NZ Fisher Issue 32

ISSUE 32

January 2014

Big

Fish –

Small Jigs

Landbased Kings on Fly Congratulations to our Torpedo7 prize winner for Issue #32! www.nzfisher.co.nz 1

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editorial

Pg 6

CONTENTS

NEWTECHNIQUES 6 Santa Baiting–

Christmas Fishing at

its Best TORPEDO7 10 Livebaiting Essentials

with Torpedo7

14

Kings on Fly: NZ’s Peak Fishing Battle?

20

KAYAKFISHING 18 Night Fishing From

Your Viking Kayak 20

West Coast Snapper Smashed

BENISLAND.CO.NZ 22 Big Snapper off the Rocks

18

26

Reader Pics

28

Competition

29

Video of the month

10

www.nzfisher.co.nz 3

Isis

ISIS

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Akena

AKENA

• ALC: Rigid 1-pcs anodize d aluminium frame • Aluminium left & righ t side plates • Machined aluminium, gold anodized spool • Multi-disc Carbonite dra g system • 5BB + 1RB Stainless stee l bearing system • Quick-set anti-reverse roller bearing • Precision cut brass mai n and pinion gear • Adjustable 6-pin velocity control system

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Serrano

For news, advice, off ers & a good old laugh , visit us at facebook.c om/borntofishnz

editorial

//From the

EDITOR HAPPY NEW YEAR NZFisho’s!

We’ve had a cracker of a break but we’ve pulled finger and here’s your first 2014 issue of NZFisher.

develop a marine spatial plan for the

ABOUT /

Hauraki Gulf. It’s an important process

Short and sharp, NZ Fisher is a

and they’re planning shared use over the next 30 years. While today we might think of it as a pathway to

Congratulations to all those who

better access, its the access that’s

have wet a line and landed some fish

at stake. You can visit the full site at

already this year. We have had a bit

www.seachange.org.nz. NZFisher

of fun looking at ‘other’ species over

is right behind the protection of our

the break and have generally given

natural environments, both on shore

snapper and kingfish a miss. There’s

and marine – but we wish to ensure

been scallops, paua, crays, pipi, tuatua

the public is fully informed of the

and more blessing our dinner tables

processes at play.

(ok, there’s been some snapper and kingfish too!) But it’s gamefish we’re onto now. All going well, we’ll have some marlin and tuna pics for the NZFisher (and Reel Adventures) team.

EDITOR / Derrick Paull ART DIRECTOR / Jodi Olsson CONTENT ENQUIRIES / Phone Derrick on 021 629 327 or email derrickp@NZ Fisher.co.nz ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES / Phone Richard on 09 522 7257 ADDRESS / NZ Fisher,

spoken to. The baggage of the GFC

C/- Espire Media, PO Box 137162,

appears to have been left behind

Parnell, Auckland 1151, NZ

and the unusual superstition of

WEBSITE / www.NZFisher.co.nz

we’ve set some pretty lofty goals

starting with some species this year

for ourselves and we hope to bring

and closing out with blue sharks in

you an improved, more detailed and

2016. Despite the long phase-in

professional publication in 2014. It is

period, we’re pretty happy with the

our goal to become the number one

Minister’s decision to implement this

online fishing publication in NZ and

law before the elections. It’s long

we want you to enjoy the benefits

overdue and well received by most

too. Please send us your images and

intelligent people.

stories to derrickp@nzfisher.co.nz so

read up on what is being proposed to

to forward-thinking fisher people.

watershed year by most Kiwis I’ve

shark finning is to be banned In NZ,

‘Sea Change’ website and have a

and industry news and information

or email richardl@espiremedia.com

2013 is now behind us. At NZFisher

about this yet, please head to the

provoking and enlightening articles,

2014 is being heralded as a bit of a

We’ve had great news recently that

For those of you who have not heard

free e-magazine delivering thought

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!

we can share your successes with our own – and you’ll also be in the draw for some awesome prizes too!

Tight lines NZ Fisho’s!

Cover: A Houhora king falls victim to a ZETZ Boggie Walk Smelt – Landed by Ian Biddick

www.nzfisher.co.nz 5

The boat

newTECHNIQUES

Santa Baiting– Christmas Fishing at its Best

NZFisher’s Northland writer Neil Wagener looked at the difficulties of Christmas fishing in the last two issues and we thought we’d put his teachings to the test over Christmas and New Years – here’s how we got on...

By Derrrick Paull e pie lure of choic The newest skip

EACH YEAR MOST OF us head off to far away beaches,

It was Christmas, so it seemed right to put a bit of Christmas

camp-grounds or family baches to relax, rest up, drink,

spirit into the fishing so Santa hats on and lures Chrissy

eat well and often fish for a feed. This year a few of us

themed. Despite our best intentions the fish just weren’t as

NZFisher folk headed up north for a week to get away, try

into our Christmas cheer as we were – until Ian (finally!) nailed

some new tricks and, well, get a feed!

one for the camera on

Weather was a bit tricky and a few electronic hiccups on the new boat meant deep water was too tough to be fun, so we stuck to the inner reefs and bays in search of moochers. By Christmas we’d missed the first round of snapper spawning so they’d dispersed a little and we’re a bit patchy. That didn’t stop us giving them a good go and with some less conventional lures (we tend not to

the Santa lure.

After the Santa baiting session, we landed a few more snaps on soft baits and micro-jigs before heading close in for a bit of a Cray/Paua

use bait, at all).

snorkel. As Neil has

We also spent some time trialling, and sadly failing, with

said previously, when

our handmade imitation Maori fish hooks. After some

the fishing is slow you

reading on their traditional use we have the idea that

can almost always rely

they’re more of a choker than ‘hook’ in the modern sense and were used more to target the likes of couta and hapuku rather than our target, snapper. There’s more work to be done here and we’ll get on to it again soon, (who could say no to some more fishing?)

6 www.nzfisher.co.nz

on Crays, Paua and other shellfish to fill the fridge and they’re so much fun for the whole family to chase.

Santa did it!

Darren wrestling one out

Thank god for sm all

newTECHNIQUES

Entree Calamari harbours

Our team were only on snorkel but managed a nice haul

On reflection, the gemfish is outstanding, and went down

of two Crays (plus returned a number of undersized

a treat at out Christmas day celebrations too with everyone

packhorse‘s too) and half a dozen nice (yes, legal!) Paua –

commenting on its delicate flavour and texture.

one hell of a feed for day one. At the beach we also dug a handful of tuatua to spice up the pasta a little. It’s such a pleasure to live in NZ on days like this when our initial plan was foiled by fish with their mouths firmly shut, we can nip into a bay and find a king’s feast of shellfish with little effort.

We set out on day two but were somewhat foiled by an electrical issue on the new boat. The sounder was nothing short of awesome in water up to 100 metre, but any deeper we lost the bottom regularly; virtually ending our hapuku / bluenose mission. Not to be completely outdone,

A quick snapper fish on the way back did provide a bit more sport and a few fillets for the families on shore. A day truncated by wind, we spent a few hours talking up a plan for day three over a few quiet ales; causing a late start and much deserved sleep in.

The day dawned cool but clear and the plan was to chase kings and snapper on micro-jigs and stick-baits off Houhora. We set off across East Beach on a mirror-like sea with high hopes of one of our plans actually coming off!

we used what we knew of the garden patch hotspots to

We arrived at the reef to find it crawling in bait-fish and

put ourselves in the right places, but dropped baits blind.

decent schools of kings chasing them. A few drops later

250 metre plus is a very long way to drop baits without knowledge of what’s there, but when you’ve travelled 30 kilometres offshore to find fish you make the most of it, right?

and we were into some nice fish and ones that actually took the baits we wanted them to – specifically the ZETZ micro-jigs which we’d been dying to put up against the kings. Ian Biddick managed the best fish on one, a stroppy 12 kilogram model that came aboard hooked by

While not our target species, a pair of gemfish and a

the tiniest corner of its mouth – something only the tiny

scarpie were once again greatly appreciated for the pot.

hooks on the micros could manage.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 7

newTECHNIQUES

The kings were hungry – but only for very small jigs

Ian’s Zetz King

Ian M also landed a new PB, an 11 kilogram fish that he

We landed our fill of kings but the best action came when

fought hard in 15 metres on the 10lb Ducro 10 PE1 set.

we threw the bigger stick-baits at them with the Hitter

When I started jigging it was with PE6, 400 gram sets

Aurora 120 gram causing the biggest stir. There were

that destroyed kings (and anglers) but stole the joy of

packs of 20 or 30 fish up to 20 kilogram chasing, smashing

fighting anything but the biggest fish. I love this light

and hitting the baits – every time the video camera was

gear and intend to put it to good use at the three kings

switched off but constantly absent while we were filming –

later this year!

it was insane and awe inspiring. Ever since my first real top

8 www.nzfisher.co.nz

A mixed bag

newTECHNIQUES

The Aurora does it again!

Ian nailed his new PB on the Ducro 10lb set-up!

Kings ON!

What a haul - and not a snapper in sight!

top water experience at mayor Island in 2010 I’ve maintained the opinion that there is no thrill in fishing within NZ like a pack of crazed kings smashing at stickbaits. If you haven’t yet – you must get on a trip to throw stickbaits at kingfish; it’ll change your life!

I trust you all had a fishing experience that put a smile on your face like Ian’s over the break. If not – get away from your PC and go fishing – it’s all on now!

Torpedo7

Livebaiting Essentials with Torpedo7 Livebait is unquestionably one of the most efficient, rewarding and enjoyable forms of fishing; and Kiwis just love it! While not necessarily difficult, livebaiting does require some specific tools of the trade. Here Torpedo7 gives a quick rundown on some of the essential pieces of equipment you’ll need for a successful day’s livebaiting.

Sabikis A decent sabiki rig is essential when catching those precious baits prior to a big day out livebaiitng. Sabiki rigs are a very effective Japanese creation that work a treat on New Zealand bait fish.

These Saltura Sabiki rigs have been tried and tested in the southern hemisphere and developed to target our baitfish.

Each rig is set up with 4 hooks, flashers, beads, a swivel at each end and a sinker.

FEATURES

10 www.nzfisher.co.nz

•

Top Shelf Quality

•

4 Hook Setup

•

Ready to fish

Torpedo7 Keep your bait alive and kicking

Hook the dream catch with Owner

Once you’ve caught your bait, it is vitally important to store them somewhere with recirculating water until you are ready to rig them up and let them down into the enemy territory. Turn virtually any water well into a live well with this 12 volt aeration system from Marine Metal Products.

By aerating the water you keep bait/fish lively increasing their performance as a livebait.

FEATURES When you are livebaiting, you are obviously chasing

•

Converts any well into a livewell

•

Aerates and cools up to 35 gallons

•

Mounts with suction cups

•

Choice of two spray bars

chrome and have a tough forged shank. Ideal for rigging

•

500GPH Pump with 10’ wire and filter

large baits.

•

Copper battery clips

Featuring a patented “T” shaped triple edged blade led

•

2 spray bars with connector, mounting clips, suction cups and screws

•

5.5’ flexible tubing

some pretty serious fish so you need some serious hooks.

These amazing hooks from Owner are built tough and are purposefully designed for this style of fishing. These durable hooks are coated in corrosion resistant black

by a needle sharp point, these hooks will cut their way through the toughest cartilage, scales and jawbone. With the three cutting edges, the resistance decreases as the edges cut their way through for an effortless hook up.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 11

Torpedo7

Reel ‘em in

FEATURES

When livebaiting, there are a few different options when

•

4:4:1gear ratio

it comes to reels. The lightweight but very tough Shimano

•

6 +1 Stainless steel ball bearings

•

Dyna Balanced anti wobble system

•

Oversized power roller line roller

•

C14 Ultra lightweight construction

•

Propulsion line management system

•

Fluidrive II gearing system

will have piece of mind that your Thunnus will provide

•

Paladin - Gear durability enhancement

unparalleled reliability and performance. It offers

•

Cold forged Aluminium spool

•

Super stopper II Anti Reverse

simply re-engage the drag pressure by reeling in.

•

One Piece bail wire

These reels are ultra versatile so if you are looking to buy

•

Mono line capacity lb/yrds - 12/550, 16/350, 20/265

•

Braid line capacity lb/yrds - 50/505, 65/310, 80/240

•

Weighs approx 780g

•

Max drag 12kg

Thunnis has become a very popular choice however.

The Thunnus 12000 C14 offers all the features that the Thunnus reels are renowned for but offers a larger line capacity, making it suitable for most fish in Australasian waters.

Whether you are casting Poppers, Straylining or Livebaiting and you hook a decent Kingie or Snapper you

Shimanos renowned Baitrunner feature which enables the fish to take the bait without resistance and to strike

a top end setup that you can do virtually anything with the Shimano Thunnus 8000 should be a certain choice.

COMPETITION WINNER The lucky winner of Torpedo7’s $150 voucher from NZ Fisher’s December issue is Darryl Lock.

Congratulations Darryl, enjoy!

Win a $150 Gift Voucher with NZ Fisher and Torpedo7!

To celebrate the summer season we’re giving away a $150 voucher to spend at www.torpedo7.co.nz in each of our summer issues. Competition open only to NZ Fisher subscribers. Head to www.nzfisher.co.nz to subscribe for free! 2 easy steps to enter!

1. Read this issue of NZ Fisher and answer this question...

“In our Kings On Fly article tell us one ingredient from the writers recommended Berley mixture” 2. Go to our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/NZFisherMagazine and tell us your answer Entries close 14 February 2014 and winner named in our February issue!

12 www.nzfisher.co.nz

www.nzfisher.co.nz 13

Kings on Fly: NZ’s Peak Fishing Battle?

Such a thrill

This summer has already been an absolute cracker for kingfish in the Auckland region. We’ve been seeing them, hooking them and catching them on virtually every trip since mid-November. Words and images by Tom Lusk MY FRIENDS HAVE managed them on livies, cotton

Encountering Kings

Cordell pencil poppers and stickbaits, and others around

My approach to tangling with kings on fly gear is similar

the place have had success jigging and even surfcasting for

to more traditional king methods. I’m a big believer in

other species off the West Coast beaches.

berley, and like to use a mixture of a three kilogram Salmon

For me, I’ve attained a major milestone: a keeper king on fly from the shore. Since I took up the long wand in salt in

berley with white bread, all mixed up in a 20 litre bucket of seawater and spooned into the water bit by bit.

early 2012, I had caught a 73 centimetre number on trout

Rolled oats are a good further constituent. A long-handled

gear and lost two biggies that grabbed snapper flies and

serving spoon or ladle is a good delivery method, and

smashed me in less than five seconds. Now I’ve landed

slapping a spoonful into the water every ten or fifteen

two nice comfortable keepers and lost three more, and the

minutes gives a good combination of noise, smell and

season is just kicking off.

visual cues.

14 www.nzfisher.co.nz

The smile says it all.

While I’m not sure that kings necessarily follow their noses, I think that when they’re stooging along looking for trouble

The Set Up With fly gear, your fly line is expensive – around $80 to $100

and come across a menagerie of excited and distracted

and up, so with notoriously dirty fighters like kings, you really

baitfish, plus delicious oily scents and floating pieces of

want the weakest point in your line to be close to the hook.

food, they are bound to flick into extermination mode.

Thus, I use relatively light leader: 20 to 30 pound fluoro is my

White bread is a great addition because it’s fairly cheap, very visible, and everything in the ocean likes it, even kings themselves. Gulls love it too, but when targeting kings, the extra commotion they cause is probably not a bad thing.

preferred weight, something unthinkable when live baiting.

I also use barbless hooks, as if I do bust off, I don’t want the fish stuck with a piercing and possibly trailing a fly line.

My rod for kings is a 12WT Kilwell, and my reel is a Colton Torrent 911. This is at the heaviest end of the scale, and

Terrain is important. Ideally, you want lots of clean seabed

some of my fly-fishing friends do well on kings with 10WT

in front of you. If you can find a kelpie fringe leading onto

rods. However they tend to be fishing on clean flats, where

a sandy bottom, you’re off to a good start. Really evil

it’s not so crucial to be able to lift the fish at the end of the

territory is probably better left to LBG fishos.

fight, when he is hell bent on doing macramé in the kelp.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 15

The Flies When a king sees your fly as he meanders along the rock edge, he’ll usually instantly accelerate and engulf it from

ever happened to me. However, once he was that far out, I knew he was in the clear, and was able to gently wear him down before bringing him back in to shore.

a couple of metres away, so I don’t know how important beautifully tied flies are.

Facts and tips

Size, shape and flash are key features of a fly, but I’ve

1. Don’t worry if your casting distance isn’t great. Kings

had very positive hook ups on a variety of sizes, shapes

will come in to incredibly shallow water. A 10m cast is

and colours. For a beginner, I’d recommend any baitfish

usually overkill.

patterns of about 7-10cm. If you like surface strikes, crease flies are fantastic, and I’d rate these above popper flies, which can be knocked aside by the attacking fish. One of my favourite flies imitates piper, so it’s long and slender, with a distinct black beak and big eyes.

2. A stepladder, as used by a flats kingfish guru friend, is very useful on the rocks, too. Height gives a lot more visibility.

3. Keep your drag low early in the fight. You really want the fish to swim away from the rocks as much as

The Fight My two successful fights with keeper kings from the shore have involved me getting very wet. In both cases, the kings came in out of nowhere, smashed the fly and then blasted off along the bottom, right through the kelp. To free them, I’ve backed off the drag and swum out to free the line from the weed, which is something I’d only do in calm conditions with mates on the shore.

Once the fish is free, it’s really a matter of slogging it out, ideally over the sand away from any structure. My first fish took 230m of line in three blasting runs, and showed me the spool knot - very worrying, and the first time this has

16 www.nzfisher.co.nz

possible. Once he’s out in the open, you can begin to wear him down.

4. Polarised sunglasses are virtually an essential. Fly fishing for kings is a highly visual game.

5. Having pillie cubes handy is a good idea. A dozy king can be woken up to feed by a hail of splashing bait.

6. If you get tired of waiting for his majesty and go for other species with a smaller rod, keep your king gear very close, and ready to go, i.e. a bit of fly line out of the rod tip, fly clear on the rocks, drag set low. Kings turn up at the least convenient times.

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You’re not always easy to see

kayakFISHING

Night Fishing From Your Viking Kayak

HOW OFTEN DO YOU struggle to find time to get out on the water for a fish? Our days can so easily be sucked up with everything other than what we want to be doing.

During the summer months it is possible to get out for a fish after work but sometimes if there is a good bite or you are just having too much fun, have you thought about staying out after dark?

When I first took up kayak fishing the thought of sitting out on the water in the dark was not something I ever saw myself doing. Fast-forward to now and I have no problem at all about paddling out into the cover of night to go for a fish. I have learnt that as long as precautions are taken and everything safety wise is covered then it can be a very enjoyable time to be out.

All sorts of factors need to be thought about and I must stress that it is not a smart idea to night fish a new area without having fished it a few times during the day. It is extremely easy to lose your bearings and have no idea what way you came from especially if there are few landmarks viewable in low light.

How often do you struggle to find time to get out on the water for a fish?

Apart from all of the usual safety equipment (life jacket,

By Shane Kelly and Bam Blaikie

degrees is required under Maritime regulations so that

18 www.nzfisher.co.nz

radio etc) you should already have on board; night fishing adds a few new things to the already large list of necessary items. First of all a white light that is viewable round 360

Nice high, clear mounting point

kayakFISHING

you can be seen by other vessels. The Maniyaks use the Navisafe lights on Railblaza telescopic poles, or another great option is the Railblaza visibility kit The higher the better as even a small swell will see the light disappear every few seconds. Something else worth thinking about is reflective tape on the blades of your paddle and on your clothing for additional ways of letting others know you are out there.

VHF & waterproof light a MUST

So that ensures others can see us on the water but what should we use to see for ourselves? We have found the best option to be the cheap Energizer head lamps that are available almost anywhere batteries are sold. These lights offer enough light to make out what is in front of you but also has a red light setting which is very good to use when sorting new tackle or re-baiting hooks which you will find your eyes not needing to re-adjust after switching the light off. While these are not water proof they are cheap enough to replace if they ever fail. A back up source of light is also something to have hidden away in your night pack.

Chart plotters are not a must but extremely recommended.

As it is incredibly disorientating being out in the pitch black

360deg LED light

you need something that you can use to get you back the way you come. While not all kayaks are fitted out with chart plotters even a GPS or a smart phone will let you track where you came from so you can head back the same way when it is time to call it a night. Our Lowrance finders leave a snail trail of exactly where we have paddled. All we need to do is follow this back to our launch spot.

There is one more item far more important than any of these and that is a buddy to go along with you. Fishing on your lonesome is never a smart idea unless you know the area very well but in the dark it becomes far more important to have someone else there. Be careful not to sit in shipping lanes or anywhere that is a high traffic area.

Handy LED light, secured to the yak.

I recommend you give night fishing a go this summer. It will add a whole new dimension to an already enjoyable sport.

You will find you notice your senses in overload as you sit out on flat water and notice every splash around you wondering what the heck it could be. Let us know how you get on. We would love to hear your story of paddling out into the dark.

The Viking Maniyaks are Wellington based duo, Shane Kelly and Bam Blaikie. Keep an eye peeled for more of their tips, tricks and competitions wins right here in NZ Fisher and on their new website, www.maniyaks.com

West Coast Snapper Smashed What’s the state of our snapper fishery off the coast of the North Island?

By Neil Wagener

I PLAY A LITTLE game of find the truth with the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) about the state of fisheries recreational fishers are most interested in. One of the fisheries in question is the Snapper 8 (North Island West Coast) where there is major conflict between what science says, recreational anglers report, and the commercial industry insist. For my part, I’ve heard more from observers and scientists within Government departments that cannot speak freely.

The last assessment of the Snapper 8 Fishery was back in 2005; where results show that the fishery is (was) as likely to be at 10% as above. In fisheries terms, this is a ‘collapsed

20 www.nzfisher.co.nz

fishery’ – but in this case, one we can still take fish from. It

What appears to be happening is that snapper keep

seems very odd to me, a science outsider, that given the

returning to the same locations their school mates just got

known state of this fishery, that we would still be fishing it.

scooped up from, sticking close together and keeping the

The 2005 assessment also looked at the age class of fish,

same haunts.

stating “Recent catch-at-age sampling shows that the

While this does make it a wee bit easier for recreational

age structure in the fishery has changed little over the

and commercial fishers to catch them, common sense

last 20 years averaging around 6 years (this is the lowest

might suggest it’s also a way to deplete the species, not

average of all the snapper stocks). The fishery is held

just locally, but across the whole fishery.

up in most years by only 4-5 dominant age classes with an eligible accumulation of biomass beyond 20 years.

Given the current age structure the stock would be very vulnerable to recruitment failure extending more than 2-3 years in duration”.

If you’ve made it this far you may be wondering why I’m writing this article and even more, why would we think that snapper are huddling together in the depths; especially in places where they get regularly scooped up in trawl nets?

The theory comes from a mix of anecdotal information

The way I read that, the fishery is full of midgets and not

garnered from recreational and commercial fishers. This

too many adult fish at all.

anecdotal information can be added to a theory presented

There is a big ‘but’ to this story though. It doesn’t appear to be all doom and gloom at all. You’d think that in a collapsed fishery there might be a bit of outrage from recreational fishers who can’t catch a feed. Or perhaps there’d be a drop in commercial catch. But there isn’t.

I’ve followed this fishery for a few years, armed with the science and MPI assessments, often getting really into the minds of those who fish the west coast. It’s very seldom that I come across boat fishos who are genuinely disappointed in their (snapper) fishery over the bars or launching off the beaches on the West coast. It seems

by G. A Rose & D. W. Kulka in relation to the collapsed northern cod stock off Newfoundland & Labrador in their paper; “Hyper aggregation of fish and fisheries: how catch-per-unit-effort increased as the northern cod (Gadus morhua) declined” (Google it if you’d like a better understanding) and a real problem can be envisaged.

In short, hyper-aggregation means that the fish, remaining in the fishery when they’re severely depleted, seek each other out and aggregate in such numbers and with such density that when they’re being targeted and researched, the fishery appears to be strong and the fish abundant.

that once you know the spots, snapper are easy to land

Only problem is, the Ministry’s own research showed in

off shore.

2005 that the fishery was in trouble (at or below 10% of un-

I cannot say the same for landbased fishos. It seems they struggle to ever catch snapper these days – even from waters where snapper were formerly noted swimming so

fished levels). The magic number of 10% is what they call the ‘Hard Limit’ at which point the fishery should be closed to taking more fish.

densely and shallow that their backs would be out of the

Is it possible that our west coast snapper are so heavily

water while hunting for tuatua over the high tide.

depleted that they are seeking each other out and hyper-

In fisheries management there’s a term, ‘localised depletion’, and at first glance the idea that an area had simply been depleted, before another area, would fit this situation. Until you have a look at where the fish

aggregating in a similar way to the north sea cod? At this point, no one entirely knows, but there are some pretty big questions to be answered by the proposed stock assessment we’re hoping will come to fruition.

are consistently being landed in this fishery. The data

For the sake of the fishery and the future of snapper on the

surrounding where trawlers land their fish is shrouded in

west coast, I really hope there is no correlation, but you

secrecy, but there are commercial fishers willing to share

have to wonder!

their insight and experiences – albeit it on the quiet.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 21

benisland.co.nz

Walking on the ‘Track’ down to the ledge. It’s not easy finding the track, but no climbing is involved.

Big Snapper off the Rocks When it comes to fishing, you just can’t top rock-fishing or as some people say LBG (land-based-game fishing). I’m going to stick with the term rock-fishing as LBG implies that you do a bit more than simply casting out a piece of dead bait from the rocks and hoping to catch the big one. By Ben Assado WE HAD ROUGH SEAS and gusting south-westerly’s all

and go for a fish. You are going on a mini-adventure and

week and I was eager to go for a fish. It has been two

although you might have done this thousands of times,

weeks, you know…taking the dinghy out into Tryphena

you sense that special feeling; psyched to hear the line

Harbour was not an option due to the strong winds, thus I

spooling and feel the weight of a solid fish on the rod.

decided to go rock-fishing on the East Coast. Low tide was around midday and there was no swell on that side of the island. I left home around 9 o’clock, bought some bait from the Stonewall shop and casually drove to Medlands Beach.

Something happened during the 20 minute drive. I

Personally, I enjoy very much being all by myself or with fellow fishos on a remote spot.

Yeah man, I was freakin’ excited to go rock-fishing, and there is nothing wrong with that! By the time I unpacked

was so excited to go rock-fishing; you know the kind of

the car and me and Rani started to walk, I realised that I

excitement? When you are sitting in an office and doing

should be standing on the rocks right now. I should have

your job and suddenly the fishing vibe gets to you, you

left home earlier. Well, anyway, I walked via the ‘Track’

drop everything, say you feel sick, leave the workplace

around to the southern side of Oruawharo Bay.

22 www.nzfisher.co.nz

There she is, a new personal best off the rocks

benisland.co.nz

This time I even had some berley, a nice four kilogram

from free spool into drag mode and, let me say it again,

Bonito one, however, I forgot to bring a rope and the berley

kaaabooom the rod loaded up and the fish was taking

bag. After rigging up the first rod it was around 10.15am

line. Too much line I thought and turned the drag up half a

already, and I still felt like a lazy fool for not being here an

notch, line was still taken.

hour ago. There was a bit of side-on wind and I thought: “Don’t bother with the second rod, don’t bother with the berley, just cast out mate.” And that’s what I did, a whole squid baited onto two fixed 6/0 hooks on a meter of 60 pound trace. I was using my 10 to 15 kilogram, 8.6 foot two-piece rod and the ever trusted Shimano 6500 Baitrunner spooled with 30 pound line.

Boom, I was on a snapper immediately. It was 30+ cm and went straight into the bucket. Second cast, boom, I was on again. A smaller snapper that was released to fight another day. So there I was, casting out, every cast a bite and the

What a great feeling it is when you hear line spooling out, when you get into position to fight a fish, holding the rod as high as is feasible, letting the fish take line when it fights, and working rod and reel as fast as you can when it isn’t pulling line. The fish had a few runs but I managed to keep the load onto him and to turn its head quickly.

Snapper fight hard to begin with but once you turned the head upwards and keep the pressure on they don’t have much fight in them. That is of course if you can stay on top of them, not letting them run into the foul.

berley was still next to my feet. What do I do, keep casting

The fight, albeit intense, took only two to three minutes,

out, cut a chunk of berley and throw it out? Three times is

before I saw colour a couple of metres out. There was a lot

a charm, so a piece of squid was casted out again. The bait

of colour and all I could think of was not to lose this one.

was taken only a few seconds after it hit the surface, flicked

‘Keep the pressure on, take it easy, and slowly wind him

www.nzfisher.co.nz 23

benisland.co.nz

No gaff, no net, no berley, no getting up early or fishing late, bo boat, just pure skill and lots of luck… hehe

The knife is 36

cm long..jpg

onto the rocks.’ And there it was; a new personal best for

there were some mates of mine in it. Well, I ate lots of fish

Snapper off the rocks.

yesterday, and Rani and I have three smoked fish, a couple

Needless to say, I was stoked! I put her into a rock pool and for a moment, I was unsure of what to do next. I still had four kilograms of berley and had only used three pieces of

of smoked wings and a smoked head to enjoy for the rest of the week. Here some more pics for you guys.

Keep it real, Ben

squid so far. I decided to toss all the berley into the water and fish hard for another hour or so. The fish kept biting

Reproduced with the permission of Ben Assado. Ben Island

and biting and I kept landing and releasing Snapper. One

lives permanently in the hills of Tryphena, in a rugged and

after another…

stunning bush block, and pursues his dream of living in

What a beautiful (fishing) day! I packed in at 11.15am which was just amazing. I’d landed enough fish for a whole week within the first ten minutes and there were plenty more snapper wanting to get arrested. While cleaning the fish, a dinghy passed by and unfortunately, I realised too late that

24 www.nzfisher.co.nz

harmony and sustainably from the land. Landbased fishing and blogging about the simple, yet utterly fulfilling life on Great Barrier Island are his favourite pastimes. Follow his fishing adventures for big snapper and kingfish off the rocks on www.BENIsLAND.co.nz.

Feb 7 -8 2014

www.thes

napperfe

stival.co.n

z

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY:

www.thesnapperfestival.co.nz www.nzfisher.co.nz 25

READERpics

Allan MckInvens new PB - a 75cm Hauraki Gulf Summer snapper

Barry Williams with a lengthy Whatipu Kingfish landed on Christmas eve!.

26 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Allans PB & his second best

Reader Pics

Derrick with a nice Northland king submitted by Ian McLeod

READERpics

Angela Cielo Taguibao with her new PB, 2.3kg snapper from the rocks - Great fish!

Peter Wigg & a Large John Dory caught in Whangaroa Harbour before Christmas

Mike Proctor & his new PB king on spear (80lb!!!!)

Image Camden Andrews

WI

E NN

R

Tony Brake with a16lb snapper taken by ‘Seahorse’ long line off Auckland’s West Coast

Russell Baily & his new 17kg PB (on a jig) in the Bay of Plenty

Wayne Downer & a tasty summer snap aboard his own Frewza F16 www.nzfisher.co.nz 27

COMPETITION

Win a Trip on Board Diversity with Tackle-It & NZFisher!

JUST POST A PIC of you with a fish to our Facebook page and you’re in the draw to win day trip aboard Diversity care of Damo and the team at Tackle-It. Every image you enter has a chance to win the big prize. The more and sooner you enter, the better your chances so get fishing and posting those images to Facebook!

WINNER: Tony Brake with a16lb snapper taken by ‘Seahorse’ long line off Auckland’s West Coast

28 www.nzfisher.co.nz

VIDEO

Fishing Video of the Month I LOVE KAYAK FISHING and love how waterproof video cameras have opened up the sport to non-kayak fishos in such a visual, vibrant way. Here’s a handful of videos I’ve seen lately that have motivated me to go kayak shopping again!

1. First up, the ‘NZBlokes’ team with their 2013 round up 2. And more recently they’ve been getting into them in the Far, far North.

3. And this is what I want to be doing more of this summer!

www.nzfisher.co.nz 29

HOOKEDUP!

Know what you’re doing

Wide range of courses for all types of boating available nationwide

Specialty Courses

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Sea Kayak and Waka Ama

Sail Cruising

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PWC

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Phone 0800 40 80 90 or visit www.boatingeducation.org.nz 30 www.nzfisher.co.nz

NEXTmonth regionalREVIEWS

Coming up in our February issue: - What really makes a good knife?

- Reel Adventures vs Rompin Sailfish - Propping your motor - how do you know what’s the right prop?

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Photo Credit: ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock.com

www.nzfisher.co.nz 31