WSAC Newsletter 1 201617 Season

October 2016

WSAC Newsletter No. 1 2016/17 Season

Welcome to the new season!

“What I enjoyed most as a new member was fishing the club comps. My catch rate increased hugely due to the A very warm welcome to members new and old. The new season is here and with it a new look newsletter! If you have feedback on the content or style of the newsletter or if you have anything to contribute to the next one, please do get in touch.

knowledge I learnt from the being in the club...”

New Clubby - Tom McCabe

Apologies for the slight delay in publishing this edition we’ve had some technical difficulties with the competition points but hopefully these have been resolved and we’ll be back on track for the remaining editions!

In This Issue

Dawn of a new season - Sunrise ahead of the winter pairs, Ocean Beach, Matt Balkham



Presidents Message



Captains Report



2015/16 Prize Giving



Upcoming events



Winter Pairs Results



Shore Comp Results



From the Editor

What’s Coming Up 18th October & 1st November

Social Fish Fishing from 6.30pm – 9.30 pm. For location check your email / Facebook on the Monday night before. Otherwise call Gary Whitaker H. 589 5103 M. 027 240 1685. No cancellations. We fish in a group, one rod pp, new members and novices welcome.

29th & 30th October

2nd Shore Competition Commences 3pm Saturday with weigh-in at 1pm Sunday at Evans Bay Yacht Club.

2nd November

Club Night Evans Bay Yacht Club 7.30pm – All Welcome

15th & 29th November

Social Fish Fishing from 6.30pm – 9.30 pm. For location check your email / Facebook on the Monday night before. Otherwise call Gary Whitaker H. 589 5103 M. 027 240 1685. No cancellations. We fish in a group, one rod pp, new members and novices welcome.

12th & 13th November

2nd Boat Competition Commences ½ hour before sunrise Saturday. Weigh-in 2pm Sunday. No fishing in hours of darkness (1/2 hour after sunset – ½ hour before sunrise).

12th & 13th November

3rd Shore Competition Commences 3pm Saturday with weigh-in at 2pm Sunday at Evans Bay Yacht Club.

19th & 20th November

The Bottle-O Moki $1000 Feilding surfcasting club competition more info at https:// feildingsurfcastingclub.co.nz/bottleo-moki-1000-entry-form/

3rd December

Christmas BBQ Details TBC keep your eyes peeled for email and Facebook info closer to the event

7th December

Club Night Evans Bay Yacht Club 7.30pm – All Welcome

New Members A very warm welcome to all our new members who this month include: Chris Botes (shore), Duane McGregor (shore), Troy Rosson (shore), Mitchell Scaife (shore), James Wells (shore), Matthew Batten, Shore Craig Prince (shore), Glen Poskitt (shore), Recky Nunez (shore), Malcolm Hunter (shore), Frank Milne (shore), Anton Milne (shore), Phillip Goodwin, partner Coral Making and daughter Laeticia (shore), Gary and Carmela Morrison (shore)

Meet David...

President’s Message Hi all and welcome to the new season. Things have got off to a good start, even if the weather and the fishing have been a little challenging to date.

We have our new committee in place and it's good to see some new faces on board, and in particular thanks to Matt Balkham stepping up as the Editor of the club rag, taking over from James who has done a great job for the last few seasons. This is not always an easy gig, but becomes a lot easier with plenty of material. So please remember to send Matt plenty of photos from your travels and adventures. He will no doubt be keen for any stories or contributions as well, these are what make the newsletter.

Club President - David Harvey

The fish is a popper caught Barracuda - not to be confused with our local Barracouta/Cook strait Sailfish from my recent trip to the Solomon Islands. One of the many toothy critters I encountered, it was a spectacular surface strike with crazy aerials during the fight.

As for me, I’ve been a member of the club for just over 7 years since moving to Wellington. I’ve been a member of the Club Committee for the last 5 or 6 years and am into my second season as President. Prior to that I’d been shore points recorder for a number of seasons.

Originally from Auckland I grew up chasing Snapper and had never caught a Spiny Dog or Red Cod till I landed in Wellington, my life is now complete! In terms of fishing I’d say I’m a Jack of all trades and master of none, enjoying all forms of fishing: surfcasting, LBG, boat fishing (straylining, softbaiting, jigging etc), fly fishing for Trout, coarse fishing and even a little bit of game fishing. I’m an avid tackle collector and find new shiny things irresistible.

We started the season with what has now become the traditional August ice breaker, the Winter Pairs over at Ocean Beach. The fishing was not much to write home about but it was a good crack and the BBQ was outstanding.

Thanks to Dave Pye and Gary W who pulled this together. Those who fished the first comp did not fare a great deal better but the fishing will no doubt improve so keep at it. And for you more 'seasoned' participants, why not share some of your experience and maybe a spot or two with one of the new members who keen on a comp or two. There is no better way to learn than fishing with an old hand and personally I know this made all the difference to me when I joined the club. And as well as my fishing improving I made some good mates and after all that's a huge part of what makes our club what it is.

Dave Pye as our new club captain got the club nights off to a cracking start with what may be a record attendance, since 1962 at least! The Q&A session hosted by Guy Smiley, a.k.a. James Bennie was a hit, with a great panel of WSACs best and brightest. It was great to see so many new faces and a few older but familiar members show up. Dave has some top ideas for the club nights this season so it would be great to maintain the momentum. And of course if you have any killer ideas of what you would like to see I'm sure he'd be all ears.

A few reminders now....

Fees, though no doubt by now there will have been a number of emails flying around. You have been warned With the advent of Spring we can expect to see good numbers of Moki start to show, and what better place to chase them than round the South coast.

And coincidently that's where the club Bach is. This is a great but under utilised resource for our club and definitely worth a trip. There are plans this season to continue the maintenance work on the Bach so if anyone is keen to help out, has useful skills or materials let one of the committee know.

And of course don't forget the Bradley smoker, this is available for all club members to use and can be taken off site. If you are keen to use it for a family function or any event have a word to one of the committee.

This is a great time of year, we have the whole season in front of us, the fishing will be picking up and there is always a sense of excitement as to what the season will hold. I encourage you all, old members and new to get involved and get out there and do it. On a personal note I am off to the Solomons for 9 days to fill my boots on all manner of tropical bruisers, thanks Steve for the lures - I will put them to good use. Tight lines and stay safe.

Craig & Gary represent WSCA at the 2016 NZACA Nationals

NZACA Nationals come to Wellington!

This season we are pleased to welcome the NZACA nationals to our region. We’re hoping for great support from the club this year. If you’re interested in finding out more speak to Anthony, Gary or Craig. WSAC will also dedicate a forthcoming club night to discussing the plans for the nationals so keep a look out for further info. We hope for a really good turn out in all sections so please spread the word!

Fishing Fishing at the nationals includes boat and shore sections and caters for seniors, ladies and juniors/colts. Fishing will run for a number of consecutive days usually following the casting day (see below). We’re unsure of the exact timings but in previous years the fishing has run from the Thursday until Saturday morning. Details for this years event have not yet been published but we expect more details soon. Many club members have represented the club in the Nationals over the years so ask around at one of the events, club nights or social fishes if you want more info and keep your eyes peeled on the club Facebook Page, your emails and NZACA website.

Casting The casting component of the nationals comprises a combination of distance and accuracy casting. The casting usually takes place on the first day of the nationals and includes sections for seniors, ladies and colts.

WSAC has a good reputation in this discipline and a number of members regularly practice casting throughout the season at Trentham Racecourse. Contact Gary Whitaker for more information (and casting tips and pointers!)

“Our Nationals Committee have provided us with a very positive and exciting proposal for the 2017 Nationals in Wellington. This event is also the celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the NZACA so I am looking for each and every Club to have members in attendance. The time to start planning is now.” - NZACA President More info will be released soon at http://www.nzaca.co.nz/

Meet Dave...

Club Captains Report The season has started with Wellington’s truly invigorating weather making the 1st shore competition (10th & 11th September) a challenge. Applause to all those that fished and produced some specie catches.

Our first social event was the Winter Pairs held at Ocean Beach (4th September 2016). Around seventeen anglers enjoyed being kept busy with numbers of Red Cod being caught. Finishing off the day with a barbecue and prize giving afterwards. The main 1st and 2nd prizes sponsored by Kilbirnie Family Law were for the heaviest in order of Spotty Shark, Kahawai and Red Cod. The Spotty Sharks and Kahawai however were pulling a sickie that day.

Thanks again to our sponsors, Kilbirnie Family Law, Jim O’Brien, Steve’s Fishing Shop, Tackle Tactics & Marine and David Harvey’s crab baits.

Club Captain - Dave Pye

Winter Pairs results were:

” I have been in the



1st heaviest specie, Red Cod, 1.63Kg by Paul Ennis, $150 voucher

club for 27 years and



2nd heaviest specie, Red Cod, 1.3kg by Albert Atenza, $50 voucher



Top Junior catch, Red cod 0.96kg by Jack Ennis, $25 voucher



Top Lady angler, Red Cod 0.90kg by Deanna Stempa, $25 voucher

Wharves as a young



Best Scale Fish, Red Cod 1.63Kg by Paul Ennis, $25 voucher

adolescent and



Best non scale fish, Eagle Ray 19.89kg by Mike Stempa, $25 voucher

joined the club in my



Lucky angler draw, Deanna Stempa, Ultimo Rod Holder

enjoy all facets of fishing. I started fishing the Wellington

early twenties.”

Our first open night (7th September) was a great success with around sixty persons attending a well-advertised “Q & A” evening. With James Bennie, the host with the most, asking questions to our panel of four consisting of Steve Reed, Felix Wenzel, Thomas McCabe and Pete Lamb. I’m sure everyone in the room would have taken away some great pearls of wisdom from our panel’s answers.

Reminder about our fish of the month entry opportunities. The top two voted fish for each category are eligible for the vast variety of club trophies.

As the sea temperatures warm, the fish will certainly be snapping. It’s a great time to gather up the gear and travel to some spots that you may have been considering over the winter months.

Obituary – Michael Alexander Ryland 13.02.1945 - 04.06.2016 Michael Ryland’s death was quite sudden and quite unexpected. He was lining up to buy his weekly lotto ticket (and Michael would be thinking, as he always did when he had a little gamble, that this would be the winning one) when he had a fatal heart attack. In spite of professional assistance that happened to be right on the spot, Michael could not be revived. Michael’s funeral was well attended with a number of club members paying their respects. Every single speaker spoke with passion, humour and with a candid openness not often encountered on these occasions. Those closest to Mike explained that to send Michael off in any other way would be quite contrary to Michael’s own open philosophies and beliefs. And in that vein, I too, will try and do likewise in this tribute to him.

Michael joined WSAC in 1990 and was never one to do things by halves. When he joined an organisation he was a committed, loyal member, and so it was with our club. You would never see Michael at every club event, but you always knew that if the club had an important occasion where member turnout was crucial to success, he would be there. The fact that he was late more often than not was more a reflection on the number of things he would try and do while on the way. Michael also had huge faith in his driving ability and drove like he was trying to achieve pole position for his next day’s outing. In spite of this mind set Michael never allowed sufficient time to get from A to B. Michael was also a great collector of things that ‘might come in handy one day’, including paper and aluminium cans (which financed his fishing trips). Consequently Michael’s car was often jam packed with such items and was a godsend for an excuse to politely decline, what you knew would be a white knuckle ride with him.

I don’t think that Michael thought about the catching of fish as the end product of his fishing (and spear fishing) outings – the preparation, the participation and the people around him was enough – catching fish seemed quite secondary to the main event. Michael was a most generous supporter of WSAC’s fund raising events. For instance, he would buy stuff at our club fishing auction nights that he could not possibly use – but this was secondary to helping his club raise funds. And the thing about Michael’s generosity was that often, he never really had ready money to give, and would have to do some serious juggling within the several bank accounts he had, and carry out quite complicated permutations that only he understood. I think his bank manager found it a lot less stressful, and certainly time saving to just let him ‘do his thing’. Michael’s willingness to give, when he had little that he could afford, was just one of his special human qualities that will unfold as this tribute to him plays out.

In the early days of Michael’s membership it soon became quite apparent that here, amongst us, was a truly gifted story teller – a raconteur of few equals when it came to telling yarns. I remember one club sounds trip when, after the evening meal Michael rose to tell us a yarn and five hours later sat down to the applause from a wide-eyed audience whose imagination and view of life had been somewhat, if not wholly compromised. Probably forever.

If Michael was the life of the sounds party, then shortly after that trip, the most incredible coincidence that could hardly have been dreamed up occurred. In the club at that time was one Dave Thompson, also a story teller of some repute. And the coincidence? Both Mike and Dave ended up in the same ward, side by side, in Wellington Hospital. Michael to have his two hips replaced – Dave to get two new knees. Now, if laughter is the best medicine then Michael and Dave together, were in the right place. Not only did Michael and Dave keep the other patients and visitors enthralled with their yarns, soon doctors and nurses not connected to them or even their ward for that matter, would be popping in for their daily fix. And the bigger the audience the better as Michael and Dave just feed off each other with their spontaneous repartee, which would go on until the need for food or medicine became paramount. I truly believe that the hospital was reluctant to discharge them! However go they did, Dave to finish his recuperation at home with wife, Nurse Jill, and Michael (who lived alone) asked Gary Whitaker if he could put him up for two weeks till he felt good enough to care of himself. Two years later Mike thanked Gary very much and went back home.

In all the years I’ve known Michael I can only readily recall three particular fish he caught - not that he was a poor fisher at all but each of these fish encompasses a story involving Michael that tells a lot about the man’s studious preparations for fishing, his never say die attitudes and his indomitable spirit. We’ll start with fish number one, a big black cockabully.

Picture Richmond Bay in the Pelorus Sound and twelve clubbies are on the wharf frantically catching bait before tea.

Some nice herrings, gars and spotties secured for the early morning fish next day. And just in time too, for darkness and rain is descending fast! On the way up to the cook house a weather proofed Michael, two hours behind schedule, is headed down to the wharf, bait rod and bucket in hand (Michael can take a little time to prepare and settle in). Someone in the group said “you’re a bit late Mike, but you might get some herrings and mackerel under the wharf lights”. He thanked us for that and went on his way. After a nice meal and a yarn session most of us are ready for an early night when a bedraggled, very wet, cold and hungry Michael comes through the door. In answer to our obvious questions about how much bait he had caught he shows us his bucket, and lying in the bottom was a solitary, very large, black cockabully. In a rather pained voice Mike asks if the cockabully would be OK for bait. Two hours of fishing in the wind and rain for a solitary cockabully spoke volumes for Michael’s perseverance, and you just had to feel sorry for the chap.

But poor Michael was about to have more misery heaped on him when Dave Thompson (not one to miss the main chance) says in a serious, hushed voice that Michael had caught the pet fish of the owner’s young son, who happened to be feeding the same cockabully when the rest of us were on the wharf earlier. To this news Michael was almost inconsolable, wanting to go and bare his sole to the owner, take full responsibility and try and put the matter right. His grief was so real we couldn’t let him suffer any longer and to Michael’s relief we told him the truth, got his hot dinner out of the oven, poured him a glass of cheer and assured him we had enough bait to share with him next morning. And that, believe it or not is where the term “Warm Fuzzies” comes from.

The next fish that reminds me of Michael I call the ‘Y Fronts” snapper. Michael went on the club’s annual sounds snapper trip on several occasions but never had much success. And there was a good reason for this. Most of the sounds snapper are caught within the first few hours of early morning fishing. But even though Michael was landed at his fishing place at the same time with his fishing partners for the day, he just could not be hurried and had to, as he put it, first ‘set up camp’ on the beach. From his pack Michael would extract a truly large number of plastic bags, each filled with an essential item that had to be in the right place to make ‘his camp’ both comfortable and functional. So by the time Mike actually started fishing, the hot bite time had diminished, as were his chances of success. But on one particular day, and in spite of the usual late start, Michael hooked a fairly decent snapper which he was skilfully bringing into the beach.

Then horror of horrors, one of the major pitfalls of sounds fishing is the snags that occur in the near shore beach dropoff zone and Michael’s snapper had wound itself round a prominent rock. Michael could see the flashes of the fish’s white belly as it struggled to get free, which it surely would do as the line scrapped on the sharp rocks. No problem to Michael, he undressed down to the standard white Jockey Y fronts of the time, calmly folded his clothes and plunged into the water. A brief swim and dive to untangle his line, and a snapper of around four kilos safely secured. And I bet that in those plastic bags in Michael’s beach camp would be a towel and a fresh change of undies. Y fronts of course!

In relating the tale of the third fish, I need to tell you that Michael was a compulsive, out of order, no rational for doing so, avid collector of marlin lures. He just could not resist the temptation to add lure after lure to his huge collection, even though he seldom went marlin fishing. Maybe he thought that if I can’t join the list of WSAC’ers who have caught marlin, then at least I’ve got the best lure collection. So on this particular day Michael is returning to port from a fruitless marlin trip when the skipper gives the order to bring in the lures from the now very green and lifeless looking water. Michael pleads with the skipper to let him try a lure he has never swum before, if only for a short time. A roll of the eyes and shrug of the shoulders from the skipper that Michael took to be at least partial assent, and his latest and greatest lure is quickly played out behind the boat. And nearly as quickly and from a lifeless green sea a marlin takes the lure and Michael does the business and lands the fish. I’m told Michael had that huge wonderful smile of his all the way back to port. And for days afterwards!

I’ve related these little anecdotes within this obituary because I believe each one helps to encapsulate the very qualities, and above all honesty of Michael. You see, that apart from his generosity, his faith in mankind, his need for wanting to belong and be a contributor, he had one other incredible quality that transcends all. He simply could not tell a lie. To Michael’s family and friends our club offers its sincere condolences.

Written by WSAC Patron, Jim O’Brien

Prize Giving

2015/2016

Just for fun!

How many of these NZ & Aus fishing spots can you name? Answer can be emailed to the editor mbalkham@gmail.com. Correct answers will be published in the next Newsletter along with the names of the highest scoring entries!

1 O_ _ _ _ _ _ _ B_ _, Wellington NZ

2 W_ _ _ _ R_ _ _, Wellington NZ

3 S_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ B_ _, Wellington NZ

4

K_ _ _ _ _ _ _ P_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, Northland NZ

Just for fun!

How many of these NZ & Aus fishing spots can you name? Answer can be emailed to the editor mbalkham@gmail.com. Correct answers will be published in the next Newsletter along with the names of the highest scoring entries!

5 F_ _ _ _ _ _ B_ _, Wellington NZ

6 O_ _ _ _ B_ _ _ _, Wellington NZ

7 L_ _ _ M_ _ _ _ _ _ _ R_ _ _, Queensland, Australia

8

C_ _ _ _ _ _ _ B_ _ _ _, New South Wales, Australia

Results of Shore Competition No. 1 10th & 11th September 2016 Tide: High 23:44

Moon: Full

Weather: Horrid!

Scores as follows:

Name

Points

Details

Collin Nattrass

266.68

2 Eagle Ray, 3 Red Gurnard, 1 Skate - Rough

Craig Boyes

260.64

1 Eagle Ray, 1 Kahawai, 1 Red Gurnard, 1 Shark - Spotted, 1 Tarakihi

James Bennie

227.26

5 Kahawai

Tim Henley

218.20

5 Kahawai, 1 Skate - Rough

Zeb Livingston

183.90

1 Eagle Ray, 2 Red Gurnard

Anthony Sanger

182.80

4 Red Gurnard, 1 Shark - Grey Spiney

Gary Whitaker

120.40

2 Cod - Blue, 1 Kahawai

Zac Livingston

106.00

2 Red Gurnard, 1 Tarakihi

Dave Brown

94.44

2 Kahawai

Matthew Renata

89.16

2 Red Gurnard, 1 Skate - Rough

Richard Cryer

84.40

2 Cod - Blue

Jim O'Brien

53.10

1 Skate - Rough, 1 Tarakihi

Mike Irons

44.40

1 Kahawai

Thomas McCabe

42.36

1 Kahawai

Fish of the month Category

Weight

Species

Line

Name

Location

Date

Place

AUGUST SNR Boat Scale

2.15kg

Trevally

3kg

Dave Pye

Mana

31-08-16 WINNER

SNR Boat Scale

1.79kg

Gurnard

7kg

Jim Mikoz

South Coast

24-08-16

Points tables after Shore Competition No. 1 SENIORS

Points Count

Pts/ fish

Craig Boyes

5

52.13

227.26

Collin Nattrass

3

44.45

Tim Henley

218.20

Zeb Livingston

2

61.30

Zeb Livingston

183.90

Gary Whitaker

2

40.13

Anthony Sanger

182.80

Anthony Sanger

2

36.56

Gary Whitaker

120.40

Tim Henley

2

36.37

Zac Livingston

106.00

Zac Livingston

2

35.33

Dave Brown

94.44 89.16

Matthew Renata

2

Matthew Renata

29.72

Richard Cryer

84.40

Jim O'Brien

2

26.55

Mike Irons

44.40

Dave Brown

1

47.22

Thomas McCabe

42.36

James Bennie

1

45.45

Mike Irons

1

44.40

Thomas McCabe

1

42.36

Richard Cryer

1

42.20

Collin Nattrass

266.68

Craig Boyes

260.64

James Bennie

VETERANS Jim O'Brien

Campion of Champions Zeb Livingston Jim O'Brien

SPECIES

Points 53.10

Points 183.90 53.10

SCALE

Points

NON SCALE

Points

James Bennie

227.3

Collin Nattrass

169.9

Tim Henley

196.9

Craig Boyes

142.8

Anthony Sanger

147.2

Zeb Livingston

104.3

Gary Whitaker

120.4

Anthony Sanger

35.6

Craig Boyes

117.8

Tim Henley

21.3

Zac Livingston

106.0

Matthew Renata

18.8

Collin Nattrass

96.8

Jim O'Brien

18.1

Dave Brown

94.4

Richard Cryer

84.4

Zeb Livingston

79.6

Matthew Renata

70.4

Mike Irons

44.4

Thomas McCabe

42.4

Jim O'Brien

35.0

Obituary – James Alexander (Jim) Livingston 17.07.1050 – 18.05.2016 With the death of Jim Livingston, WSAC have lost a staunch and popular club member. Jim Joined WSAC in 1998 and has been one of our top veteran fishers for a number of years – his name on several of the club’s quality trophies attest to that! Apart from being a great competitor in the club’s ‘points’ trophies, Jim really came to prominence when he first weighed in one of his over 8 kilo Palliser snapper specials. Most clubbies who have fished that coast hard know snapper of this size come along quite rarely. So when Jim started to weigh in more big snapper on a regular basis as well as some sizeable moki, clubbies began to sit up and take notice of this quiet achiever.

Jim really loved fishing the big beaches each side of Lake Ferry, even before he joined our club. At all hours of the day or night he was a familiar figure riding his quad from one possie to another. He liked this part of the coast so much he had a permanent caravan with a big awning parked at the Lake Ferry camping ground and more recently had bought a property in the local vicinity to retire to.

I remember a time many years ago when I was fishing at Lake Ferry and asked another angler what had been caught lately. His answer was quite to the point “don’t ask me, ask Jim, he’s the best fisher around here and knows everything.” He was of course referring to Jim Livingston, and that was the esteem that locals held him in. A testament to Jim’s angling skills is that he has won both the heaviest snapper and moki trophies on two occasions and in consecutive years. Snapper of 7.09 and 8.48 and moki weighing 7.34 and 5.68. In his second year of fishing with the club Jim won the novice trophy with a pretty good score of 1453 points and went on to take out the heaviest trevally the next year. Jim has also caught some pretty impressive sharks including an 18 kilo spotty shark and a club record six gill shark of 36 kilos. He has won the veterans trophy (and been runner-up) on several occasions.

Outside of his fishing Jim was big on family, friends and rugby. Born in Porirua, Jim played rugby through several grades for the club of the same name, before joining Norths rugby club when the Porirua Club ceased to be. In his later years Jim played ‘Golden Oldies’ as well as touch, where he coached and mentored a team from the local mongrel mob chapter.

Graeme Lusty tells me that Jim was a nuggety and very competitive player who usually played second five eights. Jim was a successful business man who completed a motor mechanic apprenticeship with Manthell Motors and eventually bought and ran a very successful and respected car repair workshop. Jim was very proud of his scots heritage and made several trips to Scotland.

Two of our club’s hard case, hard fishing success stories are Jim’s two nephews Zeb and Zac. In a conversation I had with Zeb he said he and Zac really got into fishing because of their uncle Jimmy’s influence and ability to motivate them. Zeb said that his uncle, while being a fairly private bloke was more like a grandfather to both of them. Zeb also relates the story when their uncle Jimmy, in a moment of weakness, took both he and Zac to his red-hot, never known to fail gurnard spot, the location of which they were sworn to secrecy. They never caught any gurnard but Zeb said the six or seven snapper they did catch more than made up for the lack of gurnard! (Don’t bother to ask Zeb where this spot is – he’s already told me it’s Naenae wharf.)

Just as I finish writing this tribute the Hurricanes have won their first ever Super rugby title. Jim would have been so proud to share this day with his footy friends and I know for sure that Jim would have been strongly in their thoughts. For a lot of reasons we are going to miss Jim around the club and especially on competition days when he would weigh-in some super fish. To Jim’s wife Elizabeth, to his immediate and wider family and many friends, the club extends to them our sincere condolences.

Written by WSAC Patron, Jim O’Brien

Recent Club Events WSAC Open Night

“What a great Open Night and an awesome turnout saw about 60 people attending. Thanks to all the new faces that showed up and we hope to see you back as club members real soon. Thanks to the speakers and the Q&A panel (Steve, Felix, Pete & Tom) for sharing some great fishing tips.’”- James Bennie, WSAC Management Committee Member

BERLEY BITS

Clubby’s Name :

Colin Nattrass

Nickname :

Big Col

Occupation :

Qualified Mechanic

Years as WSAC Member :

1 season, second underway

Favourite Fishing Spot (Wgtn area) :

South Makara

If you could fish anywhere in NZ besides Wgtn where would this be & why :

Great barrier : land based chasing that elusive hoodlum 30lb snapper from the rocks

If you could fish anywhere in the world besides NZ where would this be & why

South Pacific chasing sailfish on light tackle

Egg Beater or Pencil Sharpener (Reels) :

overhead all the way...! Aka pencil Sharpener

Most Memorable Catch/Session:

11.4kg snapper off the sand on 5.5kg ultima on a full moon dead low tide...!

Favourite Food :

lone star ..! Love them ribs

Favourite Pub/Bar :

The Old Angus Inn (non existent now...lol )

Favourite Tunes/Music :

Disturbed/ and Dylan...! And everything in between

Apart From Fishing What Else Are You Crazy About :

American Cars / speedway

Most Embarrassing Moment While Fishing:

turning up to fish after 4 1/2 hour drive To discover someone left the reels at home...that someone would be me

What’s The Most Irritating Thing That Peeves You Off While Fishing:

Buggers that cross my line...! And that one guy that's on the beach that's deserted that sets up right next to me when he got kms off beach to choose from..

The Thing You Hate & Love The Most :

sleep gets in the way of fishing Love: my partner Bec"s and our wonderful children for understanding the many hours I put into fishing Ooooh and my cat Syd..!

Recent Club Events Baiting up & Rig Tying

Recent Club Events Winter Pairs inc. Mike Stempa’s 19.84kg eagle ray and young Jack with a red cod!

Meet Matt... “ Before coming to New Zealand a little over a year ago I was predominantly a freshwater angler and more specifically a specimen carp fisherman.

The photo was of a fish called ‘Bullet’ that I targeted during my 2009/10 campaign on a midlands syndicate water. I caught this fish twice that season (it was only caught by a couple of other anglers that year to the best of my knowledge) this was the first occasion when she weighed 50lbs14ozs (~23kg). I caught her again in November that year at a

Newsletter Editor - Matt Balkham

From the Editor So you’ve made it to the end of my first newsletter as editor. Firstly I’d like to thank the outgoing editor James for his hard work (which I now know this editing can be!) and for his support during the handover. It’s made my picking up of the role much more straightforward.

I’d also like to thank those that have contributed to the content of this newsletter and extend an invitation to all club members to contribute articles, photos, stories and the like for future newsletters. You can get in touch with me via Facebook or email me at mbalkham@gmail.com.

I’d also welcome feedback on the style and content of the newsletter and please do let me know any ideas for improvement or articles you’d like to see in the future.

slightly heavier weight.

A very different type of fishing but I hope to bring some ideas across to my surfcasting in NZ. “

A reminder that there is an award that recognizes the best photo taken by a member that features in the newsletters throughout the season.

So please take the camera (or phone) out with you to the various competitions and events this year and submit them to me for inclusion in the newsletter.

Lastly I wish you all the best with your targets for the season and look forward to meeting clubbies new and old and sharing a fishing story or two (preferably whilst on the beach!).

Last but not least!

Sponsorship Opportunity Would you like to see your company logo here and reach out to hundreds of Wellington fishos and boat owners? Our social media streams have a regular reach of in excess of 1,500 people.

Contact Us For more information and up to date news visit us on facebook at www.facebook.com/ wsac1958/

There is an opportunity to sponsor a range of club events, competition spot prizes, annual club trophies, etc. for the coming season and in return we can offer a space in the newsletter and in exposure on our social media streams.

Sponsorship opportunities can be tailored to all budgets. Speak to any of the club committee members for more information or email us at wsac.inc@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram @wsac_fishing

Job Vacancy!

Pete Lamb advises, "I am looking to hire a shop salesperson for Sundays at our Rongotai shop and possible other days at the Seaview shop from time to time.

I'm also after a deckhand for 2-3 trips a week. These could be combined for one person or for separate people." If interested give him a call or drop him a line at pete@petelambfishing.co.nz

Or contact us via email at: wsac.inc@gmail.com

Wellington Surfcasting and Angling Club Wellington, New Zealand

WSAC Wellington’s premier fishing club!

From: Wellington Surfcasting and Angling Club Inc., PO Box 3060, Wellington 6140

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