The Fishing Paper & Hunting News – Jan 2018

THE

FISHING FREE

January 2018 Issue 148

PAPER

&

HUNTING NEWS

CHARLES ‘SILVER’ SMITH

Astin Knowles with his Chatham Island ram Story page 17

 S napper eye opener

Story pages 4–5

 T ench and rudd  D o trout snore?

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THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - JANUARY 2018

MARINE ELECTRONICS With Sean Ryan sean@fluidelectronics.co.nz

Ramp it don’t amp it!

It’s time for peace and harmony… but does your boat ramp, at this time of year always reflect this karma?

Fishermen are passionate and at times impatient, and I have found that the level of a fisho’s tolerance diminishes as launch-time delays increasingly eat into their ability to make the bite time.

As a general rule, always carry out time consuming housekeeping activities away from the top of the ramp. Loading equipment can be completed at home where there is no pressure and it is also a great way to make sure you don’t forget any of your arsenal of tricks or supplies for the day. If your boat does not have a great tolerance for additional weight on the open road, then transfer this task to a less busy place in the car park.

Your outboard is crucial kit so get it serviced annually and, pre trip, ensure your oil and fuel are right. Check batteries are fully charged or have been topped up recently. If you don’t use your boat regularly, start and run the outboard at home so you know there will be no starting issues when you’re backed into the water ready to roll.

Give your trailer and winch regular TLC so you know all the bits are there and the winch does exactly what its meant to when launching and retrieving.

Before you hit the top of the ramp, don life

jackets, remove the prop cover, throw in the bungs, and take off your tie down straps! Don’t get carried away by letting go the winch lock, as you will never live it down if you boat ends up on the hard, half way down the ramp!

15

Times Down Under

Select a crew member who can back a trailer competently and, if they have trouble, assist with positive guidance. Most ramps are capable of taking multiple boats at the same time, but only if everyone backs correctly. If you are new to this task, take time during non fishing days to hit the ramp and practice; it’s so much easier when there’s not the pressure of many veterans breathing down your neck, or unhelpful hecklers.

As you back down the ramp your headlights will be angled directly into the eyes of those waiting their turn, so dip your headlights before you start backing. When you get out at the bottom of the ramp turn your lights onto park mode or take the keys out of the ignition so that your lights in their rear vision mirror do not blind others backing down.

If you are someone who is less experienced and feel the pressure, you can opt to head down earlier or at the tail end of the main launching period, and if you get really flustered, most boaties will generally come to your assistance if asked. Everyone has to start somewhere and practice certainly makes perfect. Do your best to enjoy a stress free summer!

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My whole life, including my training at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, I am engaged in drawing, painting in various techniques. Still lifes in oil using the very difficult classic fine painter’s technique.

Portraits in oils and drawings in chalk.

Landscapes in watercolour, sepia ink, gouache and oil.

I live in a small Dutch village, but to be completely free for a while I preferred to go to New Zealand. Most of the time on my own. Mainly for trying to catch a few salmon and – with a fly rod – those beautiful trout (am I too pompous when I tell you that I went to New Zealand 15 times and I was 15 times successful In the rivers Waimakariri, Rakaia, Hurunui, Ahuriri and Waitaki). All so beautiful..!

My wife accompanied me four times and also two of my children.

Most of the time, when I was in New Zealand, I hired a cabin in Kairaki or

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Woodend. From there I drove in a hired car to all the main rivers. Sometimes a colleague fisherman took me to e.g. the upper Rangitata.

In the so called “free moments” when the rivers were “dirty” or the weather too bad I was in my cabin painting New Zealand landscapes. I bought all the necessary material from easel, oil paint to canvasses, in New Zealand. So I was always a busy man. All those painting stayed of course in New Zealand.

Each time The Fishing Paper arrives in my mail-box I read it almost completely. Not only because I like to stay informed but also to “still” my hunger for your beautiful country.

The salmon I caught over the years, I have always seen as kind of bonus. But I am still very proud that I can show my family and friends a number of good photos with these silvery wonders.

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Issue 148 3

Fluff chucking for tench and rudd Tyler McBeth

When most anglers hear of fly fishing in lakes or rivers, what comes to mind are brown trout, rainbow trout, brook char, or the occasional chinook salmon. It would be safe to presume the surface feeding rudd or the mid to bottom-dwelling tench certainly do not ruminate in the minds of those dedicated to the art of fluff chucking.

Tyler shines a light of fly tactics for golden rudd

Our ornamental variation of the rudd, the golden rudd, thrive in slow-moving rivers and weedy lakes. Rudd normally travel in small to large shoals near the surface

to mid water and can grow as large as 4lb or more. They are easily identified by an extended lower jaw that protrudes past their top lip.

Furthermore, the fish’s bright,

vermillion fins and shiny, large scales should give evidence that this species is not the same as the common goldfish, as some people will have you believe.

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Rudd are a wary and extremely skittish fish but fight well for their small stocky shape, darting in all directions, being determined to bury themselves in weed beds or any other structure nearby. They can even jump out of the water when hooked! A dry fly cast to a shoal of hungry rudd in the fading light of the evening can be an effective and enjoyable method when fishing for these stunning bars of gold. Using wet flies, that slowly sink, under an indicator have also produced numerous fish for friends and me. Prime conditions for targeting these toothless foes are sunny days. A rule of thumb whilst for these formidable targets is, the warmer the day, the hotter the action. The rudd’s fluorescent colour makes them stick out like sore thumbs, when these cunning cyprinids sit higher up in the water on hot sunny days.

Tench can also provide great sport on the fly. Apart from feeding on small fish and creepy crawlies off the water surface, their diet is remarkably similar to that of trout. Snails, bloodworms, damsel fly and dragon-fly nymphs seem to be a favourite food for these often elusive, red-eyed monsters. I have observed tench displaying cautious, unpredictable, and deliberate feeding patterns in crystal clear water. Sight

Fly fishing for coarse fish requires finesse

fishing for these fish can drive you crazy enough to take up golf! When the fly happens to be dangled close to the head of a lazy tench, cruising along at a snail’s pace in the mid to bottom layers of the water column, there is no guessing whether it will engulf the hook into its rubbery mouth. Rarely do they race after the bit of fluff on the end of your line. Unweighted small flies such as a size sixteen Pheasant Tail are often my first choice when setting my rig up for these strong fighting fish. Using these small unweighted flies can be crucial for giving tench a longer opportunity to move towards your fly and will, hopefully, lead one or more tench into your set trap.

Of course, with any fishing, finding the fish can often be the hardest part. When tench spawn in Lake Rotokohatu and the Clearwater Resort lakes in North Canterbury during late spring and summer, these slow-moving fish often move higher in the water column near the weedy margins of the lake, in great shoals, to bask in the sun, which makes them easy targets to cast to. Tench can grow fairly large and have been captured to an astounding weight of over ten pounds in the Kaiapoi lakes! A modest fish half that size will still give you a fight that remains present in your mind until you return, with the hope of finding an even worthier opponent to battle.

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THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - JANUARY 2018

4

Glints of

silver

STORY

STORY

in the glass corridor Charles Smith

November in Canterbury traditionally heralds the start of the salmon season and, this year, eager salmon anglers could be forgiven for dusting off their tackle with some trepidation. On the back of a dismal last season, people wondered if a silver lining might just be a spring run.

Show weekend here in North Canterbury and anglers’ questions were answered, with multiple confirmed salmon catches increasing optimism for a promising season. With El Nino weather patterns, Canterbury has been very dry and record temperatures have unfortunately lifted water temps severely, which has slowed salmon movement down dramatically. However, the lower tidal reaches fished well early, with the warmer water causing salmon to build up down low and surf

fishing putting early runs on the board for some. Both the Rakaia and Rangitata rivers attracted salmon and fishing the lower reaches ticked the boxes.

Predawn in early December found me fishing the hole at the top of Rakaia’s Lagoon with other enthusiastic Canterbury anglers. We were working the water at the top of the run-off tide with a good deal of optimism but no results, initially.

Salmon were porpoising in the strong current as local Fishing & Hunting identity and self-confessed salmon

Simon McMillan happy to be on the board at the start of the season

addict Simon McMillan methodically worked his beat. With no takes, he switched to a 22g Amazing Baits silver zeddy and fortune smiled on the brave.

A solid hook up, bent rod, and a good little stoush, and he was off the mark with a season starter of 10lb.

A week later I returned to find there’d been a flurry at the mouth the previous day.

No two days are created equal and fishing the surf just wasn’t a happening thing for me, although I saw two fish hooked and one landed.

Shimano Ocean 20lb leader.

I was using a 43g Amazing Bait silver Custom Ticer, which I find to swim well in the current.

With the river starting to rise and discolour, I retreated back to the gut around 7.00am and put faith in my go-to salmon set up: a G.Loomis 8’6” IMX with a Shimano Calcutta fishing 20lb Suffix braid and

After half an hour of prospecting, my rod loaded up and it was game on. The river was flowing at 160 cumecs, so it was a threeway battle: me versus the fish and the current. Add to that, I was pinned down on the

gravel spit and the last thing I wanted was the salmon to smell surf. In situations like these you have to stand your ground and keep the fish’s head facing upstream by applying adequate side strain. Even with light tackle, this can be done and it is actually possible to walk the fish upstream. It’s gradual — you gently persuade the salmon it needs to be where it doesn’t want to go. After a

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Issue 148 5

Charles polishes silver with Shimano

PHOTO: THE HUNTERS CLUB

few minutes of ‘dog on the leash’, good mate Paul Watts tailed my first for the season.

I returned the following morning to fish the surf again. The river was now pumping 500 cumecs and had blown out a new mouth; dirty water was spewing straight out to sea. A low, gentle southerly swell was pushing clean seawater up against it so it formed a clear current line - perfect. In these conditions, salmon track in along the current line, sensing the colder water and stacking up in a prelude to a run when the water flow recedes.

It was along this ‘glass’ corridor I fished, using a low mount Shimano surf rod with a Shimano TranX 400 reel and silver 58g Amazing Baits Custom Ticer. The results were amazing too: four salmon hooked and a brace in the bin to end the day with a limit bag.

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Charles with a smile that is pure silver

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THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - JANUARY 2018

Optically Speaking – with Ant Corke

and hunting opportunities. I personally have a very busy life and hunting tends to play second fiddle to all my other tasks. Our older clients buy a thermal imager so that they can avoid unnecessary walking up hills in search of game. The people who have the strongest claim to maximising kills in any given time periods are the professional meat hunters and pest controllers.

IMPROVING YOUR CHANCES OF SPOTTING GAME New Year’s greetings from the folk at Yukon Optics New Zealand; we hope your festive period has left you relaxed and unstressed. I can’t speak for everyone, but our lives seem to become more hectic, with fewer opportunities to take time out as time passes. This seems to be a trend amongst many of our customers, regardless of age, who purchase our thermal imagers.

When time constraints are important, there is simply

Spot the deer

no better way of spotting game or pests than with a thermal imager. This fact is undisputed. Unless there is a clear line-of-sight between the animal and the observer, binoculars and spotting scopes are useless. However, using binoculars and spotting scopes in conjunction with a thermal imager, is a very easy and reliable way to spot and identify game and pests at ranges beyond the recognition distance of the thermal imager.

This brings me to the very important topic of distance performance, which is very important specification for both thermal imaging and night vision optics.

The traditional definition is based upon spotting a person of 1.7m tall x .5m wide, in ‘average’ climatic conditions. When stating distance performance, the size of the object must be stated for the figures to have any meaning. There are a few products available that perform well below what the

Same deer through a Pulsar XQ38F

manufacturer claims. Our Pulsar and Yukon products perform better than what the manufacturer claims, which may be due to European consumer protection laws.

Thermal imagers are usually described as having a ‘detection range’ that is the maximum distance that the target animal can be spotted. It may only be a few pixels, but the observer will know that there is an animal out there. At long distances animals can be seen but not recognised, except by the way they move. I was observing a flock of sheep at around 900 metres with a thermal imager near to Nelson one night, when one of the ’sheep’ jumped a fence and ran up into the bushline above. ‘Mmmm’, I thought, a bionic sheep!

Rabbits and hares move in small jerks, whilst hedgehogs move in straight steady lines,

etc. Experience can save a long walk.

Recognition range on the other hand enables the observer to positively identify an animal through the thermal imager. This is especially important in low light when daylight optics cannot be used. The recognition range is a lot closer than the detection range, and will vary depending on conditions.

To give you some idea of distance performance, I recently counted the tines on one of our red deer stags at around 200 metres with a Pulsar Helion XQ38F on a pitch-black night. The above information should help you to decide which model to choose, bearing in mind that long distance performance usually means a restricted field-of-view, same as with daylight optics.

Back to the question of time

I would like to finish off this article with a brief story about my good friend Stephen Hunter. Stephen owns Lake Tekapo Cottages and is also a professional pest controller.

He has been using our Pulsar gear for a few years now, but recently purchased a Pulsar Trail thermal riflesight. A local farmer was given a notice to lay poison by Environment Canterbury (ECan) for having an excessive wallaby population on his property.

Turning to Stephen for help, Stephen advised him against laying poisoning in the meantime, and to try and reduce the wallabies by shooting. During a single week, Stephen shot over 600 wallabies on this property, and when ECan revisited, the wallaby population was beneath the threshold to poison. Stephen says, “Since I got my Pulsar Trail thermal riflesight, I really feel like I am making a difference.”

Until next month, visit www.yukonoptics.co.nz for more info.

New HOOK2

easy and affordable Lowrance®, a world-leading brand in fishing electronics since 1957, has released the new HOOK2 series of fishfinders/chartplotters, delivering a new standard for ease of use and affordability.

At the heart of the world’s easiestto-use HOOK2 fishfinder/chartplotter series is Lowrance Autotuning sonar – a new, game-changing solution that actively corrects sonar settings for the clearest underwater view. Now, anglers can spend more time fishing and less time making manual adjustments to their sonar settings. Most models will also feature full navigational capability and pre-loaded, high-detail mapping.

HOOK2 is not only easy to use, it’s also a powerful performer on the water. Anglers can cover more water in less time with 2X wider sonar coverage with new Lowrance wide-angle Broadband Sounder™ and CHIRP sonar – providing more sonar coverage than most fishfinders on the market today. SideScan and DownScan Imaging™ complete the HOOK2 sonar arsenal on select models, ensuring anglers can view life-like images of fishing-holding structure to both sides and below the boat.

The new HOOK2 series will be available in three easy-to-install, value-priced sonar categories to meet every angler’s needs – 3-in-1 sonar with High CHIRP, SideScan and DownScan Imaging; 2-in-1 sonar with High CHIRP and DownScan Imaging; and proven Broadband Sounder™, respectively known as TripleShot™,

SplitShot™ and Bullet. Bullet 4-inch have an eye-catching, new wide-screen design, providing additional detailed sonar history versus vertical 4-inch display models.

HOOK2 fishfinder/chartplotters will be offered in 12, 9, 7, 5 and 4-inch display sizes, and most models will also feature full navigational capability and pre-loaded C-Map cartography. HOOK2 fishfinderonly models – with the exception of the sonar-only HOOK2 4x Bullet – include a built-in GPS Plotter (without charts) for saving waypoints, following trails, and navigating to favourite fishing spots.

“With HOOK2, our goal was to capture the spirit of the Lowrance customer who values enhanced sonar and imaging, simple controls and clear displays – all at an extremely competitive price,” said Leif Ottosson, CEO, Navico. “From Autotuning sonar settings, wide-angle sonar with double the coverage of most fishfinders and the easiest-to-use, push-button design, HOOK2 combines powerful performance and simplicity into a fishfinder every angler will love.”

For more information, please visit www.lowrance.com/en-au/

Issue 148 7

Thank God for the ducks Patrick Noone

...stays true to its premium pedigree.

Paddy plucks a wee brown from the invisible stream

About five-years-ago, while living in Australia, my wife surprised me with a fishing trip to the South Island. To say I was excited would be an understatement, its a place I’d always dreamed of fishing as a kid in Ireland. Not knowing where to go when we got here, we decided to head to Reefton, a friend had said he had fished there before and it was amazing, so off we went. What I didn’t pay attention to or even consider before leaving was the weather conditions. It was lovely weather the day I arrived but was raining hard for a week before.

I popped into Reefton’s local fishing shop and they delivered the bad news — everywhere was flooded. The only option was lake fishing so they pointed me towards Brunner, best move ever.

I found the fishing extremely difficult, as I was trying to fish like I fished the lakes back home, and it wasn’t going all that well. On the second day, I decided to hire a the local guide Brent Beadle and learned more in five minutes than six months trying on my own.

It really made the trip because I was able to take what he had shown me and use it for the next week, catching heaps of well conditioned trout.

A year later I returned with my dad who had traveled from Ireland. We arrived with the rain and, again, everywhere was flooded. We were staying in a campervan, moving from spot to spot with no luck so we decided to head back to where I knew there was plenty of fish but, both Dad and I being keen river

men, weren’t excited by the idea.

Rain was falling heavily as we pulled up to the lake but we said, “Feck it, lets get stuck into it”.

The tally climbed as we fished through till late afternoon, with some amazing fish accounted for. Back at the van, we were drenched to the bone and decided a pint might warm us up. As faith would have it, Brent was in the pub and he and Dad got talking and talking and talking! You would swear they were childhood friends. Before I knew it, we were back at his house and he insisted we stayed with him for the rest of the trip.

He told us of a creek that might not be dirty but said only a few guys knew about it and we would have to work to find it. He gave us a good idea where it was and away we went, gear on and walking towards a river where he said the creek flowed in. The sun was out at this stage and it was pretty warm so we didn’t want to spend all day looking, but what could we do? Only look up and down the river until we found it. We had just about given up when Dad said, “Those ducks are gonna hit the ground pretty hard”.

They were about 30 yards from us on the far side of the river and disappeared into the grass. We decided to investigate and thank God for the ducks because there it was, hidden away and almost invisible if you weren’t beside it. We spent the next two days in heaven, catching trout in a location people like me used to only dream about.

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THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - JANUARY 2018

Flipper dynamic new jig Despite a strong history of developing products suited to bait fishing, Black Magic Tackle is also well known for its selection of metal jigs, ranging from 40g up to 400g. The range has been built around their smaller Flutter jigs, their more solid Knife jigs and their sleek profile Deepwater Slim jigs.

This season they have looked to build on their success with what is arguably their most innovative saltwater jig – the Flipper jig. At first glance, the jig’s shape is particularly interesting, featuring a solid weighted tail end with a front half dominated by a large scalloped area on one side. This unique shape means the jig has an enticing action as it sinks, but the scooped face makes the movement during retrieval even more dynamic – darting from side to side with each pull.

Whether around work ups or simply drift fishing, this jig can be used for bottom bouncing or with a more typical mechanical jigging style. When drifting with a sea anchor, they have proved particularly effective on snapper, where the angler

STORY

casts them ahead of the boat with most of the strikes coming as the jig swings through the bottom of the drift. The 80g and 100g versions worked particularly well on a spin set up with this method. Using Black Magic’s 8kg SSP Fibre Glide with 20-40lb fluorocarbon actually makes for an easier but longer distance cast, which is useful when fishing in over 30 metres of depth.

Flipper jigs come in 60g, 80g, 100g, 150g and 200g. Currently there are four colours: pink stripe, blue stripe, black/silver and orange stripe. All jigs have some level of lumo in their finish for that extra attraction. Rather than Black Magic’s traditional single assist hook, Flipper jigs have two smaller hooks rigged on Kevlar thread – strong, sharp and effective.

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Issue 148 9

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10 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - JANUARY 2018

LOBSTER FLEET’S FOOTPRINT SMALL

Daryl Sykes

Protection of the marine environment and sustainable use of New Zealand inshore fisheries are not incompatible. Utilisation whilst ensuring sustainability within prescribed environmental limits are the principal objectives of the Fisheries Act. Within the overarching fisheries management regime – the Quota Management System – there is increasing attention being given in some fisheries to the scale at which those objectives are met.

There is a very high level of community interest in rock lobster fisheries.

Cultural values associated with customary use by Maori; culinary values of lobsters in the tourism and hospitality industries; and recreational and sustenance values for the public at large are all significant factors. In addition, the lobster fisheries generate over $300 million in export receipts seasonally and commercial rock lobster fishing is an economic cornerstone of many coastal communities.

To protect access to fishing grounds, and to ensure a satisfactory quality of fishing experience for all users, the New Zealand rock lobster industry, alone and in partnership with other commercial stakeholder organisations and Government, continues to invest in compliance, communications, and

science programmes.

Current and proposed industry-funded research and development activities are directed at opportunities offered by new information and communications technologies which allow industry and MPI fisheries managers to make more timely responses to changing stock abundance.

An updated compliance training programme for industry participants will accompany the roll out of the new digital monitoring programme being implemented by MPI. The complexities of the record keeping and reporting regulations and the possible penalties for infringements are challenging for diversified inshore fishermen.

Effects of fishing on the marine environment are increasingly of interest to the general public and to the eco-organisations in

Fiordland – a marine environment under protection

particular. Research done in South Australian lobster fisheries confirmed that potting has minimal impact on the benthic environment, given that it is mostly occurring in very dynamic marine environment conditions.

The New Zealand lobster industry took an initiative several years ago to avoid and mitigate marine mammal interactions – with a specific focus on avoiding entanglements on pot ropes.

The WhaleSafe programme had its origins in the CRA 5

(Canterbury/Marlborough) lobster fishery, which has frequent interactions with and observations of migrating whales. WhaleSafe was supplemented by a smartphone app – OceanSnap – which provides an easy and convenient opportunity for commercial and recreational vessel operators to record and report observations, including marine mammal sightings whilst at sea.

In some parts of the country, rock lobster industry investments in science and research are soon to be supplemented by media campaigns directed at reducing fish thieving. In both CRA 2 (Bay of Plenty) and CRA 4 (Wellington/ Wairarapa/Hawkes Bay) large allowances are made for illegal unreported

removals when Total Allowable Catches (TACs) are set for the stocks. Industry views those allowances as being subsidies for fish thieves and has proposed for many years that MPI must be more effective in constraining illegal fishing to the benefit of all legitimate extractive users.

A reward system is currently being developed on the back of industry participants ‘profiling’ known and suspected illegal fishing activities in those regions. Good money will be on offer for evidence that leads to any successful prosecution of fish thieves and black-market operators.

Across all nine rock lobster fishery management areas, existing codes of practice regarding refuse disposal, use of holding

Sustainable harvest and responsible management – New Zealand rock lobsters

pots, interaction with noncommercial users, and the observation of small, voluntary, time and area closures, are continuously under review by industry.

The ‘footprint’ of rock lobster fleets in even the most ecologically sensitive areas such as Fiordland, is shown to be very light and the industry intends that it should stay that way.

Application of new technologies continues to improve knowledge of fisheries ecosystems.

Research initiatives and management objectives highlight the need for compliance with fisheries rules to reduce the risk of stock decline and environmental damage.

The New Zealand rock lobster industry has an acknowledged record of innovation and initiative, and continues to consolidate its role as a responsible fisheries manager.

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Issue 148 11

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While Henderson’s has stocked the Ocean Kayak range for ages, the girls thought it was time to bring in the big guns. The Predator PDL are the latest innovation in hands free, pedal fishing kayaks. With a 10:1 prop ratio, forward and reverse capabilities, and incredible stability, they are the most advanced manpowered fishing kayak in the world.

Henderson’s took their store models for a spin this month, which allowed customers to try before they buy, and the punters were impressed; they were easy to pedal and steer, quick across the water, amazingly stable (watch our Facebook video of the guys standing up in them) and after a planned flipped test, they discovered they are easy to right, and climb back into. They also have ample space with two rod holders, several hatches, and space in the back for camping gear or, as one customer has done, an IceyTek Chilly Bin. The Predator PDL is the ultimate stealth

machine, a range of camo colours and silent pedal prop means you can sneak into those hard to reach places without scaring the snapper away with a motor. Having your hands free from paddling then gives you an advantage over a regular kayak. At 4m long, 91 cm wide, and rated to carry 226 kgs, the Predator PDL is more than just a kayak, it is the perfect craft for all your summer adventures. There are three colours to choose from: Red Camo, Green Camo and Urban (white/grey) Camo.

The team had a fantastic day down in Waikawa Bay with a range of their Ocean Kayaks being used by all ages. However, the Predator PDL was a firm favourite. Several members of the public even asked if they could hire them for the day.

Henderson’s currently have a green camo in stock, and after the success of the last outing they will be taking it out again soon. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for their event.

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12 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - JANUARY 2018

Captain’s Log:

BOOK REVIEWS

Call for Rec fishing peak body A call to maintain recreational access to fishing and to protect and enhance our fisheries into the future by developing a broad-based, professional peak body for recreational fishers, was the key message delivered by Dr Randall Bess to a group of over 130 in Wellington in December.

Dr Bess was speaking at the launch his report, The Future Catch — preserving recreational fisheries for the next generation, where he was joined by a panel of guest speakers: the Hon. Stuart Nash, Minister of Fisheries, Sir Mark Solomon, deputy Chair of Te Ohu Kaimoana, and Bob Gutsell, Vice President of the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council. He said New Zealand could model such a body on Recfishwest, an advocacy group that has proved hugely successful in Western Australia.

Dr Bess said fishing is integral to the Kiwi way of life but argued that, historically, too little attention had been directed at improving fisheries important to recreational fishers. He warned that, if changes were not made, we risk being marginalised and may see a catastrophic depletion of some resources.

Many regions are already experiencing localised depletion as evidenced with the Marlborough Sounds blue cod, Top of the South scallops, Motunau blue cod, Hawke’s Bay finfish, and rock lobster in the far North, which underlies the critical need for change. Dr Bess said issues like these cannot be redressed by harping back to past promises, like the oft quoted Moyle’s Promise: “Government’s position is clear, where a species of fish is not sufficiently abundant to support both commercial and non-commercial fishing, preference will be given to non-commercial fishing”, which was short-lived and

not supported by subsequent governments. He said a professionally structured and properly funded peak body or advocacy group needs the recognition of Government as the central point of contact and referral for recreational issues.

Furthermore, this peak body, the government, Commercial, and Customary need to all commit to constructive and effective management of a shared fishery, such as agreeing on targets for higher abundance and management strategies to reach these. He also called on government to develop a recreational fisheries policy in the context of a shared fishery and urged MPI to change their culture and include more stakeholder participation and engagement. Dr Bess suggested switching the basis for allocating Total Allowable Catch (TAC) between sectors from discretionary to secured, to incentivise sectors to collaborate to improve a fishery for all.

However, proportionality must be accompanied by a process to transfer portions of a TAC to the recreational sector as demand for fishing increases over time. He said there also needs to be better information on recreational fishing.

The old form of volunteer advocacy by disparate groups of recreational fishers is no longer effective, so funding would be required for the new model. Dr Bess proposes the government initially fund five-year-period through the petrol tax already paid by recreational boat users, and then look at other options: continued funding through petrol tax, contributions from recreational fishers (voluntary or non-voluntary), and/or registrations from boats or trailers.

DEFECTORS

of Waitangi settlement obligations.

The Hon. Stuart Nash welcomed the proposal and said it shows the conversation about fisheries has moved from those who throw a line over the boat, or make money at it, or feed their families, to a much wider community issue. He said management of the fisheries must include customary, recreational, and commercial interests and we must move towards a system that meets the requirements of all key stakeholders. He said he was not averse to the idea of a peak body but it would have to take a positive and collaborative approach to addressing the issues.

Sir Mark Solomon strongly supported the initiative and collaborative decision making.

He called for dialogue between all sectors on how we manage sustainability: “We need to talk with each other, not at each other. I believe the first right belongs to the ocean; once we have addressed that, we can look at what others take.”

Bob Gutsell said he wanted to make it clear that the Sport Fishing Council (and their advocacy arm, LegaSea) supported none of the recommendations in Dr Bess’s report, particularly around proportional allocation. He believed a peak body was just a new level of expensive bureaucracy that is unlikely to provide material benefits for rec fishers. He said recreational fishers paid $188 million in taxes per annum to the government to act as stewards of the public resource and to assign that role to a peak body amounts

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to the privatisation of the fishery. Mr Gutsell said the Sport Fishing Council had their own policy and plan – a five-point manifesto – which they want the minister to adopt. The Sport Fishing Council and LegaSea represent 5% of recreational fishers.

Sir Mark Solomon spoke briefly of the formation of Te Korowai o Te Tai o Marokura (coastal guardians of Kaikoura) and the consultative negotiating process where everyone was included, which he likened to the concept of an egg.

“In the yolk we had recreational fishers, customary, commercial, tourism, local businesses, and community.” he said.

“The white of the egg was advisory only and consisted of ministries of fisheries and environment, DoC, E Can, and council.”

He said the second part was about compromise and how they operated along the lines of ‘Gifts and Gains’.

“If you want something,” concluded Sir Mark Solomon, “be prepared to give something in return.”

Download The Future Catch: https://nzinitiative.org. nz/reports-and-media/reports/ thefuturecatch/

WATCH IT ON YOUR PHONE SCAN HERE TO WATCH THE PRESENTATIONS

Dr Bess said his recommendations were aimed at improving the fishing recreational fishing experience, while upholding the secure rights associated with commercial quota holdings and Treaty

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Issue 148 13

TIDES OF CHANGE

By Poppa Mike

CRIMPTOON

FREEMAN GROUP

NO MORE LEAKS FOR LANCASTRIA with their machine guns, strafing the survivors

By June 1940 it was clear that World War 2 was not going well for Britain. Thousands in the water. Lancastria did not last long and of troops were being driven out of France with her death went more that half of those by the German army, their only hope of who had been on board. escape being the beaches bordering the It did not take long for the grim news to English Channel, in the hope they would be reach Britain. Realising the effect it would evacuated by ship. Many ships did turn up at have on Britain’s morale, Winston Churchill ports and beaches along the French Coast and decided the press had more than enough bad many thousands news lately and were eventually ordered that rescued, but there would many thousands be no news were killed, media coverage. victims of Other than German those directly bombers who involved, most attacked key in Britain knew locations such nothing about as Dunkirk, or the Lancastria bombed the disaster. rescue ships as However, as they loaded at survivors found wharves or out Tea, hot and sweet, was a great comfort their way back to in deeper water.

Britain on other One such ship rescue boats, was the White snippets of stories began to spread. The first Star liner Lancastria, which headed for St newspaper report did not appear until six Nazaire and anchored out in the River Loire weeks later, and only on one day, before the estuary. Thousands of soldiers and airmen story was ‘closed’ off. were ferried out to her until she was packed full with about 5,300 people on board. And prepared to depart. Then disaster struck …

German Junkers Ju 88 planes attacked the ship and four bombs made direct hits and exploded, one bomb landing amidst airforce personnel jammed in one common hold, killing 800. The hospital also took a direct hit.

As the ship listed and began to sink, those still alive took to the water, a few with life jackets, others holding on to whatever or whoever they could. Then the bombers returned and let rip

It was not until 2005 that John Fenby, a former reporter and editor for various newspapers, was able to complete his fastidious research and publication of the book, The sinking of the Lancastria – Britain’s Greatest Maritime Disaster and Churchill’s Cover Up. He was also able to acquire some photographs taken during the event, and has been greatly assisted by survivors who were members of the Lancastria Association that held a reunion in 2004.

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14 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - JANUARY 2018

Greg and Greg’s big night Swirling down the sink out Daniel Crimp

Greg Gilbert

What started as a ‘carrot mission’...

After reports of gurnard south of Christchurch, I thought that’s something I could achieve pretty confidently. Arriving at my spot, I set out to achieve one, only to manage it first cast!

Greg Terras had been humming and hawing to come and decided at the last split second. What a decision it was for him, having his best ever night on the surf by securing four ele’s and nine rig. It was

epic to watch and he barely had time to light a smoke!

I had a good night too, with four elephants, one tope, and 16 rig, along with that gurnard. It was a blast that I hope to repeat with Greg again soon. As soon as we sat down we were running to our rods to battle another fish — it was insane.

Come 2.30am the lice showed up and the fish were

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gone, just like that. Not having a bite for about 10 minutes, we called it a night.

It is worth noting here that we fish responsibly and release what we don’t need. Only the gurnard, five elephant fish, and two rig made the chilly bins because they wouldn’t have survived after release (not through lack of trying). Otherwise only the gurnard would have been kept.

We quietly opened the door, pulled out the packs and rifles, got our camo paint on, and climbed toward the terrace. We had just driven up to Dad’s friends place near the Waitellu River, hoping to fill up the freezer with venison.

The plan was going good; we saw a group of six or seven but they smelt us coming and bolted. Thundering hooves through the pines. Several more fleeting sightings later, we saw four fallow below and along the creek edge. I crawled up against a pine tree, laid down, but a swirling gust of wind came through and, in the blink of an eye, they were off.

Nevertheless, we were determined to bring home some meat.

We stalked closer to them but, every time we saw them, the wind screwed us over.

Eventually, as we were stalking along, Dad spotted a yearling up the hill, so we quickly slipped out of the open and behind some scrub to plan our stalk.

I had plenty of time to get a good rest as he was completely unaware of us, so I lay down, dropped the crosshairs onto the base of his neck and gently pulled the trigger... BANG! The deer dropped to the ground dead as a dodo, without even knowing we were there; a perfect shot.

We waited for a bit to see if any others would come out but no such luck, so we dropped down to gut the deer.

The wind was definitely not in our favour, as it was swirling like water down a sink, so we took the long approach and stalked for 40 minutes up the steep hill, slipping on pine needles and twigs, and moving slowly so we wouldn’t spook it.

Dragging it down the hill, the track almost in sight, I spotted a group of fallow out of the corner of my eye. I instantly dropped to the floor and put a bullet up the spout. I put the crosshairs onto his neck and squeezed the trigger, BANG! Another perfect shot, as the deer crumpled.

We made it to the top and peeped our heads over. Sure enough, there he was, feeding out in the open, right where Dad said he would be.

The hunting was very difficult with the wind but, when you’re out in the field, you have to adapt to the changes and, most importantly, don’t give up.

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Issue 148 15 To manage a fishery successfully not only requires the collection and analysis of a lot of information but the ability to react swiftly to fluctuations in data and make meaningful changes as needed. On one level, there are bureaucratic driven rules and regulations but they are often unwieldy and slow to implement change. Fortunately, industry has a good track record of putting its own measures in place to protect their fishing success.

Larnce Wichman explains how…

‘OWNERSHIP’ PLAYS A ROLE IN MANAGING LOBSTER

Plateau rule in place We measure stock abundance by comparing the current CPUE to what is called a CPUE Plateau Rule, which has a lower and upper catch threshold: 1.2 — 2.2 or 1.2kg of lobster per pot to 2.2kg of lobster per pot.

If the current catch rate falls within those margins, life goes on as normal; the Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) remains unchanged at 350 tonne per annum.

However, should the CPUE fall below 1.2, a TACC reduction of 5% (17.5 tonne) or more is implemented. If the CPUE rises above 2.2, it triggers a flat rise of just 5%.

scientists before going through several peer reviews by the Rock Lobster Science Working Group.

Then the data goes into the Management Procedure and is set against the Plateau Rule to see whether the CPUE falls within the thresholds.

This happens in seven of the nine cray regions and once scientists have agreed to the outcome of the Management Procedure in their CRA region, the collective information is forwarded to the National Rock Lobster Management Group (NRLMG) for further assessment and to determine if it is line with what recreational, customary, science, and commercial experience regionally.

Off-set year for quick response The outcome of this process will either be the status quo, i.e. no change to TACC, or an adjustment up or down. If a region needs to be addressed, that information is put before the Minister of Fisheries. If approval is given to either increase or decrease a TACC that proposal is put out for consultation.

The nitty gritty process

While the annual quota year, in which lobstermen have to fill their respective quota, runs 1 April — 31 March the following year, our monitoring and Management Procedure process runs from 1 October — 30 September. This is called an ‘off-set year’ and it is put in place deliberately to allow for speedy response to any issues.

Once CPUE raw data is collected, it is modelled by a team of stock assessment

Once results from the consultation are known, NRLMG approves the

This is a simplistic overview, because other factors also contribute to decision making, such as historical data, seasonal influences, and juvenile settlement data collected from seven sites along the coastline, at CRAMAC 5’s cost.

CPUE Plateau Rule

Offset year CPUE (Kg/Potlift)

Figure 1.

Offset year

outcome and MPI gazettes the TACC adjustments in time to be implemented by 1 April, the start of the new season. This whole process takes just six months. Under the old regime of managing the resource in accordance with the quota year, a further 12 months would pass before any changes could be implemented, which could prove disastrous. The off-set year management process and the Management Plan was instigated by commercial.

The latest Management Plan outcome has gone through the NRLMG process and MPI are preparing a consultation paper. As it stands, CRA 5 is not in the consultation round because it’s CPUE is healthy, sitting at the top end of the Plateau Rule (see Figure 1).

Settlement looking good The other data that has been mentioned is the settlement data, as below the latest settlement of puerulus and juvenile lobster along the CRA 5 coast has been great for the past two and a half years (see Figure 2). This is the CRA 5 future catch, the region is still experiencing a higher than average settlement, which should mean our fishing success should remain about the same if not slightly better in most areas along the coast.

Bogey in the system The Management Procedure put in place by commercial is working well, but it only governs the industry. CRAMAC 5 believes there is a need to align recreational with better management practices and the TACC should actually

Plateau margins

Catch effort relates to kilos per pot, per lift

Figure 2.

Kaikoura

Settlement index

In area CRA 5, lobster biomass is measured by indices of abundance called CPUE or Catch Per Unit of Effort, which really means the average number of kilos of lobster per pot, per lift, over a given period. It is important information because it allows us to monitor trends in catch rate or the abundance of lobster, and adjust our practices to suit. While it sounds simple, it requires a methodology to work effectively. CRAMAC 5 implements its own Management Procedure, which is very efficient.

Fishing year be replaced by a TAC Procedure.

The commercial sector is currently being ‘hammered’ publicly by so called recreational advocacy group, LegaSea, but take away the gum beating rhetoric and sensational accusations and you are left with white noise. LegaSea may think combative tactics is the way to manage a fishery — we do not. We believe, and demonstrate, those who use the resource should be responsible for and contribute to managing it.

The only time you hear LegaSea is when a fishery

requires an adjustment down; then all the blame is put on commercial when other factors may be in play, such as a biological pulse or low settlement fluctuations due to a range of factors. But no, it’s bloody commercial — according to LegaSea. We refute that, as evidenced by the consistency of the CRA 5 fishery over a long period.

If abundance does take a biological hit or get hit with a natural disaster like a cyclone or earthquake, it makes sense everyone helps in rebuilding abundance to former levels. Changing the

Management Procedure from a TACC management rule to a TAC rule will provide a more equitable management regime to maintain abundance.

The challenge LegaSea, is for you to be proactive and be part of the solution rather than just loud and angry.

Just try it in ONE region and work alongside a CRAMAC: you might just feel a sense of pride in what you could achieve and it might just be one of the biggest steps you could take in managing a fishery.

16 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - JANUARY 2018

In the

pink

Kim Swan

One, just one, that’s all I want. I care not whether its male or female. I care not whether its 20kg or 120kg.

It just has to be a legitimate wild pig caught within the area marked on my map.

It’s true I’ve lain awake half the night planning my hunt, true too that I was ready to rev my engine at 4:30 am in an effort to beat the sunrise and the forecasted heat wave.

Now we’re here, my husband, my two dogs and I, in the upper reaches of a farflung gulch. The pre-dawn is cool, the grass still silvery with dew, there’s even a fresh pig poo and a hoofprint or two. There are also cows.

The cows are of the farflung variety. They’re also udderly motherly. They bellow and snort and paw.

Their month-old offspring bawl in response. When the bush-boundaried gulch is echoing with maternal moos, the herd begin their stampede, galloping as one towards the headwater.

Kanuka splinters, hooves thunder, udders swing and shit flies.

I try in vain to track the pig who pooed. Yeah, nah, fifty cattle with the squirts have ambushed our plan.

Head-hunt doomed, we box the dogs, stow the hunting gear, and begin our day’s work plotting. The sun is lighting the tops and the temperature climbing as we begin the steady trudge ever upwards. Beads of sweat accumulate then trickle, breathing becomes deep and audible. Altitude is accrued and the GPS is counting metres backwards towards zero when I note a black creature far away.

The distant creature, feeding in the beating sun, is a pig and it has a marked effect on me. Pupils dilated, dribbling strings of saliva, my index finger points crookedly south while my work ethic goes west. After two decades of marriage my husband knows the only antidote to my sudden illness is to cut me loose. He trudges

Tony Woodcock

The pig lost his head when Kim changed the rules

diligently on while I make a rapid recovery and run.

Fifteen minutes later I’m releasing my dog Bolt, grabbing my rifle and cursing the heat. Thirty minutes after that I’m approaching the place where I saw the distant pig. I’m knackered, drenched in perspiration, and Bolt and I both pant audibly. I fear for him. Days like this kill hardworking dogs. A buildup of internal heat cooks their organs. Not nice.

Hoping the pig is still visible so I can shoot it to save the dog some work, I go to chamber a round. I have a problem though, a big problem. The rifle bolt is back at my truck. There will be no easy pig.

Bolt tracks away, following fresh scent on a contouring game trail. He finds the pig bedded-up in a manuka patch. I’d hoped he’d grab it, keep it held so I could use my knife to dispatch it.

Yeah, nah. Its a boar, big and angry. Hackles raised he glares fiercely at Bolt.

His tusks jut up past his grinders and his attitude suggests he will use them to defend himself. Plan B thwarted, very definitely not an easy pig.

Plan C? Bolt looks at me, I

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look at him. The boar glares at me, I whimper and throw my hands in the air.

Plan C eventuates. We three must all make the great trek back towards the truck. We must do it in a co-ordinated and orderly fashion so a smidgeon of control is maintained. I approach the boar in an aggressive manner, he is anxious about my pink shirt and makes a break. Bolt hits him hard, and knocks him arse about face. Bail up. I approach again, the boar breaks again, Bolt brings Boris to a standstill once more. Time and again, break and bail till we’ve descended to within earshot of the riverbed, where the boar dashes into heavy cover and declares himself the victor.

Bolt disagrees, he considers himself the boss. Perfect.

Whilst Bolt and Boris are debating the win, I make my move. Oh boy do I move, udders swinging, hooves thundering, and kanuka swaying in my wake. A gravity assisted sprint down to the river flat to the truck.

Here I paw through my bag of tricks, like a toilet-digging cat, till I find the rifle bolt.

Then, aah the satisfying slide and click of metal upon metal, oooh the equally

satisfying slide of dog box door and the release of Bolt’s running mate Gus. Be forewarned Boris, the woman in the pink shirt is about to make a comeback and she has company!

Gus sources Bolt’s bark-up and introduces himself to the boar. A clash, fang on ball bag and blood drawn.

Then his bail bark rings out too, all dominance and determination deep in the matagouri thicket. Bolt is exhausted from the heat and the exertion so the hand-over is brief but effective.

I scuttle crablike on hands and knees. Here in the shade and speckled sunlight, Boris does not see the colour of my shirt, only movement.

He hears my quiet command for Bolt to stand aside but he’s heard that many times now and does not fret. He only has eyes and ears for the fresh dog with the sharp teeth. His focus shifts from Gus to me in the instant before he dies. His is an arrogant stare, he fears me not at all for he is superior to me in every respect. He is unaware I’ve changed the rules of the game, my rifle can now play too. It speaks, I win, and the boar’s head is mine.

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Issue 148 17

Dead quads, Dozer, and a bloke called Wazza

STORY Astin Knowles

Astin Knowles hamming it up on the Chathams

It was simply the best fishing ever. I couldn’t get my line to the bottom without the telling whack whack of another two big blueys taking the bait. In the midwater the barracouta were a menace but below that, blue cod as thick as sandflies. And groper.

Not huge but plenty and in shallow water. We were fishing in 30–40m off the Chatham Islands with rods and handlines and it was going off.

I was on a winter trip with Dad, Grandad, and some of Edward Gibbon Ltd’s plumbers, which was hosted

by Geoff Thomas on behalf of Rheem.

the water was above the tyres and we were getting smashed; there were broken quad bikes everywhere on the Chatham’s — every hundred metres a dead bike!

Then we went hunting with a local called ‘Wazza’, who had heaps of dogs but they were all well trained.

We were after pigs and wild sheep but the ground was so swampy we had to plough through on quad bikes full of hunters and dogs. In places,

It took ages to locate the pigs but eventually we spotted three porkers over a ridge 600m away. The pigs scattered and Dozer lept off the bike and chased the big sow, eventually grabbing it by the ears. They were knee-deep in water and what

a commotion; growling, snorting, and squealing.

It was exciting but I was nervous at the same time, because I’d been given the job of sticking the pig. In a ruckus of pig snorts, growls, and flying water, the pig was upended and I sunk the knife in. I was so happy I got the right spot — under the front leg and through the heart. It was over in seconds — the pig dying really quickly.

Then we spotted some wild sheep and Dad and I crawled to within 100m but I just couldn’t get a shot with my Howa .223; the rushes were too high. Cautiously, I stood to get a shot but the sheep spooked and high-tailed it to their sanctuary — the sea cliffs. They milled about while we stalked into position, 200m away. I had to shoot an ‘eater’ before I was allowed to take a ram, so I took out a yearling with one shot. Then a ram tumbled at the second shot and they both landed on the rocks below. I was stoked.

It was definitely another first.

Unfortunately, the sheep didn’t play ball after that and Dad didn’t get a shot. I made up for it later by shooting a wild cattle beast for ‘Wazza’ to feed to his dogs. One shot through the head, then the big job of butchering all that meat and packing it out on the quad bikes.

It was a trip of firsts but I’d give anything to repeat it.

Dad?

Harbour Views

By Dave Duncan

Captain Dave Duncan

Nothing happens faster than disaster In the last few months, near misses and near death experiences have occurred to nearly nine Nelson people, not to mention the ones we haven’t yet heard about or the ones that weren’t so serious and were avoided before they became so.

I was out boating recently discussing the sort of things a person can do in an emergency — good communications, right safety equipment, right fire- fighting equipment — when one of the passengers quietly pointed out a reasonable amount of smoke coming from the engine compartment. Not wanting to cause panic and mayhem, as ‘one disaster can easily lead to another’, we quietly recommended the engine be shut down, the sails be used to get us to shore and, if we could arrange it, a lift for the passengers ashore whilst we dealt to the potential fire.

The most useful thing we could do was do nothing.

To open up the hatches might allow a large inrush of oxygen, causing a bit a of a barbeque. Well, we didn’t want that so we called for some assistance ashore (and yes, our Coastguard subscription was paid up) and evacuated most

passengers ashore.

Not long later, we were tied up alongside and established smoke was no longer an issue.

We waited a little longer and then opened the engine room.

Our very hot engine was clearly suffering from a lack of sea water cooling. Some time later a solution was offered and, by the next day, we should be mobile again.

Rubbish had blocked the sea water intake causing the engine to overheat.

The Harbour Masters office has a no excuses campaign going on over summer, whereby a prosecution is a guaranteed result of an infringement. Too many near misses have created the need for punitive education.

Have you had your boat out this summer or are you going to be one of our Christmas statistics?

Is your fuel new, your engine serviced, your PFD compliant, your knowledge up to ensuring the safety of your passengers, and your health up to ensuring a successful journey?

Nothing travels faster than disaster.

Be prepared.

If in doubt, don’t go out.

Have a safe and happy summer.

WGS - 1984 WGS16’ - 1984 41° .7072S 174° 32’ .9797E 41° 16’ .7072S 174° 32’ .9797E

SOUTH SOUTH ISLAND ISLAND

WGS - 1984 WGS17’ - 1984 41° .6973S 174° 37’ .0097E 41° 17’ .6973S 174° 37’ .0097E

WGS - 1984 WGS - 1984 41° 18’ .4072S 174° 14’ .2894E 41° 18’ .4072S 174° 14’ .2894E

NORTH NORTH ISLAND ISLAND

Zone n o i t c e t o Pr tection Zone e l b a C t i a P)ro Strait Cab lePZ Cook C ( r t S Cook (CPZ) WGS - 1984

WGS - 1984 WGS20’ - 1984 41° .1973S 174° 10’ .6094E 41° 20’ .1973S 174° 10’ .6094E

WGS - 1984

WGS - 1984 41° 20’ .3973S 174° 35’ .1097E 41° 20’ .3973S 174° 35’ .1097E WGS - 1984 WGS - 1984 41° 22’ .0973S 174° 14’ .6094E 41° 22’ .0973S 174° 14’ .6094E

Fighting Bay Fighting Bay

NO FISHING of any type (including trawling, NO FISHING of any type crayfishing, line fishing, taking of (including trawling, paua or kina, setting of nets orof crayfishing, line fishing, taking finfish ANCHORING. paua orpots). kina,NO setting of nets or finfish pots). NO ANCHORING. Transit boundary markers and light Transit boundary markers and light Yellow Warning Sign Yellow Warning Sign

Permitted Activities: crayfishing, the taking of Permitted Activities: paua crayfishing, and kina and use of thethe taking of set nets potsthe permitted pauaand andfinfish kina and use of set ONLY within 200pots metres of the nets and finfish permitted low watermark AND outside the ONLY within 200 metres of the yellow warning signs locatedthe at low watermark AND outside either of Oteranga Bay and yellow side warning signs located at Fighting Bayofprovided either side Oterangathat Bay and such activities are onlythat carried Fighting Bay provided out daylight, are andonly any carried vessel suchinactivities used supportand them not out intodaylight, anydoes vessel anchor fix to the seabed used to or support them does by not any means. anchor or fix to the seabed by

Oteranga Bay Oteranga Bay

WGS19’ - 1984 41° .1273S 174° 37’ .9397E 41° 19’ .1273S 174° 37’ .9397E

18 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - JANUARY 2018

Small shark big bucket Billy Cranshaw

Curiosity killed the cod

RY

RA STO

KAIKOU

Bryn Williams

Mask on, I pushed off the rocks letting the cold water hit my face. It was mid-tide with plenty of current in the channels. At first, I manoeuvred my way through the forest of seaweed, keeping an eye out for any butterfish in close.

Stealth is key when in tight amongst the seaweed, especially for those big flighty butterfish, spooked easily by unusual movement: a bubble, or lazy fin slap. Two butterfish weren’t quite quick enough and made their way into the Wettie float boat after falling to the spear.

Once through the initial seaweed, the terrain opened up. The next target was a crayfish. I dived down the face of rock structures, looking for cracks and caves that would harbour a sheltering crayfish. It took longer than expected but finally I saw what I was after. Leaving my speargun at the entrance of the cave, I set a marker for myself to swim down. Regaining my breath, I duck dived and went in for the grab. Locking on to the horns, I pulled it out and turned it over to see a nice male crayfish. I swam back to the float boat to measure and clip the middle telson fin before confirming the catch.

It was surprising to see how silty the bottom was. With the marina being rebuilt just around the corner I wondered if the ongoing works and tide currents were pushing silt into the bay. A possible residual effect from the earthquake perhaps?

Billy finally happy to add another tick to his bucket list

I have been keen to catch a seven gill shark and add it to my tally for well over a year and watched with interest as some good-sized sharks were caught and released, at the Canterbury Surfcasting Club fish at Rangitata in November.

During our points fishing section, my rod bent over and it was all go, with line melting from the spool. It was clear by the weight on the line and the feel through the rod that I was into something substantial. I was well prepared though, with 250 mono leader,

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stainless steel trace, and one size 15 hook.

As the fight played out, I had great support from club members, especially President Greg Terras who talked me through getting it to the beach, and Club Captain Greg Gilbert who grabbed it by the tail, landing it for a photo shoot. The shark was five-foot-long and on the small size compared to others caught during the weekend. However, I am so pleased to have finally been able to tick a seven gill shark off my bucket list. All sharks over the weekend were released unharmed.

Bryn with proof that curiosity killed the cod

With daylight fading, I was almost ready to head back to shore when I found something unusual. I dived down and found an area of flat sand. Not the typical rocky, weedy terrain this area is known for. Sitting flat and waiting on the bottom, I had big moki swimming around me, tarakihi, and a couple of blue cod giving me the death stare. I lined up on the biggest moki and squeezed the trigger.

My Suunto freedive watch gave a depth reading of 10.7 metres so I rested well on the surface before heading back down. No need to rush and make mistakes.

Again I dived down, equalising my ears along the way. The Wettie 90cm carbon gun was loaded and eager. As I lay still on the bottom, a larger blue cod swam up to me and stood on its fins right at the tip of the spear. It was an easy decision.

The float boat certainly looked healthy when back at the truck. Even with the current shellfish ban, there are still plenty of opportunities for divers to come to Kaikoura and get a feed. There’s certainly no shortage of fish!

Issue 148 19

Burley – it’s the bomb!

(Part one)

Burley trail at work

Simon Thomas – Divisional Manager, Omega Innovations Correctly deployed burley can draw fish to your boat and into the catch zone and hold them there longer, increasing your chances of catching fish.

Burley can also reduce the time it takes to catch fish as it is dispersed over a large area and draws the fish to you.

Positioning your burley for effective dispersion changes with the water depth and location you are fishing. Here are some suggestions to ensure your get the most from your burley.

Shallow water – 5 to 10m.

Burley can work well if kept on the surface near the boat. As the burley dissolves it will be carried by the current and start to sink.

Keeping the burley at the surface in shallow water will give you a greater dispersion area and burley trail and therefore be more Small fish come in first and send out signals effective over a larger area.

Geoff Rowling

Our Fishing Future supports calls for establishing an accountable, professional organisation to represent recreational fishing interests, as made in a report released by the New Zealand Initiative in December.

Water depth, current, wind direction, tide, and localised features all play a part on where you should place the burley for the best result. Burley puts food and scent into the water that fish find attractive and will stimulate activity around your boat and baits.

Once the burley creates a trail, it attracts small fish first, as they tend to be quite bold, and small particles of burley allows these smaller fish to eat, making them excited.

As they feed, they create vibrations and movement in the water, which, together with the scent of food in the water, attracts larger predator fish.

A burley with a high oil content will help increase the coverage area. Larger fish tend to be more cautious and timid, and hang back in the trail. It is therefore a good idea to fish at the boat near the source of the burley to target bolder more aggressive fish and have a bait out the back to target the more cautious fish hanging in the burley trail. This is another easy way of increasing the area you are fishing.

Deeper water – 10 to 25m. In deeper water it is more effective to lower the burley using a weighted burley case. Lowering the bomb will deliver the burley closer to your baits whilst still creating a burley trail. If you keep the burley on the surface it can be diluted too much and therefore be ineffective. You want the burley about two to three metres off the bottom so you still get drift and create a burley trail.

Too close to the sea floor and it will sink too fast and not be dispersed. Drop the burley to the bottom and then retrieve two or three good arm lengths of rope back so it sits up away from the bottom.

Support for rec fisher peak body

Some people like to put the burley on the anchor rope so the burley then drifts back to the boat. This can be a good way to deploy burley but you need to ensure the wind does not blow you off the burley trail. If current and wind are in different directions you will not sit in the burley trail and it will be of little benefit. By lowering the bomb from the back of the boat you can be sure that the trail will spread from the back of the boat and your baits and draw the fish to the fishing zone.

When fishing in these depths it is worth considering using a surface bomb as well as the deep set bomb. This will add to the area you are effectively covering with burley and draw in even more fish to the boat. Another option is to create a slurry using some burley dissolved in salt water and toss some over the side every 10 minutes or so.

“A professional peak body is the first step toward achieving a collaborative and responsible approach to managing New Zealand’s shared fisheries”, says Our Fishing Future president Geoff Rowling.

“Our Fishing Future is committed to working collaboratively to achieve positive change. We are ready to work with other forward-looking stakeholder groups to develop management measures that recognise each other’s interests, while promoting an abundant and healthy fishery.

Mr Rowling said such a group should not be seen as a replacement for other groups but an addition: “It will, in fact, empower smaller groups by helping

identify and focus on hot spots and local issues, and put the solutions, worked out with customary and commercial, to the minister.”

He says such a group will be able to act in a direct advisory capacity to the minister and can do the finescale stuff MPI can’t do.

Our Fishing Future recently met with the new fisheries minister and support his recent pro-active decisions for strengthening the Fisheries branch within MPI. We look forward to working with him on further positive reforms.

Mr Rowling said commercial and customary already successfully operate bodies with a similar structure, so if others see merit in it, why not recreational.

Our Fishing Future looks forward to recreational fishers playing a more active role in fisheries management decision making in New Zealand, with the support of an adequately funded representative body.”

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20 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - JANUARY 2018

A sneaky dance lesson Spring tahr sprung Carol Watson – Advanced Archery

Malcom Halstead See before being seen

In bush where the trees are taller and you can see a bit further, it can be tempting to scan the area and then move forward quite quickly, if nothing is seen. Often people assume because you see didn’t any animals, they aren’t there. Well, with every step you take through an area like that, your field of view changes.

An animal that was hidden behind trees between you and it, may become visible.

More importantly, you become visible too.

One big advantage we bowhunters like to have is to see the animal first, not the other way around. I take four-to-five steps – slowly – and then stop and look around again. If I’m near trees with lower hanging branches, I’ll crouch down to get a look through underneath. The legs of a deer really stand out, especially if they make a movement.

Use your binos if you have them. There is nothing more frustrating than not seeing an animal until it is crashing its way through the

trees away from you. And if you do make a noise, stop. Wait a minute, because one noise will probably be okay, but a deer will be on alert for a second noise to confirm if there is a threat.

It might only take 5–10 seconds to scan the area again every 4–5 steps, so take your time — you’ve likely got all day!

A friend in Dunedin had offered to take me springtime tahr hunting for years but we never managed to set a suitable date. The stars finally aligned and on 1 December, I was on my way to Mt Cook to meet Steve.

The element of surprise can be the difference between success and failure.

Photo Karl Barlow

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Prime alpine meat – tahr very much

He had assured me timing was everything, so we had to meet at 5.00pm in the carpark at the road end. This seemed way too late so I got there at 3.00pm, ever the optimist! I started glassing and soon picked up a lone tahr further up the valley.

An excited phone call to Steve was met with a pretty blasé response; he would be there in an hour and to keep looking! By the time Steve arrived, I had 27 tahr located, so we were off up the valley in pursuit.

Thirty minutes later, we halted to suss out tahr that could be sprung before dark.

One mob of 15 stood out as being low enough to get to. Over the next hour we snuck up the mountain using ridges and gullies as cover and, as it was still a good 25 degrees, we certainly lost more than a pound of flesh.

At one stage, while resting in some shade, Steve made the comment, “This sure beats working!” I had to agree, as I looked at the blood seeping from the many Spaniard grass wounds in my legs and arms!

As we belly crawled into position, we were disappointed to see the tahr were still 570 metres away, which is out of range for me and my trusty .243. We now had to inch our way around

a basin while in view of the tahr. They were busy feeding, so this was easier than expected. With the range now narrowed to a more

resulted in it hitting the deck.

Steve also shot his .270 with deadly effect. This galvanised the tahr into action and they headed for safer ground as we fired a couple of unsuccessful long shots. A quick tally up A young tahr for the table revealed four down, which we were more than happy with.

A quick climb to the face they had been feeding on followed, where we proceeded to remove back legs and back steaks. As I finished my second tahr, I noticed another one on a face 250 metres away. With a well placed shot, it too joined the others in my full pack.

respectable 300 metres, we were able to get set up for the shot.

They were young bulls, so I lined up on one standing side on and let drive, which

As the sun set and darkness approached, we walked leisurely back down the creek to the truck, where a cold beer awaited us in the chilly bin. I sure enjoyed chasing spring tahr and, as a bonus, the very good beer sticks made with all that prime wild meat.

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Issue 148 21

What did the cow say to the horse?

Moove over.

What did the horse say?

Nnnay.

Sudoku

By Daryl Crimp

Stuck? Answers are on page 35

Wacka Murphy

BOOK REVIEW

THE LOST CITY OF Z

By David Grann

Simon & Schuster RRP $30

Reviewed by Daryl Crimp

In 1925, the enigmatic British explorer Percy Fawcett ventured into the Amazon jungle, in search of a fabled civilization, which he called The Lost City of

Z. He never returned. Over the years countless people perished trying to find evidence of his party and the place he called Z.

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Set in the era of the last great explorers — Shackleton, Livingstone, and Scott — this is an absorbing read and hard to put down.

Adventurists love the notion of lost civilizations, hidden cities, or lost worlds and this is very much in the vein of a good Indiana Jones thriller,

except that it is real.

Grann, the most unlikely adventurer and explorer, became captivated by Fawcett’s story, the mystery surrounding his fate, and the unanswered question, “Did the lost city of Z actually exist? Ironically, during his research for the book, Grann become as obsessed as Fawcett and was drawn inextricably into the jungles of Brazil in search of the answers. It is inconceivable that one pudgy journalist could succeed where

countless other well-manned expeditions failed, or is it.

What unfolds is a fascinating yarn, seeping with history and kept alive by good narrative. It reads like fiction but is wellresearch fact, and it has a

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22 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - JANUARY 2018

Do trout snore?

Trout do succumb to nodding off but whether or not they are actually sleeping is uncertain. When they do appear to be sleeping, they are actually in a comatose state – the piscatorial equivalent of ‘Noddy Land’ – but as trout have no eyelids, it isn’t easy to determine whether they are fast asleep or wide awake.

Only twice have I come across sleeping trout. The first occasion was at the Arhuriri River, just across from Killimont Station, which is a short drive upstream from Omarama. I’d been working my way upstream searching and probing every likely lie for a couple of hours without sighting a trout

in similar rivers. Another probing cast, another refusal, so I refrained from casting and instead watched for several minutes before the penny dropped. The trout was resting after feeding. I decided to give it a bit more time and watch for any movement.

Several minutes elapsed and save for a slight waving of its tail, the trout never moved.

Curiosity got the better of me so I stood up and approached the trout, which I could now see as a jack in very good condition. I slowly eased my way along the bank until I was alongside him. We eyeballed each other – we were that close – but the trout never flinched, so I gave it a

Frank Cartwright

bank-side foliage for cover, I decided it would be best to wade up the edges and pop up short casts with a Black Stonefly nymph.

A good half hour went by with nary a trout to be seen, in spite of careful scrutiny of each likely lie, when I spotted a good sized brown trout just a few rod lengths ahead. I cast and let my Stonefly nymph drift back but it was refused. Another cast, another refusal, so I changed nymphs to a Hare & Copper and cast a little closer. My nymph almost collided with the trout but again there was no response, which had me head scratching. Surely, any trout in the prevailing habitat would not hesitate

SOME BLOODY USEFUL INFO Summer. What a time! If you’re anything like thousands of Kiwis around the country, you’ll be dusting off the wide brim hat, fetching out the sunscreen, and reckoning that you’ll get another year out of the old football shorts (of course you will).

there’s one in your pack isn’t there?)

It’s worth a quick check in before you find yourself out the back blocks thirsty, sunburnt, and furious you thought the weather would be good all day. Summer can lull you into a false sense of security; don’t be fooled by her wily charms.

If you’re serious about making the most of the season, there are a few things to tick off for each trip. Not only will you be more comfortable through the day, but it’s also likely you’ll be more successful as well.

•

If you’re heading out overnight this summer, a service on your stove is highly recommended. Ditto for your tent poles/pegs/zips. Assume nothing; an issue with any one of these can ruin a good trip.

•

Sunscreen: A summer essential. Add a small bottle/tube into a ziplock bag just in case it pops open.

•

Sunnies: If you’ve ever forgotten yours in the car park you’ll know the frustration. Consider keeping a cheap pair in the pack.

•

Medication: Similar to forgetting sunnies, if you’ve got asthma, hay fever or something that requires medication through the day, pop a backup supply into your bag just in case you forget in the excitement of running out the door.

Summer gear check • The trout was hard up against the bank... sleeping

when I came to a backwater and spotted a brown trout hard up against the true right bank. I immediately popped up a cast and let my Hare & Copper nymph slowly drift back towards the trout, which I guessed was at least 3lbs.

The nymph almost brushed its flank but it remained on station without response.

Another cast, another refusal, so I changed my fly to a Copper nymph, which I have found to be a good fish taker

Do you know your petrol:oil mixing ratios?

nudge in its flank with my rod tip and watched with some amusement as it shot off to the sanctuary of deeper water.

It was then I realised I had witnessed a sleeping trout.

The second occasion was at the upper Fraser River, which feeds the Fraser Dam not far from Clyde in Central Otago.

Tumbling down from the Old Woman Range, this alpine stream has mostly fast water interspersed with smallish pools. As there is virtually no Mixing ratio of Add this much oil to one litre of petrol petrol:oil 32:1

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NG FISHI THE

R

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to grab a passing morsel?

Two more casts, two more refusals, so I began to wonder if the trout was sleeping.

Closer inspection revealed a trout of at least 6lbs gently drifting back and forth but all the while maintaining its position with an occasional gentle stroke of its broad tail. I watched for several minutes before walking up to it and giving it a nudge with the tip of my rod. The trout’s response was the equivalent of ‘Usain Bolt’ out of the blocks and, putting up a considerable bow wave, it disappeared upstream in an instant. I then realised this trout had been comatose too.

If you mothballed your equipment last year, now’s a good time to drag it out, dust it off, and check everything is OK. Pay attention to things like, battery terminals in GPS, head torch etc. It’s always a good idea to replace batteries and tape a backup supply of the relevant size together with electrical tape and chuck in as well.

•

Is your pocket knife OK? Give it some love. Re-sharpen and oil.

•

How’s your pack? Does it need a clean out? Rub a bit of candle wax on zips and watch them glide!

•

Spare laces/cord: there’s a million uses for a length of cord so find a bit and pop in a pocket.

•

Remove any dust, dirt and half-chewed muesli bars from last year (be honest,

Creative Coordinator

Nick Kitchener

nick@coastalmedia.co.nz Deputy Editor

Ron Prestage

rgprestage@xtra.co.nz Printer

Inkwise

– Keep drinking that water along the trail.

Your body will thank you later.

Use the holidays as a perfect time to get into some short hill walking to train for the peak hunting season - that’s what the boys in velvet will be doing too. And one last point to reiterate: spotlighting is illegal on public land all year round. Head to the DOC website for more details and make sure you have permission to hunt on private land. Another great place to start is: www.wams.org.nz Happy holidays!

d is a n th eive ntio & rec ext e M ore n t our * in-s off y vice r % e 10 ull s f

By that time the sun was declining towards the distant range, so I retired, soundly defeated by a beautiful, somnambulant, back country brownie.

I have had the good fortune over many seasons to catch my fair share of big, fat brown trout but it isn’t necessarily the successes that remain evergreen. Dud days can be just as memorable because it’s all part and parcel of the give and take philosophy associated with trout fishing and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Would you?

– If you are out getting meat for the summer barbie – don’t forget your muslin cloth. Not only does it protect your meat from the flies, its a handy emergency bandage in the bush.

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Contributors

Tamzin Henderson

Greg Gilbert

Kim Swan

Billy Cranshaw

Carol Watson

Keith Baker

Malcom Halstead

Graham Gurr

Larnce Wichman

Daryl Sykes

Denham Cook

Frank Cartwright

Charles Smith

Captain Dave Duncan

Poppa Mike

Marty Bowers

Daniel Crimp

Bill Chisholm

Geoff Rowling

Luke Grogan

Bryn Williams

Simon Thomas

Daryl Crimp Ron Prestage Sean Ryan René Boelen Tyler McBeth Patrick Noone

The Fishing Paper & Hunting News is published by Coastal Media Ltd. All editorial copy and photographs are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. Opinions or comments expressed within this publication are not necessarily those of the staff, management or directors of Coastal Media Ltd. Unsolicited editorial, letters, photographs will only be returned if you include a stamped self addressed envelope.

Issue 148 23

24 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - JANUARY 2018

Kayaking

with Chris West

CHECK YOUR KAYAK HATCHES Many kayaks have one or more hatches fitted and these provide access to the inside of the kayak, giving convenient storage for gear. A hatch has an important job to do and that is to keep water from passing through and getting into the kayak. A little water entering the kayak can be annoying but should the hatch completely fail, you are seriously compromising your safety. There are several different styles of hatches used on kayaks. Here are a few things to look for to make sure your hatch is ready for the water.

Neoprene hatch cover with a solid lid

If your rubber hatch lid becomes cracked, the only solution is to replace. The best bet is to purchase a replacement from the manufacturer of your kayak. All reputable brands will have spare lids easily available. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as just grabbing a replacement lid with the same diameter. Each lid is designed to fit a specific rim profile, and it can be hard to find a matching profile.

Screw in hatch lids

This style of hatch is more often used on sea kayaks and less so on sit on tops. It’s important that both the top, hard cover and the neoprene cover are used. The hard cover provides protection for the neoprene cover, which could implode should a large wave land on the hatch. The neoprene cover keeps the water out. Before you get on the water, ensure that the neoprene cover is fitted over the hatch rim.

It’s easy to forget to do this before launching.

Neoprene covers will not last for ever, so when you inspect your kayak, look to see that there are no holes appearing in the neoprene.

Small holes can be glued up using neoprene cement. And, buying a new neoprene cover isn’t too expensive should the need arise.

Rubber hatch lids Rubber hatch lids are a common fitting on a range of kayaks. They can be made in an oval or a round shape. The oval shape is handy as it makes it easier to slide gear into the kayak.

Lids range greatly in quality, and some will have a mix of plastic and rubber. Hatches will perish from UV exposure, so give it some TLC if you want to maximise the life of your lid. To minimise the damage from UV, spray a UV protectant on the lid every now and then.

Check Check outout thethe

Products like UV Tech (from M Essentials) act like sunscreen and help slow the ‘ageing’ process.

This style of lid is popular for smaller openings and they twist / screw into place and an ‘O’ ring inside the hatch rim provides a water tight seal. The threads are prone to jamming when sand gets inside, but a good clean should solve it. If you have concerns about how watertight your hatch is, it’s probably worth inspecting the ‘O’ ring. A new ‘O’ ring should make the hatch work like new.

Clamp down lids Clamp-down lids also use an ‘O’ ring to give a watertight seal. Lids are often hinged, and a ‘T’ styled handle is twisted to provide the clamping force and to lock the lid in place.

Again, if the lid is leaking, look at the ‘O’ ring and replace if it has worn.

Given how important hatches are, it is worth ensuring you don’t lose your lid. If there is no tether cord attached to the lid, look to see if there’s a way to connect the lid to the kayak using a length of thin cord. Use enough cord so the lid can be put to the side while you stow / remove gear.

A little time spent looking after your gear will increase your enjoyment on the water and should ensure everything lasts as long as possible.

The Prep, Check, Know message Luke Grogan - Marlborough Harbourmaster With the reopening of SH1 through Kaikoura and the promise of good weather, the Marlborough Sounds will be as busy as ever this summer. As Harbourmaster for the region, I can be sure that the Harbour Patrol Team will deal with a multitude of incidents on the water, from the silly to the serious.

Inevitably, a few fishing trips and holiday adventures will be cut short by breakdowns or accidents that, for the most part, could have been easily prevented.

The key to ensuring you have a good day on the water is preparation. ‘The Prep, Check, Know’ message provides a useful guide. Prepare for the voyage, check your equipment, check the weather forecast, know the rules and know what to do when things go wrong. It’s all commonsense stuff.

To support safer boating, the Marlborough Harbourmaster, Coastguard, and Maritime New Zealand have teamed up to offer a free boating workshop to anyone wanting to learn more about safe boating. The Picton based workshops provide a few hours in the classroom with an experienced Coastguard skipper, followed by boat trip in the afternoon. It’s a great opportunity to ask any questions you have about boating safely. Course attendees are often eligible to discounts on Coastguard Boating Education Courses such as VHF or DAY Skipper, so it’s a great way to start your learning journey.

Coastguard ‘Old for New’ We also have the Coastguard ‘Old for New’ lifejacket campaign in Marlborough for three days over summer. This is a chance to bring along your old crusty lifejackets and trade them in for significant discounts on new models. Don’t miss the chance to upgrade your gear, you can catch the ‘Old for New’ team at the following locations;

lenheim: B Marlborough Water Craft – 4 January, 8am–11am avelock: H Bow to Stern – 19 January, 8am–11am icton: P Picton Marina – 24 January, 1pm–4m No Excuses campaign Maritime New Zealand’s No Excuses campaign is also underway in Marlborough and eight other regions nationwide. The focus in on ensuring compliance with lifejacket and speed regulations, so make sure you know what’s required in the areas you go boating.

The No Excuses campaign will be run for five days in each region between 1 December 2017 and 31 March 2018.

In Marlborough, we are particularly focused on regulation speed in high risk areas. High risk areas include marinas, mooring areas, swimming areas, popular bays and beaches, and busy or congested areas. Many of these high risk areas are marked by yellow 5 knot buoys, so there really is no excuse for not slowing down to safe and considerate speed.

If you do get caught exceeding five knots in a high risk area, you should expect an infringement.

Free Fuel Lastly, our Patrol Skippers have NPD fuel vouchers to give away to every boat who takes part in our safe boating survey. So if you see the Harbourmaster’s boats on the water, wave them down to share your views about maritime safety and reduce your fuel bill.

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IT NEVER RUINED A DAY ON THE WATER THE CHARITY SAVING LIVES AT SEA

Issue 148 25

Update: CRA 2 and the national blue cod strategy Marty Bowers — Recreational Fishing Team, Ministry for Primary Industries

CRA 2 A management review of the CRA2 rock lobster fishery covering the Bay of Plenty and Hauraki Gulf is currently underway. This fishery is extremely important to iwi, recreational, and commercial fishers. It supports one of the largest recreational lobster fisheries in the country, provides employment, and generates over $10 million in export earnings annually.

The long term sustainability of the fishery is vitally important. There were indications the numbers of rock lobsters were declining in 2014 and in response commercial catch was

reduced by 36% (from 236 to 150 tonnes) through a mix of government and voluntary industry cuts.

Even though catch limits have been reduced, we are still hearing concerns from fishers there aren’t enough lobsters. This is especially a problem in areas of the fishery that are under more intense pressure from harvesting, such as popular holiday destinations like Tauranga and the Coromandel.

We brought a new scientific assessment of the fishery forward by a year to help determine what management changes are required to ensure lobster

We all have a role to play in saving cray.

Photo courtesy Daryl Sykes

abundance increases. The new assessment results became available in late October 2017 and suggested the abundance of legally harvestable rock lobsters in 2016 had declined to around 21% of the previously-agreed reference level.

We have already started to engage with iwi and recreational and commercial fishing interests to identify possible management options. Feedback we received from people who attended multi-sector workshops in November suggested all sectors need to contribute to the rebuild of this important shared fishery.

Given its importance, we

all have a role in helping to rebuild the fishery. We need to take decisive action to ensure the abundance of rock lobsters increases.

There is a two-stage rebuild plan for the fishery: 1. A review of catch settings for 1 April 2018, which includes a review of the Total Allowable Catch, non-commercial allowances and the Total Allowable Commercial Catch; 2. The development of a broader range of management measures for implementation later in 2018.

From mid-January to mid-February 2018 we will be publicly consulting on proposals to change catch settings for the CRA2 fishery from 1 April 2018.

At a similar time we will also be seeking wider public feedback on other management measures people would like to see introduced for the fishery.

These measures are over and above catch settings and could include measures such as seasonal closures and a reduction to the recreational daily bag limit.

For more information on the CRA2 review go to: www.mpi.govt.nz/cra2-review.

On this page you will find background information, new science information and how you can be kept up-to-date on the review’s progress.

National blue cod strategy The first phase of development for the National Blue Cod Strategy is complete. Thank you to everyone who got involved.

We received over 1000 survey responses and talked to over 300 people at the eight drop in sessions held throughout the South Island.

We wanted your feedback on the state of your local blue cod fisheries and what you thought were the issues facing your area. Some of the key issues identified during the engagement were recreational daily bag limits, total allowable commercial catch, released fish mortality, illegal take, and localised depletion.

The issues facing blue cod differ regionally, highlighting the different stresses facing local blue cod fisheries throughout the country.

You can read a full report of the results from the first round of engagement now available online at www.mpi.govt.nz/bluecod.

In October 2017, MPI held the second expert workshop to review the results from the first round of engagement and to begin developing a set of proposed options to achieve the aim and objectives of the strategy.

These options are being further worked through.

Once this is done, we will be reaching out again to

fishers, tangata whenua, and the general public to gather feedback on the proposed options and whether we have missed anything that should be included A second online survey will be made available at this time and MPI will be holding another round of club meetings and information sessions to ensure you get the chance to have your say Keep up to date with the progress of the strategy at www.mpi.govt.nz/bluecod.

Survey on the recreational fishing mailing list The MPI recreational fishing team ran a survey in December to see what people thought about the recreational fishing mailing list. At the time of writing, we had already had a good number of responses and some really useful information coming through.

We want to ensure you are getting the information you need to help you understand New Zealand’s fisheries management system and how you can get involved to have your say.

We will present the results of the survey to mailing list subscribers later in January.

If you are aren’t already a member of the mailing list you can sign up by emailing us at recfishingteam@mpi. govt.nz or by clicking the link on the Recreational Fishing Initiative page on the MPI website.

Will you catch a fish – or a fine?

The fishing rules are there for a reason – to ensure sustainability, so Kiwis can continue to enjoy fishing in the future. To avoid being fined make sure you know the limits and other details for your areas. Download the free NZ Fishing Rules App and check it each time you go.

Shared sustainable fisheries for the future 0800 4 POACHER recfishingteam@mpi.govt.nz Download the NZ fishing rules app from either:

Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

26 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - JANUARY 2018

VIEW POINT

Shot Expo 2018 Everybody’s going SEE YOU THERE

The three Rs of pest control Bill Chisholm – environmental consultant I once heard Kevin Hackwell, president of Forest & Bird, explaining that it would only cost 26 million dollars per year to keep public conservation lands largely pest-free, using regular 1080 poison drops. The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright, echoed this sentiment, saying that there should be considerably more use of 1080 poison if we were to get serious about preventing native bird extinctions.

Compelling stuff. If only it were true.

of possums and rabbits becoming resistant to 1080 poison, usually through developing behaviours that cause them to avoid eating poison baits. When a bait drops nearby, even non-toxic pre-feed baits, they simply avoid it and continue feeding on whatever they normally feed on. Such behavioural resistance is called neophobia (fear of the new), and it is widespread in New Zealand, especially amongst rabbits. It is also encountered amongst possums in areas where 1080 is regularly used.

Mr Hackwell and Dr Wright need to swot up their ecology textbooks; a trained ecologist would know that when you regularly introduce a biocide like 1080 poison to the environment, you inevitably come up against the three Rs of pest control. What, I hear you ask, are the three Rs of pest control? They are Resistance, Resurgence, and Residues.

Resurgence occurs when, inevitably, Treasury finds better ways of wasting taxpayers money than 1080 poison drops, and control pressure suddenly stops. This causes a population rebound to densities much greater than normal. This boom-bust trend in pest numbers can cause greater damage to conservation and economic values than if you just left the animals alone in the first

Kea, inquisitive alpine parrot and symbol of free unfettered open spaces

Resistance occurs because of selection pressure being forced on the pests that are being constantly bombarded by poison. The more often you apply the poison, the quicker resistance develops.

Annual poison drops would therefore cause resistance to develop quickly. There are already many examples

place. Constant resurgences caused by feckless policymakers will eventually cause habitat impermanence, which will quickly cause the extinction of all but the most adaptable species.

Residues will always confront us when we use biocides with any degree of persistence. DDT is the

Bill Chisholm is an evironmental consultant with a Masters Degree (with honours) in Science, majoring in Zoology

classic case because it is very persistent in the environment (it has a half-life of approximately 30 years), but biocides with even a short degree of persistence can still cause major problems.

1080 poison rapidly breaks down in both soil and water. Its low persistence in the environment is often trumpeted as the reason why it is such an environmentally responsible biocide. However, instances of wide-scale secondary poisoning of non-target forest animals and insects have been well-documented.

Not only are native birds killed by directly eating 1080 baits and scavenging dead carcasses, but insectivorous birds are also killed by eating the many ground-insects affected by 1080 poison drops. Residue problems are not just a function of environmental persistence.

The ability of a poison to travel up the ecological food chain is equally important.

All pest control operations require effective planning, using a defined hierarchy of economic and ecological decision-making to reduce the options to the safest and most effective choices. Simplistic curealls advocated by the Kevin Hackwells and Jan Wrights of this world should be consigned to the offal pit from whence they came.

They inevitably waste precious conservation resources and exacerbate the environmental problems caused by their disturbing ignorance of basic ecological principles.

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Issue 148 27

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28 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - JANUARY 2018

The hunting dimension:

Crimpy’s Safaris offer authentic walk up hunting

Consumable animals a reality Daryl Crimp

Regardless of your position on hunting, some irrefutable truths exist. Human population is growing at an exponential rate, there is increased competition for habitat, truly wild places are shrinking in both size and number, decline and extinction are very real threats to many creatures, animal populations are increasingly being subjugated and required to live in ‘modified’ environments, and we are rapidly descending to a point whereby we’ll struggle to feed the world.

Globally, we are not good guardians of our planet.

What is equally true is that there are no simple, practical, answers to any of these problems and all solutions come with trade-offs.

For example, if you take the extreme vegan and animal rights view where all animals be left to live ‘naturally’ and we live a plant-based diet, the tradeoff is dire. A popular staple plant protein is soybean and currently, an area of the Amazon rainforest the size of Switzerland is being felled annually to plant soybean to try at keep pace with world demand. That is the lungs of the planet we are talking about. The same trade-offs against nature, call it ecovandalism, are happening in Indonesia and Asia where estuary mangrove

ecosystems and riverine jungles are being denuded to accommodate prawn farms and palm oil plantations.

It is a rapidly expanding human population that is driving this.

The meat for protein front is not without its unpalatable trade-offs either.

Industrial scale farming of ‘consumable’ animals has been acceptable since civilised Man settled and domesticated wild animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep, and chickens. Many are so disconnected from nature they no longer make the connection that all our

pets and food once ran wild. However, with the population explosion comes the intensification of industrial food production so that we now have battery hens, penned pigs, corn raised cows, force-fed ducks and so on. It is repugnant to some but the dilemma rests in our ‘cake and eat it too’ mentality: humanity and nature must be saved at all costs, but the increasing cost of feeding the world’s population comes at the expense of wild unfettered habitats, which is partially mitigated by increased ‘factory farming’.

How does this relate to hunting? In many parts of the world wild game has been converted to a consumable animal. Much of the Safari hunting of South Africa has gone down this path whereby operators run ‘put and take’ hunts; they buy animals from game breeders and sell them under the guise of legitimate wild hunts. The game breeding industry in RSA has become so huge it’s worth billions of dollars per annum. Some would argue that this is not true hunting but another form of ‘farming’. Nor is it

true conservation at work.

And I agree.

But the truth of any argument lies in the middle.

This style of ‘hunting’ operation does maintain a species by giving it a value – we did this with beef way back when. It also injects a substantial amount of money into local and the national economy, and it creates employment in depressed rural areas. It is also a huge provider of protein. On the plus side, these operations support way more wild animals than they actually shoot, as they need herds of different sexed and ages of animals to create a sense of a wild hunt. Equally, habitat has to be maintained to support this industry.

Crimpy’s Safaris the real deal Crimpy’s African Safaris books and hosts Safaris to Africa but we do not buy into this style of hunting — it is not the Kiwi way. With over a decade of research and several African hunts under my belt, I use one of South Africa’s best free range wild operations — Huntessential. Owner Louis Beukes is a very passionate hunter and conservationist who has invested a fortune into restoring habitat, wild animal environments, and decimated endemic herds so that hunters get to experience genuine walk up wild hunts.

The properties are huge and he also has concessions in other areas so that we are

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able to offer a variety of hunts to suit and budget or personal dream. Hunters get to experience a sense of the old Africa as reflected in the era of Hemingway and Capstick.

We have permanent safari tent camp, authentic safari lodgestyle accommodation, and can offer savannah and bush veld hunting in the one package.

While anti-hunters even deplore this type of hunting, the reality of ‘consumable’ animals is that they can serve a greater purpose. Under the radar, Louis is raising a small herd of white rhino, not for hunting but to help save a species driven to the brink of extinction by corruption and poaching. Like it or not, hunters dollars can be part of the solution.

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Call Crimpy NOW 021 472 517 - editor@thefishingpaper.co.nz

Issue 148 29 YOU WILL NEED

PARMESAN CRUSTED SNAPPER WITH ASPARAGUS & CORIANDER PÂTÉ

COOKING with CRIMPY

•

600 – 800g snapper fillets cut into serving portions

•

2 tbsp cornflour

•

Plastic bag

•

Cream

•

Rice bran oil

•

1 cup white breadcrumbs

•

4 heaped tablespoons Ornelle grated parmesan cheese

•

Cracked pepper

•

125g spreadable cream cheese

•

2 tsp lime juice (or lemon)

•

1 heaped tbsp roughly chopped fresh coriander

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Pour 50 – 80ml cream into a shallow bowl and dip each fillet to coat on both sides.

Coat each fillet with crumb mix, place on plate covered in paper towel. Separate each layer with a paper towel and place in freezer for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile make the pâté: Peel and cook asparagus — drain and cool. Finely chop and add to kitchen blender with lime juice and a dollop of cream. Blend until smooth. Add roughly chopped coriander and combine. Remove to bowl and place in freezer for 20 minutes to set.

Put cornflour into plastic bag, add fillets one at a time, shake to coat, remove (shaking off any excess).

Cover base of fry pan with rice bran oil and heat over moderate to moderately hot element until the surface of the oil starts to shimmer.

Add fillets 2 – 3 at a time (too many and the oil will lose frying heat) and fry until lightly golden on each side.

Add breadcrumbs to bowl and mix in parmesan cheese and a good grind of black pepper.

Serve with a crispy salad or steamed vegetables, with a good dollop of pâté on the side.

•

4 – 5 stalks fresh asparagus peeled or six tinned stalks drained.

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The rest is pretty straightforward. Bang on a barbie, or grill in a hot pan, but avoid over turning the burgers as they tend to lose the juices, which is flavour! Sear and cook one side.

Depending on how thick you have made your patties, should be a couple of minutes each side, then flip and cook the other side. Once cooked, ideally slightly rare in the middle and full of flavour from the juices of the venison and the sauce, then serve with fresh, or toasted buns and your favourite condiments eg. lettuce, onions, tomato, grilled cheese (great with brie or blue cheese), pickles, etc etc.

A wee hint. Venison goes great with fruity and sweet sauces and chutneys. So with Glasseye Creek Sauce in the meat, which will impart a sweet and smoky flavour, try using a plum, cranberry or similar fruit relish as a topping. Up to you. Obviously goes best with Glasseye Creek as the topping sauce, but no rules. A good pattie is the key, let the rest just evolve. Enjoy!

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30 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - JANUARY 2018

Kylie Minnow-gue salmon mouthful Seasoned

scallops in season

Graham Gurr

George is from California, which, if you live in the USA, explains a lot. Being a passionate advocate for the North American First Nations (Indians), he lectures at high school through University about California’s first inhabitants.

George is into traditional archery, he makes his own bows, arrows, and arrowheads. He used to be an engineer, helping develop the commercial jet fuel we now take for granted. Still an engineer, now retired, he designs and engineers women’s shoes and handbags; no kidding, he has a design company that sells his shoe and bag designs around the world. And judging from his pictures, he sells a lot.

George ties the most beautiful flies; they are all variations on a single pattern. His shoe and bag designs allow him to indulge in another of his passions, salmon fishing, which is how I met him. He was a guest (a regular one) at the Kalum River lodge in British Columbia, Canada.

George ties and fishes a fly called the Kylie Minnow. He was inspired by the singersongwriter-dancer and showbiz personality Kylie Minogue. This is serious stuff, he carries the recording he made of one of her shows he attended on his camera, but while she is shaking and moving her body and making suggestive dance moves, George is thinking, “she’s got my attention, so how can I use this to make a fly that is going to get a salmon’s attention?” Seriously who goes to a Kylie Minogue concert and thinks about fishing.

George obviously!

Shelley Reed

The result is a fly that has a serious amount of bling, a lot of sparkle, and movement — and it shakes its booty, just like the aforementioned Ms Minogue.

George takes its creation seriously; he has on his camera the concert he attended and can point to moments in the concert where Kylie was doing things that perhaps younger viewers should not be watching but seriously got your attention.

Taking that philosophy into a salmon fly has meant that George uses three different types of his wife’s nail varnish, just to finish the head! First a black lacquer to coat the wraps of thread that make the head, then a white eye, and a red pupil, both of which are fluorescent in UV light. The body is made from Krystal flash, buck tail, gold sparkle yarn, and a red hackle throat.

They work! George, because of a bad back probably, fished less than anybody at the lodge but caught as many fish as anyone else during the week I was there, and also caught the biggest coho of the week – a 16 pounder.

The Kylie Minnow ruled!

My sister Rita and partner Allen had a wonderful dinner party at their home, to which we were invited, and I offered to make the entrée. We were lucky with the timing as it was at the height of last open scallop season, so we were able to catch the scallops and have them for dinner that night, which is the only way to have them for sashimi.

Scallop Entrée Scallops – Sautéed with egg and Panko crumb Scallops – Asian Style Scallop – Sashimi Scallop – Mornay with a hint of Singapore Curry Sautéed Scallops Dry Scallops Dip in egg, covering thoroughly Coat with Panko breadcrumbs

Pour the hot sauce into servicing dishes.

Briefly steam scallops and place in sauce.

Sashimi Scallops I sometimes cut the roe off the scallops when eating them raw – but it is not necessary.

Serve natural accompanied with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce.

Scallop Mornay Make a roué sauce by melting the butwter and mixing in flour.

Lightly fry with half butter and quality olive oil

Gradually add one small can of coconut cream.

Asian Scallops (my made-up recipe)

Then grated cheese, ground pepper, garlic and parsley.

I made a sauce of what Asian ingredients I had on hand – I think in this instance it was:

Make a paste with Singapore curry and a little milk – stir this to the mornay.

Hoi Sin, Oyster, Soya and Fish Sauces.

I use Singapore curry as being nice and mild, it is ideal for fish, and a lovely colour too.

I heated these on the stove top, added brown sugar, honey and garlic. Taste it and adjust to your liking.

I personally think Hoi Sin Sauce is quite powerful so I didn’t use too much of it.

Once sauce is simmering add raw scallops, let it simmer only for about two minutes as that is all it takes to cook the scallops Spoon into serving dishes.

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32 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - JANUARY 2018

Snapper research

eye-opener

Denham Cook – Scientist Plant & Food The Plant & Food Research Seafood Production group (PFR) have been growing juvenile snapper for their research purposes since 2005, and have quietly raised 12 generations of snapper from small eggs through to adults. This research has given staff an eye opening view into the biology and potential of one of New Zealand’s favourite recreational and table fish.

Snapper used in the group’s research have all originated from wild caught ‘brood snapper’ captured from Tasman Bay and housed at the group’s original facility on Wakefield Quay, Nelson, and now in a new purpose built research facility on Akersten Street, Port Nelson.

Over this period these snapper have been allowed to spawn naturally in a tank setting and hatchery staff have been honing their husbandry skills and caring for the species, ranging in size from tiny larvae (9mm in size), through to large 20+ lb adults. Juveniles produced have contributed towards development of the Precision Seafood Harvest research programme, aquaculture investigations, harvest quality improvements, and scientific investigations into their natural production, physiology, genetics, visual systems, and environmental tolerances. The snapper have been made available to researchers around the country to investigate the biology of the species – as

the hatchery has allowed access to snapper at various life stages and sizes.

In years where the group has produced an excess number of snapper, animals not needed for research have been released from the hatchery into the Nelson Haven. The first releases occurred in 2005, where 35,000 juveniles were

released, then the following year 120,000 small juveniles (less than 60mm in size) were released. More recently PFR have released nearly 100,000 large juveniles (60-240mm) into the top of the South, with 77,000 being released into Tasman Bay between 2016 and 2017, and 21,000 released into the Pelorus Sound in early 2017.

These releases have been performed in conjunction with the Te Tau Ihu fisheries trust, Nga-i Tahu Seafood, and

the Dawnbreakers Fishing Club (Nelson).

During their time spent with snapper, staff at PFR noticed that fish raised in their hatchery had a different nostril morphology than wild snapper. Although very subtle, wild caught snapper have two nostril pores on either side of their head, whereas hatchery reared snapper typically only possess a single large nostril pore on either side of their head (refer picture).

The reason for this is not completely understood, but it is not a factor of their genes (the parents all have wild type nostrils), and appears related to their

early larval development in an artificial tank/hatchery setting. This same nostril morphology is present in many other cultured fish species, including the Japanese red sea bream (a very close relative to snapper, which looks near identical) that has been cultured throughout Japan for over 30 years. In Japan the red sea bream has been used for stock enhancement across much of the country’s coastline – where the two

different nostril types allow one to identify whether a caught snapper was spawned in the wild, or originated from one of Japan’s many hatcheries.

As snapper recently released into Tasman Bay and the Pelorus Sound will likely be approaching or exceeding legal capture size this coming summer – 2017–2018, staff at PFR are particularly interested if fishers catch any snapper with the hatchery type nostril shape and where these fish have been caught. Of particular interest would be image files that contain gps tags (which can be collected on any smartphone) or a description of the general capture location, and size information of any recaptured hatchery origin snapper, which can be emailed to wildfish@ plantandfood.co.nz. This information will help PFR to collect more information on the movements and survival of hatchery reared snapper in the wild and enable PFR researchers to investigate the value and potential for expanding release programmes to restock snapper into highly pressured fishing locations.

The 2018 Surfcasting Competition at Amberley Beach is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Not many surfcasting competitions remain in the South Island, so it is quite an iconic event.

Thousands of people have fished the competition over the years and last year 316 fishers, including 80 kids, spread themselves over

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In recent times, the competition day has moved from soon after New Year to the end of January, which works better for a lot of people, and the Sunday with the best incoming tide is chosen to maximize the catch rate.

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3.5kms of beach. Quite a sight on a perfect warm nor’ west day. Sofas, deck chairs, tents, gazebos and chillybins added colour and interest to the scene.

The competition is organised and run by the Amberley Lions Club as a charity fund raiser and the proceeds are used for community purposes, with the primary focus on youth and the elderly. While the competition attracts keen fishers, it is also a fun family day at the beach and a popular tradition for the past seven years is that all kids take home a prize.

In addition to their work on snapper, PFR and their collaborators are also investigating the biology and developing hatchery rearing methods for other popular seafood species including blue cod, trevally, and yellowbelly flounder. Aiming to build up our knowledge of New Zealand’s highly valued marine fish species, and develop opportunities for all the various interested parties and fishing sectors of New Zealand.

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Issue 148 33

One hell of a trout

BOOK REVIEW

A HUNTER IN PARADISE

By Zeff Veronese

Copy Press Books RRP $48

Reviewed by Daryl Crimp

Zeff Veronese is one of New Zealand’s most accomplished alpine hunters, and somewhat of an icon amongst Canterbury deerstalkers. In this selfpublished book, subtitled a collection of real-life stories, Zeff takes the reader along on, literally, dozens of hunts and, with over 50 chapters and 250 pages, it’s one hell of an adventure.

Zeff’s pragmatism shines through his writing, with the episodic chapters essentially following the same format: a diary of hunting adventures laid out chronologically, retold with natural ease, and amply supported with photographs. They vary in length, with some taking barely a page; Zeff doesn’t mince words and gets straight to the nub of each story, which means you can cover a lot of ground quickly.

Alternatively, the book can be put down and picked up at any stage, as the chapters are all self-contained.

The stories span almost six decades, which gives

A Hunter in Paradise added historical value; the timeline of hunts recording snapshots of many hunting regions throughout the South Island, while demonstrating how quickly hunting has changed in the span of a couple of generations. Evolution becomes an underlying theme of the book and, through the sequential telling of the stories, we see Zeff mature as a hunter and a man, as he goes from a hunter for the table to a trophy hunter and (film) videographer.

What sets this book apart is the raw honesty in retelling events exactly as they took place. There is none of the idealistic and repetitious one-shot kills of the modern writer, but plenty of lead flying about the pages as Zeff describes early fusillades as he and other nascent hunters tried to bring animals down.

These are peppered with the occasional ‘shot from the hip’ and plenty of animals being ‘poleaxed’, which is all significant given the lack of technology and rudimentary skills of the time. Zeff is frank about the mistakes they made but he took each incident as a teaching moment and always strived to learn and improve. There are also plenty of life lessons within the pages for readers to absorb — inexperienced and

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Now that’s a big trout in anyone’s book!

experienced hunters alike.

Another shining facet of his writing is his dry wit, which percolates to the surface here and there. From scraping his bum clean with a prickly lawyer vine and always thinking of sex when shooting at trophy chamois, to naming an errant pilot after a woman’s organ, Zeff frequently manages a unique turn of phrase.

Toughness and resilience are key attributes that echo from the pages of A Hunter in Paradise so, coupled with his great love of the outdoors, it is little wonder Zeff is still hunting actively on the cusp of his eightieth year. While tahr and chamois are his favourites, Zeff the hunter has pursued many other species throughout the South Island and in amongst the recounting of these tales are some pearls of wisdom and more than a few little ‘literary gems’.

A substantive and fascinating read, welldeserved of a place in the hunter’s library.

It was early Tuesday morning when longtime friend and workmate Lew and I headed out into the Tasman Bay for a fish.

The weather was due to swing north-east later in the day and get nasty, so a small window of opportunity was taken.

We did the usual berley trail and various baits and the first catch on board was a good sized kahawai. Then followed the usual assortment of ‘spikies’ and carpet sharks.

I often cast a big bait out the back with a long trace and, in this case, I had my trout

spinning rod on board so gang-rigged two hooks along with a good looking pilly and heaved it.

We had been on the spot for about an hour when the fish hit the bait. It was a soft take and at first I took it for another kahawai but, after untangling it from the berley line, I could feel the true weight of the fish.

We were both very surprised to see the size of the snapper when it came into view. It was a great start to the season and very pleasing to see the awesome condition of these fish.

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34 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - JANUARY 2018

From Sinker to Smoker

THE

By Ron Prestage

Rebecca proudly displays her first gurnard

Christchurch resident and member of the Canterbury Surfcasting Club, Rebecca is becoming a successful fisher of the Canterbury area.

The Fishing Paper: What is your first memory of fishing?

Rebecca: We did a lot of wharf fishing as kids. I remember fishing at Lyttelton often.

It was joyous when a red cod was caught. I once caught a very small salmon at Cashin Quay. That was a highlight and memory I will never forget.

TFP: What has been your most successful day surfcasting?

Rebecca: Surfcasting success is dependant on which yard stick you or I am using to measure with. If I am measuring my success on catches landed, I would say I have had minimal success. The day I landed my first gurnard and carpet shark has to date been my most bountiful day. If I am measuring my success on enjoyment I have had with rod in water, I have had so much success!

If I measure my success based on new information learnt that time I cast, every single time I get out it’s a successful time out!

I am a novice with surfcasting and only just picked it up last year.

TFP: What is your most favoured rig for surfcasting?

Rebecca: I make my own rigs – so much cheaper and more personally tailored that way. I like to use a 4 or 5 ounce breakaway sinker followed by two hooks tied 10-15 cm off the main trace and 20 or so cm apart, then attach that to my main line with a swivel clip.

I am learning a lot about different rigs for different locations and bait, which is great!

times. My first ever kahawai landed (just last year) was on bonito. My go to bait though is mussels and pilchard. And I have been very blessed to learn of the importance of bait cotton!

TFP: What is your top tip for surfcasting success?

Rebecca: Be as educated and mindful about where you are going, what you can catch, what you need, and what the conditions will be like as you possibly can.

Be prepared! Better to take too much than not enough stuff. You can always leave things in the car if you can’t carry it with you. Talk and listen. Ask questions of the locals and be prepared to learn something new. Respect. Respect the environment in which you are in and leave nothing but footprints. Have fun. Fishing isn’t always about catching fish. Any fish landed is a bonus. Enjoy getting outdoors.

TFP: Do you have favourite surfcasting spots and how do you fish these places?

Rebecca: As I am fairly new to surfcasting I am discovering some pretty amazing spots.

I am still practicing my casting and struggle with getting amazing distance. My safe, relaxing spot is the Waimak’ mouth. I love it there. I fish it to the conditions. If there are kahawai around I will target them with bait (although I know many who would say spinning for them is a lot better). But I also like to target mullet with sabiki rigs and mussel for bait.

TFP: How has being a member of a fishing club helped you?

Rebecca: Oh my goodness, I have loved being a part of the Canterbury Surfcasting Club! I have been blessed to meet some amazing characters who have extensive fishing passion and knowledge. Most of them are very generous with their knowledge and share their spots and tips and tricks with me. Thank you to those people for being amazing!

TFP: What other forms of fishing do you pursue?

Rebecca: I love to fish when and where I can. I haven’t fished from a boat in 10+ years, but thanks to getting involved in fishing clubs I have a trip planned in the summer holidays and I’m so looking forward to it. I have done a little bit of lure fishing but with no luck and one of my goals when I’m a bit older and have more free time is to give fly fishing a go.

TFP: Besides fishing what else do you like to do in the outdoors?

TFP: What do you think of the present state of the Canterbury fishery?

Rebecca: I don’t have a brand favourite. I use what is available to me and what I feel comfortable with.

Rebecca: It does concern me that at times it can seem like there are just no fish around anywhere. I don’t like that trawlers in close seem to take a lot of fish. But I have to admit I don’t really know enough about it to make judgement really.

Rebecca: The main thing I have learnt about surfcasting is to ask, “What am I targeting here? What can I catch here? What baits do these fish like?” As kids we just used whatever was cheaply available to us.

A lot of hearts, kidneys, and livers were used along with chicken and even bread and cheese! I have used fish and crabs mostly in recent

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