September The Fishing Paper & Hunting News Issue 180 by The Fishing Paper

THE

FISHING & HUNTING FREE

PAPER

NEWS

September 2020 Issue 180

 Slender Tuna  Chamois Hunt  Woolly Buggers

Tasman Bay Thumper Story pg 3

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THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - SEPTEMBER 2020

Rec fishers hammered but there’s hope Jim Crossland – Acting Chair of the Board

While these issues have been in the making for several years, they are by no means over. There is still time to work with Government and others to ensure the impacts on recreational fishing are lessened, if not reversed. And, there will be no end to the issues arising in the future that could adversely impact on recreational fishing. For these reasons, increasingly fishers are realising that the only way out of grudgingly accepting continual adverse impacts on fishing is by becoming effectively organised and represented, as are most other outdoor interests. Fish Mainland is a recently incorporated not-for-profit organisation designed to be a fully functioning professional organisation that coordinates, represents and promotes the diverse interests of the 100,000+ recreational marine fishers in the South Island and Stewart Island. Its goal is to restore and sustain fisheries resources to maximise fishers’ experiences and opportunities. A group of South Island and Stewart Island fishers designed Fish Mainland to be member-based. Membership includes individuals and groups interested in and supportive of recreational fishing and/or sustainable fisheries management practices. Membership to date has exceeded our expectations, especially given the pandemic.

We now have over 250 individual and group members. This figure triples when considering the member base of some of these groups. Fish Mainland is designed so that its members have democratic control over the organisation through the power to nominate, elect and remove five Regional Directors of the Board. Each Regional Director will cover one of the following groupings:

1. Tasman District, Nelson City, Buller District and Grey District; 2. Marlborough District and Kaikoura District; 3. Canterbury Region, excluding the Kaikoura District and the Waitaki District; 4. Otago Region, Waitaki District and Westland District; 5. Southland Region, including Stewart Island. There will be two more Directors appointed by the South Island Mandated Iwi Organisations, and the Board will appoint two other Directors for their skills and expertise. The Board will also appoint an independent Chair and a Deputy Chair. Directors will receive remuneration for their services up to a maximum aggregate fixed amount to be determined by the members. It is important to note that elected and appointed Directors of the Board demonstrate Fish Mainland’s mandate to represent recreational fishers in the South Island and Stewart Island.

The group that designed Fish Mainland has been acting as its Directors. It is now timely for the members to take control of the organisation by considering who they would like to nominate for the five regional Director roles.

Fish Mainland’s governance structure Independent Chairperson

Board of Directors (9) 5 elected regionally, 2 Iwi appointed, 2 Board appointed The October issue of The Fishing Paper & Hunting News will set out the dates for close of nominations and elections dates.

Sign up—don’t tune out Now is also the time to sign up as a Fish Mainland Member so that you can have a voice in the future direction of South Island recreational fisheries. Sign up even if you don’t want to be involved but want to be assured that Fish Mainland is looking after your interests.

Photo Credit Alisa Mcgilvary-Howard

2020 has been an unprecedented year not only because of COVID-19. We have also witnessed more adverse impacts on marine recreational fishing than in any other year, namely the blue cod rule changes, the Southeast MPA forum proposal and the set-net ban because of the Dolphin Threat Management Plan.

Become a member

The aim of Fish Mainland is to provide a unified voice for the South Island marine recreational fishing community. Its aim is also to demonstrate the ability to work respectfully and collaboratively with others to find workable solutions that provide the best public outcomes. Its vision is a healthy and abundant marine environment in which recreational fishers have an equitable share of available fisheries resources and are respected partners in management decisions. The recreational fishing sector is far more numerous, diverse and undefined than the commercial fishing sector and Iwi fishing interests. As a sector, recreational fishers remain largely unknown, except for a small proportion with membership to fishing and boating clubs

If you are interested in and supportive of recreational fishing and/or sustainable fisheries management practices then become a member of Fish Mainland today

Join today

MEMBERSHIP IS FREE - JOIN TODAY • A key development for Fish Mainland is its South Island Recreational Fisheries Policy. • Its purpose is to guide and coordinate the actions of the South Island recreational fishing sector, the Crown, Iwi, other fishing sectors and interests in realising opportunities and meeting the challenges facing the recreational sector in shared fisheries. • Shared fisheries are those where commercial, recreational and Māori customary fishers have a shared interest, and they value their share quite differently.

Like us on facebook.com/FishMainland and become a member at www.fishmainland.nz

Randall Bess - TNC support 027 314 4084

Issue 180 3 Front Cover Story

Nana babysits a thumper

Clive Chapman

I was raised with salt in my veins, by dad being a commercial fisherman and me following his wake. The tang of salt in the air and the rasp of wind against my skin is something I never tire of and an absence from the water soon has me scratching phantom itches and pacing the floor. It’s hard work with long hours, but satisfying and

Crewarding. Once bitten by the commercial fishing bug, it’s a curse because a vaccine hasn’t yet been developed to dampen the cravings for a shot of saline to the veins. Now that I have a young son and am designated ‘House Dad’, I have taken a sabbatical from commercial trawling, so have dampened the withdrawal symptoms with a natural remedy—

recreational fishing with mates, leaving Nana to babysit young Bax! Kevin and I hit Tasman Bay with an overnight 8 knot breeze dying towards sunrise, causing the sea to sigh and finally settle. Full of prospect, we weighed anchor in 22m, set the berley pumping, and rigged the straylines. I was using whole pillies for bait and wasted no time flicking one into the current—Kevin mirroring my actions. The early start didn’t prove critical as I’d been

told, with the fish lethargic and unwilling to get out of bed before sun-up. Then a couple of kahawai and a big seven giller warmed us up for the gym session ahead.

a big school milled about in the berley trail and fish after fish begged for our attention. Thumping rods and squealing reals—you don’t get a better high!

and became a dead weight.

Suddenly, the song of the Shimano Baitrunner was searing the air, the rod bending, dipping, and bucking in a manner they could only suggest snapper. The weight on the pole tended to confirm this theory and soon the pink and silver sheen of a broaching snapper confirmed this. The flurry was sustained, as

Well actually you do— when it comes in the shape of a horse—or two. In amongst the pannies, that ranged from 4-12lb, I was lucky to pull out two thumpers: my PB at 27lb and another that went 21. The big snapper initially put in a ‘Tyson Round’, slugging it out with three or four good runs, but knocked up quick,

half hour to take the fight on

The twenty-one pounder was way friskier and did the ‘Ali Shuffle’ on numerous occasions, taking me a good points. We ended the session with 11 snapper, Kevin accounting for two or three nice pannies, but that’s okay… I needed a ‘Nana’ to babysit the school while I dealt a lesson to the big boys!

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THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - SEPTEMBER 2020

Matching hatch creates slender opportunity Malcolm Halstead Match the hatch is a freshwater term for putting the right fly in front of a feeding trout to ensure a strike; it is also a term that applies to salt water fishing. On a recent Top Catch Charters trip off Kaikoura, we came across a school of slender tuna aggressively feeding on the surface, a sight that brings the ultimate buzz to any sport fisherman. Onboard was a good mate of mine, Stu, and a lad Stu was mentoring—Kian. On seeing the school of fish, I casually enquired if they would like a crack at catching a slender tuna. The twinkle in their eyes suggested a big yes to that question. I rigged up a couple of tuna lures and proceeded to tow them across the front of the rapidly moving school, all to no avail. Not to be out done, I repositioned the boat and gave it another go. Once again—no result. Putting the thinking cap on, I changed our approach; out came a soft bait rod, which was rigged with a simple 28 gram silver ticer. If they weren’t taking a tuna skirt then they must be on something smaller, that was my theory anyway! Once I had the boat ahead of the school I gave the word to Stu to cast the ticer into the school and begin a fast retrieve. The action was instant, with a solid hook up and line peeling off the

wee Shimano Ultegra 4000 at an alarming rate. The smiles on Kian’s and Stu’s faces confirmed I was onto a winner. Together they played the fish out while the school of tuna boiled around the boat. Fifteen minutes later we had 7kg of tuna safely in the boat and the cameras working overtime. Not needing to ask twice, I repositioned the boat and Stu was quickly into another one, which turned out to be a replica of their first fish. To say my customers were having the time of their life was an understatement and was one of the many rewards of being a charter skipper that you just can't put a value on. I had a quick cast myself and hooked up instantly, which turned into the ultimate battle. At one point I got spooled but managed to retrieve a bit of line, which negated the impending bust off. All this was possible because we matched the hatch; the tuna were full of small sprat-like fish. Interestingly, another boat fished beside us the whole time without getting one single hook up. So the lesson here is, if the fish aren’t biting don’t give up but try a different method. Slender tuna are an excellent sport fish on light tackle.

Coutta’s Cut:

Coutta

Kian and Stu with a surprise slender tuna

Me & you and a dog called Troupe

Not much going on at the moment so here’s a bit of a yarn about a dog called Troupe.

defence so did the whole Darwin population), was not an ideal fit with a young family.

More years ago than I care to remember, I joined the Northern Territory Police Force.

A vacancy came up on a two-man station called Oenpelli, just over the East Alligator River in Arnhem Land. It got me out of the Drug Squad and the barramundi fishing was brilliant. We loaded up the old Holden HG station wagon and off we went. ‘Lynne the Ruthless’ was sort of enthusiastic until we came into the settlement: ‘Humpies’ or Aboriginal lean-tos, wrecked cars, dust and flies.

Troupe, however, was in his element, even though he got me into a fair amount of strife. First off, he bit Bobby, the station’s Aboriginal tracker. Another day I heard some of the locals teasing him when they walked past. The next morning, I was woken up by screaming and saw about 20 of the locals perched on top of a cattle crate trailer with Troupe circling below. Another day, after some kids teased him, he hid in the long grass outside the school and nipped a couple when they came out.

I’ll never forget her words, “Where the ***k have you

Probably the biggest complaint came to me on a

At about this time I acquired a red heeler pup now known as the Australian Cattle Dog. The breed epitomizes the old saying, it’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the fight in the dog. I called him Troupe. I had been seconded to the Drug Squad, Jeannie our first daughter had been born and being a detective, especially a drug squad detective who drank too much (in my

brought me?”

Sunday morning. Oenpelli was an ex-mission station and the church was still a big part of the community. Troupe got into a fight with one of the many camp dogs and chased it into the church and up to the altar, where he gave it a bit of a towel up. This would not have been too bad, had a service not been in progress. One night I got a call out that a rather large, drunk and violent local was keeping the rest of the camp awake. Lynne suggested I take Troupe with me. I left him in the front of the Landcruiser Ute and banged on the door of the humpy. He came out swinging, knocked me off

the step, which resulted in us rolling around on the ground with him getting more punches in than I was. “Troupe, get him!” I yelled. I heard his claws hit the side of the door when he jumped out and all hell broke loose. Snarling and barking—but this guy was still whacking me. I managed to get my head up and have a look and there was Troupe beating up the guy’s dog. When he finished he came and gave me a hand. I’d love the room to tell you more about Troupe and the hours we spent together fishing out of a 12 foot punt on the East Alligator. He was

fearless. He nearly came to a sticky end many times, especially the day he chased a nine foot crocodile into the water, but that’s another story. I’ve stayed out of harms way by not pissing off ‘Lynne the Ruthless,’ so hopefully I’ll catch you next month.

Issue 180 5

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THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - SEPTEMBER 2020

Sober cobra strikes cheer into diver Rowan Hook

There is no greater feeling than grabbing your first New Zealand crayfish with your bare hands, on a single breath. Although the water temp gets a little chilly in winter sitting at around 10 degrees Celsius. Bluff, New Zealand, is a great place to get your first crayfish. When the water visibility is clear, the crayfish are abundant and in shallow waters. Southland and Fiordland have some of the richest cray fisheries in the country. Young Wesley had visited my shop several times, asking pointers on where to find and how to get crayfish. A break in the weather allowed me the chance to show him how. We set out to a hole that produces well for us and in shallow enough water for beginner divers to have easy access. It wasn’t long before I heard Wesley screaming

excitedly that he had found a cray! I swam over and asked why the heck he didn’t go and grab it. The adrenaline pumping through you when you see your first big cray sitting in a hole, just waiting for you to grab, is phenomenal. Unfortunately, it does nothing for breath hold. I reassured Wesley to slow his breathing down, take his time and have a crack. He duck-dived and powered towards the bottom at a 100mph, floundered there for three seconds, and came gasping back up. This is all too common when the pressure is on and a big crayfish is within reach! Several more duck-dives and a lot of lost feelers later, I had to go and grab the crayfish, otherwise it was going to be a small dinner! Wesley was disheartened but still determined, a vital mindset when hunting

crayfish. Anyone who has dived for them will remember those first grabs and the number of missed and broken feelers—instead of a big buck red breaking the surface. We tried several more spots but, with winter setting in, the female crayfish were either in berry or soft shell. The disappointment after multiple missed attempts was pulling on Wesley’s confidence but, like a trooper, he dug deep. Swimming across one of the last areas, I spotted it. A healthy big buck sitting in a nice small hole with nowhere to go. I signalled Wesley over and his eyes lit up. “You sure I can grab that?” he asked. “You’ll either grab it, or it’ll grab you!” I replied. I dropped down with Wesley to watch the battle

This time with more than feelers

Wesley was 'pumped' to snag this cray

unfold. Wesley struck like a drunk cobra and the buck launched into the back of its hole—Wesley surfacing with the dreaded feelers of failure. I quickly dropped down and saw the buck was still in its hole, just slightly back. I surfaced and told Wesley, “You dive down and grab that cray and don’t let go until you either come up, or the crayfish has a new room mate!” Wesley breathed up and

dropped, determination in his eyes. This time the cobra had sobered up and Wesley struck straight and true. Then the battle began. When crayfish get their legs into a ledge or crack or hole, they stick better than superglue. A gentle rocking backwards and forwards is required to trick them into loosening their grip and allowing them to come free. With a pumping action like he was trying to hand crank a car—

poof—a cloud of debris and out came a monster red buck and one diver grinning from ear to ear. The cheers could probably be heard at Stewart Island, with both of us feeling the upmost excitement! Wesley had done it and a decentsized first cray! The first one is always the hardest but it’s always an exhilarating moment to help someone achieve a lifelong dream.

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Issue 180 7

Backwaters with Buggers Blair Whiting

Out of the murk rushes a bully, in absolute panic he swims to the shore rising in the water column. Hot on the fish’s tail is a pink and silver submarine. At the last second, he dives under a branch safely away from his pursuer. Winter time on my local rivers tend to be inconsistent when it comes to trout fishing but, over the years,

I have worked out a pattern to all the madness. At the beginning of June, most of the mature rainbows are well on their way past the winter limit into closed waters. This leaves behind few fish to target and sight fishing really goes out the window. Not to mention the risk of flooding. Since the rivers hold a larger amount of water, it makes it tough for a trout

to find a nice place to shelter and feed. This is where the location comes in. Backwaters are naturally formed, still-water sections with good visibility, even when the main river is high. Fish make a beeline for them and sometimes I will find three or more cruising the clean water.

Rainbow trout are very keen to eat a lure when it’s presented correctly. When I make a cast to a fish, it will always be three to four metres ahead of them.

Fooling a trout with a Woolly Bugger

This is to avoid scaring the trout from the big splash the fly makes. I like to keep my setup simple on my 6 weight rod, using a floating line and a rod length of 6lb fluorocarbon. On the end goes a Woolly Bugger in a dark brown or black. I tie the fly with a very heavy tungsten bead in order to weigh it sufficiently. When the fly is retrieved, the hook sits above like a jighead. Due to the weight of the head the lure moves brilliantly on a jerky retrieve, jumping up and down the water column. I find it usually gets hit in the first five strips. Backwaters have one area that holds the most fish—the confluence with the main current. Trout feel safe in this deep water and are more likely to feed when a Bugger comes flying past. I cast just off the side of the current and let the fly sink for five seconds. Often the fish will see the offering sink and cruise over for a look. This is the point I begin the retrieve and often this is too good for a trout to resist. I try to keep the fly near the bottom the whole time it’s in the zone;

the longer it’s there the more time a trout has to see it. Hits can either be savage or soft. If it’s a soft bite, I need to be ready to raise the rod firmly to ensure the hook sets well. Black and brown Woolly Buggers are incredibly versatile lures I trust over any other—I never leave the house without one in my box.

Fooled by a Woolly Bugger

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THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - SEPTEMBER 2020

Terminal illness sucks… Black Magic Mary Carner

For anyone in fact. But after 33 years working for Hospice, I have always felt particularly sad for (to whom I refer) our ‘hunting, shooting, fishing’ (HSF) blokes. Blokes who basically like getting out there and ‘doing stuff’.

When you are terminally ill and stuck at home, isolation is just an added challenge. Life goes on around you and if you are an HSF type, all you really want to do is go fishing. Or even just out to the shed. If you are lucky, your mates visit. But what if they don’t? They’re working or they don’t know what to say. And there you are. Nurses visit, carers visit, the physiotherapist visits, and all you want to do is get on the water or go down the pub for a beer.

Hospice volunteers work with patients in the community and help fill the gaps in people’s daily lives. They allow the spouse to get a regular break, take patients on outings and often, just hang out. Often in sheds. Occasionally, boats.

Landing Net

This is Ron Bergman (on the right – shorter bloke), one of our very longstanding Family Support volunteers. He had accompanied a patient Ray (now deceased) on a fishing trip and this was their catch. Ray talked about that trip for weeks afterwards. He lived In Oakwoods and when he got home, their kitchen cooked up the fish for him and he shared it around. When nurses ask me for a ‘HSF’ volunteer for a patient, I mostly have to say no because HSF types rarely volunteer, and that is REALLY sad for these patients. Ian has been volunteering for many years; has a knack of getting alongside patients. Something around

“mateship” and “sharing a yarn” he reckons. Helping the patient get into a different head space, even if only for an hour or two.

pretty wide conversational

“Not a great reader,” Ian says, but keeps up to date with current affairs. Being born and bred on a farm and into fishing, feels he has a

“once through that barrier,

base. Finds that sometimes, patients are a bit guarded when they first meet but you’re away,” he says. Make our day! Become a volunteer. Details below.

If you’ve used Black Magic’s telescopic landing net or their smaller freshwater/ kayak net, you’re going to like the look of their latest release. The new net retains some of their normal features like soft rubberised netting. That’s not only kinder on the fish, but it has less drag in the water than heavier netting. Like the small net, if you drop it over the side, it will float long enough for you to retrieve it. The net's handle slides up

into the net bag making it easier to store – that's 1.6 metres fully extended down to1 metre when the handle is retracted. On top of that, the handle has a soft grip making it less likely to slip when wet. There’s a healthy net bag too. The net ring is 500mm x 600mm with a bag depth of 500mm, so plenty of capacity for a decent sized fish. The new net is available at retailers now.

Become a valued volunteer

Hospice nurses and volunteers working together can help patients remain in their own homes. Nelson Tasman Hospice is seeking “Hunting Shooting Fishing” volunteers to join our patient support volunteer team.

The Role:

Family Support volunteers spend time with patients and families, allow caregivers to have a break or help solo patients maintain some independence. Volunteers help with driving, shopping, outings and work closely with the hospice nurses.

Skills needed:

Good listening and communication, non- judgemental, comfortable around illness and accept guidance and supervision. A sense of humour is good. Be available to attend a threeday training course (19-21 October) and occasional education sessions.

Time requirement:

One or two visits/outings with a patient each week. Usually 2-4 hours during weekdays.

You gain:

Chance to contribute to your local community and support Hospice in a very practical way.

We gain:

The use of your skills to help us add another dimension to patient care. We look after and value our volunteers, who are an integral part of the service we offer to the community. Our committed and talented volunteers allow us to offer flexible and innovative services to patients. To apply or further queries: Krisca Gould - Manager, Volunteer Services Ph (03) 5463912 - Email: Krisca.gould@nelsonhospice.org.nz

The Fishing Paper &Hunting News are proud sponsors of this ad. Supporting our local, regional and national fishing hunting & outdoors community

Issue 180 9

BOOK REVIEW

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Going Home

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Award winning author of The Nam Shadow and The Nam Legacy, Carole Brungar delivers this third novel depicting the Vietnam War and New Zealandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s involvement in it. The main protagonist is Ronnie McIlroy, a Wellington nurse who spontaneously volunteers for a tour of duty in Nam after being betrayed by her boyfriend and a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;tartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x201D; boyfriend best friend cliche. This sets the scene for escapeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, the past, her own insecurities and fallibility, and the physicality of the situationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; but in running away, Ronnie kindles opportunity for salvation and a new love story. Joe Hunter Jr is an ace American chopper pilot on his second tour of duty and an archetypal hero, with a sensitive side. The love thread unravels quite quickly, which I guess is a requisite of romance novels, and there is a certain amount of inevitability and predictability in the storyline, but it is engaging from the outset. To be honest, the cover design is least grabbing out of the three and wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have enticed me to pick it from the shelf, while I do see the connection by the end of the book. The romance synopsis didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t grip me either; stereotype thinking on my partâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s romance

genre, not a blokeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thing.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by the novel from several perspectives. It was enlightening to see a portrayal on the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Nam war and New Zealandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s involvement from a Kiwi perspective, with Carole revealing aspects of it not commonly seen. The storyline was well structured, compelling, and had some nice little twists to it. The most satisfying for me, though, was the intricacy of the writing; the material was so well researched and Carole clearly knows her craft, which gives the novel a very authentic feel. For example, her depiction of a chopper engagement in a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;hot zoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; evokes real feelings of tension and suspense. The book also strongly depicts the atrocities and futility of war. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;m now keen to read the other two.

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10 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - SEPTEMBER 2020

CRIMPTOON

STICK YOUR OAR IN HAVE YOUR SAY… email all your letters to editor@thefishingpaper.co.nz Open letter to Stuart Nash Dear Minister, I am writing to you on behalf of the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council as their South Island delegate and as a member of the Fisheries New Zealand Blue Cod Strategy Group. I have been approached by several of our South Island affiliated fishing clubs and by numerous individual recreational fishers who are extremely disappointed by your final decision on the National Blue Cod Strategy. Under the new traffic light system, if a recreational fisher transits through a red (2 blue cod limit) or amber (10 blue cod limit) area to reach a green area (15 blue cod limit) they cannot return with their catch entitlement for the green area. The transit rule removes the ability of recreational fishers to transit through an area with a larger catch taken from outside that area. We demand that you remove this unnecessary transit rule (GPS chart plotters can prove where vessels have been) and that you restore recreational fishers’ access to their full catch entitlements under the traffic light system. As part of the Blue Cod Strategy Group, we were led to believe that the new fishing regulations would allow 15 and 10 blue cod caught outside of the 12mile limit to be landed. Effectively, you have cut

Mark Connor

the limit that used to be 30 down to two blue cod for recreational fishers going outside the 12-mile limit. You have unfairly restricted recreational fishers’ ability to access blue cod from healthy offshore stocks by artificially deeming these as red-light areas via the transit rule. For example, off Banks Peninsula there are important recreational fishing areas (Pompeys and Le Bons Rocks) with relatively abundant blue cod, but the transit rule makes it impossible to take more than two fish from these healthy stocks as the Canterbury coast is a red light area.

The transit rule also impacts recreational fishers from Otago Harbour (amber area) who are now unable to access the 15 blue cod available off the Otago Peninsula (green area).

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Blue cod is the most popular recreational catch in the South Island and The New Zealand Sport Fishing Council believes the new transit rule unfairly restricts access to blue cod from Nelson, Marlborough, Kaikoura, Motunau, Lyttelton, Akaroa, Dunedin, and Fiordland. We note that commercial blue cod fishers are unaffected by the transit rule and maintain full access to all areas, as they are managed under the more broad scale Quota Management System. It was never the original intention presented at the Fisheries New Zealand Blue Cod Strategy Group for the traffic light system to create

what are now effectively commercial-only offshore areas.

clear that addressing this inequity is a low priority and a lengthy regulatory process.

I was at the Nelson meeting in December 2018 where the recreational representatives made it quite clear that we were trusting you and your Ministry one last time to get things right. We feel that we have been deceived because what we agreed to at that time is not what you have delivered. This is a knife in the back for South Island recreational fishers.

As Minister you are statutorily obliged to ‘allow for’ recreational fishing where those interests exist. There are two factors conspiring against our interests in blue cod; firstly that there is no specific allowance set aside for recreational interests around the South Island, except for Southland, and secondly, the limits you have set are not constraining commercial catch in any of the South Island blue cod fisheries.

Commercial blue cod fishers are the only benefactors of this lastminute alteration to the recreational fishing regulations, and Fisheries New Zealand has made it

The New Zealand Sport Fishing Council urges you, as Minister of Fisheries, to remedy the flawed process and address the inequities

by amending the regulations to enable transiting fishers to return home with a reasonable number of blue cod to share with their family. Mark Connor New Zealand Sport Fishing Council (Abridged)

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Issue 180 11

K-2… a monster in my eyes

A proud moment for Daniel

Daniel Crimp

Almost two years ago I experienced my first taste of alpine hunting. I was lucky enough to go on a tahr hunt with Dad and his friend Gnome. Since then, I have been on a handful of other alpine hunts with my good buddy Max, enjoying it more and more every time, as well as improving our skills and knowledge with each trip.

to shoot anything if I stayed home so I scrambled to get all my gear ready in order to set off before sunrise the next morning. After an hour and a half of driving I made it to the starting point, locked the car, hoisted my pack, made sure my gun was safe, and then set off. The walk started off easy through some beautiful big beech forests that provided shelter from the wind chill, but the further up the valley it got harder, with dense bush, steep hills, and river crossings.

I am very fortunate that, nowadays there is so much high quality alpine gear to choose from, especially with packs. The pack that I use is a K2 Alpine Hunter made locally by K-2 Antarctic Products. It’s extremely comfortable, durable, and versatile, and has been put to the test on some very hard hunts—but none came close to this hunt.

Despite the challenges, the K2 pack made carrying my gear a breeze and I was soon at the hut.

Max and I had planned an awesome three-night trip into some new country in hopes of getting my first chamois. Unfortunately, due to some last-minute changes, Max was unable to come. I decided that I wasn’t going

K-2

With two full days of hunting to go, I decided to stay at the hut that afternoon and sat back by the fire and

ate my Radix Nutrition meal as the sun set over the snow capped mountains—where I would be heading the following day. Fighting the urge to stay in the warmth of my sleeping bag, I rose early, smashed down some bacon and

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eggs, unzipped my daypack from my K2 pack, and set out the door. It was a bit of a slog at first, through the thick bush, but at the bush edge I noticed some old chamois poo, which got me excited, even though it wasn’t fresh. The next few hours were spent with my eyes glued to the binoculars as I moved along the ridge, bit by bit, but I had yet to see any sign of life. The day started to move on a bit, with the sun slowly arching over top and bearing down. I trudged through heavier snow and found a nice rock to sit on and have my lunch. The wind had been howling all morning, so I knew that the chamois would be lower down or in a sheltered basin and that’s exactly where I was looking when I saw a small black animal with a bright white face, sitting only 250m away.

I assessed the situation and decided I could get closer, so grabbed my stuff, popped out of sight, and inched towards him. After 45 minutes of stalking, I slipped a bullet up the spout, as when I last saw him, he was sitting 80 metres over the next ridge. Ever so slowly, I crept over the rise but was taken by surprise at the fact he had gotten up to feed and was now standing less than 30 metres away, feeding— completely unaware that I

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was there. I lifted the rifle, closed the bolt, and as the cross hairs found its shoulder, squeezed the trigger—BANG! The chamois jumped up onto his back legs and fell flat on his back, stone dead. I made the gun safe and let out a sigh of relief, followed by a scream of joy, then raced over to examine my trophy. A young 7 and ¾ inch buck but, after four unsuccessful chamois hunts, it was a monster in my eyes. I did my best to get some self-timing photos before taking the head, pelt, and every bit of meat , then set off on the two hour walk back to the hut. Along the

way I bumped into some friendly trampers who were curious but a bit uneducated and said, “Weird looking GOAT you’ve shot. Well done though, one less pest off the hills!” I explained what I had shot and told them about my hunt. We shared some stories and went our separate ways. I made it back to hut just before it got dark and was greeted with nice hot fire and some more friendly faces. We talked for a while and as the flames reduced to glowing embers, I crawled into my sleeping bag ready for another big day tomorrow.

12 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - SEPTEMBER 2020

OPTICALLY

SPEAKING Having successfully incorporated the Pulsar Helion XP38 handheld thermal imager into my hunting, which added a new dimension to traditional techniques, the next step was to extend versatility by introducing the Pulsar Trail LRF XQ38 Thermal rifle scope to the mix. Pulsar has a reputation for delivering high resolution images due to powerful processors, along with many other features, and both these products are high-end—but I’ll make this point right from the outset—they are well worth the investment. Being ‘old school’ and not the brightest fuse in the switchboard when it comes to technology, I have used both these thermal imagers for 12 months in a variety of situations so that I could feel qualified to review them properly. I’ll skip the ‘tech-talk (you can get all the specs online) and give you the layman’s view.

Set up I mounted the Trail XQ38 on the new Browning X-Bolt Superlight Carbon .223, which required the addition of a picatinny rail to the rifle but it allows you to interchange scopes—thermal to optical—with quick

Field Test: Pulsar Trail LRF XQ38 Thermal rifle scope T P McPhee release mounts, without having to re-sight them at the range. This gives me the flexibility to hunt optically during the day, then switch to thermal for night shooting. Alternatively, I can use the thermal day and night.

shooting

The Browning X-Bolt Superlight Carbon .223 proved to be an ideal match—a perfect fit— balancing beautifully with the shorter, lighter rifle (See full rifle review next month).

- Raised focus wheel

Features

- multiple shooting profiles for different rifles

The Pulsar Trail LRF XQ38 thermal scope is loaded with features but is intuitive to use. Configured much the same as the handheld, it is very easy to switch between the two, and you can progress through the features as you need them so it need not be daunting to new users. Key features I found useful included:

- rechargeable longlife batteries - internal video recording - high res image and quick refresh rate - 2.1 to 8.4 zoom - picture in picture display for precise

- multiple reticle options - link to Stream Vision App so it can be viewed on smartphone or tablet - rangefinder - one shot zero for easy sight in - white hot or black hot image options

In the Field Before going hunting, it pays to become very familiar with the unit—and set it up according to your personal preferences; you really don’t want to be fumbling around trying to change reticles, focus, or brightness at night when that big pig pops up in front of you. First you adjust the front focus dial to make the white numbers on the internal screen crisp—this sets the unit to your eye. Then you simply fine tune the distance focus with the front focus dial. By tapping the main menu button, you find the quick set up menu that allows you to adjust brightness, contrast,

and magnification. It also takes you to the rangefinder. It is worth playing around with this to find levels that you feel comfortable with. Holding down the main menu button will take you to the main menu where you access wi-fi, choose reticles, select profiles, access oneshot zero, and make many other adjustments. Depressing the front button activates video record. All buttons are raised, shaped differently for touch recognition, and soft-press for functionality.

Application Over the year, I used the Trail in a variety of situations, from pest control to meat harvesting, both night and day, and came to thoroughly enjoy the unit, especially on the Browning X-Bolt. I use it in conjunction with the handheld Helion, first spotting the game, assessing the stalk and shot, then switch to the rifle thermal to finish the job. The handheld can be passed to a hunting partner, who then can help keep an eye on the animal after the shot. The Stream Vision App allows ‘hangers on’ to watch the action from a smartphone. The handheld is useful in locating an animal that

The unit mounted on the rifle

runs before dropping, or in the unfortunate case of a wounded animal. Also, another set of eyes can confirm or question target identification. A function I really like was the picture in picture, which is a pop up inset magnified image of the reticle and target—it essentially allows fine placement of the shot. The Trail does have some limitations: if in sleep mode

it is difficult to take those quick shots when an animal pops up and in daylight it may take slightly longer to acquire the target than an optical scope; likewise, zooming in on a target is slower than optics. An upside is you can shoot animals at night without spooking them and sniping targets in light scrub, invisible to conventional optics, is great fun.

Travels

Paper has dark side

Mzilikazi Khumalo the Ninth is the great great great great great grandson of the famous warrior chief Mzilikazi Khumalo the Very First, who founded Matabeleland, now Zimbabwe. Mzilikazi was originally a General in Shaka Zulu’s great South African army, but broke away and headed north to conquer new lands and steal cows. The current Mzilikazi Khumalo says there is not much demand for conquering new lands these days, on account of the huge inflation rates and a lion called Dalvanius who has quite a mean side to him. Instead, he has taken up the less

risky occupation of poaching tiger fish on the Zambezi for the black market. Mzilikazi dries the fish, grinds them to a fine powder with chilli flakes, and exports them to Asian markets where the dust is prized as an angrydisiac, and snorted by placid people to give them recreational outrage. Mzilikazi uses The Fishing Paper & Hunting News as a cover for his illicit operations. If local game rangers do accost him, he flicks them a copy of the paper and makes his getaway while they are distracted by the pictures of big fish.

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Issue 180 13

Top accolade for Advanced Archery Mathews Archery Inc have announced that Advanced Archery NZ are one of the ‘Top 10 Mathews Distributors’ in the world for 2019. As with all things this year, the award comes a little later than usual, which just made the surprise announcement a little bit more special for the staff at Advanced Archery. Receiving the commemorative plaque just after lockdown ended was a welcome boost to morale! Advanced Archery have been the exclusive Mathews/ Mission distributors in NZ since 2009, when Mathews was a not a well known brand here. Kevin and Carol Watson, Advanced Archery owners, like the direction Matthews’ design team was heading, as well as the level of service they offered consumers. Under Advanced Archery’s steerage, Matthews is now the No.1 brand in New Zealand. The award demonstrates not only the fantastic growth of bowhunting in New Zealand but also the measure of Advanced Archery staff’s dedication to selling professionally appointed

Sinker to

Smoker

Ron Prestage

and tuned bow packages to customers, who can be assured they have the correct bow set up to suit their individual requirements. Advanced Archery staff are experienced bowhunters who know the products they sell intimately and understand the challenges and rigours of bowhunting in New Zealand, which allows them to accurately match the equipment to a hunters skill level, requirements, and manage expectations. Advanced Archery staff are passionate about giving customers the best possible chance of bowhunting success.

Heaps of surfcasting information per Google

Surfcasting with a net The net I am referring to is of course the internet, where an increasing amount of information about surfcasting and other land-based fishing is being posted every day. As well as using Google there are plenty of well organised and informative groups on Facebook you can join if you want to broaden your surfcasting knowledge.

If you have a query or are keen on giving bowhunting a go, contact the friendly and experienced staff at Advanced Archery now:

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Adventures with KZ. KZ is a very energised personable fellow, full of enthusiasm and knowledge who produces a lot of videos, about 100 so far. YouTube videos such as, A complete guide to slide baiting and Surfcasting for snapper – Basics uncovered. One of the many Facebook fishing groups I belong to is, NZ Surfcasting and Rockfishing. Contributors here are very keen to share tips and reports with the 29,520 members.

Surfcasting New Zealand, is another popular site I use. Topics such as increasing your casting distance are well covered online. The most recent helpful one I read was by Australian Sid Whiting, entitled, Casting a Beach Rod – Like a Champion. This video is 27 minutes long so goes into some good detail. I disagree with Sid on his advocacy of not using a shock leader though. However he is very good on the use of body

rotation and push – pull at the end of the casting motion to gain extra distance. Throughout New Zealand we have a lot of surfcasting enthusiasts willing to share their expertise and experience. Fishers such as Chad Prentice, Robert Browning, Greg Gilbert and Chris Norris. These people are well worth having as Facebook friends. I certainly appreciate their efforts.

What’s the catch?

Storm StanleyPāua Industry Council recreational fishing information is inadequate. Some recreational lobby groups behave like they have a vested interested in poor information, maybe because it means they can make whatever claims they like without fear of counter-arguments. However, fishers may also have legitimate fears about improving information on recreational catch—for example, they may be concerned about the privacy of their personal data or fishing spots. These are all issues that commercial fishers have faced too, so we have sympathy and we also have some useful lessons to contribute.

Consider the following three scenarios. In 2013, the lobby group ‘Pāua to the People’ seeks to prevent several areas of coast near Dunedin from being opened up to commercial pāua harvesting. Over 2,500 locals argue that the areas are highly utilised by recreational fishers—but no-one provides information to identify the specific bays that are most highly valued. In 2016, the government initiates a process to establish new marine reserves around the Otago and Southland coastline. Submitters claim that the proposed reserve sites are important recreational fishing areas, but four years on, the final proposal contains no quantitative information about recreational use of the areas. In 2020, the Te Korowai community forum is considering how and when to re-open the Kaikōura pāua fishery, which has been closed since the November 2016 earthquakes. But their desire to make sure that the fishery is re-opened in a sustainable way is stymied by the absence of information on recreational use of the area It’s obvious what these three examples have in common—but what’s not obvious is why recreational fishers have allowed this situation to continue without calling for radical improvements in the quality and quantity of information about recreational fishing.

Counting the catch Unlike customary fishers who fish under a customary authorisation or commercial fishers who require a fishing permit, recreational fishers are not obliged to register or identify themselves. Also unlike customary and

commercial fishers, recreational fishers do not report their catch. Commercial catch reporting is not perfect, but it has improved over time. Now, all commercial catch must be electronically reported by midnight on a daily basis and geospatial position reporting provides accurate location data every 10 minutes for management purposes. Compare that to how information on recreational harvest is obtained in New Zealand. Fisheries New Zealand (FNZ) commissions a National Panel Survey of randomly selected recreational fishers and the survey information is then scaled up to reflect the whole

Yes, there are still places to see rock pool paua Photo credit J.Cooper

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population. The survey is considered to be ‘state of the art’, but it has several shortcomings from a management perspective. The first is timeliness—the survey is undertaken every five or six years and published a couple of years later. The most recent report (2019) is based on a 2017-18 survey and, if managers want to compare trends, they look back to the previous survey undertaken in 2011-12 and published in 2014. The second issue is that the surveys don’t provide information at a scale that is very useful for management. Looking at the Otago marine reserve example above, pāua harvest is recorded at the scale of PAU5D which extends from Te Waewae Bay along the coast past Invercargill and Dunedin, and north to the Waitaki River mouth. Information at this large scale tells managers nothing about the particular reefs or bays that are of interest to recreational fishers. The National Panel Survey is supported by on-site activities such as boat-ramp surveys and aerial overflights which are used to cross-check the information. However, boat-ramp and aerial surveys are notoriously poor at capturing fishing that occurs from the shore or from beach-launched boats or kayaks, such as for pāua or rock lobster. Making matters more difficult for estimating shellfish catch is the fact that many recreational fishers are not members of clubs, so their activities are not recorded in informal sources such as fishing club records.

www.thefishingpaper.co.nz

Improving recreational catch information

Te Taiawatea gathering pāua in the Chatham Islands Photo credit J.Cooper

Winners and losers The main losers in this situation are recreational fishers themselves. You can claim that you use and value an area or a species, but can you prove it? Other groups with opposing interests can make up lies about what you catch and where you catch it, but can you disprove them? If you want a fairer share of valued recreational species, what credible arguments can you muster if you don’t even know how much is being caught? Fisheries managers also lose out because it’s difficult to design effective management measures in the absence of information on recreational catch that has been collected at a scale that

is useful for management. Allocation decisions in shared fisheries are more contentious when they are based on uncertain estimates rather than accepted reality. From a pāua industry perspective, we are increasingly moving to fine-scale management with a higher level of engagement with local communities— this is what pāua fisheries need because they are based around specific reefs and are vulnerable to depletion on a small spatial scale. The absence of reliable information on recreational catch makes it harder to take recreational fishing into account when we are developing our industry management strategies.

Go Anywhere Read Anytime Watch Everything

It’s trickier to see who wins when

Nearly every overseas country with valuable recreational fisheries has adopted some form of recreational catch reporting. We don’t have the space here to run through all the options but here’s one idea. Let’s focus on pāua for a start, because it is so poorly represented in current survey methodologies and it’s a valuable shared fishery that desperately needs fine-scale harvest information to inform management. Recreational fishers wishing to harvest pāua could be required to register, for example using a website or email. Registration would be compulsory, but it would be free and you’d only have to do it once. There would be no compulsion to report catch, but instead random annual surveys would be undertaken of fishers on the pāua register. The survey questions could be designed in consultation with recreational fishers. The register itself can be used to scale up the survey data to provide information at a regional or national scale. The register and targeted independent survey would integrate with, but not replace, the National Panel Survey. It could also be supplemented by voluntary self-reporting. For example, fishers could use their smartphones to enter their pāua catch, providing near real-time monitoring that would make a significant contribution to improved management when combined with other verifiable sources of information.

There would be agreed rules about who could access the resulting recreational catch data—including local recreational fishing groups—and for what purposes. The regime could be trialled in one area and then its performance could be assessed by fisheries managers and recreational fishers. But this is just one idea, and what is really required is a frank public discussion about why we need better information on recreational catch, and how we should go about getting it. We’re interested in your thoughts so please feel free to respond to this article.

Port Hutt dinner menu ! Photo credit N Gibbs

Email your thoughts to editor@thefishingpaper.co.nz subject rec Paua or write The Fishing Paper P.O.Box 9001 Annesbrook Nelson 7044

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16 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - SEPTEMBER 2020

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In a smoky old hut Ron McLean

On a cool autumn night I sit by the fire with a couple of mates And whip the top off a couple of Speights We smile and talk of the great days we’ve had Hunting the mighty NZ red stag Old pan on the fire, burnt sausages and beans No problem that the plates were no clean want to make alive. Then take some measurements and get in touch with the Live Walls team at Cutting

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Stories of old run thick and fast Remember the one you shot in the arse? Bullshit, my shooting is first class Should a stag hit the deck, Glenfiddich will flow It’s an old tradition as we all know As the candles go out, we’ll all hit the sack My bed’s got that smell of a dirty old rat Morning is here, the birds tell so Chuck a log on the fire, it’s still got a glow A mug of hot tea, bacon and eggs Not fit anymore by the feel of my legs Dry wood in the box, we sweep out the hut Pack up the gear and into the truck I gaze back up that valley, hills crisp and clear Hope I’m alive, to be back next year

Issue 180 17

Majority Rule A pig hunt without the kids - hallelujah - even if we don’t catch a pig it’ll be a good morning. They’re not my kids, they belong to my friends and if I’m honest, I don’t know how their parents tolerate them. All that sprinting around biting each other’s backsides, so intent on pursuit or escape of each other they crash headlong into their Mum, or Dad, or me. The pointless and undignified pursuit of fantails, or flies. The flopping naked into frozen puddles on these cold winter mornings and the face licking. How I hate the face licking. They’re the equivalent of teenagers now, yet they insist on slathering their parents’ mouths with kisses, hoping the gag reflex will provide them with a warm breakfast. I never was the maternal type and I certainly would not have coped with raising a whole litter like Pearl recently has. Her ‘kids’ were born seven months ago. I kept two as replacements for the oldies. They’re big enough to come on outings now but oh, how they annoy their parents and me. It’s no small wonder we all feel relieved at our juvenile-free status today then, just three

old codgers together, familiar friends, no face licking or supplication required. These hills are familiar friends too. Steep, scattered with kanuka and matagouri. Perma-frost on the shady side. Hunched ungulates of every variety on the sunny side. Like termite mounds, they angle themselves towards the weak winter sun as its warmth crests the ridge. Warmth that enables them to cope with another day of meagre pickings and short daylight hours. Life is tough here, no species spared from the cruelty of nature in the high country. We imposters, we who have warm homes and adequate food, we with fat around our kidneys and energy to waste, we walk with purpose. Despite our age we tackle the big hills with vigour and intent. Today we are a combination of Ken Cuthbertson’s, ‘Two Dogs and a Rifle’ and Keith Severinsen’s, ‘Hunter Climb High.’ We clamber up through contour lines, sometimes all of us on all fours, over the jagged grey rock and through the tight snow-stunted scrub. Why? Just because. Why not?!

Kim Swan

Eventually Pearl’s gait changes just a little. Her amble breaks into a lope. She begins to cast higher and higher drawn by an invisible string. Chop watches on with interest, as do I. In a show of support I follow Pearl’s receiver symbol, panting with exertion as she had before me. Another glance at my tracker shows her begin to loop left and right, seeking her quarry in the tight confines of scrub and outcrop. She barks just twice then goes quiet. Then again. Not a typical bail-up. Pearl hesitantly settles into her work and Chop wastes no time in racing to join her. When he arrives the pressure is doubled. This time though it is the dogs who are in the minority as Pearl’s ‘find’ is a bed full of sleepy sister sows. I know all this from afar because of the noise. Multiple pigs in a bail-up respond by grunting their displeasure, they honk aggressively while standing to shoulder. This united front will often scare a dog into aborting a bail, the vociferous family too overwhelming to confront or keep contained. These seasoned bailers do their best to shun the insults and to dodge the sharp teeth

Majority rules

and thrusting snouts. Bravely, they grab a pig each. Then it’s game on – no rules – everyone in. Porcine associates and family members heckle and scrummage, they shout and maul but neither dog will relinquish their grip. With two sows squealing, others honking, bystanders with hackles up and hatred emanating, it is a chaotic scene. Pearl’s pig is biggest. She is

Max’s maxim about maximum metres Finally, I had time to go for a bow hunt for goats! A broken bowstring, waiting for a replacement, and the time needed to have it fitted prevented me from getting out earlier. After sighting my bow in again, I was ready—almost. After completing a bit of revision for mock exams, I packed and headed out. To make sure I had plenty of hunting time before dark, I took off at a brisk walk—well, possibly a fast jog—to reach a place I had previously scouted out. Two minutes of glassing and I spotted the mob of goats I was after, about 500m down a hill, relaxing in the sun. There was no easy way down, so I began bushbashing through dense scrub to get to the open ground. The downhill made it a bit easier to push through and, sometime later, I fell out of the scrub to find the goats had moved across a creek and were halfway up the ridge parallel to me. Not ideal but it gave me a chance to try shooting from my maximum distance of 40m. I got to within 50m of the mob and assessed what to put in my sights. One

Max Barclay

This little goat threw a hissy fit

dragging Pearl in her wake as she chases Chop. Chop is still latched on to a daughter or niece or family friend. I arrive as Pearl releases her catch to help Chop with his. For a moment Pearl’s catch ‘n’ release eyes me defiantly, unsure whether to attack or flee. She decides on the latter, which is a wise decision if she intends to see spring and then summer. Alone now, the smaller sow goes down fighting, a quick

stick and her life drains from her. Her extended family will regroup, their strong bonds enabling them to thrive where other species would fail. There are life lessons aplenty to be learned from this mob. Lessons such as, ‘stand up for what you love,’ ‘hang in there as long as you can’ and ‘don’t sacrifice yourself to a lost cause.’ Or, more importantly, ‘look after yourself, you’re worth it.’

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• The perfect all round New Zealand calibre, the 30-06 is a proven cartridge and ideal for all New Zealand big game. billy got my attention, the biggest of the lot, with a pure black coat and a white tail. He was older and a bit more cautious than the others, staying behind bushes and not providing an easy shot. I decided to have a crack at a small billy instead, drawing back to my anchor point and resting my 40m pin on the goat from 42m. It suddenly started to rain and I don’t mean a drizzle—it was torrential, sending all the goats bolting downhill to find cover. I was not impressed, the timing sucked! I had come down too far to give up so I lost more elevation—about another 150m—and caught up with the mob hiding under

some tall trees. Moving to within 36m, a small goat saw me and alerted the other goats. I froze, hoping they wouldn’t see me in my new camouflaged Hunters Element Downpour raincoat. I am impressed with this jacket; it kept me dry in five hours of rain and the mob didn’t see me. I had no choice but to move forward another 4m closer with the little goat looking at me, it just stood on a rock and had a hissy fit but I was able to close the distance. Reaching a good spot, with a choice of about 20 goats, a big black billy walked out in front of the rest and turned to look at me. He had just made a fatal decision. However, he

was facing me, which made for a harder shot. I drew back and put my 30m in the centre of his chest, and decided that I did not need to compensate for the extra 2m. I watched the arrow fly through the air, hitting him a little low but I saw bright red blood as the arrow hit. Happy with the shot, I headed over to find him. I’m not very patient so was happy that I found him within one minute following a good blood trail. Flipping him over, I got a good surprise to find that he had a white tail—what are the chances. Two hours of stalking after I first saw him and, walking past maybe 40 goats, I got the billy I was after at the start.

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18 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - SEPTEMBER 2020

Double take, take two Tony Blyth

David and I fished Lake Wanaka after lock down. The weather was great in May for trolling, so we headed for Makaora at the top of the lake, where we had so much fun last year.

We were on the water just after 9.00am, along with quite a few other boats—all trolling. David caught two rainbow and I caught a rainbow and a brown. All nice fish around 2.5lb and 3lb. The following day we had the top end to ourselves and David caught two nice rainbows, while I managed one. I had the next take, then bang, broken off. I reckon it was over 10lb. I put on another bait, take, bang, and another break off. I reckon this one was even bigger (Hahaha). I put on my third bait and, as we tootled back to the boat ramp, I caught my second rainbow. Next we fished 30m+ where David had a nice take. As he coaxed it to the boat, he yelled, “Whoopee, it’s a bloody SALMON!” I had the next take and, would you believe it , another monster broke me off— again. We pondered why I was having so many break offs and came to the conclusion it was my knots; not enough turns. I blame

my eyesight!

We then had another double take, landing a nice rainbow each, followed by another rainbow for David and a nice brown to my tally. The salmon in Lake Wanaka are as scarce as hen’s teeth, so we contacted Paul Van Klink of Otago Fish and Game, who was pleased to hear of our catch. He took the head and told us of the programme he is running for Fish and Game.

Lake Wanaka salmon – scarce as hen’s teeth Paul van Klink Anglers across the South Island have been helping collect dozens of salmon samples from rivers and lakes as part of the genetic study investigating the differences in populations of Chinook salmon. Plenty of salmon samples have been collected from anglers fishing Lake Hawea and Lake Wakatipu however getting samples from Lake Wanaka has been slow. Staff have managed to obtain three samples and several more salmon have reportedly been caught in the past couple of months but these fish were released or eaten and disposed of prior to collection. All salmon have reportedly

been caught at the head of Lake Wanaka and were landed in April and May. These fish are mature three year old Chinook salmon, which are spending time around the head of the lake prior to heading up the Makarora River and into its tributaries to spawn. A number of spawning surveys have been conducted in the Makarora catchment over the past three seasons and while brown trout spawning has been observed, salmon spawning areas have not been identified. To improve understanding of this population, we need to collect another 12 samples or more in order to run the genetic testing. Anglers are encouraged to keep any salmon samples from Lake Wanaka and record date caught, weight, length and sex. Contact Fish and Game staff for collection of your salmon head, which can be accepted frozen.

Tony with a double take

Back to Wanaka… That evening we visited Ian, a fishing guide friend, and told him of our luck with the salmon and the big fish that keep breaking me off. With a laugh he said, “I have a new knot to show you and you won’t need your glasses.”

He was so right. Next time out I caught an immature hen salmon of 1.5lb. So it was on the phone again and Paul was around smartly to collect the head. We were off to the Makarora for yet another

nice morning’s fishing and, unbelievably, I caught another salmon around 1.5lb. Paul was as happy as a sand-boy! Our last day was glorious; flat and calm. Suddenly, we hit what we thought was

James Dean gone to seed There’s no doubt we all have a fascination with ‘before and after’ shots, but they can also provide a snapshot into how quickly things change.

Before!

Much can be gleaned from a photo or two. For example, when renowned Canterbury salmon angler Rick Van Der Zwet boasts that he’s been catching

salmon since Moses played fullback for the Israelites, you might be excused for thinking he’d been fishing with his mate Jim Beam again. But look at the old

photo (he’s on the right) and you can see the pretty boy was hauling huge salmon from the waters in the distant past. Switch to modern times and you see he’s still at it but the photos do reflect changes. Back in the seventies, the salmon were on average much bigger and the anglers were much slimmer. Now the salmon appear to have diminished in size whereas some anglers have stretched their neoprene waders to new dimensions. Yes, it’s the same old Rick under the cap but with a significant difference: he has to wear a hat because those rakish James Dean locks have been replaced with a landing strip for sandflies and a solar panel to keep him fully charged.

After!

the jackpot. When trolling, no way are the two baits together, so it was a surprise when—STRIKE— both rods bend in unison. After a good scrap, we landed a nice pair of browns:a 2.75lb jack and a 3lb hen. What a great way to top off a great holiday.

Issue 180 19

Duncanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 141 Adventurer

Paul Mullan explores the boat behind the man

Exploration came naturally for Duncan Storrier. Always on the go, the successful seed and honey merchant from Ashburton was also a passionate jet boater. He loved the pioneering feats of Ed Hillary and Jon Hamilton, marvelling at the old vision of them ploughing their way up the rivers of India and Nepal in frail looking wood and fibreglass jet boats. His own foray into exploration began with the delivery of jet boats to the mission fields in Africa and so was born World Jet Boat Expeditions. It seemed only natural for Duncan to retrace the 1968 path of Hillary and Hamilton up the mighty Sun Kosi, deep into the Himalayas, and he set about making it happen. His original white 141a with 350 Chev and 212 had been a reliable mule in Africa and was the

perfect starting point. The lure of an association with the water jet manufacturing giant meant an identical 141a was ordered and a few special â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;adventureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; style bits installed, such as an allalloy engine hatch capable of good load carrying and a 200 litre long range fuel tank. Simple carbureted 383 Chevs with minimal electronics were chosen and, of course, the bulletproof HJ212 for thrust. Dubbed Discovery and Adventurer, these two jet boats would go on to take part in every globe trotting expedition he undertook for the next decade. A third similar powered jet boat joined the Hamilton Jet Himalayan Expedition with Explorer also powered with identical running gear for reliability and redundancy. Later, Navigator would join to make four adventure seeking jet boats.

Duncan Storrier driving a boat, half full of water, during the Hamilton Subamericana Expedition in Chile Photo Credit: Matthew Fallow

Why the 141a?

through-and-through. He

Duncan could have chosen any make or model but he was a Hamilton man

recognised the mana of following in the footsteps of the mighty Jon Hamilton, a

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man acknowledged as the best adventure jet boater of his time, and today the 141 is still the benchmark.

Australia and Tasmania to the south were to be interludes before the next planned major expedition.

It was a poignant moment leaning on a rock in the Arun river, a tributary of the Sun Kosi, satellite phone pressed firmly to his ear informing Jon Hamilton back in Christchurch of his progress. Regaling the near sinking heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d just experienced in exactly the spot to the older explorer, who himself had lost one of his own expedition boats all those years ago.

Despite the harsh terrain and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;take no prisonerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; attitude, engine dramas were minimal and jet unit issues zero! But Duncan always knew that, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why he wanted the 212, the best all round water jet to be relied upon to deliver millions of litres of water day after day without fail.

For three days our â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;leaderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, as he was dubbed, crashed and bashed his way up rapid after rapid with the mother of them all, a grade 5 jet boat stopper, the final hurdle to Hakapour. But he did it. Clearly elation and smiles masked the fear hidden from sight. Spare fuel, jet unit parts, and all other gear were portaged around this rapid, on the backs of the passengers, also ejected to increase the chances of ascending a rapid even our rafting guide said they avoided using. The success of that expedition and the prowess Duncan gained back in New Zealand only spurred him on. New territory was explored in Siberia and Mongolia. Then to Patagonia and the icy waters of Chile and Argentina before Alaska, the Last Frontier beckoned to cross the Arctic Circle. Two shorter tours through Far North Queensland in

The high-sided aluminium 141a was perfect. Plenty of cabin space, even for five beefy farmers and all their gear. And â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Adventureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mods as they became known, just enhanced the experience. That under seat fuel tank gave balance and range, and was boosted with four more 20 litre jerrys waiting in the wings either side of the engine under a full width hatch to carry camping gear, tents, and packs for five crew. It seemed nothing was ever going to stop Duncan Storrier but, while the white HamiltonJet World Jet Boat Expedition container with four 141s tucked neatly inside, silently slipped across the Pacific for the next expedition to Colombio, he died unexpectedly. Duncan Storrier established himself as the modern day jet boat explorer, delving deeper into the rivers of the world using a form of propulsion developed from humble beginnings in back country New Zealand. Duncan chose his marks, the unexplored rivers of the world. He chose the best machinery, the Hamilton 141a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Adventure Packâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and nothing was going to stop him, appropriately perhaps, except the man himself.

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20 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - SEPTEMBER 2020

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Issue 180 21

Hounding for fossilsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;dead and alive! The time came around for my first rig fishing session of the season. I had wanted to try somewhere new, where I hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t heard of anybody else surf-casting before. I knew just the spot. A few months previously, I had ventured to a beach with a couple of fellas, looking for fossil concretions of Tumidocarcinus giganteusâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a large extinct crab that lived 15 million years ago. The beach looked shallow and sandy, with a reef looming off in the distance to our left. It looked promising. My friend Flynn and I arrived on this beach one mid-afternoon. Despite it being late August, the wind was quite calm and the temperature was pleasant. It was around high tide by the time we had set up our gear and our rod stands firmly planted in the hard clay. The shallow ocean and small waves made me feel confident enough to use 4-ounce breakaway sinkers. Paddle crab was our bait of choice due to it being a favourite food of smoothhound sharks. Finally, our traps were set, with 4 rods between us fishing. In the meantime of waiting

Tyler McBeth

for bites, we combed the nearby area for fossils. We had found a couple of damaged fossilised crabs, as well as some tusk shells that were sticking out of the bank behind us.

It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t until the light started to fade that Flynn noticed my left-hand rod twitching. I looked over and noticed the line had gone slack. I rushed over the large rocks and dry driftwood to my rod and wound slack line fast, until I was in contact with something that felt to be of decent size. The fight of this fish was unusual. It had almost beached itself before it woke up and stripped line off my reel like it was nothing. I eventually won the battle. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yes! Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my first for the season,â&#x20AC;? I declared to Flynn, as he grabbed ahold of the wrist of

the sharkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tail. As I was dealing with this rig, I looked over to see my other rod arch over. I dropped what I was doing and hurried over! Unfortunately, I was too slow and missed the bite.

After that, the action died down. The tide had begun to wash out fast, and all we caught was a dogfish and a skate in total darkness. Around 8 pm, we called it a day and packed up our things. The journey to the

car was tiresome, but at least I had a rig for a few meals, with me. We agreed that we should fish this spot again but, perhaps, in the summertime instead. As I write this article several months later, we still

have not returned to this beautiful isolated beach. The long walk up the cliffs was a bad experience, but we still talk about this place and how we wish to catch more living fossils at this sandy shoreline.

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22 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - SEPTEMBER 2020

Hector’s and Māui dolphins Threat Management Plan –new measures from 1 October 2020 In June, Fisheries New Zealand and the Department of Conservation announced decisions on a revised Hector’s and Māui dolphins Threat Management Plan. Hector’s and Māui dolphins are among the world’s rarest dolphins. They face a range of human-induced threats, including fishing, seismic surveying and the disease toxoplasmosis. As a result of these decisions, on 1 October 2020, new fisheries measures will take effect restricting commercial and recreational set-net and commercial trawl fishing off the west coast of the North Island, and commercial and recreational set-net fishing off the north, south and east coasts of the South Island. In addition, drift netting will be prohibited in all New Zealand waters. The Department of Conservation (DoC) are also putting in place measures to manage non-fisheries risks, including rolling out an action plan aimed at combatting the parasitic disease ‘toxoplasmosis’, which is known to affect

Hector’s and Māui dolphins. Information on the plan can be found on the DoC website: www.doc.govt.nz

distributed primarily around the South Island coastline. The greatest fisheries risk to these dolphins is setnetting, which is why the Government is extending and creating new areas that will prohibit the use of commercial and recreational set-nets in both the North and South Islands.

The fisheries measures being introduced were extensively consulted on from 17 June to 19 August 2019. Details of the public consultation were shared via the internet, social and local media, as well as being discussed at public meetings held across the country. During consultation, more than 15,000 submissions were received by web, email and post, and a petition of around 76,000 signatures was handed in to Parliament. It was clear from the high number of submissions received during consultation that the protection of these dolphins is a topic that New Zealanders care deeply about.

While the new measures primarily focus on areas further offshore, there are also restrictions on setnets in some estuaries and inlets in the lower North Island and top of the South Island. These areas of high tidal flow or current that are next to the offshore dolphin habitat are also important to manage, as evidence shows that nets may be lost and pose a risk to the dolphins. More information on the new measures can be found here: www.fisheries.govt.nz/ dolphintmp

With an estimated population of just 63 individuals of one year or older, the Māui dolphin is classified as Nationally Critical and is only found off the west coast North Island. The Hector’s dolphin is classified as Nationally Vulnerable, with a population of about 15,000,

The Fisheries (Hector’s and Māui Dolphin) Regulations 2020 have now been published, and can be found at www.legislation.govt.nz. Type ‘Hector’s and Māui Dolphin’ into the search bar to take a look at the specific

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measures for each area. Additional maps showing the new boundaries will be uploaded to www.fisheries. govt.nz/dolphintmp prior to 1 October 2020. If you have any questions about what this means for you, please contact dolphintmp@mpi.govt.nz

Further consultation The new set-net restrictions in the South Island further reduce the fisheries risk posed to Hector’s dolphins. In response to public feedback, further consultation on commercial and recreational set-net

closures between the north and south of Banks Peninsula is intended. Consultation on alternative approaches to managing the risk from fishing in the South Island, beyond the use of area closures, will also be undertaken. This would include exploring the development of a more collaborative framework with the fishing industry to achieve greater reductions in dolphin captures. Increased monitoring through the use of Crown-owned

cameras on commercial set-net and trawl vessels across the South Island Hector’s dolphin habitat is also being considered. Before any formal consultation, Fisheries New Zealand will be seeking input and participation from iwi, as well as having discussions with stakeholders, to inform the development of any further proposed measures. More information can be found at www.fisheries.govt.nz/ dolphintmp

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Issue 180 23

Marlborough Sounds Scallop Reporting changes for Strategy approved Amateur-fishing Charter Vessel operators On 23 July this year, the Minister of Fisheries approved a new “Southern Scallop Strategy” for the scallop fishery in the Marlborough area. This approval marks an important milestone for the fishery and an opportunity to put in place measures to improve the scallop populations and habitats. The Southern Scallop Fishery (SCA 7) has been closed since 2016 and remains closed this year. The fishery was closed following a continued period of decline in scallop biomass, which has remained low in recent years despite the closures. In 2018, the Minister of Fisheries requested that a multi-sector group, the Southern Scallop Working Group (SSWG), be set up in order to address sustainability concerns for the scallops. The SSWG brings together recreational fishers, iwi and commercial and community representatives to provide an inclusive platform for all fishing sectors to have input

into the future management of the fishery. Since then, the SSWG, in partnership with Fisheries New Zealand, has worked on developing a strategy to rebuild the scallop populations to healthy levels. This strategy, known as the Southern Scallop Strategy: Marlborough Sounds, outlines objectives for the future of the fishery, and an approach to ensure that any future scallop fishing activity in the region is sustainable.

Public consultation on a draft strategy occurred in July and August last year, with 368 people providing their views and input. The feedback was very positive, with 88% of people who submitted agreeing with the overall objective and aims of the strategy. People gave their views on many important aspects of the fishery, including potential changes to fishing methods, recreational bag limits, size limits and season length. Ultimately, most people agreed when the fishery re-opens, changes to these

fishing regulations will be needed in order to achieve long-term sustainability. SSWG member Andrew Caddie, President of the Kenepuru and Central Sounds Residents Association, says:

“the strategy is a good example of what can be achieved through Ministerial support for a representative group of stakeholders working together and thereby building collaborative relationships. In my view the strategy strikes a sustainable balance between use and protection by providing a strong platform to ensure we are collectively doing all we can to rebuild scallop numbers and habitat in the Marlborough Sounds.” For a copy of the Strategy and more detail on the state of the fishery and future updates, head to: www. fisheries.govt.nz/protectionand-response/sustainablefisheries/the-southernscallop-fishery-sca-7/

Most New Zealanders will agree we are spoiled for choice when it comes to recreational fishing opportunities. One popular way people take advantage of our fantastic fisheries resources is through a trip on an amateur charter vessel, an experience which is often savoured by local and visiting recreational fishers alike. Since 2010, charter vessels have registered with Fisheries New Zealand and provided information on their fishing activity and, for some species, their catch. To support ongoing improvements in our understanding of recreational fisheries, some important changes to these reporting requirements are being made from 1 September this year. The changes were broadly supported following widespread consultation with fleet skippers and recreational fishers

throughout the country in October last year. One of the main changes is that skippers of charter vessels will be required to include more fish species in their catch reporting. “This includes recording catch numbers for snapper, tarakihi, and scallops and extending the reporting requirement for blue cod to the whole country,” says Fisheries New Zealand’s Team Manager Inshore Fisheries North, Jacob Hore.

include an estimated total weight of each species of fish that were kept. This will help us track and understand changes in average fish weight over time. These changes don’t require new paperwork for charter vessel skippers as the current Amateur Charter Vessel reporting books already provide the relevant fields to enter this new information.

Charter Vessel operators are already required to record catch figures for bass, bluenose, hapuku, kingfish, Pacific bluefin tuna, southern bluefin tuna, and spiny red rock lobster.

“As a customer on a charter vessel, you may be asked to help by keeping tallies of your fish and helping at the end of each trip with final catch numbers and estimated weights. Your skipper and crew will appreciate your assistance with this extra reporting requirement,” says Jacob Hore.

These catch reports include the number of each fish species that were caught. A further change is that the reports will now

These reporting changes are really important as they’ll further support our ability to sustainably manage fisheries.

Blue cod and rock lobster rules have changed Check the rules before fishing

Download the free NZ Fishing Rules App

Download the app

The rules for blue cod (nationwide) and rock lobster (BOP/Hauraki Gulf and Canterbury/Marlborough) have changed. These rules help protect our precious marine resources – for you, other fishers and future generations.

T & J Enderby

www.fisheries.govt.nz/rules

24 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - SEPTEMBER 2020

Orchids captivate silver frog

Ivan Wilson

Summer came late on The Coast and seemed keen to leave the party early. However a high crept across the moody oldTasman, so we grabbed the moment to take the Silver Frog for a float-about on a local lake. Matey arrived at the gate, we attached the Osprey to the vehicle and, in short order, were heading east out of town. Only two other boats appeared to be on the water and with them preferring to be out in the middle, possibly trolling, we had plenty of water to ourselves around the edges. Our focus was on locations we’d not visited a great deal in the

past, so with the lake being up a bit, we could get back into nooks and crannies not normally reachable. I rowed for a start, while matey skilfully dropped flies ahead of the boat, in behind the flaxes, bulrushes, and reeds. Sudden bow wave from a fast approaching fish, bang! “I’m in!” After a lively fight, a wellconditioned four pounder was netted. What a good omen we thought, it was going to be a memorable day. More stealthy rowing and, with me now on the rod, we spotted a swirl up against the reeds, then another two to three metres further

on, so I dropped the fly a little ahead of the last swirl, where I thought it would be. Another swirl, weight felt, and the battle began. The thing pulled string with line whizzing out as it made very determined efforts to get out into deeper waters, past a tangle of sunken dead tree branches. The fish was quelled by a mixture of skill and luck and a good-sized brownie, about four and a half pounds, came to the net. Spirits were high as we carried on fossicking in behind the trees with their feet in the water. However we began to have long periods without seeing anything much, apart from a half-metre eel.

Ivan with a good string puller

Further on in a deeper area, Matey pointed out some beautiful orchids growing on an overhanging mossy branch. They begged a picture, so out comes the phone to prove it’s not always about trout. In the same area I had two other fish rise from the depths to my fly, with both less than two rod lengths from the boat, so in full view. The first had the fly pulled out of its mouth before being hooked and the second one I missed through lack of line control. Some of my techniques need a bit of work methinks. Time to do some more fishing.

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