ISSUE 25
June 2013
Paua for the picking
North Queensland Barra, mate! Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner for Issue #25! www.nzfisher.co.nz 1
:
REMEMBER
Remind Matt y to get me a new Okuma dual drag re el this wkend
RAW II
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Salina II
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Coronado
Tri io o
2 www.nzfisher.co.nz
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editorial
CONTENTS Pg 10 LANDBASEDFISHING 6
East Capers
29
FISHY SCIENCE 10 Iki-Jime SPORTFISHING 12
A Contest Won
16
A Brush With Barry the Barra
KAYAK FISHING 20
Beware! Kayak Fishing Is
Addictive LOCALFISHING
16
22
Fish Your Feet first
24
Reader Pics
26
NZ Fisher Competition
28
Gear Reviews
29
Prize Winner
30
NZ Fisher TV
28
Hooked Up
Pg 12
www.nzfisher.co.nz 3
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TheBegin ing
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4 www.nzfisher.co.nz
Scan me for a free cap!
editorial
//From the
EDITOR ABOUT /
Short and sharp, NZ Fisher is a free e-magazine delivering thought provoking and enlightening articles, and industry news and information to forward-thinking fisher people.
I cannot tell you how pleased I am
decision. The consultation period ends
with Issue 24 of NZFisher. Many
at the end of July and we need to be
thanks Forsyth for filling my boots
a coherent, logical and strong voice.
while I was off sunning myself in North
Please, get involved and put your
GRAPHIC DESIGNER / Sevim Dogru
Queensland; Great job mate!
name (and dollars) behind this very,
CONTENT ENQUIRIES /
very important action.
Phone Derrick on 021 629 327
Sadly however I’ve walked back
EDITOR / Derrick Paull ART DIRECTOR / Jodi Olsson
or email derrickp@NZ Fisher.co.nz
into the maelstrom of fisheries
In much more fun news the autumn
management as the duplicitous
and winter fishing has been pretty
Ministry of Primary Industries have laid
good around the country. I hear
out a plan to limit the recreational take
the Bay of Plenty surfcasters had a
of Snapper from North to East Cape.
bumper April and now there’s snapper
ADDRESS / NZ Fisher,
There’s not a species more important
and kingfish coming in regularly from
C/- Espire Media, PO Box 137162,
to New Zealanders and here we are
the outer gulf and islands. I love this
Parnell, Auckland 1151, NZ
on the cusp of changes that will put
time of year and even got a chance
WEBSITE / www.NZFisher.co.nz
the rights of nearly Two Million people
to get a line wet at Little Barrier over
aside to serve the selfish, greedy few.
Queens Birthday weekend – there’s
I implore you to get to the Legasea
nothing quite like an autumn chill to
website and check out what is
put big snapper on the chew!
happening. There’s a document called
If you’re not out here trying you can’t
an IPP (Initial Position Paper) on the
catch anything, so grab your thermals
issue that the Ministry sets out their
and get catching!
three ‘best options’ that’s consulted on (given to the public to read and submit on) and the minister makes his
ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES / Phone Richard on 09 522 7257 or email richardl@espiremedia.com
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!
Tight lines, Derrick
www.nzfisher.co.nz 5
LANDBASEDfishing
East
s r e p Ca Leave pass Paua
of the baby for a couple of hours,
a bit optimistic; 30 cm was more
By Ian McLeod & Darren Parsons
and you can sit on the beach in the
like it. This wasn’t looking like the
rain for the next two days while I
glamorous diving I had been craving.
go free diving. I had to get on or in
We were still confident of getting a
GOING OUT FOR A FISH or dive
the water so I pitched the idea of
feed of paua though. With belligerent
can be costly; I’m not just referring
a family holiday on the East Coast
persistence we dove down in search
to the cost of petrol, maintaining a
to the wife and called up my mate
of our quarry, keeping our arms out
boat, or a new set of free diving fins.
Ian to invite him on a fishing and
to stop us crashing face first into the
Life gets really busy when you have
diving trip.
rocks. We couldn’t really go below
a young family and a mortgage to
The forecast was not promising,
pay, making leave passes to head
howling westerlies anyone? Luckily
to the coast increasingly difficult
we knew of a place that would give
to get. The months had flown by
us a bit of shelter close to shore. We
and I hadn’t had a decent fishing or
decided not to take the boat or the
The visibility didn’t get any better
diving trip all year. Is it possible to
fishing gear and stick to the snorkel.
further out either and we virtually had
mix a family holiday with a mate’s
Unfortunately, the heavy rain had
to grind our masks over the rocks
fishing trip? In these situations it’s
also left the water thick with mud.
to see the paua. I would have taken
all about give and take. I’ll take care
Our early call of 1m visibility was
some photos, but I think you get the
6 www.nzfisher.co.nz
2 metres deep either, as it was pitch black down there. We had no luck on the first few dives so we kept paddling further out along the coast.
LANDBASEDfishing
the water had cleared so that we had close to a full metre of visibility! What a difference it made. With the assistance of vision (as opposed to brail) the places we had looked at yesterday were now revealed to be brimming with giant paua. This was picture. At one stage I dropped my
was laden with paua. Paydirt! Using
more like what we had come all this
knife while standing in the water.
the tree we got our bag of paua and
way for. We took a couple more paua
We searched for 10 minutes but it
dragged them for the 2 km swim back
and then put the extra vision to use
was impossible to find in the murk.
to the beach. We made it back just
to search for some crayfish for dinner.
Eventually we started finding paua in
on dark with a mob of goats watching
All in all we caught about five crayfish,
the guts and cracks. Then luck came
us from the cliffs. I guess if you want
including a nice packhorse which we
upon us, Ian found a great crack with
paua you really do need to get to
put back. To top the day off we also
a dead tree in it. By holding onto a
remote places.
found the knife I had lost the day
branch of the tree at the surface we
Some more horse trading with baby
before and a mask and snorkel. It
could hold our position until we’d
duties that evening and we had a
was like shopping to order, Ian had
caught our breath, and then follow
couple of hours free again the next
recently broken a mask, so this was a
the branches down to the crack that
morning for another dip. This time
great find. www.nzfisher.co.nz 7
LANDBASEDfishing
Crayfish mornay
Darren’s leav e pass
paua
So next time you have had a fishless couple of months
the other end of the shell and pull back towards yourself.
go the extra mile and don’t be put off by a couple of
This should pull the meat completely out of the shell while
hurdles (e.g. a 1200 km road trip, lack of vision and 8 km of
leaving the guts behind. You’ll probably want to remove
swimming). The rewards just might be waiting for you. My
the guts from the shell though. This way you can wash the
wife wasn’t so convinced by the spikey crayfish toy I offered
shell off and give it to your wife as a peace offering for
my daughter, but the crayfish mornay and fried paua slivers
leaving her on the beach (yes they are attracted to shiny
went a long way towards being granted a leave pass for my
objects much like magpies). Remove the teeth from the
next fishing trip.
meat with your thumbs and you are ready to go. If you
Editor’s postscript note: The above article and images are
have a couple of campground pigs handy they should be
entirely fictitious. Darren never actually went diving. If you
eager to clean up the bucket of paua guts at this point.
are single go fishing while you can.
Darren’s leave pass fried paua slivers
Cooking the paua: A sharp knife is essential here. Cut the paua meat into the thinnest slivers possible. This will take a bit of time if you have a few paua, but it’s worth it. Heat a frying pan to a
Ingredients:
medium high heat with a dollop of butter and a splash of
•
Paua (you’ll need about one paua per person
allows you to infuse your seafood with buttery goodness.
for a decent feed)
Fry off a small amount of garlic (paua flavour is delicate, so
•
Olive oil
not too much) and then add the paua slivers. If you have
•
Butter
•
Chopped garlic
olive oil. The oil raises the burning point of the butter, but
a few paua to cook, cook in batches so as not to reduce the heat in the pan too much each time you add a batch. Let the paua cook for about a minute, or until it starts to
Shucking the paua:
curl. There is no need to mince the paua into fritters, but it
For this you need a pair of hands. At the shallow end of the
little bit chewy, but by cutting it thin and cooking it quick
paua shell force your thumb nails between the shell and
it allows you to have a beautiful slightly resistant texture as
the paua meat. Once the meat has lifted pull it back till it
well as retaining the subtle paua flavour. Yum, that has to
has nearly disconnected. At this point grab the meat at
earn you another fishing trip!
8 www.nzfisher.co.nz
is crucial not to overcook the paua. Paua is meant to be a
www.adventuresmart.org.nz
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO The Boating Safety
CODE Before you go boating on our seas, lakes and rivers, get familiar with New Zealand’s Boating Safety Code, no matter what kind of boat you use.
1
Life jackets
5 4
Take them – Wear them.
3
Skipper responsibility
Marine weather New Zealand’s weather can be highly unpredictable. Check the local marine weather forecast before you go and expect both weather and sea state changes.
Boats, especially ones under 6m in length, can sink very quickly. Wearing a life jacket increases your survival time in the water.
2
simple rules
to help you stay safe:
5
Avoid alcohol
The skipper is responsible for the safety of everyone on board and for the safe operation of the boat. Stay within the limits of your vessel and your experience.
Safe boating and alcohol do not mix. Things can change quickly on the water. You need to stay alert and aware.
Communications
The Water Safety
Take two separate waterproof ways of communicating so we can help you if you get into difficulties.
Also available:
CODE
The Outdoor Safety
CODE
For more information about safe boating education and how to prepare for your boating activity, visit www.adventuresmart.org.nz
www.nzfisher.co.nz 9
FishySCIENCE
Snapper x-marks-the-spot
Iki-Jime
t i g n i l i a N
10 www.nzfisher.co.nz
FishySCIENCE
By Derrick Paull WE OFTEN LEAD NZFISHER with articles about how to
the brain. When performed correctly, the fish will be killed
catch fish but we have never dealt with the messiest bit –
immediately and its body will go limp.
killing them. The word Iki (an abbreviation of the Japanese phrase ‘Iki Jime’) is pretty well known to most of us, and
This new website http://www.ikijime.com/www/ has
to those not in the know; it means to kill a fish with a sharp
taken the art of Iki Jime to a new level and now includes
spike to the brain. Knocking fish on the head with one or
horizontal and vertical X-ray images of common (Australian
more sharp blows is the easiest method of humane killing.
and NZ) fish species with the correct Iki spot identified. The
The iki jime process requires more precision, but results in the lowest levels of stress to the fish and improves eating quality.
X-ray image can be overlaid with a colour image to give a very accurate and informative view.
Method: Quickly and firmly insert the spiking tool into the
Have a look and check out some of the more unusual
areas indicated, and wiggle the tool around to destroy
species. Here’s Snapper to get you started. www.nzfisher.co.nz 11
sportFISHING
A contest WON
Leanne Dixon with the winning kingfish (25kg) at the Whitianga Small Boats 2013 Tournament
By Toby Kemp COMPETITIONS are a relatively new concept for me,
some 110 boats attending, it was going to be one of the
sure I have fished in a few over the years, mostly private
biggest contests on the Coromandel. Unfortunately I had
small affairs but recently I have been getting into more
other commitments so I missed the first one but turned up
serious contests for a number of reasons but primarily
supporting the club by downing a few ales and cheering
to support the fishing club in my local region. With many
when my mates won some loot. This showed me another
clubs struggling these days to make ends meet each and
side of contests, the camaraderie between teams and their
every individual makes a difference; much the same as us
fantastic attitude which made me decide...right I’m going
rec fisher supporting Legasea - every cent counts towards
to do this and give it a dam good crack!
protecting our fishery and it’s no different for our local clubs. They need us to fish contests, stand on committees, be hands on game day, turn up to club nights to buy raffle tickets and socialise with fellow fisho.
The first time we entered was buy chance; the weather was atrocious, SE gales for the whole contest so I had cancelled the charters and bought a ticket just to support the club. I was joined by my fishing buddy Leanne and basically we
I’m fortunate enough to be part of the Mercury Bay Game
hid out of the wind and waves and prayed for something
Fishing Club and throughout summer they host a wide
humongous to take a bait, unfortunately a bronzy liked
range of tournaments and I thought it only fitting to at
the bait more than the snapper but we had a great time,
least attend one per year, along with supporting them on
I managed a kingfish at 98cm (1m min) on the soft plastic
club night once a week. The first time MGBFC hosted the
which was my best effort while my mates about 100m away
Trailer Boat tourney John Mort raised a massive 160k in
nailed some primo snapper taking out some insane booty
prizes, which is a fantastic effort for a first time contest,
in the snapper section. On the last day forecast NE 25 -35
this got my attention and many other anglers also with
left us wondering if it would be a up the estuary day but
12 www.nzfisher.co.nz www.nzfisher.co.nz
sportFISHING
some brave soul got on the radio and said it was only 10
boat over and over and over, oh and win the kingfish prize
knots ...that’s all I needed and we bolted up to a new spot
each day and maybe a marlin if the gods were looking
that’s the week before had produced my biggest ever king
down on us! The boat was running sweet, I had good Intel
on a jig so I was hoping they would still be there. We had
where the fish might be and after the compulsory pre
a great trip up there in 3m swells and only about 3 knots
departure good luck ritual we were ready.
of wind, but as per normal as soon as we reached the spot the wind slowly started to build, 15 NE made it lumpy on the 3m rollers. Fortunately we were strait into fish and in no time we had a fish each and one for the lion’s auction. Within the space of thirty minutes it turned into solid 25ne and starting to get rather lumpy, that was all I needed to get the hell out of Dodge and we bolted to shelter. Leanne won the heaviest kingfish on the last day and heaviest overall in the contest which came as a surprise to both of
Live bait was the first order of the day and they were thick. We had 40 odd baits within the hour, brilliant! I was amped; the forecast was fantastic, a slight roll and 10knts of wind. Sanity ate up the conditions and we were heading east at good pace. On arrival I couldn’t believe my eyes, not one single boat where we wanted to fish, how perfect is this working out!!! It was time to get the gears out and see what was lurking below!
us and introduced us to the other side of a well organised
Mark was using the new Avet Raptor in a the JM Ocean
contest...the booty!! One fish won Leanne nearly 4k worth
Devil and Lee had her JM PE3 on the MC Works. It was
of sponsor’s product and that was it, I was going to make
time for a scrooge around the spot to see where the fish
this an annual event. A year passed agonisingly slowly and
were hanging, the fish finder just lit up, I couldn’t believe
finally March came around. It was time to get a little bit
my eyes, massive bait ball with very large kingfish feeding
more serious, we had a title to defend after all and I was
on the bait, my heart jumped and I slammed it into
going to do my best to get a team member on that stage
reverse..”Drop it down 6 colours team!”
to hit pay dirt!
Live baits deployed down to the desired depth and
This year I was joined by two of my trusty fishing buddies,
...BOOM!!! Mark was slammed into the side of the boat,
Leanne was back, naturally, she’s such a fish magnet and
his slight frame was just not expecting the hit and he went
another fishing buddy Mark joined the team. The night
straight down on his elbows, nothing like the power of the
before we hatched a game plan at my pad and as the
kingfish to wake you up! Line was screaming off the reel so
skipper I needed to find out what mark and lee wanted to
I wondered over and put the drag up to sunset...” Jesus
achieve out of this contest. Mark was simple snapper and
you’re an a-hole Kemp”...Mark protested, no way that fish
kingfish, Leanne was simple: A big kingfish to defend her
was going to get to the bottom...” you want a tissue bro...
title and a 20lbe snapper. Not so easy. And me? Well I just
Suck it up, buttercup”. No way was he going to let this fish
wanted to get Mark slammed hard against the side of the
play domination games and in no time had the fish under
www.nzfisher.co.nz 13
sportFISHING
control and steadily coming up. On the other side of the
ear crossed her face. I lined the team up and they sent
boat Lee was also hooked up and set about regaining her
the baits down, lee started telling us a story, she’s a chatty
biggest king title from last year and set to work getting
one at times and I turned to have a swig on my beer,
the fish to the surface, not a monster and released back
after about three seconds I noticed lee wasn’t talking no
to fight another day. Mark was still going great guns and
more...”you hooked up”? I asked without looking at her,
soon had a fish around 18kg at the boat...”u wanna weigh
upon turning my head lee was looking at me, eyes wide
that”?.....”’Kin oats” he nodded...Great to get a good fish
like she had seen a marlin jump over her head, rod pointed
in the bin.
strait down and I could hear the line leaving the reel. I
We swung around and reset the gear...my turn while lee controlled the boat, again Mark was on form and bingo, I was hit hard. Line was really peeling off the PE3,
could see that she was at sunset already...”thumb it girl stop the frikkin thing”..She did and burnt her thumb too, welcome to the club little lady!
“ooooooo crap” I said, thumbs on the spool, burnt fingers
Finally after what was probably thirty seconds but felt like
and finally the fish relented and I made some line back...
five minutes of utter nervousness preying she had done
only momentarily mind and before I could curse the gods
enough to stop the fish reefing her the fish relented and
the fish took off again. Now most kingi hunters know this
lee got to work turning this fish upwards. After a long
feeling and the goal was to keep it out of the rocks. Mark
bruising fight the fish was finally boat side and it was a
had another solid fish around 18kgs and put it back for
beauty, I called it for a solid 27kg, I knew that it was good
tomorrow. I plugged away and soon a solid fish was boat
enough to place lee very close to the top and it was most
side and also went to the bin for weigh in, I knew it was
definitely the biggest kingfish that lee had caught and that
a good one so felt confident we would be in the money.
alone is always a very special achievement for any angler.
We did drop after drop both Mark and I just kept cranking
High fives and whoop whoops, lee had a well deserved
them in and letting them go, forever after a bigger one.
vino while Mark and I carried on hoping for something to
Lee was busy in the cabin fossiking...”Hey Lee wanna do another drop” I asked, “Oh all right” a grin from ear to
14 www.nzfisher.co.nz
come closer to her weight but it wasn’t to be and it didn’t matter, we were a team
sportFISHING
and one team member had kept us in the running. It was
had snapped...gutted I was, never had that before on this
an awesome day with over 35 kings released, and all of us
brand of hook before. Mark in the meantime hooked up
thoroughly buggered. Back at the weigh in which, was at
on a solid fish that was pulling line and drop...”Someone
the wharf, the fish were being auctioned off and all funds
cut us some slack “ I yelled upwards.
were going back to Lions Club so we gladly donated our fish to help the cause. It’s another fantastic way to support
Out with another bait and in no time I was hooked up
the community doing something all fisher folk love doing
again and this time it was skull-drag time, none of this
....Going Fishing!
gently, gently. The fish never pulled off line and soon it
The forecast for the next day was pretty marginal so the plan was to target snapper all day and see if we could get something over 8kg to get in the money for the snapper
was in the net. It wasn’t the winning fish but I was hopeful it would place us for a daily prizes. And that was pretty much it for us and we called the day early hopeful that
section and I knew the exact spot to go to in the SE 30knts,
at we had done enough to be in the money. As a team
the same place my mates placed last year.
we did well in the comp. Leanne won heaviest kingfish
Once we made it out of the bay in the very heavy swell the call was made by the organisers to limit the area due to conditions and it just so happened that where we
day two and heaviest kingfish overall defending her title with her 24.9kg fish and won heaviest game fish by a lady angler. I won second heaviest kingfish overall at 20.8kg
had anchored up was inside the area and we set about
and heaviest snapper (6.93kg) day 3 and second heaviest
targeting a horse snapper. Mark is somewhat of an expert
snapper overall. Mark got pipped by a good buddy of mine
and has won many local comps with beauty snapper so I
for third heaviest kingfish over all by 300g and won a lucky
was just a little bit confident that we could make the grade
draw prize so we did very well and achieved what we had
for the day due to the limitations. We set about getting the
set out to do.
burly flowing and rigging up, the wind against tide made it difficult but not impossible and soon smaller snapper started coming in and going back for another day. We were having some good runs but not sticking up until
As always, prize giving is a very social event and it’s a great opportunity to meet old hands you haven’t seen for a year, meet new people and create new friendships for
finally the Fin Nor started losing line and I knew it was a
the future. There is so much more to contests than just
goodie, big head nods and hopes were high it would stick,
winning, it’s about being part of a bigger picture for your
but no, fish fell off and a little foot stomp and cussing by
local community and I for one will be back next year, I hope
me in frustration made me feel a bunch better. The hook
you will be too! www.nzfisher.co.nz 15
sportFISHING
A brush with Barry the Barra Alan Radcliffe and Scott Macindoe - keeping the Chesters comp on target for 23 years
By Derrick Paull
16 www.nzfisher.co.nz
sportFISHING
FOLLOWING ON FROM DARREN’S FAMILY fishing
I’ve ever fished tropical estuaries and we decided early
adventure to East Cape, it makes some sense to show the
on to forgo the reef in search of some muddy water prey
importance of a good balance between family and fishing.
– especially Barramundi. After a few trips to local fishing
In my case we were headed to North Queensland for my
stores and the local information office we had narrowed it
Sister Karynne’s 40th birthday. Six months in the planning
down to two local charter boats. I rang one and mentioned
and all I could think of was fishing! The up side of the trip
we were an NZ fishing mag and they said outright they
was that I’d get a chance to wet a line with Dad who now
didn’t do discounts for magazines so they couldn’t fit us
resides in the sunnier climes of the Sunshine Coast and we
in. Taken aback (as I hadn’t asked for a discount) I asked
barely get a chance to fish together any more.
if there were any days free regardless of price. Strangely
A family holiday is a great thing; catch up on the news,
they said no and hung up! Not the best start! I made the
reminisce about the good and the bad and generally relax.
same intro to Janice at Out and About Charters and they
But when you’re done relaxing, there’s always some water
happily booked us in for the next day – no question of a
near by to test the local sport fish.
discount, just prompt booking!
Next day at 7am we were at the wharf primed and anxious to get into some of the local fish. Our skipper Steve had pre-caught a swag of live herrings and we were off up the estuary to some local holes in no time. The sedate nature of the estuary is misleading. The sounder was constantly alive with fish (mostly bait) and snags – which included many sunken yachts and cruisers, bought up here by un-ethical owners and left to rot. The first stop was a snag in about 7 meters of water. There’s no burleying, just lob your weighted, live, herring towards the snag and wait for a hit. And you don’t need to wait long! There was a constant stream of Mangrove Jacks and Moses Perch, which despite their small size would destroy a live herring in seconds. The best fish at the fist spot was a 2kg Mangrove Jack, which while being a nice table fish, was no Barramundi! We made some moves and the fishing remained constant, making up for the lack of sizable fish with the sheer number that came aboard. As the day wore www.nzfisher.co.nz 17
sportFISHING
18 www.nzfisher.co.nz
sportFISHING
on it seemed unlikely we would latch onto a Barra and sadly that’s the way it ended – Barra-less but full with a nice haul of very tasty Mangrove Jacks and Brim (not unlike our snapper and similar fighters). With appetite whet we made plans to nab a Barra on the Daintree and sadly that petered put to a nice cruise on a beautiful and croc infested river. Not to be completely out-foxed I found a local stocked Barra pond and made a bee-line on out last day. Hook-a-Barra is a Barramundi fish farm about half an hour north of Port Douglas and offers fishing in their stocked ponds for unlucky, poorly skilled or busy fishos to land a Barra fairly easily. Now under normal circumstances I’d turn my nose up at such lazy fishing, but with the family in tow (particularly three year old Oscar) this was the perfect family fishing adventure! I’d never fished for Barra but as most fisho’s I’d heard of their fantastic fighting ability and the power of their strike. There’s no doubt the strike and first run are very powerful, but its their aerial displays that really take the cake. Barra launch themselves like marlin, fully leaping while undertaking heavy head shakes to dislodge the hook. Of the Nine I hooked any 4 made it to shore - -testament to the great jumps and head shakes. There’s no doubt I will head back to tropical north Queensland, even with family in tow – but next time I’ll be hitting the outer reef (Ohhhh, all those GT’s just waiting to be caught....) and dedicating a few more full days to get up close and personal with the mighty (wild) Barramundi! www.nzfisher.co.nz 19
kayakFISHING
Beware! Kayak fishing is addictive By Shane Kelly
20 www.nzfisher.co.nz www.nzfisher.co.nz
kayakFISHING
HI I’M SHANE AND I’M A KAYAK FISHING ADDICT. It all started for me in 2007 with the words “We’re having a baby”! Awesome; I was so excited and couldn’t wait but then it suddenly hit me: Oh boy this is going to cost! All the while trying to convince myself that my new Stabicraft 589 was an investment and not a toy. It had to go; That’s ok I’ll get a bigger and better one next time. But what to do in the meantime? I’d heard about this fad kayak fishing but it was next to impossible to find any info locally so I tried the net and found Grant at Viking Kayaks in Matamata I must also admit I had no idea where Matamata was. “Must be in Auckland I thought” (sorry) I now know better.
Well it was to me anyway. Never had I experienced fishing like it. I’d found myself in the middle of a huge workup and thought to myself, ‘this is crazy cant they see me’?
Grant was awesome he gave me more time of day than
I’m invisible! Not quite but I realised on the kayak I am
people did when I was looking to buy a boat. So you want
very very stealthy and even though all I was catching were
to fish from a Kayak? What do you target he asked also
Kahawai after Kahawai I was having the time of my life!
querying my height and weight and then said the Profish Predator 440 would be perfect. “Sounds good, how much? Sorry say that again?” Thinking I’d misheard him, a Kayak setup already to go fishing for a little over 2k no way! SOLD! A week later my green/yellow beast arrived and it wasn’t long before I was wheeling it down the road to the Petone foreshore for a little paddle out to Somes Island. After an hour of paddling into the wind and chop I thought
I soon found myself wanting to get on the water whatever the weather and being self employed I’d come up with every excuse from vehicle break downs to various ailments just so I could recapture that feeling. I was hooked (If the pun may be excused). Whatever your reason fishing; for a feed or for a thrill, Kayak fishing offers it all. The hunter gatherer in me is strong so a lot of my outings are focused on putting food
to myself it didn’t look that bad from the beach? I was
on the table Please click here.
buggered. Oops I haven’t thought this through to well
In upcoming issues I’ll be introducing you to my fishing
as she’s a bit a bit different to the boat. This time, I’m
buddies sharing our stories, photos, films and lessons
the motor.
learnt along the way some lessons that may help you avoid
Several hours of cursing and one two three four strokes.
some beginners’ mistakes.
Stop. One two three four. Stop….. you get the idea. I’d
It hasn’t all been smooth yakking so far. But the good times
finally made it back to shore. Needless to say no line saw
are far more memorable! In the next issue I’ll be sharing
the water that day.
some photo’s and film of the final round of the NZ kayak
A few days later, a bit worse for wear and very sore I tried
fishing series I’m currently leading so fingers crossed until
again; this time it was super calm and flat and it was EPIC!
then stay addicted. www.nzfisher.co.nz 21
localFISHING
22 www.nzfisher.co.nz
Fish Your Feet First
localFISHING
Fly Flinging in the inner harbour By Derrick Paull & Matt von Sturmer FOLLOWING ON from the brief introduction to fishing local and in this case, on Saltwater Fly, I’d like to introduce Matt Von Sturmer. Matt’s a thinking man’s fisherman and his techniques for hunting, attaching and then hooking snapper and other target species in places you’d normally not expect to find them. Matt’s techniques for finding and catching fish are simple but very effective.
In winter he heads out to the inner
with just a little bit of pilchard – not
gulf islands, Waiheke, The Noises and
a hearty burley trail. These fish are
Motutapu etc. While the majority of
happy to take scraps on the surface!
us ignore these apparently barren
I first met Matt in the shallows of
This is a cool video of some fishing
coastlines in the colder months, the
the sand banks off Point Chevalier in
on Waiheke Island by the looks –
videos below will give some idea
and there’s snapper taking dry-flies!
of how productive our inner gulf
(Thanks Jeremy Coombes for this
shorelines can be if you’re patient and
video)
Auckland as he flung a saltwater fly to hungry snapper in meter deep water. I’d never heard of anyone catching anymore than sprats up there, but
sue stealth instead of bravado!
And lastly, this is not one of Matt’s,
Matt’s caught his fair share of solid
In this video Matt shows how docile
but they put on a great show with
table fish.
and easy snapper can be to raise
kings just for fun! www.nzfisher.co.nz 23
READERpics
A great early moring fish captured by Barry Williams
Dante Searle with his first kahawai
Haku the terrior meets his namesake Haku the Kingfish - The kingfish was releasedbut Haku pup got to stay dry 24 www.nzfisher.co.nz
A stunning looking 14KG King caught off Sand Spit by Ruben Ryan in his 12 ft tinnie Love Boat
READERpics
Justin Weck with a knarly old snapper
Jake and Connor with their Eel they stalked landed in Browns Bay creek
Ethan Benge with a big fat gurnard from Dinahs beach.
Doug Wilson with a 32lb Snapper taken form the bricks near Fantail Bay. Sady it was gut hooked couldn’t be released.
Donald Seales with a huge Red Cod - not a fish I used to seeing - well done Donald
www.nzfisher.co.nz 25
NZFISHERcompetition
Win a trip on Diversity thanks to Charter Connection & Tackle-It Every subscriber is in the draw NZFisher IS SENDING one lucky angler on the water with Diversity every month and you can be in the draw just be sending us your latest fishing image or posting it here. Every image you post will put you in the draw. Images must include a fish or fishy scene. Please include your name, e-mail address, where the pic is taken and who is in the photo.
26 www.nzfisher.co.nz
www.nrc.govt.nz/upload/2412/Marine%20Pests%20-‐%20Section%206.pdf
www.nzfisher.co.nz 27
gear REVIEWS
Boaties Revive it By Pure Air Alan Radcliffe and Scott Macindoe - keeping the Chesters comp on target for 23 years
By Derrick Paull
FROM NZ FISHER: Check out the video review of Revive it right here This was not a paid review.
28 www.nzfisher.co.nz
prize WINNER
Congratulations Congratulations to the winner of the Okuma Salina II popper combo prize; Sharon Lear, who kindly allowed her land-based fisher husband Karl collect on her behalf.Sharons image was of Karl & their son Oscar with his first snapper. Well done Sharon (and Karl) and thank you to all our readers who submitted their images. All images will feature in NZFisher this month or the next issue. Don’t forget to keep sending in your images to be in the draw for a trip on Diversity every month.
www.nzfisher.co.nz 29
boatFISHING
NZ Fisher TV Alan Radcliffe and Scott Macindoe - keeping the Chesters comp on target for 23 years
By Derrick Paull
AFTER MANY YEARS of watching
Check out the video on You Tube
some amazing amateur fishing videos
here and leave a note in the com-
Daz and I decided we’d get in on the
ments on what you thought. We’ll
game and whip a video up for the
have a place on the next Little Bar-
NZFisher readership. We wanted to
rier trip for the best comment left
get across a few points on ‘how to’
before 31 July – so get watching and
but also just open your eyes to the
let us know what you think!
way we fish and what leads to our reasonable success.
30 www.nzfisher.co.nz
VIDEO
Fishing Video of the Month
THIS IS A PROMO video for Studio Ocean Mark (Possibly the world’s best jigging reels IMHO) – but the fishing looks sublime! And for those who like nothing more than a wee spot of GT fishing in the tropics – drool over this!
www.nzfisher.co.nz 31
HOOKED UP!
CO
HOOKEDUP!
U
LD
IT
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 email us before the deadline to claim your prize. Sweet as!!!
B
E
YO
U
?
Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner Jock Brown from Opotiki
Allan Preece from Pukekohe You’ve won this month’s awesome Hooked Up prize pack including: •
Your choice of mens or womens ReelWear T courtesy of Reel Adventures
•
A $50 voucher to spend online or instore from GoFish.co.nz
•
A super tough 3-tray tackle box from Flambeau (contents not included)
•
Plus two 500ml bottles of Tackle-It Odour Eliminator from PureAir to keep those fishy smells at bay!
To claim your prize you simply need to email jenniferl@espiremedia.com before 5pm Friday 5 July 2013 . Easy!
*To be eligible to win stuff in the Hooked Up section you need to be a confirmed email subscriber to NZ Fisher e-Magazine and be a resident of New Zealand at the time of the draw. A big thanks to our Hooked Up sponsors! Please support them!
32 www.nzfisher.co.nz
f sher
NEXTmonth
In next months issue: - - -
North Cape in the Baby Stabi Blood & Guts – the heart of winter trophy snapper fishing The original Snapper Harvesters
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 month!
www.nzfisher.co.nz 33