ISSUE 5 January 2010
ISSUE 4 December 2010 I SSUE 1
July 20
Kayaking for Kingfish -
Lazy Fishy Days of Summer//
Autumn
Work-ups
firing
old Skool styles
Scallop’s perfected – The Fish Stock //
// Sharpening up – being on
- Hauling Hapuka//
target for landing Marlin The Sc-iwi: A Scott in Aotearoa //
So, where do the Snapper go? //
//Big winter snapper from the rocks
Targeting Winter Kings – the Coromandel Experience // Readers Photo Competition// //Pitch and Switch – Making it Happen with Marlin
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Landbased Pilgrimage -
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June 2011
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// Bye, bye Summer, hello Moochers
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f sher
ISSUE 12 September 2011
August 2011
ISSUE 11
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ISSUE 10 July 2011
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ISSUE 13 November 2011
ISSUE 14
January 2012
NZFisher
Snapper at
– One year old!
NZLBG July 2015 Nationals
Rawhiti:
Mastering
Gurnard
Kiwi El Dorado // Martin Salter’s
// NZFisher gets Fresh with Trout
Piper, too tasty for bait
50 Lord Howe adventure continues
// LORD HOWE ISLAND!
// The new Ocean Kayak Prowler 4.3 NZFisher scores gold at NZACA Nationals//
large for newby crew
The new History of Stickbaits//
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Monster
Lottin49 ISSUE or bust//
// Northern adventure scores
Landbased – from the boat?//
ISSUE 9
The
Ones!//
// Working the jigs
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ISSUE 8 May 2011
gulf //
big
Unlocking the Secrets of Rarotonga//
What makes a good jigging rod? //
in the
Goin’ deep for the
// Big boy snapper
Winter Moocher Hunt
March 2011 ISSUE 7 April 2011
Far far north//
Monsters from the Deep
ISSUE 6
ISSUE 3 November 2010
ISSUE 2 October 20 2010
// Broadbill season fires up
Magnificent Squid – International secrets shared
in the chill of winter Kawau by Kayak//
Landbased from the boat – Its becoming a habit!
// The Prowler 4.3 tested
The Waitemata – Auckland’s overlooked Jewel
Introducing the Kiwi Anglers guide to Fishy words
Jetski antics at Coromandel
Great Barrier Is – Better late than never
October Landbased Magic Top spot No. 3: The Bay of Plenty
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f sher ISSUE 15 March 2012
North, West, East & South
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June 2012
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ISSUE 17 July 2012
ISSUE 18
Sept/Oct 2012
ISSUE The Tuturoa Trophy Craig Smith explains
- GT’s in Raro - Far North epic - Kings on Stickbaits
Finally, a great Skippy recipe
- The fishing Mecca of Feilding explored
FREWZA!
Young Greg Savage with his sensational 11.3kg - only his second snapper!
The NZFisher boat launch
OffShore Landbased Fishing
Trout: What are they good for?
Gearing up for ROctoberFish
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Snapper galore & PB’s smashed
Whangarei Juniors take out BOI Kingfish International
NZFisher’s Landbased Bumper Issue
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ISSUE 20 December 2012
November 2012
Roctober Fish Rocks!
Landbased Retreat to the Winterless North
It’s all firing!
ISSUE 19
WIN an OKUMA Salina Combo
The kids take Dad fishing
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f sher ISSUE 22
March 2013
SOLO
MARLIN!
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Fish Your Feet First
June 2013
ISSUE 25
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ISSUE 26 August 2013
June 2013
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ISSUE 27 September 2013
ISSUE 28 October 2013
Your Guide to Fishing - The Seasons
Snapper on dry-fly?
Paua
(Re)Learning LBG Lessons at the East Cape
Solo West coast Marlin
for the picking
Champagne Fishing – Shore Boys on the Water
North Queensland Barra, mate!
Small boat Swordfish
Rarotonga Still Delivers
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f sher ISSUE 24
Winter Moochers from Cape to Cape
Te Atatu Creek Kingfish!?!? NZFisher take on the Chesters ‘Fanatical Fishos’ Comp
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ISSUE 23 April 2013
Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner for Issue #24!
Spring Fishing Is Unleashed
Kiwis at the 2013 Offshore World Champs
Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner for Issue #25!
Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner for Issue #26!
Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner for Issue #27!
Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner for Issue #28!
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ISSUE 29 November 2013
Aitutaki Bone Fish - A Refreshing Challenge
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ROc
tober FISH
Where, When & How?
Strip Strike – SWF Club is Launched
Strip Strike – SWF Club is Launched
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ISSUE 31 December 2013
ISSUE 30 November 2013
KINGFISH –
KINGFISH – Where, When & How?
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ISSUE 32
Kingfish are on fire!
Big
From Fly to Micro-Jigs
Jigs
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January 2014
ISSUE 33
February 2014
Fish –
Small
Honda Marine IceyTek & Torpedo7 Competitions inside
Landbased Kings on Fly
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ISSUE 34
March 2014
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ISSUE 35
April 2014
Charlie & the Green
Machine
Huge Snapper on Livebait
Sailfish in Malaysia
Marlin, marlin everywhere!
All you need to know about knives To believe or not to believe
Winterise Your Outboard
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ISSUE 36
May 2014
Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner for Issue #30!
June 2014
ISSUE 38
What Winter Fishing is all about!
Dwellers
Rompin Sailfish Video Inside
August 2014
from the
September 2014
ISSUE 41
Get IGFACompliant this Game Season HowtoFishTaupo Rivers
TimetoGet
ISSUE 42
The
Chasing Sails
Water Kings Do a
Little
Jig
Simply
Serious About
Our Fisheries Future
December 2014
Art Top of Fish Thievery
The Maniyaks on fire in Orton Comp
in Winter
Review: The Lowrance Elite 4 HDI Combo
October 2014
Yaks Attack the North
on the
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ISSUE 40
Learning Pro Tongariro
Legasea Update: Getting the Best Back Out of Our Fisheries
Congratulations to our Torpedo7 prize winner for Issue #33!
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ISSUE 39
July 2014
Rooster Rica
GURNARD:
Congratulations to our Torpedo7 prize winner for Issue #32!
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ISSUE 37
Powering up the Bottom
Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner for Issue #31!
Wrasse-tastic
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ISSUE 43
January 2015
Tired of
Catching
Tired of Small
Catching
Small Snapper? Getting
sorted for Getting offshore sorted for Yakking
offshore
Yakking
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ISSUE 44
February 2015
Tired of
Catching
Small
Getting Yellow offshore
ISSUE 45
March 2015
ISSUE 46
April 2015
Catching
Kingfish from the Rocks II
Dream
Fin Yakking
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ISSUE 47
Marlin MARLIN
sorted for
On!
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your Fish NZFisher goes hunting
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May 2015
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ISSUE 48
Rockin’ On
Hapuku from a Kayak!
Surprise on BenIsland
June 2015
Fish of a Lifetime
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ISSUE 49
July 2015
Potential
World Record on Fly!
Enjoying the best of winter in Aotearoa
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CONTENTS 4.. Editorial 6..
Fishing Truth: Are We Training Fish to Avoid Lures?
14.. Active Angling: Outsmarting Trevally with Flies & Lures 18.. LegaSea Update 20.. Winter Success 26.. Kayak Fishing: I Hate Winter Fishing 32.. Reader Pics 34.. Video of the Month 35.. Competiion
ABOUT / Short and sharp, NZ Fisher is a free e-magazine delivering thought provoking and enlightening articles, and industry news and information to forwardthinking fisher people.
EDITOR / Derrick Paull GROUP EDITOR / Colin Kennedy ART DIRECTOR / Jodi Olsson CONTENT ENQUIRIES / Phone Derrick on 021 629 327 or email derrickp@NZ Fisher.co.nz ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES / Phone Derrick on 021 629 327 or email derrickp@NZ Fisher.co.nz ADDRESS / NZ Fisher, PO Box 47794, Ponsonby, Auckland 1011 WEBSITE / www.NZFisher.co.nz
This is a GREEN MAG, created and distributed without the use of paper so it's environmentally friendly. Please think before you print. Thank you!
Cover Images: Every issue of NZ FIsher so far
www.nzfisher.co.nz 3
EDITORIAL WEATHER FEATURES SO OFTEN in my
I managed a new personal best Rainbow
editorials I wonder myself if maybe I
trout on the Tongariro this month. A
wasn’t actually a meteorologist in an
brief flick before work benefited me
earlier life. The weather windows have
a 6lb hen that was then beaten that
been decent; albeit clear, crisp and very,
evening by a 7lber on the Hinemaiaia
very cold. There’s been some extremely
– both were in excellent condition and
hot fishing to counter the cold – gulf
fought like demons. I was fishing alone
snapper, kahawai down both coasts,
in both cases but managed to get a
gurnard chomping at the bit on the
local to snap me a pic (see below) on
Kaipara and the trout are practically
the Tongariro – I think I’ve found a new
leaping into fishers creels in Taupo.
passion – trout are…ok!
I’ve had the pleasure of fishing for all
I attended the launch of the Marine
of these fine species in the last month, and I haven’t been disappointed.
Research Foundations new research project ‘What’s fishing worth’ on the 10th of August. This project is to investigate the value of the recreational fishing sector to the whole New Zealand economy. For a very long time, we’ve been told that recreational fishing doesn’t provide the same value to the economy as commercial interests. This study is looking to balance the books and find out the true value to the economy when the estimated 900,000 kiwis and 100,000 tourists who go fishing open their wallets. The research is
4 www.nzfisher.co.nz
being undertaken by world
what we take. Please check out the
fisheries economic experts
website, and commit your share to
Southwick Associates who
the cause.
have undertaken many studies
But front of mind for me – this is
internationally with a focus on measuring the economic impacts and values of outdoor recreation.
NZFishers, our Fiftieth Issue. And we couldn’t have done it without support from our reader base. Thank you for the
The Marine Research
first 50 and thanks for
Foundation is looking
the next, who knows
to raise $400,000 for this project and need your help. If every fisher helps, the cost will be covered in no time. The purpose of the information gathered is to generate statistically
“I’m committed to a bright future for NZFisher and promise bigger and better things in the months and years to come.”
valid estimates
how many! As I mentioned last month, there’s been some big changes at NZFisher. I’ve been editor since day one and have loved (almost) every minute of it but my enthusiasm has taken a leap forward
of the economics
since last month when I acquired
(expenditure, jobs, tax revenues,
NZFisher from Espire Media.
income and other economic contributions) associated with New Zealand’s marine recreational fisheries.
NZFisher would never have begun without the vision of Richard, Jen, Jodi and Alastair - the Espire Media team.
This can then be used to place
Thank you guys for your blood, sweat
recreational fishing in the scheme of
and tears in our five years –
things when the minister considers
it’s been awesome. I’m committed to a
the best use of our shared fisheries.
bright future for NZFisher and promise
At present, only 6% of all fish taken
bigger and better things in the months
from New Zealand’s waters are taken
and years to come.
recreationally, but the benefit of our efforts are likely to be far greater than
Tight lines,
Derrick
www.nzfisher.co.nz 5
FISHINGTRUTH
Are We
Training Fish
to Avoid Lures ?
After a modest return from a recent Far North fishing trip I was left wondering how I could have done so poorly. by Neil Wagener YES, IT WAS WINTER, so I might not expect the fish to be hot on the bite, but I had spent a couple of full days plopping soft baits along an extremely fishy coastline without any luck. This result shouldn’t have come as a surprise; however, since I started using soft baits in 2007, I have noticed that those mind blowing sessions have become harder and harder to come by. I have even dropped my line weight down to 6lb to see if that would help increase my catch rates without any improvement. It’s unlikely that snapper numbers have declined over this time period, which leads to an awkward question: have snapper and maybe other fish started to cotton onto soft baits and other lures? I have heard others talk about fish being lure shy before, so was curious to find out if there was any more to it.
6 www.nzfisher.co.nz
There is actually a lot of anecdotal information and research to back up the concept that with time, lures can become less effective. This process can work in two ways. The first occurs when fish repetitively see a lure, learn that it isn’t food and don’t bother attacking the lure if they see it again. If the fish is hooked during this process and either escapes or is caught and released, then this is likely to create a powerful negative association with the lure. You may have heard of “Pavlov’s dog”, which after repetitive association between food and a dinner bell began salivating at just the sound of the bell by itself. The response of fish to lures, as described here, could be thought of as the opposite to the dinner bell. In the US largemouth bass fisheries this process is called “fish conditioning”, and there is a lot of discussion on the topic, with many pro bass fishermen confident that in heavily fished lakes the bass become conditioned to the most commonly used lures. Some of the best evidence for fish conditioning comes from the company behind Berkley Gulp! Pure Fishing. In lab experiments, researchers would expose groups of bass to a particular lure by casting it across the tank five times. Upon first seeing the lure all of the bass would hit it, with the number of strikes decreasing with each successive cast.
www.nzfisher.co.nz 7
FISHINGTRUTH
Essentially the bass weren’t getting the food they expected, so they became less interested. This process was then repeated on separate groups of bass with similar results. All of the bass were then left alone for three months before the same lure was again cast repetitively across the tank. This time each group of bass were uninterested in the lure, only striking at it a few times. When a different type of lure was cast into the tank, however, the bass struck at it as often as they had when they first saw the original lure. This shows that not only were the bass able to remember that the lure wasn’t food for at least three months, they were also able to distinguish between similar lures. There is plenty of other evidence from fisheries around the world suggesting that fish can modify their behaviour in response to encounters with lures or hooks. For example, catch and release trout fisheries have resulted in a pattern where the most heavily fished streams have the lowest catch rates. UK carp fisheries are well known for ‘bait shy’ fish, with some carp having a reduced probability of recapture for over a year after initially being caught. Some fish farming operations even use the remarkable learning capacity of fish to their advantage. When hatcheryraised fish are stocked into the wild, the farmers continue to feed the fish, and each time they put food out they
8 www.nzfisher.co.nz
Netted moocher
play a specific tone into the water.
Experimental fishing conducted on
wThey keep this practice up for a while
largemouth bass simulated this scenario,
but eventually let the fish find their
by removing individual bass that were
own food. After the fish have grown
captured by anglers and allowing the
large enough to harvest, the farmers
remaining bass to interbreed. After
simply play the tone into the water
this selection had been repeated for
allowing the expectant fish to be easily
four generations of bass, the resulting
encircled with a net.
population was much more cautious
The other way that lure effectiveness can be reduced is through selection.
towards fishing gear than the fish originally stocked into the lake.
Essentially some fish are more
This result goes beyond changing
aggressive than others and are
the number of fish willing to take a
therefore more likely to attack a lure
lure, it demonstrates that reduced
as it darts past. These individuals are
aggressiveness has a genetic component,
therefore the most likely to be caught
suggesting that fishing could even
on lures, and as they are removed by
determine how vulnerable future
fishing the whole population becomes
generations of fish will be to capture!
less aggressive and lures become less
While there is compelling evidence
effective as a result.
that reduced lure effectiveness can
www.nzfisher.co.nz 9
FISHINGTRUTH
occur in tank experiments and within small constrained lake fisheries, these results are not New Zealand relevant, and aren’t at the scale of a large marine fishery where millions of fish mix over hundreds of kilometres of coastline. There are indications that similar things could occur in New Zealand though. Have you ever been for a swim in the Goat Island Marine Reserve and noticed how close you can get to the snapper? There are a lot of potential explanations Shane & last fish
for this, but most of them involve the capacity of the fish to learn and the lack of negative experiences associated with people inside the reserve. Also, emphasising the capacity of snapper to respond to particular influences, tagging experiments have shown that snapper caught by longline were more likely to be recaptured by trawl and those captured by trawl were more likely to be recaptured by longline. This shows that snapper could remember the negative capture experience and learnt how to avoid that fishing method in the future.
Sea ox with 17lb snap.
So ‘fish conditioning’ and ‘lure shyness’ sound like a plausible explanation for my bad fishing trip, but are others noticing it occurring as well? NZFisher spoke to a few very experienced charter skippers and got mixed responses. Rick Pollock of Pursuit Charters is adamant that it has already occurred for White Island kingfish. Rick
10 www.nzfisher.co.nz
Some fish are even stupid enough to fall for a floating Santa
“Mechanical jigging is hugely efficient, enabling anglers to catch many more fish per day than would be possible using live baits.” refers to the extreme effectiveness of
fish per day than would be possible
long jigs and mechanical jigging when
using live baits. This combined with
this technique first came online in
the one fish limit in operation at White
about 2005.
Island and the popularity of catch
Jigging catch rates at White Island quickly declined, however, while live bait effectiveness remained high. Today Rick states that jigging at White Island mostly produces rat kingies, while the live bait fishery is as good as it’s ever been. These kind of results are very compatible with how we would expect lure shyness to work.
and release amongst jig fishermen in general means that many fish can quickly become conditioned to lures. Rat kingies remain vulnerable to capture as they are new on the scene; they haven’t seen jigs before. The live bait fishery for kingfish remains productive as this method not only results in fewer encounters between kingfish and fishing gear, but kingfish
Mechanical jigging is hugely efficient,
are also less able to distinguish between
enabling anglers to catch many more
a live bait and their actual food.
www.nzfisher.co.nz 11
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FISHINGTRUTH
Furthermore, kingfish tagged at White Island are seldom recaptured away from White Island, suggesting that the kingfish there are a constrained population, making repetitive exposure to jigs a more likely occurrence. Other experienced charter operators that we spoke to didn’t consider lure shyness to be an important issue for either kingfish and jigs or snapper and soft baits.
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In summary fish have the capacity to recognise lures and to learn to avoid them, and there are suspicions that this might be occurring in fisheries around the world. The jury will probably always be out as to whether it is actually occurring in our fisheries though. So what can you do to overcome the possibility that it might be affecting your catch rates?
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The answer is undoubtedly keep it fresh. Whether that be through using a lure with a different shape, swimming style, or colour, retrieving the lure in a different (potentially slower) way, or using actual fresh or live bait.
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A combination of these techniques will ensure that you are placing something that the fish hasn’t seen before or something that it can’t distinguish from real food in front of its face. For snapper the lure options are endless due to the advent of bottom ships, cabura jigs, micro jigs, slow jigs etc… This allows us to engage in a lure arms race, always keeping one step ahead of the fish. ■
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13
In the throes of battle
ACTIVEANGLING
Outsmarting
Trevally with
Flies &Lures Words by Alan Bulmer Pictures by Paul Smith of Active Angling NZ
14 www.nzfisher.co.nz
ONE OF THE MOST sought after
these common prey items. Small soft
estuarine flats targets is trevally.
plastics fished on light jig heads are often
Nicknamed the ‘Silver Prince’, they are
irresistible to big trevally.
a difficult fish to hook and often can be
Keep an eye on the shallows as the tide
even harder to land. The larger specimens encountered in estuarine environments tend to hunt alone, unlike in the open ocean where schools of fish are common. Tagging studies by local fisheries
recedes as trevally will frequently move steadily downstream with the current zig zagging from deep to shallow water. Often they will herd and concentrate bait fish against an underwater obstruction
scientists have shown
while doing this
that trevally are not
and then charge in
a wide- ranging fish and tend to stay within a 50 kilometres radius of where they spend their juvenile years. They tend to move into the shallow waters
“Trevally like lures and flies to be fished on the bottom, dead drift.”
of many estuaries
at speed to grab as many as possible during the resulting pandemonium. Trevally like lures and flies to be fished on the bottom, dead drift. I generally target them with
in spring and move back out into
soft plastics and weighted flies using
deep-water in late summer.
the ‘wet lining’ retrieve and like to feel
There is always an exception to this
the lure ‘tap, tapping’ the bottom as it
rule though, and I have caught many
swings downstream with the current.
trevally in shallow estuaries through
Very slow retrieves, either by hardly
the winter period. The resident fish
cranking the spinning reel handle or a
caught over autumn – winter tend to be
figure of 8 for fly lines, seem to work
bigger than the fish that first enter the
best. When spinning I really just try to
estuary in spring.
do enough to keep a tight line to the
In the estuaries, they tend to feed
lure. The same applies in fly fishing
predominantly on mantis shrimps,
where a tight line ‘do nothing’ wet line
small fish and crabs, so it makes sense
retrieve works well.
to target them using small lures or flies
I’ve found that the most successful soft
which are accurate representations of
plastics are the Berkley PowerBait Ripple
www.nzfisher.co.nz 15
ACTIVEANGLING
The catch
shad, PowerBait minnows or Bento Bait minnows in 2” or 2.5” size. They will occasionally take a toby especially if a single hook is used, and an orange or pink soft plastic whirl tail is carefully threaded onto it. The flies I’ve found work consistently well for trevally are what I call the ‘Krill Clouser’ or the ‘Brush Ranger’ (see above). Anything that could be mistaken for a marine worm, shrimp, tiny crab, smelt or bully will likely work though. In general imitative patterns work best as the fly is constantly moving due to the current pushing them steadily along the bottom. The fly should always lead the line in order to eliminate drag.
Takes can be incredibly tentative or equally brutal. If you are fly fishing, then strip strike at any pause or irregular movement of the fly. It is better to strike on impulse and not hook anything than do nothing and wonder later on whether you just had a faint touch. Once hooked they generally tear off in a searing run downstream. They soon tire of this however and then tend to spin and head back upstream into the current. Trevally like to fight by running parallel to the shore as this allows them to use their broad flanks to resist the pressure being exerted by the angler.
If you want to see how to tie a Krill Clouser, then click on the video link below.
Regular changes of direction, vigorous head shaking and rapid bursts of acceleration punctuate the fight. This, coupled with the fact that the connecting flesh around the maxillary area is delicate, means that it is easy to rip a hook out if too much pressure is applied. Steady, gentle pressure works best if there is no foul areas on the bottom to worry about, but if the territory is gnarly, then a no holds barred approach is often necessary. When fighting trevally, move quickly along the shore with the run and always try to keep a slight angle to the fish. If they are running into the current, I like to be slightly downstream of them and vice versa. When they tire, walk them out by stepping back away from the shore. They follow meekly at this point, and it is easy to tip them on their side in the shallows when they are nearly spent. Trevally are my favourite estuary foe. They are not easy to hook, fight hard and are excellent table fare. â–
www.nzfisher.co.nz 17
FISHERIESMANAGEMENT
Legasea
Update
What’s our fishing really worth? Update by Trish Rae, Legasea
A RECENT AUSTRALIAN study found
contributions per kilo of fish harvested
recreational fishers contribute an
by recreational fishers. This will account
estimated $2.56 billion to the nation’s
for the value generated by retailers,
economy. But what’s fishing worth in
suppliers, boat builders, charter
New Zealand? No one knows.
operators, accommodation and tourism,
So the New Zealand Marine Research
the list goes on.
Foundation has commissioned
LegaSea is promoting the “What’s
Southwick Associates to research how
Fishing Worth?” fundraising campaign
much recreational fishers contribute to
to support this important project. The
our national economy through taxes,
research is already underway. Results
job creation and GDP growth.
are expected by the end of 2015, so
Southwick will quantify the economic
please, show your support now.
18 www.nzfisher.co.nz
Why is LegaSea involved?
As our decision-maker we need to
LegaSea is leading the fundraising
give him information that supports
effort because this research aligns with our Principle #5: Value recreational fishing. We are determined to make the most of this
more abundant fisheries and a thriving recreational fishing economy; because there is more to fishing than just lowvalue exports of our precious kai moana.
opportunity because this research is essential if we want balanced fisheries management decisions that restore abundance to our coastal waters.
What is the cost? Overall this research project will cost $400,000, with $100,000 being
While a lucky few can remember times
sought from public donations. These
when our fisheries were abundant,
costs cover the scoping, research,
most of us know the feeling of fishing
report writing, peer review and,
in depleted waters. In many areas a
finally, publicising the results. After
reasonable daily catch is becoming a
all that effort we need to make sure
rarity. More fishers are saying, “we’ve
the public (and politicians) know that
had enough of ‘sustainability’, we want
our fishing is a source of jobs, income,
restored abundance!”
value-added and a treasure worth
Clearly the Minister, Nathan Guy, is
passing onto future generations.
under pressure to deliver increased
Please go online to
exports. If he had evidence similar
www.whatsfishingworth.co.nz to add
to the Australian study then he
a donation. 100% of your donation
might feel more confident in
goes towards the project and is tax
making decisions that take account
deductible because the New Zealand
of all aspects of fishing, including
Marine Research Foundation is a
recreational interests.
registered charity. ■
Call 0800 LEGASEA (534 273)
Subscribe at www.legasea.co.nz
Email us info@legasea.co.nz
Read more at www.facebook.com/legasea
www.nzfisher.co.nz 19
Winter Success
It’s been a long wait for a cracker weekend day. Words and images by Ed Stubenitsky
20 www.nzfisher.co.nz
IN FACT THE BOAT hadn’t been in the
It was a cold start, the temperature
water for three months – you know
gauge in the car claiming -3, ice on
how it is with kid’s sports and house
the windscreen of the boat, a thick
renovations. The guilt had set in, and we
frost over all the grab rails and a hot
just had to head out to get a line wet.
cuppa coffee to warm us from the
I managed to convince a couple of
inside out…
keen fishing buddies, Josh and Graeme
The plan was to head to Channel in
to join me for a fine day’s fishing in
the hope of finding kings to test out
the gulf. None of us have never really
some of the new Stick Bait gear recently
had much success winter fishing in
purchased, but we needed a backup plan.
the gulf, a bit hit and miss you might
First stop – Live Baits, a quiet little bay
call it, well really miss, miss, miss. The
in the back of Waiheke proved to be a
forecast was good, there was some
successful stop, and after a bit of a burley
swish new fishing gear on board as
session we had a tank full just in case.
we set off to Channel Island from Half
On the trip out we saw Brydes whales
Moon Bay early.
and dolphins, but couldn’t find any
www.nzfisher.co.nz 21
likely looking sign on the sounder, so we decided to stick to the plan and head for the horizon. A few miles before we got to Channel we came across some sign that looked promising. ‘Cubura’ jigs, or ‘Sliders’ were the lure of choice, and very quickly a few nice pannies arrived in the boat. Now as I mentioned, winter fishing isn’t our forte, so we basked in the glory of being able to take home a feed of fresh snapper. Next drift things spiced up somewhat, reels screaming, rods loaded… Well, two of us anyway.. It’s funny, there’s always one on board that seems to miss out on the good stuff, this time round I was stoked it wasn’t me!! Poor Graeme felt a little left out of the action, the fish were fantastic at
22 www.nzfisher.co.nz
playing along in the game, only jumping on the hook long enough for him to get excited and then spitting it back out. Meanwhile Josh and I were landing good healthy snapper between eight and 16 pounds. After we had four or five of these ‘big boys’ in the bin, every fish we landed we attempted to release with mixed success. We celebrated as they swam back to the green depths. It’s just such a good feeling being able to let them go to live another day and provide stocks for our future generations. In amongst all the action my little 60 gram Orange ‘Cubura’ got smashed by something big and heavy. After a long slow battle, we
“ Josh and I were landing good healthy snapper between eight and 16 pounds. After we had four or five of these ‘big boys’ in the bin, every fish we landed we attempted to release with mixed success. We celebrated as they swam back to the green depths.” www.nzfisher.co.nz 23
saw some colour – a bit of yellow, a bit of green… Trevally! At 64cm long the biggest any of us had seen. Both hooks on the ‘Cubura’ were nearly completely straightened from the fight. Sashimi all round was the call, too tasty to go. With a few more drifts and 15 healthy snapper on board, we headed to Channel in the hope of finishing the day on a high with kingfish in our sights. Alas, it was not to be and after just a few token casts the call was made to return to our snapper spot for and more fish each before the long trip home. So happy to say, by far the best winter fish we’ve had. Thanks to the kind weather gods, the snappers, Trevor the tasty Trevally, the good folks at Surtees and Yamaha for a comfortable day on the water and finally…. Winter Success at last. ■
24 www.nzfisher.co.nz
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www.nzfisher.co.nz 25
KAYAKFISHING
I Hate Winter Fishing
Sometimes it’s timing, others technique but after a while you get a feel for what’s working and it’s a damned good feeling. By Derrick Paull
26 www.nzfisher.co.nz
“So what now? The world at your feet – what to do? As I said, I don’t like, or don’t trust winter fishing because fish are slow, fickle and a damned pain in the arse to get to bite.”
I FIND AUGUST A terrible fishing
Shakespeare Bay and got our heads in
month in general and more so for lure
the game.
fishing. Cold water, strong, cold winds
The forecast was for a brisk, but warm
and incessant rain interspersed with bitterly cold clear days. Bliss.
nor-wester that appeared a bit more on the west once we hit the water
I’ve been chasing truth this winter
and that complicated situation with
and needed a hit of salt water and
a strong incoming tide frothing the
decided after a chiding from my kayak
water just off the headland into the
guru Stephen Tapp that the Viking
Tiri Channel. Heading out there was
Reload needed to be reloaded onto
sign everywhere – but no decent size
the truck and get its bum wet instead
to it and definitely no snapper lurking
of spending its winter in the rafters
under it.
gathering dust.
The wind picked up significantly and
My paddling buddies Forbes and
caused us to head for the shelter of
Daz were out so I hooked up a ride
the headland and into shallow, weedy
with recent yak convert Orson, and we headed north neither really convinced on the best location as we got on the motorway north. Around
shelves looking likely but extremely barren for the hour or so we needed to hide until the sun came out and the wind died completely.
Constellation Drive we agreed on
www.nzfisher.co.nz 27
KAYAKFISHING
28 www.nzfisher.co.nz
So what now? The world at your feet – what to do? As I said, I don’t like, or don’t trust winter fishing because fish are slow, fickle and a damned pain in the arse to get to bite. The sign on the Lowrance was getting exciting – I’ve become so reliant on the Chirp/Down-scan functions I’m stoked I have it now on the kayak too – but I was struggling to entice a bite. The fish were hugging the bottom hard and did appear to be feeding
“Daz has an annoying way of finding fish when there’s seemingly none around – and he usually looks like he’s not fishing. ”
– but not on what I was offering. I tried standard soft baits, inchicu’s and sinking stick-baits. Nothing.
www.nzfisher.co.nz 29
KAYAKFISHING
“Slow, lazy fisherman catches slow, lazy snapper. Maybe I could come to like winter fishing (for the record, my toes defrosted by the Harbour Bridge on the way home).” So, time for a re-think; as we all do when confronted with these kinds of situations I looked back to experience and recalled one such experience where I got my ass handed to me by Daz on such a rubbish August day a few years back. Daz has an annoying way of finding fish when there’s seemingly none around – and he usually looks like he’s not fishing. This in-fact means that he puts on a fresh soft-bait and casts, lets it sink and does nothing. And I mean nothing. No twitch, no jerk, no lift and check. Nothing but winding the slack in. Until it gets a hit. Which it does because at this time of year snapper are lazy and slow. Which is what I’ve been accusing Daz of being for a long time. But it worked. I slipped on a Savage
30 www.nzfisher.co.nz
swim bait & doused it in Berley mate black-stuff and let it fly. The Savage baits are articulated & the tiniest movement makes them look very much like a wounded baitfish, and you don’t need to move them far – exactly what’s required when you don’t want to out-run your prey. The stink of the Black-Stuff brings them near and the wounded baitfish gets the bite. Less effort, not more.
In the last 30 minutes before dark managed to bag four keepers after three hours in the wind catching nothing. Slow, lazy fisherman catches slow, lazy snapper. Maybe I could come to like winter fishing (for the record, my toes defrosted by the Harbour Bridge on the way home).■
18+ lbs snapper off the rocks.
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READERPICS
>
Alex & Ollie with Alex’s PB snapper a 12.05kg monster
Reader
Pics >
Felicity Anderson with avery nice Pearl Perch from Cairns, on a recent trip
Winner! 32 www.nzfisher.co.nz
>
Mark Cockburn with a PB snapper 5.9kg from Cape Runaway queens birthday weekend this year
>
Ollie Reeves with an early winter Ngongotaha Rainbow.
www.nzfisher.co.nz 33
VIDEOOFTHEMONTH
Gurnard
Where,
How & On What
I love gurnard, for the table rather than on the end of a line. They’re ridiculed for their inability to fight, they’re admired for the stunning beauty of their wings and sought after for their delicious, sweet, delicate fillets.
We took a day out from chasing monsters to fill – check out how we did it, here.
34 www.nzfisher.co.nz
the fry-pan
Competition!
Share an Awesome Photo and Be in to Win!
Composite Developm ents (NZ) Ltd
ments
COMPETITION
Composite Developm ents (NZ
) Ltd
2015
catalogue
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co.nz
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Share an awesome photo this month and be in to WIN a $150 Composite Developments Voucher! Share an awesome photo of you with a fish to our Facebook page, or email it to derrickp@fisher.co.nz by ? and you’ll be in to win an $150 voucher from Composite Developments to spend on anything you like from their 2015 catalogue - click here to view.
This months winner is Felicity Anderson. Felicity has won a $150 Composite Developments voucher, happy spending Felicity! â—?
www.nzfisher.co.nz 35
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