THE FISHING PAPER 21
www.thefishingpaper.co.nz By Peter Hyde Canterbury/Westland District Compliance Manager Phone 0800 4 Poacher
Canterbury Winter Fishing
While the fishing around headlands of Banks Peninsula couldn’t be described as great, we do have some excellent fishing offshore. Names given to some of these offshore locations are ‘The Hole’, ‘The Strawberry Patch’, ‘Le Bons Rocks’ and ‘Trumpeter Rock’ to name a few. At just over 50kms from Lyttelton Heads to ‘The Hole’ it’s not a place to take small boats. Most boats that I’ve seen that go to these areas are at least 6m and are well equipped with safety and communication equipment. Between southerlys we can get some nice calm frosty days. Those who fish these offshore reefs are often well rewarded. Common species caught are hapuku, blue cod and trumpeter for the table, and sharks for a bit of sport. Experienced fishers with good quality sounders can target the species they want; for others it’s a mystery what might come up. At this time of year you can get into large numbers of small school hapuku, also commonly called groper. For hapuku, bass and kingfish there is a combined daily limit of five fish (with no more than three kingfish). Over winter you are unlikely to bring in kingfish so you could take a maximum of five hapuku. We have caught the odd person exceeding the daily limit in past winters. There is no size limit on hapuku. They are most often caught in deep water. The rapid decrease in pressure as they are brought to the surface will blow up their swim bladders making it difficult for them to get to the bottom if released. It wasn’t always the case around New Zealand where you only get hapuku in deep water. Over the years I have heard many stories from older recreational fishers
who routinely caught hapuku in shallow water. It’s a pity overfishing has caused the only significant quantity of shallow water hapuku to be found around the Chathams. This time last year I was on the Chathams and came across a group who were spear fishing big hapuku in 40 feet. The maximum allowable daily limit for trumpeter is 15; there is also a size limit on trumpeter of 35cm. If you are taking blue cod at ‘The Hole’, the maximum allowable daily limit is 30; the limit drops to 10 north of the Waimakariri River. 30 is an extremely generous daily limit and most responsible fishers that we see voluntarily take less.
Coastlines
By Ivan Wilson
Fishing for Gold It was a golden day in more ways than one. Matey the Miner suggested a run out to a favoured lake east of Darfield and said we needed to drop in on the way to get a bit of gold smelted. Said it wouldn’t take long. As it transpired, it took longer than expected before the gold was turned into a bar. After a while we left the bar and headed to the lake. Nah, we’re serious fishermen and don’t get sidetracked ... on the way out anyway! We made a quick call on the landowner for permission to access his property and were delighted to find his young son ‘Alf’ was keen to join us. We’ve had some golden days around the lake edges and it was here matey honed his considerable skills learnt from mentors in years now well past, passing some of them on to your Coastlines scribe. We’ve stalked the edges on foot, fished from boats and even drifted up amongst the swampy flax, trees and reeds when the lake was high. Up there the shallow waters mean our favourite phenomenon - the bow wave. A fish will suddenly appear from behind a stand of reeds or from between a couple of flaxes and rapidly progress toward the drifting fly like a submarine on steroids. Heartstopping stuff. A lot of trout have come to
the net in this place. In fact, on one memorable occasion we had a double hook up – both six pounders. As with other lakes, it has many moods: still and mystical at one end of the meteorological spectrum, to strong winds, lumpy with white caps and even waterspouts at the other. This day in question quiet, so we held our young enthusiast back a few metres from the edge to check the water and it was plain to see there were fish everywhere. Probably five or six within casting distance, but Alf just couldn’t see them. I hauled out a spare pair of polaroids, which he donned and immediately let out an enthusiastic, “WOW! Now that’s what I call the true wow factor.
We set up his threadline gear with a float and fly dropper and helped him get the fly out to where it should be. The lad had focus, watching the water like a seasoned angler. Fish were moving about and feeding, however none immediately took his fly, but this didn’t deter him. He quietly moved along to another spot and tried again, and at this stage you might expect me to describe how a fish closed in and took the feathery offering, but it didn’t happen. It will though. What is important about this particular day is that the young chap was beginning what hopefully will be a lifetime of fishing experiences. Us older blokes find it rewarding to see something like this happening and while Matey the Miner had his bullion, seeing a young fella learning to fish was pure gold for me on the day.
FREWZA F14 Dinghy
with Mudgway Trailer and outboard of your choice. Packages from $12,750 inc GST. The FREWZA F14 Dinghy is based on the ever popular 4.1m FREWZA High Sided Dinghy, with the added benefit of the beach launching transom, which Incorporates an outboard pod, boarding platform, raised stepped transom, which is designed to give added lift and protection when negotiating the surf or following sea. The increased versatility of the FREWZA F14 Dinghy has seen it rival the great 4.1m FREWZA High Sided Dinghy as Frews Marine biggest selling hull in the FREWZA range.
The FREWZA Boats range of dinghies and boats, by Frews Marine Ltd in Invercargill have developed into one of the biggest selling brands on the market. After 8 years in the market FREWZA Boats have earnt a huge reputation for building world class boats and providing world class service. With models ranging from 3.4m to 6.8m it’s easy to see why FREWZA Boats have become the fastest growing brand in the market place. One of the biggest attractions to choosing a FREWZA is the uncomplacted nature with all models starting as a standard hull and the customer being able to customise exactly what they are wanting.
FREWZA F14 Fisher
with Mudgway Trailer and outboard of your choice. Packages from $20,500 inc GST. The FREWZA F14 Fisher has also been a winner with a wide range of happy customers. With the added comfort of the dodger and forward steer, this boat’s performance well exceeds the size. Fitted up with a 40hp outboard this boat is not only super efficient on fuel but very easy to handle and manoeuvre, making it a great entry level boat or sensible alternative for any boatie considering downsizing their vessel, without compromising safety or range.
The team at FREWZA Boats consist of three exceptional trade qualified boat builders with combined experience of 40 years. You can be assured your boat is built by one of the best tradesmen in the game!
4.1m FREWZA dinghy. Packages from $9,990
4.1m FREWZA high sided hull with Mudgway trailer and 30hp outboard. $11,900
FREWZA F14 sport console with trailer and outboard packages from $20,500
FREWZA F16 sport console with trailer and outboard packages from $26,500
www.frewzaboats.co.nz
FREWZA F16 Fisher with trailer and outboard packages from $26,500
605 FREWZA Fisher with trailer and outboard. Packages from $41,000
605 FREWZA Hardtop with trailer and outboard. Packages from $54,500
680 FREWZA hardtop with trailer and 150hp Honda outboard packages from $76,500
Frews Marine Ltd, 193 Bond Street - INVERCARGILL - Ph 03 214 1021