Off-Site Issue 24 May/June 2021

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WORK HARD, PLAY HARD!

2021

WIN

COAST TO COAST

A PAIR OF

OAKLEY SUNGLA SSES

PG 27

WES BRADDOCK

TACKLE TRADIE

ISSUE 24 MAY/JUNE 2021

SIKA DEEP DROPPING BASICS

DEER

CONSERVATION

WE’LL SEE YOU RIGHT, IN -STORE AND ON SITE At over 90 owner-operated ITM stores you’ll find people who put your needs first, because that’s how it should be. If we can help you get the job done faster at a better price, we will. If we can go the extra mile to get a delivery to you on time, we will.

So, while you’ll often hear us say we’ll always see you right, now you know we mean it.

Find your local ITM store at www.itm.co.nz

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Photo by Iain Mcgregor / Peter Meecham

WORK HARD, PLAY HARD! WORK HARD, PLAY HARD!

WELCOME TO ISSUE TWENTY FOUR OF RHEEM OFF-SITE

CONTENTS 04 DEEP DROPS 08 TRADIE PROFILE 12 CANYONING 16 WINNER’S TRIP 18 COAST TO COAST 22 NEW TOYS 24 JET SKI REVIEW 28 ANTLER MANAGEMENT Cover Photo: Ethan Neville Rider: Karl Bradley (Kiwi Diggers)

The colder months have arrived, meaning us outdoor minded folk need to switch gears.

For hunters, it’s time to get the winter jacket out, put in the hard yards and take advantage of those empty huts. For fishermen, the long drifts over the sand have to be done away with in favour of wash fishing or heading out wide in search of deeper waters.

In this regard, charter captain Nick Jones has got you covered. He kicks off Issue 24 by providing a brilliant overview of how to drop deep for some of NZ’s more wild species – hapuku, bluenose and whatever else is lingering hundreds of metres below the surface. I introduce ‘tackle tradie’ Wes Braddock next. He may not be a typical tradie, but he still spends a fair amount of time on the tools designing and constructing his innovative range of Glowbite lures. Adventure

specialist Steve Dickinson then guides us through the other-worldly experience of canyoning, before filmmaker Struan Purdie gives us a behind the scenes look into the gruelling Coast to Coast race. I’m then back on deck, this time reviewing two Jet Skis from Kawasaki’s 2021 range with the help of tradies Dillon Barnett and Karl Bradley. Helen Horrocks closes out the issue by giving us an insight into sika deer management – hunting and conservation, it turns out, don’t have to be in opposition.

As always, get in touch if you have any stories of your own to share. Message us on Instagram (@offsite_magazine) – where you’ll also find plenty of giveaways – or flick me an email at ethan@nzfishingnews.co.nz. Enjoy!

ETHAN NEVILLE

Rheem off-Site is published bi-monthly by NZ Fishing Media Ltd. Offices are located at 177B Marua Road, Ellerslie, Auckland, Ph (09) 579 4060.

THE BOSS Grant Blair QS Grant Dixon PROJECT MANAGER Ethan Neville ARCHITECT Ricky Harris CONSTRUCTION MANAGER Leah Foxcroft HAMMER HAND (Advertising) Josh Williams | 021 862 579 | sales@nzfishingnews.co.nz EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES Ethan Neville | 021 176 1366 | ethan@nzfishingnews.co.nz Advertising within this publication is subject to NZ Fishing Media Ltd’s standard advertising terms and conditions, a copy of which is available by emailing grant@nzfishingnews.co.nz or by calling (09) 579 4060

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Fishing

DROPPING

DEEP There’s something epic about heading miles offshore, beyond the sight of land, and sending your line down into the abyss in the search for deep-water monsters. Nick Jones suggests it’s not for the faint-hearted, but with the right preparation and the right conditions, you can catch these denizens of the deep with a standard trailer-boat.

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Getting ready Generally, with deep dropping, you’ll be heading miles offshore, so it goes without saying that your boat needs to be capable, have plenty of fuel, and equipped with decent safety equipment. A sounder capable of picking up structure and fish in the depths is also mandatory, unless you’ve been lucky enough to be given GPS marks to a honey-hole and can ‘bombs away’ blind!

Rods and reels need to be sturdy – 24-37kg stand-up game or 300g+

weight jig rods, and reels possessing a decent drag output and holding at least 300m of heavy braid. Braided line is mandatory because it’s low stretch, allowing you to feel bites when your baits are hundreds of metres down. Electric reels, while some say they are cheating, make life a lot easier!

Rigs are straightforward – heavy duty ledger rigs with 14/0-16/0 circle hooks and 32oz sinkers. Just beware that some off-the-shelf packet ‘puka’ rigs are not up to the task. I prefer

to make my own rigs with easy-totie dropper loops and 200lb trace.

Adding lumo beads or tube can help attract fish in the dark depths.

You need a good high-pressure forecast to head out to the deep – wind over 10 knots makes life difficult when trying to hold over the spot, and the long trip home even longer!

Finding the spot

You need a good highpressure forecast to head out to the deep

Finding a good spot is the real challenge with deep drop fishing.

What deep dropping is all about – the writer hiding behind a monster hapuku which grabbed his livebait. off-Sitenz

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Heavy jigging gear does the job for deep drops but is tougher work than the electric reel!

“When your bait is dropping and when fishing on the bottom, using a bit of reverse with the boat engine helps keep the line angle straight and over the fish.”

Bluenose often gather in large schools above the bottom around offshore seamounts.

Mysterious creatures can turn up when fishing the depths – like this prehistoric oilfish hauled up from 450m.

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If you do a bit of gamefishing, try trolling with the sounder in split frequency and keep an eye on the bottom, marking any reefs or foul ground you pass over. Another popular but often unsuccessful technique is to bribe mates, acquaintances, or old-timers at the local fishing club with free beer in exchange for GPS marks. If that doesn’t work, have a perusal of the bathymetric charts in your target area. Hapuku, bass, and bluenose always hang out over structure, be it a reef, area of low rubble, dropoff, canyon, or seamount. Where you find the contour lines close together, that is a good place to start prospecting.

Although hapuku and bass can be caught in water less than 100m deep, many of these shallower areas have been fished out over the years and deeper options will yield better results.

Once you’ve found a likely area, you’ll need to tune your fishfinder in with the right settings – check out info online for your make and model as every brand has different settings that work. Invariably, if your spot is around 200m+, you’ll need to

set your unit to low frequency and play around with the gain. Motoring along at a slow pace will help your finder pick up the bottom and fish more clearly. Hapuku and bass will show up as sign right on the bottom, whereas bluenose are often slightly higher up in the water column.

Sometimes the sign you are picking up can be less desirable species, so you might need to do some trialand-error drops to find out!

Fishing techniques Once you’ve found your spot, do a dummy drift over the area to work out which way the combination of wind and current will push your boat – often it will be in the opposite direction from what you anticipate!

When baiting up with dead bait, use streamlined strips or triangles of tough-skinned fresh fish or squid.

Livebaits are very effective on larger fish, and it pays to bridle rig them to make sure they stay on the hook during the long descent to the bottom.

When your bait is dropping and when fishing on the bottom, using a bit of reverse with the boat engine helps keep the line angle straight

and over the fish. If your craft is fitted with an electric motor, this will make holding over the fish so much easier.

If you’re in a good spot, the bites won’t take long. Let the circle hooks do their job by not striking; rather, just apply slow steady pressure to see if you’re hooked up. If you’ve been marking fish higher up from the bottom, try wind up to that depth as that might be where bluenose are schooling.

If you’re lucky enough to hook a big dog, you’ll be in for a serious tug of war to lift the fish away from its home. However, once you’ve wrestled them up away from the bottom the fight should get easier and easier. Once the fish comes to the surface, their swim bladder will be well and truly blown and it’s simply a matter of hoisting your quarry aboard with a gaff. Be careful grabbing hapuku and bass in the gills with bare hands as they have nasty gill rakers that will prick you.

If the fishing is hot, try not to get carried away – one 30kg fish goes a long way, and there is plenty of meat to enjoy around the head, wings and backbone so don’t just utilise the fillets. Good luck out there!

Once you’ve found a good spot, the big fish often come up two at a time – George Bourke with his double-header of bass.

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Tradie Profile

WES BRADDOCK

TAKING ON THE TACKLE TRADE He may not be your conventional tradie, but Wes Braddock has spent a fair amount of time on the tools designing and making top of the line fishing tackle. Editor Ethan Neville sat down with his former science teacher to catch up about his journey into the tackle trade.

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t all started for Wes Braddock when he saw one of his daughter’s toys start flashing.

As he watched her play, he wondered whether a similar embedded LED light might make lures more attractive to fish. Then Acting Principal of a small school in Kaitaia, he had spent plenty of time fishing in the fertile waters of the Far North, and had a hunch that this might be the trick to upping his catch rate even further.

After accepting the Head of Senior School position at Kingsway School in 2013, he returned to Auckland and started work on his side project.

Moulds were made, prototypes were tested, videos were analysed, and eventually he got some conclusive results: flashing lights do increase catch-rates.

Flash forward eight years and now you’ll find Glowbite lures in most NZ tackle stores and online retailers. Following the success of his initial Glowbite K-Slider, he has added four other products to his

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range and has a new slow jig ready to hit stores soon.

Another recent key development for Wes has been the launching of Fishing Innovators, which invites NZ anglers to, in his own words, “join the experience.” Subscribers to this group are sent new lures before they’re made available to the public and have the opportunity to discuss and submit their own ideas for new fishing products.

Before I met up with Wes for a fish recently, I knew most of the above already. Funnily enough, he was my science teacher at Kingsway School and after he started a tackle company, I definitely made a point of staying in touch. However, I was still interested in learning about what day to day life looks like for a ‘tackle tradie’, as well as what other innovations he has in the works, so a date was set for a catch-up – and, of course, these conversations are best had on the boat.

We met at my place in Orewa at the crack of dawn and drove

the 1.5 hours to Marsden Point, where NZ Fishing News Managing Editor Grant Dixon was waiting with the Buccaneer. I was, quite understandably, excited – you’d think with that sort of crew we’d have a fair chance of landing a few solid fish – but let’s just say we had plenty of time for conversation. We found the birds, we found the bait, we found the tell-tale snapper lines on the sounder, but they weren’t in the mood for biting. Thankfully, I had no shortage of questions for Wes. The first point of interest for me was how he manages to design and produce prototypes from the comfort of his own home. In response, he took me through the process for making the “Jack Flash,” a brand new slow jig with the trademark embedded LED light.

“The first step was to make a protype out of a balsawood blank.

To get symmetry, I use sandpaper and a Dremel rotary tool to do any cut out sections,” Wes tells me.

“Years ago I was thinking of importing surfboard products and actually got a few in. At that stage, I swapped some products for spending a couple of days in a shaping bay at a local store and I made myself a board. That’s how I learned some of the techniques I use today.”

Once Wes was happy with the shape of the balsawood lure, he used it to make a rubber mould in his own backyard. With this done, his next job was heating lead to a tidy 600-degrees – after the appropriate health and safety measures had been taken, of course. This boiling hot lead is

poured into the mould, which once cooled, leaves him with his first prototype. All he needed to do next was glue in his signature piece – the water-activated flashing LED – rig up the Owner assist hooks, give it a paint job and send it around the country for testing.

It was then just a matter of trial and error. With the feedback he got from his testers, he adapted the lure to best suit NZ conditions.

The final changes were made to the balsawood lure and then he sent it off to a local company for a 3D scan, which showed him exactly how symmetrical his sanding job was.

With the necessary adjustments

made to the virtual model, the product was finally sent away for the aluminium moulds to be made ready for commercial production.

“This is a similar process that I’ve used with all my lures, although some of the lures work better with modelling clay as opposed to wood.

The process is still making a blank, making a mould and then creating a prototype that we can test,” Wes explains. “Whether my techniques are the same as others I’m not sure – I worked these out myself. But that’s what I love about it, working out the best way to do things and the secrets of the trade.”

With some understanding of the

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1) Wes pouring boiling hot lead into a mould. 2) The lead prototype for the Jack Flash. 3) The Jack Flash in its raw balsawood stage. 4) A virtual prototype of the Jack Flash. 5) The 3D scan shows how symmetrical Wes’s sanding job was. 6) The balsawood version of the lure. 7) The new Jack Flash prototype fooled this Whangaparaoa king. 8) One of the original Jack Flash prototypes doing the job. 9) Another kingfish that took a liking to the Jack Flash. manufacturing process, my second thought was about where he gets his new ideas from.

“I guess it starts with the banter that goes on in Fishing Innovators.

People discuss things and we get feedback on what people want… what I found along the way was that a lot of people had great ideas about lures, and fishing attracts people who want to tinker and create.

“To me that’s gold – having people in an exclusive group so they can give us feedback and join the process of creating lures. Let’s face it – the market is awash with different options for lures. So what do we have to offer? A premium NZ product that’s designed in NZ for NZ conditions.”

I will note here that he had an opportunity here to critique some of his competitors, but, as always, he refused to say one negative

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word. I can confirm, with nearly 100% confidence, that Wes is one of the nicest guys in NZ. Our conversation was then interrupted by a double hook-up just after lunch, both on Glowbite Grumpy Fish sliders, which encouraged us to keep fishing for another hour or two. The hope was false, however, and we were soon packed up and heading south.

“So what’s next?” I finally asked him. “A lot,” was the answer. There are plenty of opportunities offshore for Wes, but with COVID keeping things local for now, his immediate goal is to continue building a community of like-minded tackle tradesmen and, with their support, produce innovative, NZ-designed products – so I’d say it’s definitely worth keeping an eye out at your local tackle shop for what Wes has in store for us next.

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Canyoning

CANYONING

WHAT’S TO LOVE? EVERYTHING.

What is there to ‘love’ about being gift-wrapped in multiple layers of 6mm thick neoprene, a life-vest, harness, helmet, socks and boots, then being herded up a dusty track for half an hour in the blazing sun? Absolutely everything, writes adventure specialist Steve Dickinson.

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e were bundled up like Michelin men, hiking up the Routeburn track just out of Glenorchy, hardly able to move due to the numerous layers of neoprene.

All we could hear was the friendly chatter, and “S*** it’s hot” from various members of our group. We were getting to know one another while waddling towards our canyoning destination.

Canyon Explorers are based in Queenstown and have been exploring canyons in the region since the late 1990’s. Canyoning can be a half day or a full day experience and we were enjoying the start of the full day as we ambled up the track.

I’m not sure what it is that makes canyoning such a great ‘experience’

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– maybe a mixture of everything?

The setting, the adrenaline, the effort, the cold, the fear, the pushing of your own personal boundaries, or being with a group of likeminded people – all are options.

It was hard to imagine that we would need so many layers because the sun was beating down and there was not a cloud in the sky. We were wrong!

The rivers in this part of the country are quite different to those in the North Island. The rocks and boulders are icy grey in colour and although today they sat like granite sentinels in the turquoise waters, you can imagine the force of the water crashing over them when it’s raining, creating a cauldron of white water. However, today all was calm and the water was smooth and inviting. A few words of wisdom

from our guides were offered: “If a rock is grey, you can stand on it; if it is green or brown, do not.”

After a brief safety and how-to talk, we were straight into it. Our first abseil into the canyon was just below the bridge and this was the last we would see of “civilisation” for the next few hours. We dropped into the most pristine pool of water and were instantly lost in the depths of the canyon.

The canyon changes your perception; you are focused on the water, the walls and what is around you. The light is different, the sounds are different, and it gives you a feeling of awe. Simply put, it just makes you feel good.

To say the water was cold would be an understatement. I think the average water temperature was around 10 degrees Celsius,

‘One small leap for man…’

Just one of the adrenalin filled moments on the canyoning experience.

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Tradie Profile

The scenery is stunning, and this is just the walk in.

which I can assure you is chilly.

We meandered down the river, abseiling down sheer rocks and trying hard at first to keep our hands out of the icy water. It did not take long before we were tasked with our first rockslide and instructed to lay back and slide down the rock face into the water below. Feet first, arms folded across our chests, we dropped into the deep pool. Our heads submerged before resurfacing, our breath taken away by the frigidness of the water.

It was an exhilarating experience, also known as a glacial facial.

Gasping for breath, it was only a quick swim to the rocks beyond where we lay in the sunshine, smiles wide as we rewarmed our bodies and watched the next person sliding into the pool, now very thankful for our layers of rubber!

Our guides Mike and Alex were an epic team. They tied and untied safety lines and abseiling ropes, leaving as little a footprint as possible on the pristine

Canyoning is all about teamwork and safety.

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‘Feet first, arms folded across our chests, we dropped into the deep pool.’

environment. On one abseil in particular, Mike helped us abseil down into a turbulent pool known as The Cauldron. When we reached the pool, we had to release from the abseil line and plunge into the water below and swim to the edge of the waterfall where Alex was waiting, firstly to stop us being washed over the waterfall, then to belay us down into the next pool.

We dropped one by one in a great display of teamwork and met at the warming rocks at the bottom.

The team soon had the hang of it.

As the canyon began to widen, we knew our trip was coming to an end. We clambered over a few more rocks and back under the forest canopy to walk the final few kilometres back to the car park.

When we got back to the van, there was a flurry of wetsuit stripping and then we lay in the afternoon sun eating a welldeserved lunch, retelling tales of our adventure. By the time we got back to Queenstown, it was past 5pm. We had been on the go since

9am that morning and it was hard to believe that eight hours had passed so quickly.

When you see the images, canyoning can seem a little intimidating – cascading waterfalls, jumping off cliffs, plunging into icy water – but it is without a doubt an experience of a lifetime. That may seem very cliched, but it’s true. It really is the mixture of the place, the adrenaline and the fear that makes it utterly ‘unique’.

Abseiling down the face of a cascading water course – now that is exhilarating.

A great way to get a ‘glacial facial’. And yes, it is breathtakingly cold!

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WINNER’S TRIP TO THE WILD SOUTH If there’s one place where kiwi fishermen, divers and hunters would rather be at all times, it’s Fiordland.

Untouched and unspoilt, it’s still home to true wild country and true beauty.

So, with the borders closed and the usual destination (Niue) off limits, Rheem and Plumbing World rightly decided to send the winners of their summer promotion to the deep south for a week of diving, fishing and hunting.

skipper David, deckie Caleb and, of course, everyone’s favourite person, the private chef.

With the gear unloaded from the chopper and the bunks claimed, it was off to their anchorage for the next three days – a place called Supper Cove. Once everyone was settled, the daily routine could begin, which, as expected, involved interchanging diving, fishing, eating and relaxing.

“Out of the nine guys, five of them were divers. Every day the divers did two trips and would go out and get crayfish.

Three of the divers said they’d never seen crayfish like it.

On January 31, these five lucky winners, along with the four extras who took their opportunity to tag along, assembled in Queenstown. Among the extras was long-time Rheem sales rep Wayne Richards, who shared the hosting duties with Plumbing World manager Richard Robinson.

“There was a really good mix of guys and ages. I wasn’t the oldest thank god,” Wayne quips.

Crayfish - the likes of which can only be found in Fiordland

“We’d also fish two to three times a day, and caught plenty of blue cod. Then we’d finish up around three thirty in the afternoon.”

Food, of course, came next, which always started with a cheeseboard.

Some happy plumbers onboard M/V Tutoko II

“From QT, we travelled by bus to Te Anau, stayed at the local hotel, and the next morning went to Te Anau Helicopters,” he continues.

An ex-ferry boat called Tutoko II met them at the edge of the Dusky Sounds, where they were greeted by

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“A lot of what we caught we’d eat that evening. The meals on board were six star – what the chef did with our catch was incredible.”

On another day, three guys went ashore early in the morning for a hunt. Unfortunately, they didn’t get anything, but there was still more than enough seafood to keep everyone entertained and full.

It was on day four, however, that the guys stepped up the fishing and headed away from Supper Cove towards deeper waters. As expected, the deep south provided and they ended up landing three 20kg groper – but there was no shortage of drama getting them onboard.

The drama started when one of the winners, Mark Galbraith, hooked a fish in 185m of water while fishing right next to two of the other guys.

They spent the next day travelling six hours out into the sea, through the Foveaux Straight, and into Doubtful Sound. There they disembarked Tutoko and took the bus to Lake Manapouri. One ferry and bus trip later, they were finally back at Queenstown after an unbelievable week.

The catch was divvied up, and each of the team went their separate ways. Needless to say, no one was complaining about the Niue trip being replaced with a journey to the deep south!

“He lost it, but then quickly hooked another,” Wayne recounts. “He didn’t have an electric reel so he was winding it up but then all of a sudden the line broke. Having lost two fish, he was absolutely livid, and we thought that’s the end of that. But lo and behold the guy next to him got a little bit of a snag as he was winding in, and turns out he’d hooked Mark’s broken line on the way up and he wound it in with the groper still on it. So we tied Mark’s line back onto his reel and he ended up landing the 20kg groper!”

You’d think that’s crazy enough, but the story was far from over. Groper, or hapuku, have swim bladders which often inflate as they are pulled up from the bottom – and this was exactly what happened to Mark’s original lost groper.

Just after they landed Mark’s second fish, his first one popped up two metres from the boat.

“If I was telling someone they wouldn’t believe it, but it’s a true story. That night the chef cooked one of the whole gropers on the BBQ, and it was amazing.”

Wayne Richards from Rheem very proudly holding up someone else’s catch!

DID YOU KNOW?

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

Brown kiwi are omnivores and eat anything from bugs to worms, to fungi and frogs. They’ve even been known to capture and eat freshwater crayfish!

To help us help kiwi, please visit www.kiwisforkiwi.org/donate ®

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Multisport

COAST TOCOAST A FRONT ROW SEAT

When Coast to Coast founder Robin Judkins held the first official race in 1983, he planned for a field of 35. Surprisingly 79 signed up. Thirty-nine years later, the Kathmandu Coast to Coast has become New Zealand’s most iconic multisport event, drawing over a thousand entries each year.

Filmmaker and photographer Struan Purdie shares his behind-the-scenes experience of the 2021 Kathmandu Coast to Coast.

Photos by Iain Mcgregor / Peter Meecham

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The Otira River crossing at the start of the 33km mountain run. Below: Course founder Robin Judkins with start horn in hand at Kumara Beach.

y journey with the Coast to Coast is not your usual one.

For the last three years, my job has been to film the race, capturing the athletes, supporters and sponsors that make this event truly unique.

There are a lot of logistics involved in covering a race like the Coast to Coast and invariably the pace of the event forces us to react and adapt as the action unfolds. The below is my experienced of this year’s race.

Thursday: Race Registration Hundreds of athletes packed Greymouth’s recreation centre. The air was filled with nervous energy – some athletes talking a little too much, others staring into space wondering what they’ve really signed up for. This year we dragged a dozen or so competitors at random into a side room to interview

them about their reflections and motivations for the race. It’s often not till you pose such pointed questions on camera that people are able to fully articulate their thoughts.

These would later be weaved into the race film.

After the registration and race briefing, it was down to the Monteith’s Brewery for the traditional media feed where we caught up with the flock of journos and cameramen that would be covering the race. Afterwards, we raced back to our motel to edit some of the footage we shot that day and set up for an after dark piece-tocamera with the elite athletes.

Friday: Two-day race start It was 5:45am and a 500m traffic jam leading into Kumara Junction had already formed. We flicked on our orange flashing light and drove up the side, hoping the

The air was filled with nervous energy

impatient athletes and supporters could see our large OFFICIAL sticker on the windscreen. This was where our team split up. Our other videographer Danny, along with photographer Ian, headed to the beach to capture the start while photographer Pete and I sped to the Kumara township to capture the first bunch of cyclists. Once these were through, we hit the road which was closed for the next 40km. While Danny and Ian were tasked with capturing this cycle leg, Pete couldn’t resist and leant out the window to shoot some stills as I pulled alongside the main group.

Our job today was to get ahead of the pack and capture the mountain run stage. This starts with a mad dash across the Otira River. Most runners linked arms for this part to avoid being washed downstream. A safety kayaker watched on eagerly, hoping for some action. Once the first big group were through the off-Sitenz

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A peloton of cyclists approach Klondyke corner on the first 55km cycle stage.

Sam Manson boulder-hopping during the mountain run.

river, we rushed to the helicopter which dropped us at various locations throughout Goat Pass.

The first stop was a side creek with car sized boulders that the runners had to clamber over. The next was the Pass itself, a massive hanging saddle with stunning 360-degree alpine views. I was lucky enough to get some aerial shots of the runners with the drone, even capturing the helicopter from above after clearing it with the pilot.

Once we had what we needed, we jumped back in and flew to Klondyke corner, the final destination for the two-day athletes. I found Danny parked up in a DOC shelter furiously cutting the footage from the day for

A helicopter drops media at the top of Goat Pass.

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Female longest day winner Simone Maier reaching the Goat Pass saddle.

the highlights film, which was to be released in just a matter of hours. I dropped a couple of memory cards to him and picked up some final shots of the runners crossing the finish line. Almost 100km under their own steam. It was a massive effort.

A mixture of elation, exhaustion and relief was written on their faces as they embraced their support crews. There would be more pain tomorrow with a solid kayak and cycle leg ahead of them, and I was heading back to Kumara to do it all over again.

Saturday: The Longest Day For those on the start line, a

daunting task lay ahead – going from one side of the country to the other in a single day. It was still dark as they set off which made filming tough. There was just a throng of bobbing headlamps roaring towards me. Our task today was to stick with the elite athletes as they battled it out at the front of the pack. These guys and girls chewed through the 55km cycle before we even saw the sun for the day. Their pace is astonishing and for us filming and photographing, there isn’t time to muck around. Along with the usual stops in the mountain run, we were able to capture some great images from the air by opening the doors of the helicopter and tracking the

A support crew assists a competitor at the start of the 70km paddle down the Waimakariri River.

Wanaka’s Dougal Allan winning his second Coast to Coast.

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WE WANT YOU! ant-like runners as they clambered up the river.

Once we landed at Klondyke, we jumped in the ute and sped to the Mt White Bridge to shoot the start of the 67km paddle stage. This is arguably the most gruelling stage with some paddlers spending up to seven hours on the river. After the paddle, the competitors face a 70km cycle to Christchurch with severely waning energy levels. The atmosphere at the New Brighton finish line was fizzing as the race leaders approached. With a couple of minutes to go, the media packed the finish line, jockeying for a clear shot down the finish chute.

It was Wanaka’s Dougal Allan

There would be more pain tomorrow

that crossed the line first this year, followed closely by Sam Manson who got passed on the final cycle after leading all day. The female category got taken out by Germanborn Simone Maier who had also won in 2019. While each of these were amazing efforts, a standout was third-placed Ryan Kiesanowski, who completed the course with a broken toe. After a couple of post-match interviews, our team wrapped for another year. Filming the Coast to Coast gives you a privileged front row seat which few others get. I always look forward to it and even more so in 2022 as the event marks its 40-year-anniversary.

RHEEM OFF-SITE IS ALL ABOUT FEATURING SOME OF THE INTERESTING OUTDOOR STORIES THAT TRADIES HAVE TO TELL – YOUR STORIES! Send us your best hunting, fishing, diving and outdoors images as well - we have a pair of top Oakley sunglasses to be given away each month for the best image.

Tradies, Rheem off-Site is YOUR magazine. Please share your experiences and adventures with us. You don't have to be a Pulitzer prize-winning writer that is our job!

®

WORK HARD,

PLAY HARD!

ISSUE 23 2021 MAR/APR

WIN A PAIR OF

OAKLEY SUNGLASSES

PG 17

LE TRADIE PROFI

Richie McCaw with teammate Rob Nichol competing in the tandem team event.

ETHAN OLIVER GAMEFISHING

GETTING STARTED

FIORDLAND HUNTING

FOILING

AZ E JOIN THE CR

TALK TO US SO WE CAN SHARE YOUR STORIES WITH OTHERS. Ethan Neville 021 176 1366 ethan@nzfishingnews.co.nz off-Sitenz

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off-site

New Toys

Behemoth Subscription Service

Wettie 5mm Super Stretch Gloves These 5mm thick super stretch neoprene gloves have grippy palm and finger tips, and are prefect for general spearfishing and the odd bit of shellfish collecting. They are toasty warm, but without the high reduction in flexibility you normally get with 5mm thick gloves.

For more info, head to: www.wettie.co.nz

This new subscription service takes the stress and effort out of buying the beer that is your “go to” in your fridge. This allows you to concentrate on the visceral experience of browsing the bottle shops for the next new seasonal you are going to try from the wonderful breweries of New Zealand – plus you get some great discounts and free shipping anywhere in NZ. A single subscription of a beer will usually ship every 6-8 weeks and these are only shipped out to you when they are fresh off the canning line, having passed our quality assurance release processes. Therefore, you will usually be enjoying your beer subscription within a week of it being canned when the beers are at their optimum drinking state.

Your fridge is special – it should be full. This is a fanstastic option for making sure your fridge has a nice fresh stock of Behemoth craft beer at a good price.

Great for your fridge, your mate’s fridge, the club fridge or the work shout fridge!

Kawasaki KLX Trail Bikes The KLX range of Kawasaki trail bikes are built to get out and play. It’s time to grab a few friends, hit the start button and turn up the RPM’s. Versatile, lightweight, reliable and easy-to-handle, KLX is your ticket to hassle-free off-road good times. Adult models (not pictured) are also available, and they are a part of the largest and most well-equipped trail bike range. The above bikes are: KLX110R (Auto Clutch) - $3,995 KLX110R L (Manual Clutch) - $4,250 KLX140R (Small Wheel) - $5,795 KLX140R L (Large Wheel) - $5,945 KLX140R F (Full Size) - $6,450

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Balzer Diabolo Mini Spin Telescopic Rod

Glowbite Jack Flash The Jack Flash is slow pitch dynamite! The latest slow pitch lure from Glowbite, the Jack Flash is designed with centralised weight distribution and a deep concave cavitation zone on the upper surface to make these lures hang and flutter like nothing else available. These revolutionary lures have the Glowbite Stressed Fish Flash (SFF) technology, a water activated flashing light that makes them unmissable in the murky depths and lasts more than 70 hours in water. They also feature the revolutionary Fish Scent Dispenser (FSD) that can be filled with your favourite fish attractant sauce to create a scent trail leading straight to your lure. Each lure is supplied with genuine Owner hooks and Kevlar assist chords to handle even the biggest of fish.

Available at all the best tackle stores. For more information go to www.glowbite.co.nz

Created with spin fishing for trout and salmon in mind, Balzer’s Diabolo Mini Spin telescopic rod performs at its best with lures weighing between 15-50g. With a travel length of just 58cm (1.9ft), it’s the perfect adventure companion.

Ideal for any hunter or tramper, simply attach the stashed rod to your backpack as you explore our beautiful backcountry. The rod is made from 30-ton carbon fibre, making it Balzer’s best yet. At 2.10m (6.9ft) long when extended, this rod allows you to safely drill and land even bigger fish successfully.

German manufacturer Balzer GmbH has been producing high quality fishing equipment since 1949 and their products are available in New Zealand for the first time this year.

Available online at balzer.nz from $111.

Fortress Trailers Tandem Axle Tool Shed – Extreme Edition It’s finally born and rolling – the Tandem Axle Tool Shed Extreme Edition. This lady has spent a fair amount of time in the planning and build-phase, and we’re happy to say she’s just completed her final electrical warrant of fitness. Some of the features include strengthened internal framing, internal/external venting, a pull-out work bench, pull-out Engel fridge/freezer combo (40 litre), pull-out Engel 3.5kva petrol inverter generator, full internal LED Lighting and 2 x 12v, 100ah deep cycle gel batteries. It is also capable of charging batteries off-grid and you can run it directly from a generator for unlimited power.

Head to www.fortresstrailers.co.nz for more details.

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off-site

Jet Ski Review

POWER AND PERFORMANCE Kawasaki Jet Ski STX160 and Jet Ski Ultra 310X Reviews

I

By Ethan Neville

need to start this review by coming clean about my jet ski experience: it’s non-existent. If I’m on the water, I’m fishing, and I have no problem sitting on the water for eight hours without a bite, never once feeling the need to travel at unnatural speeds, whip up white water or jump over lingering east coast swells. But then an opportunity came up to test two of the ‘skis in Kawasaki’s 2021 range and I knew it was time to step out of my reasonably paced, writing-friendly comfort zone. I

also knew that I couldn’t do this review by myself, so was quickly on the phone to two tradies who know jet skis, quite literally, inside and out – sparky Dillon Barnett, Director of Top Sparx Electrical, and chippie Karl Bradley, who owns and operates Kiwi Diggers.

I spent day one of testing with Dillon Barnett at Orakei, Central Auckland, and I contented myself with taking photos, letting him take the two ‘skis for a spin. The first one off the trailer was the Kawasaki Jet Ski STX160 – a red and white bullet

There’s a reason it’s the world’s most powerful production jet ski

that was soon roaring across the water. Smaller than its cousin, the Jet Ski Ultra 310X, this model is built for fun. While I was amazed with the agility and acceleration I was witnessing, it’s Dillon who has the educated opinion – and his overall impression was extremely positive.

“It’s a good size that you can easily fit two adults on, but without the stability getting affected. Despite the size, the performance doesn’t change,” Dillon tells me back in the office.

“The four-stroke engine is smooth

and quiet, and also has a lot of pickup from the standstill. You get straight out of the water, which is a huge difference between this and some of the older models.

Because it’s not too heavy, this allows it to accelerate quicker and be more manoeuvrable.

“The value for money is really good,” he continues, commenting that you get a lot of power for what is a very reasonably price in the Jet Ski world.

After having a good blat on the STX160, it was time to jump on the supercharged Ultra 310X. As soon as he clicked the ‘on’ button, we could both sense the power.

There’s a reason it’s the world’s most powerful production Jet Ski. Again,

Dillon was stoked with its overall performance, and particularly its stability.

“I could see how it could fit three people comfortably, which is great when you need to transport people.

The trim feature is also really helpful, particularly when going on longer journeys, like to a remote fishing spot. The cruise control is another great feature when travelling long distances.”

Considering how powerful the ‘ski is, he also noted that he liked having the choice of a ‘fast’ or ‘slow’ key, as it means, in his words, “inexperienced riders will still be able to learn and enjoy the Jet Ski, while more experienced riders can embrace its full power.”

With the ‘ski’s back on the trailer, it was time to get some rest before an early start for day two of testing. The Ultra 310X was fully equipped for fishing, so I invited Karl to join me at dawn in Mahurangi to cast a line and give both models a run.

While I’m not the best person to judge the more technical aspects of Jet Ski performance, I do feel

qualified to assess the Ultra as a fishing platform. This assessment turned out to be extremely easy: it’s fantastic. We cruised out to Motuora Island at 60km/h with four rods in the holders and the IceyTek strapped to the back of my ‘ski. My initial expectation was that it’d fish similar to a kayak, on which you have to be careful about weight distribution, particularly when striking fish and turning to grab tackle from one of the compartments. This was certainly not the case. The ‘Ski is so stable that I spent most of my time fishing standing up and grabbing the rods from behind was no trouble at all. The two greatest advantages, though, were its manoeuvrability and speed. You can access all the tight spots that are usually only available to kayakers, but then move between spots at over 60km/h (or closer to 100km/h). With the ‘Ski starting at the push of the button, there’s no mucking around if you see birds in the distance, which is a huge advantage in autumn and spring in the Hauraki.

The fishing on this day was slow,

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however, and it only took 30 minutes for me to realise Karl was definitely not there to fish. He was chewing at the bit waiting to put his ‘ski through its paces, so after hooking only one undersized snapper on my soft-bait, we shot back into calmer waters near Mahurangi – and then I saw why Karl was keen to stop fishing.

The water didn’t stay calm for long.

Waves erupted around the STX160 as he threw it around tight turns at shocking speeds. “How’re you finding it?” I asked. “Yeah good,” was his response, shooting off again.

When I did have a chance to speak to him back on shore, he had a fair

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bit to say.

“I thought it was really powerful for what it was (a lighter ‘ski) – it goes a lot harder than mine. I was surprised by how hard it went.

“I found the STX160 nearly as fast as the supercharged Ultra. It’s still big enough to tow someone on the sea biscuit – a good all round ‘ski. For a modern ‘ski, you could still really make it slide whereas some other brands really bite.

“The power to weight ratio is also very good – that motor could easily be in a heavier ski. This makes it a far better experience and way more fun.

It means you can bolt out of a turn

For a modern ‘ski, you could still really make it slide.

and accelerate away quickly.”

Karl’s only negative comment was about the forward and reverse lever, which he found a little clunky. But funnily enough, this was one feature Dillon particularly liked, which for him made launching and retrieving easy.

When we swapped ‘Skis, Karl was equally impressed by the bigger model, and like Dillon, commented about how great it would be for day trips further abroad. His exact words were, in fact, “It’d be perfect for taking the girlfriend and a chilly bin to Waiheke.” A great show of imagination from Karl, who is in reality, and not for lack of trying, very much single.

So what about my own less qualified impression of the ‘Skis?

Throughout the couple of hours of fishing and photographing, my confidence on these powerful ‘Skis had grown, and something amazing started happening: I actually enjoyed riding them – and not with a fishing destination in mind, but just riding for the sake of riding. There’s an old saying I never trusted: “They say money doesn’t buy happiness, but have you ever seen a sad person on a jet ski?” But when I was travelling at 100km/h, skimming across the water, cruising through my mate’s wake, I can confirm that I was about as far away from ‘unhappy’ as humanly possible.

S o n a

I C

P o

See Life Differently Ross Adams had a pro ud da Blake & Charlie (5 years) d moment when his sons snatched the latest Off -Site off him as soon as he wa lked in the door.

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off-site Conservation

ANTLER MANAGEMENT Images by Gerald Fluerty, courtesy of Sika Foundation

Trophy sika heads don’t just happen by chance – it takes careful management of the hunting resource to bring out the best. But what’s most surprising is how well this aligns with conservation goals, as Helen Horrocks found out recently when she joined a Sika Foundation management hunt in the Kaimanawa Forest Park.

A trophy sika stag eyeballs the lens of photographer Gerald Fluerty.

S

ika are notoriously timid and flighty deer that are hard to spot and even harder to shoot in the dense native bush of the central North Island. NZ’s sika herd is the only one below the equator and offers a world class trophy hunting and meat resource.

But that resource comes at a cost. Sika are voracious browsers, decimating native bush when their numbers grow too high. With mild conditions and year-round food sources, deer populations can increase exponentially. This is bad news for native species, and it’s also detrimental to the deer. Lack of food means skinnier deer that provide less meat for the hunter’s table and lower quality heads for the wall. But when deer and other pest numbers are kept in check, the results are fatter deer, fine antlers and flourishing native species.

This is the premise of the work of the Sika Foundation – the organisation that exists to manage the central North Island sika herd in balance with the local environment.

One of the key activities they carry out is the annual sika management hunts to control deer populations.

With the help of HeliSika and DOC, teams of hunters are flown into remote areas of the Kaimanawas at carefully chosen times of year, with the aim of shooting hinds.

That might induce splutters of outrage in some hunters, but the old motto: “Don’t shoot the hinds – it means more deer for the future”, neglects the differing impact of stags and hinds on the environment. While solitary sika stags inhabit huge ranges, moving

The start of the four day hunt.

These hinds have a destructive effect on the forest they inhabit, and the more hinds there are, the more total and widespread that destruction becomes.

from high ground to lowland areas in the winter, the hinds form large family groups that seldom stray more than a few square kilometres.

These hinds have a destructive effect on the forest they inhabit, and the more hinds there are, the more total and widespread that destruction becomes.

As the forest is decimated, the deer become malnourished, and fewer fawns get the head start they need in life to create the highquality trophies that hunters seek.

As Sika Foundation scientist Cam Speedy puts it, “Only feeding can bring out the breeding,” meaning good blood lines alone don’t equal trophy heads – the quality of the environment in which they live plays a critical part in their development. When hunters target only stags and spikers, they effectively supercharge the problem. More hinds mean more destruction of the bush, and more malnourished fawns.

So, it was with hinds in mind that myself and three other hunters

flew into the northern Kaimanawas last October, along with several other teams set for sites across the forest park. The timing meant hinds would be largely pre-fawn, and the previous season’s yearlings would be self-sufficient.

Our team comprised myself and partner Craig, along with a couple of blokes I’d never met before, James and Nick. But I had every confidence we were heading into the bush with some good buggers when James sent me his recommended gear list, which included essentials like a PLB, GPS, and plenty of beers for our evening post-hunt debriefs at camp.

A short flight took us over the Tauranga-Taupo River, before we touched down in a clearing that was to be our camp for the next four days. As the thudding of the Squirrel’s rotors retreated, the quiet of the Kaimanawas encircled us. I sensed a remoteness I’d never felt in New Zealand before, and seldom even in my native Scotland.

I quickly learned what sika

Choppering in saves a lot of leg work and adds another element to the experience. Right: Pre-hunt briefing with Sika Foundation’s Cam Speedy. off-Sitenz

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droppings look like – the camp and surrounding area was littered with them. Things were looking positive as Craig and I headed out for an afternoon scout, while James and Nick set off in opposite directions, fanning out from our central camp with agreed boundaries to give us each clear hunting.

The advice I’d been given for bush stalking was go as slowly as you can, then go slower. A pace of no more than 500 metres per hour is plenty. We didn’t have to go far to find deer sign though – it seemed the sika had set up camp in the same spot as us.

But by the end of the second day, we’d all drawn a blank. I’d been

under no disillusion about how difficult it would be to shoot a sika in the bush, but I thought we might at least have spooked a couple.

Halfway through our third day, however, a crackle of undergrowth behind us stopped us in our tracks.

We turned, breath held tight. Craig motioned for me to creep around to the side as he raised his rifle. I’d only moved a few metres when a sika erupted from behind a dead log. A flash of white rump was all we saw as it disappeared. We’d walked right past while it stood silently and watched, its own curiosity the only thing that gave it away.

We made a large circle around to double back on the same spot,

Above: James with his cull stag. Despite it not being the best animal, not a scrap of meat was wasted.

Sika are curious animals, and you sometimes wonder who is stalking who.

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hoping the curious deer might return, but after several hours of waiting silently to no avail, we pushed on.

Nearby, a grassy clearing emerged, and I crept forward to find a good spot to stake it out. I didn’t get far. At the top of the clearing a pair of ears popped up above the long grass, wide and alert, before another bolting sika hind disappeared from view. I kicked myself but felt elated just to see another of these cunning creatures.

Back at camp we found Nick also empty handed, and we pinned our hopes on James to redeem us all.

Just before sunset, the air filled with the sound of a rifle crack, and we grinned at each other as we awaited James’s return.

Half an hour later, James’s bright orange high-viz vest crashed through the pepperwood.

“A cull stag,” James explained over a celebratory whiskey, describing its gnarled front hoof – a painful deformation to live with, as well as a handbrake on its development. We later found out from the ageing of its jaw that it was 13 years old – well and truly on the decline.

An early chopper flight out on the final day meant we didn’t have time to get back to the honey hole we’d found the previous day, but I was content with the GPS marks I’d logged.

Early on our final morning we followed James to the site of his kill, where he’d gutted and hung his deer overnight. Every scrap of meat was prised from the carcass to be processed into sausages, and it was great to see the lack of waste, even from a less than ideal meat animal.

My own goal for the trip was to learn, and despite never firing a shot, I was blown away by the knowledge I gained – and not just about hunting sika, but the philosophy of managing a hunting resource in balance with the environment.

Hunting and conservation are frequently thought of as mutually exclusive, but they are more comfortable companions than you might think, thanks to the work of the Sika Foundation.

To get involved, visit www. sikafoundation.co.nz and follow the Sika Foundation on Facebook.

TANDEM AXLE

TOOL SHED ULTIMATE TRADESMAN TRAILER

BUILT TOUGH TO PLAY TOUGH FORTRESS TRAILERS LTD 62A FORGE ROAD, SILVERDALE 0932 www.fortresstrailers.co.nz @fortresstrailers

Phil Lewis (Auckland) phil.lewis@fortresstrailers.co.nz Ph: (021) 287 2452 Dave Rudd (Bay of Plenty/Waikato) dave.rudd@fortresstrailers.co.nz Ph: (021) 068 9383