NZ Fisher Issue 45

ISSUE 45

March 2015

Marlin MARLIN Kingfish from

the Rocks II

www.nzfisher.co.nz

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Contents ABOUT / Short and sharp, NZ Fisher is a free e-magazine delivering thought provoking and enlightening articles, and industry news and information to forward-thinking fisher people.

EDITOR / Derrick Paull GROUP EDITOR / Richard Liew ART DIRECTOR / Jodi Olsson CONTENT ENQUIRIES /

5.. Editorial 8..

Question A: Marlin, Marlin

Phone Derrick on 021 629 327 or email derrickp@NZ Fisher.co.nz ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES / Phone Jennifer on 09 522 7257 or email jenniferl@espiremedia.com

14.. She’s thick with trout in

Mangatainoka, bro. Yeah Right!

16.. Legasea Update March 2015 18.. Kingfish Off the Rocks VI

ADDRESS / NZ Fisher, C/- Espire Media, PO Box 137162, Parnell, Auckland 1151, NZ WEBSITE / www.NZFisher.co.nz This is a GREEN MAG, created and distributed without the use of paper so it's environmentally friendly. Please think before you print. Thank you!

22.. Reader Pics 24.. Video of the Month 25.. Competition Cover Image: Cam’s new PB - 68cm of deepwater snapper

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Editorial

OVER THE LAST FEW years we’ve been fed some pretty hard facts to swallow. We’ve been told we catch too many snapper in the Hauraki Gulf. We must accept that commercial fishers can take smaller crayfish than us in half our fisheries, but now it’s ‘leakage’ when a commercial boat sends hundreds of small (they weren’t undersize because the commercial sector doesn’t have a size limit) gurnard back to the sea after a trawl.

I gotta tell you, I’m bloody upset by this.

We in the recreational fishing sector work hard to improve our practices and return unwanted fish safely and quickly to the water. We use new, safer techniques to land our fish, and we spend time teaching,

guiding and educating new comers to the sport. On the one hand, I say to myself, “Why do I bother” but on the other, it’s an easy answer – because I care for the health and longevity of our fishery.

A week after seeing Kerren Packers video of the ‘leaked’ (I believe it was dumped, but let’s play along) gurnard, ultra small through to large ones began turning up in fish shops. It’s like the commercial guys got the word, ‘Quit dumping your midgets’ and they started landing them.

Again Facebook was alive with disgust as images of these baby gurnard were posted from across the city. I was interviewed

by TV3 (It hasn’t aired yet) about how I feltseeing these fish for sale, and it got

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me thinking, ‘what value do we put on our inshore fishery?’ There’s always talk about the worth of our fish to the world, but these very small gurnard weren’t being sent overseas – there is no economic value gained by killing them. These fish were sold, on the cheap ($1.99 per kilo, retail including GST) to New Zealanders.

four times, over three weekends before they finally sent someone down to have a look. And when they did, they took the offenders details, issues no formal warning and let them go without a fine but in possession of their net.

There was no magic international dollar coming into New Zealand to justify their death. Just 30 cents a kilo in GST collected from within our borders. Where is the sense in this transaction? The exchange of a few dollars, of which the trawler would have earned nothing I suspect, for the death of the future of a fishery. A group of recreational fishers have asked for the head of MPI (Fisheries), Mr. Dave Turner, over this action.

Just like the limp wristed results we see on Coastwatch, these guys got their fish (illegally caught), their net, and no fine for openly abusing the rules. I’m at a loss to understand why we should other following the rules at all. Do others feel this way?

Do you all obey the rules because, like me, you care and believe you’re making a difference? Or am I fooling myself and the majority know there’s no chance of getting caught, so they take what they want, regardless of the greater good? Somehow I don’t believe this to be the case.

The MPI team quickly came out and stated this was a case of ‘Leakage’ not dumping; something the boat in question has (we’re led to believe) done ten times in the last two years. As a conscientious fisher, if I accidentally kill a fish - a single fish - I change what I’m doing there and then and make sure it doesn’t happen again. In the case of this vessel accused of dumping, MPI made a decision on the cause of the leaked/dumped fish within a couple of days. I’d suggest they probably simply asked the skipper and accepted his word without a skerrick of investigation

Our inshore fisheries are being fished very hard. There’s little intent by Government to restrain the commercial fleet, and the commercial guys see little value in sharing the bounty with the recreational sector. In the snapper one submission put forward by Seafood New Zealand in 2014; they referred to the recreational sector as “…high value consumption of imported components…”, Which roughly translated, means they see our enjoyment of our pastime as the wasteful use of our imported fishing gear while taking fish from the sea for no ‘profit’.

In an unrelated case, I recently reported an illegally set net in a neighbourhood bay near where I live. The net was unnamed, staked and left dry above the receding tide. There’s a swag of offences right there. I rang MPI’s 0800-4POACHER line

It seems clear to me that every decision made by New Zealand Fisheries is one that provides a greater return for the shareholders of the fishing companies that fish our waters. They’re not in the game to share – ‘shared fishery’ is a misnomer.

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I learned during my time on the Recreational Fishing Council that it was a race for fish, possibly even the last fish.

But I believed a little in the fact that these fishers would be cutting their throats if they over taxed the fishery.

The problem with my thinking is that the guys out there catching the fish don’t own the quota, they just do what they’re told.

If they’re told not to land any gurnard, but they pull up a net full of them, what do they do? They ‘leak’ them. In layman’s terms, they dump the lot, tonnes of them. This practice has been witnessed time and time again by fishers but almost invariably MPI can’t (or wont) find the offending vessel.

Snapper, our main target species, has been fished down to under 20% of its virgin biomass on the upper North Island and below 10% on the west coast.

Why do we still allow the horrendously damaging method of trawling to occur in our inshore waters?

We had a world leading fisheries management system in 1986 when the Quota Management System was introduced, but the core value of that legislation envisaged the original quota owners would be fishing their quotas.

It did not envisage that they would be selling them for significant profits to quota

accumulating oligarchs who focus on the inflowing dollars alone, with no thought to the destruction their poorly paid workers on the oceans coalface inflict upon our struggling waters.

OK, so I’m getting a bit romantic in my ranting’s, but it hurts. I’m genuinely cut up seeing the abuse of our oceans at the hands of blind corporations and their actions brushed under the mat by ineffective managers. New Zealand, this resource is ours, the peoples, not the property of faceless corporations. Don’t forget, our Primary Industries (Fisheries) is charged with the protection of the resource. Let your voices be heard, don’t settle for ‘it was leakage’ when you know damn well it was dumped. Don’t stand for baby gurnard turning up in fish shops for $1.99 a kilo.

The Minister of Primary Industries (Fisheries), Nathan Guy can be reached at n.guy@ministers.govt.nz – please let him know how you feel about his Ministries inaction over these recent and historical offenses. Please cc’ me too at derrickp@nzfisher.co.nz if you do send him some words (But keep it clean please!)

Tight lines NZ Fisho’s!

Derrick

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SPORTSFISHING

What do you get when you hang a large kahawai over the side of the boat at the Mokohinau Islands when hunting Kingfish?

Marlin MARLIN

Words by Derrick Paull & Ian Biddick Images by Tony Orton & Derrick Paull

AS I SAID IN the last issue, I fished the

sure; we landed great fish on both days,

Beach & Boat out of Marsden Cove with

nothing to write home about, but plenty

the Honda Team. I was paired with Honda’s

to keep us interested.

Auckland sales rep Cam and client, Alastair

The event itself was great. With 2500

– also an old mate of mine.

fisho’s trying to get their boats in and out

I’d like to tell you that this story is all about how Al, Cam and I managed to nail some monster fish, claimed the title and ranked ourselves silly revelling in the afterglow. But it isn’t.

Nope. The B&B went well for us for

each day, mayhem was expected. But the organisers did a great job; from organising the local Fire Brigade and Coast Guard to managing the ramp, to having the weighed-in fish iced down, packed and protest before being distributed within the local community.

Orca in the anchor 8 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Alastair with one of the better rats.

As part of the Honda Team, I was treated to

Ian Biddick, Honda GM was on the rod and

a caravan within the VIP zone, meaning we

managed to land the fish in about 90 minutes

were essentially on site the whole weekend,

on gear normally used for kingfish.

at least while we weren’t fishing that is.

This was Ian’s first marlin. While he’d been

On day one we found really good numbers

offered plenty of chances to chase them

of snapper and rat kings around the uber

previously, he’d always turned them down,

popular Coppermine at the Chicks, as in

focussing on inshore fish and kings. So

the Hen and Chicken Islands 10 miles out

landing this fish was quite a surprise and

from Whangarei Heads. The fish weren’t

while well received, not the lifelong ambition

concerned about the bright sun and

many fishers have.

extremely clear water and weren’t even put off hitting baits mid water when we were being buzzed by Orca.

Including this one that spent a minute or so rubbing itself up and down the anchor rope, including wrapping the rope around its tail and rubbing. We were a bit concerned at first, but it swam away and came back again and

So, when his line took off again the following day in 35 metres, just metres from where he hooked the Stripey the day before, you can imagine the shock when an estimated 300kg black marlin broke the surface, shook its head and bedded down in an effort to beat Ian at his new found sport.

again. It was a very cool experience, albeit a

Edan recounted the story back to me

little freaky!

later and praised the work of Tony Orton

We headed in and found out that the others in the Honda crew had fared similarly. Except the crew of Ian Biddick, Edan Craig and Graham Keogh, who’d headed out with Tony Orton of Offshore Adventures in search of big

on the helm, often getting the Offshore Adventures boat up on the plane hunting the fish. Eden estimated they never had more than a 100 metres off the reel as Tony kept Ian in touch continuously.

Mokohinau’s kings and had found themselves

You can see the highlights of Ian’s weekend.

connected to a striped marlin mid-morning.

Day one is here and day two, here.

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Here’s Ian’s recollection of the weekend and the fight of his life – 45 minutes of adrenaline one day followed by 75 minutes of ‘Why me?’ the next:

The back story: This adventure started in December 2104 when my team and I were discussing how we could best gain as much attention as possible for Honda Marine at the Beach and Boat. Honda Marine, of course, is one of the sponsors of the Beach and Boat. And, of course, the answer came in a flash, why don’t we just try and win it in a Honda powered boat, easily said, much harder to achieve!

we need to up-size our baits. The boil-ups were everywhere, and we hooked a couple of nice kahawai which were deployed in short order. We had spotted what we thought was a marlin feeding in the area, so Tony rigged one of his Shimano Talica 50’s onto a game rod, and the trolling continued. I had asked him specifically about the size of the bait and if a kingfish would take a three kg kahawai.

He assured me it would, and my excitement continued to grow.

When my rod went off I thought, it was the kingfish of my dreams but then everyone started getting real excited by the way

We were so confident we decided to take a dedicated camera man with us for both days of fishing, ‘just in-case’. We needed someone who knew their way around the area; enter Tony Orton of Offshore Adventures. Tony specialises in fishing the Mokohinau’s (Mokes). We talked to Tony about our goal and hired the boat for the two days of the B&B. Based on our needs, Tony formed a plan (Actually 1 through to 25 - as one does), so off we went cruising out of Marsden Cove on Friday morning

the rod was loading and behaving. The

Friday - Day One:

with yours truly responding to Tony’s

Our plan was to head out to the Mokes early and first off go for the 5XL kingfish, and then fish for snapper once we achieved that goal, loaded with lives kindly caught by our skipper the day before, off we went with our hopes, and expectations high. A quick trip out to Mokes due to Tony’s beautifully set up Extreme with twin Honda BF200’s on the back, saw us setting baits in no time. We proceeded to fish small live baits and caught a couple of nice kingfish, nothing that would win the B&B, however, when Tony suggested

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next minute I’m into a 160kg (estimated) striped marlin. To say I was stunned would be an understatement! I had never caught a marlin up to this time and could never understand the enthusiasm that fisherman have for trolling around our waters for hours on end attempting to catch one. I got that misunderstanding sorted in the first 5 minutes; I can tell you!

What followed was 40 minutes of pure excitement as we chased down the marlin instructions on what he wanted from me.

Some awesome footage of the fish was captured on camera and high fives all around - yahoo my first marlin, an unintended catch!

For us, everything else on the day seemed to pale into insignificance even though we still weighed in a kingi on the day that managed 5th heaviest. What a day! Back at the venue, and after a beer or three we all started joking about ‘wouldn’t it be a hoot if we did it again on the Saturday’. The irony of that chatter still stays with me today.

Tag in GP

Saturday - Day Two: We agreed to run the same plan for day two (not the marlin part), despite the fact that one of our number, friend and excellent fisherman Edan Craig slept in. So, instead of a 5am start we finally sailed around 6:15am.

You can imagine the grief that Edan copped on the way out.

We had seen the quality of the snapper catch on Fridays weigh in and realised very quickly that to win the snapper section would need a very special fish so we decided again to focus on kingfish; and for the big kingfish, big bait. There is nothing I like more than catching fish on light

tackle so I’m right in my element catching kahawai, and soon a fat kahawai was set up for trolling and off we went. I was again under instructions from Tony about how to handle the reel as there was just sufficient drag set to tow the kahawai.

My instructions were to slow the reel with my fingers if it was a kingi to allow the fish time to swallow the bait or to hit the strike right off if it was a marlin. I would have saved some skin off my finger and thumb If I had known how prophetic those words would turn out to be. There was another strike and not believing that it would be another marlin (two marlin in two days – impossible, right?); I kept my fingers to the

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spool as instructed. We soon realised it was indeed another marlin and the drag got set to strike in short order. Having caught a marlin the day before I had some idea of what was ahead of me and as such was totally engaged with the catch, rather than being somewhat stunned.

Around 90 minutes later an estimated 300kg black marlin was beside the boat, tagged and released, And finally a rather tired Ian Biddick was able to take a break.

I’m ‘running’ fit, and this allowed me to

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stay with the fish and not tire overly, but I must admit to being a little sore the next day. What a workout!

What a beast! What excitement!?!?!

The adrenaline rush! I now know why fisherman target marlin, there is nothing as exhilarating as catching a big fish like this - two in two days is simply awesome! We didn’t win the contest, but we did get what we set out to do, and that is capture some awesome footage of the some great fish, something to cherish and remember forever.

Released to swim again, there were plenty in the bin already

Schools of solid trevs spent the day frustrating us and busting up spasmodically

Teamwork: I had never considered the role others on the boat would play in successfully catching a big fish like this. It is as much about the skipper and others who assist on board, as it is about the angler. I would like to thank Tony Orton ‘Offshore Adventures’; Edan Craig, fishing friend; Honda Marine; and all of my team for bringing a successful B&B together. Finally, thank you to all of the well-wishers who congratulated me, for making this catch possible

Fishing from here on: One of the joys of fishing for me is not always wrapped up in catching the biggest fish, nice to do as that may be. I take my fishing pleasure from catching fish on light tackle. A three kg snapper or a 13kg kingi brings as much reward in their own way as catching the marlin at the B&B and sharing the experience with like-minded friends.

Catch and release – awesome. Taking only what you need for a feed - awesome. Look forward to seeing you on the water at some time. Come and say hi, I will be in the blue 1850 Stabicraft with a (you guessed it) Honda BF135 on the back. ■

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FLYFISHING

She’s thick withtroutin

Mangatainoka, bro.

Yeah Right!

Sticking with dry flies in the face of evidence they’re not working can be one of the most frustrating and then rewarding processes of trout fishing.

IN DECEMBER, I FISHED a very remote stream in the back blocks of Pahiatua. It was a stunning piece of countryside found by travelling through the hills and valleys away from Mangatainoka and east towards the sea. The hills here are walked by sheep and hardy farmers; there are few cows, and their absence leads to clearer water, better stream definitions and consequently more attractive waters teeming with solid trout.

My guide on this trip, regional Fish and Game Ranger Hamish Carnachan, has good relationships with local farmers and arranged access to a seldom fished piece of water well off the beaten track. The water was crisp and clear, still a little milky after a few days heavy rain and flowing fast over a loose shingle base.

Hamish was confident of fish on a dry fly, something I hadn’t yet managed, as the brown beetles were out, and the trout

14 www.nzfisher.co.nz

were happy supping them off the surface

fly flinger like me, this concept is like

throughout the day. We arrived with a

stripping to a pair of speedos at the beach.

couple of hours of sunlight left and, after

I’m not one to run form a challenge, but

enjoying a quick beer to get the joints

rather than a challenge, this is apparently

limbered, we headed downstream to fish our

the way real fly fishers fish down here.

way back to the car.

The first thing I noticed was how much

As an Aucklander, I’m seldom exposed

easier it was to cast a single dry fly. And

to these sorts of streams. The Waikato

secondly, very shortly after, I had my

streams usually protect me with their

first take for the day. It was all captured

elevated silt levels, so I don’t spook fish

on Hamish’s Go-pro mounted aboard his

easily. Sadly, these fish and waters were

quad-rotor drone – you can watch it here.

not so forgiving and I saw fish swim away

The fish ran me hard downstream, leaping

before I had a chance to flick at them. It

energetically and putting my under the

seemed pretty much guaranteed since I

pump. Hamish’s Sage 5 weight did the trick,

forgot to bring a jacket and was fishing in

keeping me on my toes and securing a new

a bright white tee shirt, but Hamish was

PB Rainbow or around three to four pounds.

kind enough to lend me a camo jacket

It wasn’t until I lost the nymph that this fish

that helped disguise me a bit.

became interested in my offering. Not only

I had been flicking a nymph under a Royal

was it a dry, but specifically a tiny winged

Wolf, which was serving as an indicator

model to imitate the vine hoppers we could

when Hamish suggested I was probably

see buzzing around.

doing more harm than good with the

Thanks Hamish for the great afternoon on

nymph. He recommended I stick to a dry

the water – I learned more in those two

only, working on presenting the fly rather

hours than almost all my previous weeks

than blind casting. OK, to a pretty amateur

on the water. ■

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FISHERIESMANAGEMENT

LegaSea

Update March 2015 www.legasea.co.nz

SEVERAL TRAWLER MEN have revealed

Dave Turner, Director Fisheries

that dumping happens on every trawl.

Management, described the incident as

One skipper estimates 10 to 15 bins of

‘accidental loss’. He confirmed the skipper

undersized fish were thrown back dead

had filled out the necessary forms, not just

after every trawl. By law, the crew is

for this incident, but for nine other events

required to discard undersized fish, but

over the past three years. This settled the

they say that in practice, damaged or

matter for the Ministry.

unmarketable fish are dumped as well.

The trawler men have said that most of this wastage goes unseen because it happens

How can this be acceptable?

over the horizon or after dark and that during

The very existence of ‘accidental loss’

daylight skippers have been known to take

paperwork signals the prevalence of dumping

evasive action and stop dumping fish when

and the Ministry’s sanction as long as all legal

recreational fishers start filming their actions.

sized fish are counted against the quota.

In February experienced fisherman, Kerren

It’s not good enough. Better at-sea

Packer found a trail of dead gurnard floating

information is required.

off the Manukau Harbour, on the northwest

In 2013, the Minister required increased

coast. He was so concerned about the

coverage on inshore trawlers by observers

wastage he used his cell phone to video the

and cameras. For almost a year commercial

scene. This footage went viral on the internet

fishers on the northeast coast have been self-

and created a media work-up.

reporting the weight of undersized snapper

The response from the Ministry for Primary

discards from every trawl. As yet, no results

Industries was underwhelming:

have been released.

16 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Our fisheries are a national and natural

Innovative solutions

resource, there for us to enjoy and protect for

LegaSea has developed policy to address

future generations. We cannot nurture this

trawl damage and fish dumping issues.

resource if trawl nets are being dragged, for

Ban trawling within 100m depth contour

hours, across the seafloor every day.

and rebuild inshore ecosystems.

Trawling within 100m depth has the

www.legasea.co.nz/faqs-management.php

inevitable consequence of catching small fish,

Protecting inshore benthic (seabed)

and unwanted species. The evidence suggests

communities and habitats from damaging

that unmarketable or uneconomic fish can

bottom contact fishing methods is a priority as

be slipped over the gunnels without even the

this is where snapper fry and other small fish

slightest of blinks.

live, grow and hide from larger predators. â–

LegaSea is the public face of the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council. The Council has an experienced fisheries management, science, policy and legal team. On behalf of the Council LegaSea provides public-friendly information about a variety of processes that are important to the sustainable management of fisheries for future generations.

Call 0800 LEGASEA (534 273)

Subscribe at www.legasea.co.nz

Email us info@legasea.co.nz

Read more at www.facebook.com/legasea

www.nzfisher.co.nz 17

BENISLAND.CO.NZ

Kingfish Off the Rocks VI As my friend Sinclair put it some time ago, “there is quite a bit to (rock) fishing�.

Not much happening, waitin g for

a kahawai

THE PLAN FOR YESTERDAY was to target and

tide, this is the best time to target them off

arrest kingfish. Everything went according to

the rocks.

plan, and we experienced spectacular rock

Almost an hour after the burley was in the

fishing action.

water, and there was still no sign of kahawai.

Conditions & Timing Sunday,

Sinclair and I were fishing our bait-rods and watching the water. The better you are in

01.02.2015, Great Barrier Island, calm sea,

catching the right bait fish, the greater your

cloudy, variable tail wind and very warm.

chances of landing a kingfish.

Choosing the right time might not seem

I was very happy and surprised when a

that straight forward but with low tide at

kahawai was at the end of my line. I caught

12.30pm, I felt confident that there was

it quite far out, right after the bait hit the

no need to get up early. We had the Burley

surface. It was about 35cm long and went out

deployed and the first bait in the water at

quickly and without any fuss under a balloon.

10.20am, the first kingi sighting was at dead low tide, we packed in around 1.30pm.

I cannot explain why, but kingfish love low

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Sinclair landed a similar-sized kahawai moments later and by 11.30am we had both, one of the best live baits swimming around

the ledge. We held them in close, from two to 10 metres from the rocks.

Meanwhile, we switched to our respective snapper gear and started landing 30cm plus snapper. Nothing exciting. The fishing remained slow, and there was no other kahawai in sight, bar a big one who managed to get away.

The action started a few minutes before dead low tide. I saw a kingfish come up from the deep and have a good look at Sinclair’s kahawai. Next thing, I’m pointing at the location of the kingi, Sinclair holding his live bait rod, and we observe how the kahawai swims quickly to shore. I tell you if it had legs, it would have hopped onto the rocks and ran away. One scared kahawai.

The kingi was out of sight now; I was holding onto my rod. Surely, it’ll come back for mine. A couple minutes later, another, but less spectacular sighting.

The kingi was not interested in my kahawai nor Sinclair’s. Well, his fish was hugging the kelp on the rocks. I decided to give the popper a go and cast it out far, even saw the kingi on one of the retrieves. But his majesty was not impressed.

Hmmm, what to do? I was thinking. The answer was right in front of us. During all this commotion, we noticed three to four kahawai swimming really fast and picking up bits of the Burley. As I said in the beginning, there is quite a bit to fishing…

I knew we would get a hook up if only we could replace our scared kahawai with

Ben’s 23lb King - thanks to a missing, live kahawai

fresh ones. They were more agile and eager, swimming confidently in the presence of a kingfish, feeding away on the Burley.

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BENISLAND.CO.NZ

20 something pound kingfish. Look at Rani….

To cut long, frustrating minutes short, the trick to catching them was to use squid tentacles. Those kahawai were picking up bits as they came off the Burley, so the right bait size also had to be small. If I hadn’t landed one on the tentacle, I would have put a piece of burley on the hook.

It worked. Within a minute, the kahawai

So here goes, I put a fresh kahawai under the balloon, it rockets away from the rocks, and within five seconds two kingi shoot up attacking. Right next to me. I was so sure of the hook-up. However, my kahawai managed to escape at least three solid attacks by two fish – competing for lunch – and then managed to swim back to the sea weed line.

From then on, it did not swim even half a metre out, I tell you if it had legs…

unsuccessful goes at it, and then, finally, the

I tried to get the bait further out, even threw it gently by hand a couple meters out, but it just swam back to the surface and back to my feet. For my last attempt, I took the kahawai out of the water and walked five meters to my left and released it back into a different patch of water, a small gutter. My rationale was that it might now swim out a bit further, and hopefully the wind could then catch on the balloon and take the fish away from the rocks.

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was about six metres out, and the yellow tail surfaced. The kahawai panicked, nowhere to hide; it went left, right, up, down, but in circles. I was on the highest rock around, knees bent, and just waited for it. It took about one minute, the kingi had so many balloon went under.

The Hook-up I increased the drag to a third, waited for the slack to disappear and the rod tip to bend. Then I struck and increased the drag to fighting mode. The kingi had no chance; it was well hooked and only about eight metres out. It gained nothing on me; it changed sides, I didn’t give it an inch, it turned directions and finally managed to go for a strong run. Maybe a few meters until it changed direction again, I had the fish well under control, rod aiming high, solid drag.

It was a keeper, about one metre long, fat, angry, green kingi. Well, scared, too. Sinclair had a couple half-hearted attempts at gaffing the fish, and we finally landed the fish on the leader.

Kingi Steak

Sinclair still had a kahawai out there. I cleaned the kingi and secured by rope, put it back into the water to keep fresh. About 20 minutes later, we were having a chat, and I noticed how the water around his balloon rose. I shouted, “There’s another kingi” and

wouldn’t have been able to stop that fish.

We saw a school of mullet swim by and the shark another handful of times up close but all too quick to get a shot. On this occasion, everything went according to plan. Having a good live bait out and seeing a kingfish

thought, ‘that was heaps of water, like a

does NOT equal hook-up, I’ve seen this

wave, but there were no waves’. It was odd.

plenty of times. I worked hard for this fish,

Even odder, Sinclair’s kahawai seemed now

constantly making decisions, presenting

dead, just floating in about a meter of water.

a fresh, motivated bait suitably and then

I walked up high onto the rocks and saw this

staying calm enough to not rush things.

massive bronze whaler come back toward the kahawai. Biggest shark I have seen.

I saw Sinclair today; he asked something I’ve been pondering about for a while: “So

It had another good look at the half-dead

Ben, what happened to the kahawai the

kahawai, and I really thought Sinclair would

kingi took?” “I don’t know buddy; it just

be soon in 500 plus kg of fish. In retrospect,

disappeared. They always do. I have never

he was fortunate not to get the hook-up, he

gutted a kingi and seen a kahawai inside.” ■

This article is reproduced with permission of Ben Assado. Check out Ben’s website www.benisland.co.nz for more fishing stories and a great read about island life

www.nzfisher.co.nz 21

READERPICS

Ed Stubinitsky’s Tuna and Mahimahi caught off the West Coast

Winner!

Reader

Pics

Aaron Mcdonalds boat mate, Brendan, with a horse Geoff Marmont, Marlin and family the Garden Patch in January.

of awww.nzfisher.co.nz Gemfish from 22

Geoff ‘Y Knot’ Marmont and his Stripy landed on his boat YKnot

Ray Ransom With one of two puka he landed off Great Barrier aboard Highlander

Geoff Marmont Marlin with a West Coast Stripy landed in March Sea Ox with a serious (38kg) Barrier Puka aboard Highlander

Ray Ransoms second (32kg) Barrier Puka

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SaltFlyLifestyles JP Samualsen.

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