NZ Fisher Issue 52

ISSUE 52

October 2015

Working out

‘Workups’

New Season

Bliss on the

Little Rivers

www.nzfisher.co.nz 1

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CONTENTS 4.. Editorial 8..

LegaSea Update

10.. Working out ‘Workups’

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 /

18.. Pimp My Boat: A Sustainable

Fishing Competition 20.. New Season Bliss on

the Little Rivers 24.. Benisland.co.nz:

Rock Fishing

with my Dad 29.. Video of

the Month

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 11144 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!

30.. Reader Pics 35.. Competition Cover Images: Maxi Rouillon with a hard fighting Wellington Trev

www.nzfisher.co.nz 3

EDITORIAL

THANKS TO ALL WHO have sent

reckon I’m hooked now.” – Eric. That is

feedback in the last few months. It’s

why I do this; thanks Chris and also to

very rewarding to receive your words,

Eric for the feedback.

even the critical ones. I’m especially

This month we’ve brought together

pleased by the response to our ‘trout’

a bunch of expert intel on the game

heavy issue last month.

of seek – chasing work-ups and their

Chris from Rod & Reel’s piece on Czech

pink disciples, the snapper. Neil spoke

nymphing was a good read and, actually

to a number of ‘experts’, searched

surprising, garnered one of the best

the forums and then put his skills to

responses from a reader who’s read

the test, and with great results. Your

NZFisher for years: “Cheers for the intel

feedback is, as always, welcomed.

on trout fishing. I’ve always been afraid

While the fresh water fishing begins

to give it a go ‘cos I never learned to

to warm towards a dry fly season, the

cast. The way they said it went I got

marine scene is also gaining pace with

pretty excited and bought a fly rod and

big hauls of solid fish being noted in the

headed to Rotorua for opening day

Hauraki, Bay of Plenty and Northland

weekend. I got my first trout, almost

once again.

by accident doing what Chris said and I

4 www.nzfisher.co.nz

The only real blight is the recent

Maraetai Beach Boating Club. There’s a

video posted by Legasea showing six

run down on the ‘Pimp my Boat’ comp

kilometres of dead snapper and gurnard

in this issue and we’re very keen to get

washed up on Muriwai beach on the

behind this sustainable competition.

week of the 20th of October. Its very

There’s great prizes, a great location

hard not to feel a pang of guilt that

and best of all it doesn’t require you

we, the fishers – be it commercial or

to waste the fish you catch just to

recreational – are damaging the fishery

win a prize. As part of the launch

we love so much with poor practice.

we’re offering two spots to NZFisher

This incident does appear to be the

readers, on the NZFisher Frewza to

result of a commercial vessel dumping

fish this competition.

or leaking fish or even potentially the

To enter, e-mail us a photo of you

result of a damaged trawl net, but we

and a fish and you’re in the draw.

all have a voice and we need to be

The prize will be drawn on 30th

telling government and ministry that

November, and includes two tickets to

this is not ok.

the ‘Pimp my Boat’ Tournament, bait,

This poor practice of trawling pays

food and tackle usage (if required)

such low returns, its hard to believe its equitable to do it. Trawled snapper are unsightly, un-appetising and low

and transport on the NZFisher Frewza (you’ll need to get yourself to and from Maraetai Beach) with our editor

grade – they fetch the lowest value

and technical editor.

on the international stage and are

Please send images to:

often the ugly seconds we see dolled

derrickp@nzfisher.co.nz. Images

up in supermarket cases. Please get

become the property of NZFisher

behind LegaSea and let’s put an end the

and may be used in the magazine

senseless waste of this valuable fish.

or as promotional material.

This month we’re please to bring the

Tight lines,

first announcement of a new type of fishing competition being run by the

Derrick www.nzfisher.co.nz 5

H

o n d a M a r i n e, S u r te e s a n d I zuzu h ave j o i n e d f o rce s to g i ve yo u t h e c h a n ce to W I N TH E D R E A M p a c ka g e ! T h e S u r t e e s 57 5 Wo r k m a te, p o w e re d by H o n d a B F1 0 0 H P, to w e d b y t h e I s u zu D - M a x to u g h u te, l o a d e d w i t h S h i m a n o

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t h e d re a m r i g f o r K i w i ’s ! E n te r o n l i n e a t w w w. h o n d a m a ri n e.co. n z!

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FISHERIESMANAGEMENT

Legasea

Update

What’s fishing worth?

UPDATE Update by Trish Rae, Legasea

A BIG THANKS TO everyone who

and persuasive facts will provide the

has donated to the New Zealand

necessary tools to achieve more fish

Marine Research Foundation’s latest

in the water.”

project to measure the impact that recreational fishing has on the New Zealand economy.

For others who are keen, you can still

Changing attitudes starts with understanding

donate directly through the

Changing the way people view the

www.whatsfishingworth.co.nz site or

ocean and creating a more positive

the Foundation’s website.

attitude towards con-servation is an

Foundation Chairman Jeff Romeril said recently: “For too long

outcome of overseas research into the value of recreational fishing.

recreational fishers have been the

LegaSea believes the same positive

poor cousins in the continuing lobby

benefits could apply to New Zealand

for better management and utilisation

when the results of the Foundation’s

of our fisher-ies resources. We need

research project are made public and

to empower our advocates for many

given effect through policy changes.

years to come”.

Those policy changes will only

“Having some hard-hitting, simple

come about through widespread

8 www.nzfisher.co.nz

understanding of both the benefits of having more fish available to local communities, and the potential earnings for the country as a whole.

For example, a study of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, found sportfishing generated over $245 million in new local and federal taxes. And, the total economic activity associated with 345,000 visiting anglers was estimated to be approximately USD$1.125 billion.

Here in NZ, after 30 years of the quota management system we still have our precious kahawai being exported for $1.45 per kilo, and 25 to 29cm snapper exported to Australia for $9.00 per kilo. It’s time to smarten up.

Growth potential Our country has so much potential for job growth, wealth generation and tax revenues, but that all depends on having fish available.

C

M

Y

The Foundation is determined to complete the study.

Preliminary results are expected by December and a peerreviewed report by early 2016.

CM

MY

CY

CMY

LegaSea is helping to raise the $400,000 to support the research and subsequent publicity programme, because building a business case and public awareness seems to be the most effective way to convince our politicians that we need more fish in the water. LegaSea urges you to get in behind the Foundation and contribute as much as you can to the fundraising effort. Visit www.whatsfishingworth.co.nz.

K

All contributions are tax deductible because the New Zealand Marine Research Foundation is a registered charitable trust. â– Call 0800 LEGASEA (534 273) Email us info@legasea.co.nz Subscribe at www.legasea.co.nz Read more at www.facebook.com/legasea

www.nzfisher.co.nz 9

Working out

‘Workups’

This time of year it’s all about chasing work-ups.

By Neil Wagener

10 www.nzfisher.co.nz

A pair of big snaps the fell to jigs under a work-up.

ley hael Walk Credit: Mic s d ir b e nder th hammy u Double w

EVERY FISHING PAGE I follow on Facebook shows me images of happy fishers hoisting fish with metal jigs

Good micro & slow pitch jigs last a re but change ally long tim your assist e. They’re st & leader regu ill effective larly Credit: Michael Wal kley

or heavy softbaits hanging from their

we decided to make some polite

mouths. As a fisher who grew up rock

enquiries and get our track record

fishing I struggle sometimes to make

back on track. First call? The

the connection between acres of

NZFishing Community facebook page

empty looking ocean over sand and

and then off to the local tackle store

huge schools of hungry fish.

for some bling.

Over the last few years my friends and

Work-up fishing has got to be the

I have headed east beyond the Noisies

fastest evolving form of snapper

in search of gold headed eagles

catching in our fisheries right now.

crashing in unison into a seething

The sheer number of lures, assist

mass of dolphins, whales and fleeing

hooks, new braids and super tough

anchovies – hiding the snapper that

fluorocarbons is astounding. Rod & Reel

lurk below, waiting impatiently for

recently expanded the store, but the

our lead offerings to drop from above.

They’re still waiting.

new slow pitch jigs alone pretty much take up the created space. A novice slow pitch fisher could be forgiven for

Well, instead of giving up after

giving up before really having a go – the

trip number one like most years,

range is so vast and varied.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 11

HOTS Conker doing the damage - it’s slow fall and flutter motion is deadly on snapper Credit: Rod & Reel

One real advantage of metal jigs

30lb fluoro on an 8lb set, but a snapper’s

(be it slow pitch, inchiku or old

teeth will liberate a jig in a second if

fashioned jig) is their resilience to

you’re attaching it to light leaders.

snapper teeth. I’ve spent hundreds if

At around $15 to $25 per jig you

not thousands already on soft-baits

don’t want to be losing many,

that have been destroyed after just a

that’s for sure!

few drops; replacing them time and time again every day. Provided you go heavy enough on our leader it’s generally only snags (of which there’s

I’ve begun to appreciate the benefit of a dedicated slow-pitch rod and reel, but it’s not a necessity by any means. The majority of softball type sets will do you

a few) or ‘coutta’ that are likely to

right; they’re a bit fast taper sometimes,

offer your shiny new jig freedom.

but the general effect is right.

At this time of year, when the snapper

I mention tackle because at the end of

are at their most voracious, we definitely

the day it’s what’ll make the biggest

go heavy on the leaders. I’m often

difference to your catch rates once

accused of overkill when stringing up

you find the fish. Finding the fish is

12 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Jay enticed the bite. Credit: Rod & Reel The striped pattern of this Zest Slow

the tough part really – once you’ve got them locked in, it can be hours of madness or fleeting spurts of mayhem, but you need to find them first and that’s the key.

Once you’ve got your gear sorted and have a feel for what to expect

(again, Facebook has a plethora of videos, reports and how to content to reference too), you’ll need to find some fish. We’re Auckland based and while there’s spawning congregations and work-ups that go with them throughout the country, we tend to

www.nzfisher.co.nz 13

14 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Alastair with a typical king from under the birds

stay near to home for our fishing –

fairly constant. We definitely found

why waste gas when you don’t need

better fishing deeper and further

to? We head to three different areas

out in the beginning of spring, with

in spring, depending on the reports

schools moving in and becoming more

we’re getting.

voracious from December onwards.

These are:

For the next month (November)

• North Ground – between Little Barrier, Kawau and Anchorite Rock • Back Paddock – North East of Tiri to North or Waiheke • South Paddock – East of Waiheke north to Channel Island.

aiming to fish between 35 metres and 45 metres is pretty safe, but there’s a good likelihood that there’ll be workups beginning to bear fruit between Tiri and Kawau Island this month too.

Gannets are easily your best indicator of baitfish concentrated under the

The names may change within

surface. Even if you don’t see the

different groups, but the areas remain

gannets immediately, you’ll generally

www.nzfisher.co.nz 15

see other boats heading quickly in the direction of the forming work-up.

on their fish looking tails and skirts, the

This year we’re seeing pods of dolphins numbering in their thousands (no exaggeration). The dolphins, gannets and occasional whales are drawn together to eat anchovies and pilchards that are being chased by kahawai, kingfish and snapper.

The pilchards themselves are here to gorge themselves on the zooplankton population the gulf nurses – aided somewhat by the high nutrient levels in the water (care of terrestrial run-off no doubt).

on visible levels but also through fish

There are few sights so awe inspiring as a thousand or more gannets on a helterskelter bombing run. They fly, dive, swim and if the bait is plentiful, recirculate in a tornado-like maelstrom of golden-head feathered torpedo’s, choreographed by the collective desire to eat more fish.

up to 100m. Anything deeper, and you’re

Once you’ve recovered from the spectacle, get your boat near, but not ‘in’ the workup so your jigs or soft-baits fall within ‘cooee’ of the gannet army – you want it to fall where the bait scraps are drifting towards the bottom.

modern, well designed jigs act not only sensory systems that alert them from a greater distance to agitated prey.

As the depth of water you’re fishing in increases, the additional pressure likely affects the response of the jig; I am willing to believe this also increases the intensity of the vibrations it gives off.

For this reason, I’m much happier dropping a slow pitch jig in water 40m or deeper, but I also like them in water waiting too long for them to drop as they’re not designed like a knife jig to drop quickly to the strike zone, but to almost suspend in the water-column to attract prey.

If you’d prefer to stick with bait, there’s a really simple rig and technique that I was introduced to by Stephen Tapp. It’s not revolutionary but the result of a man who really thinks like a fish in an effort to encourage a bite. This can be fished directly to your mainline (if you’re fishing

The idea of flat-fall or slow pitch jigs is that they imitate a wounded, escaping baitfish. Their weight drags them down and when you lift your tip they respond, imitating that injured fish, vibrating and sending out the signals predators identify with as ‘lunch is served’.

mono – filament) or on a fairly long trace

The reason, I believe the ‘better’ jigs work when things are tough is this vibration on the lift. Where inchiku type rely largely

behind the anal fin, leaving the point and

16 www.nzfisher.co.nz

if you prefer braid.

Start off with a free running ball sinker which runs directly down onto a pair of 4/0 octopus hooks; the end one attached, the other free running. Hook the fixed hook into the tail end of a pilchard, just barb very exposed. The free hook is then simply run from the chin, up through the

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lower and upper jaws and out the top of the head, effectively free swimming.

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To finish the rig, tie a ‘half hitch’ around the shank of the hook below the eye; this creates a stopping point for the line and allows the bait to ‘swim’ out behind the falling sinker. It looks very natural and again imitates the escaping baitfish.

SECTION RUN OF BOOK

PUBLICATION NZ FISHING NEWS

You’ll be surprised how effective this is – even compared to jigs and FAX 5543

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PUBLISHING 01/10/15

softies in work-ups. I must warn you though – gannets do occasionally hit these baits. If this happens, please use common sense and release the

With gear like the Evergreen Poseidon, Ripple Fisher UL,Yamaga Galahad, Jigstar, Shimano and Daiwa slow jig / slow pitch rods, SeaFloor Control, Deepliner and HOTs jigs, Xesta,Vanfook and Daiwa accessories and YGK G-soul braid and leader, you have every base covered! Make sure that fish of a lifetime doesn’t get away!!

birds quickly, safely and with as little trauma as possible. I’ve also noted a larger number of kingfish and larger snapper on this rig when compared to imitation baits.

PROOFED 10/09/2015 10:37:58 a.m.

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17

SUSTAINABILITYCOMPETITION

A sustainable fishing competition THERE IS A GROWING movement

and friends. The benefits to our cultural

amongst the recreational fishing

and family well-being are immeasurable

community in recent times towards

in this regard and in my opinion, this is

sustainable fisheries and ‘fishing for

what our fishery should be all about.

the future’.

However, there will always be a

Gone are the days of groups of people

competitive nature within fishermen. The

heading out to catch and kill everything

desire to pit one’s skills against that of

they can land. Rather, most fishermen,

one’s fellow fisherman will always be alive

in an effort to limit the impact on

amongst us. The bragging rights earned

our fish stocks and help rebuild a

from winning a competition alone are

healthy abundance of fish for future

usually enough to stir the blood in most

generations, will now limit their catch

and, when prizes are thrown in, it just

and only take what is needed for a feed.

gets sweeter.

Every day through online media,

Unfortunately, however, with very little

forums, television shows and magazines

option but to kill and weigh their catch

we see images of anglers releasing fish

back at the club, the very nature of

back to the water to not only fight

traditional competitions (with valuable

another day but, more importantly,

rewards offered for the largest of each

breed again. A photo lasts an eternity

species) actually encourages anglers to

and is trophy enough for most of us

kill fish that they perhaps would have

these days, especially where prime

released in any other situation.

breeding fish are concerned.

The problem is further compounded

I’m not suggesting that keeping large

by a large volume of anglers fishing

fish, or your daily bag limit, should

in relatively small areas over the

be frowned upon. So long as we are

same period of time. The result is a

sticking to the rules and regulations

concentrated effort by many incentivised

then everybody should feel free to take

anglers to remove as many large breeding

what they need to sustain their family

fish from the gene pool as they can catch.

18 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Hardly ideal whichever way you look at it.

search of trophy fish, other anglers may

So the question was raised amongst members of the Maraetai Beach Boat Club fishing committee: How do we run a fishing competition that can satisfy the competitive spirit of even the hardiest of fishermen without causing the unnecessary damage to our fishery that usually accompanies most fishing contests? The answer we came up with was the Pimp My Boat fishing contest.

choose to target fish that can be caught

The obvious place to start was to address the need to kill the fish that contestants want to present. We will be running our competition in conjunction with the DB Export NZ Fishing Competition and each vessel will be required to have one of their measure mats on-board.

Fish that are captured need to be photographed against this measure to be entered. The angler can then decide if they want to add the fish to their bin or release it back into the water. Whilst this concept is not new, there are very few competitions run in NZ that are entirely based on length.

By limiting the number of tickets to 200 and then giving the entrants the option of fishing virtually anywhere in the Hauraki Gulf, we eliminate concentrated fishing pressure. To further ensure a varied spectrum of locations, we have included very good prizes for both longest fish and also target length fish.

This means that while some boats may head out to the far reaches of the Gulf in

straight out in front of the clubrooms in the Tamaki Strait.

Finally, by maximising the catch that is brought in, we can limit how much we need to take. For this reason, we will have a fish filleting station back at the club and it will be run by the Legasea initiative, freefishheads.co.nz.

For a gold coin donation per fish, you can have your catch filleted and bagged at the end of the day with the heads and frames provided to very grateful recipients registered on the site. Not only does this utilise every part of the fish and sustain a wider spectrum of the community, but will help raise exposure for Legasea to further enable them to fight for a plentiful and abundant fishery for future generations. Furthermore, we will also be donating $10 to Legasea from every Pimp My Boat ticket sold.

The 2016 Pimp My Boat contest will be the inaugural event. While we hope that the above initiatives form a great base for sustainable fishing competitions, we will be looking to improve and develop the structure each year so that we anglers can enjoy great, low impact, guilt-free fishing contests for years to come.

For further information about Pimp My Boat you can visit the contest website at www.pimpmyboat.co.nz or join the discussion on facebook. â–

www.nzfisher.co.nz 19

TROUTFISHING

New Season Bliss on the

Little Rivers Fresh in the new season we stalk, hook and release some of the county’s finest game fish – brown trout

Words by Derrick Paull Images by Hamish Carnachan, Editor, Fish & Game Magazine

20 www.nzfisher.co.nz

DISCLOSURE: I WANT TO begin by

I had a short window after opening day

stating that nothing that happened

a few weekends back to visit Hamish

in the time I chased these wonderful

in his Wairarapa haunt. He’d been busy

Wairarapa fish was through my own

surveying the districts waters for Fish &

ability or knowledge. As a fisher of 30

Game and agreed to come for a wander

years on the salty stuff I reckon I know

up a small stream in the evening, before

a thing about finding, hooking and

the shadows could shut our spotting

landing good fish.

abilities down. To give some indication

I’ve even landed a few fat, tasty

of my ignorance, I’d naturally assumed

rainbows on the Taupo rivers this year that are, in principal the result

a cloudy day was the better option for spotting these golden ghosts, but I

of my discoveries, growing experience

quickly learned otherwise.

and ability. But wild brown trout in a

We headed out from Carterton, crossing

crystal clear, frigid mountain stream?

an ambling stream that Hamish noted

Not a chance. All that follows is due

was the downstream result of the

my patient, sharing and extremely

mountain stream we were heading for.

generous guide, Hamish Carnachan

Over these lowland reaches it was sadly

(notably, the images too are of his hand

dirty, a milky clay colour – I can only

– I am but a passenger).

imagine the punishment it receives as it

www.nzfisher.co.nz 21

TROUTFISHING

crossed the largely agricultural dairy lands of

surprised with my ankle submerged (I find

the Wairarapa.

the efficacy of polarised glass incredible).

We began heading to the hills, and as we

I walk scanning the pools and runs – seeing

drove further up the stream gained life,

nothing – but taking my cues from Hamish

and considerable beauty as the water

at each pool, where I flick at shadows in

cleared and ran faster between solid bluffs,

a few pools until after a kilometre or so

sleepy pools and long shingly runs. Even

Hamish freezes like a hunting dog, hand

my ignorance could not mistake the fishy

moving imperceptibly to tell me to stop and

look for these waters.

lower my frame. It did take me 30 seconds

Hamish pulled us up to a Fish & Game

to finally identify the shadow that this time

signposted access point. They do so much

was indeed a trout slipping in out out of the

for us – even working with land-owners to

main flow, presumably supping lunch as

provide us this access, so I have no qualms

they flowed kindly down to his waiting gob.

parting with my license fee each year.

I’d pre-rigged a size 12 gold-beaded nymph

The stream was not cool; it was cold – a

slung below a #10 Royal Wolfe. I’d recently

reminder of the recent snows on the hill

read up on this area in an old Geoff

tops around the valley. The clarity was such

Thomas book and he couldn’t write a page

that as we headed upstream, I mistook

without suggesting the Royal Wolfe, so

puddles for bare earth and ended up

who was I to disagree?

22 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Hamish had me throw a few dummy casts

the indicator snapped out of sight and

high over the pool to judge my line negate

I struck, coming up hard on a surprised

before fishing a drop that would spook

‘browny’ that immediately began doing

the fish. When he thought I had things

rapid powerful laps of his pool before

under control he let me drop a cast and,

ripping line downstream in search of snags

all nerves coming out at once, it landed far

in the exit run.

too long and mercifully left, away from the fast feeding fish.

Second cast was as close to perfect as I could have asked. The dry-fly drifted immediately over the trout’s head and he obliged by coming up and supping it down, spiking my adrenalin and encouraging a premature

I cannot imagine how much of a tool I looked with a huge smile on my face and a little dance of excitement tripping my feet across the stones before I began to actually listen to Hamish; walking the fish to the shore for a quick photo and release.

and immediately disastrous response. I

This was no ordinary trout. It was long –

pulled the fly straight from his jaws and

way longer than the similar weight fish

spooked him deep and far from sight. This is

I’d nabbed in Taupo – but bright golden

where patience is really important. Rather

yellow with a green; iridescent head

than storm on, we held back and waited

and bold brown red spots covering it

for 15 minutes while the fish regained his

from shoulder to tail. I understand real

confidence back and began feeding again.

backcountry fishers come across fish like

This time around I knew the pattern and

this often, but for a northern city slicker

had a better feel for the drift. A couple of

like me, this was heaven on earth and the

testers and I dropped the fly in his path

first of what I hope is many big, stroppy

once again. This time he stayed deep but

and beautiful skinny water browns. ■

www.nzfisher.co.nz 23

BENISLAND.CO.NZ

Rock Fishing

With my Dad

24 www.nzfisher.co.nz

In German they say: “Aller guten Dinge sind drei” (Third time’s a charm), however, they also say: “Einmal ist keinmal” (Once doesn’t count). So where does that leave us? I don’t know, it’s not important anyway, but what needs to be highlighted though, is that Dad and I went rock-fishing, for the third time, and it was almost perfect.

Words & images by Ben Island

WHEN I GOT HOME from work

A bit later than 14.30 and we’re

yesterday, I hurried Dad: “Come on,

fishing. The burley is dispensing, the

we need to go, where are the torches,

water has retreated significantly more

are you ready?”

than the last times we were here;

“I just made tea son,” he responded.

it must be a very strong tidal flow, everything is quiet and calm. We get a

“We don’t have time for tea Dad, we’re few nibbles here and there, our baits going fishing.” get bitten off the hook and we don’t “Aah, there is enough time for a tea,” Dad says and drinks his tea and then mine too.

I’ve come to realise that when it

get any action for more than an hour.

No kahawai, but there is a school of piper feeding happily on the burley.

comes to rock-fishing, especially

Focus on catching fresh bait

when I’m not on my own, I generally

Most of the good snapper I’ve caught

rush with the rationale of getting

off the rocks were landed on fresh

to the spot by a set time, preparing

bait. When the fishing is slow and you

everything and observing the

don’t get any excitement using the

conditions. The funny thing is that,

baits you brought along, there are two

once I’ve cast a few baits and got a

things you can do. Continue doing

feel for the situation, I calm down,

what you are doing, or acknowledge

feeling confident and on top of

that the fishing is slow and use this

things; whereas the person I take

time to catch fresh bait.

fishing starts rushing.

Easily said, but it is in reality a battle.

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BENISLAND.CO.NZ

“Should I re-rig and catch piper?

Or cast one more time? Surely the moment I switch to small hooks a big kahawai cruises by, or a big snapper…”

It’s challenging, but believe me, unless you are fishing two rods, switch your gear and catch fresh bait.

It’s been a while since I targeted piper, I must admit, and it took a quarter of an hour until I hooked and landed the first one. A madman, a land-based fishing extremist, a man too big for

Go for a walk at low tide – unless you’re targeting kingfish I cease this extremely low tide and go for a walk and come back with heaps of big kina.

I ask Dad to stop fishing: “Let’s have a break and a feed”.

We open the kina, enjoy the roes and throw the shells into the water. “This will attract the big snapper to come in close Dad.”

any pair of jeans and a man with whom I hope to fish again showed me how to target piper.

The hookup As I see Dad’s rod bent and line

I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that

spooling off his reel, I retrieve my bait

another madman and dear friend showed

quickly and remind him to keep the

the former madman how to rig for piper

rod aiming high. He adjusts the drag,

(hold on, am I a madman, too?).

increasing it by one, then another

The important thing here is

notch. He knows what he’s doing. He

that it works and I’ve used this

isn’t snagged, there is clearly a fish on

method for years. I shall share this

and he is managing it. I wonder what

knowledge with you at some stage,

his drag setting is.

unfortunately, I don’t have a photo

We see some colour. It’s a decent

of the rig. It is very ‘un-Kiwi’ though,

snapper. Dad remains calm and utters

and involves a float…

It is about 4PM and there are seven piper swimming, well, dying in the bucket; I switch back to my twohooked rig and see a small kahawai.

I arrest it and put it into the bucket.

It is about dead-low tide, the water is

in farsi: “This one is going nowhere”.

Less than a minute later and I grab the leader and pull his fish up onto the rocks. “Woohooo, nice one.”

Dad is impressed and measures the fish. “That’s more than 50cm.”

far out, Dad is fishing hard, he casts,

We take a couple pictures, it is about

waits, feels the nibbles, then nothing,

5PM and I remind him that now is bite

he retrieves, the bait is gone, he re-

time. We’ve been burleying, we’ve

baits and casts again.

been casting, we’ve ground baited with

26 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Stay organised kina and cubed pilchards, the change of light is soon, we’ve got fresh bait, in other words, we’re in the zone.

Dad lands another 40cm snapper. I’m still casting far out, nothing really.

He lands a third snapper; he keeps casting into the same spot where he got the big one. Our bag looks healthy, three decent snapper. I cast another piper and get a hook-up on the surface. The fish fights strongly and changes direction.

‘Finally, a bigger kahawai,’ I think. The fish jumps out of the water to our mutual excitement, and yes, of course it is a kahawai. Not big, but good fun and good eating.

I know that Dad will fish until he can’t see a thing, so I start packing in a bit; getting all the gear together and address our catch. It is a good idea to get yourself sorted out before dusk, otherwise you might forget something or spend heaps of time in the dark trying to sort things out.

The kahawai head – big snapper just love it!

It should be no surprise to my regular readers that I wasn’t just scaling and gutting the catch, my rod was secured in a rod holder and there was a fresh, bloody kahawai head hooked to the end of the line far out.

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BENISLAND.CO.NZ

I finish cleaning the fish and find it somewhat surprising that nothing touched the kahawai head. Hmmm, I retrieve it. Indeed, untouched. So out it goes again. I walk to my bag and eat some chippies, I see my rod bend for a brief moment, a bit of line is taken.

gutted though.

Up to now the fishing was perfect. It would have been much better had I not gotten that take.

Give fish

The bag of chips is dropped and I jump to my rod, tighten the drag, take the slack out of the line and strike.

WHOOOOOM, line peels off the reel.

I’m not sure how strong the drag setting is. I instinctively step onto the highest rock next to me and aim the rod up high.

After a good day’s rock-fishing I like

I fight a strong fish for about five seconds, and then, something I’m not accustomed to – ‘PIING’ – the line breaks. I know it, I feel it, but I am only convinced after retrieving the line. Yup, cut clean on the main line. SHOOT.

come home and find a decent, fresh

I check the drag. It is a bit tighter than I would have arguably liked it, but hey, it is shallow waters, the bait got taken more than 50 metres away, you don’t have much time goofing around in such conditions. Stop the fish first, only decrease the drag when you’ve gained at least some line. I am

the word gets spread that you catch

28 www.nzfisher.co.nz

to stop at someone I know who lives on the way home and give them some fresh fish. Giving fish away is much better than freezing it for later. When there is no one home, I help myself to their kitchen and put the fish into the fridge. What a nice surprise when you snapper (gutted, scaled and washed in sea water). Perhaps also a surprise to my readers, no one locks their doors here on Aotea.

The more you give away, the more fish. For myself, this creates another challenge. There used to be a time when I was just glad to get out there, then came the time when I went out to catch a feed and now I’m at a time in my rock fishing, when I also want to catch a feed for others… ■

VIDEOOFTHEMONTH

The Joy of Fishing

with Mates Through the team at Steve’s Fishing shop in Wellington I’ve come across the adventures of Maxi Rouillon, a travelling French fisher with a love of New Zealand

M

one especially because axi’s released a few videos and I chose this . Maxi’s here with it sums up a bunch of reasons I love to fish p) off the rugged coast Steve (of the above mentioned fishing sho za F14. They’re having a great time, of Wellington in Steve’s rugged little Frew utiful! Check it out here. getting a few and Maxi hits a nice trev - bea

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READERPICS

>

Joe McLeod on the rocks around Auckland with a very decent snapper

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>

Clay Pryce’s 56cm snapper taken his first time softbaiting .

>

Duncan Broad with a solid Whitianga topwater King on a Bonze Kaizen 159

>

Kingy Mike Harris 20.5kg, first drop, first king of the day

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READERPICS

>

Leah Phillips - It was 15.43kg.

I caught him in the Whakatane Surtees comp in April. It was the hardest thing I’ve done.

>

Scott DeLacy with a recent 29 pounder off the bricks up North Scott Delacy with a soon to be released 22 pounder

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Scott DeLacy with a recent 29 pounder off the bricks up North

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>

Snapper Jarvis Tusini pb 55cm snap first time softbaiting

>

Ted & The Zeelies

>

William Reid with a 585g 28cm Squid - Thats a first for NZFisher!

Winner!ďƒƒ

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READERPICS

>

The NSSC with a good haul of Snaps (Jeff Zeelie)

ďƒƒWinner!

>

Thomas Plow and his mate Sam with a JD he landed Without dads help!

Ted Audain & his shiny new Alvey - and a beautiful Hauraki snapper

34 www.nzfisher.co.nz

>

COMPETITION

Competition!

Share an Awesome Photo and Be in to Win!

Share a fishy photo this month and be in to WIN one of two $100 Go Fish Vouchers!

SHARE AN AWESOME photo of you with a fish to our Facebook page, or email it to derrickp@fisher.co.nz by November 27th 2015 and you’ll be in to win one of five $100 vouchers from Go Fish to spend on anything you like from their website or in store.

This month’s winners are: William Reid (yes, we awarded a squid pic!) and Thomas Plows (John Dory). William and Thomas have each won a $100 Go Fish voucher, happy spending guys! ●

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