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Love fishing? NZ Fisher is the monthly online mag for New Zealand fishing enthusiasts. Sign up free at www.nzfisher.co.nz
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www.nzfisher.co.nz 1
ISSUE 45 March 2015
www.nzfisher.co.nz
Marlin MARLIN
Kingfish from the Rocks II
Tired of Catching Small
Getting sorted for offshore Yakking
www.nzfisher.co.nz 3
5.. Editorial
8.. Question A: Marlin, Marlin
14.. She’s thick with trout in Mangatainoka, bro. Yeah Right!
16.. Legasea Update March 2015
18.. Kingfish Off the Rocks VI
22.. Reader Pics
24.. Video of the Month
25.. Competition
ABOUT /Short and sharp, NZ Fisher is a free
e-magazine delivering thought provoking and enlightening articles, and industry news and information
to forward-thinking fisher people.
EDITOR / Derrick Paull
GROUP EDITOR / Richard Liew
ART DIRECTOR / Jodi Olsson
CONTENT ENQUIRIES /
Phone Derrick on 021 629 327
or email derrickp@NZ Fisher.co.nz
ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES /
Phone Jennifer on 09 522 7257
or email [email protected]
ADDRESS / NZ Fisher,
C/- Espire Media, PO Box 137162, Parnell,
Auckland 1151, NZ
WEBSITE / www.NZFisher.co.nz
This is a GREEN MAG, created and distributed without the use of paper so it's environmentally friendly. Please think before
you print. Thank you!
Cover Image: Cam’s new PB - 68cm of deepwater snapper
Contents
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
www.nzfisher.co.nz 5
Editorial
OVER THE LAST FEW years we’ve been fed
some pretty hard facts to swallow. We’ve
been told we catch too many snapper
in the Hauraki Gulf. We must accept
that commercial fishers can take smaller
crayfish than us in half our fisheries, but
now it’s ‘leakage’ when a commercial boat
sends hundreds of small (they weren’t
undersize because the commercial sector
doesn’t have a size limit) gurnard back to
the sea after a trawl.
I gotta tell you, I’m bloody upset by this.
We in the recreational fishing sector work
hard to improve our practices and return
unwanted fish safely and quickly to the
water. We use new, safer techniques to
land our fish, and we spend time teaching,
guiding and educating new comers to the
sport. On the one hand, I say to myself,
“Why do I bother” but on the other, it’s an
easy answer – because I care for the health
and longevity of our fishery.
A week after seeing Kerren Packers video
of the ‘leaked’ (I believe it was dumped,
but let’s play along) gurnard, ultra small
through to large ones began turning up
in fish shops. It’s like the commercial
guys got the word, ‘Quit dumping your
midgets’ and they started landing them.
Again Facebook was alive with disgust as
images of these baby gurnard were posted
from across the city. I was interviewed
by TV3 (It hasn’t aired yet) about how I
feltseeing these fish for sale, and it got
6 www.nzfisher.co.nz
me thinking, ‘what value do we put on
our inshore fishery?’ There’s always talk
about the worth of our fish to the world,
but these very small gurnard weren’t being
sent overseas – there is no economic value
gained by killing them. These fish were
sold, on the cheap ($1.99 per kilo, retail
including GST) to New Zealanders.
There was no magic international dollar
coming into New Zealand to justify their
death. Just 30 cents a kilo in GST collected
from within our borders. Where is the
sense in this transaction? The exchange of
a few dollars, of which the trawler would
have earned nothing I suspect, for the
death of the future of a fishery. A group
of recreational fishers have asked for the
head of MPI (Fisheries), Mr. Dave Turner,
over this action.
The MPI team quickly came out and stated
this was a case of ‘Leakage’ not dumping;
something the boat in question has (we’re
led to believe) done ten times in the last
two years. As a conscientious fisher, if I
accidentally kill a fish - a single fish - I
change what I’m doing there and then and
make sure it doesn’t happen again. In the
case of this vessel accused of dumping,
MPI made a decision on the cause of the
leaked/dumped fish within a couple of
days. I’d suggest they probably simply
asked the skipper and accepted his word
without a skerrick of investigation
In an unrelated case, I recently reported
an illegally set net in a neighbourhood bay
near where I live. The net was unnamed,
staked and left dry above the receding
tide. There’s a swag of offences right
there. I rang MPI’s 0800-4POACHER line
four times, over three weekends before
they finally sent someone down to have
a look. And when they did, they took the
offenders details, issues no formal warning
and let them go without a fine but in
possession of their net.
Just like the limp wristed results we see
on Coastwatch, these guys got their fish
(illegally caught), their net, and no fine for
openly abusing the rules. I’m at a loss to
understand why we should other following
the rules at all. Do others feel this way?
Do you all obey the rules because, like
me, you care and believe you’re making a
difference? Or am I fooling myself and the
majority know there’s no chance of getting
caught, so they take what they want,
regardless of the greater good? Somehow I
don’t believe this to be the case.
Our inshore fisheries are being fished very
hard. There’s little intent by Government
to restrain the commercial fleet, and
the commercial guys see little value in
sharing the bounty with the recreational
sector. In the snapper one submission
put forward by Seafood New Zealand in
2014; they referred to the recreational
sector as “…high value consumption of
imported components…”, Which roughly
translated, means they see our enjoyment
of our pastime as the wasteful use of our
imported fishing gear while taking fish
from the sea for no ‘profit’.
It seems clear to me that every decision
made by New Zealand Fisheries is one
that provides a greater return for the
shareholders of the fishing companies that
fish our waters. They’re not in the game
to share – ‘shared fishery’ is a misnomer.
www.nzfisher.co.nz 7
I learned during my time on the
Recreational Fishing Council that it was
a race for fish, possibly even the last fish.
But I believed a little in the fact that these
fishers would be cutting their throats if
they over taxed the fishery.
The problem with my thinking is that the
guys out there catching the fish don’t own
the quota, they just do what they’re told.
If they’re told not to land any gurnard, but
they pull up a net full of them, what do they
do? They ‘leak’ them. In layman’s terms, they
dump the lot, tonnes of them. This practice
has been witnessed time and time again by
fishers but almost invariably MPI can’t (or
wont) find the offending vessel.
Snapper, our main target species, has
been fished down to under 20% of
its virgin biomass on the upper North
Island and below 10% on the west coast.
Why do we still allow the horrendously
damaging method of trawling to occur in
our inshore waters?
We had a world leading fisheries
management system in 1986 when
the Quota Management System was
introduced, but the core value of that
legislation envisaged the original quota
owners would be fishing their quotas.
It did not envisage that they would be
selling them for significant profits to quota
accumulating oligarchs who focus on the
inflowing dollars alone, with no thought to
the destruction their poorly paid workers
on the oceans coalface inflict upon our
struggling waters.
OK, so I’m getting a bit romantic in my
ranting’s, but it hurts. I’m genuinely
cut up seeing the abuse of our oceans
at the hands of blind corporations and
their actions brushed under the mat by
ineffective managers. New Zealand, this
resource is ours, the peoples, not the
property of faceless corporations. Don’t
forget, our Primary Industries (Fisheries)
is charged with the protection of the
resource. Let your voices be heard, don’t
settle for ‘it was leakage’ when you know
damn well it was dumped. Don’t stand for
baby gurnard turning up in fish shops for
$1.99 a kilo.
The Minister of Primary Industries
(Fisheries), Nathan Guy can be reached at
[email protected] – please let him
know how you feel about his Ministries
inaction over these recent and historical
offenses. Please cc’ me too at
[email protected] if you do send
him some words (But keep it clean please!)
Tight lines NZ Fisho’s!
Derrick
8 www.nzfisher.co.nz
SPO
RTS
FISH
ING
AS I SAID IN the last issue, I fished the
Beach & Boat out of Marsden Cove with
the Honda Team. I was paired with Honda’s
Auckland sales rep Cam and client, Alastair
– also an old mate of mine.
I’d like to tell you that this story is all
about how Al, Cam and I managed to nail
some monster fish, claimed the title and
ranked ourselves silly revelling in the
afterglow. But it isn’t.
Nope. The B&B went well for us for
sure; we landed great fish on both days,
nothing to write home about, but plenty
to keep us interested.
The event itself was great. With 2500
fisho’s trying to get their boats in and out
each day, mayhem was expected. But the
organisers did a great job; from organising
the local Fire Brigade and Coast Guard
to managing the ramp, to having the
weighed-in fish iced down, packed and
protest before being distributed within the
local community.
Words by Derrick Paull & Ian Biddick Images by Tony Orton & Derrick Paull
Orca in the anchor
Marlin MARLIN
What do you get when you hang a large kahawai over the side of the boat at the Mokohinau Islands when hunting Kingfish?
www.nzfisher.co.nz 9
As part of the Honda Team, I was treated to
a caravan within the VIP zone, meaning we
were essentially on site the whole weekend,
at least while we weren’t fishing that is.
On day one we found really good numbers
of snapper and rat kings around the uber
popular Coppermine at the Chicks, as in
the Hen and Chicken Islands 10 miles out
from Whangarei Heads. The fish weren’t
concerned about the bright sun and
extremely clear water and weren’t even put
off hitting baits mid water when we were
being buzzed by Orca.
Including this one that spent a minute or so
rubbing itself up and down the anchor rope,
including wrapping the rope around its tail
and rubbing. We were a bit concerned at first,
but it swam away and came back again and
again. It was a very cool experience, albeit a
little freaky!
We headed in and found out that the others
in the Honda crew had fared similarly. Except
the crew of Ian Biddick, Edan Craig and
Graham Keogh, who’d headed out with Tony
Orton of Offshore Adventures in search of big
Mokohinau’s kings and had found themselves
connected to a striped marlin mid-morning.
Ian Biddick, Honda GM was on the rod and
managed to land the fish in about 90 minutes
on gear normally used for kingfish.
This was Ian’s first marlin. While he’d been
offered plenty of chances to chase them
previously, he’d always turned them down,
focussing on inshore fish and kings. So
landing this fish was quite a surprise and
while well received, not the lifelong ambition
many fishers have.
So, when his line took off again the following
day in 35 metres, just metres from where he
hooked the Stripey the day before, you can
imagine the shock when an estimated 300kg
black marlin broke the surface, shook its head
and bedded down in an effort to beat Ian at
his new found sport.
Edan recounted the story back to me
later and praised the work of Tony Orton
on the helm, often getting the Offshore
Adventures boat up on the plane hunting
the fish. Eden estimated they never had
more than a 100 metres off the reel as Tony
kept Ian in touch continuously.
You can see the highlights of Ian’s weekend.
Day one is here and day two, here.
Alastair with one of the better rats.
Marlin MARLIN
10 www.nzfisher.co.nz
Here’s Ian’s recollection of the weekend
and the fight of his life – 45 minutes of
adrenaline one day followed by 75 minutes
of ‘Why me?’ the next:
The back story:This adventure started in December 2104
when my team and I were discussing how
we could best gain as much attention as
possible for Honda Marine at the Beach and
Boat. Honda Marine, of course, is one of
the sponsors of the Beach and Boat. And, of
course, the answer came in a flash, why don’t
we just try and win it in a Honda powered
boat, easily said, much harder to achieve!
We were so confident we decided to take a
dedicated camera man with us for both days
of fishing, ‘just in-case’. We needed someone
who knew their way around the area; enter
Tony Orton of Offshore Adventures. Tony
specialises in fishing the Mokohinau’s
(Mokes). We talked to Tony about our goal
and hired the boat for the two days of the
B&B. Based on our needs, Tony formed a plan
(Actually 1 through to 25 - as one does), so
off we went cruising out of Marsden Cove on
Friday morning
Friday - Day One:Our plan was to head out to the Mokes
early and first off go for the 5XL kingfish,
and then fish for snapper once we achieved
that goal, loaded with lives kindly caught by
our skipper the day before, off we went with
our hopes, and expectations high. A quick
trip out to Mokes due to Tony’s beautifully
set up Extreme with twin Honda BF200’s on
the back, saw us setting baits in no time. We
proceeded to fish small live baits and caught
a couple of nice kingfish, nothing that would
win the B&B, however, when Tony suggested
we need to up-size our baits. The boil-ups
were everywhere, and we hooked a couple of
nice kahawai which were deployed in short
order. We had spotted what we thought was
a marlin feeding in the area, so Tony rigged
one of his Shimano Talica 50’s onto a game
rod, and the trolling continued. I had asked
him specifically about the size of the bait and
if a kingfish would take a three kg kahawai.
He assured me it would, and my excitement
continued to grow.
When my rod went off I thought, it was the
kingfish of my dreams but then everyone
started getting real excited by the way
the rod was loading and behaving. The
next minute I’m into a 160kg (estimated)
striped marlin. To say I was stunned would
be an understatement! I had never caught
a marlin up to this time and could never
understand the enthusiasm that fisherman
have for trolling around our waters for
hours on end attempting to catch one. I got
that misunderstanding sorted in the first 5
minutes; I can tell you!
What followed was 40 minutes of pure
excitement as we chased down the marlin
with yours truly responding to Tony’s
instructions on what he wanted from me.
Some awesome footage of the fish was
captured on camera and high fives all around
- yahoo my first marlin, an unintended catch!
For us, everything else on the day seemed to
pale into insignificance even though we still
weighed in a kingi on the day that managed
5th heaviest. What a day! Back at the venue,
and after a beer or three we all started joking
about ‘wouldn’t it be a hoot if we did it again
on the Saturday’. The irony of that chatter still
stays with me today.
www.nzfisher.co.nz 11
Saturday - Day Two:
We agreed to run the same plan for day two
(not the marlin part), despite the fact that
one of our number, friend and excellent
fisherman Edan Craig slept in. So, instead of
a 5am start we finally sailed around 6:15am.
You can imagine the grief that Edan copped
on the way out.
We had seen the quality of the snapper
catch on Fridays weigh in and realised very
quickly that to win the snapper section
would need a very special fish so we
decided again to focus on kingfish; and for
the big kingfish, big bait. There is nothing
I like more than catching fish on light
tackle so I’m right in my element catching
kahawai, and soon a fat kahawai was set
up for trolling and off we went. I was again
under instructions from Tony about how to
handle the reel as there was just sufficient
drag set to tow the kahawai.
My instructions were to slow the reel with
my fingers if it was a kingi to allow the fish
time to swallow the bait or to hit the strike
right off if it was a marlin. I would have
saved some skin off my finger and thumb
If I had known how prophetic those words
would turn out to be. There was another
strike and not believing that it would be
another marlin (two marlin in two days –
impossible, right?); I kept my fingers to the
Tag in GP
12 www.nzfisher.co.nz
spool as instructed. We soon realised it was
indeed another marlin and the drag got
set to strike in short order. Having caught
a marlin the day before I had some idea
of what was ahead of me and as such was
totally engaged with the catch, rather than
being somewhat stunned.
Around 90 minutes later an estimated
300kg black marlin was beside the boat,
tagged and released, And finally a rather
tired Ian Biddick was able to take a break.
I’m ‘running’ fit, and this allowed me to
stay with the fish and not tire overly, but I
must admit to being a little sore the next
day. What a workout!
What a beast! What excitement!?!?!
The adrenaline rush! I now know why
fisherman target marlin, there is nothing as
exhilarating as catching a big fish like this
- two in two days is simply awesome! We
didn’t win the contest, but we did get what
we set out to do, and that is capture some
awesome footage of the some great fish,
something to cherish and remember forever.
www.nzfisher.co.nz 13
Teamwork:I had never considered the role others on
the boat would play in successfully catching
a big fish like this. It is as much about the
skipper and others who assist on board, as
it is about the angler. I would like to thank
Tony Orton ‘Offshore Adventures’; Edan
Craig, fishing friend; Honda Marine; and all
of my team for bringing a successful B&B
together. Finally, thank you to all of the
well-wishers who congratulated me, for
making this catch possible
Fishing from here on:One of the joys of fishing for me is not
always wrapped up in catching the biggest
fish, nice to do as that may be. I take my
fishing pleasure from catching fish on light
tackle. A three kg snapper or a 13kg kingi
brings as much reward in their own way as
catching the marlin at the B&B and sharing
the experience with like-minded friends.
Catch and release – awesome. Taking only
what you need for a feed - awesome. Look
forward to seeing you on the water at some
time. Come and say hi, I will be in the blue
1850 Stabicraft with a (you guessed it)
Honda BF135 on the back. ■
Released to swim again, there were plenty in the bin already
Schools of solid trevs spent the day frustrating us and busting up spasmodically
14 www.nzfisher.co.nz
She’s thick with trout in
Mangatainoka, bro. Yeah Right!
IN DECEMBER, I FISHED a very remote
stream in the back blocks of Pahiatua. It
was a stunning piece of countryside found
by travelling through the hills and valleys
away from Mangatainoka and east towards
the sea. The hills here are walked by sheep
and hardy farmers; there are few cows, and
their absence leads to clearer water, better
stream definitions and consequently more
attractive waters teeming with solid trout.
My guide on this trip, regional Fish and
Game Ranger Hamish Carnachan, has
good relationships with local farmers and
arranged access to a seldom fished piece of
water well off the beaten track. The water
was crisp and clear, still a little milky after a
few days heavy rain and flowing fast over a
loose shingle base.
Hamish was confident of fish on a dry fly,
something I hadn’t yet managed, as the
brown beetles were out, and the trout
FLY
FISH
ING
Sticking with dry flies in the face of evidence they’re not working can be one of the most frustrating and then rewarding processes of trout fishing.
www.nzfisher.co.nz 15
She’s thick with trout in
Mangatainoka, bro. Yeah Right!
were happy supping them off the surface
throughout the day. We arrived with a
couple of hours of sunlight left and, after
enjoying a quick beer to get the joints
limbered, we headed downstream to fish our
way back to the car.
As an Aucklander, I’m seldom exposed
to these sorts of streams. The Waikato
streams usually protect me with their
elevated silt levels, so I don’t spook fish
easily. Sadly, these fish and waters were
not so forgiving and I saw fish swim away
before I had a chance to flick at them. It
seemed pretty much guaranteed since I
forgot to bring a jacket and was fishing in
a bright white tee shirt, but Hamish was
kind enough to lend me a camo jacket
that helped disguise me a bit.
I had been flicking a nymph under a Royal
Wolf, which was serving as an indicator
when Hamish suggested I was probably
doing more harm than good with the
nymph. He recommended I stick to a dry
only, working on presenting the fly rather
than blind casting. OK, to a pretty amateur
fly flinger like me, this concept is like
stripping to a pair of speedos at the beach.
I’m not one to run form a challenge, but
rather than a challenge, this is apparently
the way real fly fishers fish down here.
The first thing I noticed was how much
easier it was to cast a single dry fly. And
secondly, very shortly after, I had my
first take for the day. It was all captured
on Hamish’s Go-pro mounted aboard his
quad-rotor drone – you can watch it here.
The fish ran me hard downstream, leaping
energetically and putting my under the
pump. Hamish’s Sage 5 weight did the trick,
keeping me on my toes and securing a new
PB Rainbow or around three to four pounds.
It wasn’t until I lost the nymph that this fish
became interested in my offering. Not only
was it a dry, but specifically a tiny winged
model to imitate the vine hoppers we could
see buzzing around.
Thanks Hamish for the great afternoon on
the water – I learned more in those two
hours than almost all my previous weeks
on the water. ■
16 www.nzfisher.co.nz
SEVERAL TRAWLER MEN have revealed
that dumping happens on every trawl.
One skipper estimates 10 to 15 bins of
undersized fish were thrown back dead
after every trawl. By law, the crew is
required to discard undersized fish, but
they say that in practice, damaged or
unmarketable fish are dumped as well.
The trawler men have said that most of this
wastage goes unseen because it happens
over the horizon or after dark and that during
daylight skippers have been known to take
evasive action and stop dumping fish when
recreational fishers start filming their actions.
In February experienced fisherman, Kerren
Packer found a trail of dead gurnard floating
off the Manukau Harbour, on the northwest
coast. He was so concerned about the
wastage he used his cell phone to video the
scene. This footage went viral on the internet
and created a media work-up.
The response from the Ministry for Primary
Industries was underwhelming:
Dave Turner, Director Fisheries
Management, described the incident as
‘accidental loss’. He confirmed the skipper
had filled out the necessary forms, not just
for this incident, but for nine other events
over the past three years. This settled the
matter for the Ministry.
How can this be acceptable?
The very existence of ‘accidental loss’
paperwork signals the prevalence of dumping
and the Ministry’s sanction as long as all legal
sized fish are counted against the quota.
It’s not good enough. Better at-sea
information is required.
In 2013, the Minister required increased
coverage on inshore trawlers by observers
and cameras. For almost a year commercial
fishers on the northeast coast have been self-
reporting the weight of undersized snapper
discards from every trawl. As yet, no results
have been released.
www.legasea.co.nz
LegaSea Update March 2015
FISH
ERIE
SMA
NA
GEM
ENT
www.nzfisher.co.nz 17
LegaSea is the public face of the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council. The Council has an experienced fisheries management, science, policy and legal team. On behalf of the
Council LegaSea provides public-friendly information about a variety of processes that are important to the sustainable management of fisheries for future generations.
Call 0800 LEGASEA (534 273)
Email us [email protected]
Subscribe at www.legasea.co.nz
Read more at www.facebook.com/legasea
Our fisheries are a national and natural
resource, there for us to enjoy and protect for
future generations. We cannot nurture this
resource if trawl nets are being dragged, for
hours, across the seafloor every day.
Trawling within 100m depth has the
inevitable consequence of catching small fish,
and unwanted species. The evidence suggests
that unmarketable or uneconomic fish can
be slipped over the gunnels without even the
slightest of blinks.
Innovative solutions
LegaSea has developed policy to address
trawl damage and fish dumping issues.
Ban trawling within 100m depth contour
and rebuild inshore ecosystems.
www.legasea.co.nz/faqs-management.php
Protecting inshore benthic (seabed)
communities and habitats from damaging
bottom contact fishing methods is a priority as
this is where snapper fry and other small fish
live, grow and hide from larger predators. ■
18 www.nzfisher.co.nz
BEN
ISLA
ND
.CO
.NZ
THE PLAN FOR YESTERDAY was to target and
arrest kingfish. Everything went according to
plan, and we experienced spectacular rock
fishing action.
Conditions & Timing Sunday, 01.02.2015, Great Barrier Island, calm sea,
cloudy, variable tail wind and very warm.
Choosing the right time might not seem
that straight forward but with low tide at
12.30pm, I felt confident that there was
no need to get up early. We had the Burley
deployed and the first bait in the water at
10.20am, the first kingi sighting was at dead
low tide, we packed in around 1.30pm.
I cannot explain why, but kingfish love low
tide, this is the best time to target them off
the rocks.
Almost an hour after the burley was in the
water, and there was still no sign of kahawai.
Sinclair and I were fishing our bait-rods and
watching the water. The better you are in
catching the right bait fish, the greater your
chances of landing a kingfish.
I was very happy and surprised when a
kahawai was at the end of my line. I caught
it quite far out, right after the bait hit the
surface. It was about 35cm long and went out
quickly and without any fuss under a balloon.
Sinclair landed a similar-sized kahawai
moments later and by 11.30am we had both,
one of the best live baits swimming around
As my friend Sinclair put it some time ago, “there is quite a bit to (rock) fishing”.
Kingfish Off the Rocks VI
Not much happening, waiting for a kahawai
www.nzfisher.co.nz 19
the ledge. We held them in close, from two to
10 metres from the rocks.
Meanwhile, we switched to our respective
snapper gear and started landing 30cm
plus snapper. Nothing exciting. The
fishing remained slow, and there was no
other kahawai in sight, bar a big one who
managed to get away.
The action started a few minutes before
dead low tide. I saw a kingfish come up
from the deep and have a good look at
Sinclair’s kahawai. Next thing, I’m pointing
at the location of the kingi, Sinclair holding
his live bait rod, and we observe how the
kahawai swims quickly to shore. I tell you if
it had legs, it would have hopped onto the
rocks and ran away. One scared kahawai.
The kingi was out of sight now; I was
holding onto my rod. Surely, it’ll come back
for mine. A couple minutes later, another,
but less spectacular sighting.
The kingi was not interested in my kahawai
nor Sinclair’s. Well, his fish was hugging
the kelp on the rocks. I decided to give the
popper a go and cast it out far, even saw
the kingi on one of the retrieves. But his
majesty was not impressed.
Hmmm, what to do? I was thinking. The
answer was right in front of us. During all this
commotion, we noticed three to four kahawai
swimming really fast and picking up bits of
the Burley. As I said in the beginning, there is
quite a bit to fishing…
I knew we would get a hook up if only we
could replace our scared kahawai with
fresh ones. They were more agile and eager,
swimming confidently in the presence of a
kingfish, feeding away on the Burley.
Kingfish Off the Rocks VI
Ben’s 23lb King - thanks to a missing, live kahawai
20 www.nzfisher.co.nz
To cut long, frustrating minutes short, the
trick to catching them was to use squid
tentacles. Those kahawai were picking up bits
as they came off the Burley, so the right bait
size also had to be small. If I hadn’t landed
one on the tentacle, I would have put a piece
of burley on the hook.
So here goes, I put a fresh kahawai under
the balloon, it rockets away from the rocks,
and within five seconds two kingi shoot up
attacking. Right next to me. I was so sure of
the hook-up. However, my kahawai managed
to escape at least three solid attacks by
two fish – competing for lunch – and then
managed to swim back to the sea weed line.
From then on, it did not swim even half a
metre out, I tell you if it had legs…
I tried to get the bait further out, even
threw it gently by hand a couple meters
out, but it just swam back to the surface
and back to my feet. For my last attempt,
I took the kahawai out of the water and
walked five meters to my left and released
it back into a different patch of water, a
small gutter. My rationale was that it might
now swim out a bit further, and hopefully
the wind could then catch on the balloon
and take the fish away from the rocks.
It worked. Within a minute, the kahawai
was about six metres out, and the yellow tail
surfaced. The kahawai panicked, nowhere
to hide; it went left, right, up, down, but in
circles. I was on the highest rock around,
knees bent, and just waited for it. It took
about one minute, the kingi had so many
unsuccessful goes at it, and then, finally, the
balloon went under.
The Hook-up
I increased the drag to a third, waited for
the slack to disappear and the rod tip to
bend. Then I struck and increased the drag
to fighting mode. The kingi had no chance;
it was well hooked and only about eight
metres out. It gained nothing on me; it
changed sides, I didn’t give it an inch, it
turned directions and finally managed to go
for a strong run. Maybe a few meters until it
changed direction again, I had the fish well
under control, rod aiming high, solid drag.
It was a keeper, about one metre long, fat,
angry, green kingi. Well, scared, too. Sinclair
had a couple half-hearted attempts at
gaffing the fish, and we finally landed the
fish on the leader.
20 something pound kingfish. Look at Rani….
BEN
ISLA
ND
.CO
.NZ
www.nzfisher.co.nz 21
Sinclair still had a kahawai out there. I
cleaned the kingi and secured by rope, put it
back into the water to keep fresh. About 20
minutes later, we were having a chat, and I
noticed how the water around his balloon
rose. I shouted, “There’s another kingi” and
thought, ‘that was heaps of water, like a
wave, but there were no waves’. It was odd.
Even odder, Sinclair’s kahawai seemed now
dead, just floating in about a meter of water.
I walked up high onto the rocks and saw this
massive bronze whaler come back toward the
kahawai. Biggest shark I have seen.
It had another good look at the half-dead
kahawai, and I really thought Sinclair would
be soon in 500 plus kg of fish. In retrospect,
he was fortunate not to get the hook-up, he
wouldn’t have been able to stop that fish.
We saw a school of mullet swim by and the
shark another handful of times up close but
all too quick to get a shot. On this occasion,
everything went according to plan. Having
a good live bait out and seeing a kingfish
does NOT equal hook-up, I’ve seen this
plenty of times. I worked hard for this fish,
constantly making decisions, presenting
a fresh, motivated bait suitably and then
staying calm enough to not rush things.
I saw Sinclair today; he asked something
I’ve been pondering about for a while: “So
Ben, what happened to the kahawai the
kingi took?” “I don’t know buddy; it just
disappeared. They always do. I have never
gutted a kingi and seen a kahawai inside.” ■
Kingi Steak
This article is reproduced with permission of Ben Assado. Check out Ben’s website www.benisland.co.nz for more fishing stories and a great read about island life
22 www.nzfisher.co.nz
REA
DER
PICS
Aaron Mcdonalds boat mate, Brendan, with a horse of a Gemfish from the Garden Patch in January.
Winner! Reader Pics
Ed Stubinitsky’s Tuna and Mahimahi caught off the West Coast
Geoff ‘Y Knot’ Marmont and his Stripy landed on his boat YKnot
Geoff Marmont, Marlin and family
www.nzfisher.co.nz 23
Geoff Marmont Marlin with a West Coast Stripy landed in March
Ray Ransom With one of two puka he landed off Great Barrier aboard Highlander
Ray Ransoms second (32kg) Barrier Puka
Sea Ox with a serious (38kg) Barrier Puka aboard Highlander
24 www.nzfisher.co.nz
VID
EOO
FTH
EMO
NTH
Check out Paul Smiths 5onFly entry here featuring SaltFlyLifestyles JP Samualsen.
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Com
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