www.nzfisher.co.nz 1www.nzfisher.co.nz

Fish of a Lifetime

ISSUE 48 June 2015

www.nzfisher.co.nz 3

4.. Editorial

6.. Wanderlust Back Home

14.. Restoring Abundance by Reducing Waste

16.. Another Fish of a Lifetime

20.. Hard Struggle on the Barrier Haggle

24.. Reader Pics

28.. Video of the Month

29.. Competitions

ABOUT /Short and sharp, NZ Fisher is a free

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to forward-thinking fisher people.

EDITOR / Derrick Paull

GROUP EDITOR / Colin Kennedy

ART DIRECTOR / Jodi Olsson

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Phone Derrick on 021 629 327

or email derrickp@NZ Fisher.co.nz

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Cover Image: Rod & Reel’s Chris O’Neil with a MASSIVE Three Kings Bass on jig

Contents

4 www.nzfisher.co.nz

THERE HAVE BEEN A plethora of good

fishing stories coming in during the

early weeks of June. I’ve heard plenty of

grumblings about the patchy snapper

fishing in the Hauraki Gulf, but the

weekend after Queens Birthday saw a real

turn around in fortunes with excellent

numbers of good sized fish coming in.

That’s a relief, but I wonder – as many others

do – where have they been? It’s not like you

can hide 60million snapper (NIWA’s estimate

of Hauraki Gulf snapper numbers).

For weeks (or months) there’s been massive

bait schools surrounded in jack-mackerel

and kahawai and marauding packs of

kingfish throughout the gulf, but very few

snapper accompanying them. For a while

we’ve been wondering whether there was

a genuine decline in fish numbers – again,

time will tell.

The charter fleet have finished up at the

Three Kings and returned with some pretty

remarkable stories. The one I’ve come

across is a potential world record trevally on

fly by Auckland angler Nick Whitby. Anyone

who’s fished the Three Kings will appreciate

Editorial

the difficulty in landing the resident trevs,

not made any easier when fished for on

fly rods. Nick’s put some words together

and we’ll get a look at this potential world

record fish soon.

Nick’s fish is not necessarily his fish of a

lifetime, but for many a trevally that size

would be the result of a lot of hard ‘work’,

learning about and targeting big fish. In this

issue we look at a number of remarkable

catches that have become ‘fish of a lifetime’

for the anglers.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 5

Jamie Cook, a Briton whom I had the

pleasure of hosting in Auckland on a very

wild October day last year, returned to

the UK and re-engaged with his local carp

pond – we have Jamie’s remarkable tale in

this issue. Along with and Jamie’s stories,

I’ve also written about my new personal

best snapper, but reflect on what these

trophy fish mean to us as anglers. More

and more I find myself fishing for the

table, but there’s nothing like a new PB to

re-ignite the flame that fires the trophy

hunter’s desire.

On the 10th of June Maori TV ran a piece

supplied to them by the recreational

fishing protest group Fish Fight Aotearoa

(FFA). The FFA spokesperson, Mr. Rhys

Smith visited an Auckland Chinese

restaurant and ordered a live crayfish for

their meal. Rhy’s dinner mates filmed

the meal and shared the results with

Maori TV (and this was subsequently

re-played on 7-Sharp). It’s an interesting

proposition; should it be OK to eat an

animal while it’s still alive?

Well, the law is very clear – you must

kill the animal humanely prior to

consumption. Also, I personally feel a bit

squeamish at the idea of a crayfish being

served up ‘alive’ – but I have been known

to eat fresh oysters and scallops very

fresh and probably technically alive – so

what does that say about me?

I’m led to believe there’s a history in

Japan of ‘Ikizukuri’ (prepared alive), which

is the preparation of sashimi made from

live seafood. ‘Ying Yang’ fish, or dead-

and-alive fish, originated in Taiwan, and

consists of a whole live fish which has

had some of its flesh deep-fried in such

a way that the fish seems to remain alive

after the frying process.

Yes, it is a cruel end to a beautiful fish,

but is it worse than the caged lives that

chickens and pigs live in both New Zealand

and the rest of the world? OK, it’s a long

bow to draw and I actually don’t want

to condone the practice, but I feel I’ll be

asked to defend my use of live-bait one

day as I’m torturing fish and feeding them,

live, to their death. I hope I’m wrong

because live-bait is singularly the best

technique when hunting really big fish!

Tight lines,

Derrick

6 www.nzfisher.co.nz

SPO

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FISH

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IN OCTOBER 2014 MY wife Verity and I were

lucky enough to embark upon the trip of a

lifetime, leaving our jobs and home in the

South West of England and embarking on

three months of what can only be described

as the most wonderful holiday imaginable.

I was born a passionate angler and

that passion has grown and developed

throughout my lifetime. Anglers,

wherever on Earth they call home or

choose to wet a line, are blessed with an

intimate relationship with nature and

their environment.

Orca in the anchor

Wanderlust Back Home

Fish(es) of a lifetime

Never was that more clear to me than

wading on the stunning flats of Aitutaki

in the Cook Islands attempting to

sneak up on boisterous trevally and the

occasional unsuspecting grey ghost, tailing

tantalisingly out of reach of all but my most

perfect cast. I had the fantastic fortune of

joining now firm friends in both Sydney and

Auckland for days out on the water.

As an Englishman I was armed with board

shorts, flip flops (Jandals I believe you

call them) and a deep supply of factor

30. However after experiencing a blizzard

in Sydney (in October) and a day out of

By Jamie Cook

Aitutaki - Not a bad spot to be when not catching fish.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 7

Auckland where every item of clothing I

had bought with me was tested to its limit,

I couldn’t prevent my mind drifting back

to a very special reed lined pool tucked

away from the world at the end of a farm

track in England, and it is there I want to

take you now.

My round the World angling sabbatical

taught me that fishermen of all creeds,

colours and backgrounds find the European

and more specifically the Englishman’s

desire to target, feed, catch, photograph

and release fish as bizarre as my non-

angling friends. What’s more they find the

fact that we chose to camp out through the

night under an umbrella with rods baited

and placed on alarms not only targeting

carp but targeting carp which have been

named – quite preposterous.

I must admit that growing up I shared

their scepticism and whilst trotting a

float (a subject for another time) down

a beautiful chalk stream I couldn’t quite

understand how those men ‘camping’

next to gravel pits or lakes were related

in their obsession to me. I hope this short

recollection will go some way not to

explaining my love of this type of angling

but to sharing the enjoyment I derive

from immersing myself in this unlikely

pursuit – carp fishing.

The lake in question is to be found far from

the maddening crowd. It has always been

run as a private fishery. The owner is a strict

and fanatical conservationist selecting a

syndicate of around 20 extremely lucky

members who invest their time, money

and energy into maintaining the fishery.

Sunset on the pond

8 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Of course they also indulge in their own

personal journeys to catch some of the

fantastic fish, which saunter between

the lush weed beds that punctuate the

numerous bays and channels of this 14

acre wetland.

I received my ‘golden ticket’ in April 2014

and, as I returned to England from my

sabbatical, was met by the news that

this lake was to open to the wider public

with our slightly peculiar ‘family’ being

disbanded on 1st May.

For me it felt like the adventure was over

almost before it had started. Working a

nine to five job and having a wife I look

forward to coming home to, means that

like most of us anglers my passion for

angling is held in balance by the other

aspects of my life. With this in mind I

arrived at the lake, around 90 minutes’

drive from my home at 6PM on April 30th

giving me two hours of daylight.

First job as always was to negotiate the mile

long farm track. I drove on better roads up

the side of volcanos in Nicaragua, and in

a standard saloon car it’s always a white

knuckle ride especially when the driver can

smell the lake ahead of him and doesn’t

want to drive slowly...

Thanks in this instance should be given

to company cars! Once safely parked, a

quick change out of the work suit, grab a

bag of bait from the boot and crack open

a can of cider to accompany me on a fish

finding expedition.

On a previous visit two weeks earlier, I had

seen a couple of fish in a quiet channel of

the lake just before nightfall and I had a

hunch I knew where they were heading. It

is quite normal for the carp to spend much

of their time in one area of a lake, only to

move large distances as darkness falls in

order to feed elsewhere.

They will also have defined feeding periods,

perhaps only feeding for an hour or two per

day. As a result there is a game of chess to

play, ensuring that you are one step ahead

of the fish and not left with your baits in an

area of the lake devoid of fish at the time

they are feeding.

At the south eastern end of the lake is a

deep bay containing a large island. It’s an

area I had never fished in before but I had

always thrown a handful or two of bait

onto a couple of areas where the lakes silty

bottom had been stripped back to reveal

smooth clay, a sure-fire sign that the carp

had found something to their liking.

Carp are filter feeders and will clean off

areas of the bottom where they discover

something to their liking, as they strip the

lake floor for tasty morsels in amongst the

detritus. Within a lake it is entirely possible

for 99% of the bottom never to be fed upon

by the carp, and finding these selectively

created ‘dining tables’ is the key to catching

your intended quarry.

The area I had seen the fish previously

looked promising, and as it led to this

interesting bay, I decided to set my traps

there. I hoped that this quiet bay was their

ultimate destination. My rods were ready

to go with sinkers (we call them leads) and

I simply had to attach a bait comprising of

eggs, ground fish meal, a few other bits and

pieces and a touch of semolina for good luck.

SPO

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FISH

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www.nzfisher.co.nz 9

The concoction is boiled to give it a tough

outer skin to prevent small fish from

devouring it. This ‘boillie’ is attached to the

shank of the size six hook via a small loop

whipped down from the eye, leaving the

hook completely bare and free to penetrate

the carp’s bottom lip if it were to pick up

the bait, which can slide freely up and

down the loop – all very technical.

With three rods, all placed on possible carp

dinner tables, and surrounded by around

60 identical baits to the one attached to my

hook – introduced in an attempt to induce

the fish to feed. I set the bite alarms to

sound if a line was taken and retired a safe

distance to set up camp.

While this will sound absurd to every Kiwi

reading, on this particular lake most of the

members manage between six and 10 fish

across an entire year so when I awoke to

answer a call of nature at first light and four

carp had graced the inside of my landing

net through the night I was elated. The

camp stove was summoned to deliver the

traditional English panacea and no success

would be complete without a cup of tea.

I had to leave for work an hour later so

when a line poured of the spool of my

middle rod and the alarm squealed, my

tea was jettisoned into a nearby bush as

I rushed to save the rod from taking a

morning swim. This fish was like nothing I

had experienced during the night – when

all of the fish had been under 14lb (6.5

kilos) – stripping around 50 yards of line

from me on its first run before grinding to a

halt in a large weed-bed.

Sunrise on ‘that’ day.

10 www.nzfisher.co.nz

No manner of heaving or hauling would

shift the fish so there was nothing for it but

to slacken the drag and attempt to better

Michael Johnson’s 400m World record in

recovering the lakes boat from the other side

of the lake. Once I had launched the small

plastic craft, I used the single paddle to propel

myself at an arduous pace back to base camp

where I collected my rod and landing net, and

set off in pursuit of my adversary.

SPO

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FISH

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Wrestling the first trophy from the weeds

Australian Salmon (aka Kahawai) in Sydney Harbour

“Never in 30 years of fishing had I hooked three fish at once. Now that I had, I wished I hadn’t so that I could instead concentrate all of my attention on the fish currently dragging around the lake. “

www.nzfisher.co.nz 11

Finally above the fish, I was back in contact

and it tore off again with me in tow. At

this point my right hand rod signalled that

another fish had made a mistake and was

now attempting to put as much distance

between it, and the dinner table it had just

been eating from, as possible.

As I was being dragged around the lake

there was nothing I could do but hold on

and think what a ridiculous situation I

found myself in. That thought was however

interrupted by my final remaining rod being

picked up by a third fish.

The ridiculous situation had become

ludicrous, never in 30 years of fishing had I

hooked three fish at once. Now that I had,

I wished I hadn’t so that I could instead

concentrate all of my attention on the fish

currently dragging around the lake.

After a further 30 minutes of battling, I

bundled the huge carp along with a similar

weight of weed into my waiting net and

paddled back to dry land. It was quickly

evident that this was one of the biggest

carp I had ever had the fortune to meet, so

I unhooked her and placed her in a large

retaining sack in the deep margin.

To my surprise the other two fish were

still attached to their respective rods, both

having buried themselves in the weed.

Twenty-five minutes later I was late for

work, soaked to the skin and my arm was

In itself, a fish of a lifetime.

12 www.nzfisher.co.nz

The 30lber

aching but I had three very large carp

waiting to have their weights recorded and

their photos taken.

Whatever species you fish for, there is that

magic size that takes it from the exceptional

to the extraordinary and elevates that

capture to a fish of the year, or even fish of

a lifetime status. When the weight of the

first fish was recorded at 43lb 05oz, I had

achieved the latter.

But when the second fish weighed in at

42lb 15oz, I realised that on my last night

on the lake the stars were clearly aligned

and I had caught two of its largest three

residents. The third fish on any other

day would have left me grinning like a

Cheshire Cat (as an Englishman I use this

phrase despite the fact I have never been

to Cheshire) and, at 31lb, was a notable

capture in its own right.

Unlike big fish in most other locations

around the world, these fish had been

caught a number of times before and had

learnt from the experience. Anyone who

tells you that fish have no memory or don’t

learn, has clearly never had the opportunity

to watch large carp feed and repeatedly

reject angler’s rigs.

Species which are taken for the table make

one mistake in their lives and never have

a chance to learn from it, these fish are

different and as we return to the question

of why us English would want to spend

our time trying to catch a fish perceived

as vermin in many other countries? Ask

yourself whether you have been lucky

enough to outwit a creature with as many

years on this planet as you have, then to

watch it return to its natural environment

unharmed and ready to make another

fisherman’s dreams come true – just as

soon as it has stopped sulking at having

made a mistake, that is.

Fishing is all about new experiences. Jigging

from a boat or flicking soft plastics was

completely alien to me but I couldn’t have

enjoyed it more. Perhaps next time you

come across a neglected little pool, you

will rig up a rod and catch a few fish ‘coarse

style’. If so, I hope you enjoy yourself.

SPO

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FISH

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Trohy fi sh!

www.nzfisher.co.nz 13

Know whatyou’re doing

Phone 0800 40 80 90 or visitwww.boatingeducation.org.nz

Core Courses Specialty Courses RYA Courses

Wide range of courses for all types of boating available nationwide

Ocean Yachtmaster

Day Skipper

Boatmaster

Maritime VHF Operator Certificate

Coastal Skipper

Radar

GPS Operator

Engine Maintenance

Marine Medic

Sea Survival

Sea Kayak and Waka Ama

Club Safety Boat Operator

Bar Crossing

PWC

Powerboating

Sail Cruising

Motor Cruising

14 www.nzfisher.co.nz

FISH

ERIE

SMAN

AGEM

ENT

IN 2012 NATIONWIDE amateur harvest

of snapper was estimated to be 4811

tonnes. This is more than the combined

harvest of nine other popular species.

Clearly snapper is a resilient species, but

stock levels are below where they should

be and fishing pressure is too high.

LegaSea is encouraging recreational

fishers to learn new techniques to

decrease the number of small fish caught,

to avoid gut hooking and ensure a high

survival rate for released fish.

We can make changes so that the

fishery rebuilds to an abundant level

in our lifetime.

If fishing for snapper, recreational fishers

can employ the LegaSea Fish Handling

Guide (under development).

Restoring Abundance by Reducing Waste

Snapper is the species most often targeted by recreational anglers in New Zealand. Update by Trish Rae, Legasea

www.nzfisher.co.nz 15

It incorporates some best practice

techniques, including the following:

• Avoid catching small fish

• Move away from areas holding large

numbers of small fish

• Use soft baits or jigs that tend to target

larger fish, with a high proportion lip

hooked

• When bait fishing use big baits on large

hooks, 7/0 or 8/0s

• Use hooks with a wire appendage

designed to reduce the capture and gut

hooking of small fish

• Use circle hooks

• Fish actively, by keeping in touch with

your bait or jig to avoid gut hooking

• If planning to release fish, keep angling

time to a minimum

• Release fish in the water to reduce air

time and stress on the fish

• If a fish must be removed from the water

prior to release, use a rubber net and

place the fish on a wet, cool surface.

Rubber nets will hold the fish with

minimal damage to their eyes and skin

• Learn about, and use, new tools that quickly return fish to a comfortable depth and help avoid predators. Useful tools are release weights and weighted fish grips

• Quickly kill and chill in ice or slurry any fish being kept for eating

• Use the www.FreeFishHeads.co.nz service

to share unwanted heads and frames.

More detailed info at http://www.legasea.

co.nz/faqs-management.php

Share your own fish handling tips on

LegaSea’s Facebook page.

Marlborough Sounds blue cod updateA review is underway to decide the rules

applying to recreational fishing of blue

cod in the Marlborough Sounds and top of

the South Island. The Ministry for Primary

Industries submission deadline is 30th

June. Please take the time to have a say

on this most prized fishery. http://www.

legasea.co.nz/bluecod.php

Stand upBecome a LegaSea Legend by making a

regular $10 per month contribution. ■

Call 0800 LEGASEA (534 273)

Email us info@legasea.co.nz

Subscribe at www.legasea.co.nz

Read more at www.facebook.com/legasea

16 www.nzfisher.co.nz

FOR MANY YEARS I targeted snapper from

the shore, then the boat – always looking

for a bigger model to pip my personal best.

I remember the first 10lber, a handsome

schoolie pulled from the weeds off the rocks

at Matapaua Bay, Coromandel. I’d lugged in

30kgs of bait & burley for myself and a friend

– I was 15 and very suggestable! The snapper

took the first bait to hit the water that day,

a still frozen piper on a single 7/0 gammy

tied straight to the mainline. I thought it

was the biggest snapper I’d ever land and

nearly fainted – first bait! That PB didn’t last

long as I kept learning, walking further and

spending more time on the water.

A couple of years later I still hadn’t cracked

the magical 20lb mark but pushed hard

every time, egged on by my own desire to

crack this seemingly impossible feat. In

1996 I walked for a couple of hours into

Whangamumu in Northland. It’s a long walk

and one I wasn’t really prepared for.

I had heard mythical stories from club

president Ted Audain about the 30lb+

snapper he’d seen, and lost, that dwarfed the

humble 20’s they’d landed like pannies from

the swarms of snapper at their feet and in

the burley trail.

Ted spoke of the treacherous ‘razor back’, a

narrow ridge between two steep hills that

was the only passage to reach the headlands

of glory and the Whangamumu harbour. In

my imagination I conjured up a scene not

unlike the Lord of the Rings where Gandalf

shouts ‘Thou shall not pass’ to the balrog.

I often find myself turning green with envy when I peruse Facebook and the fishing forums, seeing others loaded up with their trophy fish – massive smiles and tired arms cradling their fish of a lifetime.

Another Fish of a Lifetime

By Derrick Paull

www.nzfisher.co.nz 17

I was a bit scared, a lot excited and not

entirely sure Ted was giving me sound

advice. Needless to say at 4am the next day

I found myself in the company of others

traipsing along the coast to Whangamumu.

The day was spectacular, sunny, calm and no

swell – perfect for sight-seeing and pretty

average for rock-fishing in the shallows.

We reached the razorback and it was

everything Ted had told me. A narrow, windy

bridge merely inches wide precariously

stretching 100m above the rocks and sea

– not to be trifled with and surely the final

resting place of many careless fishers (or

so my over caffeinated brain was telling

me!). We struck out across the bridge and

surprisingly to me 10 seconds later were

merrily heading to a deeper ledge ‘out-there’.

The mornings fishing was far less exciting

than the walk until at 11am my un-weighted

half blue mack got picked up and run

strongly. I called it for a sting-ray; what else

would be stupid enough to collect a bait

in the middle of this stunning, sunny day?

After a brief struggle and some huffing on

my behalf to get its head out of the weeds,

the biggest snapper I’d ever hooked, popped

up at the ledge awaiting a swift gaff shot.

I was in awe – called it for ‘16lb’ and kept

fishing (admittedly in the midst of quite

a buzz – even 16 was a new PB!). My next

bait, a quickly rigged pillie got hit almost

immediately and I laid into this fish, giving it

no credit at all – ‘Just a pannie’.

18 www.nzfisher.co.nz

And what a pannie! Bigger again than the

previous fish. Gnarled, dark and kelpie this

fish had 20lb written all over it. I knew I had

a long, dehydrating walk ahead of me.

I lasted another hour before deciding to

head back. What had been a 2 hour walk in

became a 4 ½ hour nightmare to get out,

including a fall on the cusp of the ‘Razorback’

that saw me slide 30m amongst the manuka

and being left upside down, trapped by my

heavy pack on the lip of the drop off.

I had to wait for a fellow fisher to come

along, some half hour later to ‘rescue’ me.

(Many thanks, Paul). My rescuer offered

to share my load, but the caveat was I’d

forfeited that fish – so gratefully I declined

and struggled on.

Eventually I get the fish back to camp and

was blown away by discovering the larger of

the two weighed in at 9.5kg and the smaller

9kg flat (both considered 20lbs’ back then).

Not one but two in a day – from the rocks!

That story kept my fishing cred high for a few

years, but I still searched for bigger. At the time

the 9.5kg model was my ‘fish of a lifetime’, but

I kept hunting – that’s what you do!

My first 20, from the rocks.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 19

Over the next 18 odd years I’ve added near a

dozen 20lb+ fish to the tally (many released,

BTW) and often said if I ever cracked 25lb, I’d

mount one as a trophy. 20lb is a club, 25lb is

a trophy and 30, well that’s a legend.

Over the last few years I’ve been lucky

enough to hone the techniques we believe

most strongly in for catching trophy snapper

and in the last year I’ve witnessed my good

friend Dazza land two 25lb+ on live-baits.

Every-time we fish likely spots I dream of

getting ‘that’ fish; a monster, a moocher,

a horse or bear. Whatever you call it, you

know the model I mean. The one that will

make you dance a jig and smile wide or

giggle uncontrollably in front of your mates.

For some people that might be a 25kg (50lb)

kingfish, for others a 10lb trout but for me, a

die-hard snapper hunter, a 25lb+ (preferably

a 30!) ‘old man snapper’.

So when I wound in a very heavy, very

feisty snapper in May this year, its broad,

high flank looked big in the water and

disproportionately massive in the net.

As we laid it gently on the deck I muttered

(I thought to myself only, but it was actually

aloud!), “that might just be my 30”. Such a

magnificent fish. Deep red but not moocher

brown. Strong, proud forehead and shoulders

without the ugly bump of a reef dweller.

Magnificent! And my new PB. At 12kg it was a

bit shy of 30lb, but I am stoked all the same.

This was, this is, my fish of a lifetime. I will

live happily knowing this fish has graced my

decks and while still striving for bigger, I’ll

never turn that ugly shade of green again

when I see a fellow angler with their ‘fish of

a lifetime’ in their arms. ■

Whangamumu Bay

20 www.nzfisher.co.nz

BEN

ISLA

ND

.CO

.NZ

THIS BIANNUAL COMPETITION, or as the

locals say ‘comp’, attracts local and mainland

fishing enthusiasts and is usually hosted at

Tipi and Bobs Waterfront Lodge in Tryphena.

There are four main fishing comps on the

island per year and, independent of individual

general opinions about such competitions,

they do attract mainlanders to the island,

which affects our micro-economy positively,

creates casual employment opportunities,

promotes the island and allows for a

comfortable get-together – and of course the

chance to win the big prize, which shouldn’t

be sneezed at either.

About 130 fisho’s competed in this Black

Jug competition. All entry fees of NZ$70 per

head go towards the grand prize. Biggest

snapper takes all. There are spot prizes but

no other cash prizes. Fishing times were

from midday Friday, with the final weigh in

at 5PM on Saturday.

On Saturday I had the pleasure to meet up with John Lennan on the southern side of Great Barrier Island, where he was competing for the Black Jug Fishing Haggle.

Please allow me one remark. Yes, big snapper

get killed that would not have been caught

or would have been released if it wasn’t for

the competition, but the damage to the

fisheries is done by those who ‘buy’ fish, not

by individuals who fish recreationally!

John Lennan is a great guy. He is probably

the best known and one of the most reputed

land-based fishermen on the island. He is

entertaining and always has interesting and

humorous stories to tell. There is a map

of the island hanging from the wall in his

home, where different coloured pins indicate

the size and location of big snapper he has

caught since moving to the Great Barrier

Island back in 1986.

Without going into detail, John, it is about

time you digitalised your map. There is

hardly space left for pins! In addition, John

is a kind and modest (fisher)man with huge

insight and empirical knowledge about

land-based fishing.

Hard Struggle on the Barrier Haggle

www.nzfisher.co.nz 21

I met up with John on midday Friday, about

an hour before the high tide mark on a

difficult to fish, rocky beach on the southern

part of the island. His strategy for the

competition was to have a big, juicy bait out

at all times; meaning that he’d sleep by his

rod on the beach, fishing through the night

and early morning. One must appreciate

the amount of planning that went into the

competition. The reel was spooled with fresh,

quality line, dozens of traces were pre-rigged

with brand new hooks; bait fish were netted

and frozen down, lots of gear, from lighting

to cooking facilities was carried down to the

spot, and the list goes on.

This is extreme, land-based-sport fishing.

Imagine fishing throughout the night, hardly

getting any sleep on a rocky beach, at all

times being prepared for that big hook-up,

which could fill your pockets with almost

NZ$10,000. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?

However, it is quite exhausting and not the

most comfortable thing one can do.

John is an old-school surfcaster. He uses a

two-piece surfcasting rod, an Alvey reel, 15kg

main line, no sinker and about a metre of

50kg trace rigged with 10/0 and 8/0 hooks.

Big and oily yellow-eyed mullet (netted a few

days before the comp) are used as bait. Check

out the flawless bait-presentation.

He cuts the tail off, rendering the bait more

aerodynamic and yielding a longer cast. I will

definitely adopt cutting the tail off, this will

also allow for easier bait retrieval, especially

when you are skipping dead baits to raise

kingfish. He also cuts open the gut cavity

and scores the fish on the sides, to allow the

juices to flow out more easily to attract big

fish. The baits create their own burley trail.

22 www.nzfisher.co.nz

BEN

ISLA

ND

.CO

.NZ

Further, John impressively casts the bait as far

as he can (60 to 80 metres) and leaves it out

there until the rod tip bends over. “Put a good

sized, oily bait on and leave it out there. If

you start playing with it all the time, you just

increase the likelihood of getting snagged.

Leave it there, small fish can’t take a fresh

bait off easily, and keep an eye on the rod. If it

doesn’t bend hard, your bait is still out there

and attracting fish. So leave it!”

This is a crucial tip when you are fishing land-

based spots that boast large kelp-beds and

rocky, underwater terrain. When retrieving,

do it fast and keep the rod tip high and if

you really have to check your bait every five

minutes; then just fish two rods, leaving the

big bait out there untouched until it goes

WHAAAAM.

After about an hour, John lands a 33cm sized

snapper. “Nice, this is dinner for you Ben.”

I happily accepted the snapper and enjoyed

it later that night by the fireplace thinking

of John, and of how he is waiting for that big

snapper, enduring the not so comfortable and

rainy conditions on the rocks.

WHAAAAM, at about 3PM, his rod bends over

hard. John rushes over, but there is no hook-

18+ lbs snapper off the rocks.

John fighting a big snapper from an elevated position.

A solid and powerful cast

www.nzfisher.co.nz 23

This article is reproduced with permission of Ben Assado. Ben lives permanently in the hills of Tryphena, in a rugged and stunning bush block, and pursues his dream of living in harmony and sustainably from the land. Check out Ben’s website www.benisland.co.nz for more fishing stories and a great read about island life

up, so he retrieves the line. The bait has been

stripped off by something strong enough to

do so in one go.

It suddenly occurs to me, my timing is not

good at all. The best chances for John to land

a big fish are at night and early morning.

Actually, I am so sure to get a picture of him

with a big snapper that I intend to cancel my

plans for Saturday and to show up again.

Since John prepares a new bait, I decide,

however, to stay for another half an hour.

After all, John Lennan doesn’t have the

reputation he has if he couldn’t land a good

fish under pressure.

WHAAAAM, it is just after 4PM when the

rod tip bends over again. This time there

is a hook-up and John skilfully turns the

head of the fish as soon as possible and

fights it hard from an elevated position. His

mate Steve has the net ready. Three to four

minutes after hook-up, John lands the first

big fish of the day.

“Did you see that, he didn’t want to come in

at all? He went for a couple of runs and tried

to bust me off in the weeds.”

Yeah John, I saw it mate, great effort and well

done! This was a good time for me to leave.

John is more than just enthusiastic: “There

are bigger fish out there Ben. I have a feeling.”

I wish him good luck.

Unfortunately, John didn’t land the prize-

winning fish and after more than 24 hours of

extreme and exhausting fishing (I also believe

it was quite wet, it rained a lot overnight), I

didn’t see him at the final weigh-in.

I know that John isn’t the only skilled local

who prepares well for the Black Jug and that

most competitors deserve to win, but he is

one of the few land-based anglers. Yes, he

has first prize titles under his belt, but he also

missed out on big cash prizes being unable to

physically make it to the final weigh-in time.

He is a grandiose sportsman and I wish

him only the best for future competitions.

Hopefully he can again out-fish the

professionals and other anglers on large and

comfortable boats, with high-tech fish finding

and attracting devices.

When I left Tipi and Bobs, the scoreboard

boasted about two dozen 20lb snapper, with

the biggest weighing in at 11.78 kg (26lb). ■

24 www.nzfisher.co.nz

REA

DER

PICS

Reader Pics

3lb Rainbow trout caught on spinning gear by Connor in the Waioeka gorge in February

Daniel Heaney and his 21.5 lb snapper from the kayak of a shallow reef off Whangamata

David Shin with the biggest snapper we’ve ever published, 16kg and cought on a slow jig in the Hauraki Gulf - WOW!

Orson Waldock, 78cm snapper, Tutukaka Coast (Kahawai Alley)

www.nzfisher.co.nz 25

Winner!

Winner! Ollie Reeves with his new PB, a fine Ngongotaha Rainbow. Steve Futter with a 34kg king aboard Pursuit at the Three Kings.

Brent Foote – onboard highlander with a 15.25kg kingie Early June from Coromandel Harbour in 4m water on 8kg line - epic effort!

26 www.nzfisher.co.nz

REA

DER

PICS

Alex Reeves and a great 9.05kg Taranaki landbased snap.

Derek Barton with a nice Ma’i ma’i 15.3 kg caught recently in Rarotonga. Lucien Touchette with a landbased Kahawai caught with his Dad Mark in Coromandel.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 27

Eoghain Waldock, 55cm snapper, caught on kayak in 4m at Orere Point.

It isn’t just about catching them! Waldock and McIntosh kids, Ruffins Bay, Coromandel.

Quentin Peterson with a recent Ranfurly Banks capture (Hapuku).

28 www.nzfisher.co.nz

VID

EOO

FTH

EMO

NTH

Trout Trout Everywhere

Let’s be honest, if you want a good fishing video, as a fly fisher to take care of it.

First up, Billy of The Fly Fisherman Facebook page is producing the goods right here. This should get you nice and amped for the coming weekend. Taupo is firing and with this rain coming through, hopefully Rotorua should start to fire as well. Check this wicked Vid and get over and give him a ‘LIKE’ to get your mid-week fix of Fly Fishing.

Chris from Rod & Reel recently

headed down to the Ngongotaha &

Hinemaiaia Streams for a flick – love

the results! Check it out here.

But if you want to know

what real fishing looks

like; check these cats out –

Queenstown rocks! ■

It’s winter for sure, and as the sea fishing slows, you should consider the

sensational fresh water fishing on offer. The central North Island has been firing

recently, as can be seen in these videos, but don’t forget the 20lb+ rainbows

they’ve been dragging from the South Island hydro-canals.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 29

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Auckland 0751, New Zealand

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Share an Awesome Photo and Be in to Win!

Share an awesome photo this month and be in to WIN a $150 Composite Developments Voucher!Share an awesome photo of you with a fish to our Facebook page, or email it to derrickp@fisher.co.nz by July 15 and you’ll be in to win an $150 voucher from Composite Developments to spend on anything you like from their 2015 catalogue - click here to view.

This months winner Ollie Reeves for his PB Ngongotaha Rainbow with his dad Alex in early June). Ollie has won a $150 Composite Developments voucher, happy

spending Ollie! ●

CO

MPE

TITI

ON

S Competition!

www.nzfisher.co.nz 30

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