June 2017 - The Fishing Paper & Hunting News

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THE FISHING PAPER - JUNE 2017

www.thefishingpaper.co.nz

THE

FISHING FREE

June 2017 Issue 141

PAPER

&

HUNTING

Boothy’s golden booty

The

NEWS

re is

a ver

y good

reason why John’s g

Story pg 34

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THE FISHING PAPER - JUNE 2017

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MARINE ELECTRONICS

Now Includes full GPS

With Sean Ryan sean@fluidelectronics.co.nz

When brilliance simply gets brighter The inReach 2 way communicator has just got a whole lot better. Garmin purchased the product in 2016 and have made some radical but very welcomed improvements.

Previously, one question we were often asked is when are they going to put a GPS chart plotter into the unit? Garmin has listened and included the equivalent of their top selling GPS64, increasing the screen size to make it easy to use. The only feature missing being the Birds Eye view, but they have not finished yet and there will be more to come in the future I am sure.

So many people have set themselves up with all they need to be safe at sea or on the land and, up until now, it’s taken two or three separate devices to achieve the same result as the inReach. These are now a true one-stop shop for both work and recreational health and safety.

With the SOS function, you have a device that can replace a PLB with the advantage of telling people exactly what is wrong with you, plus them giving you updates about your rescue. Friends, family, and the Rescue Coordination Centre can see where you are on a map and automatically track any movements, every 10 minutes once you have activated the SOS. And this function does work, even it is being monitored from Canada. As set out in a previous editorial, we have intimate knowledge of the function and reliability, right through to rescue, from one of our customers.

The satellite communications is the same reliable Iridium set up as before and, without being encumbered with two-year contracts, so much more affordable than

a Sat phone. When paired via Bluetooth to your phone, the inReach becomes your antenna, with your phone and contact list having access to the outside world, regardless or where you are. A real bonus is the flexibility to adapt or suspend your plan to your needs, on a month-by-month basis.

Messages have always been limited to 160 characters but that’s more than enough to get your information through.

When the Iridium plan is suspended, the SOS feature will not be available, as you are have told the satellites that you don’t want them to track your movements. Their safety plan is a cheap and effective way to keep everything running.

They have improved the battery life from the former 100 hours but, as yet, we have not been able to live test to get accurate feedback. And if you further manage your use and the brightness setting, while including one of the many small, cost effective pre-charged power packs, you can greatly extend battery life and practical usage even more.

Garmin branding also came with a new sleek shape encasing the unit and a new button layout. With these big improvements, the usual certainty is a price increase… but not this time; the price has actually dropped slightly, which is something every user appreciates.

A fantastic three-in-one, for any work or pleasure in our remote, rugged but beautiful country, or anywhere your cell phone does not work. They are already proving a huge hit so give us a call now.

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Home Automation envy of friends Daniel MacMillan

Home Automation can mean many things to many people. Put simply, it is the ability to convert smart technology through correct product choice and programming, into something intuitive and simple for the end user. Starting with a solution-focused supplier is a huge part of the battle. What happens behind the scenes is exactly what stops the frustration, cursing, and throwing of remotes around the room after the system is installed.

It is always better to include automation in your planning from the outset, as it makes setting out the system much easier and significantly reduces installation costs. If you install after the build is finished, the cost increases rapidly and the solution you are

after may not be available in every room, as access is limited.

WiFi has had a big push and while it has taken some major leaps forwards in recent times, to the real music enthusiast there is no comparison to hard-wired sound: crisper, clearer and devoid of unwanted interference.

Most homeowners do not know and don’t need to know the inner workings of the impressive electrical gadgets in the cupboard. Trying to go through manually and make adjustments is simply a minefield of headaches and nightmares, because the range of functions and features is incredible.

What makes the difference is a programmer who has taken time to find out what you want and how you want to achieve it. To us, there

Home Automation

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is nothing like the expressions of new owners when demonstrating a new system, as their dreams unfold into reality. The only thing better is when their friends come to see us and demand a system just like their mates.

While simplicity is the key to the end user, the key is utilising quality brands with proven compatibility. Products that use high quality components that consistently produce the best performance.

Controllers for a quality system come in many various forms and shapes, from wallmounted units to your mobile phone. They start with simple keypad options and evolve into complex mini computers where, at a simple touch of the screen, your window dressings all move at different speeds so that

they are all completely drawn at the same time. All lighting for indoor and outdoor areas can be turned on and adjusted from the same panel, and you set the scene for individual rooms or areas by playing different music.

These controllers can be strategically placed throughout the house and often involve a range of units to suit different areas of the home and what aspects they are expected to control. The most versatile is the mobile phone, as most people always have it with them. You can access anything you want from anywhere in the home or, if the system you selects allows you, remotely as well.

Put a smile on your face every time, by calling us for the intuitive solution that will make you the envy of your friends.

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THE FISHING PAPER - JUNE 2017

Insane marauders & Ben Boothy

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SHARK

ATTACKS Ben is just relieved it wasn't his butt that attracted the attention of the shark!

After a few winds of the reel, the kingfish smashed my jig and it was all on. The fish took off for the bottom faster than you could blink and I was really struggling to keep the rod from hitting the side of the boat - the fight was insane. Eventually the fish was landed but was missing the back half, as a shark had got to it first. This kingfish had provided the biggest adrenaline rush I had ever had and I couldn’t wait to hook another one.

A few mates and I had travelled to French Pass in search of some good kingi fishing and we were not disappointed. We had heard about the huge kingfish that live in the area and were keen to get a few for ourselves.

After several conversations with a successful Nelson local, we headed off from the boat ramp armed with a few good ideas and spots to try.

As we drifted over a likely looking spot, all eyes were on the sounder looking for the fish to appear, the anticipation was building.

When the first school of fish appeared, everyone started buzzing and we couldn’t get our lures to the bottom quick enough. On

the second drop I hooked the biggest kingi I had ever hooked and the line peeled off of the reel faster than I had ever seen before; it really was a buzz. I quickly learnt that you had to fish with a very tight drag, firstly to get the fish away from the rocks and, secondly, to get it away from the sharks, as they were just as keen to get the fish as we were. After a few minutes, the fish came to the boat minus a few bits but we were all buzzing so it didn’t matter, as the fight had been truly entertaining.

The next fish only took a few more drops to get the hook up and I applied the lessons learnt from the previous fish to get it to the boat quickly. I was rewarded with a stunning French Pass kingfish and I couldn’t have been happier.

By the time the fish disappeared my arms were screaming for me to stop, as all the fights had been truly epic. I really couldn’t get enough of them.

All up I hooked and landed four kingfish in an hour and they were so much fun, I was hooked.

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Ben just loves the scrappy nature of d'Urville Island kingies.

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THE FISHING PAPER - JUNE 2017

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Maxing out with blue cod on the fly.

Blue cod on the fly Max Graham

The cold glassy autumn morning was broken up with fish busting the surface and birds working in a frenzy.

After chasing these boil ups around Golden and Tasman Bays, with marauding kahawai smashing the schools of anchovies and us getting sore arms from kahawai after kahawai hitting our saltwater fly gear, we decided to come inshore and try our luck on some reef species.

Struggling to find snapper and only hooking more kahawai, we moved further toward land where a series of reefs and pinnacles surrounded by heavy foul bottom looked promising. Upon arrival, the Lowrance sounder lit up, showing good sign close to the bottom. We deployed the Minn Kota and mooched around the reefs, within fly casting distance. Using 8wt fly rods, fast sinking lines, 16lb tippet, and heavy clouser-style flies, we were able to plunge the depths to between 7 - 9 metres. The crystal clear water made it possible to actually sight fish to blue cod!

The blue cod were suckers for a well presented fly.

We targeted in and around the drop offs, bringing the fly up over the ledges. First cast ‘Bang’ - hook up; a healthy, just under legal, blue cod pulled from the reef. We started locking onto them, getting the flies in the right place to intercept them and it was all on for a couple of hours, catching one after the other.

It was fun just teasing the fish, in the clear water, with a fast strip then just letting the fly fall back down as if it was an injured baitfish.

Just watching the blue cod launch their attack and seeing the fly disappear as they crushed it, was sensational.

After a while, the bite time switched off and they were harder to come by, so a swap to a crab fly to try yielding some other species was the plan of attack. After six or so casts the line went tight with a very violent take and a very good scrap ensued. I got it up onto the boat this was one of our best fish of the day.

We were stoked with our results so headed for home.

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THE FISHING PAPER - JUNE 2017

Queen of the kings Dewy van der Ley

Dewy with her new drug of choice.

While I had caught a variety of species of fish, my dream was to catch a kingfish, so friends Ed and Ricky set out to rectify the situation. We found ourselves fishing amongst other boats around the Trio Island in the Outer Marlborough Sounds, in what turned out to be an all day session. The boys were adept at jigging so demonstrated the technique, which looked very strange to me.

I thought the blokes were having spasms but they pointed out that it was all in the action.

We were drifting over a reef structure in 60m of water, using 300g knife jigs. There was sign on the sounder so the guys were amped and confident we’d get amongst them.

Then one of them hooked into a good fish and played it until it was spent enough to come to the boat.

“The secret is to look as stupid as you can,” one of them said.

All I can say is, I must have looked pretty damn stupid because it worked. Straightaway I felt a solid connection, a brief pause, and then the rod folded over and line melted off the reel. I was into my first ever kingfish and the adrenaline started pumping in time with

the bucking rod. Talk about exhilarating; the kingi straight away tried to outwit me, diving under the boat and causing our driver to take evasive action. The runs were strong, demonstrating what powerhouses kingfish really are.

The fight lasted ten minutes, not as long as I’d anticipated, but when it was finally on board I was trembling with excitement. The guys were screaming congratulations and slapping me on the back - what an absolute buzz. I didn’t come away unscathed though; mechanical jigging requires that you hold the rod butt under your arm and, in this case, the pounding I took from such a scrappy fighter left me chafed and bruised. However, I was so hooked and charged with adrenaline, I staunched it out and was straight back into it.

We went on to boat five kings, which ranged in size from 20 - 35lb. I caught three of them so was stoked to be crowned king of the kingies that day. We kept two for a feed and then targeted other species. I smoked mine and it was delicious and, in fact, very addictive. So is the catching part - can’t wait to go again.

Cashback deals on HDS GEN3 Lowrance has just announced a cashback promotion across its HDS Gen 3 range of multi-function displays. With $100, $150 and $200 cashbacks on offer for 7, 9 and 12 inch displays respectively. The offer is available for HDS Gen3 units purchased from the 1 May to 7 August and can be redeemed by visiting www.Lowrance.com.

For anglers who want it all, HDS Gen3 combines a fast processor with enhanced built in fishfinder and chartplotter technologies.

Superior target separation is achieved through CHIRP, StructureScan® HD, and StructureScan 3D sonar imaging to produce a distinct view of fish holding near the bottom and structure.

A multi-touch display and full keypad operation offers fingertip access to all features, with instinctive icon-driven commands easy to learn. The user friendly features extend to scrolling menus, cursor assist, snap-to setting markers, and preview panes with quick touch side bars, which make operation similar to that of a smartphone or tablet.

HDS Gen3 displays network together, so multiple units may be employed at the helm to allow full screen sonar and chart, or additional

units on a casting deck. This system also offers full boat integration, with electric trollingmotor, outboard motor, and entire electronics control achievable through one networked HDS Gen3 system.

For further information on Lowrance HDS Gen3, the entire Lowrance line of marine electronics, or to locate an authorised Lowrance dealer, please call 1300 NAVICO (Aus), 0800 4 NAVICO (NZ) visit www. lowrance.com

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THE FISHING PAPER - JUNE 2017

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Aussie

Aussie Steve Higgins, the prosecutor, dressed for the Otago summer.

prosecutor guilty of

impersonation Ian Hadland

Higgins is an Aussie. That’s a good enough excuse for most failings, but I would have thought the ex copper-turnedprosecutor would have been made of sterner stuff.

“Are you still cold Higgins?” I asked in astonishment at his already overdressed frame. “It’s summer mate!” I passed him my down jacket and he squeezed into it pushing the zip up to his chin. “Welcome to the New Zealand summer Higgins.”

In my experience, the naïve trout in Diamond Lake near Glenorchy are always easily fooled by bushy flies and soft baits, making it a perfect destination for an Aussie cobber down on his luck. But today, it was covered in whitecaps pushed up by a stiff easterly.

“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” he mumbled through his neck buff. “We could just go back to the hut, play cards, and sip whiskey.”

Tempting as that was, it was only 9.00am so I slid the dinghy into the lake and told him to get his ol’ bones into it before we changed our minds.

A thin vein of flat water hugged the bush edge and out from it was a solid foam line. An ideal spot for trout to feed but, more importantly, it was out of the heavy breeze.

Higgins spent an eternity at full arms length trying to thread on a fly and finally, with a grunt, he reached into his pocket for his glasses and completed the job with remarkable ease.

Higgins home-tied manuka beetle was going to teach those trout a lesson.

He pulled out a heap of line onto the floor of the boat and

started to lengthen the cast, stopping regularly to untangle loose line from nearly everything inside the dinghy. It was becoming a hilarious spectacle and the banter flowed freely.

“Wind is a bit tough, I’m usually better than this,” he said over the breeze. To be fair, his casting had improved a lot since his last trip, but I replied that I knew a kid who could help him with his action and could do with the pocket money!

I rowed the boat, keeping us off the edge, and the wind did the rest. Higgins thrashed the water along the foam line for an hour without a bite. Then a small trout took pity on him and consumed his fly without him noticing. Next time he lifted the rod, he felt some weight.

“I’m on,” he exclaimed as he grappled with the slack line flailing around him in the gale.

W I N T E R

“Don’t let him off Higgins, we’re a long way between fish.”

“More bloody pressure here than standing in the High Court in Sydney,” said the prosecutor as he eased the 1kg trout to the net. I’m not sure who was more relieved to see it on board.

Higgins went on to catch a second trout soon after, this time witnessing one of his own creations being swallowed, which he clearly found more satisfying than the company.

“That last trout was the highlight, but the ongoing commentary was as dry as the defence’s summing up in my last tax evasion case - and just as fictional!”

The Aussie lawman handed me back the jacket.

“The jury is still out Higgins, but I’m pretty sure the final verdict will find you guilty of impersonating an angler!”

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THE FISHING PAPER - JUNE 2017

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Slender margin leads to epic jig

Joe Schroder

STORY

Joe Schroder and Josh Bashford after some hot jigging action on Canterbury 'puka.

The sea conditions had kept a groper mission off the agenda for a number of weeks, but the never-ending obsession of checking conditions three times daily rewarded us with a margin in the weather large enough to head out wide. The call was made at the last minute: “Tomorrow we’re going jigging for puka... epic!”

It proved abnormally easy to assemble a crew and the following morning the RC540 was locked and loaded with four excited fishos, jigs, and a fish loving dog. We arrived at the heads at 6.30am to lake-like conditions, which caused excitement built amongst the crew because we knew this was going to be a blinder!

I throttled back, over the grounds just before the turn of the pushing tide.Transducer lowered, I set about finding good sign and working out a drift. Sign appeared on the screen immediately, but the puka seemed very spread out and, in my overly keen state, I ordered the crew to drop jigs on marginal sign.Two ‘couta were the results of that first drop - bugger!

I reverted to how I normally operate when jigging; only drop on the good oil. So I went back to work and set up a drift over a very nice mark. It wasn’t long before all four of us hooked into scrappy medium sized school puka. Normally I would skipper the boys onto their fish then get mine, but the long time between trips had me too keen to wait, so I

was hooking into puka with the boys while manoeuvring the boat. Four way hookups continued and some good eaters up to 25lb were brought aboard.

My Shimano Ocea, paired with an 8000 Thunnus spooled with 10lb braid is my go-to weapon of choice and got the job done fast. I limited quickly and beat the other boys, which meant I could concentrate on skippering.

Next drift and Daryl got smashed on the way to the bottom. It was a weird fight, with the fish just coming straight to the boat. At first sight I called it a ‘couta, but we soon realised it was a tuna! At the sight of the boat it woke up and peeled string at blistering pace. Not only had Daryl on his first ever groper trip caught a limit on jigs but also snagged a tuna!

A

fter a long dogged fight, the slender tuna was tailed into the boat and high fives where given by the crew... we finished off with a few more nice puka and we called it quits.

We were stoked that Daryl got his first puka and first tuna on a jig; beginner’s luck eh.

Slender tuna has a bad rep as an eating fish, but we filleted it and had some fried and smoked - delicious!

Daryl with his first slender tuna, taken on a jig.

8

THE FISHING PAPER - JUNE 2017

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The Judge and I had travelled to New Orleans by car, then down the only road that lead to the Great Wetlands of the South. The trip was a revelation. Six years after Hurricane Katrina, with the scars still visible, the rebuilding was impressive. Venice was the end of the road, almost wiped off the map by Katrina, but it had a go-ahead feel and our accommodation was like everything else; built 18 feet up in the air.

The Judge & the killer Cajun Graham Gurr

L

ouisiana is a dark and lonely place at five in the morning and, with our guide fashionably late, doubts began to creep in about the merits of booking a day’s duck shooting and fishing, over the internet. Eventually a bearded young man towing a flatbottomed boat arrived and indicated we should get in.

Churchill once described the English and Americans as two people divided by a common language, but with this guide, it was more of an insurmountable gulf. He was almost unintelligible but, ironically, thought we talked funny!

The trip through the wetlands in pitch dark with no lights was interesting. We either went flat out or, with alarming severity, dead slow. As dawn broke, the boat slowed again and commenced circling while our guide threw out decoys. He then eased us into a slot cut in the reeds, the thin stalks screening us from the ducks.

“Load up!” commanded our intrepid guide.

I noticed a duck set its wings to come in to the decoys, but our guide was playing with his cellphone, so I shot it - the duck that is. He exploded from his seat issuing a stream of invective and demanding to know what was I doing. I pointed out I had just shot a gadwall, which was now as dead as the proverbial dodo and drifting away on the current.

A lecture followed, which, when condensed, amounted to us only

shooting when he said so.

I enquired much later if we might see any more ducks besides the one I had shot. Our guide was perplexed and deeply mystified by the absence of ducks - after all, he had shot limits from this very spot every day for a week!

The Judge, at this point, went very quiet.

With some muttering, our guide started the engine and backed us out of the hide. We helped retrieve the decoys and the gadwall before, once again, speeding through the marshes.

By daylight they were amazing: vast impenetrable forests of reeds, occasional trees far in the distance, and narrow channels that suddenly exploded into vast expanses of open water. Oil pipelines ran from offshore platforms through the marsh to holding tanks many miles inland, and birdlife was patchy: sometimes a flock of spoonbills, pelicans, wading birds, and ducks. Apparently, 735 species of birds, fish, and mammals that use the Louisiana wetlands.

We arrived at a lagoon, open to the sea on one side; I could just see white water breaking over rocks or a sandbar.

Decoys set again, we slipped between two screens of reeds isolated in the middle of the lagoon, far from cover. We’d clearly found Nirvana, as there were ducks trading around.

Our guide started calling, which went something like, “Quack quack quack, keep your heads down. Quack quack, I said keep your heads down.

The killer Cajun in his element.

Quack quack - KILL EM!” This was the signal to leap up and shoot the ducks. The only problem with that theory was, with our heads down, we had no bloody idea where the ducks were. If they were directly in front no problem but if they were to the side or behind us, by the time we turned to shoot they were already out of range. Added to that, the Cajun yelling, “KILL EM” at the top of his voice, flared the ducks before we even had a chance to stand.

After repetitions of the above, with the inevitable lack of success, our guide called in the next lot of ducks and, after yelling “KILL EM”, promptly fired his shotgun in the direction of said ducks.

The Judge judiciously enquired as to whether the guide was shooting his own birds, but was told that he was, in fact, shooting our limit because he didn’t want to be going home empty handed.

The Judge, at this juncture, suggested a recess and explained to our guide that he might care to indicate just where the ducks were before he yelled, “KILL EM.” The Judge then gave a lesson on the relative positions of the clock.

I thought the morning had reached a

new low but I was wrong. While we’d been discussing how to tell the time, some teal had dropped in amongst the decoys forty metres away.

than the yelling Cajun and bagged a beautiful Bald Plate American Widgeon, in full breeding plumage.

Our guide claimed it as his because, well, because it was the best he had

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“Kill em,” said our then intrepid guide. comparable brands trial an ever Osprey in the same Not being the most intelligent “NO way “, said I, “they are on the (bad!)water!” conditions to see and feel the difference! human I’d ever met, our guide then “Don’t matter,” says our guide, “th’re trash birds and it is legal to sluice them on the water.”

The teal, at the sound of our raised voices, had the good sense to flock off.

To be honest, after that my heart wasn’t in it. We scratched down enough ducks for two limits, with our guide shooting most of the time. The Judge, not to be out done, shot faster

forgot to count the gadwall and we ended one bird over our two limits.

One of the birds suddenly morphed into a ‘decoy’ and was deposited at the bottom of bag, just in case we met the warden on our way out.

The Judge and I consoled ourselves later with a fine lunch and some alcoholic beverages and assured each other that, with a new guide, the afternoon’s fishing would be much better.

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The killer Cajun talked to the ducks while we kept our heads down.

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THE FISHING PAPER - JUNE 2017

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Slow-winding HOGS from the deep

#1

Dylan Booth

So once again I traveled up to the Mackenzie Country area in search of some hogs.

I had a funny feeling one of the three of us would land a monster on this trip and I was right.

The first fish of the night was a 18lb hen brown trout taken on a black soft plastic at the end of Black Magic

Dylan about to release another hog into the wild.

Tackle 6lb fluorocarbon.

What a beautifully conditioned fish it was, fat and long!

A few hours drifted by with little to excite us, so we changed area. It wasn’t long until I was into another fish, this one being over the 20lb mark; few quick photos and off he went. The rest of

#2

#3

The beautiful markings of these denizens of the deep add a new dimension to the fishing.

Dylan's tactics paid off, with a night of big browns.

STORY

the night was quiet, so we packed up and got some shut eye, but we weren’t overly tired.

The next morning the sun came up early so we missed the morning bite, but what happened that night blew my mind away. The action lit up and there were some major bends in the rod. We went on to some seriously MONSTER brown trout from the deep.

The tactic was to slowly walk the banks in the pitch black, casting anywhere. Winding slowly with lots of rod movement got me hooked up more than 10 times during the night. The fish hit the lure aggressively.

This night was honestly the best night’s fishing I’ve ever had up there. Although a slow retrieve would get me the odd bite, the canal had no flow, so fishing light leaders was the only way in my mind.

Ash with a scrappy fighter from the underworld.

N

Raining cats & kingies After months in the planning, the time had arrived and I headed to Havelock to pick up my fishing mate, Paul. Once loaded with plenty of rods, reels, bait, berley, and a few brown fizzy drinks to keep us hydrated, we nosed the boat out into the sound.

Paul then commented on the pending weather: “Not looking great,” he said.

“Oh well, we are here and we’re going.” I said.

As we sat in the old bach that night, the roof came alive with the sound of torrential

Paul battled torrential rain to catch this kingfish.

rain; the weather system had arrived and was not about to shift for a couple of days.

Over a couple of drinks, we organised a plan of attack for the following day - there’s more than one way to skin a cat.

On with wet weather gear and down the sound we headed, drenched in the heavy rain. In the murk, we found our spot and lowered the berley. We were using a range of baits including pilchards, squid, and kahawai.

We also had a few trusty live

baits. The rig we favoured was 5/0 to 8/0 hooks and 50-80lb fluoro trace.

As the second bait hit the water, the first reel screamed.

Paul locked up. The creaking rod and the singing line indicated a good battle ahead.

At one stage, Paul thought he had it under control, but an insane run at the end saw the fish breaking off on the mussel farm. After a few choice words, we were back into it.

Ten minutes ticked by before it was my turn, a solid hook up on a pilchard. I managed to hold my fish mid water as Paul wound up the line next to me in preparation for netting my fish. Smack. He also was hooked to a kingfish, this time on a flasher rig. If two was not enough, off went the live bait: three rods, three kingfish, and two very wet fishermen.

The atmosphere was clouded with swearing, laughter, and yelling, and after a staunch fifteen minutes of battling the scrappiest fighters in the Sounds, we had two kingies on the boat.

The torrential rain continued unabated, but we fished on, getting broken off six more times but, amidst the mayhem, catching half a dozen snapper.

The secret to our success was having a good range of fresh baits, berley, and appropriate rigs. These fish are without question the hardest, dirtiest fighting fish, pound for pound, in these waters so really strong, well made gear is a must.

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10 THE FISHING PAPER - JUNE 2017

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Captain’s Log: Beam me up spotty

BOOK REVIEW

Adopting adult twins

I never thought I’d ever adopt children, let alone twins at my age.

It wasn’t a conscious decision and I never really discussed it with Annette, but early this year our house swelled in occupancy by one. I know I mentioned twins but they are not identical, as the second one arrived a little later… and had the decency and courtesy not to move in.

That is to say, the second one didn’t sleep over but become an occupant of the garage, work bench, fridge, pantry, and electric kettle, all the same. The first one - well the first one was a ‘titlatcher’ from the beginning.

It sounds convoluted, I know, but I have since learned that goes with the territory when you mentor mid-twenty-yearold single males. Adopted son one moved from Auckland to Nelson early this year and I offered him ‘a bed until he got settled’. Apparently, ‘getting settled’ is not one of his life goals. I am not complaining though because he’s very entertaining and makes the rest of the family laugh - a lot; a bit like a king’s jester entertaining the court. Adopted son one is 26 and gets asked for ID every time he orders a beer, he likes Friday nights and bleeds from the eyes on Saturday mornings, and he makes the couch look like a life-support machine.

Adopted son two is Number One’s mate who sort of

New Zealand’s Great White Sharks

How science is revealing their secrets Alison Ballance Published by Potton & Burton - RRP $30 Reviewed by Daryl Crimp

Aaron Shields, right, keeps us all entertained.

tagged along. He’s quite useful around the house and makes things while Number One bleeds. He’s made a forge for Number One to make knives in, so he can then make other stuff bleed, and Number Two’s fixed my motorbike, gun sled, and is outside in the dark now looking for other stuff to fix. He’s really smart, like engineer-smart, and he knows two languages: English and how to make my Garmin Rhino radios and other electronic stuff work. He can also cook, sew, fish, hunt, dive, and write encyclopaedias.

Number One is really really clever too; he can do Rubic’s Cube, play board games, and appear interesting on Facebook. He’s a better, more experienced hunter than Number Two because he says he is. And he’s resourceful.

He went tahr hunting recently and slept all night in a cave on a cliff cuddling another bloke because ‘someone must have moved the tent in the dark.’ Number One and his hunting mate grew up post-MacGyver so could be excused for not realising a cigarette lighter is useful for lighting a fire for comfort, warmth, and staving off hypothermia; to be fair, Number One’s mate didn’t reveal he had one in his pocket until after they crawled home the following day!

I have assigned them the fictitious names of Number One and Number Two because, for legal reasons, I cannot reveal their names here… so I’ll do it over here; Aaron Shields and Reece Moon, welcome to the Crimpy family. I am sure you have no idea, but you have enriched our lives already and given me an opportunity to ‘give back’ in some small way.

I remember as a young man , the grey-headed ‘old blokes’ who mentored me and steered me on a true bearing. I thought’d I’d never be able to repay them. I guess that time has come.

So chaps, a word of advice… be very careful what you wish for!

For many of us, the great white shark was propelled into our consciousness by four letters, JAWS. The 1974 novel, about a rogue killer white shark, propelled Peter Benchley to international acclaim and the great white to international infamy. The title was undeserved and Benchley later regretted writing the book and, in fact, spent the rest of his life advocating for oceanic conservation.

Finally, four decades later, a book has been produced that sets the record straight and does a great service to this magnificent ocean predator.

Apart from folk lore and anecdotal evidence, very little scientifically was known about the great white until comparatively recently, and much of the contemporary research has been conducted in New Zealand and Australian waters by shark biologists Malcolm Francis (NIWA) and Clinton Duffy (DoC). Alison Ballance has followed this study, called ‘The Great White Shark Project’, for a decade, so is well qualified to pen this book, which is essentially a mixture of natural history text book overlaid with non-fiction adventure.

As we have come to expect from Potton & Burton, the production values of this book are high: hard cover, full colour, liberally illustrated, and beautifully laid out. The narrative is aimed to appeal to a broad audience, from young adult to adult, so is quite prosaic and informative but nonetheless engaging and crisp in its delivery. The book leans more toward an educational read that can easily be picked up and put down, and read in stages, than a cover to cover comfort read.

However, mixed in with the fascinating facts and discoveries about the great whites, is the human element and a story of passion and compassion. The key protagonists have clearly developed a deep love and respect for this giant predator but the triggers to this interest are as fascinating as the individuals. From the visual epiphany of a four-year-old to a near death underwater encounter, the catalyst has brought this team together with a driving desire: to find out more about this incredible fish and, through knowledge, understanding, and education, shine a healthy light on the future of New Zealand’s great white sharks.

Highly recommended as a resource, good read, and a gift.

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11 THE FISHING PAPER - JUNE 2017

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STICK YOUR OAR IN

CRIMPTOON

FREEMAN GROUP

HAVE YOUR SAY…

Mail your letters to Stick Your Oar In The Fishing Paper, PO Box 9001 - Annesbrook, 7044, NELSON email: editor@thefishingpaper.co.nz

Poo to clean green

town’s growing tourism is also putting strain on the infrastructure but who cares?

Just pump it into the stream that enters into the lake . How did this happen? How did DoC, Fish and Game, and the people of Te Anau let that happen .

It just shows that, when it comes to sewerage, no body cares where it ends up. Clean green New Zealand and pristine Fiordland lake; what a bloody joke. I am disgusted!

Peter Poulsen

Dear Ed, The Upukerora River is a nice medium sized iconic trout stream that runs into lake Te Anau. I used to fish this river mouth in the evenings when the children were young and we were on holiday, 30 odd years ago. The shingles were very clean and the trout plentiful, with eels some nights as well. I would fish with some of the old locals, which was quite entertaining some evenings.

Native kea worthless!

Dear Ed, Recent public discussion regarding our alpine icon, the kea, can only be described as confusing and misleading. The Department of Conservation claim aerial 1080 operations assist kea population recovery but also acknowledge kea numbers are declining (TV One News,13/4/2017).

We know DoC is a very confused organisation but surely they can’t be that confused? DoC scientist Josh Kemp admitted publicly, 29/4/2017, that DoC has no kea recovery plan. Why not?

The 30th May 2016 Nelson Mail editorial asked this question: How much is a kea worth? If a private individual kills a kea it is worth either a hefty fine or a jail sentence. If DoC and OSPRI kill a kea it is worth nothing! It is 1080 bykill. It has no research value; it is dead and it’s worthless.

On the 17th July 2013 the then Conservation Minister told our country “There will be less monitoring and more poisoning.”

Judith and I spent a week down there the end of April. I was surprised when I waded out into the lake and saw brown sludge all over the lake bed and wondered what was causing this . The lake was extremely low and I saw the odd trout rise at the end of the rip but nothing within reach of the fly rod. I never stayed until dark but was driving out along the river track and behold I saw this notice, and then realised that this maybe the answer to the brown sludge over the stones on the lake bed. I thought, ‘Well done Southland District Council!’

They want growth and the

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It’s no wonder our kea population is declining.

The Otago Daily Times editorial, 5/10/2017, told of eight out of nine DoC monitored kea that died in a 2011 aerial 1080 operation.

The editorial also said that after the 1080 poisoning across the Kahurangi National Park, the kea population has bounced back. There was no verifiable evidence to back the claim and no mention was made of the two Kahurangi kea that died of 1080 poisoning in 2014.

A March 26 2016 article in the Nelson Mail quoted DoC scientist as saying, in regard to 1080 operations, “It’s a funny business, everybody expects us to know how to do it.”

It appears nobody within the Government’s poison industry has learnt anything from 60 years of aerial 1080 operations.

Why then are these operations allowed? They are handling one of the deadliest toxins in the world and they admit they are amateurs.

Ron Eddy Nelson

Control of 1080 in dangerous hands?

Dear Ed, NZ’s 1080 poison industry is now running headlong through its main distributors: the Department of Conservation (DOC) and OSPRI (TBFree.)

Initially this somewhat extreme method of controlling possums was justified by the revelation of our forest’s destruction, the leaves disappearing before our eyes, because of a possum plague. A nuclear solution for a drastic situation. Today

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Regional councils rarely found the confidence to stop 1080 drops but most managed the Resource Management Act through which through which they could enforce ‘a national standard’ and ‘other regulations’ over all 1080 drops in their region.

With Nick Smith’s new regulations, which came into force on April 1, all the human and animal safety standards of best practice will be taken over

by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) But the EPA does not have the same power as councils formerly had. The EPA does not actively oversee any of its approved releases into our environment. If a toxic possum creeps out of the poison zone and stumbles the three kilometres downhill and onto your lawn, killing your dog, and because you thought living so far from the poison zone you would be safe and you want to contact some government body that will make sure this doesn’t

happen to someone else - you find there is no longer such a body. Any worries about human safety relating to the spread of 1080 have been thrown out the window.

Country dwellers who live downstream from a 1080 drop know how uncomfortable it feels living under a government that spends more and more money to spread more and more poison and, at the same time, outlaws all forms of public scrutiny to its operations.

John Veysey (abridged)

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Poppa Mike

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The Fishing Paper & Hunting News is published by Coastal Media Ltd. All editorial copy and photographs are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. Opinions or comments expressed within this publication are not necessarily those of the staff, management or directors of Coastal Media Ltd. Unsolicited editorial, letters, photographs will only be returned if you include a stamped self addressed envelope.

12 THE FISHING PAPER - JUNE 2017

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COOKING with CRIMPY

Crimpy’s salmon tartare This is ideal for a starter or a great lunch; adjust quantities to suit the occasion: 100 - 150g pp for a starter and 200 - 250g pp for lunch.

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With a sharp filleting knife, cut salmon into 1 cm squares (approx) and place in a glass bowl.

• 2 - 3 tbsp chopped fresh dill

Slice avocado into similar size portions and combine with salmon.

Add 1 tbsp chopped dill, a drizzle of olive oil, lime juice, and salt and cracked pepper to taste. Combine well and refrigerate for an hour.

• 2 heaped tsp chopped capers

Pour crème fraiche into bowl.

• Salt and cracked pepper

Add chopped capers and remainder of chopped dill.

Combine and refrigerate for an hour.

• Roasted almond slivers (optional)

Serve salmon tartare with crème fraiche on the side and top with toasted almond slivers.

Place salmon in freezer until well chilled.

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Cooper’s catch

TIDES OF CHANGE

By Poppa Mike

Daryl Crimp

A dear mum letter We bought our first house many years ago, not sure how we did it but somehow we managed. It was an ageing beach front bach with magnificent sea views and needing lots of maintenance.

It was cheap, the deciding factor. It wasn’t until we moved in we realised it came with lots of extras – the remnants of a deceased estate, including antiques and several oil paintings roughly stacked in the basement.

Every time the mortgage was due we would head to an antique shop and bingo, each repayment materialised quite quickly. After about a year, when clearing the back section, I managed to uncover the door to an old corrugated iron shed. Inside it was neatly stacked to the roof with cardboard boxes, each tied up with twine. As I tentatively opened the first box, I immediately realised we had something special, treasure in more ways than just a dollar value. In these boxes the life of Sidney and his mother unfolded. Sidney had for many years been a steward on board the hospital

ship Marama, as it ferried wounded troops from WW1 back to New Zealand, then later on board RMS Turakina, an ocean going cargo and passenger ship.

Sidney, an only child, wrote to his widowed mother on a regular basis, posting from ports of call all over the world and she, in turn, saved every letter, in sequence, box by box. In amongst the letters were postcards from all over the world, trinkets, mementos, photographs, and jewellery, along with antique bits ‘n pieces. As was typical of that era, everything was carefully saved and boxed. Sadly we were not able to establish what happened to Sidney, nor his mother. Did he survive the war?

What happened to mother? It was then we began to realise one or the other had continued to live in the seaside bach but the house had been left empty and neglected for many years, intestate in the hands of a lawyer who was

The hospital ship Marama.

The nearly world famous...

PEPPER’S

PATCH

By

Beaches are cool places to fish from because fish come in shallow to feed on shellfish. Can you find the quickest way to the fish?

Life on board Marama.

keen for a quick sale.

Among the treasure, still in my possession, were a lapel badge from RMS Turakina and a steward’s uniform button from HS Marama. Also enclosed was the story of the death of Turakina in August 1940, when she suffered a surprise attack from a German raider Orion, off Cape Egmont. The captain and crew put up a valiant fight to save their ship but one small gun on the poop deck was no match for the heavily armoured Orion. Captain Laird and 33 of his crew were killed, the 21 survivors being taken prisoner aboard Orion.

As for the button and badge – these are soon to be for sale on Trade Me under Maritime Collectibles but if you think you’d like the first option, try me on 027 747 6861

Cooper discovers it's a worrying thing to be a better fisherman than the rest of the family.

Four-year-old Cooper Martin was abandoned by his father, left home to ponder his lot while older brother Dylan went fishing. It was a cruel blow to the lad but Dad Jason redeemed himself recently when he took ‘Mini-me’ out fishing off Nelson’s Boulder Bank.

The action was hot, with plenty of kahawai, yellow-eyed mullet, and some barracouta coming to the boat. However, Jason and Dylan proved no match for young Cooper, who waged great battles on the fish and caught his first snapper and blue cod. Cooper is now hooked and demands to be a regular on future fishing trips. Dylan is still reeling that, despite his more experience, Cooper gets to star in The Fishing Paper & Hunting News first.

Good on you Cooper; may your rod always have a bend in it.

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14 THE FISHING PAPER - JUNE 2017

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Do You Really Want This?

Larnce Wichman

Commercial fishermen in Kaikoura have been catching lobster with the telson fin already clipped and have noticed this in several locations along the coast since the regulation was introduced. The telson is the central part of the tail fan and clipping it is a way of marking spiny rock lobster to make it clear that they have been recreationally caught and kept for private consumption. It also deters black market selling to restaurants and other outlets, which benefits all legitimate fishermen. However, telson clipped lobster are not meant to be returned to the sea.

Under the new rules, once a recreational fisher lands his or her lobster and has checked that it is legal size and not subject to any other protections, i.e. carrying eggs or in soft shell, they must immediately cut one-third off the telson. This does not apply to released lobster.

Commercial has no issue with recreational fishing for lobster - it is a shared fishery after all - but we are at a loss as to why some are releasing telson clipped lobster.

The latest findings deepen our concerns: we have found under-size lobster in commercial pots with the telson fin clipped. That simply makes no sense and we hope it is recreational fishers who are unaware of the regulations, or potential outcomes. However, if it is an act of spite about the regulation and to stop commercial landing them, the perpetrators are still uneducated recreational fishermen; we make no apologies for saying recreational, because commercial only clip them if they take home a recreational daily bag limit (Section 1.11) from a commercial vessel.

There is a deeper issue here and one that should be of grave concern to both commercial and recreational. Lobster can attract nasty vibrio bacteria on damaged appendages, called necrosis, and it is ugly; even a scratch can let the bacteria in. This has become a major problem in CRA 3, with a huge amount of work being carried out to eradicate it, incurring research costs alone in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Commercial have done everything possible to stop any damage to the lobster.

However, once a lobster is affected, it can only be managed by antibiotics; left untreated it continues to consume the lobster until it dies. It is not harmful to humans but who would eat them? Commercial will not export them, because it would destroy markets, and imagine the effect on our natural image if tourists were to take a charter and see an infected lobster caught in a pot.

Would you eat this?

us promote a healthy fishery, for all our sake. To continue this practice is idiotic and may stop us all from eating lobster in the future.

Telson clipping has a positive role to play and nearly all other regions in New Zealand want to adopt it, because it is a good compliance tool. It is estimated that there is still 400 metric tonne of lobster sold illegally on the black market today. Those lobster would be best left in the water for the legitimate fishermen - disease free.

This situation is best stopped before it becomes a problem in the Kaikoura lobster resource; it is real, it is hard to eradicate, but it is easy to stop, now! Let positive action become a game changer.

You can now get MORE out of The Fishing Paper & Hunting News Do not release telson clipped lobster.

Releasing telson clipped lobster is putting wounded fish back into the ocean, increasing their risk of getting necrosis, and promoting the spread of disease. It clearly is a naïve and stupid thing to do. So, if you have participated in this act or know of those who do so in the Kaikoura region, put a stop to it and help

Think about it. Do you really want this?

If you think CRAMAC 5 is using this as a scare tactic just Google it.

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Watch Pedro's close shave with his snapper

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15 THE FISHING PAPER - JUNE 2017

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k c a b k c Ki and make a g n livi rity prio

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Time for replenishment & self indulgence

ACCOMMODATION

GUIDE

Daryl Crimp

There is a physiological purpose to winter and that is to restore and replenish the body, mind, and psyche. Before modern civilisation, man did less in winter, ate more, and rested longer to replenish energy and condition lost when toiling during the longer days. These rhythms are natural and necessary, but have been altered through evolution; artificial light and technological advances mean that we are active for much longer periods, which creates a deficit in our ‘replenishment’ time that can manifest itself as stress or sickness. We need to redress this if we are to maintain healthy lifestyles.

k c a b Kicaknd make a g n i v i l y t i r o i r p

There is a nonsense saying that we must strive to have balance in our lives, which is simply unachievable. Balance suggests a state of equilibrium, two sides of a see-

Visit SUNNY KARAMEA this WINTER Have you ever been to Sunny Karamea?

With the Kahurangi National Park on three sides and sealed in by the Tasman Sea, Karamea is like a geographical island paradise, 90 minutes north of Westport at the top of the West Coast of the South Island.

Karamea is possibly the most remote town on mainland New Zealand. Well off the tourist route and away from the madding crowd, we enjoy a quality of life here that is exceptional. Karamea is the warmest, driest place on the West Coast and the winter weather here is amongst the best in New Zealand.

We offer you the opportunity to come to Karamea and enjoy a peaceful stay at Karamea Farm Baches, on our organic permaculture farm. Our fully self-contained baches are classic retro -70s Kiwiana, not The Ritz but clean, cosy, comfortable, and affordable… ideal for family holidays, tour groups, romantic getaways, and as a base for exploring the many scenic attractions on offer in Kahurangi National Park. All the baches have kitchens, but we also make delicious meals from our organic farm produce for our guests. In addition, we hold yoga classes and conduct farm tours on request. There is good cellphone reception and free WiFi at the baches.

So take a winter break with us this year and enjoy a walk or mountain bike ride into the spectacular Heaphy Track, stroll through

saw that are level, equal portions or work and play - not going to happen. Striving for this false utopia actually creates stress.

The answer is much simpler. We need to have fun - frequently! We need to factor fun into our lives regularly, whether it be measured in minutes (time out for a cuppa and magazine read), hours (a round of golf), days (hunting trip), or weeks (a vacation or fishing the whitebait season).

The human spirit is, paradoxically, a selfish beast. We all give of ourselves to others, be it through work, maintaining relationships, caring for family, working for the community, or creating friendships, but - and here’s the irony - to give to others we must give to ourselves. Our psyche is like a bank: if you continually make withdrawals you eventually go bankrupt, so you need to make regular deposits.

Winter is the perfect time to do this, because huge investments can be made in short timeframes. A very good way to achieve this is to take a break and visit a new place; a weekend away or a few days spent in accomodation you wouldn’t normally use. Removing yourself from the familiar, the routine, and the predictable by spending quality time alone, with a partner, friends, or with family, can have a greater restorative effect than you might imagine. Don’t take my word for it. Try it.

Take a break and head away for a few days.

Kick back and make living a priority.

Clear Ridge Apartments Nestled next to Conical Hill, Hanmer Springs is a well known tourist destination for both overseas and New Zealand visitors.

Famous for the thermal hot pools around which the town was built, the springs offer one of the most relaxing experiences in the country, as well various therapeutic benefits. The area surrounding the thermal spring contains many other fun activities that will make your visit memorable and can cater to young and old alike.

A VERY WARM WELCOME AWAITS

ancient rainforest to the amazing Oparara arches and caves, or just rest up and chill out with a good book and restore your body mind and soul. The fishing is great, the beaches beautiful, the food amazing, and the locals super friendly.

Put more in than you take out and you will ultimately have more to give.

Clear Ridge luxury apartments allows you to relax in style in your own fully equipped, 5 star luxury ‘home away from home’ apartment that’s perfectly situated near the alpine hot pools. This is the place to holiday, play golf, ski, fish, hunt or soak in the hot pools – have your business retreat or just quietly relax and enjoy South Island high country.

Each apartment is self contained and appointed to high standards. If you are

coming as a couple, or a family, or a business group, or travelling solo, Clear Ridge will not disappoint. If you prefer to eat out, restaurants and cafes are nearby. If you are having a small conference, Clear Ridge has a boardroom and will arrange catering and meeting support. If you just want to get on the golf course, you just have to walk across the road.

The Qualmark five star facility is designed to cater for both leisure and business travellers. The fully self contained one and two bedroom suites are ideal for families, groups, couples or solo travellers.

Rosie and Steve McFarlane are your hosts.

They will look after you. Between them they have had decades working in the service industry in landscaping and grounds care, hotels, and airports.

Call Rosie and Steve to discuss your plans and how Clear Ridge can help and make your Hanmer Springs experience a highlight.

Conveniently located near the Karamea River, estuary and beach, and a short walk from the historic Karamea Village Hotel… you’ll LOVE it here!

Your hosts Maree and Paul offer you a friendly West Coast welcome and we’ll do our best to ensure you have a lovely time here in sunny Karamea.

See you soon!

17 Wharf Road, Karamea West Coast, NEW ZEALAND www.KarameaFarmBaches.co.nz Info@KarameaFarmBaches.co.nz Ph: 03-7826-838

5 STAR LUXURY APARTMENTS IN HANMER

WINTER SPECIAL Stay your 4th night

FREE!

1 June to 30 Nov

SUNDAY TO THURSDAY SPECIAL

Buy 2 nights get 3rd night FREE Exceptions are long weekends, NZ school holidays and public holidays.

www.karameafarmbaches.co.nz 03 782 6838

WEB | www.clearridge.co.nz EMAIL | info@clearridge.co.nz RESERVATIONS | 0800 555 596 PHONE | 03 315 5144 ADDRESS | 28 Jacks Pass Road, Hanmer Springs 7334

r e t n Wi

www.thefishingpaper.co.nz

17

Reads

The North Water Ian McGuire Simon & Schuster RRP $40 Reviewed by Daryl Crimp This is the second novel from the pen of Ian McGuire and already he has established a distinctive style. Set against an arctic backdrop at the end of the sailing, whaling era, The North Water is a tail of skullduggery, deceit, brutality, and hardship. Through a pacy narrative, McGuire contrasts the themes of human frailty and weakness against endurance, resilience, and triumph.

His prose is raw, often vicious, but totally in keeping with the era he writes about, which is immediately engaging. The same applies to his characterisations: sharp, acerbic, raw, and believable. It’s a writing style that drags you into the past and makes it seem real.

plus

IMPROVE YOUR LIFESTYLE The new 2017 Can-Am Defender HD5 side-by-side vehicle brings a new midsize engine, two handy packages, and exceptional value to the tough, capable, and clever Defender family of utility-recreation vehicles.

The Defender HD5, utilizing the same chassis as its larger-displacement family members, was engineered to outperform its competition in serious working environments like farming, ranching, construction, and hunting.

An all-new, heavy-duty, 38-hp HD5 Rotax single-cylinder four-stroke engine delivers outstanding performance. The liquid-cooled engine is mated to a CVT transmission with standard engine braking and TTA-HD rear suspension, giving the Defender side-by-side vehicles enough muscle and predictable stability to conquer nearly any task. The unit is built tough with a sturdy, high-strength chassis combined with exceptional towing, hauling and payload capacities.

The plot is straight forward and, to some degree predictable, but the story-telling is lively, entertaining, and fluid, with a few twists along the way. Ian is brilliant at introducing the minutiae of history into the storyline, which provides a richness to his writing. However, he does write in the present tense thereby breaking with common form, which I found slightly irritating.

The North Water is well worth the read: pacy, entertaining, and exciting.

starting from $9700+GST Into the Water Paula Hawkins Penguin Random House $38 Reviewed by Lynnaire Johnston I confess to having neither read nor seen The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins’ previous global blockbuster thriller. A crime that, having read Into the Water, I shall redress forthwith because this writer clearly has wonderfully imaginative stories to tell.

This one centres on a small English town where an unusually large number of women have died in the local river – at a spot known as The Drowning Pool. The most recent death appears to be a suicide, just like earlier ones. But as the story

Leap of Faith Jenny Pattrick Black Swan $38 Reviewed by Lynnaire Johnston If you’ve not come across Kiwi writer Jenny Pattrick before, you’re missing out. She ‘owns’ the New Zealand historical novel genre. Her best-known works – The Denniston Rose and its sequel Heart of Coal – are set in the coal mining towns of the West Coast.

For Leap of Faith, she moves up country to the middle of the North Island where workers are being pushed hard to complete the main trunk railway line. There is a bet between the construction engineer and the government man on whether it will be finished in time for a planned trip between Wellington to Auckland by parliamentarians and dignitaries, the purpose of which is to demonstrate that the enormous cost is justified.

The stretch of country still under construction is between Ohakune and Taumarunui, an area of steep mountainsides and deep gullies. The

No break-in requirements mean owners can focus on chores and have the confidence to take on difficult tasks and challenging trails. Selectable 2WD / 4WD with ViscoLok auto-locking front differential provides great traction, while a long 83-inch (211.5 cm) wheelbase offer superior handling for hard work and trail riding. Dynamic Power Steering on the DPS HD5 package further enhances the driving experience.

All Defender vehicles are built with clever and adaptable solutions to work smarter.

The profiled cage and versatile-and-tough cargo box deliver seamless integration with genuine Can-Am accessories. The Defender family of vehicles offers a spacious, comfortable and intuitive cockpit that has been configured to improve entry / exit as well as sight lines. VERSA-PRO bench seat featuring a 40/20/40 profiled bench seat for three adults as well as plenty of modularity.

Timaru Can-am, 127B Hilton Highway, Timaru, 03 688 7517 or 021 533 141 www.timarucanam.co.nz

unfolds it’s clear there is plenty of motive for this to have been a murder. It could have been carried out by one of any number of people – including those investigating the death. But you won’t find out who until the very last sentence.

But this is more than just a ‘whodunnit’. It’s about nothing and no-one being as they seem and the tragedies of lives that are based on lies, deceit, and betrayal.

Each – increasingly short – chapter is from another person’s perspective so it’s tricky at the start to keep track of who is who. And while it is a common method of writing a story, in this instance it feels less like a book and more like a movie screenplay. This constant flipping back and forth between characters is disconcerting as a reader. But I’m certain it will make it a great movie.

Without perhaps even the need for a screenwriter.

starting from $16,521+GST

OFFER ENDS JUNE 30th MAKE TRACKS BEFORE THEY RUN OUT

127B Hilton Highway, Timaru, 03 688 7517 or 021 533 141 www.timarucanam.co.nz

Scott Scud

3.55m, 3.70m, 3.90m

It ticks all the boxes: Light & compact Great performer & quiet Super easy access in and out for hunters, dogs & equipment

If you enjoy thrillers, add this one to your reading list.

looming completion date means corners are cut, and workers are pushed to – and sometimes over – the limit of their endurance in what we would today consider to be inhuman conditions.

This area is still renowned for its huge viaducts which are astonishing feats of engineering given the era – early 1900s – and the tools available.

The Makatote Viaduct is 2262 m long and 79 m high. It joined 32 other major viaducts and 26 bridges, making the North Island main trunk line an impressive project by any standards.

The story of how this section of the railway was built is told through the lives of those who built it, those who planned it, those who provided ancillary services – and those who tried to cheat, con and lie to the real heroes of this endeavour.

There are the predictable stereotypical characters – the conman preacher, the middle-aged matron waging war on alcohol, the gullible young boy besotted by the preacher – and some less so. The marriage of a white woman to a Maori man causes ructions in both families.

While a novel, much of Grace’s book is based in fact. It is also partly the story of her own family – her grandmother Rose, and Rose’s brother. It is a story that has been waiting a long time to be told and it has now been done so in style and with delicacy and grace.

Read all of our book reviews online at www.thefishingpaper.co.nz

www.scottwaterjet.com

Konrad Scott 03 615 8851 - contact@scottwaterjet.com

www.thefishingpaper.co.nz

18 plus

THE

ULTIMATE

Ultimate versatility

PORTABLE BOAT

Takacat Portable Inflatable Boats Celebrating 10 years of New Zealand design and innovation PERFORMANCE A light-weight, low-resistance catamaran hull design provides quick and level planing, exceptional stability, and great fuel economy.

The Takacat Sport series is available in four sizes: 2.6m, 3m, 3.4m and 3.8m. The biggest seller for fishing is the Takacat 340 Sport (weight 37kg). It can be set up with as little as a 2.5hp outboard for a light weight option, a 6hp 4 stroke for mid range performance, or a 8hp / 9.9hp light weight 2-stroke for optimum performance.

STABILITY Takacat’s large diameter tubes and catamaran hull design provide exceptional stability that’s hard to beat. When out on the water, enjoying a spot of fishing, diving or exploring, you will really appreciate the stability of your Takacat.

est 2007

021 822 285 | www.takacat.com

FISHING Fishing from a small inflatable boat is both fun and rewarding. Inflatables are very quiet in the water and ideal for shallow water fishing.

Whether harbour fishing, getting out the back of a surf beach, river fishing, or fishing lakes, they offer a truly fun, versatile, and easy boating option.

PORTABLE Takacat’s revolutionary open and completely removable tube transom allows for the inflatable tubes to be deflated with ease.

Thanks to the removable transom, the Takacats are far more compact compared to any other inflatable boats on the market.

Furthermore, there is a significant size and weight advantage with no fixed transom - a big bonus when it comes to the handling, transportation, and storage of your portable boat. Being nice and light, you can also transport it on roof racks or leave it inflated at the lake, bach, or on the yacht.

TIPS When looking to buy a portable inflatable boat that will be packed away, be sure to check out the type and quality of construction. You will find a quality glued seam manufacturing technique superior to a heat weld seam, which are prone to splitting or cracking if folded often. A glued seam is more supple and appropriate for folding. Also make sure the air deck floor has an appropriate top coating, such as Takacat’s custom manufactured heavy duty PVC anti skid, that’s durable enough to prevent punctures by fish spikes.

Know what you are doing Coastguard Boating Education is the leading provider of Boating Education courses in NZ. We provide courses for recreational boaties, from beginners through to ocean voyagers.

There are topical and highly detailed courses such as the GPS Certificate for the more experienced boatie or for the more practical boatie how about an engine maintenance course?

A Day Skipper course is a great way to get started and you can follow that up with a Maritime VHF Radio Operator certificate.

These two courses give you the language and the confidence to get out on the water and start your boating journey. Give your teenage children a leg up with the NCEA Credits available and teach them to understand the responsibilities so that, when you are ready, you can hand them the wheel/tiller and give them a go. While you may still have a few nerves at least you know they have a great grounding when you finally let them take the boat out themselves! Better yet, they can get their computer fix while gaining the certificates and do the online courses. The Maritime VHF Certificate Online has just been re-launched with a new record and playback feature which enables you to ‘make’ a call and hear a playback recording from Maritime Radio. You can practice as many times as you like before taking the assessment!

Got a little more experience? How about the Boatmaster course? More in depth and comprehensive in navigation, rules of the road, lights and shapes, emergency procedures and distress, this course also discusses

how to use your radar and echo sounder as aids to navigation. As the cornerstone of the CIDMO programme – a pathway to the Skipper Restricted Limits certificate which is a commercial ticket for skipper of 12m 19passenger vessels – the course is a stepping stone to a huge array of career options, such as the movie industry – think Water World or the number of boating scenes in The Hobbit, or how about the maritime police, or even heading overseas. The Boatmaster will give you a fabulous leg-up, and the world really will become your oyster.

While away the cold and dreary long winter evenings participating in an online or home study course or liven up the weekend with a classroom course and meet some new boating friends.

There is a wonderful world of bays, islands, and lakes to explore out there, and we have the courses to give you the skills to enjoy your boating even more. Courses are held nationwide, although dependent on student numbers. Run in conjunction with Coastguard Units and tutored by qualified Coastguard Boating Education tutors, the courses are fun, informative, and can lead to wonderful careers and experiences.

Travel the ocean and visit the wonderful and interesting bays having started your boating adventure with the Day Skipper Certificate.

Visit our website www.boatingeducation.org. nz or give us a call on 0800 40 80 90 and speak to one of our staff about what course is right for you.

Watch it on your phone A quick review of 5 rules for SAFER BOATING. Scan here

www.thefishingpaper.co.nz

19

Fiordland INTENSIFIES every experience The Cindy Hardy had an awesome five weeks cruising Fiordland throughout the Roar.

With seven consecutive charters, the crew were able to introduce a number of people to the bounty of Fiordland and guide them through a kaleidoscope of contrasting scenes, so unique it was much like drifting through the sets of some fantastical movie. With New Zealand’s wildest and most imposing landscapes as a backdrop, any activity enjoyed aboard or from Cindy Hardy takes on special significance: hunting elusive red deer, plumbing the coal dark depths with line and bait for huge, delicious fish, diving the reefs and crags for spiny rock lobster, taking in the ancient forests and stark beauty while quietly drifting in Cook’s wake, enjoying delicious meals amidst surreal settings, and soaking up the camaraderie of late night card games and conversations shared over a nightcap.

All on board had such a great time and some of the feed back received was as follows: “Just got back from five days in Fiordland with Nigel and Doc - was a bloody great trip and we were very well looked after. It’s such a great professional service you guys run and

I’m sure we’ll be back again.”

“Awesome trip in Fiordland. Plenty of laughs and everyone enjoyed the experience.

Thanks.”

“Thanks for the awesome trip. Everyone enjoyed it had plenty of laughs. Already planning the next trip.”

What Cruise Fiordland offers is universally popular, with everyone, without exception, having a great time. It is wonderful to think that you can go bush in one of the most unspoilt, remote, and ancient places in the world, then come home to a hot shower, nice cooked meal, and a warm bed. It is also an ‘added extra’ to the fishing and hunting that you can’t get anywhere else, and that is part of what makes Fiordland unique.

Experiencing Fiordland has become a must for the Bucket List and increasingly popular.

Next year’s Roar cruises are already almost booked out, with only two charter slots left for the month of April. However, there are plenty of other options. To avoid disappointment and to enjoy an experience like no other, contact Cruise Fiordland now.

CRUISE FIORDLAND fish

•

hunt

•

dive

•

cruise

BOOK YOUR PRIVATE CHARTER

FOR 2017 NOW!

www.cruisefiordland.com

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Toolbarn: the home of preloved tools Being a DIY home handyman is an interest that sits nicely with the archetypal Kiwi can do attitude and the number 8 wire idea that we can turn our hands to anything. It is actually a truism that has given Kiwis a worldwide reputation and, pound for pound, as a nation lets us punch above our weight.

However, one of the problems associated with being a home handyman, is that you are potentially faced with a variety of little jobs that need a wide range of tools and, unlike a professional who is always on the go, it can be expensive and hard to justify owning so many tools that may only get minimal use. Rather than fork out a fortune for tools that will lay idle much of the time or buy cheap brands with limited capacity or short life span, the solution lies in serviced secondhand tools.

Enter Toolbarn, New Zealand’s premier secondhand tool dealer.

Family owned and operated, Toolbarn specialises in the sale of used power tools, machinery, hand tools, light machinery, and accessories.

Thousands of items from major brands and specialty manufacturers are held in stock, which enables Toolbarn to sell at very competitive prices, with customer satisfaction the family business’s primary focus. Orders are processed promptly and shipped direct from the warehouse

throughout New Zealand and worldwide.

Tools are bought from a variety of sources and refurbished by the Toolbarn team to meet their strict criteria of providing only quality products. For over 20 years, Toolbarn has made its mark in the power secondhand tool industry, all the while maintaining a family owned feel and focus on customer service. Go online and check out their range and services www.toolbarn.co.nz

Phone: 021 088 14530

Can-Am - the machine that works as hard as you do popular models, including the 2017 Defender HD8 and 2017 Outlander 570, which not only come with a 3-year unlimited km warranty but, until the end of June, both models also come with a free accessories package - giving you a lot more bang for your buck!

Here at Can-Am Nelson, we are proud to be the authorised Can-Am dealership for the Nelson, Golden Bay, and West Coast regions. We have an exclusive range of Can-Am’s, consisting of both new and used off road ATV’s and SSV’s: everything from our Outlander 450cc ATV, through to our 1000cc SSV off roaders.

For all questions, enquiries, or to book your free demonstration, come on down and visit us in our office at 157 Haven Road, Nelson (Situated in the same building as MS Ford’s Parts reception) or give us a call on 0800 10 34 34.

Looking for an upgrade or to trade-in? No problem!

Wanting a demonstration before committing to a purchase? No worries!

Looking for a machine that works as hard as you do? - Can-Am Nelson have got you covered!

We currently have fantastic deals on some of our most

OUTLANDER 570 PRO

DEFENDER HD8 DPS + ADDED VALUE BONUS FARM ACCESSORIES PACKAGE

+ ADDED VALUE BONUS FARM ACCESSORIES PACKAGE

GIVE PAUL AT CAN-AM NELSON A CALL FOR MORE DETAILS

SPEED LIMITING WORK KEY

LIMITS UNITS TOP SPEED TO 70KM/H

3

UNLIMITED KM

YEAR WARRANTY

3

GIVE PAUL AT CAN-AM NELSON A CALL FOR MORE DETAILS

UNLIMITED KM

YEAR WARRANTY

SPEED LIMITING WORK KEY LIMITS UNITS TOP SPEED TO 70KM/H

Offer only available at Can-Am Nelson for vehicles sold between 01/05/17 & 30/08/17. MY16 and MY17 Defender HD8 DPS including max models. MY15, MY16 & MY17 Outlander 570 Pro, 650, 850 and 1000. ^3 year warranty covers MY13/14/15/16 Can-Am Defender models only. Always ride responsibly and safely. Always wear protective gear & approved helmet.

ATV | SSV | PARTS & ACCESSORIES | SERVICING

On Farm SALES

& SERVICING

157 Haven Rd, Nelson | 0800 10 34 34 | www.canamnelson.co.nz

N E L S O N

www.thefishingpaper.co.nz

20 plus

Most people see the correlation between the winter and the flu and colds, with many taking preventative steps with flu jabs or dosing up on vitamin C. However, many forget that valuable personal assets such as cars, boats, boat trailers, and even our homes are subject to winter ailments. Moreover, problems arising from these ‘winter ills’ often don’t manifest themselves until much later, when you are in need of them and winter is long forgotten. Many can be prevented and some, left undetected, can severely reduce the value of you precious investment and cost mega bucks to rectify. Daryl Crimps looks at why a little…

Winter prevention is a good thing

While some still fish and hunt throughout winter, it is often a time when many of our toys and tools hibernate: boats, jet skis, 4x4, motorbikes, lawnmowers, light machinery, and auxiliary outboards, are stored away until they are needed again. The problem with the ‘forget and neglect’ approach to maintenance is ‘toy cancer’ can strike, which can manifest itself in a multitude of ways: dry seals, rust, corrosion, stale fuel, ceased steering and brakes, perished tyres, and seized bearings. The simple reality is mechanical things don’t like sitting idle and, if they are left for long periods, some specialist treatment is required.

SENSIBLE SERVICING SAVES MONEY

Some people are mechanically minded and are able to service their own devices but others need specialist help. Annette reckons that anything other than a pen or a fork in my hand is a lethal weapon and I learned early in the marriage that my place was in the

kitchen and that peace and harmony rule as long as I keep out of her workshop. The point is, focus on what you are good at and let experts do the important stuff.

Over the years I have learned two things save you money: only having one wife and sticking with a good mechanic, and keeping them both happy on a regular basis. A good mechanic knows the history of your vehicles and can recommend a lot of preventative work that saves you money in the long run, but it’s really important to stick to a calendar of regular checks and services. Regardless of the age and condition of your vehicle, a check to make sure brakes, batteries, anti-freeze, and tyres are up to speed for winter conditions is imperative.

Boats can cost you big money if not serviced regularly, regardless of the hours you do over summer. A regular winter service of boat engines, trailers and brakes, and a general health check of the boat structure, fuel, and electronics is well worth the investment.

Speaking of investments, winter is also a great time to give the soft furnishings a bit of TLC: have those squabs and seats reupholstered, boat covers made or repaired, and any awnings, covers, and soft furnishing at the bach repaired or replaced.

For larger boats and launches, now is the time to get them on the slip, get the bums cleaned, and any other servicing attended to.

HOME AND BACH WILL LOVE YOU BACK Don’t neglect your home or bach either. Now is a good time to get those gutters cleaned, repaired, or replaced, and externals water blasted; walls, decks, driveways, and fences. Chimneys may need cleaning and check those septic tanks at the bach.

If you can’t do the work yourself or simply cannot be bothered, there are service providers who can and, while it costs, the savings in the long run far outweigh the consequences of neglect.

Do you hate cleaning your gutters?

New winter trim adds value The days are shorter and, for many, the boat has been put to bed for winter. Long summer evenings enjoying the peace and quiet of our watery playgrounds are once again, just something you look forward to.

THE BOAT AWAITS Scenario one: And then the great day arrives, you eagerly lift the covers for your first outing of the season, and there are puddles everywhere; you remember the boat cover wasn't looking that great. Now everything smells mouldy.

If only you'd remembered to get that cover seen to. Or perhaps you sneak a peak under the covers, take a look at the seating, and recall, with dread, the wet derriere you had each time you went out because the vinyl is now old and split.

Not to mention plain ugly.

It takes the shine off the outing doesn't it?

Scenario two: And then the great day arrives.

INVEST & REFRESH

You pull off the watertight cover and look with pride at your beautiful asset, those new seat covers sure look great. It was a great investment to visit Nelson Auto Trimmers over winter, because they have totally refreshed and added value to your baby. Not more wet bums this season!

Nelson Auto Trimmers take pride in their work. Established 1989, they have a wealth of experience in Auto and Marine trimming and will travel to you if you can't come to them. Owner Lynnette Butler is justifiably proud of her team, and, just like you, can rely on her guys to do a terrific job every time.

Don't be the mug with the wet bum next summer; contact Lynnette now to arrange your winter boating upgrade.

03 548 4223 sales@NelsonAutotrimmers.co.nz, or through their Facebook page if you prefer.

after

before

DON’T GET A GET A WET BUM! DON’T Now is the perfect time to add some fresh life to your boat.

WET BUM! Call us now for a FREE measure and quote

03 548 4223

5/121 St Vincent St, Nelson sales@nelsonautotrimmers.co.nz

The long term answer is simple and a lot more affordable than you realise!

Before selecting gutter protection, below are some ‘must ask’ questions every homeowner should get answers to.

1. What is the cost/estimate? How long does the quote last? G’Foam is approximately $14.00 per metre and sold in one metre lengths. .

2. Is there a warranty? What does it cover? How long does it apply for? Is it transferable? Yes, you get a 7 Year warranty, but we are sure that, with its UV protection, you will get many more years.

3. Is it a completely sealed system? Yes. Can mosquitoes get into your gutters to breed? No. 4. How do you train, or oversee, your installers? It is easy DIY or we can send trained installers.

5. Will the installation impact or disturb my roof? No. Does the product install under my roofing material? Yes and it can’t be seen.

Or does it screw or glue onto it? No.

6. How much rain can the gutter protection handle? Gutter Foam is so porous it handles tropical storms, even New Caledonian storms!

7. Do you guarantee that my gutters won’t clog? Pretty much; we have sold over 60 000 metres and had no dissatisfied customers yet!

8. Does removal of product to clean, if required, void my warranty for the protective system or of that of my roof or gutter? GF does not.

9. What type of maintenance, if any, is required? Minimal, the wind does the work because the leaves do not get trapped, unlike the bottle brush product.

10. How long have you been in business?

Five years. How can I be sure you will be around to handle any service issues? We are proudly 100% Kiwi owned and operated and will be around for many year to come!

11. Is the product water tank safe? Yes, we are the only foam that is certified water tank friendly!

Watch it on your phone See how easy it is to install.

You need to download a QR reader app to view on your phone

• Pine needles, leaves and debris blow off • Water tank friendly • Simple to install – DIY or let us (free quote) • Discreet fit with no screws or glue • Ideal for NZ conditions!

• 7 year warranty • Inhibits mosquito and insects breeding • UV and biocide protected • Prevents birds getting in • Best on market

WINTER SPECIAL Pay for 20 metres & get 24 metres

P & H nationwide

Call us today

0800 488 234 www.gutterfoam.co.nz

www.thefishingpaper.co.nz

21

Ron’s top tips for WINTER health & fitness Ron Prestage is regular writer and deputy editor of The Fishing Paper & Hunting News with a life long interest in physical fitness.

NUTRITION: You are what you eat - whole foods like, vegetables, fruit, eggs and meat as nature intended.

KEEP MOVING: There’s plenty of indoor activities available over winter. No excuses!

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STAY WARM: Money invested on heating and insulation is money well spent. Keep winter ailments at bay.

TAKE CARE: Be aware of winter hazards, slippery services, wet roads, incorrect lifting and unsafe practices, especially with ladders and chainsaws.

The scaffolding team!

‘She’ll be right’ Kiwican-do attitude flawed Rob Helstrom

Keep fit and healthy over winter. Be ready to spring into summer.

Havelock Slipway for boating peace of mind Established back around 1928, Havelock Slipway is conveniently located on the foreshore at the entrance to Havelock Port. That is a lot of history, which has also amassed a good deal of expertise over the years. This professionally run boat haulout and repair facility has undergone major redevelopment over the last several years, with the whole site undertaking changes for the better: the securing of additional land for expansion, the installation of new rails, and addition of an extra cradle. The old, deteriorating cradles have also been replaced with three new units.

The premises have been concreted and a waste water collection and filter system has been installed. In addition to this, an Engineering Workshop built and fitted out with appropriate machinery, welders, lathes, and tooling to enable the majority of engineering tasks to be completed onsite.

As well as engineering, Havelock Slipway carries out all boat repairs: fibreglassing, painting touch ups, complete repaints, cabin alterations,

window repairs, and electrical faults.

Havelock Slipway does it all.

The staff at Havelock Slipway have a multitude of skills to cover the whole marine spectrum, and offer professional service and repairs. Wayne Griffiths is the manager and is more than willing to help customers with their boating service requirements. Boat maintenance is vital for enjoyable boating but it is also a safety issue.

So if you have a vessel that requires an annual service contact Wayne and in addition we will offer a free basic inspection. The mechanics will check engine attachments, belt tensions, engine pulley bearings for wear, hoses and fittings, steering assembly, drive line, and props.

It gives added peace of mind when you set sail, to know your vessel has had a professional inspection of essential components.

Call Havelock Slipway today to discuss your vessel’s servicing requirements.

Phone 03-5742476

HAVELOCK SLIPWAY PROFESSIONAL BOAT REPAIRS AND MARINE MAINTENANCE

Vessel servicing & repairs • Marine engineering • 200 ton capacity

Contact us today! 14 Rose Street, Havelock Port Ph: 03 574 2476 • A/H Wayne 022 160 9108 • A/H Jim 0274 378 026

info@havelockslipway.co.nz - www.havelockslipway.co.nz

As Kiwis, we love to get things done right and this is perhaps never so apparent as in the finest tradition of DIY. When it comes to working on our own property, whether it be house or our slice of paradise at the weekend bach, we all love the satisfaction of a job well done and done right.

We love to be able to maintain our own property, get up the ladder, clean the gutter, paint that window, and fix the leak in the roof. Often, we give climbing up on our roof or high on the side of our house no second thought. The great, ‘She’ll be right’ Kiwican-do attitude.

But what measures do we put in place to make sure we’ll keep ourselves safe? At work we’d make a plan, call the guy who knows how to get it done, fill out a bunch of paperwork and tick all the boxes. At home we tend to get up on the roof in a pair of

jandals and make do with the old rickety ladder from under the house or in the shed.

Scaffold Marlborough has more than 10 years of experience servicing the Top of the South, building scaffolded houses and baches throughout the Marlborough region, both new and old, big and small. Scaffold Marlborough specialises in making sure your safety comes first. With a safe scaffold you can be sure that the coat of paint will get finished safely and the gutter will go on, without the need to overreach or put yourself at risk.

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22 For pure style, soft ride, comfort, and elegance on the water, fibreglass boats are hard to beat, and it’s no wonder they have found a special place in the heart of Kiwi boaties looking for more than just function. However, not all boats are created equal, so what sets a quality glass boat apart from the ordinary and turns it into a creature of class and superlative performance? Daryl Crimp looks at a New Zealand winner with an impeccable pedigree and sees why…

Rae Line is about building a better boating lifestyle QUALITY PEDIGREE GUARANTEED Cutting to the quick, Rae Line has a long history and a wealth of experience to draw on, which has seen the company gain international respect as an industry innovator, from as far back as the early nineties.

Today, Rae Line has distilled the best elements of moulded glass boats and continued to innovate so it now produces a select range of top quality, high performance boats for the discerning recreational market.

Much of the intrinsic value of owning a Rae Line comes from knowing a highly skilled set of guys take immense pride in every boat they build. Their aim is quality through consistency.

The workmanship that goes into each Rae Line is backed by a

premium New Boat Warranty that sets a standard for others to follow.

A key feature is the lifetime structural warranty that covers the whole boat’s structural integrity for the entire time you, the original owner, has the boat!

ck a b k c i K and make livingraity prio

plus

PERFORMANCE PLUS A PREREQUISITE Optimal performance that comes standard with all Rae Line boats.

Many manufacturers ‘price point’ their various models by equipping them with engines at the lower end of the power rating to make a sale, but Rae Line puts performance and safety first. All boats are powered so your fully loaded boat will rise on to plane, effortlessly. In most cases, the boats leave the factory with so much performance on tap, you will break the 50mph barrier with ease. As well as giving good comfort and ride, this is an important safety aspect; you have the power required should you need to get out of approaching weather quickly.

Rae Line also takes pride in designing and building one of the safest boats out there: all models have underfloor buoyancy foam, certified to a CE standard – one of the hardest standards to attain. Further to that, there is a noticeable difference in stability, with the internal buoyancy chambers running down each side of the hull thereby creating a pontoon-type effect. This enables one side of the boat to support sudden shifts in weight or extra load without feeling like it is going to capsize – perfect for loading and unloading gear over the sides.

UNSURPASSED SERVICE A KEYNOTE Good communication is a hallmark of Rae Line’s customer service, with boat owners having direct and welcome access to the factory in the unlikely event of issues arising with the ownership of your new Rae Line. It’s the personal touch again. The guys who build the boats take your boating experience very seriously and want to make sure you are given the proper information to get the optimum from your new boating experience.

POPULARITY PROOF OF THE PUDDING With only six production spots available for new orders prior to the start of spring, secure your order for a new Rae Line today by calling us on 03 312 6523 or send us an email at info@raeline.com and don’t miss out on building yourself a better boating lifestyle!

23 THE FISHING PAPER - JUNE 2017

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Winter diving weather (age) dependent

A HOLIDAY BREAK LIKE NO OTHER !

Mark Roden

Crimpy’s Hosted Boutique Island Tour Niue

DEPARTING AUGUST 2017 I have personally packaged this unique hosted boutique tour so you get to sample the very best of Niue, while still having free time to enjoy your choice of an amazing array of activities: whale watching, swim with the whales, dive with the dolphins, fishing for wahoo, mahi mahi, and tuna, snorkelling, coral reef dives, underwater scooter, hunt the coconut crab, forest tours, golf, fishing from the shore, and much much more.

Immerse yourself in the culture, cuisine, and comfort of Niue with me, while relaxing in the beautiful clifftop surrounds of the scenic Matavai Resort.

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For more details contact Crimpy or Annette Crimpy 021 472 517 - editor@thefishingpaper.co.nz Annette 021 028 7 3393 - annette@coastalmedia.co.nz

I’ve just been looking back at some of the stories I’ve done for The Fishing Paper & Hunting News at this time of the year and a couple of things struck me: one, I used to do more spearfishing, and two, the weather. On the lack of diving issue, it’s a fact of life, I’ve become a fair weather spearo. I don’t even own a boat at the moment and while that may change, I’m happy enough to be able to get the truck in

the garage and rely on my mates with boats. They are happy enough too – ‘we’ve been out in your boat often enough’ so I’ll get through the winter ‘boatless’ and will see how it goes into the summer. Boat ownership seems to sort itself out.

Every year organising the SI Spearfishing Champs I worry about the number of boats, but it sorts itself out, because every fourth spearo seems to own a boat. Next

year’s SI Champs are being organised by a different group of guys, either through the Dawnbreakers Fishing Club or the newly formed SI Spearfishing Club; good to see new people stepping up and I know it will go well. I will keep you posted.

On the weather issue, well, there is nothing we can do about that, apart from being prepared. The winter is a good time to do local trips but the quandary is that the visibility is often compromised by run off and the only clear water locally is at the top end of d’Urville Island – Port Hardy on a crisp winter day is fantastic – just a long drive in the dark and suit up at Okiwi Bay in the frost! I am planning a trip as I write – will report next month, weather dependent of course.

24 HUNTING NEWS - JUNE 2017

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THE MONSTER

G N I T N U H

of Mananui

NEWS

John Fraider

We arrived in Mananui too late for an afternoon hunt but loaded the ATV and four-wheeler with our food, drinks, clothing and enjoyed an exciting forty-five-minute drive through winding farm and bush tracks to our hut. And what a hut: hot ’n' cold water, fire, fridge, polished wooden floors, shower, and electricity … beautiful. We normally have to sleep under the stars or a corrugated iron bivouac in the bush!

We cooked a feed, had a few beers and, after swapping tales, retired early to bed, keen as to get out for a hunt.

Just to keep the adrenaline flowing, we heard stags roaring throughout the night.

Up at 5.30am the next morning I was raring to go …

Our the block manager, John, arrived a little after 5.30am and spoke to us about where we should go and what sort of country we would be in. We were hunting the free block, which had a lot of native with some grassy areas thrown in the mix. Deer were roaming over some 8000 acres of bush and farmland bordering the Wanganui River; exciting stuff.

I jumped into my ATV and followed John to the track we would be taking.

It was an exhilarating drive involving numerous creek crossings, navigating steep slippery, muddy slopes, and bouncing through deep rutted tracks.

We had about a 100m steep climb on foot through some native and came out on a grassy clearing.

Immediately, we heard a roar from down below, followed by another. In front of us was a small valley covered in native, with a grassy patch running through the middle. The stags were going to town. We picked up on one roaring to our right and decided to stalk through a small bush stand

and see if we could sight him. John gave a small grunt and immediately a roar echoed back. John gave another, quieter roar. Another very angry roar bounced straight back.

I whispered, “I’ll stalk him. You stay here and roar him up.”

Just as I went to move, I thought I saw a movement amongst the tops of pongas to our left. A stag with long brow tines and what looked like a 12 point head emerged from the ferns and dawdled across a small clearing to the left, 100m away. I up my rifle, closed the Mauser action bolt, and squeezed the trigger. Nothing; the bloody safety catch was on. The stag vanished around the corner.

We scrambled through the bush to where we last saw him and came upon another clearing 60m away.

The stag had crossed the gut and was standing on the same level as us, body facing away from us but looking back over his right shoulder. The wind was wafting into our faces so he couldn’t pick up our scent. I gave a short grunt and he turned full side on as though to take up the challenge.

What a magnificent animal, and what a terrific set of antlers. I threw the Howa .300 Win mag to my shoulder, making sure the safety catch was off and, with adrenaline pumping and heart racing, squeezed off a shot.

Boom.

Thonk.

The 180 grain bullet hit the right front shoulder and the stag leapt and ran 10m before crumpling to the ground. The bullet had hit the engine room, taking out his lungs and vital organs. We raced over to assess the magnificent head. Wow; 26 incredible points. The stag was probably around six-years-old and what a great start to the Roar.

A stunning animal in anyone's book.

Come along and talk to Crimpy about his hosted trips to Africa at this year’s Sika Show.

SEPTEMBER 30 & OCTOBER 1, 2017 between 9am and 4pm at the Great Lake Centre & Tongariro Domain, Taupo The Annual Sika Show & Competition is the largest outdoor trade show of its kind in New Zealand.

&

the RETURN of the

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Coming up in our August issue...

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Promote your products and services in our award winning feature SIKA NEWS Call our friendly team and find out how 03 544 7020 Read last year’s publication online at

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25 HUNTING NEWS - JUNE 2017

There is a fair bit of buzz online about alpine hunting at the moment. If you haven’t checked out our latest video, specifically about alpine hunting, you should. It was put together by the team at The Hunters Club, and explores the data from ‘A Hunter’s Tale, 2017’. Click on or scan the link below to view the video.

There are a few things to explore when you’re planning for an alpine hunt that make it unique to almost every other version of hunting. The most obvious is the rapidity of weather shift and its effect on your body and ability to move about the terrain.

New Zealand’s position deep in the Southern Ocean and in the lee of the Australian continent creates dynamic weather interactions between warmer weather systems from the north, and the colder systems from the south. Weather systems flow across New Zealand’s geography - often with considerable speed. Alpine regions of New Zealand create a significant barrier for the incoming weather. As this moist air flows over the mountains and down into the valleys it can create localised events that can be tricky to predict or manage. If you’re intending to spend any time above the treeline, making sure you’re ready for a sudden and possibly un-forecast weather change is critical. You must have a bail out route in mind and be able to navigate in potentially ferocious conditions. You may also be in an

avalanche path, so make sure you head to the NZ Avalanche Advisory (NZAA) - Avalanche.net.nz - before you head out.

The second, and equally as important, factor to staying safe while hunting in the alpine regions is planning every single step.

What I mean by that is, that all of the fatalities and many of the search and rescues for alpine hunters in the last nine years, were from falling. In steep terrain, it’s imperative that you’re ‘edge safe’ if glassing for animals or traversing across a face. Footwear stability is a major aid in staying surefooted, but so is picking the right line and staying vigilant while moving across potentially unstable ground. If you do split up from your hunting party, make sure you’ve got a rendezvous time and location, as well as a bailout plan if the weather turns.

The cold mountain air, incredible views, and eerie remoteness of the alpine regions have drawn hunters and explorers for generations.

What you’ve got to do to set up the shot can be a serious undertaking. It’s thrilling finding the ever-elusive alpine game animals and the fleeting chances you may or may not have.

Enjoy your time in the hills. I wish you luck in your search for game to hunt. Make sure you’re taking every step with purpose, and that they’ll be ones to lead you back home again.

Watch it on your phone Insights from ‘A Hunter’s Tale’ You need to download a QR reader app to view on your phone

Knowing when to draw can be the difference between success and a lost opportunity.

DRAW NOW,

ask questions later Carol Watson

There have been times I’ve watched an animal run off, thinking if only I had come to full draw earlier I would’ve got a shot. It’s not about rushing to get the shot away but more about getting to full draw undetected – which in turn gives you more time to shoot accurately. The animal is likely to be there longer if it doesn’t know you’re there.

When should you draw your bow? For me now it’s as late as possible while remaining undetected. This doesn’t guarantee a shot but dramatically improves your chances.

I once guided our sales rep from Mathews in Wisconsin, Jon DuMars, on a fallow hunt. While sitting down for a bite to eat, a couple of deer crossed just 20 yards below

The new HALON 32 is a longer version of the award-winning HALON, providing an enhanced string angle and superior stability, while delivering speeds up to 350 fps. Like its predecessor, the HALON 32 is powered by the highly efficient CROSSCENTRIC cam, which employs a partially concentric string payout and AVS® technology to produce a stealthy draw and consistent accuracy.

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us. We realised they were a part of a bigger group and Jon quickly got in position with a bush for cover. We could see three more deer approaching and I fully expected him to come to full draw and wait for them to step out. But no, he waited, and, once they were in the open, they didn’t hang around long enough for him to draw back and shoot. He realised his mistake and explained that, when shooting whitetail from a treestand, it is standard to wait until the deer has just gone past before drawing, so as not to alert it with that movement.

It’s a different story hunting on the ground.

Wherever possible, get into a shooting position with an arrow on the string and, if necessary, at full draw, ready for whatever happens next.

advancedarchery.co.nz

Mike Daisley - CEO Mountain Safety Council

Shop ONLINE

Alpine steps that lead you home

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26 HUNTING NEWS - JUNE 2017

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Optically Speaking - with Ant Corke

Hunting Tin Signs - The Perfect Gift

TEKAPO WALLABIES AND RABBITS BITE THE DUST!

For the hunting fanatic in your life

Rabbits continue to be a major problem throughout New Zealand’s Central South Island, with large populations harming both the environment and farming production.

To add to the burden of an oversized rabbit population, sizeable populations of wallabies are now established and spreading to areas that were previously free of these pests.

One of the true warriors in the fight against these pests is Stephen Hunter, owner and manager of Lake Tekapo Cottages during the day, and merciless shooter of rabbits and wallabies at night. Farmers have relied on his shooting for many years, during which he would spotlight, before making the transition to Pulsar Night Vision optics in 2011, when he purchased a Pulsar Digisight N750. This immediately made an impact of his shot-to-kill ratio, which is mainly due to not alerting rabbits to his presence, enabling closer, more carefully taken shots.

The main problem with any optical system that relies on light, be it daylight, amplified starlight, or active infrared, is that it is necessary to have a clear line-of-sight between shooter and target. Long grass, scrub, and other vegetation make it impossible to see and shoot, unless the target moves into the open. This can be rather frustrating, especially when a hand-held thermal imager is used for spotting, because targets that are in plain sight of the thermal, are invisible

when taking the shot. This is where a thermal rifle sight pays dividends.

Recently, Stephen invested in a Pulsar Trail thermal rifle-sight, which he fitted to his .223.

Sighted-in for 200 metres, this combination is deadly for any pests that present themselves.

Moving slowly on his quad, he has a 200 metres radius, in which to operate. After mopping-up as many pests as he can, he will move on a couple of hundred metres, and begin shooting again.

At night, this is extremely efficient, and safe.

During the first two weeks of using a Pulsar Trail thermal riflescope, Stephen shot 600 wallabies in the two weeks, including a staggering 120 in one night.

During a recent South Island business trip, my General Manager Paul King and Sales Manager Jayden King, stayed with Stephen and got to shoot a few rabbits and wallabies with the new Pulsar Trail. I have produced a short video that I hope you find the time to view. I must say though, shooting a rabbit with a .223 whilst looking through a thermal scope looks a little messy!

If you have a pest problem and require professional advice, phone Paul or Jayden on 03 9700 570. The video can be viewed by scanning the QR code, or by viewing our website: www.yukonoptics.co.nz

Watch it on your phone You need to download a QR reader app to view on your phone

We have just received our latest shipment of signs and to kick it off we have a brand new range of hunting signs. The perfect gift for the outdoors enthusiast. There are heaps to pick from. You can also choose from cars to fishing, to vintage garage signs. There is a theme to suit any ‘Man Cave’, shed, bach or bar. The range is huge and there are heaps of themes.

Come on in and check them out.

From only $30, these signs make amazing gifts, but hurry, they are going fast.

Available from Ellis Street Auto, Ph 03 542 4035 104a Ellis Street, Brightwater, Nelson

K-2 is Kiwi can do Nelson pack manufacturer K-2 Antarctic Products, situated in the rural village of Tapawera, has attracted the attention of an international gun manufacturing giant in Italy, landing a contract to manufacture soft carry bags for their range of prestigious firearms and shotguns.

Owner of K-2 Antarctic Products Marie Walls is keeping under wraps the name of the international giant because of licensing agreements, but says good old Kiwi innovation, simplicity, and durability were the hallmarks that won her the contract.

Marie began working for K-2 Antarctic Products in 1984 and was so impressed with the quality and popularity of the products, she bought the business in 2001. Rugged, dependable, durable, and practical packs and outdoor products that incorporate good design with functionality are the cornerstone of K-2’s popularity, with the K-2 Hunter ‘the leader of the pack’. This external frame pack is specifically produced for hunters

and designed to carry heavier loads in the way of meat, without compromising comfort or strength.

It comes in 70 litre, 85 litre, and 95 litre capacity, each featuring a detachable day pack, and a sling hook and butt pad that supports your rifle but still allows for fast access without removing the pack. For the quick ‘out and back’ hunt, the baby of the litter is the very popular 50 litre frameless Hunter Pack with padded back.

For those who prefer internal frame packs, the K-2 Alpine Hunter has proved popular amongst serious tahr and chamois hunters, trampers, and back country workers. Then for the serious outdoors enthusiasts is the Expedition range of packs, now available in lightweight versions. K-2 also manufactures school bags, contractor packs, roll bags, customs products, and accessories.

K-2 Antarctic Products exemplifies the old ‘Kiwi can do’, with pretty much every base covered. For more information: www.k-2antarcticproducts.co.nz

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27 HUNTING NEWS - JUNE 2017

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28 HUNTING NEWS - JUNE 2017

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Whinny the poo bags a

wee buck Karl Barlow

My son Billy is much like any other keen young hunter; having shot his first deer a few months ago, he wanted to have a crack at getting a stag. The first weekend this Roar was a bust. We climbed a few hills and bumped a few hinds but, alas, no stags spotted or heard.

Fortunately, we have a family farm that attracts stags during the rut, so the father-in-law kept us up to date as to where stags were roaring. Arriving the following Friday night, we were greeted to the delightful sound of stags making themselves known to the local ladies.

Early next morning, Billy and I drove out to the back of the farm, where the silhouette of the steep hills was just starting to emerge. As we shouldered our packs, a solid roar split the morning air. We looked at each other and smiled. GAME ON. We stood still for another 30 seconds and he opened up again, followed quickly by another rival on a wee spur to our right. TWO STAGS! We hatched a plan to go after the closer sounding stag and off we stalked.

After covering 200 metres through the trees, the stag began roaring at regular intervals, so we just kept moving in to his lovesick moans. I could hear another noise very faintly off to the side of us, but it was hard to make out exactly what it was, because Casanova kept up his regular throaty barrage.

After bagging this buck, Billy is a fully fledged young hunter.

“Well we can’t move too far, there are deer moving all around us mate,” I told him.

So Billy had to void his bowels about a metre from his dear ole Dad, and dear ole Dad had to listen to all the associated sounds and smells of being in close proximity to the ‘movement,’ which is something only family can endure.

Billy having concluded his ‘business,’ we continued on hands and knees getting closer to the buck. We could see a clearing up ahead and could see glimpses of the buck now moving around his pad, so up with the Swarovski binoculars to gauge his head gear. He was a mature buck with reasonable palms and quite a large body. We continued toward a tree we hoped would afford a better view, but a bark echoed out and half the does took off with the buck following.

BUSTED!

I whispered to Billy, “Let’s just cut the side here a bit mate, there is something there and I just can’t quite hear it.”

We had gone about 30 metres when I finally worked out what was making the noise. It was the unmistakable sound of my favourite quarry. The bullfrog-like croak of a mature fallow buck and not just the odd croak here and there, but the full mating call!

It was early for fallow, because they normally start up towards the end of the red roar. However, here was one going hammer and tongs and, from the deep resonant sound he was making, it was a mature one.

In desperation, I tried a bit of a croak and he stopped and turned and stared in our direction. I motioned Billy to lay flat on his belly.

“We need to sit tight and let him settle down,” I whispered.

There were still a few does and a spiker still in the clearing, so I hoped the big fella would stick round. An agonising 25-30 minutes passed before he went back to his rut calls, but he was nervous, constantly looking in our direction. We were pinned down. We had to belly crawl in a small, wet, muddy seep to keep ourselves concealed. Barely 10 metres into our crawl, I felt a tug on my boot. I turned my head to see Billy clutching his pecker and hissing at me he was busting and needed to go!

“Mate we can’t stand up or make sudden movements, you’ll have lay on your side and go,” I said.

So poor Billy had to lay on his side in a wet muddy seep and pee. I couldn’t help but laugh to myself at the absurdity of the situation. Again, after waiting for Billy to finish, we carried on crawling to our appointed tree. From here we could see our quarry clearly for the first time. He looked good, throwing his head back, croaking, and stomping around. I motioned Billy beside me and told him I would slowly kneel with my shoulder against the tree and that he should stand, keeping the tree between him and the buck, and slowly put the gun on my shoulder. To add to the pressure, I told him to aim for the neck.

Billy has only shot my 22-250, my .270 too big for a nineyear-old. Fallow deer are very tough and a small slug behind the shoulder just isn’t enough, so head and neck shots are necessary.

Billy rose into position, positioned the rifle on my shoulder, and a fawn jumped up in front of us and bolted. The buck wheeled around and started running, then skidded to a stop 80 metres out and spun round to face us.

“You’ll have to be quick mate, but don’t take the shot if you’re not comfortable,” I hissed.

I could see the barrel moving in big circles and thought, ‘This isn’t looking good,’ when the buck wheeled and ran again, stopping just short of the trees on the other side of the clearing, spinning once more to face us about 100 metres out.

I turned to Billy and said, “Mate, your call. We can carry on and chase the reds, or have a crack at this fallow buck?”

“Mate, last chance but if you’re too nervous ....”

“Dad, that’s the first time I’ve heard a fallow stag,” Billy replied. “Can we go after him?”

Crack!

Thump!

“Right bud,” I said, “but there are some rules. These little deer are very smart, smarter than reds, and he will have a heap of does with him and satellite stags as well, so we will have to move real slow, looking everywhere so as not spook anything.”

The buck hit the deck and didn’t even twitch.

“YOU F@#%ING RIPPER, YOU NAILED HIM!” I shouted, slapping Billy on the back.

I was so proud of my boy pulling off a neck shot under pressure on his first stag.

I had a fair idea where this buck was so, getting the wind in our face, we started our stalk. We crept from tree to tree until we saw the first of the does in his harem. We now had to get down on hands and knees and crawl, as there were quite a few does and spikers feeding and resting, with eyes pointing to all points of the compass. It was just then I felt a tug on my shirt sleeve. I turned to find Billy gesticulating to his buttocks.

Making the gun safe, Billy headed off across the clearing to check out his first stag. He was a big-bodied mature buck in great condition, with a big layer of fat on his rump and a nice set of antlers. Billy strutted round like a peacock, convinced his first hair had just appeared on his chest. After paying our respects to the fallen monarch, enlisted the young hunter to help drag the buck out. The peacock was not quite as full of strut now.

“What?” I whispered.

“I need to poo,” he said.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!

Well done Billy boy - very proud of you.

Kind of puts dad to shame, eh Billy!

29 HUNTING NEWS - JUNE 2017

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30 HUNTING NEWS - JUNE 2017

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Short on D’tail Kim Swan

Speak to many a purist pigger and they will rant about the criteria required to be a true blue pig hunter. Ol' Tru-Blue, he, yes he, slays nought but boars, big boars. He does so with nought but a knife, a big knife, and he's always ably assisted by his hearty holding dogs.

Ol' Blue he despises a trail barker; he considers a bailing dog a cowardly creature and he will tell you that any man who carries a rifle is either a sissy or worse, a deer stalker.

I am a sissy. I am a sister too. But then again, I don’t deem myself part of the trendy new tide of women who have their very own sista-only Facebook pages or nominate themselves as something special. If women hunters are genuine about the sport, they are, after all, just hunters the same as all the other genuine persons roaming the hills and forests.

Me, the sissy with the grubby rifle, I was out amongst it today as a non-feminist, non-speciesspecific hunter. Here to enjoy quality time in the back country, without hearty holders and without a dagger big enough to disembowel a cow. I can’t tell you about ballistics, I don’t create my own ammunition, I'm not Dead-eye Dick.

I was here to simply hunt and harvest some of Nature's bounty.

The wind, as always, was shifty. It blew my plans and ruined my route.

The venue. Bliss. A hilltop amongst hilltops: ring-fenced by rocky ranges left and right, crags containing remnants of native forest interspersed with faces of wilding pine. My own personal hill was vegetated with baby radiata, waist-high grasses, and burnt matagouri. Narrow gullies of sycamore and manuka were hideouts for wild pigs, fallow and red deer.

As the evening sun dipped behind the western

range, the temperature plummeted and cautious man-shy animals dared to venture from their hideouts. Now Ol' Tru-Blue might not consider me a real pig hunter but it was a pig that elevated my heart rate, not the pair of fallow hinds with their playful babes, nor the skinny red spiker.

A distant mid-sized black sow was constantly on the move. She cropped clover and nosed earth, stopped, listened intently, sniffed the air then trotted a few strides to begin all over again.

As she went, her hairy tail was swishing back and forward; she was fanning the breeze and attracting attention. It was not just my attention she captured. Boars!

Four teen boars of varying sizes vied for the sow's affection, but she was hungry and in a hurry. While she dined at a table for one, the males fought, shoulder to shoulder, tusking each other in the neck, spinning, throwing in a jab to the rump. Deep squeals and bickering grunts emanated as they sorted dominance.

As the boars argued, I stalked, my slow and stealthy progress decided by breeze direction and cover or lack thereof. My target, a young piebald pig in peak condition. He was a good size to carry and to eat. I was imagining him on the plate when the wind shifted and the sow's big long hooter shot skywards. With a warning huff she darted for cover and her suitors followed her lead.

As Piebald trotted into the matagouri edge, I took my shot and he vanished. Experience and intuition combined gave me the hunch to follow-up. And so I did, creeping silently on hands and knees through the tangle of matagouri and prickly vines. So camouflaged was the young boar, I never knew I was upon him till his eye met mine. Eeek. The sissy without the hearty

holding dogs back-pedalled promptly!

Piebald trotted off but he was unwell, a metal projectile amidst his tattered liver.

The sissy followed. And when the piebald pig stopped to rest in more open cover, she snuck right up with the intention to grab him by the tail. She might not be a gun expert but she knew a .223 with a high-power scope is not designed for accurate or safe shooting at close quarters.

BREAK YOUR SHACKLES Extend your boundaries

Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky, ready to grab and grip if piggy should turn to see her off.

Close. Closer. Ready, set, pounce, and grab!

Silly plan that was. Piebald had a short stump of a tail. He turned to fight, but it was alright, he was weak and she was strong. The small knife did its business efficiently, no overkill required.

No big dagger needed, no big dog (physically or metaphorically) neither.

The piebald porker should have paid more attention to D'tail.

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31 THE FISHING PAPER - JUNE 2017

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From Sinker to Smoker

The two-hook surfcasting ledger rig.

By Ron Prestage

Badge to basics Last month Andrea Fensom and I, representing the Dawnbreakers Fishing Club, assisted an 11 to 14-year-old boys’ youth group work towards gaining their fishing badges.

The Richmond Church of Christ based group members had to demonstrate ability and knowledge in the following areas: general fishing safety, know the equipment for different types of fishing, identify five fish species and know basic knots and rigs.

We began the evening by using copies of The Fishing Paper & Hunting News the boys looked through and cut out pictures from, of five fish species. The usual suspects of snapper, blue cod, gurnard, kahawai, groper and rig predominated.

Next we attacked knot tying, concentrating on the universal or ‘uni’ knot, which as the name suggests can be used for just about any fishing situation. As usual the tying of this simple knot was not as easy as it first appears to be but all the boys mastered it after several attempts.

We then moved on to the Japanese longline knot, which gives the hook a great angle in a rig and an absolutely secure connection between hook and line. This is also called snelling the hook. Virtually any form of terminal rig can be made using just these two knots. The internet provides plenty of examples of how to tie these knots, some diagrams are very cleverly animated.

For the equipment section we focused on surfcasting and demonstrated a 14ft, three piece rod, an Abu Garcia Veritas and a fixed spool reel, a Penn Spinfisher V 7500LC. Features pointed out included the use of 20lb braid for the main line to get good casting distance and a tapered shock leader to give strength at the business end, coupled

with a thinner end to make the join to the main line less obtrusive.

The two rigs demonstrated and explained were the pulley rig and the two-hook ledger rig, both very successful rigs for catching New Zealand surfcasting species. The boys were furnished with copies of the information covered so some revision could be done before the testing session that followed a few weeks later.

One important safety point stressed was the importance of using hooks with the tip and barb ground off to learn to tie the knots with. A trip to A & E to get a hook removed from a finger, many years ago taught me the folly of learning to tie a knot using a chemically sharpened hook, while watching an instructional Bill Hohepa DVD!

The universal or ‘uni’ knot.

Of salmon otoliths and scales Dr Mark Lokman

Extracting otolith

When a fish is caught, whether by a fishing mad fisher or a fish biologist, the question, “I wonder what this fish has been up to in its life and how old it is,” is one that is probably often asked. We can ask the fish these questions until the cows come home, but of course, won’t get an answer.

However, much information can be found in several of the fish’s hard body parts: scales and otoliths. Otoliths are hard mineral deposits, typically in an oval-like shape, that are conveniently termed ‘balance organs’ – these structures play a role in balance, movement, and gravity sensing, among others. Fish have three pairs of otoliths; normally, only the sagittae (the largest pair, found in the brain case, in a jelly pocket just behind the brain itself) are collected for study: as the fish grows, the otoliths grow, and if the fish grow rapidly, so too do the otoliths. Rapid growth in summer and slow growth in winter accordingly alternate, giving a ring pattern like what is seen for trees, and we can simply count the rings to get an estimate of age. The size of the otoliths and the distance between the rings can further tell us a little bit about

Salmon otoliths

the growth rate of the fish in a given year(s).

The ‘aging trick’ is well-known and has been used for quite some time – in fact, this trick is now so well established that otoliths from young fish can even help us estimate their age in days, as in these young fish, the rings develop as alternations between day (fast growth) and night (slow growth) – the rings are not as easily identifiable as annual rings, but with practice and the right gear, a reasonable guesstimate can be obtained. More recently, ecologists have come to realise that otoliths are not only calcium carbonate, but they also contain trace elements – and the amount of these trace elements can differ along the otolith (from centre to edge). The trace elements strontium and barium are especially useful here; strontium content is relatively high in seawater and barium content in fresh water, so as the ratio of these trace elements is determined in the otoliths in different distances from the centre, we can get insights into whether and when fish may have been spending time in fresh water (locally high barium content in the otolith) or seawater (locally high strontium content in the otolith).

TautukuDFunisedhining Club

Otolith cross section

Otolith analysis may be able to tell age, but the process can be time consuming – fortunately, scales also produce a ‘tree-ring’ pattern, reflective of growth; the only constraint here is that when scales are lost during damage, new scales will form that do not give the true age of the fish. So, aging on the basis of scales is preferably done by collecting several scales from different parts along the body.

Watch it on your phone How to remove Otolith bones

You need to downlaod a QR reader app to view on your phone

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Fish growths, parasites, and other oddities Marty Bowers - Senior Fisheries Analyst MPI Fisheries Management Recreational fishers occasionally contact MPI asking about the things they find inside or on their fish. Sometimes these are parasites and other times they are growths that have formed on their own. Generally, these fish are still safe to eat but we encourage you to exercise caution if you are unsure.

Lumps and bumps When filleting fish, it is not uncommon to find a hard white substance as part of the fillet. This is most likely to be the enlargement of particular areas of fish bones, otherwise known as hyperostosis, which affects almost one hundred fish species globally. It appears that the kinds of bones and how they grow is similar within a particular species. You may have seen Australian snapper that have a large bump on their forehead. This is a sign of hyperostosis. The jury is still out on what causes these bone growths.

There appears to be a genetic basis but this has

not been proven. Thankfully, these bone growths are safe and there is no issue with eating the fish.

We also recently had a case of suspected melanoma in a trevally. While melanomas are rarely encountered in fish, they are probably quite common, and may not always be related to sun exposure, as they have been observed in rock cod off the South Island at depths of 100m.

While they can look unsightly, there is no danger with eating these fish.

Parasites Most fishers would have come across fish parasites at one time or another. Below we discuss the three most common types found by recreational fishers: sea lice, flatworms and round worms.

Sea lice is a term often used to refer to crustaceans that parasitise fish. Most sea lice are either isopods, which include free-living land based creatures such as slaters, or copepods,

Melanoma on the head of trevally, South Island. Photo credit Brian Jones.

which include abundant microscopic species that make a huge proportion of the ocean’s plankton and are critical to ocean productivity. Roughly half of the known 13,000 copepods species are parasitic and they attach themselves to the outside of fish, sharks, and marine mammals.

Tongue biters are some of the most recognisable sea lice due to their disturbing habit of living in the mouth of their host. Tongue biters attach themselves to the tongue and cut off blood flow. The tongue may eventually shrivel and the tongue biter remains as a mechanical replacement for the tongue, riding along and getting a free feed. Despite the parasite sometimes appearing to completely fill the fish’s mouth, the fish host often appears otherwise normal and in good condition, and so still able to eat.

Other sea lice attach themselves inside the gill cavity and feed on freshly oxygenated blood as it flows through the gills, or to the fins and body surfaces and feed on fish mucus. As sea lice attach to the outside of fish, they do not normally have any impact on the fillet itself, and fish parasitised by sea lice are safe to eat.

The worms commonly found in the muscles of fish, such as barracouta, are often the juvenile life stage of a type of flatworm called a cestode.

A New Zealand study from 1970 found that 82% of barracouta studied contained these flatworms.

Barracouta are likely to be an intermediate host of these cestode flatworms, which can have wide and complex lifecycles. When the barracouta are consumed by a larger predator such as a shark, the flatworm then develops into an adult, which produces eggs that are defecated out by the shark. Larvae hatch out of the eggs then infect an invertebrate such as a shrimp, which is then directly consumed by a barracouta or by one of its fish prey species. It then enters the flesh of the barracouta through the gut cavity and the cycle starts again.

The high rate of parasitism means that not many Kiwis are keen on eating barracouta. Most of the exports of barracouta end up in South Africa, where it is sold as snoek. The flatworms are killed when frozen or cooked and pose no risk

Female cymothoid isopod or “gill biter” brooding young, from a butterfish. to human health. Barracouta is a good eating fish and we recommend you keep one to try sometime!

Small coiled roundworms are also sometimes observed in the gut cavity of fish; these are intermediate stages of nematodes or round worms. Like the cestode worm, these roundworms have a complex life cycle, starting their lives in a small shrimp or other invertebrate, with the fish as one of possibly several intermediate hosts.

These worms don’t mature until the fish is eaten by its final host – a marine mammal like a seal or a whale. When the fish dies, the larvae migrate from the guts and sometimes lodge in the muscle tissue of the fish. This has led to very rare cases when a particular kind of these worms – called anisakids – have inadvertently infected humans, when fish are eaten raw. The person suffering from ‘anisakiasis’, as it’s called, often gets a myriad of symptoms including severe abdominal pain, which in the past has been mistaken for appendicitis!

Despite the popularity of seafood in New Zealand, including the rising popularity of

Help us develop our National Blue Cod Strategy Blue cod is a highly valued species by all sectors and tangata whenua, especially in the South Island where they’re an iconic species. Blue cod also support a high value commercial fishery and a very popular recreational fishery.

Increasing fishing activity and a changing environment have the potential to impact on the sustainability of these fisheries.

We want to get in front of these problems and deliver a better and more consistent management approach that will ensure these iconic fisheries can be enjoyed now and in the future.

What are we planning?

We’ve identified the need for a National Blue Cod Strategy to provide an overarching, consistent management framework that will improve those fisheries which are under pressure, and protect the fisheries that are performing well.

We’ll review all aspects of the blue cod fishery across the whole of New Zealand, but we’ll start with the South Island so we can address priority management concerns.

We’ll engage widely with all sectors and tangata whenua throughout the development of the strategy, so you will definitely have the opportunity to give us your input.

We’ll start engaging with you in the second half of 2017, when you’ll be able to have your say.

We’ll put details of public meetings and other ways to be involved on our website soon.

You can find out when to have your say by following our fisheries Facebook pages: • Northland: www.facebook.com/MPIFisheriesNorthland • Nelson/Marlborough/Kaikōura: www.facebook.com/MPIFisheriesNelsonMarlboroughKaikoura • Canterbury/Westland: www.facebook.com/MPIFisheriesCanterburyWestland • Otago/Southland: www.facebok.com/MPIFisheriesOtagoSouthland Email recfishingteam@mpi.govt.nz and sign up to receive fishing related emails in your area, and visit www.mpi.govt.nz/national-blue-cod-strategy for further updates.

33 THE FISHING PAPER - JUNE 2017

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Presents

different cuisines that may include raw or lightly cooked fish, the incidence of anisakiasis in people in New Zealand is very rare. Treating your catch humanely by quickly dispatching it and gutting it not only reduces your chances of getting accidentally infected with anisakids, it also leads to a better tasting fish on the whole.

TRAVELS

Fish handling Fishers may occasionally come across fish that have skin lesions or lost scales. This could be due to poor handling by a previous fisher who returned that fish back to the sea.

Fish skin and scales are covered by a slime or mucus, which acts as the first line of defence against infection. Poor handling techniques can remove this mucus layer and leave fish open to skin infections. We recommend handling fish with a rubber glove or a wet hand or to avoid rubbing off this protective mucus layer. This increases the chance that this fish will go on to survive and breed.

Hyperostosis in gurnard.

Cestode flatworm from hoki gonads.

A final word on fish diseases New Zealand’s relative isolation from the rest of the world means that our fisheries and unique marine life have escaped many serious diseases that are a problem overseas. Due to the way the marine environment is fundamentally connected by water and currents, it is virtually impossible to ‘quarantine’ infected animals and stop a new disease from spreading like we can on land, and this is why we take marine biosecurity in New Zealand so seriously.

The first sign of a serious disease is often large numbers of dead or dying fish, so if you discover a mass mortality, please call the biosecurity hotline on 0800 00 83 33 as soon as possible.

Getting freshly dead (not frozen) specimens into our lab promptly is key to identifying what may be causing the deaths.

For fishing related updates in your area please email the MPI recreational fishing team at recfishingteam@mpi.govt.nz or follow the link on the Recreational Fishing Initiative page on the MPI website.

xtreme Reading with Robson Green

because of the show, which is a global juggernaut.

“This gig that I’ve got is so unique and unusual you wouldn’t believe it,” he said.

Having fished all over the world, Robson had some hot tips for fellow readers of The Fishing Paper & Hunting News looking for the sublime fishing experience.

“Go to Ascension Island in the middle of the Atlantic. It is the finest marine ecosystem in the world,” he told Crimpy while visiting New Zealand.

“I got a hat trick in four minutes!” He went on to say the variety of species is staggering, from snapper, wahoo, jack, dogtooth tuna and sailfish to marlin.

Robson Green has scoured the world in search of extreme fishing and, in doing so, has stumbled onto what he describes as the most extreme fishing and hunting fix. He is, of course, talking about The Fishing Paper & Hunting News. The quirky Pommy said he first stumbled onto The Fishing Paper & Hunting News when targeting the lesser-spotted Outer Mongolian mullet and he noticed a yak taxi driver reading it while waiting to pick up a fare. He was amazed at where in the world The Fishing Paper &Hunting News popped up and reckons that alone qualified it as extreme reading.

Robson said he is the envy of all his acting mates

At WorldTravellers Motueka we’re passionate about travel and are avid travellers ourselves. If there’s somewhere in the world you’d like to go, chances are one of our team has been there and can share their knowledge and personal experience with you - making the world of difference when it comes to booking your next holiday.

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THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS ONLINE EDITION

NEW TFP FREE e v i t c a r e t in FUN Interactive editorial/advertorial Place the cursor over an image for video action

4

THE FISHING PAPER - MAY 2016

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Staunch seven-gillers cut no slack

Greg Gilbert

Having spent a few weeks chasing silver on Canterbury rivers and having a low patch at work, I figured I should get back to what I know best, surf casting.

After watching the time tick by at work, I raced home on Friday, packed my car and headed north, arriving in Kaikoura about 7.30 pm. I rigged up and fished for about an hour-and-a-half, using scallops as bait. I managed eight moki and a red cod, all undersize, so packed it in.

I met up with Greg Terras around 6.00am next morning.

It was cold but we didn't mind, so we fished for a couple hours but with not a huge amount of success - just a couple small moki.

Then the wind turned and was blowing in our face.

Although it wasn't pleasant, it wasn't bad either and it coloured up the water. I thought there could be some seven-gillers around so on went some salmon for bait. The first big bend in the rod proved me right and I went on to battle it out with three seven-gillers, a decent conger eel, and a small stingray, along with the moki and other fish I

6

THE FISHIN

G PAPER

- MAY 2016

The luck

Greg Gilbert with the staunch Kaikoura seven-giller.

caught. Greg also managed two seven-gillers.

Of our catch, a couple were small, 20-40lb, but a couple were a bit bigger. We fished on into dark but it was pretty quiet so we retired for a well earned sleep.

Sunday

A big conger added to the mixed bag taken from

the surf.

dawned to a beautiful morning, which had us back at the surf full of anticipation. I threw out some rainbow trout as bait but, having seen Greg get a couple of dogfish, I was a little disappointed when my line went slack.

I said to Greg, “Here's a doggy for me,” and started winding up the slack. The moment I felt the weight come on, 50m of line suddenly peeled off my reel, straight out to sea! This was no doggy and thinking it wouldn’t be a

giller, as they usually swim along the beach, it was thrilling not knowing what was on my line. After a solid fight and plenty of rod bending action, some 20min later and 300m down the beach, I saw in the wave the brown shape and mass of a giller. Needless to say, I was very surprised as it was the hardest fight I've had from one. We thought it had to be foul hooked, but once we’d managed to beach it, and with a crowd of over a dozen people that had watched the whole fight standing around, we saw it was in fact hooked in the mouth!

A couple of quick photos and back it went to fight another day. A few others wanted photos and I possibly sounded rude with the way I said, “No, it needs to go back!” (So, sorry if you’re reading this).

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love the mix of technology and the primitive aspects 10x42! Wow, of the sport. real primal what amazing Karl shares feel not prevalent There is a the sweet kit: crystal clear, it is the best taste of success The discipline gear I have with with son, Sam. a plan to intercept bought. Binos needed to accuratelya rifle. more animals get you and the sequence the two closer than you believe, on hands and deer. Crawling of steps required shoot game but also not just spotting knees practice. After planning stalking at hand. She takes me a clear shooting to a gap in the trees gave a year, I’m was close now expensive but routes. They get the feel just starting but kept looking lane. I rose I was told once, are of a correct way. I waited to depression from a small shot when - you only cry my if you buy quality until her head into a kneeling pressure; throw there is no once - when dipped behind and pulled position but in the excitement have made you pay for the bow up know, shut a tree must too much noise, 20-30 yards them. I of being only up, get back to full draw. from an animal, through my as the lead deer’s to the hunt.

I then went head snapped shot sequence: I stalked on and placing arrow on target up and looked through the an straight at me. becomes a froze mid-crouch 1) Check pines, making long thin grassy HUGE challenge! stance. I’m I’ve had to I until she went for a kneeling! Have slow down slip that often By this time, back to feeding. a lot more like this.

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Bay, so that here We traversed was the the Boulder Delaware Bank, crossed Bay on glassy north of the Whangamo water and started up with fishing a Heads. a dropper James was set and a snapper kitted and strayline rig to target the snapper before we got the after suicide joined the party berley in the water on fishing for mission. We literallysuicide mission them and target blue had to stop The day remained cod and was a fast gurnard. windless one. James and the in a fish trip home loved pan-fried butty and took home memories snapper of fishing to Ireland in our bountiful happy Tasman Bay.

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Front cover story:

Boothy bags rainbow gold

Ben Booth

ACCOMMODATION GREYMOUTH

The canals had been fishing really well recently, with many reports of large trout coming to the bank, so three staunch Canterbury canal fishers headed south for a look. Joining me were Simon Jones and Paddy Noone.

As we arrived at our chosen spot we were pleasantly surprised to find no one there, but the water was running extremely clear, so therein lay the greatest challenge; the fish cannot only see you but everything you throw at them as well.

I normally prefer cloudy water, as it is more forgiving, but we were up for the challenge.

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The rods were quickly rigged up and the first few casts were made. I must point out here that we were using a new technique that we’d only just perfected for fishing the canals, and it involved nymphs.

ACCOMMODATION CHRISTCHURCH

Simon with one of the many taken on the new technique.

Unfortunately, Crimpy’s in Africa this month and has embargoed my ‘reveal all article’ on this new style of fishing until next month, so he can get in ahead of you guys when he gets back!

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After a few drifts, I hooked into a good heavy fish that raced away downstream, peeling a whole lot of line off of my reel as it went. Eventually I got some sort of control of the fish and was able to work it closer to the bank.

We hadn’t been able to get a good look at it until it rolled in front of us and revealed a very deep well conditioned rainbow. After struggling with the fish for a few more minutes, it was pulled close enough to the bank to have a go at scooping him up with the net; thankfully it came in nice and easy. I quickly removed the hook from the top jaw and checked its weight in the net. The scales pulled down to 21lb. We were super excited to get such a fantastic so early in the trip.

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For the next two days we all continued to fish the same technique and, despite the super clear conditions, caught and released a mixture of big rainbows and browns. Simon topped out with a well-conditioned and lovely looking 18lb brown and Paddy, a nice brown of around 14lb.

Kawhia cooling causes snapper drift

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Cooling water temperature has seen the bulk of the snapper leave the harbour and head off the coast to deeper water, however, it’s not all doom and gloom. While snapper drift deeper with the drop off in degrees, they have been replaced with winter flounder and spotted dogfish, with big trevs hopefully turning up soon. Nice days across the Kawhia bar can still produce some nice snapper, however the trick is find them as they have started leaving the latté school.

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My favourite harbour snapper rig is unweighted baby squid floating down the berley trail well away from any boat noise, as the squid stays around long enough to get the bigger fish to bite.

Pillies and skipjack just don’t last with all the nibblers around.

In the deeper coastal water I favour flasher rigs running a sand dropper. That is, I run a trace and hook off the sinker, which is also great for picking up gurnard. A stray-line rig is workable in 30-50m but you need sinkers in order to reach the bottom. There is always a chance of a kingfish on a stray-line..

Trevs can be targeted in the harbour with shellfish bait and smallish hooks and are tremendous fighters pound for pound, exceeding snapper in their pulling ability. Landing nets should be used as, with soft mouths, many are lost when attempting to land.

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Paddy with a pearler of a brown.

Next month, I promise I’ll get Crimpy to lift the embargo on my reveal all, nymph all, new technique.

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Kiwi lobster families want fair go Daryl Sykes

STEINLAGER PURE

From left to right – Aaron Wood his partner Sally Fox. Annabella (Lizzie and Sam’s daughter) Lizzie and Sam Wood Wyatt (son) Sitting - Cooper (Aaron’s son) Katelyn (Sam’s daughter)

W

hitianga rock lobster fisherman Sam Wood is 33-years-old and a thirdgeneration commercial fisherman. Like his father and grandfather before him, Sam fishes in the CRA 2 management area, which extends from Te Arai Point to East Cape. Six years ago, he and brother Aaron took over from their father, who ran the business for more than thirty years.

“My family has a long-term commitment to the CRA 2 fishery and is heavily invested in a future as commercial fishermen,” says Sam. “I have seen a lot of negative stuff about lobster fishing across the Bay of Plenty in the media lately, and I want to see better recognition and respect for the people involved in this business.”

Sam is particularly concerned about recreational fishing lobby group LegaSea, that claims big business is dictating fisheries management and is in collusion with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). Sam is adamant such claims are false.

“The facts are: in CRA 2 last season there were 28 commercial lobster vessels operating and all are private owner-operator family businesses.

And I mean family – second and third generation commercial fishing families.”

Sam also maintains family connections extend further than working at sea on the boats: “Our wives and extended family are all involved helping us get out there and come home safely, which includes helping with equipment, maintaining communications, handling and transporting the catch, and doing the catch returns and other paperwork required of all commercial fishermen.

We are not big business as LegaSea argue, but live in small rural and coastal settlements and contribute significantly to our local economies, communities, and schools.”

Sam says lobstermen should be allowed to continue doing this, without

uninformed criticism from lobby groups.

Sam agrees the last few years have been tough catching years, for a variety of reasons in addition to the state of the stock, but says fishermen have still managed to meet agreed catch limits. In fact, catch rates have recently improved.

The current fishing year finished early in February, six weeks before the end of the lobster fishing year.

“Many smaller towns throughout New Zealand are very reliant on primary industries, like lobstering and inshore fishing.”

He also cites a local initiative to help the lobster stock by resting fishing grounds: Whitianga lobster fishermen have voluntarily imposed a closed season from April to July inclusive - a spell of three months.

Sam is very supportive of the CRA 2 Rock Lobster Management Company.

Established as an industry representative body, the company has a solid track record of fishery data collection and stock management initiatives.

“The CRA 2 industry is doing what it can to help maintain abundance of our fish stock”, says Sam. “We initiated a quota cuts three years ago and, in the current season, have voluntarily reduced the commercial catch limit by 50 tonnes. With our catch reductions, the commercial fishery is now rebuilding”.

Things have changed out on the water in Sam’s generation, with increases in recreational fishing and diving, and charter operators. Technology advancements and larger recreational boats have also made grounds more accessible and increased pressure on the resource. While commercial are restricted to using pots only, recreational fishers can use pots, free dive, and use tanks to take rock lobster.

Sam says all commercial fishermen must stop fishing once they have caught their quota, but is concerned there is no cap on the numbers of recreational dive and pot fishermen who turn up to take their daily limit of six lobsters per person; nor any limit on the number of days they can fish.

“The CRA 2 fishery is a shared resource with customary, recreational, commercial, and even fish thieves recognised as users by the Ministry for Primary Industries. Commercial fishermen are making sacrifices to help the fishery, but we shouldn’t be doing it alone. I would like to see customary and recreational interests assisting industry efforts to protect the resource.

This includes stamping out fish thieves and the black market for lobsters.

Non-commercial users also need to show initiative and limit their take in order to help protect and rebuild stock abundance.”

Sam wants the fishery to survive in a healthy state for future generations of commercial, customary and responsible recreational users.

STEINLAGER MID

BECK’S