NZ Fisher Issue 35

ISSUE 35

April 2014

Charlie & the Green

Machine

Winterise Your Outboard www.nzfisher.co.nz 1

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Contents 6.. Charlie and the green machine 10.. Inner harbour kings 14.. Islands by fly 18.. Kayak fishing 22.. Outboard engine care 25.. Video of the month 26.. Unfair snapper rules take effect 28.. Reader Pics 31.. Competitons 33.. Last Word

www.nzfisher.co.nz 3

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For news, advice, off ers & a good old laugh , visit us at facebook.c om/borntofishnz

Editorial land was only 29cm, and the majority 26-28cm. OK, no great catch, but for southerners who don’t normally see a snapper, let alone catch one they would have made a great parting gift.

SUMMER HAS PASSED and the leaves are turning bronze, daylight savings have made mornings more bearable and evenings shorter, erasing the memory of warm hazy summer nights. Autumn brings its own challenges, but more so there is the new fishing season to look forward to. Like last month’s livebaiting or big snapper sessions, this month we look forward to pulling big fish out of the shallows.

Coming in close in search of food and building up stores for winter, we lure them in with stinky burley & big baits. If there’s one piece of advice I can offer this month, it’s patience.

Burley up and wait. The fish are hungry and they will come (well, they will if you’ve put yourself in the right place, anyway).

Patience is something I’ve lost with the Ministry of fisheries. This month the reality of the new snapper rules hit home. I took some guests out for a quick fish in the inner harbour, the promise of warm weather and a few table fish was broken when the south-westerly came up and forced us hard against the shore. Sadly the best of the dozen or so fish we did

The new snapper rules meant we couldn’t keep any, but the quick trip to the local countdown for steaks rubbed salt in the wound as there was a display case of sub-30cm snapper for sale at $14.95/kg. I didn’t point it out, but the fact the commercial sector can land and profit from these fish while we cannot catch a feed for our families rubs me the wrong way.

I’m lucky that every month I get to paces where catching a legal snapper is a formality, but I feel for those less fortunate who are now consigned to the supermarket queue to land their kaimoana for the table.

As you read this I’ll be at the Three Kings; hopefully dodging the cyclone and enjoying the best of New Zealand’s sports fishing whilst putting a few mates onto their new PB’s!

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 / Nick Harley ART DIRECTOR / Jodi Olsson CONTENT ENQUIRIES / Phone Derrick on 021 629 327 or email derrickp@NZ Fisher.co.nz ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES / Phone Richard on 09 522 7257 or email richardl@espiremedia.com ADDRESS / NZ Fisher, C/- Espire Media, PO Box 137162, Parnell, Auckland 1151, NZ 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!

I hope you enjoy this issue of NZFisher and get a chance to wet a line while there’s still some warmth in the air Tight lines NZFishers,

Derrick

www.nzfisher.co.nz 5

SPORTFISHING

Charlie & theGreen Machine

Words & Images by Toby Kemp (former skipper of ‘Sanity’ based out of Whitianga)

6 www.nzfisher.co.nz

IT’S BEEN A long time watching and waiting for my children to get to the age where I could teach them to wet a line. Well if I’m a little bit honest, Sophie was four and Charlie was three.

Like most dads we started on the wharf with sabiki’s catching whatever we could, blennies, yellow eyed mullet and maccies. Little did the children know at that age how important the humble mackerel would be to their future fishing endeavours.

What wharf fishing did do was get them ready for boat fishing. It gave them the chance to get the get to grips with the use of the gear and when they got bored they could run around and discover the delights of being a wharf rat.

Once I was happy that they wouldn’t fall in on purpose, we started going out in the boats up the estuary and then out to sea. Sophie slowly drifted away from fishing but my boy just picked up that passion worse than me; no that’s not quite true, I’m pretty bad to be fair!

Either way, it was a delight when he saved his pocket money and turned up one day with his bright yellow rod and sabiki set. “Ya ready dad?

Let’s go maccie hunting!”

Not surprisingly, that first rod didn’t last long; Charlie had the same habits as a lot of men, pull it to bits, see how it works and stuff it up trying to reassemble it. Finally Charlie got his skill levels up and understood that the waves weren’t going to sink sanity and we spent many an hour fine tuning his technique on the humble kahawai that were only too happy to assist. I had been running a charter boat so I had plenty of better gear and I was confident Charlie wouldn’t damage it so after a few months of him pestering me to teach him to catch kingfish I decided it was time to take the plunge. We were lucky to have large schools of mackerel at our front door and where there’s bait, there’s predators. www.nzfisher.co.nz 7

SPORTFISHING

To be honest I have never been so proud of how he fought that fish; line on, line off and he followed my instructions like a pro, he got line back when he had to and let the fish run when it wanted

We had many kingfish get stuck in the sabiki rigs which gave him one hell of a fright as line emptied off the spool, but at seven he got brave and stopped handing the rod over and started giving it a crack.

There was a lot of disappointment, which was great; it fed the passion.

Seeing confidence and skill grow in my boy was just priceless. The time had come, it was time to introduce Charlie to the art of slow trolling. My instructions were simple, “Just leave it in the rod holder and wait until the line screamed off” and his response, comically simple “Is that all, Dad?” I had to explain it is a fairly technical form of fishing, to which he retorts: “That’s boring!”

Out of the blue the line started screaming off, Charlie was up like a flash onto the chilly bin and back into the boat in the safe place we had talked about before-hand. I did the drag up to 2kg or so and he went about patiently waiting for me to turn the boat around to chase it and got enough line back for me to be comfortable that if there was a big run we wouldn’t get spooled.

To be honest I have never been so proud of how he fought that fish; line on, line off and he followed my instructions like a pro, he got line back when he had to and let the fish run when it wanted. He just instinctively knew to brace himself when it pulled him too close to the side, sat on the chilly bin when he needed a rest. Slowly the runs got smaller and the fish started to tire out. Charlie’s first complaint was a winner - “Dad, my nuts are sore”... golly, the things kids say!

I fitted a belt to protect the lineage and he went about getting the fish up. It was pure gold!

Slowly and methodically he raised the fish up and after a 15 minute fight he had his first kingfish boat side. And to be fair, it wasn’t half bad! At about 13kg, this was a solid fish.

There was time for a couple of quick photos and one of the most important things you can teach a kid, release. Charlie had no trouble One of the things Charlie had developed was letting the fish go and once it had slipped patience, he had done enough fishing with into the water and off into the murkiness me now to know that fish don’t just jump on below it was time for high fives and a little your line, so he sat and waited patiently while celebratory music!

I drove around the maccie schools waiting “Wanna do it again son?” (Not a question for a bite. It didn’t take long, the fish were I expected a negative to) “Mmmm maybe hungry! The Yeehaa 704 rod and the EXO tomorrow Dad.” 30 combo was nice and light and perfectly matched for his size, I was running 5kg braid Since then he’s caught more kings, plenty of so he could really feel everything the kingfish rats which give him the run around, but none like the first, it’s such a special occasion for did but not put too much hurt on his skinny both father and son and I can tell you he’s got little arms; I didn’t want to put him off, that the bug ‘reel’ bad! • would be a big mistake.

8 www.nzfisher.co.nz

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LANDBASEDFISHING

Inner Harbour Kings Words & Images by Rohann Dobbin.

Rohann is a member of the North Shore Surfcasting club and lives on the North Shore

10 www.nzfisher.co.nz

I’VE BEEN TRYING to land that elusive first LBG kingfish for some years now. Well a legal one at least, so this morning started out the same as many others. But today I was sure something was going to be different. I just had to go.

I’ve always been a fan of fishing with your feet first and with the Auckland Harbour less than five minutes from my home on the North Shore it’s an easy option just to wet a line when a trip further afield is not on the cards, or in the evenings after work in summer. It can have its moments but also offers a good variety and challenge to most angling forms.

Sunday morning had dawned clear and calm, I had been out to dinner with a couple of good friends the night before so was suffering a little. It had been a restless sleep anyway, so with something on my mind and some indecision I finally rose around 6am. It was still dark, just prior to the daylights savings switch and I knew I had a good hour until the light really came up. I didn’t complete my usual routine of toast and coffee, instead I just wandered down to the shed, grabbed my gear, and walked to the truck. Soon after I was at

my spot and on my feet commencing the short walk to my spot. As I wandered along I decided to stop about a hundred yards short of where I normally fish.

I’ve fished this little rock wall come break water many times and felt comfortable the tide was an hour off high water, so the only real concern was any boats going past providing me with a wake that might lap up dampen things a bit. I was pleased that they were largely absent around my arrival time and few were looking to launch.

I readied my gear, the sun climbing over the city, impressive as always with the warm glow of the new day. Soon after I got a bit of burley in the water with small splashes in close indicating that there was good quantities of bait fish about. In short order I had three small kahawai in the bucket.

Minutes later two were out; one on my heavy 24kg set up with 80lb leader under a balloon and set in close where I know the structure falls away and the other well out on my still rather new 14’ Any Fish Any Where Six and Bait Rod as a slide bait. I’d decided recently to drop the line weight for my slides from 15kg to 10kg www.nzfisher.co.nz 11

LANDBASEDFISHING gaining a little distance when casting, plus I liked the added capacity on the bait runner spool. The business end was 1.5 meters of 60lb fluro and a 10/0 Mustard live bait hook.

Once these were out I had spent twenty or so minutes casting my stick bait about before I noticed that the first of my small Kahawai had expired. I guess pulling around all that heavy gear didn’t agree with this one. No matter, I had a spare and going back to the bucket I found the last of the three had also carked it.

I cursed myself a little for not changing the water or for checking on it more regularly.

It took a few minutes for the baitfish to reappear, this time it was some really impressive Jack Macks on my little 3kg spin rod who were putting up good accounts for themselves. I had two in the bucket and one back under the balloon now. To be honest I got preoccupied with them and hadn’t even looked at the other rod in some time.

12 www.nzfisher.co.nz

...the rod was fully bent and going for it. I’m not quite sure how fast I moved to secure it but instinct took over and the rod was soon out of the holder and squarely in my grasp – the fish definitely hooked.

When my attention finally moved from the swarm in front of me, it wasn’t due to my eyes but my ears as the bait runner’s drag screeched into life, the rod was fully bent and going for it. I’m not quite sure how fast I moved to secure it but instinct took over and the rod was soon out of the holder and squarely in my grasp – the fish definitely hooked.

The fish had gone well out on the first run and I had a long way to bring it back, the 1200D was performing well and I was soon into my work. The 10kg line was coming back and going just as fast sometimes I just had to let the runs go for fear of too much pressure ending the fight prematurely.

I looked at my watch just on 8.30am and I was already well into the fight. Thoughts were running through my head, was it a Ray? Was it Bronzie? Could it be… it was a good 15 minutes before it came close enough for me to really start to control its path. I still had the other live bait out and was very cautious to keep it well away from this.

I still hadn’t seen the fish and I now guessed it was no more than twenty meters out and it was heading for the shallows, this was it, it was coming up I thought, but no, its head went down and another run ensued much shorter and with less power. I leaned back into it again and quickly recovered the line, back within twenty meters then ten. This time the long outline of the fish broke the surface, green and silver with that golden sickle at the back - it was a king!

The fish then decided to cooperate and a few moments later with the fish worn completely down I guided its head into a couple of rocks.

With no chance of turning I simply grabbed it by the tail and dragged it clear of the water.

It was time to rejoice! It was certainly legal and a solid fish at that. Someone must have been watching as I heard some clapping and words of encouragement probably not fit for print yelled out. I’m not quite sure if they were simply responding to my whooping or not.

Once weighed and measured it was 11.2kg and 101cm. A very proud moment indeed to tick this off the list. I was home by 10am and even had time to stop off with the intent to show it off to my relatives, they weren’t home though!

In the end that was that and the rest is history as they say. I’m already looking.•

www.nzfisher.co.nz 13

SALTWATERFLYFISHING

Islands

by Fly

14 www.nzfisher.co.nz

By Matthew ‘Matto’ von Sturmer

I’VE BEEN TRYING to land that elusive first LBG kingfish for some years now. Well a legal one at least, so this morning started out the same as many others. But today I was sure something was going to be different. I just had to go.

I’ve always been a fan of fishing with your feet first and with the Auckland Harbour less than five minutes from my home on the North Shore it’s an easy option just to wet a line when a trip further afield is not on the cards, or in the evenings after work in summer. It can have its moments but also offers a good variety and challenge to most angling forms.

Sunday morning had dawned clear and calm, I had been out to dinner with a couple of good friends the night before so was suffering a little. It had been a restless sleep anyway, so with something on my mind and some indecision I finally rose around 6am. It was still dark, just prior to the daylights savings switch and I knew I had a good hour until the light really came up. I didn’t complete my usual routine of toast and coffee, instead I just wandered down to the shed, grabbed my gear, and walked to the truck. Soon after I was at my spot and on my feet commencing the short walk to my spot. As I wandered along I decided to stop about a hundred yards short of where I normally fish.

I’ve fished this little rock wall come break water many times and felt comfortable the tide was an hour off high water, so the only real concern was any boats going past providing me with a wake that might lap up dampen things a bit. I was pleased that they were largely absent around my arrival time and few were looking to launch. www.nzfisher.co.nz 15

SALTWATERFLYFISHING I readied my gear, the sun climbing over the city, impressive as always with the warm glow of the new day. Soon after I got a bit of burley in the water with small splashes in close indicating that there was good quantities of bait fish about. In short order I had three small kahawai in the bucket.

Minutes later two were out; one on my heavy 24kg set up with 80lb leader under a balloon and set in close where I know the structure falls away and the other well out on my still rather new 14’ Any Fish Any Where Six and Bait Rod as a slide bait. I’d decided recently to drop the line weight for my slides from 15kg to 10kg gaining a little distance when casting, plus I liked the added capacity on the bait runner spool. The business end was 1.5 meters of 60lb fluro and a 10/0 Mustard live bait hook.

Once these were out I had spent twenty or so minutes casting my stick bait about before I noticed that the first of my small Kahawai had expired. I guess pulling around all that heavy gear didn’t agree with this one. No matter, I had a spare and going back to the bucket I 16 www.nzfisher.co.nz

found the last of the three had also carked it.

I cursed myself a little for not changing the water or for checking on it more regularly.

It took a few minutes for the baitfish to reappear, this time it was some really impressive Jack Macks on my little 3kg spin rod who were putting up good accounts for themselves. I had two in the bucket and one back under the balloon now. To be honest I got pre occupied with them and hadn’t even looked at the other rod in some time.

When my attention finally moved from the swarm in front of me, it wasn’t due to my eyes but my ears as the bait runner’s drag screeched into life, the rod was fully bent and going for it. I’m not quite sure how fast I moved to secure it but instinct took over and the rod was soon out of the holder and squarely in my grasp – the fish definitely hooked.

The fish had gone well out on the first run and I had a long way to bring it back, the 1200D was performing well and I was soon into my work. The10kg line was coming back and going just as fast sometimes I just had to

and quickly recovered the line, back within twenty meters then ten. This time the long outline of the fish broke the surface, green and silver with that golden sickle at the back - it was a king!

let the runs go for fear of too much pressure ending the fight prematurely.

I looked at my watch just on 8.30am and I was already well into the fight. Thoughts were running through my head, was it a Ray? Was it Bronzie? Could it be… It was a good 15 minutes before it came close enough for me to really start to control its path. I still had the other live bait out and was very cautious to keep it well away from this.

I still hadn’t seen the fish and I now guessed it was no more than twenty meters out and it was heading for the shallows, this was it, it was coming up I thought, but no, its head went down and another run ensued much shorter and with less power. I leaned back into it again

The fish then decided to cooperate and a few moments later with the fish worn completely down I guided its head into a couple of rocks.

With no chance of turning I simply grabbed it by the tail and dragged it clear of the water.

It was time to rejoice! It was certainly legal and a solid fish at that. Someone must have been watching as I heard some clapping and words of encouragement probably not fit for print yelled out. I’m not quite sure if they were simply responding to my whooping or not.

Once weighed and measured it was 11.2kg and 101cm. A very proud moment indeed to tick this off the list. I was home by 10am and even had time to stop off with the intent to show it off to my relatives, they weren’t home though!

In the end that was that and the rest is history as they say. I’m already looking forward to the next one that comes my way from the shore, I just hope it’s not as long a wait next time! • www.nzfisher.co.nz 17

KAYAKFISHING This pic taken on a recent trip to Mahurangi with my Camera boom mounted much the same as the new configuration which allows me to paddle alongside the subject and keep my kayak out of frame

Going

Digital

Yak

with your

By Jason Milne. Jason Milne is a Kayak fishing video specialist on the Viking Kayaks and RAILBLAZA Team. You can find Jasons blog at www.paddleguy.com

18 www.nzfisher.co.nz

egory winning Kingfish Stephen Tapp with a cat anaki Competition from a previous years Tar

ON THE EVE OF my drive south to join the Viking Kayak fishing teams at the Taranaki Kayak fishing classic, I find myself at the RAILBLAZA factory putting some final touches to my camera configuration. My job on this trip is to paddle myself and camera gear around after a select group of the Viking kayak fishing teams as they head off in search of some of Taranaki’s big fish!

The teams are in full competition mode so I need to have my cameras mounted and ready to switch on as soon as they get into the action, as they are not going to wait for me just in case that delay spoils the chance of them landing a competition winning fish.

When you are both driving the kayak and the cameras, one of the biggest issues is keeping in prime position to ensure you both catch the action and do it in a way that it does not affect the angler as he or she plays the fish. Based on previous trips I think I have the answer to enable me to capture the key footage un-interrupted and it all comes down to the versatility of the RAILBLAZA system.

I will be running 4 GoPro cameras and my Nikon D5200 from my Viking Profish Reload which has several StarPorts mounted to it to allow for re positioning of my cameras.

I have set up two camera arms which will allow me to catch the subject on one of three GoPros while maintaining complete control of my kayak’s positioning.

The positioning of the booms is critical to get right so that my paddle stroke is out of frame of the wide angled GoPro lens, equally important is ensuring the boom is stable so as to keep the footage as smooth as possible in this environment. I am going to achieve this with the following set up which allows me to film from either side of the kayak so I can just catch the action as it rolls rather than either re-positioning myself or asking the angler to reposition for the best camera angle.

RIGHT HAND SIDE OPTION

I have mounted the Boom 600 to a StarPort on the Tackle pod which then points directly forward. To ensure the camera angle does not capture my kayak in frame I have added and adjustable Extender to keep the platform just that little bit further out. Mounted to this boom are two GoPros both pointing in the same direction, one filming in 1080hd the other filming in a higher frames per second rate so I can capture smooth slow motion sequences. This is stabilised using a fixed extender and G-hold 35mm. www.nzfisher.co.nz 19

KAYAKFISHING LEFT HAND SIDE

A similar set up with the same stabilizer except this side I have use the Telepole 1000 which extends a lot further than the boom 600 meaning I have no need for an adjustable extender to give my frame clearance.

This platform will only have one GoPro set to film at 1080HD, and if for some reason I need to film mostly from the left side I can simply move the second camera on the right hand side with the higher FPS setting to this platform.

My number four GoPro will be mounted to either an extension pole or the Boom 150 and will be my go to camera for under water shots. Using the Rail Mount 31-42mm mounted to the side handle of the Profish Reload I can easily plug the Boom 150 into that and angle the whole mount so the camera is filming on the surface or under.

Talk about options galore! All these configurations can also be used to film myself if I decide to drop a line while the others are quiet. Which inevitably leads to one of them hooking up just as I settle in!

I look forward to sharing the results of this footage. Be sure to head over to my YouTube channel and subscribe so you can get an update once I have uploaded the video. • 20 www.nzfisher.co.nz

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PROTECTINGYOURGEAR

Outboard

Engine

Care Getting ready for winter

AUTUMN IS MY FAVOURITE time of year.

Long periods of settled weather and the fish are usually hungry. Most of my best fish have been caught in Autumn. But Autumn also means that winter is round the corner. Cold, stormy and fishless days are somewhat less appealing and the boat often doesn’t get the use it deserves.

Outboard engines are made to be used; without frequent use internal seals can dry out, non-compatible fluids can mix, and machined surfaces may be prone to deterioration. With these costly problems a potential issue for the upcoming winter, NZFisher spoke to Adrian Bodley at Honda Marine about what you can do to prepare your outboard for a period on the bench. Adrian recommends always reading your owners manual as each manufacturer will advise the best care for their engines. However some common maintenance tips can apply.

22 www.nzfisher.co.nz

DON’T STOP USING YOUR OUTBOARD

Run your engine at least once a month. If you are unable to get out on the water and give your engine a run, at least give your engine a run up in the driveway once a month. No need to rev it, let the temperatures and pressures build up in a normal manner.

Ensure you have a good water supply (if not submerge the engine in a drum if possible) and run it for at least five minutes; this should allow the thermostats to fully open.

If you are using your engine in a salt water environment it is recommended to use one of the salt removal additives after each use, at the end of the engine flush to ensure that all of the outboards cooling system galleries are cleared of salt crystals.

BEWARE OF STALE FUEL

Petrol goes off and become stale after about four to six weeks. Not only does its octane rating reduce, providing less power, but using it can also be bad for your engine.

When an engine is left standing with stale fuel, a varnish like deposit can build up in the engine’s internal fuel delivery system.

Think of this as similar to a coronary blockage leading to a heart attack! This can lead to hard starting and idling difficulty.

If you are using a portable style tote tank you can disconnect the fuel line when you have finished flushing and let the engine idle and run until it cuts out.. This will help to reduce the potential of your engine from being exposed to stale fuel. You can easily use the fuel in your car (provided it is has a petrol engine and not diesel) before it goes off assuming your outboard is a 4 stroke engine.

If however you have an under floor fuel tank, odds are you probably have a couple of hundred dollars sloshing round in it. And more than likely you are unable to easily disconnect the fuel line from your engine.

In this case simply drain the fuel from the carburettor bowls and if your engine is a fuel injected engine, drain the engines fuel vapour separator.

You will need to refer to the Owner’s Manual in the storage section on how to do this. A fuel

stabiliser can help to preserve the fuel in your fuel tank over the winter months. There are a number of products available as “STA-BIL Fuel Stabiliser.” This will help keep the fuel in your tank fresh over the winter months until you are ready to use it again. It also pays to fill your tank up before you leave it over winter.

This reduces the tendency of accumulation in condensation in your boat’s fuel tank.

GIVE YOUR ENGINE A ONCE OVER

After every usage it pays to give your engine a clean and check for any obvious problems.

After washing the outside of the engine with a sponge and some soapy water, take the cowling off and give the whole engine a spray with a product like WD-40. Be careful not to directly spray the alternator, fan belt or cambelt areas. These should be kept dry and free of oil or water.

While you are doing this look around the engine for any oil or water leaks and check for splits, perished or poorly secured hoses.

Check the visual condition of the fuel lines too. Additionally have a look around the gear box area near the propeller for oil leaks. Also check your propeller for chips, cracks or any uneven wear or misshapenness.

Aside from poor performance, propeller damage can cause an increase in vibration levels and much greater problems to www.nzfisher.co.nz 23

bearings and the gear box. Finally, store your engine in the vertical position. This ensures that engine fluids settle to where they should be and that residual water drains out of the cooling system.

Seized mechanical steering is a common problem after not using your outboard over winter. Extend the steering arm and give it a spray with WD-40, then turn the steering back and forth a few times. This will help keep the grease moist in the steering tube. It may also pay to loosen the nut on the other end, being the steering cable attachment nut, and apply some oil into the cable and tilt tube before retightening.

While you are conducting all these checks you might as well give your trailer the once over too. Give your trailer winch a spray with WD40, this will stop any rust from setting in. Also apply some grease to the gears of the winch.

Check your tyre pressure to ensure they don’t go completely flat and result in damage without you noticing. It also pays to chock your wheels so you don’t have to leave the trailer brakes engaged (they can become seized over winter due to a lack of use and when you go to use your boat next they could be seized in the on position making movement of the boat very difficult).

While we are talking about wheels, the wheel bearings generally need to be repacked with grease every four to five years. This usually isn’t part of a standard service so it pays to arrange to have this done. If you have ever had a wheel fall off your trailer when you are in a remote place you’ll know that it’s worth avoiding.

24 www.nzfisher.co.nz

FOG IT UP

Corrosion of internal engine component surfaces, is a risk of not using your outboard over winter months. To avoid this, these internal surfaces need to be coated with oil as a form of protection. This process is known as ‘fogging up’ your engine. This naturally occurs when an engine is regularly used. Another good reason to run your engine every month, However if it is intended to leave an engine sitting dormant for several months fogging up the engine is a good practise. Your local Marine dealer will be able to assist you to Winterise your engine.

CHARGED UP

Over the months keep your battery full charged. Without use, batteries are affected by voltage leakage and lose voltage when not in use. So over winter keep your battery in good condition fully charged and topped up with fluid. This will help to extend the life of the battery as well.

GET IT CHECKED

Winter is the best time to get your engine serviced. This is the quietest time of year for the service centres, so your engine will be seen to quickly. Some service centres also offer a discounted rate for getting your engine serviced at this time of year. The service centre will also pick up any problems, replace fuel filters and circulate fresh oil around the engine, coating the engine’s surfaces and avoiding the potential for corrosion to develop when not used over winter. Ask you service dealer to winterise you engine for you. This way you’ll also know that your boat is ready to go for when the weather starts to warm up.•

Video

FISHINGVIDEO’S

of the

Month

s ears prime specie Brod Whittaker sp om aters. He hunts fr in South African w ep. to the dark and de beneath the waves s A TASTE. Track hi ST JU IS IS TH T U B with a eedive adventures fr d an ng hi is rf spea k. te video every wee da to up ng pi ip new, gr nd what fish are arou If you want to know website here. have a look at his

And for so mething r eally cool, check out Broderick s Whale S feeding vid hark eo here – a li tt le mind blow bit ing!

www.nzfisher.co.nz 25

Unfair Snapper Rules Take Effect

By Legasea. LegaSea promotes fisheries management practices that will allow for ‘more fish in the water’. www.legasea.co.nz

RECREATIONAL FISHING ADVOCACY group

eastern Bay of Plenty. Commercial fishers can

LegaSea is calling on amateur fishers to

still take 25cm snapper and their total catch

comply with the new snapper bag and size

limit remains unchanged at 4500 tonnes.

limits that will came into effect on April Fool’s

Richard Baker, spokesperson for LegaSea

day, even though many believe they are unfair.

says, “Many recreational fishers are concerned

From April 1st the individual snapper daily bag

the measures they are being asked to take

limit dropped to seven, down from nine each.

will simply not achieve conservation and

The minimum legal size also increased from

enhancement of the fishery, especially when

27 to 30 centimetres. These new recreational

the fish they throw back may die or can be

limits apply between North Cape and the

harvested by the fishing industry”.

26 www.nzfisher.co.nz

“There is no evidence of any meaningful changes to commercial behaviour. The same trawlers responsible for high juvenile and bycatch rates are still ploughing the snapper fishery”, continues Mr Baker.

As a long time rock fisherman, Baker acknowledges shore-based and harbour fishers will be most affected because there are more small fish inshore.

“Shore based fishers usually catch small snapper, and often rely on taking those fish home for a feed at the end of the day.

“These are the people who are wondering why it’s okay for people to buy and eat snapper between 25 and 30cm but it’s not okay for New Zealanders to catch them to take home. In many overseas countries, including Australia, these tiny snapper are not permitted to be taken from their own waters.”

Snapper stocks in the Bay of Plenty are considered to be severely depleted and the new regulations will hit locals hard.

While recreational fishers do not deliberately target small fish, concerns are high that snapper returned to the water may be mortally wounded, creating unnecessary waste.

Adam El-Agez is based in Mount Maunganui and was the LegaSea spokesperson during last year’s Save Our Snapper campaign.

“Last year LegaSea highlighted issues around how many fish were being wasted, dumped

Parents who take their children fishing from the shore are struggling to explain why the baby snapper they saw in the supermarket last week is okay to eat, but the one on the end of their line is not all right. and discarded by the commercial fleet.

Some locals are disgusted at having to limit their take-home catch when they can see commercial trawling and the Danish seine fleet from their kitchen window.

“What’s more, there has been no change to the bulk harvesting methods that legally slaughter millions of juvenile snapper under 25cm only to get shovelled back into the sea. These fish are not accounted for in the quota system”, continues El-Agez.

Parents who take their children fishing from the shore are struggling to explain why the baby snapper they saw in the supermarket last week is okay to eat, but the one on the end of their line is not all right.

LegaSea is advising families to learn new fishing and handling techniques to improve the survival rate of snapper less than 30 cm they will have to return to the water after 1 April 2014.•

www.nzfisher.co.nz 27

READERPICS

Mia Taylor & her new PB snapper

Chris Ryan with a 17kg Doubtless Bay King caught on an accidental livey, that had eaten a popper!

28 www.nzfisher.co.nz Leanne Dixon fishing the world Off-Shore Champs with a solid 25lb Mahimahi (Dolphin) on day one

READERPICS

Neil Hertzel with a smokin SW Fly caught gulf kingfish

Jaques Taylor with a HUGE northland Cray his dad caught

Winner!

Mia Taylors half snapper, held by Jaques. A blue shark got the rest!

www.nzfisher.co.nz 29

Paul Armishaw with his new PB, a 17kg Maitai Bay king

READERPICS

Michael Jenkins with a fresh softbait caught, gulf snapper Image: Paul Smith

Rhys Hambridge-Johnson &52lb king

Rhys Hambridge-Johnson &52lb king

30 www.nzfisher.co.nz

COMPETITIONS

Competitions!

Reader Pics Competition

Share an awesome photo this month and be in to WIN a $50 GoFish Voucher!

Share an awesome photo of you with a fish to our Facebook page, or email it to leanner@espiremedia.com by 10 May and you’ll be in to win a $50 voucher for www.gofish.co.nz.

This month’s winner is Mia Taylor for her ‘Half Snapper’. Mia has won a Trip on board Diversity thanks to Damo and the team at Charter Connections.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 31

WIN with

Honda Marine

THANKS TO HONDA MARINE we’re bringing you our freshest competition yet. We’re giving away a Honda Marine IceyTeck 70 litre Chilly bin and two Hutchwilco ‘Honda Marine’ inflatable Lifejackets! This is a prize that will keep your fish fresh and your whanau safe.

The next winner will be announced in our April issue so make sure you, your whanau and your friends subscribed this month!

Subscribe at www.nzfisher.co.nz •

All you need to do is be a subscriber to NZ Fisher and you will be automatically in the draw to win!

This month’s winner is Justin Weck!

TERMS AND CONDITIONS Winner/s must email leanner@espiremedia.com within 14 days of publication to claim their prize. Competitions are only open to NZ residents residing within NZ. One entry per person for each competition. Prize pack product/s may vary from pictures. Prize/s not exchangeable or redeemable for cash. Winner/s will be selected at random and no discussion will be entered into after the draw. Winner/s will be announced in NZ Fisher e-publication. If winner/s fail to make contact within the claim period, Espire Media may redraw the prize. Secondary winner/s will be announced on the NZ Fisher Facebook page. Prizes must be collected by the winner unless courier delivery is specifically offered by the sponsor as part of the competition. Your contact details will not be given to any third party, except for the purposes of delivering a prize.

32 www.nzfisher.co.nz

In the next issue: - Protect your boat from the elements - The Honda BF80 & BF100 are launched - Three Kings in a Cyclone. How bad could it be?

Have you subscribed to NZ Fisher? It’s free!

Simply visit www.nzfisher.co.nz to get a copy of NZ Fisher delivered straight to your inbox every month!

www.nzfisher.co.nz 33