NZ Fisher Issue 42

ISSUE 42

December 2014

Top

Water Kings Do a

Little

Jig

www.nzfisher.co.nz

www.nzfisher.co.nz 1

Live and breathe boating?

Introducing the new Honda BF80 and BF100.

“

“

Since I’ve changed to a Honda outboard I’ve experienced considerable fuel savings across the rev range. I can’t believe how quiet the engine is and the performance is outstanding. I have to say “I love my Honda.”

- Graeme Sinclair

Call for a quote, you will be amazed at Honda’s value!

Freephone 0800 478 765 or visit www.hondamarine.co.nz.

Contents 6.. Top Water Kings 12.. Do a little jig 17.. Recipe: Lime Panko Crumbed Snapper

ABOUT / Short and sharp, NZ Fisher is a free e-magazine delivering thought provoking and enlightening articles, and industry news and information to forward-thinking fisher people.

EDITOR / Derrick Paull GROUP EDITOR / Richard Liew

18.. Winter Fishing Taupo Streams 20.. There’s Always

Something New

Out There

ART DIRECTOR / Jodi Olsson CONTENT ENQUIRIES / Phone Derrick on 021 629 327 or email derrickp@NZ Fisher.co.nz ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES / Phone Jennifer on 09 522 7257 or email jenniferl@espiremedia.com ADDRESS / NZ Fisher,

22.. Legasea December Update 25.. Video of the Month 26.. Reader Pics

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!

28.. ‘EPIC’ Snapper Session on the Hauraki Gulf 30.. Competitions

Cover image: Mark Starns with his PB trev (and first on a Slow Pitch)

www.nzfisher.co.nz 3

Editorial I FEEL LIKE A scratched record – when will the wind end?! The wee gaps in the weather have provided some pretty hot fishing for those keen enough to trust the forecast, but those days are few and far between. In October we headed out on two separate days; the forecast predicted a dropping wind, or at least staying stable, but on both occasions the wind came up – and hard. I know we can’t complain about forces of nature, but ye gods it’s frustrating when you spent the time, money and effort to get on the water and get blown away before you even get the burley flowing.

I wish there was a quick fix, but really in both cases it was a matter of making the best of a bad situation. That’s fishing I guess. The NZFisher team are heading north for a few days on the water this month and the anticipation is growing by the day. I’ve been keeping an eye on Jason ‘Fish whisperer’ Neute’s travels out in the Far North with Swordfish Steve. They’re compelling viewing; why would we live in the city with a location like that just a couple of hours north?!

Can’t say I’ll be sad looking at the Harbour Bridge in my rear view mirror! This trip is about feeding the family − a pre-Christmas stock-up of snapper − well received after a lean spring. I’m feeling half guilty about heading away with a full bin in mind; it’s been a few years of ‘limit your catch not catch your limit’ that’s done it to me, but I can’t help it. I spend so much time defending our pastime I can’t shake the feeling it’s not ok to actually take my share every now and again.

With a reduced bag of 7 fish per day, I’ll still have a bunch of fish and a very happy family. The end

justifies the means, and that means I get to fish HARD for two days! We’ll be up in the North again over Christmas and New Years’ once again.

While we’ll be after some kai moana, our hunts will be more likely be for quarry that doesn’t swim away – pipi, tuatua, scallops and crays – and a few trevs from the schools we see around rocky headlands. If you’re heading away there’s always a chance to get some fish but it’s traditionally a hard time of year. If you don’t get lucky, do think outside the square and enjoy some of the finest seafood in the world; it’ll be buried in the sand at the beach, sitting on top of it in the sheltered bays or hiding under rocks on reefs.

Leave your rods in the caravan and strap your snorkel on and hunt something new! As it’s Christmas, we want to give some gifts of our own. If you do land a nice fish, get a good haul of scallops or crays, take a pic and send them through to derrickp@nzfisher.co.nz to be in the draw for a $150 Okuma Fishing Tackle Voucher.

There’ll be one drawn again in January – and I want to see some great fish! Drive safe, be safe on the water and have a great Christmas Break.

We look forward to entertaining you again in the New Year.

Derrick

www.nzfisher.co.nz 5

SPORTFISHING

Top

Water

Kings Making it work on less than a grand

By Derrick Paull

6 www.nzfisher.co.nz

I HAD A DAY ON the water off the coast

So, what’s the solution? Thankfully there are

of Mayor Island in December 2010 that

a whole range of new, high quality well priced

changed my life. I saw, for the first time, 25

options out there that will cast the baits, lure

kingfish in the 15 to 20kg range erupt and

the fish and handle the fight. I’m not a big

chase a stick-bait I’d just hoofed out the back

fan of multi-purposing with tackle, but there

of the boat. I’d hooked plenty of kings on

are even a few combos that can be utilised for

jigs, which was a revolution in itself! But this

other tasks like stray-lining big snapper, land-

was different, so visual and so brutal and so

based casting or live baiting.

adrenaline pumping I will never forget or

First of all, figure out where you’ll be doing

give up chasing the same buzz again. Like a

most of your fishing. There’s no point getting

drug, I need more, more, more!

an 80lb set-up if you’ll be using 60gm baits

The problem is, of course that there’s such a small window on a weekend and the weather plays a big part in whether there’s a chance to flick stick-baits at marauders over reefs, around headlands or chasing bait schools in bays. So, with such a limited timeframe, it’s hard to justify the high-end gear that, while perfect for the task of chucking lumps of wood and plastic then landing the hoodlums that smack them in anger or greed.

at 10kg midgets under harbour boys and vice versa (That’ll be very expensive!). So we’ve created a bit of a pick-list for 30, 50 & 80lb sets that might just about do it for you, on a budget of under $1000 including braid and a starter kit of stick baits.

They’re not out yet, but after my recent Malaysia trip, I’ve fallen in love with the all new Okuma Salina II series of reels. These guys are nuggety, have drags to stop rhinos and remain incredibly smooth after heavy

It’s not only the rods and reels, but the

battles. I’m going to run a set of these

stick-baits themselves can get the foo-foo

when they become available in February

valve pinching with each cast as you fear the

(sorry to be such a tease) as they’re a really

chance of a wind-knot or worse and you see

economical way of putting quality gear

it flying away, half a week’s wages drifting to

in newbies hands too. For a little insight,

Davey-Jones’ locker.

check this video at iCast 2014.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 7

SPORTFISHING

Below we look at the 30lb (PE3), 50lb (PE5) and 80lb (PE8) sets we can recommend, based on our own experiences.

PE 3 SET: OKUMA SALINA 2 5000 & OKUMA X-FACTOR 1PC 7’0 SPIN 6-10KG ($498.00 rrp) I get as much joy fishing for just legal kings on this set-up in the harbour shallows and channels as I do much heavier gear fish heavyweight hoodlums on the reefs. You can flick a 40 gram (or smaller) lure all

Okuma Salina

day with these combos and the fights can be sensational!

The Salina II comes in a range of sizes, but

cannot advise using high end stick-baits and

for the 30lb, or PE3 class, I’d suggest the

poppers – but if you’re over a sandy bottom,

Size 50. It’ll be light to hold, have plenty

in decent depth and have plenty of time – go

of drag but be nimble enough you can cast

for it! If not, there are a number of options at

the small, lightweight baits you’ll need to

most tackle stores, but try these for starters:

flick around the buoys, piles and in-shore reefs. This set works well for sinking baits at

Duel lipless minnow

snapper too – don’t think these are exclusively kingfish rigs ;).

You’ll also need high quality braid (we suggest you speak to your local retailer for the best options) of 30lbs or there about and some

Or the Starwalker Z sinking baits

strong, hardy, but pliable leader.

These are both injection moulded, plastic

Be it nylon or fluorocarbon

lures with through-wires. They’ll stand a

connected with a PR or FG knot

beating and are unlikely to let you down in

(Check You-Tube if you need

the heat of battle. They both swim nicely,

advice on these knots) it needs to

especially slowly and are easy to get good

be about 2 metres long.

action, even from beginners. The smaller

I love these light weight sets, in the

kings often chase big stick baits, but don’t

right environment you can land

bite. They will hit these baits more often

just about any fish, but be prepared

as they directly re-create the prey they’re

to lose a lot too. For this reason I

chasing (Yellowtail-macks and pilchards).

X-Factor Rod

8 www.nzfisher.co.nz

PE 5 SET: DAIWA SALTIST 4500 & DAIWA SALTIST 7 FOOT CASTING ROD ($749 RRP)

Saltist 4500

I’ve used this combo extensively on bigger fish around the Hauraki Gulf and North of the country on kingfish, kahawai & the odd trevally. It’s a versatile, mid weight combo with the potential to land record fish but the flexibility to use over a range of scenarios. The rod is a touch stiff for 100 gram lures but that doesn’t mean you can’t use them, you just have to work harder to get them swimming right. Using a wooden stick bait with this combo (they tend to be more expensive, but

gm Hitter ‘Aurora’ stick baits from the team at Assassin Sport Fishing. They are close imitators of some of the best stick-baits in the market, but at a fraction of the cost they’re worth every cent. They’re still handmade and stand up to serious punishment. If you’re new to stick baiting, check out the Assassin guy’s very useful instructional video here. It’ll fill in a few blanks and helps understand the best way to fish their baits.

I’ve got mine spooled with 50lb (PE5) TuffLine Supercast – it’s designed specifically for casting and has a low occurrence of wind knots or other casting issues. There are a multitude braided lines on the market, but you need to be a bit careful which you choose – if it’s not designed for casting you might find you’re losing lures through aborted casts or worse, through wind knots breaking during a fight. Again, consult your local tackle experts, they know there stuff.

When you get to this level, you’ll really need to be using a casting specific joining knot between the braid and your leader. I use the PR knots most often, but the FG is considered the best. Markus of Rod & Reel made this video back in his FCO days and it’s a simple, useful knot to make your life much easier.

Daiwa rod monster mesh max

more effective on tough days) is less risky, the reel has up to 22lbs of drag which is actually plenty on a reel this size.

With this set you can flick baits from 80 to 150 grams, but it’ll work best with 100gm and most kings will happily scoff a 100gm bait if it’s swum properly. I’m a fan of the 100

www.nzfisher.co.nz 9

SPORTFISHING

PE6-8 SET: OKUMA RAW II 80 & OKUMA X-FACTOR 2PC 8’6 ROCK ROD 10-15KG I’ve had a Raw for a year now and I’ve put it under some serious pressure at spots like the Three Kings, Cape Karikari and Coromandel.

It’s performed extremely well and has stopped some real horses.

This is one of those reels that performs well beyond its price tag. The important bits in this reel are the bearings and after a year of punishment they’ve stood up to it with aplomb. The Raw has sealed bearings, but they still need care. Like any reel, wash it down after every trip and use quality grease.

While it provides a short term fix, I don’t recommend Inox or WD-40; they can affect the rubber seals and cause more harm than good. The Okuma 5-year warranty gives me real confidence in the gear and trust it’ll perform when we need it to.

This reel can be used to flick big stick baits at big fish, so you’ll need some strong line to stay connected. Spooling the reel with 80lb or PE8 braid is a good fit. Again, I’ve run with the Tuff-Line Supercast and it’s been great. I did start off with a generic line & after casting away a $180 Orion stick bait I made the change to the good stuff!

The Okuma Rock Rod may seem surprising but it fits the bill of a heavy stick bait rod really well. It’s got a good, whippy tip and some serious grunt when you need it. It’ll happily cast an 80 gram bait but also handles a 200 gram one too. At under $150 this is a brilliant rod and you won’t mind pushing it to its limits.

As for the baits, I’ve been falling in love with the new range of hand-made baits out there

10 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Okuma Raw II Sailfish slaughter

but again the Assassin Hitter baits really do it for me. They swim well and are great value.

Work them well and you’ll get big fish.

You’ll also want to seriously upgrade your leader. A minimum of 100lb fluorocarbon is recommended, but don’t be afraid to push that up to 150lb in rugged areas of if you’re nervous!

If you’re fishing form the shore (or close to it from the boat), good luck! But seriously, your leader will need to be minimum 150lb and I’d suggest you run with a ling trace, right up to 21 foot (IGFA maximum). It’ll give you more control with feisty fish in close or around the reefs.

What-ever your choices, you won’t find fish at home on the couch. Get out there, look for bait, look for sign and search likely areas by casting and retrieving your baits relentlessly – you’ll be rewarded and the fight will blow you away! ●

Know what you’re doing Wide range of courses for all types of boating available nationwide

Specialty Courses

Core Courses

RYA Courses

Day Skipper

Coastal Skipper

Marine Medic

Powerboating

Boatmaster

Ocean Yachtmaster

Sea Survival

Motor Cruising

Maritime VHF Operator Certificate

Radar

Sea Kayak and Waka Ama

Sail Cruising

GPS Operator

Club Safety Boat Operator

PWC

Engine Maintenance

Bar Crossing

Phone 0800 40 80 90 or visit www.boatingeducation.org.nz www.nzfisher.co.nz 11

SPORTFISHING

Do a

Little

Jig 12 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Ben from Rod & Reel has recently been introduced to slow-pitch and micro-jigs − but he’s a fast learner!

WITH A NICE WEATHER window hanging around, the decision was made to get out on the water bright and early after getting up to watch the rugby test at 3am!

investigate. We idled around the fringes looking for some solid signs, as the workups were relatively short and spontaneous, covering a large area of water.

We arrived at Takapuna nice and early, ready to go. Undecided on where to head, we idled away from the ramp contemplating going north. With some nice reports coming in from east of Kawau at the 50 to 60 metres mark it was tempting to head in that direction. However, wanting to avoid the boat traffic, the call was made to head for the top of the Coromandel.

This resulted in Devon’s first slow pitch caught fish, a solid 7lb Trevally, caught on a 100 gram Seafloor slow-pitch jig. This proved to be the first of many nice trevallies caught throughout the day. Moments later and Mark hooked up to a solid snapper, also his first slow pitch fish, caught on another Seafloor slow-pitch jig, but the 90 gram this time.

We had success in a similar area two weeks earlier, encountering large snapper, trevally, and moderately sized kingfish. After an hour or so of driving, we were greeted by gannets hitting the water and decided to stop and

The gannets worked the 45 metre mark sporadically all day, with loads of signs throughout the water column. It was good to see the water temperature up between 18 to 19˚C, getting to 20.3˚C at the peak of the afternoon. This meant large schools of

www.nzfisher.co.nz 13

SPORTFISHING

If you find the birds, you’ll be in!

Great haul for a great day!

14 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Conditions played along (finally!)

Trevally are hard fighting and stunning fish

Big trevs are not common, but where theres one, often theres many

kingfish and trevally were up higher in the water column, with Snapper feeding actively but fairly hard on the bottom.

The trevally were feeding aggressively all day, smashing any jigs that were moving quickly through the water column, or that paused post pitch. Larger micro jigs in the 15 to 30 gram range proved deadly on these, especially in silver or zebra colourations.

These fish put up some stunning fights on the light micro jigging tackle, providing some spectacular runs. Kingfish were regular by catch when targeting these, but were more frequently encountered when slow pitch jigging. If you are looking to target trevally, micro jigs in the 15 to 30 gram range are perfect.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 15

SPORTFISHING A nice screenshot of what awaited below!

Zets Microjig

A soft rod setting accompanied with a gentle jerk and half pitch of the reel works these jigs well; always remember to place emphasis on the falling action, as this is where the jigs come into their own.

You can mix it up and do some faster jerks in a higher pitch, or some long fall as you see fit. Silver and white jigs worked best, especially in Zebra patterns; glow seemed beneficial but was in no way essential.

Pink tones also work very well, more specifically when they are feeding on krill.

It was an awesome day out catching fish which aren’t often targeted inside the gulf.

And the weather really couldn’t have been any better for it.

With thanks to www.Rodandreel.co.nz ●

16 www.nzfisher.co.nz

RECIPE

Lime Panko Crumbed Snapper Sometimes you need a little zing This recipe comes to us care of Mark ‘Mr. Bradley Smoker’ Thodey

Lime Panko for Snapper

NORMALLY MARK’S WOOING us with smokey sweet treats, but today’s recipe, utilising Fogdog Panko Crumbs, is very simple but looks amazing! I learnt this smart little recipe recently but changed out normal breadcrumbs for Panko crumbs.

Ingredients Rind and juice of one lime 50g Butter Panko bread-crumbs (aprox 50g per fillet) Snapper (or other firm white fillets)

Pre-Lime Panko Crumbed Snapper

Method Grind lime, butter and Panko crumbs together and put on top of your freshly caught snapper.

Fan grill for 10 minutes.

The result was perfection next time I might add a hint of Chilli ;) ●

FLYFISHING

Winter

Fishing Taupo

Streams

NZFisher put’s Rod and Reel’s tips to use

18 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Derricks First

Derricks Second - where’s mine!

FOR AUCKLAND, TAUPO is a bit of a trout fishing mecca. I’ve fished it heaps, but with little success and usually the wrong way. It’s hard to learn on water you don’t understand without some coaching. With thanks to Rod and Reel Newmarket and their great write up in our August issue, I decided it was time to hit the Taupo streams and show the boss how it’s done.

Markus’ tips were pretty simple and that combined with some local tips from the guys already on the streams, we headed

They do taste very good!

down to the Tongariro and tried our skills on the big water. Derrick started the day pretty well with a nice rainbow before breakfast, but with a whole lot of traffic on the river we decided to head to a smaller stream, the Waimarino Stream.

Here we had to contend with fast moving, very clear water and easily spooked trout, but once again Derrick snuck one out on a copper rabbit – or something like that! Sadly I didn’t get any improvement on my average of zero; but there’s always next time! ●

www.nzfisher.co.nz 19

NEWSPECIES

There’s

Always Something New Out

There Going deep

By Neil Wagener

Ugly buggers, but so tasty 20 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Daz waiting patiently

I LOVE CHASING new species, but love it even more when you don’t know what you’re actually chasing. On a recent trip to the far north, we headed out wide to some pins in 250 metres. The sounder failed (maiden voyage jitters) and we were left floating around guessing where we were and what was below. We did have a GPS, so moved around to a likely looking spot where the contours bunch up, indicating a steep incline and the increased chance of fish. We lined up to drift over it and dropped bait.

At this depth it’s hard to know how deep you are and whether you’ve hit the bottom, but a fish hitting the line is unmistakable, and after a few minutes we were hooked up onto a couple of mildly excited fish. Dragging them up from 200m+ isn’t exactly fun, but the excitement of finding out what’s on the other end is pretty cool.

Mine was a gem fish, which was a first for me, and also pretty cool. Darren landed a double header of gemfish and a shark, while Derrick’s was an ugly, (but ultimately tasty) scarpie or scorpion fish. We didn’t manage any of the target species (Hapuku, Bass or Blue nose) but we get a feed and some new species.

The gemfish were seriously delicious, we made Gem-sliders using an Al Brown recipe and they blew the crowds away. ●

Prickly bugger!

Midwinter trolling!

FISHERIESMANAGEMENT

LegaSea

Update December 2014 www.legasea.co.nz

22 www.nzfisher.co.nz

RECREATIONAL FISHING NOT PART OF QUOTA SYSTEM A POPULAR MISCONCEPTION is that all fishing is managed via quota and the Quota Management System. Truth is, quota is used to manage commercial fishing. Recreational fishing is managed outside the QMS, and daily bag and minimum size limits are used to control each individual’s catch.

LegaSea is committed to ensuring public fishing remains free of any fixed allocation or quota. Nathan Guy has recently been reappointed as Minister for Primary Industries. When making fisheries decisions his duty is to allow for recreational interests.

This can be achieved in a variety of ways including area controls and making an overall allowance to cover the public’s expected annual catch.

Recreational allowances must be more flexible than an allocation because our catch can vary a lot between years due to weather, fish availability and other factors.

Allowances also acknowledge that population growth is inevitable and recreational fishing is a popular cultural activity undertaken on a random basis by almost a million people every year.

“

LegaSea is committed to ensuring public fishing remains free of any fixed allocation or quota. www.nzfisher.co.nz 23

FISHERIESMANAGEMENT

Without doubt our ability to go fishing and catch a feed of fish must, by law, be allowed for by the Minister. One of the major talking points during the 2013 snapper debate was the assertion by officials and commercial interests that recreational catch had increased exponentially, and that effort needed to be reined in through bag limit reductions.

Seafood NZ, the main representative body for commercial fishers, even referred to recreational fishing as wasteful consumption!

In reality, management of Snapper 1, on the north-eastern coast, had not been reviewed for 16 years and the recreational allowance made in 1997 did not reflect any sliver of reality, either then or now.

In Area 1 during 2012-13 the average snapper catch per person, per trip, was around two kilograms. Boat fishers

averaged about one kilogram of kahawai per person, per trip.

These individual catches are neither uncontrollable nor unreasonable, and many people are conserving fish on a regular basis by not taking their daily limit. We need to celebrate this conservation effort, and that we’re fishing to put natural, unprocessed food on the table for our families.

Another cause for celebration is that people are learning new ways to take better care of their catch and to share unused portions with others in their community through freefishheads.co.nz.

Any talk of recreational quota, allocations or uncontrolled amateur fishing is a myth. Every person that goes recreational fishing is controlled by a daily bag limit, minimum size limits and ultimately the Minister’s allowance. ●

LegaSea is the public face of the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council. The Council has an experienced fisheries management, science, policy and legal team. On behalf of the Council LegaSea provides public-friendly information about a variety of processes that are important to the sustainable management of fisheries for future generations.

24 www.nzfisher.co.nz

VIDEOOFTHEMONTH

Simply

Unbelievable Fishing

is video is simply THE TITLE SAYS it all – th may be insane, but ye unbelievable. These guys eat time proving it! You gods they’re having a gr s if you don’t watch video must watch this video, ption. Do it. Do it now. normally, make an exce

But for those af ter the finer things in the w orld of fishing; here’s another great landbase d vid from our o wn shores.

READERPICS

Stephanie Ryan wih a PB, 3.25kg Porae

27lber on 8lb line & 4lb leader

Chris O’Niel of Rod & Reel with his best GT from a recent Aitutaki trip

Fave Reader

Pics

Scott DeLacey with a grunty kelpy in Doubtless Bay 26 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Edward NgChok with a huge Rarotongan GT caught inside the lagoon, landbased!

Clive Evans’ mate ave with his New PB - a horse of a snapper form under the gannets near Tiri www.nzfisher.co.nz 27

FISHINGTHEWORKUPS

‘Greenhorn’ giving the rod a ‘High-stick’ working over (Snap)

‘EPIC’

Snapper Session on the

Hauraki Gulf Reproduced care of Jason ‘Fish Whisperer’ Neute

THE PLAN WAS TO rally up the Pure Fishing

they had never buckled before, Brett decided

troops and meet up with Brett from Assassin

to head a little more North.

Charters out of Sandspit. Brett had said they

We had been fishing for awhile and still no

were having a good snapper bite just North of Kawau over the past few days. As we headed out of Sandspit the weather had closed in a little, but getting out past Kawau it must have

work ups; I was thinking we had come all this way and we weren’t going to have a hot fishing sesh. How wrong I was. As Brett got us down to a spot, he said we would all hook

only been five to 10 knots all the way out to

up on fish. We got a little excited seeing a few

the middle.

gannets working.

There was not a lot of action going on in the

We all reached for our choice of weapon and

way of bird activity. We had bought all our

set them up with micro jigs, squiddos and

new braid micro jigs, squiddo’s, slowmo’s and

lumo elevator heads for attaching a mixture

good old gulp soft bait. I was starting to think,

of soft bait. One of the greenhorns gave

man we are going to need bait with no work

a Koha to Tangaroa (a nice combo at the

ups around! As we stopped off around 45

bottom of the sea) but it seemed to work as

metres we could see schools of rat kings so

we dropped our jigs and softies. Everyone was

we dropped our jigs and soft bait and it was

hooking up, and to some nice fish too! We

all go. Everyone was hooking up left, right

thanked him (Tangaroa) each time we pulled

and centre; the guys were stoked hooking

in a good snap, they were anywhere between

into fish. It didn’t matter what it was or how

two to six kilo.

big, but the ‘yahoos!’ kept on coming.

Mal was working the new Braid T Caster

A couple of the guys made it to the bottom

which was smashing some good snaps. I set

and picked up a few small snapper. After

up one of the combos with my favourite,

catching a few fish with rods buckling like

the squiddo – ‘pink shine’. The big snaps

28 www.nzfisher.co.nz

just couldn’t leave it alone and Josh, one of the greenhorns, was smashing snaps with it on every drop. Of the soft bait, it didn’t matter what we used, none of it was getting to the bottom. Mid fishing sesh the boat was surrounded by acres of pilchards and it sounded like rain on the water. There were millions upon millions, and not really any birds, what an amazing sight.

For the next hour or two we ended up with a good looking bin. With the good size fish we were landing, we ended up keeping 22 between seven of us which gave us three solid fish each to take home. The guys smiles lasted all the way back to base as well. What a great arvo out on the water with the troops.

If you want to get into some of this hot action then you need to get hold of Brett from Assassin Charters; he has amazing knowledge and the know-how to get you onto some good fish for a good time… ●

www.nzfisher.co.nz 29

COMPETITIONS

Competition!

Share an Awesome Photo and Be in to Win! (NZ ents lopm e v e D

) Ltd

5 1 0 2

e posit Com

e

ts men velop e De posit Com

gu o l a at

c

(NZ ) Ltd

k! ceboo a F NZ s on

ds u Like facebook.com/B/CoDrRnotofishnz om

ook.c

faceb

z

co.n

ods. .cdr

www ts men velop e De posit Com td (NZ ) L

ate, al Est dustri any In d , Alb n Drive Zeala mark 51, New lbany, nd 07 PC, A d , NH n 2 363 Zeala .nz ox 30 51, New 65 7 ds.co 15 99 0 d 4 9 4 les@cdro klan F +6 sa 9915 FISH E 5 1 4 IN +64 9 0800 SK x eefa o.nz ds.c .cdro www

Share an awesome photo this month and be in to WIN a $150 Composite Developments Voucher!

Share an awesome photo of you with a

spend on anything you like from their 2015

fish to our Facebook page, or email it to

catalogue - click here to view.

derrickp@espiremedia.com by 25 December

This months winner is Edward NgChok

2014 and you’ll be in to win an $150

has won a $150 Composite Developments

voucher from Composite Developments to

voucher, happy spending Edward! â—?

30 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Have a safe and Merry Xmas from all the NZ Fisher team!

See y’all in 2015!!

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 31