The Fishing Paper & Hunting News – Feb 2018

THE

FISHING FREE

February 2018 Issue 149

Crimpy’s African Safaris – Story page 20

PAPER

&

HUNTING NEWS

BADASS KINGS ON GLASS

 F ishing mussel farms

Story page 2

 H elion XQ38F review  T ough salmon

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2

THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - FEBRUARY 2018

MARINE ELECTRONICS With Sean Ryan sean@fluidelectronics.co.nz

Fine tuning your toy We are anticipating the return of the good snapper after the spawn so it’s a great time to check over your sounder and tweak the settings where needed.

After the summer season and fingers pressing lots of buttons, make sure your sounder is matched correctly to your transducer in the installation menu. Modern units will identify the transducers they are paired with automatically, if the transducer is also of the same vintage. If this has happened then you will not be able to change the selection unless you physically change the transducer.

but can give great results.

Using the shift function, shift the screen down to the part of the water column that is of interest to you. If you don’t have this, split the screen with bottom lock (BL) and increase the BL range until you have the desired water column on the screen.

Adjust clutter/noise limiter until there is a light scattering of the weakest levels of signal on the bottom.

Older units that require manual selection to 1kW transducers, there are often two options, 5K and 10K. Quick hint: the correct one will have the right temperature displayed, the other will be significantly out!

Increase or decrease your TVG (Time Varied Gain or Deep Gain) to get the best possible image of your target fish at your target depth. I will elaborate more on TVG in a future article.

Firstly, turn off the clutter/noise limiter, then select the frequency you want – 50 or 200kHz. With Chirp transducers you can select Hi or Low Chirp or be adventurous and select an individual frequency on the higher end units. This consumes more time

Whilst the above is a general guide — some old salt dogs will do things a bit differently and do it very well — we recommend the uninitiated follow this sequence to maximize the sounder’s performance and its ability to help you land the big one you are chasing. Once you are confident making changes, you will be able to individualise your technique to suit.

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Ben with a ‘badass’ Golden Bay kingi

Colours are a personal thing but again you can increase or decrease the intensity, which has the effect of highlighting or hiding certain features.

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Gain is the primary adjustment for the sounder’s sensitivity. Move the gain both up and down to achieve the best picture that the conditions allow. Some days you need to add a little, others, take it down a notch or two.

Once the correct selection has been made, the sounder module applies the correct power to your transducer, maximizing its performance (bearing in mind a 600W sounder can only apply 600W to a 1kW transducer). To get the most out of the transducers 1kW and over, you need a sounder unit of the same power.

Once out to your fishing hot spots, switch to manual. Remember depth, sea conditions, and the fish you are targeting change from day to day, so must you. The following is most applicable in deeper water:

Back to the future Golden Bay style

3D Fishing Directional casting 3D Structure Mapping Live Bathymetric 10 hour battery operation

After a blistering run the fish finally started to slow down and I was able to see a way I could beat this kingi. The fight was phenomenal. The first run was well over 150 metres and it didn’t look like slowing down but, thankfully after a few very violent head shakes, it started to turn. After a few more seconds, I was finally able to gain some line, my heart was racing.

I had pulled out my 8ft, 8 weight Echo Bad Ass Glass Fly Rod and decided to risk possibly breaking or blowing it up. Glass fly rods are a thing of the past but recently they have become popular again, as the fights are very different from modern fly rods; they would be best described as a noodle. I found when fighting the kingfish, it would come in a lot quicker than modern stiffer fly rods.

The reason for this is, the harder you pull on a kingfish the harder it will pull back. With a glass fly rod it’s a lot softer and the fish doesn’t feel the same resistance as with stiffer gear, so

it comes in a lot smoother and quicker.

Finally the fish was coming towards me and I started to settle down and believed I was actually going to land it. After gaining 50 metres of line, it turned and raced away again and took all the line I had just gained. What an epic battle it was turning out to be. After a few more short runs and about 10 minutes later, I was able to grab its tail and the battle was over. To say I was excited would be a major understatement. The fish was quickly released to live another day and grow a lot bigger. I’m hoping to catch up with him next year.

Catching kingfish on a glass fly rod would have to be one of the most exciting things I have ever done and I can’t wait to do it all over again. The whole sequence of casting, stripping, hook set, and finally landing the fish will forever be etched in my mind, it was so much fun. Thankfully, the next trip to the salt flats of Collingwood is not far away so watch this space.

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Issue 149 3

Weapon of mass attraction Fizz’s Gary Fissenden

Fizz found this beauty stalking the shallows of Okiwi Bay

and burley. My mate Rod Holder was working it when it fairly bent over and the reel gave voice to that beautiful high pitched squeal – FISH ON! Grabbing the rod, I felt weight and, as they fish started swimming in an arc, called it a kahawai, so I yelled for the other rods to come in. Then the bugger started nodding

When I cast my mind back to days in Marlborough as a kid, we used to do a lot of fishing in the Sounds with Mum and Dad but it was all off the shore. Dad had a boat but wasn’t too keen on messing it up with stinky bait so we’d camp on a remote beach and my brother and I would fish off the shore with boat rods.

We’d catch plenty of big

cod and snapper in quite shallow water, so it got me to thinking recently.

Kellie and I were fishing from Okiwi Bay with our good friends the Smithys and had managed to snag a few really good cod from out front, when I thought about mixing it up a bit and giving the cod a rest. We went in real shallow, anchored up and fished over the sand.

I’d read in The Fishing Paper & Hunting News about this new salmon burley and figured I could do with a weapon of mass attraction, so I squirrelled a bomb or two off Monty at Okiwi Bay Campground.

With the burley trail pumping out the back into 6m of water, Kellie was soon into fish: a 42cm cod followed by a 47cm one.

like a snapper so we ran a sweepstake on what it could be. With 6kg line I was playing it gently. Then colour.

Then shouts all round. A bloody big JD was nursed up from the shallows.

We went on to catch gurnard and a snapper, allowing me to give the big tick and my endorsement to the weapon of mass attraction – salmon burley.

There are lots of big cod about now, maybe due to a combination off the cod rules and the scalloping ban when people would get the scallops and then catch their cod limit. The cod rules have been good because they have taught us to target other fish like gurnard.

I had a large Nuclear Chicken out the back waggling away in the current

Beauty and the beast! Gurnard poses with Kellie in rare paparazzi moment

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THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - FEBRUARY 2018

4

King for a New Year’s day Scott Campbell

At least once a year I take the ferry from Wellington and travel down to Cissy Bay with my two girls to see their gran and get some fishing in.

I got the girls interested in fishing at a young age and now they both love a day’s fishing to the extent that the older one, who is 21, wanted a fishing rod for her Christmas (and got one)!

I don’t own a boat so we normally shore fish or if the big man himself (Crimpy) is around we sometimes get out on his boat; a real treat!

This year we managed to get out on the boat more than once and got into some nice gurnard, cod, a snapper (caught by no other than Daniel Crimp) and the usual plethora of sharks.

I have learned the hard way that there is no beating good gear when fishing, so I was rigged up with a Black Magic Gurnard Grabber and doing well, but imagine my surprise then when my reel started screaming and the rod doubled over. I was onto something much bigger than a gurnard! Once we managed to untangle other lines and the berley rope that the beast tangled up on, I managed to turn its head

and, after a few minutes of hauling, pulled in this magnificent 100cm kingfish (thanks Crimpy for the expert gaff). I used my new rod and reel for this (Shimano Saragosa 10000 reel and Shimano Revolution rod) and it handled the fish superbly, glad to have good gear!

(Ed’s note: this was no mean feat, as we were tied up in a mussel farm with the boat tied bow to stern between two parallel running mussel float lines. We attached to the backbones with grapnel hooks so there is no risk of damaging the farm and it allows us to keep clear of the droppers that contain the mussels. This was a 20kg horse of a king and, by rights, should have taken Scott to the cleaners in the droppers, but he played the fish superbly and got it under control quickly. Without such quality gear though, I would suggest the outcome would have been entirely different).

STORY

STORY

My first South Island kingi, and hopefully not my last.

The wings were smoked, a good piece used for raw fish salad and the rest was pan fried in butter, yuumm!!

Chef Scott was delighted with his kingi but gutted Crimpy’s gaff-shot spoiled the cheek meat!

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Issue 149 5

Good gurnard and ‘bloody’ sharks

Ruby Campbell

I went to Cissy Bay to see my Gran for the holidays.

The first day we were there, my dad and I decided to go shore fishing from the rocks around the bay. The weather was good. The sun was out and it was really hot. We didn’t really catch much, just a small kahawai, which we used as a livey. We saw two kingfish splashing around the moorings but they were too annoyingly smart and didn’t eat the kahawai that we put out (damn it).

STORY

CHARLES SMITH TEAM SHIMANO

We were just about to pack up when Crimpy drove by in his boat with Daniel. They asked if we wanted to go out and of course we said yes.

We hooked up in the mussel lines and put our rods down.

At first I wasn’t catching much, but then I was in (yay). I pulled up a gurnard, yum my favourite!

I was either pulling up a gurnard or a bloody shark.

There were so many sharks: greyboys, spinys, carpet sharks! So annoying as well because they kept swimming into other lines and getting tangled (sorry Daniel)! But it was a really good, fun day.

And when we got back we had crumbed gurnard for dinner!

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THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - FEBRUARY 2018

FIELD TEST:

Pulsar Helion XQ38F Thermal Imager Daryl Crimp

Huge advancements have been made in the past five years in the field of thermal imaging, especially at the recreational level. While quality and efficacy has improved, as expected with greater market acceptance, price has correspondingly come down. However, it is still a case of quality speaks volumes and you get what you pay for.

To be honest, in terms of use as a hunting apparatus, I have always been in two minds as to whether or not I’d accept a thermal imager as part of my kit. Being somewhat ‘old fashioned’ and liking the raw challenge of hunting animals at the most basic level, I confess to thinking of using a thermal imager as cheating, but two things changed my mind: one was the realisation that I already use advanced technology to improve my hunting experience, in the form of rifle scopes, spotting scopes, rangefinder binoculars, and helicopters, so it would be disingenuous to discount thermal imagers,

Daniel took this red at 220m after it was picked up by the Helion Thermal Imager

and two, a field test with the

The location:

new Pulsar Helion XQ38F

I chose expansive hill country in Southland to test the new imager because it was virgin territory for me

— put any doubts to rest that this technology was heading towards mainstream.

and it provided a variety of challenging conditions to trial the technology over a fiveday hunt. The real estate was huge, steep, and comprised of a mix of deep gnarly gullies, big basins, native and planted forests, pasture, and high thick tussock.

In fairness to the technology, I put my bias to one side and used the unit extensively, for long periods, and in as many different situations as I could think — from dawn through to after dark. The results were exciting.

In the field: A big plus of this model is that the size has come down so that it is now a compact, ergonomically designed piece of kit that snugly fits the palm and can be easily stowed in a large hunting pocket.

For dealer and technical info visit www.yukonoptics.co.nz Read Crimpy’s field test on the

Pulsar Helion XQ38F

Overlooking a scrub covered face on the first evening, I kept second guessing if the signatures were animals, as rocks and vegetation retain heat until well after dark and continue to register. However, when the unit picks up the signature of animal, there is no mistaking it. Right on dark, on the very edge of last shooting light, a hind poked her head above the flax over 200m away and the detail on the screen was amazing: face, light and darker areas where blood was concentrated, and two big ears, crystal clear. There was no mistaking it, even though I struggled to see it through the scope. Ultimately, ten

deer erupted from the bush edge and barrelled down the hill face en route to their feeding spot for the night.

It was too dark to shoot but fascinating observing the behaviour of animals you otherwise wouldn’t see.

Another evening found us stalking a spur that dropped into deep gully, where the opposite faces were popular with deer. Aaron, who had hunted the farm for years and knew every nook and cranny deer inhabited, would glass each big scrubchoked gut and gully before we moved on, while I did the same with the thermal imager. I was able to spot two deer that otherwise would have been passed by, resulting in Daniel taking a good 220m shot.

Again, on first light, the unit proved its value.

Whilst traversing a huge ridge system, we’d stop periodically to glass distant faces and clearings. The thermal imager picked up mobs of up to nine deer retreating at a clip 400 – 500m away through dense vegetation, back to their roosts after their night feed; it gave a real sense of just how far red deer travel to feed. Then, we sat and glassed a tussock basin for 20 minutes. It screamed deer and with the early morning sun lighting it, I thought we’d see animals easily from 250m away.

Nothing. A quick check with the thermal imager before departing revealed four deer invisible in plain sight. Their coloration matched that of the tussock and, with heads down feeding amongst the foliage, they were near invisible to the eye.

On another occasion I was able to keep an eye on deer while Daniel and Aaron executed a stalk, and keep them apprised by radio.

On two occasions we lost track of deer that Daniel had shot in thick tussock and matagouri but, with the Pulsar, I was able to direct them straight to the animal.

The Pulsar Thermal Imager at night: I put this to the test in both Southland and Marlborough and was surprised at the results. Definition and clarity is outstanding in the open and through moderate scrub cover. It is very easy to differentiate animals and brings into play the safety

element of being able to clearly identify your target.

Ideal for pest control.

On private property, we did two sorties to spot and video deer, and I was surprised to see that we picked up at least five times the number of animals with the thermal imager than with the spotlight. It is amazing the number of deer that will not look at a light. We were also able to see animals concealed by light vegetation.

Right on dark, on the very edge of last shooting light, a hind poked her head above the flax over 200m away and the detail on the screen was amazing: face, light and darker areas where blood was concentrated, and two big ears, crystal clear.

Conclusion: The Pulsar Helion Thermal Imager is lightweight, compact, and intuitive to use.

Field of view, definition, and range of this model puts it into the class of most versatile and would be my pick of the three Helion models as the go to one for general hunting.

The ability to record videos is brilliant and the capacity excellent. The phone App, Stream Vision, that has WiFi connectivity to the unit allows you to view through Smartphone, Android, or tablet, and control the unit and colour adjustments. It also means a second person can, in real time, see what you are seeing — innovative and useful. Battery life is more than ample and it recharges quickly.

In terms of efficacy, it speaks for itself: over the course of the test we made in excess of 200 deer sightings with conservatively 60% more sightings attributed to the imager. As a tool, it brings a new advanced dimension to hunting, with the safety aspect of being able to clearly identify your target in cover and low light a definite plus. For locating downed animals and tracking wounded animals it is brilliant.

The biggest surprise is that it need not replace field craft, skill, and intuition, but can be a legitimate aid to your hunting, just like a quality pair of binoculars.

Highly recommended.

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Issue 149 7

Toughing it out for salmon Charles Smith

STORY Gale force winds and torrential rain was on the forecast for early January so I thought, “Perfect — let’s go salmon fishing!”

Certainly in extreme weather you need good gear and these were just the conditions the Shimano TranX 301 and 400 are made for.

Canterbury: heavy duty gearing and drags so smooth it almost gives the angler an unfair advantage. The Shimano TranX 400 is my go to surf reel but quite happy to use it in the river or for gut application, while the 301 is my river/gut reel.

Once on the water, the rain was insane and almost unbearable at times; this is when we appreciate quality fishing tackle.

Despite the conditions, or perhaps because of them, I came away with a nice brace of salmon. If you have good gear, you owe it to the tackle to get out there and use it.

Like a faithful dog, it thrives in adverse conditions and won’t let you down.

These new reels are in my opinion market leading for salmon fishing here in

Mid January, I decided to take up gambling. The river was pumping 700+qm,

Good tackle is required in adverse conditions

spilling out into the surf, and creating a clear edge against the raging river current and sea. It’s the ‘Glass Corridor’ I talked about last month and conditions rarely make opportunities like this, and then its still a gamble to get up at 3.00am to go down and find out if its suitable or not.

Within the first half-adozen casts on first light, I was smacked by a good salmon — right at the end of my cast as well.

That day we were lucky we took the gamble. Sometimes you just have to tough it out and, if you do, the rewards can be stellar.

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8

THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - FEBRUARY 2018

A double on desperation deer

RY

RA STO

KAIKOU

Bryn Williams

We had a red deer each hung in the Stoney Creek meat safe so the pressure was off on the morning of day two. It had rained the evening before and the morning air still felt damp with overcast skies.

Climbing the ridge, we headed for new ground, unscented from yesterday’s adventure.

Sticking to the bush line, our attention was focussed on every piece of new open country we encountered. We were heading to a familiar haunt for my hunting buddy Nicor, who had encountered deer on numerous occasions in the area.

We perched ourselves amongst a rocky outcrop, which summited the ridge we’d been climbing and overlooked open clearings in nearly every direction.

The expectation levels were through the roof, so it came as a surprise to only see one deer very briefly flutter with the decision to leave the bush edge and then decide against it.

Bryn with a nice Kaikoura fallow for the freezer

The first half hour of light always carries the most anticipation. When it’s been and gone, your eyes start following the sun, watching areas receive their first rays of warmth for the day.

During the next hour or two there is no denying, as time wears on, the chances of seeing an animal begin to fall. In the end, you start

Now that’s a serious pack full of meat

looking in desperation.

Staring at a distant shape, wanting it to move. Glassing county too far away to hunt on the planned trip, dreaming of the mobs of animals over the next ridge.

In our situation, following the previous night’s rain, the deer were probably waiting for the sun to burn through the cloud and provide a chance to warm up a bit.

The cloud being so thick though, the sun never poked through. We were on the verge of calling it for the morning when two fallow spikers grazed out into the open below us, completely

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Being young fallow, we gutted and made them into a back pack each to carry out whole. Persistence and patience had paid off and we had been rewarded with plenty of venison for our very lean looking freezers.

It took two trips from the hut to the truck to carry out all our gear and two deer each but when the venison, gravy, and red wine were served up, it was every bit worth it!

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Issue 149 9

Fishing Marlborough’s mussel farms (part one) Daryl Crimp

The mussel farms of the Marlborough Sounds can provide excellent fishing but require a methodical approach and a degree of patience. Often described as FADs or fish attracting devices, they can be as much a fishing oasis as they can be a desert. While providing an abundant food source in the form of mussels, crabs, small invertebrates, and baitfish that shelter there, target species come and go with the tides — and seasons.

Not all mussel farms are created equal, and within a farm, various lines can produce differently. Understanding the anatomy of a farm and then observing how tide and current flow through the area is just as important as selecting the right bait or rig. Each farm consists of a number of lines, which are made up from two backbones (main rope) running parallel on either side of the floats.

These backbones generally run along the surface but sometimes can be suspended several metres below the surface — this is to inhibit build up of blue mussel, which only grow near the surface. At either end they angle down to mooring blocks. From each of these backbones hang droppers, which are a continuous loop of rope that is strung the length of each line and from which mussels grow. These are suspended some metres above the bottom.

It is perfectly legal to fish amongst marine farms but you must do so in such a way as not to damage the structure. Rafting alongside and tying to the backbone is fine; some owners prefer you not to attach directly to the buoys, although I can’t see why if care is taken. The best method for fishing is to ‘string’ your boat between two mussel lines: you need two ropes with grapnel hooks attached, which you throw over a backbone on each line, and then pull the lines tight so you sit in the middle. The boat is perpendicular to both lines, so it is possible to fish both sides of the boats. It also gives you a clear ‘alleyway’ to play big fish, making it possible to boat big snapper and even kingfish without them dragging you into the droppers.

Quite a variety of species can be caught under mussel farms: blue cod, snapper,

STORY

A horse gurnard, 58cm, taken on a Black Magic Gurnard Grabber

kahawai, trevally, John Dory, gurnard, tarakihi, octopus, mackerel, yellow-eyed mullet, blue mackerel, and occasionally groper (I’m not giving that spot up)! The secret to success comes down to several factors: position, current, time, and technique.

First, determine current flow and direction and tie your boat two thirds toward the top end of the current and in a position where a berley trail will flow through much of the farm (even if you don’t have berley, feeding the current with chum or chopped bait will attract fish). Depth can be important too — deeper is best.

Secondly, get a good berley trail going: suspend the berley pot at least two thirds down but not too close to the bottom. This can be supplemented by chumming from the surface at intervals. Baitfish will come in first and it is a good idea to catch a few, not only for fresh bait but also because, once hooked, they emit stress signals that attract predator fish like snapper, JDs, and kingies.

Good quality flasher rigs such as the Black Magic range make perfect terminal tackle for fishing amongst mussel farms, with the Snapper Snatcher Anchovy, Snapper Terror, and Gurnard Grabber proving great late summer choices. The recurve hooks also mean you can put the rod in the rod holder and fish softbaits, and any fish taking the flasher rig will self-hook.

Bait can be critical so have a selection: squid, bonito, pilchards, anchovies, salted trevally, and salted mackerel. Have at least one firm bait (squid or trevally) and one oily bait (pilchards or anchovies). Also catch fresh bait, as that can sometimes be the key.

This summer, fresh blue mackerel proved a winner.

Another critical factor is to fish through the whole tide; many people leave too soon.

Different species come on the bite at different times of the tide: for example, on one farm I fish, snapper bite in a window around two hours either side of a change of tide, kahawai mid-tide, cod near the top of the tide, and gurnard the bottom and mid-tide.

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10 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - FEBRUARY 2018

FISH THIEVES ROB ROCK LOBSTER FISHERS Daryl Sykes – Chief Operating Officer – NZ Rock Lobster Industry Council

to be persuaded by pleas of poverty, ignorance of the law, or extenuating circumstances, which, at face value, appear improbable to those who know fishing and fisheries.

The blackmarket in rock lobsters has direct and indirect impacts on legitimate customary, recreational, and commercial fishers. Amateur and customary users are deprived of fishing opportunity and the potential quality of their fishing experience. For commercial, there are the obvious issues of price-gouging and unfair competition in the market place, but the real impacts are more subtle.

Fish thieves give industry members a bad public image because reports of fish thieving normally refer to ‘commercial’ quantities of rock lobster – the inference being that (legitimate) commercial fishermen are cheating the system.

The inference is invariably wrong, but public perception of commercial fishermen can be coloured regardless.

Where fish thieves are taking large quantities of lobsters from a local area, resident fishermen are deprived of legitimate catches. They will probably still fill their quotas, but will take longer to do so because of reduced abundance, which drives vessel operating costs higher. The thieves’ continued activity also ensures Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI) Compliance and Enforcement budget remains high, a significant proportion of which is recovered from the rock lobster industry by way of statutory government levies.

Better public awareness Another problem may be that MPI does not consistently capitalise on successful prosecutions and draw the public’s attention to the level of penalties imposed on offenders.

lobsters have in domestic and export markets.

Unconstrained blackmarket activity could progressively deplete lobster stocks. Fish thieves can certainly deplete stocks in localised areas – a bay or a reef – but it would take an enormously high level of thieving to adversely impact on the resource itself.

Such high level of illegal activity is unlikely to occur; it would be too obvious and legitimate commercial operators are constantly vigilant for fish thieves.

However, their impact is significant. Recent MPI estimates of illegal unreported removals of rock lobster across all nine management areas are greater than 370 tonnes per annum – more than the commercial catch for each of the nine rock lobster fishery management areas, other than CRA 8 (Southland). The legitimate export market value of that catch could

be in excess of $28 million, however, illegal lobsters are sold at a considerable discount – as low as five to fifteen dollars per kilogram!

Commercial toll high Industry does not claim all illegal removals as catch that should otherwise belong to quota owners, however, the industry ‘share’ of the nine rock lobster fishery management area, total allowable catches (TACs), ranges from 51% in the Bay of Plenty, to 75% elsewhere. The combination of direct and indirect costs is significant – reduced catch rates; increased MPI Cost Recovery Levies; more stringent business compliance standards; and the uncertainties of stock assessments.

The community misses out on the taxation/GST generated by legitimate commercial fishermen. Fish thieves cheat legitimate fishermen and the local and national economy.

Potential damage significant These fish thieves also care little for quality and hygiene, so their activities could damage the hard-won reputation that NZ rock

Thieving devalues delicacy

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Catch taken by fish thieves is factored into annual stock assessments and management decisions.

When making allowances for legitimate shares of the fishery, the Minister of Fisheries makes provision for fish thieving before confirming the commercial quotas (Total Allowable Commercial Catch – TACC).

In effect, the legitimate commercial operators are being forced to make restitution for the activities of the thieves. This is a unique but entirely inequitable way to ensure the continued sustainability of lobster fisheries.

There is no evidence of ‘blackmarket’ rock lobsters being exported – the NZ domestic market is the target, and that market is clearly willing to buy, which encourages blackmarkets to flourish. Community members who perhaps unwittingly support the activities of fish thieves are undervaluing their fisheries and sanctioning a loss of legitimate fishing opportunity.

quota, plus incur substantial financial penalties – a $250,000 fine could apply.

Fish thieves who are not commercial fishermen (i.e. have no quota/ACE or fishing permit) will face the same penalties if convicted of dealing in commercial quantities of rock lobster.

The Fisheries Act defines a ‘commercial quantity’ as being seven times the amateur daily bag limit (currently 6 rock lobster per person).

Amateur fishermen caught and convicted of cheating the bag limit or size limit regulations can lose vessels and gear and suffer substantial fines – up to $10,000 for certain offences.

Penalties harsh but…

Given that estimates of ‘thieving’ of rock lobsters have been consistent over time, and the fact that numbers of repeat offenders are apprehended, it might be argued that the heavy penalties are no incentive for compliance with fisheries rules. The problem may well sit with the judiciary, who often seem reluctant to impose the full weight of penalties against noncommercial fishermen.

Penalties for fish thieving can be harsh. Commercial fishermen convicted of illegal fishing offences will forfeit fishing vessels and

The penalties could also be a huge incentive for offenders to strongly defend fisheries charges and judges have shown themselves

From time to time, the occasional lobster or pa-ua will show up in pub or club raffles, which happens when ill-informed but wellmeaning individuals are trying to raise funds for a local cause, but please note: it is illegal for anyone other than a legitimate commercial operator to offer seafood for sale or barter, and there are no exceptions. The public need to be very careful about getting involved with any suspicious activity, no matter how good the deal might look in terms of dollars. The apparently cheap seafood raffle could cost far more than it was worth, if it leads to a conviction under the Fisheries Act. There is an ongoing dialogue with MPI and other agencies at the local and national level as the rock lobster industry works to devise and implement efficient and effective compliance strategies.

In the meantime, do your bit if you see or suspect fish thieves in action – 0800 4 Poacher (08004476224)

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Issue 149 11

Lowrance extends range to stationary fishers Lowrance®, a worldleader in fishing electronics since 1957, has announced the launch of Lowrance FishHunter Pro and Lowrance FishHunter 3D wireless, castable transducers.

FishHunter brings the benefits of fish-finding sonar to anglers who fish from a stationary location, such as on a jetty, wharf, riverbank, breakwall – even from the deck of a boat. Sending real-time sonar data via WiFi connection between the transducer and Android and iOS phones and tablets, FishHunter operates without the need for a cellular or internet connection.

Anglers cast the FishHunter transducer into the water and then view sonar returns on their smartphone or tablet to decide where to fish.

FishHunter Pro features a tri-frequency transducer (381 kHz, 475 kHz and 675 kHz) offering four ways to view sonar data, including Fish (fish symbols), Raw (fish arches), Bathymetric, and Ice Fishing Flasher views.

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Incorporating five tri-frequency transducers, FishHunter 3D offers five

marine electronics market today. With FishHunter 3D, three-dimensional sonar capabilities are now available to the kayak, wharf, and bank fisherman.”

FishHunter’s unique buoy-shaped design makes it difficult to submerge and increases the reliability of its WiFi connection. The antenna protruding from the top of the FishHunter housing also ensures constant WiFi connectivity for the highest image quality and signal range. By communicating through a WiFi connection, smartphones paired with FishHunter are still able to receive texts and calls. functional views including 3D Fishing and Ice Fishing Flasher, as well as a Directional Casting View that pinpoints fish depth and location relative to the transducer. FishHunter 3D can be trolled behind a boat to create Bathymetric or Structure maps of fishing areas.

“For decades Lowrance has been on the forefront of sonar innovation,” said Leif Ottosson, CEO, Navico. “We are excited about expanding our offerings into this new fishfinding category to bring sonar technology to the large community of anglers who are underserved by the

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12 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - FEBRUARY 2018

Harbour Views

Captain’s Log:

God is a packet of Weetbix!

The summer break is a time for recharging the batteries, spending quality time with family, and a time for reflection. I certainly did all three and, in doing so, experienced an epiphany; I solved the meaning of life.

This sudden enlightenment will lay to rest the debate between Darwin’s apostles and supporters of God’s ‘seven days and seven nights’ DIY effort and prove that life owes a little to both.

By Dave Duncan

Amanda Kerr — Deputy Harbour Master Nelson

The ‘nuclear reactor’ and snapper

With summer in full swing it has been very rewarding for us to see the high level of compliance and respect for the sea among the boating community.

It is important to recognise we have experienced nine near fatalities so far this season. In our opinion this is nine too many.

One such near miss was a family of four out for a day fishing; they had recently upgraded their engine and this was their first trip out.

Unbeknown to the family, they were way too overpowered for the size of their vessel.

As they were heading home, the afternoon sea breeze and accompanying swell was a recipe for disaster — their boat hit a wave beam on and flipped — instantly flinging everyone overboard. The family could only watch as their boat sunk, horrified that they had ended up in the water with their children

I was contemplating why I had evolved into a camel, albeit one with a hump on the front of my back, when I’d worked so bloody hard all my life to be a success.

Then it dawned on me that being a successful camel was an evolutionary trick that ensured the survival of the fittest. By having the ability to store fat behind my bellybutton and enough money to come second in the race against inflation, I can actually afford to feed an adolescent son.

At 14, Daniel is more nuclear reactor than human being and thinks nothing of entertaining himself by doing a million chin-ups on the radar arch of the boat, between catching fish and reminding me that I am, in fact, a product of reverse evolution – a dinosaur.

This is after he has risen at 5.00am to check his possum line, having set the traps the evening before after fishing all day and, then again, into the night. He has the incredible ability to go almost forever without food: seventeen-and-a-quarter hours, which is forever for a teenager.

Then his brain does a curious thing; it becomes ‘camel conscious’ and realises that dinosaurs don’t need to eat any more, so it instructs him to devour everything in the house.

This is where The Big Bang Theory came from: if I

Nine too many

Being well prepared the family were all wearing life jackets and one of the adults had a waterproof cellphone in a pocket.

They were able to contact 111 and a search was instigated. Fortunately for the family and their loved ones, they were found after 40 minutes in the water yet only 20 minutes before dark.

vitally important carrying the correct safety equipment is. Always wear a fit for purpose life jacket, take two forms of waterproof communication, use correct navigation lights, and inform someone of your trip.

We can only emphasise how important, not only carrying the correct safety equipment is, but knowing the rules too.

The rules are in place to keep us all safe, so remember 5 knots within 200 metres of shore and 50 metres of another vessel.

With the hot weather set to continue, enjoy your time on the water and be mindful of all water users. Nelson has one of the safest swim beaches in New Zealand, a fact we can all be very proud of.

This is a very timely reminder of how

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don’t intercede, the kitchen implodes and primordial life magically appears in the form of a rabid teenager who will eat whole bags of pure flour because it’s quicker than buttering toast. I once caught him late at night with nine Weetbix and whole cow in a bowl and asked incredulously, “How can you eat Weetbix like that?”

He looked up with a genuinely distraught look on his face and said, “Because I can’t fit any more in!”

So now I preempt The Big Bang and buy Weetbix by the brace. Every seventeen-

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Issue 149 13

TIDES OF CHANGE

By Poppa Mike

CRIMPTOON

FREEMAN GROUP

BEHIND BARS

Real-life stories from inside New Zealand’s prisons

By Anna Leask, Penguin Random house, RRP $40 Books dealing with mysterious crime cases such as the Scott Watson case, David Bain, Arthur Allan Thomas, and crime stories such as No Turning Back by Joanne Lees and Murder, Mayhem, and Mischief by Graham Bell make fascinating reading. They bring out emotions of anger, sympathy, loathing and fear, questions seeking answers, mind boggling thoughts, intuitive rationalisation, and emotive decision making all mixed in as the readers seek further detail – the missing pieces of the jigsaw.

Behind Bars is a different type of book. It takes a look at what happens after the guilty have been taken away, taken out of mainstream society and put in cages so that decent people can live their lives in safety and successful opportunity. With a history in crime reporting, Anna Leask has followed the ‘careers’ of those who live in the cages, using the many cases she reported on, along with others that aroused her curiosity, and those with unusual stories or circumstances not widely known by the general public.

If you seek to meet the lowest of the low, Andrea briefly visits Paremoremo – William Bell, Graeme Burton, Phillip John Smith, and Antonie Dixon. All animals in cages for a long, long time. Then there are others like John Barlow – possibly innocent, although Andrea does not say as much, Greg Newbold,

an ex university student once involved in the Mr Asia drug ring but now back in society having completed a Phd and now head of the University of Canterbury sociology department, and Michelle Nicholson, a convicted murderer who went on the complete a Masters degree in criminology, then went on to murder again and is back in a cage once more.

While I found the book interesting and a timely reminder that we have a very sad and sick level in our society – sick from all manner of causes – genetics, upbringing, substance abuse, and mental disorders and deficiencies. In many ways the book serves a valuable social service in reminding us of this. I would also have found valuable some in depth coverage of the wide range of psychological addiction and afflictions. By comparison, a recent editorial in The Press headed ‘Prisoners have rights too’, advocating that more should be done re cooling cages during hot days, left me gob smacked. Imprisonment means loss of comforts and rights, and a breakdown of the various prisons (18) in New Zealand and their profiles was a helpful appendix.

Not a book for my bookshelf but one that might appeal to those with an interest in our penal system and those interested in law and order of the free world and the law and order of the caged world.

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Renowned Lithuanian geneticist and romance author Marija Gražulis has recently spent a year in the Pacific garnering information for her new novel, The secret lives of coconuts. Marija says she has always had a fascination for coconuts because it is one of the world’s wonder foods and was known in ancient India as kalpa vrishka, which is Sanskrit for ‘the tree that supplies all that is needed for life’.

It provides food year

round, supports immune system health, and helps stabilise blood sugar, lower cholesterol, and rehydrates the body. Coconut water was even used in World War Two as a replacement for blood plasma.

Marija says her new novel is a romance thriller, set on Niue Island, about a young local fisherman called Murray, who uncovers a plot by a visiting mad scientist to genetically modify the island’s coconut population. Murray

falls in love with the scientist’s daughter and elopes to the next village, incurring the wrath of his fiancé Mele, and her mother Ruth.

The villagers unite and, not wanting to disturb Murray and his girl from a sunset picnic on the beach, kill the mad scientist instead, thwarting his evil plan. The coconuts live happily ever after.

Marija loves pure fiction and enjoys reading The Fishing Paper & Hunting News in her leisure time.

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14 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - FEBRUARY 2018

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SMOKIN’

James Daken

It was a hot Kaikoura afternoon in South Bay, late January. Dad and I walked down to the pebbly beach with our surfcasters. We were fishing for the rare searun salmon; the trick (from a good guy, owner of Hunting & Fishing Kaikoura) was to use a shiny lure and, once cast into the sea, to let it sink to the bottom before pulling it in.

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Issue 149 15

A hop, step, and a swim

Irish choke on jellied salmon Barrie Clark

Playing with my godsons along the stones of Picton’s Shelly Beach during these holidays and noting the inevitable jellyfish being pushed along the shoreline by the incoming tide, reminded me of a holiday in earlier times.

I clearly recall rising early one glorious summer morning in Onahau Bay, on the Grove Arm of Queen Charlotte Sound, and wandering from the boat shed, where we’d slept, out along the little jetty. In the soft light, the otherwise perfectly calm water’s surface appeared to ripple rhythmically. Strangely, it was completely purple over the entire area of the secluded inlet, where our holiday bach, ‘The Anchorage’, was located.

Later, I rowed the ancient dinghy out towards the point, periodically stopping to peer overboard as the bow sliced its way through thousands of jellyfish, with the neon purple central ellipse the only distinguishing feature of their otherwise transparent bodies.

Although jellyfish are surprisingly effective marine navigators, this enormous raft of the creatures had no doubt been shunted by the vagaries of wind and tide into our quiet bay.

By the following morning the same natural processes had removed them and they had journeyed on to some other coastline trap.

Not long after that brief but memorable experience, I learned of an extraordinary and disastrous event off the coast of Northern Ireland.

The only salmon farm in Northern Ireland had lost its entire stock, of 100,000 fish, to a spectacular attack from billions of jellyfish. The huge raft of Pelagia noctiluca, popularly known as the mauve stinger, was no less than 25 square kilometres wide and 10 metres deep!

RA KAIKOU

STORY

Bryn Williams

Sometimes crayfish are closer than you think

The mauve stinger became an Irish rogue

The salmon company’s three boats had apparently pushed for hours through the mass of jellyfish but on arriving at the two offshore pens, the dozen workers had found all the trapped salmon either dead or dying from stings or stress after the unprecedented attack. The loss of the company’s entire stock led to the closure of the business, which had exported its product both to European nations and the United States.

The mauve stinger, noted for its purplish night-time glow, often creates havoc among swimmers in the warmer Mediterranean Sea but is seldom seen in the much cooler British or Irish waters. Their appearance off the coast of County Antrim, north of Belfast, is perhaps another example of global warming, according to fishery scientists.

For the inhabitants of the seas and oceans, life can certainly be tough. Danger sometimes bears down quickly and with a savage face. At other times it arrives quietly but with no less lethal results. Those who enjoy the sea, merely get fleeting insights into its mysteries.

All week we experienced light winds and little to no swell. The visibility around the peninsula was over 10 metres in places. I finished work and threw the wetsuit on, ready to check out a new dive spot. With the conditions so good it had opened up the possibility of diving a sandy area near the centre of town, often overlooked and too silty to dive.

My first thought was I had made a mistake.

Open sand, barren of structure, and lacking in fish life. It wasn’t until I was about 200 metres offshore did things start to change. Being patient on the bottom allowed inquisitive fish such as kahawai and blue moki to swim up to me, curiously checking me out. I didn’t pass up on a couple of the decent sized moki, which the spear dealt to effectively.

The minimal terrain out wide provided just enough protection to harbour a few crayfish.

I set a mark with my speargun adjacent to the cave holding a big male. Resting the lungs on the surface I dove down and went in for the grab. At first, I missed. Thanks to there being

Not a bad catch for a ‘townie’

nowhere else for it to hide, on my second attempt it followed me to the surface and into the float boat.

Swimming a little further out, a small patch of seaweed just broke the surface, so I went over to investigate. Diving down the long strands of weed I peered in to see large butterfish slowly drifting amongst the fronds.

Not often pressured by ‘spearos’ in this area, the fish weren’t as flighty as the ones found around the peninsula.

I lined up on a couple of the bigger specimens and let the spear fly. A smaller gun under a metre in length is brilliant for this type of hunting. It has less drag in the water, meaning it is possible to change direction quicker and less of a hassle to manoeuvre through tight seaweed. It is still important to have rubbers on the gun that will still pack a punch when called upon, as this year it hasn’t been uncommon to see patches of butterfish 55cm plus!

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16 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - FEBRUARY 2018

Bear essentials in BC

SUPER SUMMER

I have been fortunate to fish in Alaska and British Columbia, and one of the constants has been the need to be aware of bears.

The Alaska Fish and Game website advises that you to take a shotgun for bear protection when fishing wilderness areas.

I recently fished the Skeena and Kitimat Rivers in Terrace BC, where bear sightings and bear sign were a daily occurrence. One of our group asked the guide Glenn if he was carrying protection.

“Yeh, I got some condoms!”

“CONDOMS?” “Yeh,” says Glenn, “if we meet a bear we’re fucked!”

Some of the guides in BC use bear dogs, which accompany you in the boat or on the raft, with the theory being that, in the event of a bear encounter, the dog distracts the bear by barking and dancing around, while you beat a hasty retreat.

Dogs are easier to replace than clients.

Our close encounter happened just a few hundred yards from where we put the boat in to float a stretch of the Kitimat. Glenn noticed a large black bear on a gravel bar on the other side of the river and, as we floated closer we saw it was a female with two almost fully grown cubs. She was totally unfazed by our presence and just ambled back into the forest, taking her cubs with her. And that is how almost

99.9% of encounters end. It’s the 00.10 where someone gets hurt, and they do every year. As bear encounters are on the increase around Terrace, there was some discussion between the guides about carrying shotguns, but currently, none were carrying anything stronger than bear spray.

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Bear spray is mainly capsicum based (pepper spray) and is designed to be sprayed towards the bear if it gets too close, not as one unfortunate numbskull found out, to be used like insect repellant. The resulting skin burns hospitalised him for months.

At the lodge I was fortunate to meet four gentlemen who were in law enforcement: two FBI agents, a Federal Marshall, and a ‘contractor’ (agricultural equipment?) — you’ll have to take my word for it because I was reluctant to photograph them in case they shot me afterwards.

They were great company and had fished a lot together in Alaska.

We discussed bear protection and they each had their preference.

Marc carried a .50 calibre handgun, which he admitted he had never fired himself but, in the case of a bear attack, reasoned the recoil would be less dangerous than the bear. Joe favoured a .44 magnum, which he was very familiar with and had shot a lot. Tony had a totally different approach; he

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carried a .22 handgun and reasoned that, in the case of a bear attack, he would shoot one of his companions in the knee, which would give him time to escape. For some reason, his buddies thought this hilarious.

Buzz the fourth, although admitting to being armed, reckoned he would stand behind the other three. Joe also told me that, in real life as an FBI agent, he never fires his gun, because the resulting weeks of paperwork act as a total disincentive.

When fishing BC, standard accessories include a... bear dog

In BC, bears are never far away. I fished at Squamish, 40 minutes from downtown Vancouver, for a couple of days. First morning my guide Tom buckled a large canister of bear spray on his belt before we set off across country to the river.

He talked loudly to warn the bears we were coming.

At particularly dense areas of undergrowth, he would announce in a loud voice, “coming through”.

I became a believer when we came to a sandy area, as in the sand were elk tracks, black bear tracks, and wolf tracks. All fresh that morning, as rain would have washed out any sign from the previous day.

While fishing the river, Tom excused himself to take care of a call of nature, he asked me to stay where I was while he went and watered a tree.

He was back in less than a minute, having discovered a rather large bear print that was so fresh it was almost smoking. The consensus was a grizzly and a large one at that.

When we returned a few hours later, a new set of black bear tracks were evident over our footprints.

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Issue 149 17

Honing your pāua harvesting technique Storm Stanley – Chairman, Pāua Industry Council – paua.org.nz

Diving conditions have been fantastic this summer, providing an ideal opportunity to refine and perfect your pāua harvesting skills.

Adopting ‘best practice’ harvest and handling techniques not only helps protect local pāua populations, it also ensures that your catch is of the highest quality.

MPI provide free pāua knives, which meet with best practice principles

Good harvesting and handling practice is mainly a matter of remembering that pa- ua are sensitive creatures that need to be handled with extreme care. Like many of us, pa-ua don’t respond well to stress. Their defence mechanism in response to handling, noise, bright light, or vibration is to clamp down firmly. Recent research has shown that this clamping down process triggers physiological changes in a pa- ua – its heart immediately shuts down and its blood volume reduces resulting in a loss of up to 10% of greenweight within half an hour.

When a pa-ua loses blood, it takes an enormous amount of its energy to replace the loss with new blood. Pa-ua blood doesn’t clot, so even the smallest cut may result in a pa- ua bleeding to death over a period of several weeks. It’s easy to see why even a minor injury can lead to the eventual death of a pa- ua that has been roughly handled before being returned to the sea.

An eye for size The best way to avoid injuring or killing pa-ua unnecessarily is to not remove undersized pa-ua from the rocks. This is not always easy, but it can help to remove only the biggest pa- ua you see in an area and check their size first, and move on if they are under the size limit. This will also help you ‘get your eye in’. If you are in a plentiful area, removing only the very biggest pa-ua will help you avoid returning undersized and potentially damaged pa- ua.

Pāua must be measured accurately and, preferably, underwater

Using the right harvest tool is critical. Sharp-edged tools such as screwdrivers can break the shell or rupture internal organs and should never be used. The ideal tool has a blunt chisel end, a blade length longer than the pa- ua you are harvesting (to increase leverage) and a solid handle that will not slip in your grip. MPI Fishery Officers provide free pa-ua knives that are perfect for the job.

Everyone has their preferred way of harvesting pa- ua, but you should aim to lever the pa-ua off the reef in a single continuous motion before it gets a chance to clamp down. Try to target the back (blunt end) of the shell, as injuries to the front end (the head) are more likely to be fatal. If you can’t remove the pa- ua on the first attempt, leave it, because once a pa- ua has clamped down you will probably damage it if you persist in trying to remove it.

Tips and tricks for the return Damage to living pāua can prove fatal

Any undersized pa-ua must be returned to the sea immediately, so they

should ideally be measured underwater. MPI’s pa-ua knife is great for this task as it has a built-in measurer.

However, if you have taken your pa-ua out of the water to measure, do so immediately, keeping them damp and in the shade because a warm, dry, undersized pa-ua won’t survive once it is returned to the sea.

When returning undersized pa- ua, it’s best to position them the right way up and as close to their original location as possible. Hold the pa- ua against a smooth rock surface until it clamps on. Never throw undersized pa- ua over the side of your boat – if they land upside down or on sand or gravel all you’re doing is providing an easy feed for predators such as starfish or reef fish.

The rules rule Everyone who fishes recreationally in New Zealand has a legal requirement to follow the recreational fishing rules and best practice is to check the rules for your fishing area every time you head out, as the rules change regularly and some areas may have other restrictions.

For example, the national pa- ua minimum legal size limits are 125mm for blackfoot pa-ua and 80mm for yellowfoot. An exception to this is in the Amateur Taranaki Pa-ua Fishery Area where the minimum legal size limit is 85mm for blackfoot. These size limits refer to the greatest overall length of the pa-ua shell measured on a plane parallel to the ventral (i.e., foot) surface of the pa- ua. Accurate measuring tools should have

a ‘book end’ against which one end of the pa- ua can be placed while keeping the entire foot flat on the measuring surface.

Each fisher may take a maximum of 10 pa-ua of each species per day – but there can be local variations so, once again, it’s advisable to check the rules on bag limits for your local fishing area. If you choose to accumulate your daily limit, remember that at any one time a person can possess a maximum of 20 pa-ua or, if the pa-ua is shucked (shell removed), a maximum total weight of 2.5kg of pa-ua.

Free pāua knife up for grabs By law, pa-ua must be landed whole. This means that you can’t shuck pa-ua at sea – any pa-ua on your boat must always have their shell attached so that they can be measured by Fishery Officers. To keep your pa-ua in the best possible condition while heading home, make sure they are well covered and out of the sun. Damp sacks or wet seaweed are ideal for keeping your catch in good condition, but don’t leave your pa-ua lying in water and keep them away from contamination such as fuel, dirt or fresh water.

Once they’ve been landed, pa- ua should be shucked, tenderised and chilled as soon as possible.

Having the right tool for harvesting and measuring is the best first step divers can take for improving their pa- ua harvest technique – so ask about the free pa-ua knife next time you see an MPI Fishery Officer.

18 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - FEBRUARY 2018

Crimpy’s People:

Sarah Ellis displays her Wapiti, one in the Trophy Guidelines series

Sarah Ellis

When the eyes follow you Daryl Crimp “I don’t make mistakes,” states Sarah Ellis matter-offactly.

It’s not a boast but a reflection on the intensity, time, and level of concentration she applies to her profession, and the results are startling.

Working in the unforgiving medium of watercolours and having adopted the more purist/traditionalist style, Sarah simply cannot afford to make mistakes.

“With watercolour, there is nowhere to hide,” Sarah says. “Oils and acrylics can be layered, scraped off, reworked — but if I mess up with watercolour, I’m done!”

But she loves that element of risk — a bit of the feisty Yorkshire lass coming out in her.

Sarah’s work is a blend of art and science: aesthetically quite artful and beautiful while being anatomically precise and real. Her subject matter seems at odds with her upbringing and an earlier ambition to become a ‘medical illustrator’, but Sarah’s depiction of UK wild game has earned her rapid recognition internationally.

Sarah is surprised at the popularity Down Under, with a growing number of clients coming from Australia and New Zealand. She was a huge attraction at this year’s Sika Show, with the work she brought out to exhibit selling quickly.

She claims to have been no scholar, with her only academic qualification being an ‘A’ for Art. “My dad always used to tease me that I had more ‘U’s that a moorland ram!”

But her passion for drawing and a natural ability earned

Chamois in progress – note the incredible detail

her entry to the Blackpool and Fylde College of Art and Design, where she studied natural history illustration.

Her tutor was a professional parrot illustrator who ‘simply sat at the front of the class and painted macaws to sell’.

Sarah was fascinated with his style and learned a lot through observation, her work maturing and becoming richer and more detailed.

However, her plans to go down the medical route were disrupted by marriage and children.

It was a wedding many years later that reignited her career but in a different direction. Unsure of a suitable wedding gift for her gamekeeper friend Ben, Sarah settled on painting his gun dog with a brace of pheasants, using a photo she had taken earlier that year. The painting ultimately caught the eye of the headkeeper who had it printed on the estate’s shoot game-cards.

This gave her confidence to take to the brush again, and more opportunity followed. A calendar, more shoot cards, and then Ben spotted a 1950s trophy guide in an antique shop, liked the concept but

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felt the illustrations were ‘oldfashioned’. Sarah picked up the idea and ran with it, with her first project the illustration of the perfect roebuck trophy.

This one piece received such acclaim, it was the genesis of The Trophy Guidelines series, with 10 in the series complete so far: all six deer species found in the UK plus mouflon, wild boar, and chamois. Each series features the original for sale plus a limited edition of 100 numbered and signed prints. Her goal is to bridge the aesthetic qualities with the technical, with each work carefully annotated.

concentration but the devil is in the detail. Sarah doesn’t compromise on quality, using the finest brushes and best quality water colours; her palette for deer only contains four to five colours, with the main two Payne’s Grey and a natural tint ochre. Her technique is fine

and detailed, almost to the degree of pointillism, which brings a distinct translucence and realism to her work. And what gives Sarah her greatest satisfaction?

“If the eyes follow you,” she smiles.

Ironically, Sarah is not from a hunting background,

although she has cooked for various shoots over time. Only recently has she participated in game stalking but is yet to shoot an animal.

The experience has had a profound effect on her, giving her a deep respect and admiration of hunters who, she feels, are often misrepresented and unfairly maligned.

“I have yet to meet a hunter that’s not super friendly, appreciative, and decent,” she says. “They take full responsibility for the whole process, from the shot to the follow up and the gralloching.”

Sarah also paints individual game heads, with the originals selling immediately, and commission work. She works from photographs, many supplied by photographer friends, or real life antlers and skulls.

While she argues there is no ‘rhyme’ to her painting, “I’m all over the place,” Sarah is definitely project oriented, not moving on to another subject until the current one is complete. And one piece, like a roebuck head, will take 70–80 hours of intense

Sarah has a word or two for those vigilante antis who are opposed to hunting: “People who are pissed off with hunters need to redirect towards others who are doing more damage to our wildlife.”

Of her recent stalk with a gamekeeper, she describes it as the best day of her life.

“Few things allow you to step completely and silently into nature.”

Sarah Ellis tahr painting

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Issue 149 19

Burley – it’s the bomb!

(Part two)

Simon Thomas – Divisional Manager, Omega Innovations Last month I discussed some very important aspects to setting the perfect burley trail and how to maximise your success. If you missed last month’s key information, you can access the January issue online at www. thefishingpaper.co.nz or text App to 4899 to receive a link to download The Fishing Paper App and read it online on your smartphone or tablet.

A correctly set burley trail operates like an inverted pyramid: it spreads wider and deeper as it moves away from you, with the focus closest to the burley dispenser. Think of it as a funnel that draws fish into your fishing zone.

Remember that small fish generally come in first, which is good because they emit signals that are picked up by bigger predators. Some of these bigger fish are cautious and will hang back on the periphery of the action, so cast a bait, softball, or work a jig way way back in the burley trail. Remember the inverted pyramid: the further back you cast the wider the arc you have to cover, so it gives you plenty of water to work.

Location, location, location A very important consideration to keep in mind when setting burley is your boat position in relation to structures you are wanting to fish and current/tide direction. If are wanting to fish near a structure, it is important to anchor up current from the reef so the burley drifts back onto the structure and the fish will follow the trail back to the boat. Correctly positioning your boat to be up current from areas where fish may frequent will mean your burley will be best utilised.

If fishing in an area where there is

very little current or wave activity, it pays to be more active on the burley rope. A good pull on the rope will wash burley off the surface of the bomb and cloud the water. The burley can then be dispersed by what current there is. In these situations it is better to have the burley a bit higher so it can be dispersed over a greater area. A bomb set in low flow or wave activity wants more water underneath it so the burley can cover a bigger area before sinking. This can help keep burley in the water on flat tide and ensure there is burley to be carried when the tide current picks up. However, keep your boat position in mind, as your burley field will be in a different location on a rising and falling tide.

From the rocks However, Predators like snapper, kingfish, kahawai, John Dory, and trevally will cruise in and out of reefy areas and along rock faces with the tide, so burley is useful for attracting them and holding them in the vicinity for longer. It works on the same principle as from the boat, however, you need to adjust where you deploy burley for the best effect.

Where there is tidal flow, wave action, and wind chop, the surge effect will pump the burley for you, so tying a weighted pot or bag and suspending it a metre or two off the rocks will do. Better still, a crevice or gutter will act as a better pump, so look for natural features where the surge is concentrated.

to a long rope and throw it out a little deeper. Another trick is to mix up the contents of a thawed bomb in a bucket with seawater to make a porridge. With a cup or similar container, periodically throw the odd cupful in an arc around your fishing zone. These little ‘bursts’ trigger spasmodic flurries from baitfish, which can be irresistible to lurking predators and can ‘trigger’ a bite time.

Buller brown a bruiser Finnian Neilsen

Beaches, gutters, and holes If fishing from the beach you will want to weight the burley pot to hold in an area. If fishing at low tide wade out as far as you feel comfortable and throw your burley pot out as far as you can.

Small chunks of burley thrown into the surf can also help spread the burley and create a bigger burley trail.

Look for areas go beach that have gutters or holes. Fish naturally use these as highways and also feed along the edges where surf wash is exposing selfish and small crustaceans. At low tide, deposit your weighted burley pot near to the edge of the gut and fish this area as the tide comes in. Often a rip works through these channels and will carry your burley quite some distance.

Another area to work is the end of the beach as it meets a reef or small headland. Positioning your burley where these two features meet is often a good way to pick up cruising fish.

Above all, remember that quality counts and BIG CATCH SALMON BURLEY is named that way for a reason.

If you have discovered other successful ways to use burley, we’d love to hear from you. Send in your ideas to: editor@thefishingpaper.co.nz

Burley ‘bursts’ If there is little wave action, you may need to attach your weighted dispenser

Finnian fished a magic window to catch this big bruiser

One sunny summer’s evening in Westport, I decided to head down for a trout fish after I finished milking.

I got to the Buller River an hour before dark and quickly tied on my trusty RX7 Rapala bibbed lure, cast out and started retrieving. After about an hour in, all I’d manage to catch was a snag but ‘change of light’ was near and I knew that fish often come on the bite during this ‘witching hour’ so I persevered.

I cast my lure just as the sun set, started to slowly retrieve it from the crystal clear depths and bam! I saw a big splash in front of me and a huge hooked jaw sink its teeth into my lure... and the fight was on!

I battled the monster fish for 30 minutes on my light 10lb braid and finally got it onto the bank, I was shaking with excitement. The fish weighed in at a whopping 11.5lb and was my PB brown trout by far, and it will definitely take a bit to beat.

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20 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - FEBRUARY 2018

Correct bow weight pays big dividends Carol Watson – Advanced Archery How much weight does a bowhunter need to kill the biggest deer in New Zealand?

Africa has a habit of turning you on your head: you may think you know what you want to hunt there and you may even have a ‘shopping list’, but the seductress can pull you in directions you may never have imagined.

QUELLING AN IRRESISTIBLE URGE Daryl Crimp

That’s not a simple question to answer because bow weight isn’t the only factor affecting the success of a shot. But I can tell you I’ve shot red stags with just 39lbs. So no, you don’t have to have 80lbs. Or even 70lbs.

Now I’d like to have the arrow speed that more weight would give me, but my shooting form would be awful. Ideally you want a weight you can quite comfortably shoot for as long as you want to practise for, maintaining good shooting form.

Can you draw your bow keeping your bow arm level and keeping your stance upright?

If you’re not sure, have someone else watch you do it. It can be hard to know what you do in the draw because you can’t see yourself. If you have to raise the bow arm and lean back to draw, likely your bow is too heavy.

But don’t panic, remember weight is only one factor determining your success: shooting form, broadhead choice, shot placement, arrow quality, bow tuning… the list goes on, you get the idea? But if you’re worried about arrow speed, sometimes dropping a few pounds to take you into a lighter spined arrow can actually result in a very similar arrow speed. It’s worth looking into your whole bow set up to make sure you have the best possible combination that’s going to work for you. Your bow weight is one of the easiest ones to get right and will pay big dividends; your shooting will be more consistent and your confidence will sky rocket.

Crimpy put in the hard yards to take this magnificent black wildebeest

The correct bow weight is one component of success

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On my first trip to Africa I found them mildly amusing but couldn’t figure why anyone would want to shoot one, let alone stick the ugly critter on the wall. The black wildebeest is an antelope that exists in big herds and is known as the ‘clown of Africa’ — they are idiots but quite amusing to watch.

Unpredictable by nature, they frolic, cavort, dance, turn circles, snort, and run wildly on impulse — even covering great distances to run in front of the hunting vehicle. They don’t look much in photographs but in the flesh, they are so ugly and unusual as to be beautiful.

These pony sized animals with bottle-brush nose, beard, and handlebar horns got under my skin and I found the lure of hunting one, irresistible. The high country savannah supports huge herds and that in itself makes hunting them difficult: with a hundred eye on alert, you have to be on your game.

Add to that the vast expanse of open country and the task becomes impossible.

My PH Louis is no slug though and, in Indian file, he, me, my tracker Malibhongwe, and Ed Lukey from Nelson, set a course down a dry watercourse and through a meandering basin. In the course of the hunt we spooked a few but they seldom run too far and, besides, you have all day to hunt. While we use vehicles to get to various hunting grounds, all hunting is walk up, so you can notch up a few k’s in a day. The particular wildebeest I had my eye on was determined to make me appreciate the finer points of his trophy and had me log about six k’s before we were close enough to get serious.

The trophy potential of these animals is difficult to assess, but you are essentially looking for big high, solid bosses, horns that dip well below eye level and

then curve up straight and parallel to each other. We saw any number that fit the bill but had to glass dozens of animals to find them. In Africa, quality speaks volumes and I was equipped with Swarovski EL 10 x 42 binoculars and Z6i 2.5 – 15 x 44 rifle scope.

Leaving Ed and Malibhongwe to wait, Louis and slipped into a dry gulch and set off at a quick clip, hunched over. We’d closed in on three good bulls that were unaware of us.

Louis fluidly set up the sticks and I glided onto them in a well-practiced fashion. The shot followed nano-seconds later: I never ‘worry’ the shot, squeezing off the moment the crosshairs settle on the right spot.

The outcome was the right one, rewarding me with a magnificent animal for the wall and another indelible memory of the Dark Continent.

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Issue 149 21

Safety first

Sudoku

Answers: Safety First - Flags.

By Daryl Crimp

Stuck? Answers are on page 31

Pepper

BOOK REVIEW

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rescues involving plane and helicopter crashes, car accidents, shooting

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mapped a life in the service of others, and charted a course for Wellington and Westpac.

The book is nicely crafted, with short chapters and a crisp narrative that make it hard to put down. His behind-the-scenes depiction of New Zealand’s Life Flight rescue helicopter service allows us to ride shotgun so we gain a firsthand understanding of what these guys do and why, but it is not one dimensional. The stories cover emotional aspects as

well: those on the job, those rescued, and the families of the victims. In doing so, he contrasts these with his own personal tragedies, which adds a poignant touch.

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22 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - FEBRUARY 2018

Where spirits of fly fishers reside

Salmon a day late Simon McMillan

Frank Cartwright

During November 2017, my wife and I rented a cottage at Ngatimoti on the banks of the Motueka River, for a bit of rest and recreation. As a bonus, I was able to fish the river without leaving the property. This was extremely convenient, for it meant my wife was not left on her own for extended periods and she could, in fact, cheer me on from the comfort of her deck chair if I duffed a cast.

The grassed area depicted extends 100 metres to the water’s edge and, with 400 metres of frontage, provides good fishing water.

Semi-submerged boulders gradually give way to shingle beds, with good spotting opportunities for cruising trout. Swallows were regularly feeding on hatches of mayflies but not once did I or my wife see any trout rising at any time of the day or evening. It was most unusual and a little perplexing. It was contrary to expectations and contrary to previous experience fishing the Motueka. Yes, there were trout in the river but they were difficult to locate and just a tad reluctant to show themselves, or take a fly.

That’s fishing!

A fitting epitaph

STORY Over many years of salmon fishing, I have created a tradition whereby I stay up to see the New Year in, celebrate the festivities into the wee small hours, and then rise early to go salmon fishing. Two or three times I have managed to snag a salmon on New Year’s Day. However, this year I simply wasn’t good enough.

The beautiful Motueka is more than just a river

Crossing the Pyramid Bridge and heading down the true left bank of the Motueka one morning for a spot of fishing, I came across a most unusual epitaph attached to a poplar tree. I read the text several times and pondered on who had placed it there and why. It was a touching tribute to two people, one of whom was obviously a dedicated fly-fisher. He and his wife must have been held in high regard by family and/ or friends to erect such

The bird life was prolific.

My wife and I counted at least 15 different species arriving or departing according to their respective feeding patterns. Inquisitive wekas were the most fun, coming right up to the front porch and eyeballing us through the windows.

Tuis and kereru, were very much in evidence and bird watching became so entertaining, I actually spent more time watching bird life than fishing!

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a gracious tribute and it was a strangely sobering experience to contemplate my own inevitable destiny and wondering if, one day, someone would erect a similar memorial to me?

All too soon our week was up and we reluctantly packed up and left the wekas, pukekos, quail, tuis, kereru, and swallows behind. What we did not leave behind were memories of a beautiful river in a lovely valley, where the spirits of departed fly fishers reside.

At sparrow’s fart on the second new day of the year, I was steaming upriver with a group of friends and my 11-year-old daughter Lucy, who ‘wanted to go fishing with Dad’! We fished hard — and I mean hard — working all the promising water until late morning.

Admitting defeat, we retreated but put the brakes on alongside an island near the mouth. Straight away we were told of plenty of fish sightings but little in the way of hook ups. With the sun high and temperatures soaring, we decided to give it a half hour burst and head back to the bach.

Lucy had had enough; salmon fishing is one of those things that can wear you down. She parked up while I cast my way down one side of the island. I was fishing an 8’6” G.Loomis IMX with a Shimano TRANX

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301 and using a D.A.M EFFZET silver zed lure with gold belly; I have found this a good colour combination for clearing water.

I was drawing a blank until I got to the bottom end of the island, where I turned and flicked a cast out the opposite side. Boom. Fish

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on! The fish pulled strong and used the current but spent a lot of time near or on the surface. It looked good, with a broad shoulder and plenty of depth. Ultimately, it tired and I coaxed it into the net. Number five for the season and a good chunk of silver to take home.

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Issue 149 23

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24 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - FEBRUARY 2018

Kayaking

with Chris West

SAFE KAYAK TRANSPORTATION Now that summer is here, more and more people are out with their kayaks. It also means a greater number of kayaks on car roofs and trailers. For the safety of both your kayak and of other road users, please ensure your kayak is suitably tied down when travelling. Here are a few pointers to help you out.

•

that matches the shape of your kayak’s hull. Transporting a sit-on-top up the right way, without a kayak carrier, is likely to cause damage to the kayak.

•

Always use non-stretch tie downs or rope to secure your kayak. While bungy straps or bike tubes may be convenient to use, they won’t hold your kayak in place in the event of a sudden stop or a strong gust of wind.

•

Tie down straps need to have metal buckles. Should a plastic buckle break, it is likely to have a serious consequence.

•

Your tie down straps should run over the top of the kayak and then down the sides of the kayak, with little or no gap between the strap and your kayak.

If you run your straps from the outside of your roof rack, over the kayak and down to the other side of the roof rack, the straps will only contact the kayak on the hull (if it’s upside down) or the deck (if it’s the right way up). To prevent any side to side movement, you will need to tighten the straps very tight. If the straps hug the kayak on the sides, then your kayak will be secure with less strap tension.

•

•

Most kayaks need to be carried either upside down or in a kayak carrier.

•

Carry your kayak upside down if it has a flat section that will sit well on both the front and rear roof rack bar. If it will not sit nicely upside down, you will probably need to use a kayak carrier

•

While it may seem extra secure running straps through the scupper tubes of your kayak, be aware that this could cause a crack to develop where the scupper tube meets the hull of the kayak. It’s far better to simply run the straps right over the kayak.

Done correctly, the straps will stay in place and prevent any forward to back movement of the kayak.

Once you have finished strapping your kayak down, grab one end and give it a good shake, both side to side and up and down. If there is any movement, either tighten your straps a little more, or you may need to look at a new method to secure the kayak.

Some kayaks will have a lot of overhang, forward of, and behind the roof rack bars. The longer the overhang, the greater the leverage the kayak will exert on your roof rack. To reduce this, you can tie the bow and stern down to the front and rear of your car. Be aware, some handles and fittings on kayaks are not strong enough to be used for this, so ensure the attachment to the kayak is strong enough.

There is no magic formula or method that is guaranteed to work for all kayaks and roof rack set ups. But, it is possible to safely transport most kayaks. You might need to make a few changes here and there to suit your specific combination of kayak and car, and once done, you will have a secure load.

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Kahawai on steroids causes stir Jeremy Matthews

When we stay in Collingwood, I often go fishing for a kahawai just off the beach from the campground, on the incoming tide.

One day in December, I was chatting to a local guy from up the valley who said there had been rumours of people catching kingfish in the estuary but he didn’t believe it… neither did I, but then I had a sudden hook up that felt like a kahawai on steroids.

After spending about 20 minutes carefully playing it back and forwards, I saw a flash of a yellow tail and realised I’d hooked a king.

It was my first one ever and I was pretty stoked to have caught it off the beach. At 83cm and 7kg it was not large in the kingfish world but pretty exciting when I was only expecting a kahawai.

They are a beautiful fish and pretty powerful swimmers. It did cause a bit of a stir among the locals and tourists when I brought it back through the village.

Nice shot of the sea... shame the kingi got in the way

Issue 149 25

How fisheries are managed Marty Bowers – MPI Recreational Fishing Team, Ministry for Primary Industries In New Zealand we are lucky to have a rich and diverse ocean providing us with a wide variety of seafood and fishing opportunities. For many species the demand for fish exceeds what can be taken sustainably. Left unmanaged, our fisheries could soon collapse. To ensure a good feed today and make sure future generations can enjoy seafood as population and leisure time increases, effective controls on fishing are essential.

What those controls should look like can be a contentious issue, with groups and individuals involved in fishing having different perceptions on what they should be and how controls impact on them and others. So how are fisheries managed? The key steps in managing fisheries are relatively simple: • We collect information about fishing activity and the health of our fisheries; • We assess all available information annually and determine where action is required; • We then engage with interested people about what the information means; • We inform the Minister

effective controls on fishing are essential if we are to manage them into the future

on the most appropriate management choices; • We enforce the decisions and rules.

Overlaying all of this is the need to prioritise. MPI simply cannot do everything.

scientific research budget of more than $21million. Of this budget the majority is funded through fishing industry levies and the remaining portion by government.

All recommendations made to the Minister on management of our fisheries are based on the best available scientific information. However, there are never any absolutes; there is always a measure of uncertainty in what we do. It is very difficult to count things we cannot see and with more than 630 individual stocks to manage, it quickly becomes a highly complex area to work in and make decisions about.

We cannot practically cover every issue, so prioritisation of what we do each year is critically important. MPI decides where research needs to occur based on a range of factors. A key factor is the value of a fishery from a social, cultural and economic perspective and also how vulnerable it is to overfishing.

This means our most important fisheries such as snapper, kahawai, rock lobster and pa- ua, receive more attention than lower value fisheries like barracouta.

To help monitor our fisheries we have an annual

The annual science review process, which includes

both MPI and independent scientists, evaluates the current research information about each fishery and results are often reviewed by overseas experts.

Once the science information has been reviewed and confirmed as robust, it is used as the basis for reviewing fisheries controls. MPI has a dedicated team of fisheries analysts around the country focussing on inshore fisheries. They determine which fisheries need to be reviewed each year. This is done by looking at the science information, catch data and also asking recreational, commercial and customary fishers about how they believe their fisheries are performing.

If the science information, or combined views of fishers, tells us a fishery is performing really well or really badly, then the management team will look further and propose changes if required.

Limits on catch are our key management control. These limits make sure we leave enough fish in the ocean to maintain or grow the population depending on health of the fishery.

The minister has wide discretion on how to allocate the catch limit. There is often considerable and at times quite passionate, debate about who gets what. There are a wide range of interests that need to be taken into account, including those

that fish for enjoyment, for sustenance, to exercise customary fishing rights and to earn a living by feeding others.

In the course of providing a catch share for each sector, a number of controls are used. For recreational fishers, daily bag limits apply. These limits not only help to keep harvest within the allowance and overall sustainable catch limit but also help to share the available catch between individual recreational fishers.

Certain assumptions are made about recreational catch. We know it will fluctuate from year to year due to environmental and biological changes but on average, the aim is to constrain catch within the allowance provided. This is important to ensure the overall catch is managed; after all, a dead fish is a dead

Fisheries officers play a vital part in the management of our fisheries

fish, no matter whether it is caught on a hook by a recreational fisher or in a commercial trawl net.

Any changes proposed are widely consulted on.

Once the public and fishers have had their say, MPI summarises these views and advises the Minister on the options available. The Minister then makes the final decisions on changes to the way fisheries are managed.

The Minister’s decisions and reasons are publicised and changes to catch limits and the relevant fishing rules are made.

Our management of fisheries is effective and robust. Currently, 97 percent of our stocks of known status (by volume) are above their management target levels and there are rebuilding plans in place for those that are not.

However, we can always do better. It is important the system evolves as people change what they want from our fisheries resources and overall demand increases.

New technology such as cameras and new ways of recording catch will make new and different ways of managing fisheries possible.

To keep up to date with fisheries issues in your area sign up to the recreational fishing mailing list by contacting recfishingteam@ mpi.govt.nz or by visiting the Recreational Fishing Initiative page on the MPI website.

Will you catch a fish – or a fine?

The fishing rules are there for a reason – to ensure sustainability, so Kiwis can continue to enjoy fishing in the future. To avoid being fined make sure you know the limits and other details for your areas. Download the free NZ Fishing Rules App and check it each time you go.

Shared sustainable fisheries for the future 0800 4 POACHER recfishingteam@mpi.govt.nz Download the NZ fishing rules app from either:

Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

26 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - FEBRUARY 2018

“I’m a cheat,” admits Sinclair Popular TV series Gone Fishin’ celebrates 25 years on air this month, kicking off a new season on Sunday 11th Feb at 5.00pm on Three.

Presenter Graeme Sinclair said it was a herculean effort for a show that had humble beginnings in 1993.

“Twenty-five seasons, we’re going to crack 600 episodes and it is one of New Zealand’s longest running TV shows,” he said.

Graeme says that when he started the show, he was like many others who had no or little regard for the environment.

“I took it as my birthright to take what I wanted but, through making Gone Fishin’, I came to realise we all need to be responsible for the environment and manage it together.”

He said recreational fishers need to realise that what we have is a privilege and we need to engage with Iwi, commercial, government,

vision but it can’t take the place of a good story.

While being the central driving force behind Gone Fishin’ has its challenges, Graeme says he still surprises himself.

and environmental, to find agreements and concessions on how we best manage the fisheries and environment.

One of the most challenging episodes was being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a central nervous system disease that affects movement, sensation and body functions, in series five.

Graeme says that worst moment is also cause for celebration.

“Twenty years with bum in chair is no mean feat.”

It is also a testament to a strong support network around him.

“My wife Sandee is key to that, and now having our children, James and Amelia, part of the crew is special.”

Dylan Booth

“Every time I get in a boat, I’m still as excited as I was as a kid,” he reflects. “I have always had a love and passion for New Zealand’s outdoors and have enjoyed sharing this… that it hasn’t diminished surprises me!”

Daryl Crimp

“I was delivered a very negative message by professionals and told I’d have to give up work. I, briefly, believed it but then realised it was up to me and decided to move forward.”

One last cast twice

As for best moments?

“I’m a cheat,” admits Sinclair! “I’m not the world’s best angler — instead, I’m a facilitator who gets to meet good people in great locations to make TV.” He defines good TV as storytelling, with a beginning, middle, and end (pseudo reality TV drives him nuts).

The strength of Gone Fishin’, he says, is that he talks to real Kiwis and tells stories in an informative way. And he embraces change. Ever the optimist, he says technology has dramatically altered TV. “Once I’d point a cameraman and sound man at me and I’d tell a story — simple. Now we have to set the underwater camera, coordinate the drone, adjust the GoPro, and focus the main camera!”

He says it makes for better

Graeme says he has done well in finding a path to do what I want with the people I want.

“But that brings with it the responsibility to give something back. I am patron of Police Blue Light, which involves me with many youth events and activities,” he says. “Seeing that healthy family interaction is huge reward for me.”

As for the future, Graeme says the driving force of New Zealand TV is sponsorship and he welcomes on board new sponsor – adhesive company Bostik. The association cements Gone Fishin’s slot for some time to come and on the subject of running out of stories, Graeme has this to say, “I get to go back to amazing places, meet incredible people, and tell more stories… the fish don’t change!”

On the first of January, a friend and I ventured around the lake edge, near where we were staying for the summer holidays. The morning was wonderful; sun beaming high in the sky and no wind. Ideal weather really, so we walked the edge casting lures for big trout. We’d work a piece of water, then move on a few metres and repeat the process. I managed to land a few smaller trout before the big catch.

We were about to leave when I uttered a tired old cliché, “One last cast!”

Normally, most anglers’ one

last cast turns into another.

Luckily, I fell into the same trap and ‘one last cast’ became two. Then the freight train hit, or rather, a trout with train-like properties. My reel started smoking like a fire and line peeled off into the depths as the fish jumped and fought to be free. The battle waged on, with me winning some and losing some. After a long hard battle, the fish succumbed and I had a double digit, 10lb, Lake Aviemore monster in hand. After a quick photo shoot, I released the beast back home. It sure was good to ring in the New Year with a bang!

WGS - 1984 WGS16’ - 1984 41° .7072S 174° 32’ .9797E 41° 16’ .7072S 174° 32’ .9797E

SOUTH SOUTH ISLAND ISLAND

WGS - 1984 WGS17’ - 1984 41° .6973S 174° 37’ .0097E 41° 17’ .6973S 174° 37’ .0097E

WGS - 1984 WGS - 1984 41° 18’ .4072S 174° 14’ .2894E 41° 18’ .4072S 174° 14’ .2894E

NORTH NORTH ISLAND ISLAND

Zone n o i t c e t o Pr tection Zone e l b a C t i a P)ro Strait Cab lePZ Cook C ( r t S Cook (CPZ) WGS - 1984

WGS - 1984 WGS20’ - 1984 41° .1973S 174° 10’ .6094E 41° 20’ .1973S 174° 10’ .6094E

WGS - 1984

WGS - 1984 41° 20’ .3973S 174° 35’ .1097E 41° 20’ .3973S 174° 35’ .1097E WGS - 1984 WGS - 1984 41° 22’ .0973S 174° 14’ .6094E 41° 22’ .0973S 174° 14’ .6094E

Fighting Bay Fighting Bay

NO FISHING of any type (including trawling, NO FISHING of any type crayfishing, line fishing, taking of (including trawling, paua or kina, setting of nets orof crayfishing, line fishing, taking finfish ANCHORING. paua orpots). kina,NO setting of nets or finfish pots). NO ANCHORING. Transit boundary markers and light Transit boundary markers and light Yellow Warning Sign Yellow Warning Sign

Permitted Activities: crayfishing, the taking of Permitted Activities: paua crayfishing, and kina and use of thethe taking of set nets potsthe permitted pauaand andfinfish kina and use of set ONLY within 200pots metres of the nets and finfish permitted low watermark AND outside the ONLY within 200 metres of the yellow warning signs locatedthe at low watermark AND outside either of Oteranga Bay and yellow side warning signs located at Fighting Bayofprovided either side Oterangathat Bay and such activities are onlythat carried Fighting Bay provided out daylight, are andonly any carried vessel suchinactivities used supportand them not out intodaylight, anydoes vessel anchor fix to the seabed used to or support them does by not any means. anchor or fix to the seabed by

Oteranga Bay Oteranga Bay

WGS19’ - 1984 41° .1273S 174° 37’ .9397E 41° 19’ .1273S 174° 37’ .9397E

Issue 149 27

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28 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - FEBRUARY 2018

New species and awesome PB Lowrance HOOK2 now available in New Zealand Rebecca Falconer

Now with the road open to Kaikoura and a preChristmas short holiday trip to Hanmer Springs planned, I would be able to squeeze in a day trip to Kaikoura.

The weather and timing was looking awesome, so I started to ponder what I could catch there. The word from the club members was MOKI! I had never seen a moki caught before, so was very keen to at least try. I started asking those who I knew had caught them, where to go and what bait to use. The intel came through – I am so grateful to the club guys for sharing this with me.

went along with it. Tension perfect! The fish had a good run and I was so excited to see it come in out of the surf!

We had another few casts but were so happy with the one landed we didn’t really want to hook anymore, this fish was more than enough for us and the catch was such fun! I do look forward

to another chance to target these beautiful fish again.

I wouldn’t mind having another fish around Kaikoura again too.

At the heart of the world’s easiest-to-use HOOK2 fishfinder/chartplotter series is Lowrance Autotuning sonar – a new, game-changing solution that actively corrects sonar settings for the clearest underwater view. Now, anglers can spend more time fishing and less time making manual adjustments to their sonar settings. Most models will also feature full navigational capability and pre-loaded, high-detail mapping.

Bait bought, Spot X found, I went off with my new rod in tow. How awesome it was to be back in Kaikoura and to have a rod in the postcard scenery water. Quick post to the club, what’s a legal size moki? Answer - 40cm.

First cast out, hit, then more big hits. Fuel on the fire, reel it in, and away we went again. I only had my rod out for about five minutes and fish on! I had no clue what moki fish were like, so when my Dad said, “What do you think is on there?” I honestly had no clue. I knew it was a decent fish either way and there was no way it was getting off. I just played to the run of the fish and

The Lowrance HOOK2 is the latest addition to the Lowrance family of Fishfinders and Chartplotter and is now available to purchase at your authorised local dealer. Due to unprecedented demand, stocks are limited so be quick to head in store and get your order placed for a prompt delivery.

Rebecca experience a bit of moki magic in Kaikoura

HOOK2 is not only easy to use, it’s also a powerful performer on the water. Anglers can cover more water in less time with 2X wider sonar coverage with new Lowrance wide-angle Broadband Sounder™ and CHIRP sonar – providing more sonar coverage of most fishfinders on the market today. SideScan and DownScan Imaging™ complete the HOOK2 sonar arsenal on select models, ensuring

anglers can view life-like images of fishing-holding structure to both sides and below the boat.

The new HOOK2 series is available in three easy-to-install, value-priced sonar categories to meet every angler’s needs – 3-in-1 sonar with High CHIRP, SideScan and DownScan Imaging; 2-in-1 sonar with High CHIRP and DownScan Imaging; and proven Broadband Sounder™, respectively known as TripleShot™, SplitShot™ and Bullet. Bullet 4-inch have an eye-catching, new wide-screen design, providing additional detailed sonar history versus vertical 4-inch display models.

HOOK2 fishfinder/chartplotters is offered in 12-, 9-, 7-, 5- and 4-inch display sizes, and most models also feature full navigational capability and pre-loaded C-Map cartography. HOOK2 fishfinderonly models – with the exception of the sonar-only HOOK2 4x Bullet – include a built-in GPS Plotter (without charts) for saving waypoints, following trails and navigating to favourite fishing spots.

Ranging in price from $139 for the 4x model to $2409 for the 12, the new HOOK2 units are set to be a big seller throughout New Zealand. For more information, please visit www.lowrance.com/en-NZ

MUSCLE UP - WIN A SIX PACK! SEND IN YOUR FISHING AND/OR HUNTING STORY TO WIN Submit your story and if published you will go into the draw to win a Weapon of Mass Attraction T-shirt and a 6 pack of BIG CATCH SALMON BURLEY. GET FISHING, HUNTING AND WRITING NOW! email: editor@thefishingpaper.co.nz Submit to facebook facebook.com/TheFishingPaper Go online to thefishingpaper.co.nz Download The Fishing Paper App (available from google play) and send direct

&

Competition runs until February 2018. Winners will be published in the paper each issue.

WEAPON OF MASS ATTRACTION

Issue 149 29

COOKING with CRIMPY

BARBECUED CITRUS SNAPPER

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

YOU WILL NEED

METHOD

•

Add above ingredients to shaker and mix until well blended. Drizzle over fillets and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes — turning twice.

4 serves firm snapper fillet MARINADE

•

4 tbsp olive oil

•

2 tbsp lime juice

•

1/2 tsp Wasabi paste

•

Grated zest of 1/2 a lime

•

1 tsp sweet chilli sauce

•

Cracked pepper

Remove fillets and drain.

Fry for 2-3 minutes per side on a moderately hot barbecue, turning once.

Rest for five minutes before serving with a light crispy salad and fresh ciabatta bread.

READ US ANYWHERE, ANYTIME.

The

Fishing Paper App Share your stories Send us your pics Stay up-to-date with events Plus loads more

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Fresh local SNAPPER in store now at Richmond Richmond Mall • Monday to Friday: 9.00am – 5.30pm (late night Thursday: 8.00pm) • Saturday: 9am – 5.00pm • Sunday: 10am – 4.00pm

Blenheim 20 Grove Road, Mayfield, Blenheim • Monday to Friday: 9.00am – 6.00pm • Saturday: 9.00am – 4.00pm • Sunday: CLOSED

Sticky Pork Meat Balls INGREDIENTS • 500g beef mince • 500g pork mince • 1/2 cup Glasseye Creek Sauce • 1 tsp oregano • 1/2 tsp sea salt • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper • 1 small onion, diced • 1 tsp chilli flakes • 1 1/2 tbls Worcestershire sauce • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese • 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs GLAZE (increase qty if you wish) • 25g butter • 1/4 cup Glasseye Creek Sauce • 1 tsp honey METHOD Preheat an oven to 200 degrees C Place the beef & pork into a mixing bowl, combine with onion, chilli, salt, pepper, oregano and Worcestershire sauce; mix well. Add the Glasseye Creek Sauce, Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs.

Mix until evenly blended, then form into small meatballs, and place onto a baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the centre, 20 to 25 minutes.

Glaze: Melt butter, combine with sauce and honey. Pour over meat balls to coat.

Nelson 270 Wakefield Quay • Monday to Friday: 9.00am – 5.30pm • Saturday & Sunday: 9.30am – 4.00pm

30 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - FEBRUARY 2018

From Sinker to Smoker

THE

By Ron Prestage

Six of the best at Mokihinui

DIRECTORY

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Former West Coaster Chris Lee, now of Perth Australia, took out six major prizes at the recent Mokihinui Fishing Competition.

Chris landed the biggest trout, the longest fish, day five and day nine heaviest fish, plus two prizes in the snapper section.

Craig Thin extended his record of landing the heaviest fish overall with a 19.6kg ray.

The heaviest snapper was caught by Mike Lee with a 4.15kg specimen on day five of the ten-day competition. Mike also bagged the biggest kahawai. The Fishing Paper daily prize for the heaviest snapper was claimed on seven of the ten days fished. Top female angler was Pam McNabb who caught a 3.61kg snapper on the last day. Junior fisher

Arlo Poore cleaned up this section with a 2.35kg snapper and a 1.12kg trout. In the increasingly popular Kontiki section Team Timbsy took top honours with a 6.81kg rig and the Lois Syndicate topped the snapper section with a 7.63kg fish.

178 fish were weighed by the over 140 participants at the Old Boiler Café and Bar, the Mokihinui base for the competition.

A fantastic barbecue meal was provided at the prizegiving of this very successful competition, well run by the organisers including Brian and Tony Murphy, Paul Clarkson, Melanie Blundell and Brian Morgan.

Craig Thin receiving trophy for heaviest fish from Paul Clarkson

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Issue 149 31

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32 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - FEBRUARY 2018

Anglers and danglers Tyler McBeth

“44,” Greg called out, as he dragged up a small 6lb rig.

Tyler is a ‘smooth hound’ at sniffing out rig

There are anglers, and there are danglers. Greg Gilbert, club captain of the Canterbury Surfcasting Club, has been surfcasting for over 20 years, 15 of which, he tells me, has been ‘hardcore.’ It’s at the other end of the scale where I sit. When it comes to surfcasting, I’d have to admit I’m quite the novice. Having only ever caught one small rig before this season, you can make the guess who is the angler and who is the dangler.

“Fresh bait is paramount,” Greg told me, while on our way to a prime location to gather paddle crabs. When we arrived, a cold easterly wind brought the salty scent

Greg had previously set himself a goal of 100 rig for this season. Stuck at the business end of my line was an even smaller rig of around 4lb but a target species none-the-less. A rhythm of fishing overtook us: catch a rig, release the catch, clip on a freshly baited trace, cast out and quickly try to re-bait the used trace before the rod keeled over or the line went completely slack.

It was over an hour before I even managed to take out some sunscreen and, even then, I had a fish on midway through applying it!

Greg Gilbert is one of Canterbury’s most experienced land based anglers

of the ocean that permeated through our noses as we baited two crab pots. A salmon frame in one and a third of a 5-6lb sea-run trout in the other. The pots were then thrown in, with a rope

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in his rod holder, wound in the slack, and proceeded to walk towards the bait bin to prepare another trace, when his bait runner reel sang into life. In less than one minute fishing, Greg was already playing his target species. I hastily baited my hook and cast out. Before my rod was even in the rod holder, a fish had made the mistake of snatching my bait with the hook firmly in its mouth.

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It would be over two hours of red hot action before the bites began to slowly burn down to embers.

Unfortunately, all things come to an end and the action gradually became less and less frequent as time went on. The average size of rig we caught was fairly small, around 6lb. I couldn’t complain though. I

Fresh bait is paramount and crabs top of the list for rig

had learnt an awful lot about how rig feed, as well as how frequently these respectable sharks return to bite again — shortly after dropping your bait. On top of that, I had smashed my PB with a 14lb 6oz fish. Greg didn’t do badly either, landing a couple of 17lbers plus a fat smooth-hound of over 20lb, full of pups. As our bait supply diminished, coupled with our rods as motionless as a tall tree on a breathless day, it was time to call it quits.

Our red letter day had ended with both of us catching over 50 rig! I managed 21 and Greg

hauled out 30, which had been the most he had caught in one session. This blinding fishing trip pushed up Greg’s seasonal tally to an outstanding 73 rig!

If you haven’t tried surfcasting, I highly recommend it. Beach fishing can be very rewarding. You never know what you are going to catch and, on top of that, you can meet great people. Fishing clubs such as the Canterbury Surfcasting Club can be a resource to find knowledgeable anglers, who are willing to help you with information about what is happening on our beaches in the South Island.

attached and left for about 10 minutes before they needed checking. Crabbing was slow but after almost two hours, 88 crabs were in the chilly bin!

“I doubt we will use all those crabs.” Greg told me.

“Unless we have a session of a lifetime when the fish are stacked in front of us,” I replied jokingly.

Little could we both anticipate what was about to happen.

Two hours later, we arrived at our destination. We found no sign of any other anglers present. As a rule of thumb, most anglers who fish for rig, fish during hours of total darkness. Greg and I were breaking this rule by arriving at midday — it’s better than sitting at home twiddling our thumbs. The sun was blistering hot, heat from the blue sky visibly radiating off the greywacke cobblestones as we descended towards the water’s edge. After staring towards a flat ocean for several minutes to determine which way the current was moving, beach spikes were firmly placed, rigs ready tied, and aggressive live crabs destined for a 5/0 circle recurve hook. I was ready to set my trap. Greg cast out his rod first, placed it

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Issue 149 33

Real hunters push through it, yeah right!

I’m sitting with my back against a lacebark tree, watching a small spider make its way down into the base of a clump of crown fern. One of the larger fern leaves has been bent so the dull side is facing outwards, which tells me I passed this way seven weeks ago when clearing my trail cameras and setting traps.

The first day I’d tramped into camp, setting two short trap-lines along with two cat cages, and serviced two of my closest trail cameras. The chips revealed a few good images.

It was an early start the following morning to clear the trap-lines and reset one line. I caught a few possums, along with a cat in one cage and, on line two, the biggie for the morning, a Kaimai Tiger. There is still a small population of them in the more remote areas and over the years I have got about six of them in traps – big, wild, and, like their larger brothers, they will have a go at you.

The weather was fine and with little wind, so I decided to hunt my way around what I call the Big Loop. With three cameras to service on the way, it is about a six hour trip.

By 1.00pm I was on top of a sharp spur heading along a flat ridge leading into a

Dave Sorenson

on my way. Amazing really.

Sharon received a lot of support and encouragement from family, friends, and fellow hunters. The correspondence really helped me during those first few days.

The fabled Kaimai Tiger

Just ahead was a nice fat spiker

rather nice bush saddle. I have been through this area about 20 times over the years and never put up a deer, but this day was different.

As I slowly stalked into the saddle, I spied a red deer quietly feeding, a spiker in good condition, so I quickly closed the bolt, took aim, and BANG! There on the ground, about 50 metres away was some very nice venison. No fancy gun, telescopic sights, or fancy suppressor involved, just a lever action open sights, good old pig hunter gun. As I was only about a quarter of the way around my loop, I decided to hang the meat overnight and collect it next morning.

The first camera to service was at the highest point of the loop and when I checked the chip, I found the camera hadn’t been working. What pipped me off was there were some good sized deer prints around the area. I packed the faulty camera into my day bag and continued on to pick up the next camera and relocate it to a new position.

At one of my best camera sites, the chip revealed some really good shots.

Next morning I tidied up around camp, cleared the small trap-line, and headed out to the road end. Part way, I re-climbed the ridge to collect the meat.

Just before the half-way

point out, where the route drops into the creek followed by a steep climb to a flat area, I knew I was in trouble: general chest pain and sore shoulders, not good, so I did the unthinkable. I opened the pack and jettisoned half of the meat. Better some meat at the road end than none at all.

After a short rest I felt okay again, so took it easy to the road end. After a rest and a change of shirt, I was good to go, or so I thought.

dodged a bullet for sure.”

The next three weeks involved pain, some trepidation and lots of very professional people doing their very best for me. They cut me open, did a double bypass around the severely reduced flow point, wired me up again, drugged me up, and, after six days, sent me

Well, I have been sitting here for a long time and the sun has disappeared, so it’s time to go back to the road end. I stand, go over to the crown fern and bend a second leaf over. Symbolic really but this is to give me motivation to get back into shape so next time I pass this way it will be with a full pack of gear, ready to terrorise the local possums and just maybe get me another Kaimai Tiger.

Confucius once said, “man who have no target, hit nothing.”

Dave’s spiker was nearly the death of him

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34 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - FEBRUARY 2018

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Issue 149 35

BOATS IN BURKHART BLOOD Dave Burkhart

I have been in a privileged position to be able to work both sides of the fence within the fishing and boating industry. This being from a design and build perspective and I also have spent thousands of hours working on and skippering commercial fishing vessels.

The first boat that Dave built

The latest boat that Dave built

I’m the youngest of the Burkhart Brothers. I was born and bred amidst the fishing industry, as all of our family were in those days, and have been involved with boating all of my life. Our father was a very innovative man for his time. He built all of his own cray boats up until they started using fibreglass hulls.

Even then, he would only buy the fibreglass hulls and build from there. Apparently, back when I was a baby, the lounge at home doubled as a workshop during the day and Dad made several double enders in the back yard. My first memory of hull designs would have been when I was about six-years-old; a 60ft trawler skeleton, which was my first Jungle Jim set that I played on.

place; it was open slather.

You could fish everyday if the weather was right and the crays where around. I left school and started a trade but, unfortunately, didn’t finish, as I found myself

drawn back to the water.

Great life style, great money.

With the introduction of the quota system, we found ourselves only fishing for about six months of the year:

two and a half months in the winter and three and a half months in the summer.

At this stage, I was working for one of my brothers. With so much time on our hands, we started modifying our fishing boats. Over the next few years we built, modified, and experimented with boats. In my spare time after this, I found myself working in my mate’s boat building company, where 50% of this business consisted of repair work. We repaired a lot of commercial boats and, in doing so, I learnt a lot about structural defects and design

Dave has extensive experience in boat building

As I grew up, my life revolved around school, rugby, and cray fishing (weekends and most of the holidays). Back in those days the quota system was not in

flaws. For an example, in our area pa- ua divers would overload their boats, have huge horse power on their boats, and tow their boats for miles on unsealed roads. If a boat could survive this, it was a good design! Over the next few years we built and modified a lot of different vessels.

I had the best of both worlds. I would build boats and spend just as much time on the water using them. In 2000, I took a break from the cray fishing industry and concentrated on building up my own boat building business in Masterton. I built a range of aluminium vessels from 3.5 metres up to 14 metres. This had its ups and downs. In 2003, I moved the business to Tauranga where the boating fraternity was huge, along with a healthy labour force.

I designed and built a range of affordable pontoon boats (Reel Pontoon Boats).

I started off small and conservatively. We just started to get a good market share when the recession hit, which had a huge impact on recreational boat sales and a lot of companies went out of business, so I diversified and went back to building and maintaining the commercial vessels.

opportunity to go boat building in Western Australia and was employed to run a workshop as a foreman, overseeing 13 to 15 full time engineers, as well as a few contractors. The company built mostly 16 to 24 metre vessels. The last vessel we built was the new 25 metre patrol vessel for Tasmania.

During my time there, my skill level increased ten-fold due to the business owner’s years of experience and attention to detail.

We have recently returned back to New Zealand with the intention of specializing in custom boat building ventures, fleet management, and consultancy work. I will also be assisting with the cray-fishing catching sector for Burkhart Fisheries.

In 2013 I had the

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