www.nzfisher.co.nz 1
ISSUE 1 September 22
// Targeting Winter kings – The Coromandel experience
Readers Photo competition //
// Pitch and Switch – Making it happen with marlin
Winter Moocher Hunt //Big winter snapper from the rocks
www.NZFisher.co.nz
2 www.nzfisher.co.nz
THE RUM THAT INVENTED RUM
www.mountgayrum.com Enjoy the adventure, drink responsibly
www.nzfisher.co.nz 3
Pg 12
6
18
22
Pg 22
6 Stalking the Moocher Why driving rain, frozen hands and wind
burn are really worth it!
10 Reader Pics Competition for Winter fishing pics.
12 How To: Pitch N Switch Marlin on a spinning reel
17 Recipe Kingfish, cooked like royalty
18 Epic Success Epic Adventures rides the wave!
20 Kayak Fishing In the Hauraki Gulf
22 The Fin Nor Marquesa 30T In the Hauraki Gulf
24 Regional Reviews
26 NZRFC Report
Pg 17
4 www.nzfisher.co.nz
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This is a GREEN MAG, created and distrib-uted without the use of paper so it's envi-ronmentally friendly. Please think before
you print. Thank you!
Happy Fishing! Derrick
idday and thanks for checking
out the very first issue of NZ
Fisher magazine. The team at
Espire and NZ Fisher extend a warm
welcome and invite you to enjoy what
we love to produce for you!
NZ Fisher is born of a desire to improve
the participation and enjoyment of fish-
ing in New Zealand. Our aim is to pro-
vide a mid-week boost of enthusiasm,
knowhow and just a touch of envy as you
check out how the rest of the country is
getting out there and doing it.
We begin with an intro to a handfull of
our contributors and give you an insight
to where our fishing passions begin.
NZ Fisher will strive to bring the latest
fishing news, views and techniques in an
unbiased and easily understood way. The
NZ Fisher team is made up of mad keen
fishers with backgrounds in land-based,
kayak, big game, small boat, underwater,
science and photography.
Our first issue is a chance for you to
enjoy some of our stories, start thinking
about how you’ll be attacking your
local species this spring and take pity
on those silly buggers who like to catch
snapper in the middle of winter!
Lastly, I’d like to thank a few people
who have made NZ Fisher a reality in
such a short time. The team at Espire
Media, Jen, Richard & Alastair have
put a huge amount of work in to the
publication and are taking a punt on my
enthusiasm!
Jodi, thanks for re-editing everything
a million times & Trudi for all your help
in getting the stories of a bunch of
fisho’s up to publication standards. To
our advertisers who have also taken a
leap of faith, thanks. I intend to repay
your faith ten-fold with a very well read
publication that will stand the test of
time. And of course, Elle and Oscar –
thanks for putting up with my head in
my laptop for days on end – soon we’ll
be fishing again!
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 Caffellffell
CONTENT ENQUIRIES /
Phone Derrick on 021 629 327
or email
ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES /
Phone Alastair on 09 522 7257
or email
ADDRESS / NZ Fisher, C/- Es-
pire Media, PO Box 137162,
Parnell,Auckland 1151, NZ
WEBSITE / www.NZFisher.co.nz
6 www.nzfisher.co.nz
Stalking the Moocher
feature
www.nzfisher.co.nz 7
// Why driving rain, frozen hands & wind burn are really worth it!By Derrick Paull
t’s that time of year again. The
sun doesn’t ever seem to rise
above the horizon, the wind’s cold
and the rain comes in sheets not drops.
That’s right – it’s moocher time!
Imagine yourself like a gecko perched
on a rock willing the sun to warm the ice
off your skin. The sea is a bit wild and
has a dark foreboding look to it. You’ve
left your big bait out there in the wash for
over an hour in a desperate bid to lure a
lazy moocher to your trap.
The tip of your rod moves just slightly
more than it did after the last swell; the tip
continues to move down, dropping and
loading up. Your heart pumps just a little
harder at the anticipation of a bite, then all
hell breaks loose. The rod doubles over as
the well set recurve sinks home and your
quarry realises all is not well.
All of a sudden you move like a
teenager not a rheumy old man and
dance across the rocks to your now
singing reel. In gear, load up, lift the
tip – it’s all on! Deep thumps from the
tail and severe shakes of the head.
Your trophy heads for the deep reefs,
you grunt and apply just a little more
pressure – you know you have to turn his
head.......
Now. What did we do to get to this
point? A lot of hard work, long walks and
more than a few idle minutes waiting for
the bite. Trophy snapper don’t just throw
themselves at hapless fishers, you have
to think like a fish and be in the right
places at the right times.
It’s no secret that the coldest months
- July and August trough to October
-produce the very best inshore trophy
snapper fishing. Food stocks are low and
the big fellas are hungry.
There’s been a lot written about
catching these mighty fish and a lot
of what is said is dead on the money.
The thing is though – to catch a big ‘ol
moocher, you need to get out of bed and
get on the water. The fish will be there!
So before we get into the how-to, let’s
look at the why.
Because they’re hungry, big snapper
are easier to get on a hook in winter,
but they’re never an easy prospect
once hooked.
So what are the essentials? First of all
is location. You won’t expect to catch
an old moocher snapper at Devonport
Wharf! They hang out in areas where
food is easy to find and there’s plenty of
cover. Surprisingly big snapper are not
as shy as you might think. If there’s food
on offer they will show themselves and
make the hunt even more exciting.
Broken reef with a lot of weed is
your first goal. The more current and
deepwater near by the better – you’ll
want the burley you’ve carried in to be
dispersed by the currents and to drag
8 www.nzfisher.co.nz
www.nzfisher.co.nz 9
these big fish up from the depths and
into the relative shallows where you cast.
Second is equipment, for these big
fish I cannot recommend recurve hooks
strongly enough. They offer a greater
hook up rate but also allow the easiest
and most painless release when you
choose to release the fish at the end of
the fight (or if you accidently
hook a little one). The sort
of baits that you’ll do best
with are oily, smelly flesh
baits like Bonito, yellow tail
and my personal favourite,
fresh kahawai fillets are easily
baited with a recurve hook.
Push the recurve through
the flesh and a bit of tough
(scaled) skin at the thin
end of the bait. This offers
the best hook up rates and
means your hook doesn’t get lost in
the flesh of the bait and so deeply
embedded that you cannot hook up.
Big snapper will travel a reasonable
distance for an easy feed. The smell of
your burley in the water then the offer
of a free meal is usually too much for
them to resist. With a range of up to a
kilometre there is a big area for them
to cover so the better your delivery
system the better your chances. This
often means that patience is your
greatest virtue.
Whereas in summer it’s best to pick up
and move off when the excitement slows,
winter is definitely the time to stay put.
There’s no point in putting the effort in
just to move off when your quarry turns
up for dinner!
My advice,; set the alarm, go for a
drive, sling your pack over a shoulder
and do the business. It’ll be summer
soon and then you’ll be too busy getting
the run around by kingfish!
10 www.nzfisher.co.nz
competition
//Reader’s
Send us your pics of your winter missions
be it from the shore or the boat. Big fish are hard
to come by in winter, but shots of you out there
doing it are ok too. Get on the water and take a
photo – you’ll be up for a great prize from Go Fish!
CaptainSnappy
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www.nzfisher.co.nz 11
This month’s winner from our
Facebook competition is Paul
O’Donohue for his awesome Marlin
caught earlier this year.
12 www.nzfisher.co.nz
n the first of March 2010 a
mate and I headed out off
Northlands’ west coast in his
6.5m Fyran Pursuit targeting Marlin
with the intention of using the ‘pitch
and switch’ method.
In short the pitch and switch method is
when you tease a marlin in towards the
transom of the boat with a skirted lure
and simultaneously switch it to a bait by
dropping the bait back and retracting
the teaser. Some of you may be thinking
“why bother? Why not just catch them
on lures?” The answer simply is the
improved hook up rate and a massive
adrenaline rush!
As we departed the beach the first
mission of the morning was to catch
out live baits. Jack mackerel are very
good live baits for marlin however they
were very scarce (scared to death by
hundreds of marauding marlin more
like!) and we couldn’t find any.
Thankfully kahawai are also fantastic
live bait and we managed to snap up a
few of them. Kahawai are a feisty live
bait that stay alive well, are very strong
and Marlin love them. We caught a
couple and they were soon in the tuna
tubes ready for action.
I prefer to use live bait for pitch baiting
marlin however a lot of top crews
use dead baits rigged as “swimmers”
or “skip baits” which are also very
successful. The up side to using live baits
is that presenting them only takes a few
seconds with a simply bridle rig.
To rig a dead bait whether it be a
swimmer or a skip bait can take a lot
of preparation as most techniques
require removing gut cavities and gills
then stitching it back up with needle
and thread – not a two minute task.
Swimming baits normally take many
hours of practice to perfect so they
actually swim straight. As a result I prefer
live baits and I don’t think any thing
excites a marlin more that live prey!
To put the method into practice we
had to find the fish. We received help
from others who had been out the
// Fine tuning techniques before summer rolls aroundBy Kurt Bennetto
Pitch n Switch Marlin on a spinning reel
sportFISHING howTO
www.nzfisher.co.nz 13
previous day (and had been right in
the heart of the action) who kindly
obliged us the GPS coordinates.
If you don’t have direct contact,
just get on the radio and listen out
for news from other boats on the
water – game fishing is an pretty
inclusive sport and most skippers
will let you know where the action
is hottest.
What we had also been informed
was that there were huge schools of
jack mackerel being balled up -which
is what the Marlin had been feeding
on. A lot of boats the previous day
had been getting a lot of bites on
lures with very little success. One
boat had over 10 marlin bites and
didn’t manage to catch one!
This was because the marlin
were not actually biting the lures
with aggression. They were in
effect swatting at the lures and
becoming bill-wrapped in the
leader, this makes them extremely
hard to catch on lures. When they
are feeding like this it results in a
frustrated crew and a poor outcome
if you don’t change your approach.
I believe the marlin bite
differently depending on what
species of bait fish they are feeding
on and when they are feeding on jack
mackerel they tend to use their bill’s
to stun their prey before eating it. This
is when the pitch
and switch method
becomes your
number one option.
To tease up the
marlin we remove the
hooks from the lures
which turns a lure into
teasers. The whole
idea behind this is
to raise a marlin and
even if it bites the
lure it will not feel the hook. This means
the fish doesn’t get hurt and as a result
generally comes back time after time.
This also aggravates the marlin because
it can’t catch its prey which can result in
an aggressive bite.
After trolling around for most of the
morning looking for good baitfish
sign on the sounder or free-swimming
marlin, a dorsal fin appeared behind
one of the lures. I jumped into action
to try and retrieve the hookless lure
the marlin had taken an interest in and
pulled 20 meters of line before I yanked
it out of his mouth (heart going crazy
and adrenalin pumping!).
As I wound the
teaser back in the
fish followed it to the
back of the transom
with its bill slipping
from side to side
rattling the lure. We
slowed the boat
down and the angler
pitched the switch-
bait right in front of
a stunningly lit up marlin. The next 30
seconds felt like 3 hours as we waited in
extreme anticipation for the fish to take
the bait. The rod tip jolted as the fish
I believe the marlin bite differently depending on what species of bait fish they are feeding on and when they are feeding on jack mackerel they tend to use their bill’s to stun their prey before eating it. This is when the pitch and switch method becomes your number one option.
14 www.nzfisher.co.nz
www.nzfisher.co.nz 15
picked the bait up. The line disappeared
at blinding rate - I hope we have the
capacity on the Stella!
The angler flicked the bail arm over on
the Stella 200000 and the rod loaded
up! The fish came to the surface ‘grey
hounding’ towards the horizon - we
were on!
The remaining teasers were cleared and
the boat was very quickly into reverse,
our adrenalin levels were sky high as the
outboard was screaming in my favourite
gear - reverse. As we settled into the fight
and the nerves calmed we managed to
work the fish up and had it along side
within 10 minutes.
One last burst of 50 meters from the
fish gave us some more entertainment as
it jumped away. We then had a chance
at taking the leader, I managed to get
a glove on it as we edged it in closer to
the boat. The tag shot was perfect and
the yahoos were blasting.
We then settled ourselves down
and prepared the fish for the release
when I discovered it was bleeding
from the gills as it was hooked deep
in the throat. It was decided that if we
were to release the fish it would not
have lived so we then dragged it over
the side and into the boat. The fish
weighed a very respectable 90.2kg (a
personal best for the Stella) and a few
cold ones were sunk in celebration.
Next month – Knowing when to stay
in the zone.
30 seconds felt like 3 hours as we waited in extreme anticipation for the fish to take the bait. The rod tip jolted as the fish picked the bait up. The line disappeared at blinding rate...
“If it works for the NZ Army, it’ll work for you!”
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 www.skinshield.co.nz
16 www.nzfisher.co.nz
Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winners for Issue #1!
If you’re one of the lucky NZ Fisher subscribers listed below, simply fire an email to our editor
[email protected] before 5pm Friday 1 October 2010 to claim your prize!
Every issue, all NZ Fisher subscribers* go in the draw to get hooked up with some fantastic prizes
courtesy of generous NZ Fisher supporters. To find out if you’ve won simply check this section in each
issue to see if your name has been drawn and then get in touch with our Editor before the deadline to
claim your prize. Sweet as!!! *Sorry—only NZ residents eligible for prize draw.
Jenny Atkins of Ohaewai
You’ve won an Active Duty sun and bug skin defence pack from Skinshield NZ including sunscreen, repellent, lip balm and Permethrin clothing treatment kit!
For more on the Active Duty skin defence range see www.skinshield.co.nz
Bryan Lowe of Auckland
You’ve won a fantastic goodie bag courtesy of the team at down at The Bait Station and including a selection of jigs, poppers and slow jigs - don’t blame us if the fishing’s no good!
Check out some of the merchandise at www.baitstation.co.nz
Brent Hazlett of North Shore
You have won a 700ml bottle of premium Mt Gay Eclipse Rum courtesy of Hancocks Wines & Spirits. Produced on the same plantation in Barbados for over 300 years, it’s a top drop!
For a list of fantastic Mt Gay Rum cocktail recipes visit www.hancocks.co.nz
The small print… Yes it seems like they won’t let you do without it, even when you’re giving stuff away. Anyway, please note that to be able to
win stuff in the Hooked Up section you need to have been a confirmed email subscriber to NZ Fisher e-Magazine as at a date no less than two
working days prior to issue date (‘cos that’s when our prize winners are drawn) and be a resident of New Zealand at the time of the draw. To
be eligible to claim any prizes including, but not limited to, alcoholic beverages, travel, motor vehicle/boat usage, tattoos, sharp things or any
other prize that might require you to be over than 18 years old, you must have been over 18 years of age at the time of the draw! Cheers.
By Chris Burton
www.nzfisher.co.nz 17
ishing is about hanging out with
mates, exploring new places,
and having a great time along
the way. Eating seafood should be no
different. Serving up an amazing fresh
seafood dish for a bunch of friends
never fails to impress and is usually a
pre-cursor to a great evening of food,
drinks and tall fishing tales.
The Fish Stock draws from my own
stock of ideas, hints, how to’s and
recipes about what makes for good
eating. I’ll let the others tell you their
secret catch spots and tips; The Fish
Stock is here to help you in the kitchen!
Whipping up a great feed isn’t hard,
and it’s definitely worth the effort.
Following a few simple guidelines can
turn a run of the mill dish into a winner.
You’ll have the family begging you to
go out fishing every weekend, and
that can’t be a bad thing! Kill your fish
immediately and store on salt ice.
Always bring home some salt water
to wash your catch; tap water tends to
‘burn’ the flesh. Wash your catch well.
There is nothing worse than that fishy
smell from filleting making its way to
the dining table, a sure fire way to lose
fans. Use fresh ingredients, present
food with care and, of course, have a
drink on hand that complements the
dish. Fish for the future, take only what
you can eat fresh.
With this being the start of NZ Fisher
I thought what better way to kick
things off than with my favourite starter
of fresh tender kingfish wrapped in
prosciutto, dripping with basil and
garlic butter. This is an easy dish that
looks the part; it’s got brownie points
written all over it!
Ingredients600g kingfish fillets
150g prosciutto ham
50g butter at room temperature
3 garlic cloves crushed
Handful of fresh basil leaves finely chopped
Cooking oil
Salt and pepper
For the wraps, the key to success is to cook them hot and
fast so turn your oven to 220°c. While the oven is cranking
up, remove any red flesh from the kingfish then cut it into
4cm ‘cubes’. You should end up with about 12 cubes in total.
Cut your prosciutto into strips that are long enough
to wrap around the fish. Wrap each cube with a strip of
the ham; it should stick quite nicely to the fish. Place the
wrapped cubes onto a lightly oiled oven tray.
Mix the basil, garlic, butter and a pinch of salt and
pepper. Place a dollop of this mixture on the top of each
cube, divvy it out until it’s all used up.
Bake them on the middle rack in the oven for 8 minutes
until just cooked through. If you’re unsure whether they
are done or not - cut one open. The meat should have just
turned from opaque to white in the center. Now, take chefs
liberties and give it a taste test.
Serve the wraps straight away with a chilled bottle of
Sauvignon Blanc and watch them disappear! Tight lines
and empty plates!
Serves 4 as an entrée
recipe
By Chris Burton
Kingfish and Prosciutto Wraps
18 www.nzfisher.co.nz
hen you make the deci-
sion to call your charter
fishing business ‘Epic Ad-
ventures’, you set the bar high, even
before the punters step on board.
Over the last four years Carl Muir of
said charter business has gone about
making sure that the adventures of his
clients are nothing but Epic.
I have had the pleasure of fishing with
Carl before and the success of this trip
graced the pages of another magazine.
As we now embark on a new era with
NZ Fisher, I thought it might be an idea
to check out the new Epic boat, named
Sanity, and skipper Toby (Tobes) Kemp,
to see if Carl was simply catering to the
demand or if he had really bought on
someone with his ideals, commitment
to big fish and same cheek that only a
successful skipper can get a way with!
Sanity is Whitianga based but fishes
the same water as Carl on Epic. Carl
has said that he’s spent two years
looking for the right guy to take the no.
2 skipper role, so once again the bar
has been set quite high.
As New Zealand’s weather is
want to do, it blew up a maelstrom
the day we were originally booked and
thankfully a second opportunity the
following weekend gave Aaron and I
the opportunity to get down to Whiti
and get our rusty jigging shoulders
back in action.
The weather was forecast to drop
from an early morning 20kn to light
variables in the early afternoon – how
much better can it get? With the sun
shining we headed out towards the
Aldermans with expectations ratcheted
right up. First stop was ‘Castle’ rock,
a Whiti local favourite that has a
record of producing nice, but not large
kings – a great spot to get the arms
pumped, but not too shattered before
reaching the real goal – the ‘pins’ out
wide of the Aldermans. The Castle
didn’t produce – not even a ‘couta! So
onwards towards the deep we head!
When jigging for kings is hot, it is hot
in no uncertain terms. Places like the
Epic Success
By Derrick Paull
boat FISHING
www.nzfisher.co.nz 19
Three Kings can spoil a fisher. So after a
handful of drops and no takes, we were
quickly on to giving Tobes a deserved
ribbing – it’s never angler error on a
charter boat!
We had come across Carl on Epic with
a couple of Aussies testing themselves
against the Coro beasts and they were
into a few good fish. We kept bouncing
out lead for a few more uneventful drifts
before Aaron broke the duck, hooking a
freight train with no intent on stopping.
While Aaron and his Saragossa couldn’t
stop that one it was the catalyst needed
to bring the kings on strike!
For next hour our pains turned from
aches of jigging to the lactic burn from
holding on to big kings and wrestling
them to the boat. While no more
monsters were encountered some great
fish in the mid teens were boated on
various tackle including lighter ‘plastics’
gear that accounted for some very
spirited 10kg rats. The best of the
bunch was landed by Capt. Tobes while
a couple of our party took a rest. See
here for a quick video of Tobes’ battle.
We managed a respectable total
of 40 kings between four of us with
the biggest pulling the scales down
to almost 40lb. Not a bad day out in
anyone’s books. The ride home included
a mingle with some unusually friendly
common dolphins, not fishing, just
enjoying the stunning day.
Tobes and Sanity complement Epic
but not in a sycophantic way. Tobes is
an accomplished fisher in his own right,
he has his own spots, and a different
approach to Carl. The boat is well set up,
but for its size (8m Tsunami) the fishing
platform is not any bigger than Epic.
I’ll be back to hit more of the big ‘Coro
kings later this year – be it on Epic or
Sanity I know I’m going to come home
with a smile on my dial!
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20 www.nzfisher.co.nz
hat is it about fishing?
Ever since I nabbed my
first perch some, oooh,
45 years ago in a subtropical Northern
Transvaal dam I’ve had it in my blood.
Back then we used the end piece of
a fishing rod with a bit of line tied to
a hook and a match stick as a float. I
have been hooked since day one.
Having worked my way up through a
club and league team in coarse fishing,
with the occasional trip to the sea
thrown in over the years, I now find
myself living in the real fishing heaven!
“We don’t know how lucky we are”!
I have heard this time and again and it
is true. From the northern reaches of
the North Island to the Coromandel
Peninsula, fishing opportunities
unrivalled in most countries are available.
In our very own back yard, we have
By Greg Theunissen, President of the Hibiscus Kayak Fishing Club
// ‘GT’ explores the Hauraki Gulf Plastic Fantastic
www.nzfisher.co.nz 21
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some of the best places imaginable.
The ‘Rangi channel, the Whangaparaoa
Peninsula and within an hour’s drive
north, Lang’s Beach, Leigh, Jones Bay
and Mahurangi can be considered our
‘local’ stomping grounds.
Many different aspects of fishing can
be enjoyed here. From casting a line
from local wharves and piers, to the
many rock and beach spots in-between
and the many boat launching ramps
which are readily available. There is no
shortage of ways to get your line wet.
My favourite way of getting a feed
on the table is from my fishing kayak.
Having been there done that with
a tinny, this new-fangled idea
appealed to me immediately. After
trialling a few models and different rigs,
I can now virtually guarantee a feed
every time I go out!
Our region is also blessed with
many different boating, kayaking and
surfcasting clubs for those who are
inclined to be involved in such activities
with like minded individuals. Despite all
the doom and gloom about depleted
fish stocks, foreigners catching all our
fish, global warming and all the other
stuff going on, we are still able to
catch many fish. In fact there are some
very good fish within a stone’s throw
of where I live here on the northern
reaches of Auckland City. I will be
gleefully reporting on all the latest
action in the greater Auckland Area
over the coming months and hope to
see many of you out there enjoying it!
Episode Two: Find out from weekend
warrior boaties what they are getting,
profile Sullivans and the Nationals. Also
general report from the area.
Our region is also blessed with many different boating, kayaking and surfcasting clubs for those who are inclined to be involved in such activities.
22 www.nzfisher.co.nz
tackleTALK
www.nzfisher.co.nz 23
““in Nor has the distinction of
holding more IGFA World
Records than any other brand,
no mean feat. The Fin Nor tag-line
IS ‘Legendary tackle since 1933’ and
with more than 380 IGFA records and
counting it really is the stuff of legends.
The question we had was, can Fin Nor
stand up to the rigours of modern
Jig fishing. Scott Taylor at Thompson
Walker didn’t blink and handed over
the all new Fin Nor Marquesa.
It’s not a bad looking reel but doesn’t
quite have the eye-candy appeal of a
Trinidad or Avet – but it’s fast, tight and
very strong.
The Three Kings Islands have been the
downfall of many an under-prepared
fisher and sub-par tackle in the past but
they provide arguably the best yellowtail
kingfish fishing in the world. Where
better to test the Marquesa?
In Johns words:
I was using a Fin nor Marquesa 30 reel
and 37kg braid & Xzoga custom rod on
board Pursuit at the Three Kings Islands
in May this year. I used the Marquesa for
mechanical jigging with jigs varying from
300g to 500g in 100 to 200 metres deep .
The Marquesa handled the conditions
well and caught at least 10 kingfish
varying in weight from 15kg to 28kg.
I was also extremely happy to land a
28kg Hapuka on a jig too, again the
Marquesa handled it comfortably.
I found the Marquesa winding action
suited my style of jigging with its 6.1
to 1 ratio. I noted the handle allowed
me to avoid scrapes on my knuckles
as some other reels I have used
have done – they don’t have enough
clearance within the shape of the
handle and can have a tendency to
skin knuckles while madly reeling in.
I found the Marquesa the drag
consistent and easy to operate. The
proof is in the catch! The Marquesa
does the job, it’s very well priced and
therefore great value for money.
www.finnorfishing.com/Marquesa.html
// In the Deep End at the Three Kings
By John Callander
24 www.nzfisher.co.nz
regionalREVIEWS
s spring arrives we are expect-
ing an increase of fat healthy
snapper and have not been
disappointed with the early season
results! Our annual September mission
to Whatuwhiwhi produced scores of
10lb plus snapper and a few 30lb plus
Kingfish for those live-baiting or jig-
ging. The winter moochers were ever
present this year with Pete & Aileen
Michael both scoring 8kg plus fish form
our local haunts (Langs & Takatu). We
are off to Oakura on the 18th / 19th
September – so watch the club site
for info on how we fared. We will be
taking on the North Shore Surfcasting
Club on Sunday the 10th of Octo-
ber to contest the Rock-Yak Trophy.
We’ve held it for the last two events
and don’t want to give it up now. The
Rock-Yak Trophy is Kayak versus Rock
fishing & is a great day with awesome
prizes. New members are encouraged
to come along! See the web-site for
more info www.hibiscuskayakfishing-
club.org
he Kingfish are acting like it’s
spring already and the water
temp is just starting to rise. How-
ever over the last two weeks the inshore
kingfish have now thinned out, and so
the deep reefs and pins from Cuvier to
the Aldies and Mayor are where it is at
on the kingi front. We recently did a
three day trip fishing the extent of the
Eastern Coromandel and pulled awe-
some solid 20kg kingfish from all three
locations. Check that report out here
(http://www.epicadventures.co.nz/3D
ayFishingCharterMayorIslandCuvierA
ldermenMercuryIslands.html). Water
temps are three degrees higher at the
moment than this time last year and
with plenty of bait showing the kingi’s
are feasting up and in good condition.
While live-baits are probably still
delivering the fish of the day on a
consistent basis, the jigging has been
going well. Over the last week we’ve
predominantly been jigging, with most
trips being all people after their first
ever kingfish. One of those was 14 year
old Travis Clark pictured here, visiting
with Ozzie TV Show Mark Bergs Fishing
Addiction. They pulled some really solid
kings to the 20kg mark.
eather has played a major
part in the fishing this
month but those who have
made it out have returned with some
very good catches. Unfortunately the
sharks are there too, but if you can get
through them the Gurnard & snapper
are very hungry. Best results have been
coming form the 20m marks over the
low reefs and too the south there have
been great returns from 60m +/-. One
such kayak trip the yakker’s fish-finders
showed the bottom coming up from
50m to les than 30, they dropped
lines thinking it was a new reef they’re
found but were pleasantly surprised by
a double header of healthy 5lb snap-
per! October can be a great month
if you can avoid the horrid weather –
burley & big smelly baits will see some
anglers getting into 20lb +_ snaps this
month – get into it!
Inner Hauraki GulfSource: Hibiscus Kayak Fishing Club:
Coromandel / BOPSource: Epic Adventures
TaranakiSource: AMF Leader – Duncan McIvor
www.nzfisher.co.nz 25
he weather, that’s what’s hap-
pening!
Last good day out was in
August, nice run up the east side of
Durville Island out of French Pass but
most of the trips planned have been
cancelled due to the weather.
Line fishers have discovered that
there are good numbers of kingfish and
snapper lurking in deeper water around
Stephens Island and some big boys from
both camps have been landed. Jigging
seems to be the technique, be interesting
to see if the jigging carries on working
into the summer as both species move
into shallower water.
When we are spearfishing in the summer
we often see kingies blasting along near
the bottom, sometimes they will come up
to check us out, but when they in ‘bottom
blasting’ mode they are unlikely to come
all the way to the surface for a lure. The
silver lining to the bad weather cloud
has meant that fishing pressure has been
relatively light, so the rare days out have
been very fishy, good numbers of terakihi
spotted although mostly small. Butterfish
are making a comeback in areas where
netting pressure has been reduced
although the biggest threat to these
and many other fish is the loss of habitat
as the weed belts are being reduced in
area possibly due to explosions in kina
numbers. The poor old blue moki seems
to get a hammering from spearos and set
netters alike, hoping to see a recovery in
numbers of this underated table fish.
Blue cod are under pressure outside
the ban area. Everyone seems to
have views on the ‘reopening’ of the
Marlborough Sounds blue cod fishery
but until we see the results of the
abundance report due out soon we’re all
shooting in the dark – realistically: does
anyone think that a species can rebuild
in a few short years?
‘Roll on’ summer and ‘roll in’ the clear
blue water.
Mark Roden
Nelson Underwater Club
Nelson Marlborough / UnderwaterSource: Mark Roden
Bar and Restaurant
Check out our fantastic menu at www.swashbucklers.co.nz
Open 7 Days!
23 Westhaven Drive
Westhaven Marina
Auckland NZ
Serving New Zealand’s Best Seafood For Over 13 years!
If you love seafood you’ll love Swashbucklers
Bar and Restaurant!
Located at Westhaven Marina on the edge of the
shores of the magnificent ‘City of Sails’, 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 ‘til late!
Proud to support the launch of NZ Fisher e-Magazine!
26 www.nzfisher.co.nz
s New Zealanders we hold
the bounty of the oceans as
a part of our cultural heri-
tage, a resource available to all. Sadly
economic pressures and an insatiable
demand internationally for fresh fish
means our local resources are continu-
ally under pressure from commercial
operators.
The New Zealand Recreational Fishing
Council was founded in the 1980’s to
begin reclaiming the oceans for the
enjoyment of all New Zealanders.
Today the NZRFC is recognised at the
mandated body to represent New
Zealand amateur fishers to parliament.
Other organisations such as Option
4 and NZ Sportfishing Council also aid
in this representation, but focus on a
more selective areas. The RFC aims to
represent all amateur fishers in whatever
fishery they can and to keep New
Zealand fisheries viable for the future.
Over the last 25 year the RFC has built
a reputation for achieving wins for New
Zealand fishers, these achievements
include some remarkable changes in the
thinking of the decision makers when
considering how we best utilise the
resources available.
nzfcREPORT
Next edition out 20/10/2010
The Picture of a Fishing Future is Being Drawn
If you wish to know more or feel you would like to be involved please e-mail [email protected] or visit www.recfish.co.nz
// NZRFC GoalsTo encourage government and •
MFish to perform their statutory
duty to ensure that fisheries are
sufficiently abundant at local
levels “to enable people to
provide for their social, economic,
and cultural wellbeing” in all
coastal communities.
To promote the interests of •
recreational fishers in the
management of New Zealand’s
fisheries.
To protect and enhance marine •
biodiversity and habitats.
To maintain and where possible •
improve recreational fishers ability
to catch a feed.
To participate through consultation •
in an effective partnership to
manage New Zealand’s marine
fisheries resources.
www.nzfisher.co.nz 27
Have you subscribed to NZ Fisher? It’s free!Simply visit www.nzfisher.co.nz to get a copy of NZ Fisher
delivered straight to your inbox every fourth Wednesday!
// In the next issue of NZ Fisher…Hapuka secretsWhere do Snapper travel?Getting the most from your burley trail
Next edition out 20/10/2010
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