Goldie

Finally after weeks of searching I found

a Penn 50 wide 2-speed and harness

set up I also gave in to a year long urge

since my first jigging trip and got myself

a Stella 20000 to grace the ldquobananardquo

In the run up to the trip I was dreaming

every night of what the trip would be

likersquothe fishing scenery wildlife boat

weather There had been talk of Marlin

big kingfish bass and hapuka in the

run up but I could never imagine what

it would be like to catch one - nor the

effort and concentration required

On the first day we spent an hour

filling the live bait tank with Koheru and

Sea-Ox and his fly rod went for his 48th

world record attempt on a Trevally

Donrsquot remember seeing him putting any

Koheru in the tank though With livies in

the tank we were off to the King Bank

to drift for marlin It was my first time

fishing for marlin and my gear had never

seen the water until the fist bait was

dispatched under a balloon The rest of

the team were at various depths of the

water column The Koheru had only been

in the water for about 2 mins when all

hell broke loose First up was Sea-Ox line

screaming from his 70 wide seconds later

it was Reubenrsquos new 50 wide screaming

and then my balloon disappeared it took

my brain a few seconds to register with

the impending chaos

I grabbed the rod from the holder

and with the word ldquo REELrdquo ringing in

my ears I reeled like never before until

the line went tight and then decided

to start going the other way at great

pace Meanwhile the other two lads

were dancing round the boat and

remarkably Reuben had his fish to the

boat and tagged in no time Sea-Ox was

in difficulty at the rear of the boat with

no line left and I was out the front with

what must have been only six turns of

line left Fortunately for me the call was

made to chase my fish and Sea-Ox made

the Ultimate Sacrifice The next 45 mins

were a blur as I developed a new style

of reeling a right handle reel with my left

hand ldquoScottish style ldquo was my reply to

ldquowhat the ldquohelliphellip hellrsquos thatrdquo Somehow

the fish was brought to the boat and

tagged even with a dramatic feespool

moment thrown in for luck Late in the

afternoon John hooked up on another

marlin which was tagged and released

I donrsquot know how he stayed clothed

through out the fight with a bloody

wwwnzfisherconz 17

woolie hat on as my face was like Saturn

after 5 minutes earlier in the day

Next day we were all fired up after

the previous days exploits we filled the

tank with livies Sea-Ox had is 49th world

record attempt on Trevor and I nearly let

go my bowels when I hooked up on the

first drop again after only 5 mins on the

drift This time we decided to keep the

fish if we could get it to the boat as we

were all keen to secure one between us

After my crash course in marlin fishing

the day before I only reeled ldquoScottish

stylerdquo for about 1 minute and forced

myself to concentrate and try to follow

all the advice I had got from the pursuit

team the day before I went on the trip

thinking myself to be reasonably fit ndash

wrong These fish rip you up big style

On one of the hook-ups I had been taken

down to the point of seeing the knot on

the spool - some 600m of line being out

The Pursuit teamrsquos assistance and

encouragement throughout was

awesome and an education Itrsquos amazing

how different the process of catching a

marlin varied from my original thoughts

Itrsquos a mental and physical battle that

does not compare to anything The

nerves of not wanting to drop it are hard

to contain but it pairs into insignificance

with the elation of actually catching one

of these magnificent beasts

On day four Trevor was subjected to

record attempt number 50 and with

beautiful weather we cruised out to

the Middlesex bank via the Princes

Group which have some awesome rock

formations and cliffs This was going to

be our first session of bottom bouncing

and serious jigging I was working

the jigs at the front of the boat with

moderate success and decided to go

down to the rear to have a blast on the

bottom rigs As I came down the boat

Zane handed me a rod that he had just

put to the bottom I picked it up and

immediately went into ldquoholy shitrdquo mode

as a 58kg bass decided it was going to

take me for a swim

The ensuing fight seemed to last

forever and was hampered by a faulty

roller on the tip of the rod The line kept

tracking over the roller and was getting

shredded between the tip and the roller

holder Luckily Zane noticed this and

kept diverting it back on as the fish came

up What a tasty beast

That day was unbelievable as we had

some real quality hook ups and a great

mix of fish highlightrsquos being Jasonrsquos

double Hapuka hook up the fish being

25kg and 28kg Richard and Johnrsquos huge

Hapukas and Rueben catching fish the

same size as him Next up was a 305

kg kingfish which ignited the ldquoholy shitrdquo

factor in me again as it pinned me to the

rails a few times This was another first

for me a kingfish in the 30kg range

Unfortunately after record attempt

number 51 Trevor lived to fight another

day our trip was coming to an end

and we headed for home on day six

We decided to stop off on the way

home for a 1 hour jigging session and

at one point all six of us were hooked

up on real good kings during which

we witnessed a pack of kings surface

mauling saurie at first I thought they

were dolphins What a way to end a

fantastic trip

I still canrsquot believe this type of fishing

is available and that I have been lucky

enough to experience it I caught a

marlin a huge bass (both first timers for

me) and my biggest kingfish all on one

trip in Northland Bloody awesome

A big thank-you to the charter boat

skippers and crew Rick Karl Tobes Paul

Zane and Sam who made my year of

fishing and of course my long suffering

fishing widow Catherine who lets me enjoy

my fishing (at a fair price of course)

Roll on next year The sleeps

countdown has begun and I look

forward to the pain

I still canrsquot believe this type of fishing is available and that I have been lucky enough to experience it

16 wwwnzfisherconz

return when she helped me empty the

car ldquoWhorsquos is that rodrdquo ldquo Whatrsquos in that

bagrdquohellip ldquoWhere did that reel come fromrdquo

ldquoEhhelliphellip itrsquos Jasonrsquosrdquo

The look said it all

I visited every shop and internet site

possible looking for a deal on a Goldie

Finally after weeks of searching I found

a Penn 50 wide 2-speed and harness

set up I also gave in to a year long urge

since my first jigging trip and got myself

a Stella 20000 to grace the ldquobananardquo

In the run up to the trip I was dreaming

every night of what the trip would be

likersquothe fishing scenery wildlife boat

weather There had been talk of Marlin

big kingfish bass and hapuka in the

run up but I could never imagine what

it would be like to catch one - nor the

effort and concentration required

On the first day we spent an hour

filling the live bait tank with Koheru and

Sea-Ox and his fly rod went for his 48th

world record attempt on a Trevally

Donrsquot remember seeing him putting any

Koheru in the tank though With livies in

the tank we were off to the King Bank

to drift for marlin It was my first time

fishing for marlin and my gear had never

seen the water until the fist bait was

dispatched under a balloon The rest of

the team were at various depths of the

water column The Koheru had only been

in the water for about 2 mins when all

hell broke loose First up was Sea-Ox line

screaming from his 70 wide seconds later

it was Reubenrsquos new 50 wide screaming

and then my balloon disappeared it took

my brain a few seconds to register with

the impending chaos

I grabbed the rod from the holder

and with the word ldquo REELrdquo ringing in

my ears I reeled like never before until

the line went tight and then decided

to start going the other way at great

pace Meanwhile the other two lads

were dancing round the boat and

remarkably Reuben had his fish to the

boat and tagged in no time Sea-Ox was

in difficulty at the rear of the boat with

no line left and I was out the front with

what must have been only six turns of

line left Fortunately for me the call was

made to chase my fish and Sea-Ox made

the Ultimate Sacrifice The next 45 mins

were a blur as I developed a new style

of reeling a right handle reel with my left

hand ldquoScottish style ldquo was my reply to

ldquowhat the ldquohelliphellip hellrsquos thatrdquo Somehow

the fish was brought to the boat and

tagged even with a dramatic feespool

moment thrown in for luck Late in the

afternoon John hooked up on another

marlin which was tagged and released

I donrsquot know how he stayed clothed

through out the fight with a bloody

wwwnzfisherconz 17

woolie hat on as my face was like Saturn

after 5 minutes earlier in the day

Next day we were all fired up after

the previous days exploits we filled the

tank with livies Sea-Ox had is 49th world

record attempt on Trevor and I nearly let

go my bowels when I hooked up on the

first drop again after only 5 mins on the

drift This time we decided to keep the

fish if we could get it to the boat as we

were all keen to secure one between us

After my crash course in marlin fishing

the day before I only reeled ldquoScottish

stylerdquo for about 1 minute and forced

myself to concentrate and try to follow

all the advice I had got from the pursuit

team the day before I went on the trip

thinking myself to be reasonably fit ndash

wrong These fish rip you up big style

On one of the hook-ups I had been taken

down to the point of seeing the knot on

the spool - some 600m of line being out

The Pursuit teamrsquos assistance and

encouragement throughout was

awesome and an education Itrsquos amazing

how different the process of catching a

marlin varied from my original thoughts

Itrsquos a mental and physical battle that

does not compare to anything The

nerves of not wanting to drop it are hard

to contain but it pairs into insignificance

with the elation of actually catching one

of these magnificent beasts

On day four Trevor was subjected to

record attempt number 50 and with

beautiful weather we cruised out to

the Middlesex bank via the Princes

Group which have some awesome rock

formations and cliffs This was going to

be our first session of bottom bouncing

and serious jigging I was working

the jigs at the front of the boat with

moderate success and decided to go

down to the rear to have a blast on the

bottom rigs As I came down the boat

Zane handed me a rod that he had just

put to the bottom I picked it up and

immediately went into ldquoholy shitrdquo mode

as a 58kg bass decided it was going to

take me for a swim

The ensuing fight seemed to last

forever and was hampered by a faulty

roller on the tip of the rod The line kept

tracking over the roller and was getting

shredded between the tip and the roller

holder Luckily Zane noticed this and

kept diverting it back on as the fish came

up What a tasty beast

That day was unbelievable as we had

some real quality hook ups and a great

mix of fish highlightrsquos being Jasonrsquos

double Hapuka hook up the fish being

25kg and 28kg Richard and Johnrsquos huge

Hapukas and Rueben catching fish the

same size as him Next up was a 305

kg kingfish which ignited the ldquoholy shitrdquo

factor in me again as it pinned me to the

rails a few times This was another first

for me a kingfish in the 30kg range

Unfortunately after record attempt

number 51 Trevor lived to fight another

day our trip was coming to an end

and we headed for home on day six

We decided to stop off on the way

home for a 1 hour jigging session and

at one point all six of us were hooked

up on real good kings during which

we witnessed a pack of kings surface

mauling saurie at first I thought they

were dolphins What a way to end a

fantastic trip

I still canrsquot believe this type of fishing

is available and that I have been lucky

enough to experience it I caught a

marlin a huge bass (both first timers for

me) and my biggest kingfish all on one

trip in Northland Bloody awesome

A big thank-you to the charter boat

skippers and crew Rick Karl Tobes Paul

Zane and Sam who made my year of

fishing and of course my long suffering

fishing widow Catherine who lets me enjoy

my fishing (at a fair price of course)

Roll on next year The sleeps

countdown has begun and I look

forward to the pain

I still canrsquot believe this type of fishing is available and that I have been lucky enough to experience it

wwwnzfisherconz 17

woolie hat on as my face was like Saturn

after 5 minutes earlier in the day

Next day we were all fired up after

the previous days exploits we filled the

tank with livies Sea-Ox had is 49th world

record attempt on Trevor and I nearly let

go my bowels when I hooked up on the

first drop again after only 5 mins on the

drift This time we decided to keep the

fish if we could get it to the boat as we

were all keen to secure one between us

After my crash course in marlin fishing

the day before I only reeled ldquoScottish

stylerdquo for about 1 minute and forced

myself to concentrate and try to follow

all the advice I had got from the pursuit

team the day before I went on the trip

thinking myself to be reasonably fit ndash

wrong These fish rip you up big style

On one of the hook-ups I had been taken

down to the point of seeing the knot on

the spool - some 600m of line being out

The Pursuit teamrsquos assistance and

encouragement throughout was

awesome and an education Itrsquos amazing

how different the process of catching a

marlin varied from my original thoughts

Itrsquos a mental and physical battle that

does not compare to anything The

nerves of not wanting to drop it are hard

to contain but it pairs into insignificance

with the elation of actually catching one

of these magnificent beasts

On day four Trevor was subjected to

record attempt number 50 and with

beautiful weather we cruised out to

the Middlesex bank via the Princes

Group which have some awesome rock

formations and cliffs This was going to

be our first session of bottom bouncing

and serious jigging I was working

the jigs at the front of the boat with

moderate success and decided to go

down to the rear to have a blast on the

bottom rigs As I came down the boat

Zane handed me a rod that he had just

put to the bottom I picked it up and

immediately went into ldquoholy shitrdquo mode

as a 58kg bass decided it was going to

take me for a swim

The ensuing fight seemed to last

forever and was hampered by a faulty

roller on the tip of the rod The line kept

tracking over the roller and was getting

shredded between the tip and the roller

holder Luckily Zane noticed this and

kept diverting it back on as the fish came

up What a tasty beast

That day was unbelievable as we had

some real quality hook ups and a great

mix of fish highlightrsquos being Jasonrsquos

double Hapuka hook up the fish being

25kg and 28kg Richard and Johnrsquos huge

Hapukas and Rueben catching fish the

same size as him Next up was a 305

kg kingfish which ignited the ldquoholy shitrdquo

factor in me again as it pinned me to the

rails a few times This was another first

for me a kingfish in the 30kg range

Unfortunately after record attempt

number 51 Trevor lived to fight another

day our trip was coming to an end

and we headed for home on day six

We decided to stop off on the way

home for a 1 hour jigging session and

at one point all six of us were hooked

up on real good kings during which

we witnessed a pack of kings surface

mauling saurie at first I thought they

were dolphins What a way to end a

fantastic trip

I still canrsquot believe this type of fishing

is available and that I have been lucky

enough to experience it I caught a

marlin a huge bass (both first timers for

me) and my biggest kingfish all on one

trip in Northland Bloody awesome

A big thank-you to the charter boat

skippers and crew Rick Karl Tobes Paul

Zane and Sam who made my year of

fishing and of course my long suffering

fishing widow Catherine who lets me enjoy

my fishing (at a fair price of course)

Roll on next year The sleeps

countdown has begun and I look

forward to the pain

I still canrsquot believe this type of fishing is available and that I have been lucky enough to experience it

18 wwwnzfisherconz

Getting it right before you hit the water

kayakFISHING

A wellplanned trip leads to smooth sailing amp great results

wwwnzfisherconz 19

Getting it right before you hit the water

The benefits of good planning on a trip Words and Pics by Peter amp Aileen Michael

hether you are going

fishing just for the day or

away for a weekend or

longer it definitely pays to be well pre-

pared You donrsquot want to be watching

your buddies head off into the sunrise

while you are still getting your gear

ready and trying to remember where

you put things losing valuable fishing

time every second

Knowing what to take with you and

what to leave at home is the first step in

a successfully planned trip Think about

your last few excursions ndash what do you

keep carrying that you really do not need

and is there anything else that you should

take with you Have you got some way

of keeping your catch fresh once caught

There are certain items that you will

need all the time and other things that

you may or may not need depending

on various factors such as location

weathertarget speciesduration of trip

etc If possible it is helpful to keep your

lsquoall tripsrsquo equipment together to make

for easier packing Make checklists if

necessary to ensure you do not forget

anything (see example of Kayak fishing

checklist for ideas) See here for our

example Kayak weekender list

Checking all your fishing gear a few

days before a trip is a good idea as

is tying traces if you use them and

any other rigs that can be pre-tied to

save time when you get to your fishing

location If for some reason you have

not used your rod or reel for a long time

you may want to check it even earlier

(perhaps a couple of weeks before a

planned trip) to give you time to get it

serviced if necessary At the beginning

of each year you should consider re-

spooling your reels You can reverse

the line every other year (by taking line

off the reel onto a spare reel or spool

running the line on to a third spool and

then winding back onto your reel laying

the oldest line on firstgot it)

Donrsquot forget your chilly bin and salt

ice ndash essential for keeping your catch in

good condition and great for keeping

your beers cold until needed for your

fish Unless you have a very good chilly

bin (Icey-tek is one such brand) ice

doesnrsquot last very long Salt ice is closer

to the chemical mix of sea water and

keeps your fresh fish in better nick but it

does melt a slightly lower temperature

So opening and closing the chilly bin all

the time wonrsquot help longevity

By planning and preparing ahead you

should be able to maximize your fishing

time whilst being confident that all your

gear is in good working order and not

having to worry that you have left anything

important behind At the end of the dayrsquos

fishing you will be happy to know that

your fish is chilling on ice and you have

some warm dry clothes to change into

whilst enjoying that cold beer Remember

to clean all your gear after each outing

and store it correctly Give your reels a

light spray of Inox or similar back your

drags right off and if possible keep your

reels in the hot-water cupboard until next

weekend (hopefully you will be fishing

next weekend we will be)

Pete amp Ails

wwwnzfisherconz 19

Getting it right before you hit the water

The benefits of good planning on a trip Words and Pics by Peter amp Aileen Michael

hether you are going

fishing just for the day or

away for a weekend or

longer it definitely pays to be well pre-

pared You donrsquot want to be watching

your buddies head off into the sunrise

while you are still getting your gear

ready and trying to remember where

you put things losing valuable fishing

time every second

Knowing what to take with you and

what to leave at home is the first step in

a successfully planned trip Think about

your last few excursions ndash what do you

keep carrying that you really do not need

and is there anything else that you should

take with you Have you got some way

of keeping your catch fresh once caught

There are certain items that you will

need all the time and other things that

you may or may not need depending

on various factors such as location

weathertarget speciesduration of trip

etc If possible it is helpful to keep your

lsquoall tripsrsquo equipment together to make

for easier packing Make checklists if

necessary to ensure you do not forget

anything (see example of Kayak fishing

checklist for ideas) See here for our

example Kayak weekender list

Checking all your fishing gear a few

days before a trip is a good idea as

is tying traces if you use them and

any other rigs that can be pre-tied to

save time when you get to your fishing

location If for some reason you have

not used your rod or reel for a long time

you may want to check it even earlier

(perhaps a couple of weeks before a

planned trip) to give you time to get it

serviced if necessary At the beginning

of each year you should consider re-

spooling your reels You can reverse

the line every other year (by taking line

off the reel onto a spare reel or spool

running the line on to a third spool and

then winding back onto your reel laying

the oldest line on firstgot it)

Donrsquot forget your chilly bin and salt

ice ndash essential for keeping your catch in

good condition and great for keeping

your beers cold until needed for your

fish Unless you have a very good chilly

bin (Icey-tek is one such brand) ice

doesnrsquot last very long Salt ice is closer

to the chemical mix of sea water and

keeps your fresh fish in better nick but it

does melt a slightly lower temperature

So opening and closing the chilly bin all

the time wonrsquot help longevity

By planning and preparing ahead you

should be able to maximize your fishing

time whilst being confident that all your

gear is in good working order and not

having to worry that you have left anything

important behind At the end of the dayrsquos

fishing you will be happy to know that

your fish is chilling on ice and you have

some warm dry clothes to change into

whilst enjoying that cold beer Remember

to clean all your gear after each outing

and store it correctly Give your reels a

light spray of Inox or similar back your

drags right off and if possible keep your

reels in the hot-water cupboard until next

weekend (hopefully you will be fishing

next weekend we will be)

Pete amp Ails

20 wwwnzfisherconz

landBASED feature

hristmas and the ensuing

break is the time of year most

of us enjoy the best opportu-

nity to get time on the water Sadly

Christmas also seems to be just about

the worst time catch fish in New Zea-

land ndash especially close to shore

A few tips here may help change

your luck ut if you come up short

remember ndash any time spent fishing

is about a hundred times more

rewarding than a day in the office ndash

even if yoursquore not catching them

Beating the Christmas skunkingBy Derrick Paull

wwwnzfisherconz 21

Donrsquot be a snapper snob Kahawai 1

are our most readily available table

fish and are great fun on a line

They will usually turn up when

you put some burley in the water

Kahawai can be caught in harbours

on the beach and from rocky

out crops The best returns will

come from half pilchards or cats

retrieved soft baits or spinners

The early bird catches the worm 2

There is no doubt that during the

Christmas break the best time to

catch a feed is before dawn (or

up until an hour after) and near

dusk in the evening This is great

because it gives you the balance

of the day to spend with family amp

friends during the sociable times

Find deeper water Most fish like to 3

feed in the shallows but will return

to deeper patches when the sun is

up or the tide is low Therersquos a full

array of tides over the Christmas

ndash New Years break Experiment a

little with when spots fish best over

the tide and try to find deeper

spots near dusk

Use smaller (re-curve) hooks 4

smaller baits amp enticers When

the going gets tough the smart

people catch the fish Use all the

smarts you can including glowing

beads flasher hooks and smelly

baits The more you do to entice

them the better your chances If

you choose to use smaller hooks

try re-curve or suicide hooks as

they will aid releasing undersized

fish but increase hook up rates

when fish are shy

Find what the fish are eating amp 5

use that for bait If yoursquore on

or near a surf beach or estuary

try digging for shellfish (But not

Toheroarsquos) and use them as bait If

itrsquos natural and abundant chances

are itrsquos exactly what your quarry are

looking for

Have fun doing it Whatever the 6

conditions bite times and results

fishing is a fun activity to spend

your time on Donrsquot get grumpy if

you come home empty handed ndash

you wonrsquot be alone Our evidence

says fish know when yoursquore happy

and tend to bite more ndash so smile ndash

yoursquore having a great time

Tips for increasing your summer fishing returns

22 wwwnzfisherconz

productREVIEW

have been taking a closer look at

super braids or braided multi-fila-

ment lines recently and managed

to get my hands on some Rovex Viros

braid form Thompson Walker The new

Rovex range of braided lines has been

released to compliment the range of

Rovex rods monofilament lines leader

amp reels now available Viros braid is

made of ldquonew generation Digital Y6

Braiding for the smallest diameter

longest casting and quietest braided

fishing line ever producedrdquo ndash or so the

sales literature said

The first thing you notice is how

incredibly thin this braid actually is

Wersquore becoming accustomed to very

thin braided lines but Viros is in a new

category The 10lb flouro-yellow line I

spooled my T-Alloy with felt more like

1lb than 10

Being so thin you have to be much more

vigilant in your knot tying I have found

through testing amp experience that the

Uni-to-uni knot for joining braid to mono

flouro is the best lsquoquick optionrsquo With the

low diameter of the Viros braid I found

myself doubling the normal wraps of braid

over the mono to build enough bulk to

feel comfortable The knot diameter is

sop small that these additional wraps have

no visible or operation effect on the end

result but give a bit more faith in the knotrsquos

holding ability

Once on the water it was a unique

experience to cast with Viros Once

again the diameter takes a little getting

used to The braid is so limp it feels

almost like hair to the touch

On the trip we tested this line we were

subjected to some incredible snapper

fishing including half a dozen fish over

15lbs and one that made 20lb I did

have one braid breakage about halfway

through day one (of two) There was no

sign of wear or near-by line damage and

no indication why the braid broke where

it did This was the only breakage and no

obvious weaknesses were found

I gave the casting ability a good

working over with weights form 18th

oz right trough to 4oz and found no

noticeable weaknesses or tendencies to

loop knot or fail The ultra light casts

were easier than with conventional

braids I have used

Our break tests showed that the 10lb

spools we had broke at very close to

their stated break strain ndash much to our

surprise for such a fine braid We are very

impressed with this as most other brands

we have tested break well over their

stated weight even for their diameter

Over all I am very impressed with Viros

braid Viros is well priced amp out-performs

similarly priced braids I have tested

Rovex lsquoVirosrsquo Braid

By Derrick Paull

5RATING

wwwnzfisherconz 23

Rovex lsquoVirosrsquo Braid

BIG FISH SMALL REELSThe new Accurate BXBX2 Range

The Boss Extreme BX amp BX2 range of Accurate reels are now in stock at all serious tackle

stores nationwide Made from 6061T6 aircraft aluminium these reels are in a league

of there own a must for all serious fisherman

Availiable in wide or narrow spoolbullPatented Twin Drag System

pushing out 15kg of dragbullSeven Class 5 ABEC stainless steel

bearingsbullGreased AccuDrag systembullTitanium friction washersbullStainless steel gearsbullBoss reel bagbullOne year free servicebullLife time manufactures warranty

Freephone 0508 545 545Tel 07 575 5130Fax 07 575 5914

Email kanedecoroconz149 Totara St

PO Box 4138 Mt MaunganuiCheck out our new website wwwdecoroconz Become a member now

For more info check out the Accurate website wwwaccuratefishingcom

was in Bait Station (On Aucklandrsquos

North Shore) last week and was

introduced to the new range of

Berkley Diablo rods Irsquom often taken by

lsquooff the shelfrsquo rods but found their new

7 foot offerings particularly interesting

One of the keys we have found to

finding bigger fish on Softbait missions is

a longer rod that imparts more action to

the baits By using a longer rod you can

gain that increased movement Most of

the longer SB rods Irsquove come across have

been a bit soft in the tip ndash reducing the

action and lessening the benefit of the

extra length Seven foot is not a terribly

long rod but being two piece these

are a practical boat rod that will aid in

enticing the bigger fish

The Diablo range extends form 37kg

6ft rods right through to 7rsquo2rdquo 2-4kg

rods and the DD702SWM 7ft spin should

be considered as a very capable 10lb

softbait rod for those looking to hunt

bigger snapper this summer

5

NEWproduct

Berkley Diablo Softbait RodsBy Derrick Paull

wwwnzfisherconz 23

Rovex lsquoVirosrsquo Braid

BIG FISH SMALL REELSThe new Accurate BXBX2 Range

The Boss Extreme BX amp BX2 range of Accurate reels are now in stock at all serious tackle

stores nationwide Made from 6061T6 aircraft aluminium these reels are in a league

of there own a must for all serious fisherman

Availiable in wide or narrow spoolbullPatented Twin Drag System

pushing out 15kg of dragbullSeven Class 5 ABEC stainless steel

bearingsbullGreased AccuDrag systembullTitanium friction washersbullStainless steel gearsbullBoss reel bagbullOne year free servicebullLife time manufactures warranty

Freephone 0508 545 545Tel 07 575 5130Fax 07 575 5914

Email kanedecoroconz149 Totara St

PO Box 4138 Mt MaunganuiCheck out our new website wwwdecoroconz Become a member now

For more info check out the Accurate website wwwaccuratefishingcom

was in Bait Station (On Aucklandrsquos

North Shore) last week and was

introduced to the new range of

Berkley Diablo rods Irsquom often taken by

lsquooff the shelfrsquo rods but found their new

7 foot offerings particularly interesting

One of the keys we have found to

finding bigger fish on Softbait missions is

a longer rod that imparts more action to

the baits By using a longer rod you can

gain that increased movement Most of

the longer SB rods Irsquove come across have

been a bit soft in the tip ndash reducing the

action and lessening the benefit of the

extra length Seven foot is not a terribly

long rod but being two piece these

are a practical boat rod that will aid in

enticing the bigger fish

The Diablo range extends form 37kg

6ft rods right through to 7rsquo2rdquo 2-4kg

rods and the DD702SWM 7ft spin should

be considered as a very capable 10lb

softbait rod for those looking to hunt

bigger snapper this summer

5

NEWproduct

Berkley Diablo Softbait RodsBy Derrick Paull

24 wwwnzfisherconz

theCLUBHOUSE

he Hibiscus Kayak Fishing Club

(HKFC) was formed in March

2006 and the fish have been

afraid of us ever-since It seems they

must move away when we go fishing as

we canrsquot catch many

The Hibiscus Kayak Fishing Club (HKFC)

exists to share and promote a common

love for kayak fishing and the outdoors

in a fun and friendly atmosphere

To accomplish this goal the HKFC

Holds monthly meetings with various bull

programs and guest speakers

Schedules club outings both bull

day and away trips where

club members can Kayak Fish

and socialise with like minded

individuals

Encourages the exchange of ideas bull

information and experiences on

kayak safety paddling and other

kayak fishing related subjects

Strongly encourages conservation bull

of all species and encourages

members to take only

sufficient fish for their own bull

requirements

North Aucklandrsquos Paddling powerhouse

Hibiscus Kayak Fishing Club

wwwnzfisherconz 25

Because one kayak wonrsquot suit everyone

PROWLERULTRA 47Some fishing kayaks may excel in one or two areas the Prowler Ultra 47 excels across the board with an inpressive range of features making it the benchmark when it comes to design and performance

Kayak Fishing Range

wwwoceankayakconzFor more information and tofind your local dealer visit

Designed in NZ made in NZamp exported around the world

Scrambler 11 Prowler Elite 41 Prowler Elite 45 Prowler Ultra 47 Torque

ldquoThis boat is the benchmarkin kayak fishing designrdquoRob Fort - Coromandel Kayaks

K AYA K F I S H I N G R A N G E

Imag

e co

urte

sy o

f Rob

For

t ndash C

orom

ande

l Kay

ak A

dven

ture

s

HKFC have taken up a membership

with the NZACA amp showed real ability

to catch fish by taking out the National

Boat fishing title at the 2010 NZACA

National Championships To add to this

they also won a number of age group

categories amp team events finishing

with a very full table of trophies amp

certificates In 2011 the HKFC in

association with the North Shore

Surfcasting Club amp NZACA are to host

the Nationals in Orewa on Aucklandrsquos

Northern shores This is an opportunity

for fishers nationwide to come amp

compete against these crafty fishers

While the club is hosted by Johnson

Outdoors makers of Ocean Kayaks

there is a wide range of craft fished by

HKFC members and the 2010 Mens

division winner at the Nationals paddled

a Viking Profish Kayak

Every year the HKFC hosts an open day

amp competition for everyone interested

in Kayak fishing to come along amp have a

go The open-day attracts dozens of new

amp prospective members and is a very fun

day out Johnson Outdoors have very

generously donated a kayak to a lucky

draw winner to spice things up

On a six monthly basis the Blignaut-

Paull Rock-Yak trophy is fished for

between the North Shore amp Hibiscus

clubs from the rocks and yakrsquos

respectively The competitor has been

pretty well balanced so far but the

yakkerrsquos are starting to build a bit of a

lead Once again this is a very fun day

on the water and is well supported by

both clubs

The HKFC website -

wwwhibiscuskayakfishingcluborg

is regularly updated amp includes a lot

of very helpful information The site

advises members of the upcoming

fishes recent results club championship

points amp has a very colourful (and

well stocked) photo gallery

The club meets at Johnsonrsquos Outdoor

Watercraft in Silverdale every second

Wednesday of the month at 7 pm

(February ndash December) (Ocean Kayak

factory showroom at 2 Furnace Place

Silverdale)

If you are keen on Landbased fishing

and live in the Auckland area drop Barry

a line on bsmithorewaprimaryschoolnz

The Nationals Team 2010

wwwnzfisherconz 25

Because one kayak wonrsquot suit everyone

PROWLERULTRA 47Some fishing kayaks may excel in one or two areas the Prowler Ultra 47 excels across the board with an inpressive range of features making it the benchmark when it comes to design and performance

Kayak Fishing Range

wwwoceankayakconzFor more information and tofind your local dealer visit

Designed in NZ made in NZamp exported around the world

Scrambler 11 Prowler Elite 41 Prowler Elite 45 Prowler Ultra 47 Torque

ldquoThis boat is the benchmarkin kayak fishing designrdquoRob Fort - Coromandel Kayaks

K AYA K F I S H I N G R A N G E

Imag

e co

urte

sy o

f Rob

For

t ndash C

orom

ande

l Kay

ak A

dven

ture

s

HKFC have taken up a membership

with the NZACA amp showed real ability

to catch fish by taking out the National

Boat fishing title at the 2010 NZACA

National Championships To add to this

they also won a number of age group

categories amp team events finishing

with a very full table of trophies amp

certificates In 2011 the HKFC in

association with the North Shore

Surfcasting Club amp NZACA are to host

the Nationals in Orewa on Aucklandrsquos

Northern shores This is an opportunity

for fishers nationwide to come amp

compete against these crafty fishers

While the club is hosted by Johnson

Outdoors makers of Ocean Kayaks

there is a wide range of craft fished by

HKFC members and the 2010 Mens

division winner at the Nationals paddled

a Viking Profish Kayak

Every year the HKFC hosts an open day

amp competition for everyone interested

in Kayak fishing to come along amp have a

go The open-day attracts dozens of new

amp prospective members and is a very fun

day out Johnson Outdoors have very

generously donated a kayak to a lucky

draw winner to spice things up

On a six monthly basis the Blignaut-

Paull Rock-Yak trophy is fished for

between the North Shore amp Hibiscus

clubs from the rocks and yakrsquos

respectively The competitor has been

pretty well balanced so far but the

yakkerrsquos are starting to build a bit of a

lead Once again this is a very fun day

on the water and is well supported by

both clubs

The HKFC website -

wwwhibiscuskayakfishingcluborg

is regularly updated amp includes a lot

of very helpful information The site

advises members of the upcoming

fishes recent results club championship

points amp has a very colourful (and

well stocked) photo gallery

The club meets at Johnsonrsquos Outdoor

Watercraft in Silverdale every second

Wednesday of the month at 7 pm

(February ndash December) (Ocean Kayak

factory showroom at 2 Furnace Place

Silverdale)

If you are keen on Landbased fishing

and live in the Auckland area drop Barry

a line on bsmithorewaprimaryschoolnz

The Nationals Team 2010

26 wwwnzfisherconz

regionalREVIEWS

Hauraki GulfSource Grant Bittle lsquoEspressorsquo

redictions and wishes for an

early and bumper snapper

season have been granted

20c+ water temps with the snapper

obliging in their ferocious appetite

for food making most of us expert fish

catchers overnight but along with that

ego-boost comes a caveat It is (fish)

breeding season first and foremost

so guarantees have many Christmas

escape clauses

A lot of bigger snapper have moved into

the 10m to 20m depths all around the

coastline and to the edges of channels

like right under the harbor bridge and

western Coromandel for instance There

are also lot of fish all around the place just

hanging out getting all social with it so

again this means stimulation to spark a

bite since their preoccupation is not food

but procreation The physical condition

of many snapper is markedly down from

the earlier lead up to Christmas Breeding

and intermittent feeding takes its toll

on conditioning and so your fillets may

well be lack-lustre thinner and just not

quite as tasty But themrsquos the breaks

So be prepared for prolific fishing days

and some not so both will be on the

(Christmas) cards

Long hot summer days not all badhellip

summer fun family time and fishing all

good ndash so herersquos a few things that work

well during the occasionally stressful

time of relaxing Slow everything down

Summer is for recharging the batteries

for fun in the sun and generally having

a good time and eating too much at

one sitting snapper are similar ndash theyrsquore

certainly out there for a good time

being breeding season lsquon all and their

appetite varies widely Some days yoursquoll

be the hunter gatherer extraordinaire as

they smash anything you throw at them

others yoursquoll be wondering why yoursquore

suddenly Nigel-no-mates and canrsquot get a

fish to act interested let alone bite

Slow retrieval can induce hookups

from fish that arenrsquot even hungry This

technique has saved me from near

fishless days I tend to use soft plastics

and a deep water rig with heavier weight

than normal or a big slow jig dragged

along the sea floor both stirring up mud

and slowly wound up several metres

then dropped back down ie having

something swimming up and away from

the snapper gets a few sparked up and

predatory instinct kicks in - they canrsquot

resist lashing out hookup

If anchored using bait lsquon burley you

may need to wait through a change of

tide (and lots of tiddlers to take care of

returning unharmed) to get the bigger

fish to you but wait for that magic amp

invisible feeding switch to get flicked

on and itrsquos all on ndash late afternoon and

evening seems to be the go at the morsquo

Like too many days eating leftover ham

for us sad old sun baked bait sitting

lifeless on the sea floor is not appetizing

to fish unappealing to look at and hardly

enough to spark a bite from anything

other than a miniature fish in sheer

growth desperation fresh is best

Big snapper filling bins quickly are

being reported more around the edges

of the gulf rather than the middle

ground where the snapper are tending

to spread out or gather in smaller

social groups and lots of singles ndash still

worthwhile targeting especially on the

flat calm sunny days just drifting along

picking up a snapper every frac12 hour or

so But really a lot of the better fish are

in 10m to 20m water nice for holiday

makers to target in all manner of boats

or from shore Just be aware that there

are now long periods of no bitey-

bitey (apart from the sharks) and take

refreshments time and attitude to deal

with such calm pleasures on the open

sea after all it is holiday time

Speaking of sharks many have entered

the arena (including the new ones at

Kelly Tarltons all the way from the USA)

and they do what they do best eat So

they eat the fish your terminal tackle

burley bagshellippretty much everything

they can bite at (no thumbs you see)

This has put me off in-water filming

during the feeding frenzy on bait-balls

ndash itrsquos just not the right place to be in

my books Irsquove managed bit of workup

footage and some underwater filming in

the gulf ndash herersquos a quick 3 minutes of the

mad snapper workup action going on

out there right now enjoy

Oh and the Kingfish are in lots of drag

melting smaller versions with some big

guns blazing out there as well Live-

baiting and a throwing a few poppers

around is high up on the list now

anywhere around marker buoys and the

gulfs islands

Have a wonderful holiday enjoy the

fast paced action as well as the forced

relaxation times too family kids friends

BBQs and beers with fresh fishhellipcheers

wwwcatchorgnz

wwwnzfisherconz 27

ts been a fun couple of weeks of

fishing with the fish very spread

out and everything from salt water

fly to Stickbaits poppers surface

trolled livebaits jigs and softbaits pro-

ducing some great kingi fishing

The water is warm and blue and with

saurie skippes and plenty of bait and

birds around it will not be long before

the first marlin and game fish of the

season are caught

The top 20m of the water column has

been loaded with bait and most of our

kingfish have been caught on or near

the surface

Mark Joseph landed a very solid king

on light casting gear and a Smiths stick

bait from the Aldermen Islands and also

a nice king on Salt wayer fly from Cuvier

ndash see here for a full report

Tobes has been busy on Sanity with a

big run of day trips the last two weeks

started with some great mid water

live-baiting action for kingfish chasing

kingfish on jigs on the myriad of closer

pins around the Mercs and Cuvier and

finished with some fun on poppers at the

Aldermen Islands

The fishing has off and on over the

last 2 weeks but still managed to get

new pbrsquos and get new fishermen to the

game of chasing hoodlums and there

have been some cracker days when the

kingfish have bit hard

West CoastTaranaki

he west coast has been experi-

encing a bumper pre-Christmas

spell with the weather condi-

tions allowing more boats out than

most can remember The fish are also

playing along with good numbers and

sizes being reported up and down the

coast There are a few more sharks

showing up which can only mean the

lsquorealrsquo game fish are not far behind Itrsquos

exciting times and most are anticipat-

ing a bumper gamefish season on the

western waters

Coromandel Source Carl MuirEpic Adventures

here are still very good num-

bers of Kingfish coming in but

theyrsquore having a good time

of baffling anglers just about every

second day Thankfully though while

the kings play hard to get here are

good numbers of lsquocoke-bottlersquo Albies

and Skippies to be had out wide and

near the likes of Astrolabe amp out back

of Schooner

A few boats have landed some

reasonable Mako sharks ndash a good

sign that real gamefish are just around

the corner Itrsquos just waiting time now

until the first marlin is caught and the

season is kicked off for real With water

temperatures regularly above 20 degrees

a pre-Christmas capture is imminent

Tauranga Bay of Plenty

Marquesa

Ask instore for details wwwfin-norfishingcom

trade

Biscayne

AHAB

Free casio watch with every Fin-Nor rod amp reel combo

valued at

$15000

28 wwwnzfisherconz

competition

his month wersquore introducing a

double-whammy prize for the

lsquoName the speciesrsquo

You can email Captain Snappy here

[derrickpnzfisherconz] to go in the

draw for an lsquoActive Dutyrsquo priz epack but

for real bangs for your bucks go here to

our FaceBook page enter your guess and

go in the draw for a days fishing

with Carl Muir on board lsquoEpicrsquo ndash

Voted the charter provider of the

year by users on Fishingnetnz

This is a huge prize but can

only be won by clicking lsquolikersquo

amp entering your answer on

Facebook ndash do it now

Name the species

Bar and Restaurant

Check out our fantastic menu at wwwswashbucklersconz

Open 7 Days

23 Westhaven Drive

Westhaven Marina

Auckland NZ

Serving New Zealandrsquos Best Seafood For Over 13 years

If you love seafood yoursquoll love Swashbucklers

Bar and Restaurant

Located at Westhaven Marina on the edge of the

shores of the magnificent lsquoCity of Sailsrsquo pop in

for lunch or dinner seven days a week or enjoy a

cold ale in our Boatshed Bar

Phone 09 307 5979 for bookings or just come on down Open lsquotil late

Proud to support the launch of NZ Fisher e-Magazine

wwwnzfisherconz 29

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

delivered straight to your inbox every third Wednesday

In the next issue of NZ Fisherhellip

Stick baits for Newbiesbull

Big snapper from the shallows bullJigs vs LiveBaits ndash Edrsquos reviewbull

Rarotonga uncoveredbull

Next edition out 2011