Issue 81 - The Fishing Paper & New Zealand Hunting News

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June 2012 Issue 81

Magnificent High Country pg 11

Andy Caps Treble

pg 19

Colossal Kingies

Small Hours Fishing

pg 2 & 6

pg 5

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Bird Radars

By Ali Kennard An annual event in my calendar is heading up to the Hutchwilco Boat Show in Auckland for the weekend to work on the ENL stand. Every year I have attended, there is always one item of marine electronics which is the hot topic; normally this is a new item that has set a new precedent.

Last year it was touch screen. This year however the buzz was all about the most traditional of marine electronics, radar, and more precisely bird radar. During the Saturday and Sunday I was at the show this year I must have been asked at least ten times about bird radar and speaking to others I was not the only one. I discovered the reason was there had been a recent TV fishing programme where they had used radar to find birds.

The Monster Fighter

By Steve Cavill Every fibre of every muscle burned after my 25-minute fight of epic proportions!

Even my brain ached from the intense concentration needed to outwit this 46kilo monster battler from the depths.

I gazed down in awe at a kingfish of unbelievable proportions that lay at my feet in the boat.

It was early April and we were fishing off d’Urville Island in very big, quite freaky conditions, the massive swell forced us to be constantly on the motor.

From the very second I hooked up I knew it was a significant fish. Twenty kilos of drag did nothing to slow this monster fighter down. Even slamming my hand down on the top of my Diawa Catalina reel to add more pressure, made no difference.

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The fish was relentless, blistering run after blistering run. It took every ounce of concentration to stay focused and not lose the battle. At one stage it made a beeline for a reef, but we managed to arc the boat around and get some more leverage on the fish. This is where having someone like Jesse Crasborne on the helm with his incredible boat handling experience, was vital.

The underwater weapon of choice, on my Jig Master Power Spell rod, was a 400 gram Hardy Long jig with 80lb YGK braid and an 80lb flouro leader, which I reckon gives the jig a better action.

Once on the surface the next big mission was to get the monster into the boat. Instead of using the gaff, because we didn’t want to harm the fish, my mate

grabbed the jig and with all my strength I grabbed the tail with both arms and hefted the kingi over the side. Then, stunned at its size, we just stood there looking at it.

It was amazing!

The next problem was weighing the fish.

We have a harness arrangement on the scales that we usually slide the kingies into, but because it was so big, and the sea was so rough, we couldn’t get an accurate reading, varying between 45 and 49 kilos, so we took the conservative approach and called it 46 kilograms. (We later found out the New Zealand record is 52 kilos.)

After a quick photo, we slipped the beast over the side and let him swim away, to fight another day.

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The point to stress here is any radar will pick up birds if set correctly. Yes there are differences in the distance and the size of the work up they are able to pick up, but they can all do it, to a certain extent.

Before we look at how we can set a radar to do this, let’s look at what the two big differences are that affect performance.

Power – A pretty self-explanatory one this, but the more powerful the radar, the further the microwave energy it transmits travels, meaning you can see things further away.

Size – The size of the antenna plays a very important part in radar’s effectiveness. This is because the larger antennas are able to produce narrower beam angles, giving you far better target definition. Smaller boats will tend to have enclosed radars, known as radomes, which will have smaller antennas and are fine for their usage. You will see lots of the larger vessels though have what we call open antennas, which are much longer and therefore give a much narrower beam angle. On the big commercial vessels these will often be 12 feet long.

Most boats can’t take a 12 foot antenna, either aesthetically or physically, so you have to work with what you have got.

This then comes down to setting your radar correctly.

One very important thing to do is, if you use it, switch off automatic mode and use the radar manually. Now put your range out to a medium to long distance and set your rain and sea clutter to zero. Once you have done this, you will need to turn your gain up so you have a cluttered screen, this is how you will have to leave it, don’t be tempted at this stage to use your rain/sea controls to clear it.

The echoes coming back from the birds will be weak so you will need to have your gain up high and your screen cluttered to see them, which will actually look like dense recurring noise.

The picture shows how birds appear on the screen.

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Arco, the Fish and Me

By Mike Brown

Mow the lawns or go fishing?

No contest. I’m usually not keen on taking the boat out after midday, sea breezes and all. Early mornings are better.

But bugger it! I was in the mood.

I tore the cover off Arco, gave the Tohatsu a pat of encouragement, knowing her recent service was ‘all good’.

I grabbed a few rods from the ‘Man Cave’, some frozen squid, pillies and a chunk of ‘couta, just in case I decide to put out the long line. A flask of coffee and a couple of my favorite Jimmy Buffett CDs later and I was out the gate, soon nursing my way past Talley’s fish factory on the low end of an incoming tide.

Old blue water sailing habits had me scanning the horizon, checking conditions. The sea was blue/black and glass calm.

No wind, no birds, no other boats, no swell - no anything really. There was a total high cloud cover and I noted an eerie halo around the sun.

I headed for open sea. My good friend and local Motueka fishing guru, Steve Greaney, told me the 20m mark was always worth a go. He was right.

I cut the engine, poured a

coffee, slipped a Buffett CD on and checked for drift.

I’m reluctant to drop the long line when out alone. Retrieving gear while reversing into a building sea with flapping fish, tangles, hooks, broaching, and alone? Not a good idea.

However, today I felt good.

I dispatched the long line, baiting half the hooks with squid and the other half ‘couda as a bit of a trial.

A hundred metres from the end buoy I dropped the anchor, gave my special berley a couple of tweaks and settled in for an hour’s fishing. The rod fishing was average, though. I managed one really good 3kg snapper and a decent rig; the rest were throw-backs. Pillies were getting better bites than the squid today.

Time to roll in the long line.

The squid baited hooks came aboard first, yielding only a couple of spotted dogfish and a sand shark. As the second or third ‘couta bait came in, I picked up the unmistakable golden shadow of a decent snapper. There was plenty of fight in this one, so time for the net - a beautiful 2.5kg specimen.

Usually my long line angles towards the distant buoy

as I reel in line, but now it dropped vertically under the hull. I swear Arco’s stern was starting to pull to port.

Then I saw it.

I thought a ray at first. Not for long. It was still a distant shadow when it made a run for it - beautiful, powerful and

graceful. There was plenty left in this fish, it giving a strong heavy pull - full of fight. Arco and me we were in unknown territory. I wound slowly on the drum. It was heart-beating stuff.

“Line, please don’t break,” I thought as I readied the net

and gently gathered him in.

Head first, he tried to dive down through the net, but I knew I had him and with both hands on the net frame, I lifted him aboard. I gawked in disbelief and almost cried, then laughed out aloud.

Sadly, I realised his time

had come, the hook bedded beyond reach. There would be no release today.

The trip back was made in silence. No Jimmy Buffett, no wind, no swell, still no birds and not one other vessel in sight. Just Arco, the 30lb fish and me.

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Autumn Trevally Mega and Breakfast Chompers in Twice the Dark

By Paul Jennings With the autumn morning sun creeping over the hills of The Glen, I paddled out with a whole heap of expectation and anticipation.

I hadn’t got much fishing in over the summer, with the rain and winds, but the beautiful weather from March onwards had me thinking about landing a few fish whilst they were still hanging around. I hadn’t caught a decent trevally before, so figured I’d target those, along with any snapper that might be around.

I paddled along the side of the reserve, out about fifty metres and threw in the anchor, some salmon burley, a flasher rig with anchovies on it and waited. The flasher rig was straight away doing the business on some 35cm snapper and big kahawai that were circling around. I landed several really decent sized fish in the first hour. I kept a couple for the smoker and enjoyed letting the rest go free. Sat in the kayak, a decent sized kahawai on 10kg tackle is always a fun fight.

Come 8.00am I thought it was time to switch things up a bit - so out came the 6kg softbait rod with a 5” pink Gulp on it. I love this rod, mainly because it gives me something to do while I’m waiting for my 20-pound snapper to swim by, even a pannie snapper feels like a whale on it! A few flicks out and a slow retrieve along the bottom and I was into something decent - no big take, just pressure, a bit more pressure then wham, line peeling off and reel screaming like you see on TV. I was running out of line pretty quick - which was a novel experience - so I figured this was no snapper and thought it might be another kahawai, but it ran longer and harder than I was used to, so there was a chance it was a trevally.

Kayak bobbing, rod bent double and drag cranked up, I pulled it in over about five minutes - great fun and my first trevally landed. It seemed like the smaller softbait and hook was a better suit for the fish’s small mouth, with the slow flick enticing it to have a nibble.

I ended up landing another decent trevally in exactly the same way - softbait flicked along the bottom with a slow retrieve - and both were probably the best fight I have had on that light tackle.

No mucking around - just long powerful straight runs.

So - that was how I spent an early autumn morning in Nelson marvelling at the beauty off The Glen, on a glass flat sea, fighting some great punchy fish - and home in time for a second breakfast.

Summer fishing is great - but spring and autumn certainly offer up some excellent opportunities in Tasman Bay, if you fancy getting amongst it.

By Jeff Forsee Just when fishing in the freezing rain at 3.00am started to seem ridiculous, mega chompers saved the day!

It had been a late start to the day and we didn’t reach my buddy Rob Strahl’s secret, special spot, somewhere in the Canterbury high country, until about midnight.

Eager to get into some fishing action, we kitted up and headed out into the wind and rain. It was dark, bleak and cold, but we couldn’t resist the urge to get fishing.

We spent the next few hours stripping streamers, fishing blind in the really crappy

weather. For the first part, the wind was smacking us in the face, making casting really difficult, so we walked around the other side of the lake to put it behind us.

Walking by the light from our headlamps, we were really surprised when our beams fell on a nice big brown trout in the shallows. It just sat there! I was able to wade out toward it before it finally sussed me and swam off.

After that, the hunt was on and we saw a handful more trout all gorging themselves on smolt. The amazing thing was, they were all so relaxed that initially they didn’t care much about us being there.

This meant we could have a

southland story

good crack at them before they blasted off.

We had a couple of good follows before I got my hook up. The fish greedily grabbed my good old faithful Woolly Bugger fly. A brief tussle followed before this goodlooking fella was landed and taken home for dinner.

It proves these fiesty browns feed right through the night.

Some of the fish we targeted were going absolutely nuts, scoffing any food they could get on to. Their most active hour was between 2.00 and 3.00am. It was a sight to see!

But I’m not going to make a habit of fishing the wee small hours, I’m definitely a daytime angler!

Steve’s hop Fishing S Stor y

Surfing Snapper

By Grant Campbell The locals told me I was wasting my time, but I thought I’m here, so I might as well have a go.

It was Saturday afternoon.

My 14-year-old son Samuel and I had packed up the van, and headed over the hill from Wellington, to one of my favourite surf casting spots near Lake Ferry in Wairarapa.

We’d only been there a short time, when a local pulled up on his quad bike and told me the water was far too murky to be fished successfully, but

I didn’t really care, I wasn’t going home.

I threw out a couple of pilchards tied on to my double hook rig with bait elastic, then settled back to enjoy the afternoon as the tide came in.

Up until then, all we had caught was a pile of small pesky sand sharks. The line had been out about half an hour when the rod suddenly exploded, doubled over and hit the beach. In a mad scramble I managed to get it under control as line tore from the reel. My first

reaction was I thought I had a double hook up of kahawai.

Nylon continued to race from the reel, then it went quiet, so I took up the slack and began to retrieve the line. Suddenly a decent wave rolled in and I looked up in amazement to see a massive snapper surfing in toward me. Dashing down to the water I stepped into the shallows and managed to wrap a hand around the beast’s tail, then struggled to drag it up the beach. It was a magnificent fish and at 27 pounds was the biggest one I’ve ever caught.

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The Poisoned Chalice?

After the Easter kingfishing trip, where the Canterbury boys thrashed us and marched away with the coveted Stephen’s Shield, we thought a rematch was in order - we needed to claw back a little dignity. The call went out for a three-day mission and all were in favour.

The first day we faced a strong south easterly wind and could tell as we launched the boat the sea was going to be a little angry. Passing Jag Rock we realised just how angry it really was, but pushed on to the top of d’Urville Island.

I want to point out here and now that it’s very rare for me to get seasick, but I was as sick as dog! I had visions of the 1995 Rugby World Cup final and the infamous Suzie! I was convinced I had food poisoning from the night before.

Neither Arnie Haines nor myself were feeling too flash and after six kingies, we headed back to the bach.

I was so sick that I was prepared to waste that first day and try and make up for it on the second. To my delight, the other boys returned four hours later, reporting they’d only landed six kingies for the day too. I also pointed out we had one fewer person on board, which made our tally even more gratifying.

Day two arrived and I was feeling much healthier. I also had some secret weapons, new Jigging Master Blade Swimmers jigs, which I knew would do the business.

The weather had improved and we were off at speed to try and build a lead. We flashed past the Canterbury boys as they sat in the slow lane. My goal was to be hooked up just

as they arrived at the spot just to apply a little additional sporting pressure!

When they finally reached us, they were greeted with a massive bend in my rod and broad cheesy grins from both Arnie and me. The Blade Swimmer 300gm Blue/ Green didn’t let us down as we nailed fish after fish. You could just see the dejection increasing on the other blokes faces as we hooked up on just about every drop. The count went fourteen kingies to Nelson and only four to Canterbury for the day.

The final day was an absolute cracker. We were fortunate to have Arnie’s son Scott Haines, on board with us, so even though we had a massive lead; we now had three fishers on board and finally a level playing field.

Scott put his brand new

By Juan van den Berg Scott Haines and his impressive 30kg kingi

Three Kings 200 rod and Jigging Master PE5 reel, straight into action, nailing an impressive 30kg kingi, his personal best. Again the Blade Swimmer did all the

damage.

The final score was 26 fish to Nelson and 11 for Canterbury, but it was only when we got back to the ramp that they decided that

the shield wasn’t actually up for grabs this time, apparently we had our chance at Easter.

But who cares, we still taught those Canterbury boys a lesson!

Genetic Testing

By Sharon Ford – Plant and Food Research

I recently caught a ride out in to Kenepuru Sound with TASFISH members to collect snapper samples. The sampling is part of a study that David Ashton (PFR student based at Victoria) is carrying out on population genetics of snapper.

The snapper are being collected to help produce a database of the DNA make up in several sample sites around the coast of the North and South Islands. PFR is aiming to

Big Boy JD

collect 50 fish from every site. Every snapper caught has its length recorded, a photo taken and a small piece of fin removed for the DNA analysis.

Plant and Food Research really appreciates the help from TASFISH and Silverspray Fishing Ltd who are helping collect the samples from the South Island, without the help of these people we would have difficulty getting our samples. Thanks guys!

By Sam Kingsbury (14yrs)

We were fishing with my dad, Nigel, off Rabbit Island near Nelson one Sunday in April and Dad caught a small kahawai, so I decided to use it as a livebait. I hooked it up and let it go.

Then I thought I would lie down and relax in the bottom of the 12ft dinghy (Editor’s note: It’s obviously exhausting being a teenager). About half-an-hour later my brother, Seth, said, “Sam your line is going”. I jumped up real fast.

It took about two minutes to bring it in. I pulled it up and initially thought I had caught a snapper, then I thought it was a stingray (I was disappointed when I thought it was a stingray). I then found out it was a john dory. Boy was I elated with my catch; the biggest fish I have ever caught and boy it was nice to eat.

Sharon Ford with Kevin Bannan collecting samples for a population study

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Yakking with Kathy

Perfect winter yakking conditions

By Kathy Pantling Chilled to the bone, a wet bum, and cold aching fingers – I love winter fishing in the kayak!

Winter is here, and despite what some may think, it is actually a great time for kayak fishing.

Despite the cries of “my bum’s wet, my hands are freezing and I’m soaked to the skin,” the fishing is often impressive. The fish are in terrific condition and the ‘uncomfortable feelings’ can be easily dealt with. It’s certainly worth making that effort to get out there and cast a line.

Throughout the winter months some of the genuine rewards of fishing from kayaks are exposed. Kayaks let us make use of winter’s smaller settled weather windows for a quick paddle, so sneaking off from work early and fishing till dark can be a very productive proposition.

Something I’ve learned over the past few years is the stealth position of fishing from kayaks is even more important during winter. Falling

temperatures and hibernating fish are often claimed to be the reasons that boat fishing is less successful in the colder months. But noisy motors and clanking anchors can startle sleepy fish and that’s why I reckon it’s more productive to sneak in on the kayak to target the unwary beasts! I’m often amazed at how fish I’ve been successfully targeting all morning, suddenly go off the bite at the sound of the first motor passing by!

The final reason I enjoy winter kayak fishing is the peace and quiet on the crisp calm days we’re blessed with around the Nelson region.

However, if you don’t want that wet bum, numb fingers and frozen eyebrows, there are some awesome ‘Sit On Top’ kayaking clothes available to make your fishing expedition a much more pleasurable and comfortable experience!

We’ll take a look at those next month. But in the meantime endure the wet bum and get out there!

Softbait Snapper Success

By Chris Sharpe Having only owned a kayak for a couple of months before our trip to the Sounds, I was keen to see what success I would have chasing the legendary Kenepuru snapper.

I sold my bigger boat a while ago, but recently decided a kayak would be useful at my usual fishing spots on the Waimakariri River, where I target salmon, kahawai and the odd trout.

I like to get up to my old stomping grounds of the Sounds from Christchurch every year and I managed to get out on the kayak several times during our weeklong break. I fished my ‘highly secret’ shallow water spot in Kenepuru Sound.

I gave up on smelly old bait and berley years ago, becoming a soft plastic bait convert and this trip I caught six or seven snapper from the kayak, with the biggest weighing around 14 pounds.

The deepest water I fished was just four metres, but generally I was in less than three metres, fishing the three quarter tide, when there was a bit of tidal flow.

My biggest fish came at the end of the week when I went out on a mate’s boat. It was hard going for a while, but perseverance paid off and I brought in a magnificent 20-pounder.

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ViewPoint

By Miranda O’Connell, Future Search Project Manager

Conversation to get a unified voice Is it time for recreational fishers to give it a real go?

The Biggest Blue Cod

By Ash Millar

It was another beautiful autumn weekend in Okiwi Bay, one we had looked forward to after such a lousy summer.

The evening we arrived, we went out for a fish for a snapper and got a few pannies. Our mate Hemi, on the other boat, got a beauty but dropped it over the side trying to measure it - that’s the clown in the background of the photo.

The next morning produced some good cod. Our skipper Baldy had landed an absolute beauty at 50cm. He was cheering and yahooing that it was the best blue cod he had ever caught. The whole time my five-year-old boy Cullen, was quietly struggling with a good fish too.

Baldy, who was still yahooing, was soon subdued when I reached over the side of the boat and pulled in the 54cm blue cod the youngster had been battling.

I asked Baldy, now stunned, just how it felt to have the biggest cod for all of two minutes.

Cullen just sat there with a grin as big as his fish.

“That’s my boy!”

Sudoku answers

You would think that the recreational fishing sector would be excellent at conversation. Fishers always have a yarn to spin and many an hour is whiled away talking about fishing. The problem is these conversations tend to be with people of the same mindsets and rarely cross borders to conversing to others who may think differently. And it is different thinking that is needed for New Zealand to face up to our ‘environmental sustainability challenge’. Our what?

As described by Leadership NZ CEO, Russell Little: “As a nation we need to be heartfelt in facing up to the environmental sustainability challenge. The land is finite in her capacity to sustain yet our focus continues to be on how to extract and produce more.”

Russell Little may have referred to ‘land’ yet his comment is fully pertinent to the pressures we are all putting on the sea and its capacity to sustain our ongoing needs. As a sector, recreational fishers and the marine industry need to be heartfelt in facing up to the role we play in maintaining abundant fisheries resources.

We can use the power of conversation to take on our substantial sustainability challenges.

There is a difference between talk and conversation. Talk is what you may have noticed in plenty of the top fishing magazines over the last six months or so. Talk about setting up a statutory body for recreational fishers, talk against licensing, talk about shining up the tired voluntary model and getting some fishers to donate $20 to the cause of recreational fishing advocacy.

All this talk does not create a unified voice. It does not harness the power of the around one million recreational fishers in New Zealand who are passionate about their fishing and the marine environment. To do this we need to have a proper conversation.

Conversation is taking this talk and intelligently discussing it.

Conversation takes talk and gives it purpose.

Good Old Fashioned Fishing

By Frank Dunick Who needs the latest, flashest fishing gear to get results? Not us!

A good old-fashioned string line and a hunk of squid worked for me late last year.

It was around half past ten on a stunning clear morning and we were fishing about 10 kilometres off the Oamaru coast. The plan was to catch a feed of blue cod.

The other blokes were having reasonable success with their rods and reels winding in jock stewarts, sharks and of course the target species, cod.

We were in about 40 metres of water when my trusty old hand line did the business.

I knew it was a significant fish, taking a good 15 minutes to haul up from the depths. It was great fun and the reward for my handiwork was a very nice 26lb groper.

Fishers in New Zealand are variously young, old, male, female, all ethnicities you can imagine, rich, poor and everything in between. Given this rich diversity of people with different beliefs, values and ideas - it is important to use a planning tool to guide the necessary conversation.

The NZ Recreational Fishing

Council, supported by others across the sector, have chosen a planning tool called Future Search that is purpose-built for diverse groups, complex situations and questions with no easy answers. It will be run in February 2013 in Nelson and will involve the diverse faces of the recreational fishing sector. More details of the project are found on www. recfish.co.nz This meeting in February is the first stepping-stone to New Zealanders getting to grips with how we want our future of recreational fishing to be.

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Stick Your Oar In Knocker Knocks Success Dear Ed I have known Crimpy for possibly 30 years and only wish I could have half his abilities.

As a teacher children loved him, he was full on energy, talent and character.

He has inspiration, business ability, makes fun of himself, is a great cartoonist, hard working family man, humorous … I could go on.

Every month I look forward to The Fishing Paper coming out and read it through, often looking back at previous issues for items, for numbers or contacts etc.

For W J Davidson to be such a judge and be so critical he must be super superior and perfect in all respects. Or he has a massive chip on his shoulder. Best he never reads another paper. Crimpy is a Nelson icon and lucky to have him here!

Crimpy’s reply was a bit short on hand signals, a good reply for a busy person. I expect other hand gestures couldn’t be printed.

The Fishing Paper is a great read, which is read worldwide.

And it’s free!

I say to Daryl and the team, keep up the good work, it gets better every month.

John Buckland Nelson

Comin' Home Dear Ed My name is Shaun Solly. My family and I currently live in Kalgoorlie Western Australia.

We’ve been here a couple of years this time and plan on moving back to the part of paradise I’m from, Collingwood in Golden Bay, soon.

I came back to my old job driving quad road trains, carting gold ore to milling plants. These bad boys cart 170 ton of ore and weigh in at 220 ton gross. The haulage leads vary from an hour a trip, to the longer trips of 3.5hrs it’s great fun.

I’ve just changed jobs back to mining again and I’m

currently a production digger operator for a local company, Norton Goldfields, only fiveminutes out of Kalgoorlie. I work a seven-on-seven-off roster.

All sounds fun and exciting, but my mum keeps sending me The Fishing Paper and we can’t wait to get back to NZ to a more relaxed lifestyle.

We’re really looking forward to homegrown veges, fresh fish and venison or pork in the chiller.

Keep up the good work with the paper. I look forward to getting my fix every couple of months.

Tight lines and may the breeze be on your face and the sun on your back, Shaun Solly

Crimptoon

Have Your Say… Mail your letters to Stick Your Oar In The Fishing Paper, PO Box 9001, Annesbrook, 7044, NELSON. Email: editor@thefishingpaper.co.nz The Fishing Paper encourages readers contributions and points of view. We ask that all contributions come supplied with contact details.

All letters must be emailed, type written or printed legibly, signed and not more than 300 words. The Fishing Paper states that opinions put forward are not necessarily those of the publisher. We reserve the right to publish in part or refuse to publish on legal grounds if the content of the letters are in any way legally contentious.

weather rhymes & reasons

Our New Osprey Dear Ed There are some clever people in this world, and we’re lucky enough to know three of them: Lloyd Elliot, Dave Thorn, and Karl Mortimer. Yes, we have a new boat and it’s the best by far we have been to sea in or owned. It’s an Osprey 590 Cuddy with lots of extras, all designed and built by the aforementioned clever guys and their staff. Many of these custom modifications were made to facilitate getting on and off the boat, even with some lack of mobility. Our old boat, a classic Kiwi fibreglass design, allowed us, and our friends, to catch heaps of fish over the 30 years we owned it.

Our new Osprey with all the extras is in a class of its own and will undoubtedly prove itself as a great fishing boat as well. On the first outing (and the first time out for my wife in many years), Shirley had two brim on board in 15 minutes. On our second trip, one brim and one big cod (42 cm) within minutes!

We would like to thank these businesses for all their help, expertise and good ol’ fashioned Kiwi know-how: Osprey Nelson; Bays Boating Motueka; Mortimer Auto Upholstery Richmond.

Thank you all very much.

Peter and Shirley Nicholas

The Barometer “When the glass falls low, prepare for a blow; when the glass is high, your kites will fly.”

Cloak & Dagger Crab Fishing

By Wayne Buxton

As dusk did a balancing act with the last of the autumn daylight, I cast the twin crayfish baits from the beach. I had no crabs so resorted to a lesser grade in the hope that something would be tempted by the lobster entrée. The spot I was fishing is very productive and is situated in the South Island at the same end as a famous winegrowing region. Let’s just leave it at that shall we.

Fellow ‘cloak & dagger’ fisher, Thomas Walsh, turned up and solved the bait issue.

I retied my rig with crabs and cast again into the gathering

gloom. I target rig with a baitrunner because they take like snapper; if they feel pressure they are just as likely to drop the bait and do a runner. The idea is to let the fish run and strike when the line goes slack.

The tackle I use for all my shark fishing is simple: 20lb nylon mainline, thirty-metres of 40lb shock leader and a ledger rig, tied from 200lb trace. To this I attach two 8/0 long shank hooks.

The crabs had only been soaking for five minutes when the rod loaded, the baitrunner shrieked and line dissolved from the reel. Rig fight like hell for their size and this one didn’t come easy. At 25lb he wasn’t the biggest of the night but a worthy opponent on light gear. The biggest of four caught was in pup, so was released immediately.

Rig is superb eating and you can’t go past it deep-fried in a beer batter, or done with the Cook & Coat Seafood Mix.

The reason: Lousy weather arrives in low-pressure air masses.

Watching the barometer, or the glass, in conjunction with changes in cloud levels, rising or falling and wind shifts, lets you monitor the three most important variables in forecasting the weather.

In Nelson if the wind is from the east and the barometer is dropping you know there’s going to be trouble.

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HUNTING NEW ZEALAND

NEWS

By Daryl Crimp “Yep - big country,” I agreed.

“It’s just like this in Nepal – only everything is three times bigger,” Colin reflected.

“Idiot!”

We were taking a breather, me propped against a cliff with my third leg in support and Colin was waxing lyrical. Musterers use the third leg, or manuka mountain stick, extensively as an aid to getting safely around rugged terrain, but in this case it was holding up my wretched frame and stopping it from collapsing down a chute into oblivion.

“Bad call to take the bluffs instead of sidling lower, eh!”

“Yes Colin.”

“Big Country though, eh!”

“Massive!

I then discovered there are only two things worse than being stuck in a gnarly bluff system: (1) extricating oneself from said predicament, or worse still (2) extricating oneself but no longer finding yourself attached to said bluff system. Fortunately, I got back to gentler near vertical ground with several fingernails still intact. We crawled on.

Having conducted near 60 expeditions in Tekapo’s mountain hinterland over a 25-year period, Colin Murray was at home in tahr country.

Hunting buddy, Guy Gardiner of Blenheim, and I were on a mission to bag a bull trophy each and Colin was to prove pivotal in our quest. This is part two of that story. (Guy, I know you are reading this so can you get off your backside

and write part one please!).

Earlier in the afternoon we’d glassed tahr high in some north-facing meadows and one in particular was characteristic of a mature bull.

He made a brief appearance in a tiny hanging basin at the extreme end of our range and then was absorbed by the tussock and shale. We were headed there now, courting the shadows of a bluff system so that a lone juvenile bull on the skyline might not recognise us. Coupled with this tactic, we were bent double and ambling erratically so that any movement on our part might be construed as that of another animal, not the sticklike menace of the human form. It worked and soon we’d gained enough altitude to see us hunkered below the lip of a small saddle, the other side of which, hopefully lay my bull.

While I controlled my breathing in anticipation of having to take a shot, Colin poked his head above the tussock, turned, grinned over his shoulder and gave the thumbs up. Guy hung back, quietly contemplating what he was going to write for part one.

Lizard-crawling forward, Colin and I melded with the

What I saw was not what I had anticipated. With each blink a tahr morphed from the rocks and afternoon shadows.

tussock and sparsely scattered hebes so that we were all but invisible to the sharp-eyed tahr, making for a bench that looked a suitable shooting possie. I felt my breath catch.

What I saw was not what I had anticipated. With each blink a tahr morphed from the rocks and afternoon shadows.

Mature bulls, resplendent in shaggy coats and all mirroring the shambling gait of the great grizzly bear, fed, courted, gazed, postured and chewed with serene equanimity. Two, three, six, eight – possibly more. And then there were the lesser bulls and scattered harems of at least two herd bulls.

“Jesus George!”

“Take the top one, Crimpy,” Colin muttered, without ungluing his eyes from the farlookers.

I extended the legs of the

bi-pod, squirreled into a comfortable prone position, snuggled the stock of the .308 into my shoulder and drew a bead on the big bull that was quartering away from me; two hundred and twenty metres.

Steady. Breathe out – squeeze.

The sound of the suppressed shot hadn’t even reached the bull when it leaped forward, took two steps, turned downhill and died while still on its feet. A shingle scree turned into a two-thousandfoot elevator to the valley floor and the tahr hit the ‘Ground Level’ button.

I was euphoric – my first tahr and a bull at that!

“You shot the wrong bloody tahr,” Colin shot back incredulously.

I was no longer euphoric!

It transpired that I’d shot a satellite bull, while the main

herd bull was tucked in the shadow of the bluff further up. Fortunately, the Gunworks suppressor has more than paid for itself and in this instance the aftermath of that first shot was dramatic. The tahr virtually took no bloody notice, with only some milling around in confusion. While I never did see the bull Colin had singled out for me, I spied another that held nannies and my mate gave me the go ahead to plug it.

This time my shooting was not quite as clean, the shot taking the bull low in the brisket and causing it to leap and kick before galloping across the face. My second shot elicited a solid thwack that should have ended the story there, but the tahr was having no truck with tradition and stoically kept on running. As the bull was climbing for the skyline and assumed safety, I squeezed the

trigger a third time but failed to lead enough. The hollow sound of the projectile striking hide sang the song of a gut shot and did little more to check the tahr’s stride.

While Guy took the elevator to locate my 10” bull, I trailed the second bull over the skyline, finding him at the base of a bluff system and metres from a precipitous drop off. I dispatched him quickly and cleanly with a spine shot and he lay where he fell … until he kicked and careered downhill, to finally come to rest on the brink of another bluff! His final resting place was only a hundred metres from where I shot, but it took Colin and our third legs over an hour to work our way down to him.

Big country for bull tahr.

Big tahr too.

Just over twelve inches.

12 new zealand hunting news

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Smartphones Become Satellite Communicators

March 27 1982 Avalanche!

I was asked if there had ever been a time when an avalanche had caught me by surprise and proved cause for concern.

I guess any person who has been in the path of a great thundering mass of snow, ice or rock remembers well the feeling of panic and with only seconds to decide on an escape route, there can be no second thoughts.

I was shooting tahr in the head of the Perth River at Whataroa during a very cold spell. My hunting mate at the time was Barry Petrie and together we had been doing quite well. There was little, if any, helicopter activity and we had the whole valley system to ourselves.

This particular morning I had climbed well up a dry creek and was at the stage where clinging on like a limpet, became the order of the day.

On a narrow shingle covered shelf of rock I paused for a breather and a quick ciggy.

The ice was beginning to thaw and it was possible to hear the odd rumble of avalanches around the mountainsides.

Although I could not see too far above me, I knew the terrain quite well, having shot this particular spot frequently in the past. I’d only just flicked the butt away when the sound of stones crashing down

from above echoed around the narrow, steep gully.

The clattering became a rumble, then a roar. Panic stations!

In a mad dash I covered 50-odd metres to a large overhanging rock and crouched like a possum, expecting the worst. The noise grew louder and louder and the ground I knelt on began to shake, even more than my bony knees. First stones about the size of tennis balls thundered by, closely followed by larger and larger rocks.

It seemed to last a lifetime, but I guess it was only a minute or less. At length I climbed out and tossed up whether to continue climbing, or get the hell out of there.

I decided to go on and at first opportunity crossed over the path the slip had carved through the alpine scrub. It seemed a series of large rocks had broken off from high above and with an icy surface to whiz down, had pushed everything into its path.

A couple of years later in the Clarke, a friend and I cut around the base of a large cliff and remarks were passed on the rubbish and snow that had tumbled down from above.

Great swathes had been cut through the snow tussock and it looked as if the ground in places had been torn away, exposing long gutters of bare rock and shale.

No more than a couple of minutes later, we were perched on a rocky outcrop using binoculars when that all too familiar sound of an avalanche broke the peace.

We watched as tonnes upon tonnes of ice, snow and shale crashed over the cliff and spilled across the entire area we had just climbed across. It was a close call!

Not too many months later Bruce Wright, George Lindsay and I were climbing above the Scone Basin after tahr. Bruce and I had a movie camera, while George toted a rifle.

A mob of tahr clambering over a high outcrop looked promising, so we continued climbing after them. The trouble was, the ground between them and us was grim to say the least, and even more so when we struck a super steep mini glacier that

was lost from sight over a sheer drop.

The problem was solved by Bruce edging across, knocking toe holes in the ice with his rifle, while I held his bush shirt, with George doing likewise to me.

At the halfway point snow began to move above and we were showered by soft powder. It was the forerunner of half the ruddy upper mountain.

We stood, or rather teetered there, no one said a word.

Silence, apart from the whomp, whomp, whomp of clumps of slushy snow landing around us. We covered the remaining distance in record time.

There have been other times that I can remember and each has its own particular point of interest. Nevertheless, each adds up to an extra clump of grey hair on a bloke’s head.

New converts to SPOT have seen sales skyrocket. News of these innovative life saving devices is spreading like wildfire and users swear by them!

The SPOT product from Salcom Technologies was developed to provide users with the ability to send peace of mind messages to family and friends, advising where they were and that all was okay. Hunters, shooters, fishing devotees, boating enthusiasts as well as recreational climbers and trampers have all added the SPOT to their safety equipment. It now comfortably sits beside bright clothing, flares and life jackets in the safety arsenal. In New Zealand it has assisted in finding numerous trampers, injured climbers, hunters, and lone workers in isolated locations.

SPOT combined the track and trace functions with an SOS button to summon emergency services and a HELP button to call for assistance in non-life threatening situations. The tracking service provides the ability to monitor the user’s progress for each 24 hour time period, from transmissions sent at 10-minute intervals.

SPOT’s New Zealand customer base includes individuals and companies whose need in addition to recreational activities is to satisfy health and safety applications that extends beyond traditional radio or cellular network coverage areas.

The latest development from SPOT and just released in New Zealand, is SPOT Connect. This innovation turns your Smartphone into a satellite communicator. Connected via Bluetooth a smartphone and SPOT device allows the new “Type and Send” function. Users can now create and send custom email and text messages via satellite from virtually anywhere on the planet.

SPOT products employ a network of 48 low earth orbit satellites to deliver the messages. There is an annual network fee payable for the unlimited use of SPOT’s primary functions and there is a nominal charge to use the “Type and Send” feature.

Organisations, like Environment Canterbury, now depend on SPOT units to ensure staff remain safe in the field and can remain in touch at all times, especially in remote locations with little or no cell coverage.

Dr Tim Davie, Surface Water Resources and Ecosystems Manager says, “From my personal point of view, staff, and Ecan as an organization has, through the use of SPOT, got the ultimate ‘peace of mind’ backstop”.

Salcom Technologies are the Christchurch based distributors of the SPOT family of products.

For more information phone 08004MYSPOT or www.findspot. co.nz

new zealand hunting news 13

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A Week to Treasure

By Malcolm Halstead

With my son Jack about to turn fifteen, talk around the kitchen table turned to what he wanted for his birthday.

Unlike most teenagers who would want a party, he decided on a trip away hunting with me! Funnily enough, I had no problem with that! Plans were made for a week away at the end of the Roar, which would coincide with his actual birthday.

The first stage of the trip was to head south in search of a stag for Jack and by mid morning on Saturday we’d arrived at the farm we were to hunt, but the weather was pretty average with low cloud and drizzle. We loaded up our quad bike and headed to the back of the farm and the comfortable hut, which would be our home for the night. Even though conditions were rubbish, we still went for a stalk in the beech forest. A few deer were spooked, but all we got was very wet and dejected. However a night in front of the open fire soon cured any negative thoughts and we hit the hay full of anticipation for the next day.

At 4.00am I was up, the billy was on and while answering a call of nature, noticed a clear starry night with frost on the ground, but no roars were heard in the few minutes I was out there, which was a bit of a concern. However with a hearty breakfast in our stomachs we headed out into the new day with renewed optimism.

The first deer we saw was a hind and yearling with no stag in attendance so were left to go about their business. At about 8.00am we spied a lone stag in the distance, moving away from us, obviously looking for a few lady friends.

Jack and I quickly closed the gap to about 250 metres and as the stag turned side on, Jack sent a 90-grain pill into his chest from my Sako A7 243. The animal ran a short distance then stopped. Another shot was taken which was unnecessary as the stag toppled over. There were high fives all round, before we made our way down the gully to our fallen prize, a large animal with a reasonable six point head. It was Jack’s first stag and he was over the moon.

After the usual photo session we butchered it for the carry out and an hour later, we were back on the bike pleased with our effort. I was especially proud of Jack because only two weeks earlier he had plaster casts removed, after breaking both arms in a motocross accident!

We headed for home for a good night’s sleep in preparation for stage two of our journey

and with fresh provisions, we headed for the Canterbury high country in search of chamois and deer.

This time we set up a tent base camp, which took most of the first day and while I finished off, Jack took a look up a handy creek, reporting back that he had seen two chamois higher up.

It was a good sign and we agreed to follow it up in the morning.

At daybreak we were climbing a ridge gaining height at an excellent rate. Jack was first to spot the chamois, but at about 500 metres we agreed we had to get closer. Thanks to some serious stalking, we cut the distance to 250 metres and got a good rest for the shot.

The next few minutes were an absolute disaster. Shot after shot failed to connect and two chamois easily made a safe getaway.

Disgusted, we headed back to camp where we set up a target at 100 metres to try the Sako out and were gutted to find it shooting 250mm high. No wonder we missed! A few shots later and it was back on the money.

The next day Jack headed out with my 223, while I took the 243 high into an interesting looking gully. Early morning fog cleared by mid-morning to reveal a magnificent day. At the head of the gully I stuck to the ridge so I could see down both sides.

Towards the top I looked up to see a lone chamois quietly walking away from me, feeding. At just 50 metres I got myself comfortable for the shot, but to my dismay he bedded down in the tussock with only his hooks showing. I had no choice but to get closer. Each time I made a few more metres but still couldn’t see him. Finally at five metres I could see head and neck, but through the scope all I could see was hair because it was still set on six power. I squeezed the trigger but I completely missed! The chamois jumped up and took off across the hillside. Two shots on the run slowed the animal and a fourth to the chest dropped it. At last he was mine.

The hooks looked great and although a bit short, they were the most amazing I have ever seen as they curled around past the normal range. I boned out the entire animal, loaded all the meat and head into my daypack and headed back to camp where we measured the head and were pleased with the nine-inch length.

The next day we headed for home with memories of a great week, looking forward to next year when Jack will be 16 and with a bit of luck we will do it all again!

Opening Weekend Roundup Nelson Fish & Game

Rangers were out throughout the Nelson Marlborough region for a fine still opening to the gamebird hunting season, which favoured ducks more than hunters. More than 50 hunters were checked during opening weekend. Most hunters were successful, although bags were variable.

Paradise shelduck predominated in many hunter bags, possibly reflecting the increased numbers apparent in this year’s trend counts.

Rangers were pleased with hunter behaviour, with most fully compliant with hunting regulations. Unfortunately two hunters did not have licences and another couple were found to be shooting with lead shot near waterways. These will all face enforcement action, as Fish & Game NZ relies on licence income to operate and must ensure we operate sustainably.

As with last year, some landowners shooting on their own ponds under the land owner privilege rule, claim to be unaware of their requirement to use steel shot over any waterway greater than three metres wide.

These offences will be dealt with in a similar manner to licensed hunters hunting on public land, as ignorance of the law regarding use of lead shot over waterways is not an acceptable excuse.

14

FAMILY FUN 17-19 AUGUST

& G N I T N U H A K RIWA s ’ B U L C G N I H S I F

ugust A 9 1 7 1 n o titi e p 2012 Com

$500 H S A C

AWESOME PRIZES TO WIN

new zealand hunting news If the past is anything to go by, it will be a weekend of sweating, grunting, snorting, hooting and hollering and the odd bit of squealing – and that’s just the spectators joining in the fun at this year’s Riwaka Hunting & Fishing Competition!

The annual competition has grown in popularity to become a fixture on the Top of the South Hunting Calendar, so put a ring around the weekend of 17 – 19 August and prepare yourself for an event like no other.

For those sporting the hunter gene, the competition will be fierce, with competitors travelling from far afield to challenge the ‘local boys’ on their home turf, so expect a showdown. We can’t let the infidels from out of town steal the show, so we are calling for a good turnout of ‘real blokes’ (blokesses included) to fly the flag for Riwaka.

For those just wanting a fun family day out, check out what’s on offer and see if you are game to miss out!

“Got

Any parents attending must be supervised by their children!

The competition this year runs from 12.01am on the 17 Aug to final weigh in closing at 2pm sharp on Sunday 19.

At about 3.30pm the main prizes are announced followed by the minor spot prizes.

The prize giving will finish with the major spot prizes being drawn.

All entries go in to win 3 major spot prizes. They include:

• $500 Cash • Helicopter Flight for 2 to Awaroa Lodge (sponsored by Tasman Helicopters)

SPOT PRIZES

• Combination Fish Finder Unit (sponsored by ENL) • A New Rifle (Riwaka Hotel – winner must have licence on the day)

• A Milwaukee Drop Saw and Vacuum Set (Placemakers)

Great Prizes

See you at the Riwaka Hotel. Festivities start at 1pm Sun 19 August See you there!

TARGET SHOOTING

Possum Throw

PIG CARRY CASTING COMP

ya”

Of the 5 prizes the 2 not picked by the winners of the draw will be auctioned at a $1.00 reserve and all the money raised will go to the rescue helicopter.

ENTRY FORMS AVAILABLE FROM: Riwaka Hotel, Coppins Outdoors, Motueka Sportsworld, Stirling Sports Richmond

15

FISH AUCTION

16 new zealand hunting news

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A Fallow for a Fellow

By Graeme Creswell

After a successful Roar, with two good red stags to my credit, I was left wondering where to go and what to hunt next, but really feeling like I couldn’t be bothered and needing a good sleep-in instead. I figured the fallow might be starting to croak and as I have never hunted them at this time of year, was hoping for a bit of sound from these impressive little deer. I packed the car and waited for the morning to roll around.

Having finally arrived at my chosen destination, I threw my pack on and headed into a valley seven kilometres from my car. Well, that’s what my GPS was saying.

Upon entering the native bush I spied two good black pigs, both around the 100lb mark, making a beeline for thick manuka. I was worried they may have been my only chance of securing some meat, but stalked on for another three hours before sitting down for something to eat and drink. Whilst chewing away on a nugget bar, I heard some manuka branches break.

Standing up to see what it may have been, I saw nothing, so finished my small meal and walked around five metres and spied a young fallow stag of about six points. Crouching down onto a rock, I prepared myself for a shot with my Ruger .270. The bullet found the mark and I was stunned to see another buck jump out.

I loosed a shot at that one also and it took off down the

hill. Searching for them was difficult because of the tight manuka and high tussock.

Two hours later I carried on my walk out. At around 3.00pm I came over a rise and heard what I was wishing to hear - a fallow croaking.

I couldn’t believe it, at this time of day. I snuck down in the direction of the sound, hoping that this fallow would come out into a clearing, but it didn’t - and even worse, he went quiet. So I sat down and waited, hoping the wind wouldn’t drift in his direction.

Around 20 minutes later he started up again and further away. Quickly and quietly I got around to a ridge and worked my way down to him.

The bush thickened, with visibility around ten metres due to the dense manuka scrub. The fallow was coming closer, croaking along the way. I was desperately hoping there weren’t any hinds around to stuff things and thankfully there weren’t. The buck was getting closer and closer. Then I saw antler and a good antler at that. I shot at the moving target, but the projectile must have hit one of the many skinny trees and diverted its course of travel, hitting the stag in the head.

He didn’t like it, jumping up and down getting tangled in the vines.

I quickly ran up and got another shot away, and he was down and out. There sitting in front of me was a beautiful 13pt fallow stag. He was a big animal.

A photo session and headskinning the stag left little time to get out before dark, so packing the whole hind quarters in my pack along with the backsteaks, I was on my way. Part way out, darkness set in. Quickly heading towards the river, I managed to fall down a cliff of around 30m; not straight down, but I sure gained a lot of speed, getting cuts and bruises and ripped pants. The fallow heads were kept up and off the rock and were still intact at the bottom. However, the hindquarters and meat was gone. It was now dark and I wasn’t going back. I was buggered.

Out with the headtorch; I trudged on down the river, having a very hard time negotiating every step to prevent falling face first into the river. As 8pm rolled around, I was nearly home.

Sleep didn’t come easy and was up early the next morning. My partner thought I was mad going back to retrieve the lost meat. You don’t just carry meat for 4km to leave it on the hill. The meat was at the bottom of the cliff what a relief I didn’t have to walk many more kilometres to find it.

The fallen stag

PORK CHOPS It was late afternoon when I went to the shed to get a bag of pork chops out of the freezer, and bugger me I couldn’t find any!

I was out of pork chops, so had to settle instead on steak for tea. After tea I got on the phone and jacked up a pig hunt for the coming weekend.

Friday afternoon saw Shane and myself driving up to a spot where we knew we had a better than average chance of getting a pig.

About an hour before dark we decided to have a look up a gully close to the hut. We had been walking and glassing for only about forty minutes when we saw five pigs. Sidling around a bluff to get above them, we lined up the two best ones, one each, and fired. The pair we shot rolled down and stopped against a small bank. It was an easy carry back to the hut, downhill all the way.

Darkness had fallen by the time we arrived at the door and once inside, the fire was lit and a beer opened. Now it was tea time. For entrée we had six battered oysters each, with a dash of vinegar. For a main we enjoyed battered cod and chips with a lemon and ginger sauce, washed down with a Latitude Chardonnay.

It was still dark when we woke next morning.

Shane cooked breakfast, and it wasn’t too bad either, bacon, eggs, hash browns and tomatoes.

Thankfully we were going to use the bikes for

By Mark Wills

transport, because after a feed like that I don’t think I would have been able to walk far for a while.

We had been riding and glassing for about two hours when we spied a pig. It was shiny and I knew straight away it was a good fat eater. The animal was making its way up a small creek, moving in and out of cover as it went. We decided to split up in the hope of one of us getting a shot at it. I moved round to the right and down a short spur when it reappeared. It was now moving up the opposing face.

I very quickly lay down and getting a good rest, lined the cross hair of my scope on the back of its head, squeezed the trigger and the pig collapsed.

I had to walk down the hill about a hundred and fifty yards then up the other side about twenty yards, to get the pig. It was young boar of about sixty pounds and in primo condition.

I finally got to have my pork chop meal. It was baked with an apple and cinnamon glaze, served with baked spuds and pumpkin, with green beans and a light gravy, accompanied by a Stoneleigh Merlot.

It just goes to show, if you want something bad enough you’ll get it.

Happy hunting.

new zealand hunting news 17

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Bin Bit Bugs won’t make eye contact. He has just singlehandedly found and caught a very tusky boar and now it’s been shot dead he is avoiding me. I don’t need to see blood to know that he’s hiding an injury. He must be about nine now, and he’s got a scar or two. He’s bin bit and he’s bin ripped, he’s bin emergency first aided too and he don’t like it!

His most sensational incident was one of those ‘omigawd’ moments. At first I thought he was just burrowing around in the leaf litter and mud, as he does, cooling down after a boar had been killed. But then I noticed the fern stick. A broken fern stick, just visible in the tear duct of his eye. I held his head and pinched the end of it with my fingernails. Then I pulled it out .... and out .... and out.

By the halfway mark I was squeamish. By three quarters I was downright nauseous.

How the hell was this length of stick in a dog’s eye? It must have been nudging against his brain. It was LONG! When the last of the fern stick was withdrawn, a bright squirt of blood began to pulsate like a faulty fountain.

Hardened hunter that I was, with a lifetime of experience, I knew just what to do. “Oh Bugsy” I began to howl, swiping away tears, “I don’t know what to do, please don’t you die!”.

By Kim Swan

Emergency first aid, plug the wound and apply pressure. Yeah right! You try poking your pudgy finger in a biting dog’s bleeding eye.

Like Bugs, my old Brock was a hard stopping dog.

And in stopping toothsome boars he too copped some ‘omigawd’ injuries. All of which helped me towards becoming a hardened hunter with lots of emergency first aid experience. Well, lots of howling and blubbing and “please dont you die,” sort of experience.

One day, high in the Ruapeka Bluffs, Brock rumbled a big smelly boar in the old man gorse. There was a mighty battle then a no-can-seeum bail, but in the end it went quiet, so I never did shoot that one. In the meantime Brock appeared, all hunched up, bloodied and filthy. He had been slashed across the belly, his sheath and penis cut clean in two. No tears this time, but my eyes were watering on Brock’s behalf as I stitched him well enough to exit the gorse without losing any crucial boy bits.

Another day I arrived at a boar that Poss had already dispatched. I asked him if the dogs were okay, he said he’d checked, and they were all good. I had my doubts though because I’d heard a canine cry during the melee.

Soon after, Brock strolled past and my eyes watered once again. One of his testicles was

hanging from his scrotum by a thread.

Yesterday Poss came home with a boar all of eighty pounds, it had ivory to die for. Tusks long and white and honed to a fine edge. His black and tan bitch threw herself upon them, more than once. Now you can see her teeth from underneath, and blood mixed with saliva spatters the truck deck. Here’s the ‘plug the wound and apply pressure’ dilemma again. Stick your finger between a sore dog’s teeth and squeeze - of course it’s going to squeeze your pudgy finger right back!

Which reminds me, old Punch copped a gusher in his mouth once. Luckily it happened just above a forest road, virtually before our eyes, so I grabbed him and held the squirting wound for all I was worth. If I so much as moved my fingers, blood would pour forth.

Poss carried him as I walked alongside.

We wangled ourselves onto the front seat of his truck and there we stayed.

With my hand in Punch’s mouth, and blood and drool trickling down my arm, we drove vetwards. My fingers ached, my arm tired then cramped, my back was screaming for a stretch but Punch and I held on for dear life. At the clinic the vet nurse, dear wee lass, said my efforts

Pond Prep Pays Off

By Simon McMillan

The old saying, ‘a mixed bag,’ proved to be a hundred percent accurate for Canterbury duck shooters heading out for the opening day of the season.

Although there were plenty of ducks about, it was hard going for the big water shooters in areas like Lake Ellesmere and Rakaia Lagoon.

Clear conditions and a lack of

wind meant the birds tended to raft up and happily sit on the water. Even popping a shot up did little to stir them.

They’d hop up, fly a few hundred metres and settle down again. We managed to get a few at the Rakaia Lagoon on the first day, but decided pond shooting might be a better option for day two and we were right.

It proved that preparing a pond, by feeding out well in advance of opening weekend, pays dividends. It’s probably like anything in life, put in decent preparation and you’ll get results.

And remember, the main duck season isn’t just opening weekend, it runs until the end of next month, so make the most of it!

Andrew Harkerrs, and Bryce Marshall with the rewards of a hard morning’s shooting at Rakaia

christchurch story

h a d b e e n in vain, that there wasn’t anything in a dog’s mouth, which would cause it to bleed badly. I let go - she was wrong.

Anyway, back to Bugs. It’s been a few days now since he was all embarrassed, a few days since he turned his back and avoided my feminine wiles. Poor old

fella, his flagpole had been ripped ever so badly.

It had been ringbarked, and the sinews and arteries underneath severed. Deep in his memory bank he remembered, as a naughty little boy puppy, his mother telling him, “If you wag too much, the end will fall off it!” and now he’s very scared.

Today it’s been a week, and Bugs still won’t make eye contact. He has a limp appendage and he dosen’t want to talk about it. I try to console him, tell him that ‘it happens’. True, he’s getting on a bit, but he’s never had this problem before. His is a falcate flagpole, it hangs flaccidly and no amount of stimulation will excite it. Poor old Bugs, his wagging days are over!

18 new zealand hunting news

Irish Moose Hunters

Two Irish hunters got a pilot to fly them into remote Canada to go and hunt moose. They managed to bag six.

As they were loading the plane to return, the pilot said the plane could take only 4 moose. The two lads objected strongly. “Last year we shot six. The pilot let us take them all and he had the same model plane as yours.” Reluctantly, the pilot gave in and all six were loaded.

The plane struggled but managed to get into the air.

However, after flying for a short time even on full power, the little plane couldn’t handle the load and went down.

Somehow, surrounded by the moose bodies, only Paddy and Mick survived the crash. After climbing out of the wreckage, Paddy asked Mick, “Any idea where we are?”

Mick replied, “I think we’re pretty close to where we crashed last year.”

Front cover tahr photo courtesy of Grant South, Tahr Hunt New Zealand. www.tahrhuntnz.co.nz - Ph 03 6963560

www.thefishingpaper.co.nz

Tahr Time

By Rafael Sixtus After weeks of organising and looking at maps, I finally got out for my tahr hunt.

The plan was to head for the West Coast high country. I knew I had at least three or four days of good weather ahead and was really pumped.

However, the first day’s walk in was wet and very long, I was glad to bed down for the night after a good feed.

The following morning was a cracker. I headed up river to where tahr had been seen before. Again plenty of tahr were seen, but there were no big boys worth taking. I plugged on, but with only more young bulls and nanny groups seen, decided to head back to camp to prepare for another day on the tops the next day.

Day three dawned and it was another beauty. I crossed the river to get into some untouched tahr country and after battling dense scrub, finally made it to the tops to be met by one of the most stunning views ever! I set up camp and absorbed the scenery while taking a rest after the strenuous climb.

Now camp was set up I decided to explore and find a good vantage point to see if any decent bulls were about, but after an hour, low cloud brought unwanted drizzle, which rapidly turned to very heavy rain.

I quickly retreated to camp and sat out the next few hours while the weather cleared.

When I finally emerged from the tent, I noticed some bulls not far from me.

The day was getting on, but the bulls weren’t getting any closer. The Leica 900 rangefinder showed the closest was 615 yards away and the light was fading. I decided to have a crack anyway. I settled behind my Tikka T3 7mm RemMag and sent off a good shot. It was a good hit and the bull fell forward into a gut, but because of the lateness I decided I’d retrieve it in the morning.

What a mission that was. After a quick breakfast I set off to where my shot bull was. Battling through the monkey scrub, I hit the first open patch and needed a breather. Just as I was about to set off, a

bull appeared in the bluffs above me and a good shot had it cartwheeling down towards me.

After a few quick photos I carried on to my other bull. Again I was back into the thick scrub and had to sidle around to the next set of rocks. As I got close to the area of my bull, another two big animals revealed themselves about 15 metres below me, so I grabbed a few more photos.

Story

Time was getting on and I still had to retrieve my other bull. I climbed down into the gut where it should have been and a quick scout around found my 615-yard bull behind a big boulder, tucked in some scrub. It was a very old animal with worn off rounded tips but had lots of character, an awesome trophy nonetheless.

You gotta love the West Coast, it’s tough country, but awesome.

The fishing Paper 19

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Treble Trumps Bad Luck (Cover Story)

By Scott Thorpe

We all know a certain someone who puts the time, money and effort into fishing, but the good luck never seams to goes their way. Well, that’s my old man, Andy Thorpe, down to a tee.

But this season his luck has changed and it’s all gone his way. A trip to d'Urville started the year off with a bang! Dad got the biggest blue cod of that trip. Then with an early start we headed out on a trip to Westhaven. On the first drift Dad hooked a beauty; we carry scales with us and it went 90lb on the money.

Then on a hot sunny Nelson day in April, we set off to

A Magic Spot That

There’s something about MacIntoshes Rocks that draws me back time after time – perhaps it is because one particular spot has a silver lining.

In February I caught a beautiful twelvepounder there and published the story in The Fishing Paper. A conversation with Crimpy about magic tips for catching salmon got me

By Adrian Staal

thinking and I realised that, just maybe, a little magic might be involved.

A year to the week before, I caught my best salmon to date, this nineteen-pounder and it was caught from exactly the same spot. Over the past five-years I have taken numerous fish from this one spot, without fail. Now there’s a magic tip for you … believe in a little magic.

Delaware Bay. Dad got all his cod in only a few drops and most of the snapper - one that hit 20lb with no change to. So it seems you just have to stick with it, as you never know when your luck will change!

Fish Linked to Lower Cancer Risk An analysis of 41 studies published between 1990 and 2011 has concluded that people who eat plenty of fish may have a lower risk of rectal cancer and colon cancer.

The study, published this month in American Journal of Medicine, is the latest in a string of recent reports linking fish consumption to health benefits.

Overall, regularly eating fish was tied to a 12 percent lower risk of developing or dying from colon or rectal cancer, the researchers found.

The findings took into account the age and alcohol and red meat intakes of the studies’ participants.

People who ate the greatest amounts of fish had a 21 percent lower risk of getting cancer than those who ate the least. There was a four percent lower risk of colon cancer, which could have also been due to chance.

New Zealand Seafood Industry Council Chief Executive Peter Bodeker welcomed the findings, saying they added to a growing body of evidence about the health benefits of seafood.

“The facts that New Zealand seafood tastes good, is sustainably harvested and provides thousands of jobs for New Zealanders are other reasons to be proud of this industry and its products,” he said.

PO Box 175, Nelson - 137 Vickerman Street Ph 03 548 0711 - Fax 03 548 0783 email: cscott@scallop.co.nz Representing your fishing interests and property rights

20 The fishing Paper

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The Pink Page

reaker Dawnb Club g in h Fis Story

Checking the Catch

By Clayton Knowles

Six-year-old Ava Knowles is delighted by the results from her dad’s fishing expedition. Dad Clayton, had returned from a Cook Strait groper expedition with the Huxford family, when she greeted them on the jetty near the family bach at Kaipapa Bay in the Marlborough Sounds.

The largest of the groper weighed in at 50 pounds and was caught in 300 metres of water, on a secret groper hole somewhere north of White Rocks.

It was a highly successful day with a few crays also thrown in for good measure.

Fishing the Kenepuru – Girl Style!

By Andrea Fensom

Brian and I set off on Good Friday for Kenepuru Sound to catch a snapper or two. The weather was perfect for overnight fishing, so we parked up in our favourite spot and relaxed, waiting for the fish to bite.

At 9.30pm I’d had enough for one night and crashed in

bed while Brian, the ever-keen fisherman, remained on deck re-baiting and checking the berley. Just before midnight, I awoke to Brian leaping out of bed to grab one of the rods that had ‘gone off’. I dragged myself up to net the fish, only to find the fish had gone and Brian was untangling nylon from two of the rods. Ah well, I thought, back to bed!

Just then the next rod started to run, so I told Brian I’d grab that one but he said, “No, leave it – it’s tangled!”

“Nah, it will be okay!”

“No, leave it!”

Anyway, I grabbed the rod and started to wind (AND it was Brian’s left handed reel – while I am right handed!).

Turns out the nylon from that rod was not tangled with the one Brian was working on after all!

About 10 minutes later the big beauty came to the surface. Brian muttered – “Mmmm, that’s a big one.”

He grabbed the net and had a go at netting the fish, unsuccessfully the first time I might add!

“For god’s sake don’t lose this one!” I shot at him. A few weeks back I had a similar size one at the boat and it bit through the nylon – that was still raw my mind.

Success the second time – good on you Brian! My fish was 19.27lb green weight.

Brian continued to fish during the night and little sleep was had by him. I crawled back into bed, while he went on to catch a stingray and a massive seven gilled shark.

Next morning Brian bagged a nice snapper, just after 7.00am. His one weighed in at 18.50lb green weight. Not quite as big as mine but he was satisfied. He didn’t seem to mind being beaten by his wife, but, strangely enough, I was not invited on the next overnight trip to Kenepuru!

Sudoku

How to solve Sudoku!

Fill the grid so that every row and every 3x3 square contains the digits 1 to 9. Answers on page 9.

The fishing Paper 21

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Spearfishing

Salmon Return To The Leith!

With Mark Roden

Get The Right Gear and Get Into It A disruption in the settled weather we’ve been getting is inevitable; one thing is for sure … it’s always going to change.

All fishermen eventually become weather watchers and if you own a boat then you become a real expert. Being a long time metservice subscriber, I can only say that I’ve been impressed over the years with the degree of accuracy, it’s not 100 percent of course, but it’s pretty damn good. One thing I will say is that the long-range computer generated models may sometimes appear a little too precise. They can make you start planning a trip a week in advance, only to have the prediction change by the end of the week and throw your plans out the window.

Any prediction further than three days out can only be a general overview and not an exact picture.

The water temp has remained well into double figures around d’Urville. Okay, it doesn’t ever drop much below nine degrees, but 12 feels a helluva lot warmer than nine, so no complaints. I’m in my 7mm wetsuit at this time of the year, even on the sunny days.

Some of the young guys dive in 5mm suits all year round. I used to, but if you do get cold that’s it, your day is over, there is just no way to warm up. I’ve invested too much time and

money to get out there; I want to enjoy it as much as I can.

Several trips have been undertaken since the last issue of The Fishing Paper, one out around Alligator Head and Cape Lambert, and one up the east side of d’Urville towards Stephens Passage, both great trips.

The vis out of Pelorus Sound has been getting worse over the last few years, which I put down to agricultural runoff. It looks like clay sediment in the water and I’m sure it’s affecting the fish life in general, even the growth rates on the mussel farms have dropped in recent years. I see one of the ads for commercial salmon talking about the crystal clear waters of the Marlborough Sounds - Yeah right! Pelorus Sound is more like a muddy brown river.

The Rangitotos and the whole northern end of d’Urville is pretty reliable though, nice clear water and lots of fish. Interestingly we’re all taking cameras on dive trips now. When I have enough fish for a feed, I generally spend the rest of the day hunting fish with the camera. Take a minute to have a look at a few of the videos being posted on the Nelson Spearfishing and Freediving Club Facebook page – It may even tempt a few more fishos into the water to have a look.

Megan with a gaggle of turkeys

PRODUCT PREVIEW ITM Insulation Products Winter is upon us, so it’s time to think about making your home warm and comfy for the months ahead. Nelson, Motueka, Takaka, Greymouth and Havelock ITM Building Centres have some great Winter Deals for your home. We are keen to give you the best price on home insulation along with our specialist advice.

ITM Building Centres are offering a special PriorityCard rate of only $11.40 per square metre including GST for Expol Underfloor Insulation. By fitting EXPOL snugly between the timber floor joists, you are making the ‘ultimate choice’ for your new or existing house. Hurry, offer only available until 30 June 2012.

And for that all important insulation in your roof, make sure you talk to an ITM Building Supplies Specialist about Pink Batts and a free Pink Fit Quote. Find out if you qualify for a $1,300 EECA grant and upgrade your insulation.

Call your nearest ITM store 0800 367 486 or visit our new web site at www.building-supplies.co.nz for these offers.

By Brett Bensemann The hard work of many fishing men and women has finally paid off, with the first significant return of salmon to Dunedin’s water of the Leith. Over the past couple of months a group of Sawyers Bay Hatchery supporters collected salmon in the waterway of the Leith next to the Dunedin City main highway.

Salmon smolt had been released further up the Leith and it was the first time the fish had returned in large numbers. It’s absolutely fantastic. The salmon have been running since September, but

in the last couple of months it’s been phenomenal in the harbour, the best ever! It’s great the fish are acknowledging the environment that we’ve released them in.

With all the hard work that’s gone into reestablishing the Sawyers Bay Hatchery, and all the work from both the supporters club of the Salmon Trust, the Otago Salmon Anglers and fishing clubs, we have now established a source of recreational benefit for families in the Dunedin and wider Otago region.

Six adult salmon are now at the hatchery where they will be used for breeding.

All They Need Is Time

By Daryl Crimp The Beatles cracked it with All You Need Is Love, but a number of our future young men would currently settle for a little time – with you. Ladies, go and make a cuppa because it’s fellow blokes I’m talking to here, and I need a few hands to go up.

The Fishing Paper is getting in behind a wonderful mentoring programme called Big Brothers Big Sisters, which matches kids, who are missing out on important adult role models, with adults so they can spend a little time together. It is not a big commitment, but the spin-offs for the youngsters, seven to eighteen years old, and mentor alike, are huge.

The programme has no shortage of Big Sisters but currently has 40 boys desperately in need of some male bonding, so we are needing some blokes to step forward and give a little – and that’s the biggie, we are only asking for a LITTLE of your time. And you don’t have to go out of your way to do anything different, just include them and talk and listen: tying fishing rigs, making sinkers, chopping firewood, walking the dog, practice casting, fishing, watching a DVD, smoking a fish, filleting and just doing bloke stuff.

Becoming a Big Brother involves three to five hours training and a police check, but more importantly, it’s going to mean the world to some youngster who needs a bit of a leg up in life.

Ladies, if you ignored the cuppa command, lean on your bloke. He can make a difference.

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Harbour Views

I can’t imagine the grief or the frustration, a family or friend of someone lost at sea could feel. Recently there has been another avoidable tragedy where a father and son lost their lives. For one, I never wish to be receiving or delivering the news of a tragic loss of a loved one.

What do we do to ensure it never happens to us?

• Learn the rules.

By Dave Duncan

laws are not for the average boatie, they are there for the exceptional clown who regularly flouts the law and endangers lives.

Local search and rescue teams train regularly to ensure they are best equipped to manage any emergency when it arises.

They know it is just a matter of time before we’re faced with a tragedy in our neck of the woods.

I know it’s hard for many to believe, but

• Learn the local by-laws.

there have been lives lost in the beautiful

• Wear appropriate life saving equipment a life jacket is an obvious choice.

benign waters of the Tasman Bay.

Get some lessons from the professionals – I recently learned that 25000 new boaties launch themselves toward the horizon every year, but only about 10000 of those get boating education. That leaves a great number with no idea of the rules, regulations or safe practises. It is hardly surprising that we have accidents!

Did you know that in the new by-law it is compulsory for the identification of your vessel to be visible? That might not help the ignorant, but it may help the wise advise the other vessels their behaviour or situation is dangerous.

It’s a fact that many victims in such tragedies die of hypothermia before they drown. Winter boating is a time to be extra careful. Dress warmly, wear the right gear, and know your limits as well as the limits of your craft. Always ensure someone ashore

From Sinker to Smoker

By Ron Prestage

On Yer Bike!

Surfcasters are often faced with a fair distance to travel in order to fish a desired beach or rocky shore location. 4WD’s can give access to many beaches and some innovative set ups to carry rods and equipment have been developed for these vehicles.

In the Nelson area vehicles are prohibited on the Rabbit Island beach, but the recently enhanced cycleway can be used to access fishing spots away from the favoured swimming locations, by those of us whose creaky knees don’t like a long walk on soft sand!

The cycle way is located at

knows where you are going and when you expect to be back. Ensure they know what to do if you go over 15 minutes late. Be careful out there.

If in doubt – don’t go out.

The infringement notices in the new by-

Kids Give It A Go At Mapua JLE were the proud sponsors of the Mapua Boat Club Kids Fishing Day, at the Mapua Wharf.

Unfortunately the weather didn’t play ball, with dirty water, but it didn’t stop the kids from having an enjoyable time. The variety of catch was fascinating, with a starfish, a big stick, fishing tackle, and even a shag, which was eventually safely released, all caught.

A dozen kids registered a catch for the day, which was a great result. It was fantastic to see so many children taking the opportunity to get their line in the water!

A big thank you goes out to everyone for helping make it such a successful day.

JLE Electrical Tasman led the way and was the major sponsor on the day, but thanks must also go to Sterling Sport Richmond, and Four Square Mapua.

As guardians of the Mapua wharf, the Boat Club is proud to maintain the safe haven of the area for the entire community and many visitors, to enjoy for years to come.

Another competition is planned for spring when it’s hoped there’ll be better weather!

the Mapua end of Forestry Road that runs along the Rabbit Island foreshore. A good place to fish from is in front of the big macrocarpa tree about 1.5km from the car parking area. The beach there seems to deepen more steeply and shellfish are more in evidence. Plus, I have had good catches of snapper there on an early morning high tide.

It is easy to lace a couple of rods to your bike with a length of bungee cord. Your pack containing tackle-box, reels rod stands, small gaff, bait, plastic bags, camera, food and drink should be a comfortable tramping type, with a support belt to keep

it stable as you balance on your bike. Black Magic waist bags are a good accessory for carrying bait in the mesh pockets and spare rigs in the larger compartments.

The efficiency of a bicycle is amazing, as little effort is required to get a long way along the track in a short time compared with walking on a clapped out knee.

When I take the School of Fish group from Waimea College on their surfcasting trips to Rabbit Island, I always use my bike, while the young ones and their teacher trek along the beach and carry the chilly bin, ready to keep the catch fresh for the trip home.

The cycleway links with the Mapua based Flat Bottomed Fairy and you could use this service if you wanted access from Mapua. More and more people are using mountain bikes these days and cycle tracks are enjoyable and safe to use. On a fine day at Rabbit Island many of the vehicles there have cycle carriers and whole families are making use of the plentiful cycling tracks in the location. Next time carry your fishing rods as well.

Waimea College student Taylor Waters-Bennett with a typical Rabbit Island snapper.

All set to cycle to the fishing spot from the start of the cycle way on Rabbit Island.

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High Grading There appears to be an urban myth that it’s lawful to take excess paua or rock lobster when hand gathering, then return to the beach or rocks to count and measure, keeping only those that are of legal size.

This practice is commonly known as high grading and is unlawful, as several Kaikoura gatherers have found to their dismay. Each faced a fine of up to $500 or prosecution for possession of excess and undersize.

Recently a diver was discovered at the water’s edge with more than 20 rock lobster in his catch bag, the majority undersize.

With a legal daily limit of six rock lobster, that person found himself charged with possessing more than three times the daily limit and possessing undersize lobster.

The diver considered it okay to take that number on the basis that when he returned to the shore, he would measure his catch, only keeping the daily limit of six legal sized fish.

You need to be aware that once you have the fish in your possession, you have ‘taken’ that fish and you must measure at the earliest possible opportunity. You cannot take excess with the aim of sorting your catch later.

What An Utter Waste!

In the May issue of The Fishing Paper (page 28) there was an article headed “What An Utter Waste.” It was a story about a fishing trip in the Sounds and a photograph of a magnificent example of the iconic blue cod. The disturbing feature of the photo was the fisher had his bare hand firmly pressed into the soft belly of the fish, possibly putting pressure on its vital organs. Also evident from the photo is an unnatural curve in the spine.

When in the water a fish is well supported all round by the water, but holding a fish like this for a photo, is not in the best interests of the fish or the fishery. Bare hands can also burn and remove the protective slime from the fish, potentially allowing infection in.

The fishers took 25 blue cod to get their limit of four and the article goes on to state, “… of seven other big cod, only four looked healthy enough to survive as they swum back down towards the bottom.” That’s hardly surprising if they received the same treatment as the unfortunate fish in the photo!

Further in the article is the statement, “… the shags got

By Ian Bright Field Operations Manager Nelson Phone 0800 4 Poacher twelve.” Maybe more careful release techniques such as a length of downpipe in their fishing kit, may have saved the twelve?

No one made those fishers sit there for two hours killing fish to get their limit. Rather than blaming the rules that are there to assist the rebuild of the fishery, it is time fishers took ownership of their fishing practices and looked after their fishery.

“What An Utter Waste,” never a truer word said!

A few simple suggestions for dealing with all fish; • Handle using wet cotton or rubber gloves or towel • Release as quickly as possible with minimal handling • Use larger hooks if catching undersize fish • Do not squeeze the gill covers or gut area • Cut the line for a gut hooked fish • Do not hold the fish by inserting your fingers in the gill covers • When releasing blue cod use a length of downpipe to get the fish down deep and avoid those predatory shags.

24 The fishing Paper

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Greyboy Rice Cakes 2 cups cooked greyboy fillets 2 cups cooked white rice ½ cup parmesan cheese

Chill the mixture in a freezer for about 10 mins, but don’t let it freeze.

Take handfuls of the mixture and mould into palm size cakes.

½ chopped sweet basil 2 eggs Salt and pepper to taste Oil for cooking with a dollop of butter Mix the cooked fish, rice, parmesan and basil until it’s mushy, but not liquid.

Dust with flour, dredge through the egg wash, and coat the cakes with breadcrumbs.

Once the cakes are made, refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes.

Heat oil, add butter but don’t let

it get too hot – you don’t want to burn the butter.

Shallow fry in batches on a medium heat, turning to ensure

After numerous requests from readers, we’ve decided to repeat this highly popular recipe from last winter.

Curried Pumpkin & Crayfish Soup ½ a large crown pumpkin 2 medium onion peeled and quartered

each side is golden brown.

steamed veges or crispy salad.

Place on a paper kitchen towel to drain.

We served the greyboy and rice cakes with Skipper’s Choice seafood sauce.

Serve with slices of lemon and

6 cloves garlic peeled and chopped 1 tbsp curry powder 3-4 heaped tsp green peppercorns 1 can coconut cream or 200ml fresh cream Salt Cold water 2 tbsp chopped coriander Roughly chopped cooked flesh from one medium crayfish.

Peel and roughly chop the pumpkin and place in a large saucepan. Cover with cold water, season with a level tsp

of salt, add onions, garlic and peppercorns, and bring to the boil on the stove.

Add curry powder and paprika, cover and simmer until vegetables are soft and well cooked.

Add to a kitchen blender and puree.

Return to heat and stir in coconut cream or cream.

Adjust seasoning to taste.

Serve in soup bowls with crayfish portions and garnish with chopped coriander.

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In Touch with North Canterbury

By Steve Terry

Brave the Elements The winter season is kicking off and for those anglers that are keen to brave the elements in the high country, there should be some great fishing on the lakes. Winter fishing is often overlooked by anglers, but this is a great time to head into the high country.

With snow capped alps in the background, calmer weather and the low number of anglers about at this time of year, there can be some very enjoyable days out, but make sure you dress warmly!

The most popular spot in the region is Lake Coleridge, which has fished well in the winter months over recent years. This is a great opportunity to get your boat out onto the lake on a clear day and trolling a bright coloured sinking Rapala, which is lure of choice for many anglers. Later in the winter

season, salmon fishing really fires up with some weighing up to five pounds, which is relatively large for Lake Coleridge. There are also a few large rainbow trout in the lake with a number of five to six pound rainbows caught each season – there has even been and the odd fish up to eight pounds, which is well above average for the lake.

It is also not uncommon for experienced anglers fishing Lake Selfe, to catch and release many trout on some winter days.

Don’t discount fishing the main-stems of the east coast braided rivers at this time of year too. With lower, clearer flows there can be some great fishing in the low country and I have heard good reports from the lower Hurunui River.

Good luck for those of you heading out for a fish.

A chilled out Steve Terry!

From Westport: Greymouth +05 minutes Hokitika +10 minutes Karamea +35 minutes Whanganui Inlet -1 hour 05 minutes From Nelson: Picton is -47 minutes on the high tides and -1 hour 19 minutes on the low tide Elaine Bay -35 minutes Stephens Island -30 minutes Collingwood -25 minutes Croisilles Harbour -18 minutes on the high tides and -02 minutes on the low tides

Tide Chart June 2012

Marine Weather 24/7 NELSON • 1341 AM MARLBOROUGH • 92.1FM WEST COAST • 98.7FM

From Akaroa: Kaikoura +1 hour 08 minutes on the high tides and +1 hour on the low tides Lyttelton +43 minutes on the high tides and +42 minutes on the low tides Moeraki -1 hour 08 minutes on the high tides and -35 minutes on the low tides

FISHING WITH CRIMPY NELSON • 1341 AM MARLBOROUGH • 92.1FM WEST COAST • 98.7FM SATURDAY MORNINGS | 7 - 7.30 To find out what’s hot and what’s not and whose rod has a in it.

Join Crimpy and Darryn for fishing mayhem, madness and much more!

Tidal data supplied by OceanFun Publishing Ltd www.ofu.co.nz Note: Tides in chronological order. Lower daily depth = low tides. Higher daily depth = high tides.

26 The fishing Paper

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Kontiki

Snapper Success

By David Coltman

I had no work on Monday so on the spur of the moment decided to take the kontiki out for a fish. I was heading for McKee Domain, not sure why, but I turned off at Rabbit Island instead.

I shot the kontiki out and had it set by 10.00am, just in time for high tide at 10.20am. I did a 40-minute set, and while pulling the kontiki in, I noticed a few large splashes about 50 metres from the beach. I thought it might have been a stingray sunbathing.

As I got to the backbone and started taking my hooks off, there was another big splash and the line lurched out of my hands. I quickly regathered it and continued to unhook the hooks, pulling the line in as normal, with relative ease.

As the fish got closer to me I thought I had a barracouta, and was happy that I would have some fresh bait, but as I beached it I had one of those OMG moments. It was a big snapper! A really big snapper!

I unhooked it and it just lay there on the sand, giving the

Keep Those Kids Safe

By Neil Murray, Manager, Coastguard Boating Education

odd flick of its tail, but it didn’t really have much life at all.

I quickly untangled the mess in the line that followed, packed up my gear and

headed home to weigh it, with a huge smile on my dial. I even stopped to show two guys who were having lunch on the side of the road, because there was no one else on the beach for me to show it off to.

After unsuccessfully trying to weigh the fish on bathroom scales, I took my monster catch to my sister’s work and weighed it on their digital scales. It weighed 9.66 kilos or 21.29 pounds. I was so rapt that on my way home I also took my snapper to Hope Primary School to show my daughter and her friends. She now thinks dad is amazing!

The recent tragedy in the Manukau Harbour serves as a costly reminder to us all to ensure we look after ourselves, our family and friends – particularly our young ones, even when we’re very close to the shore.

While fishing is a great family pastime, where we can all share the enjoyment and get away from it all, there are dangers. And these start before we even get to the water.

Trailers & Ramps Unfortunately, on average five children are killed in domestic driveway accidents every year, with many more suffering serious crush injuries (source: Safekids New Zealand). So make sure you know where the kids are whenever manoeuvring the car and/or trailer. Either, give them a job to do that will keep them busy for a while, keep them in sight but away from the action, or keep them in the car. Launching at a public boat ramp can be a tad stressful at the best of times.

Having at least one adult to deal with the boat and another to supervise the kids is the best policy.

Lifejackets You want your kids to want to wear their lifejacket, so it’s vital you get them one that’s the right size, does the job, is comfortable to wear – and that they think is cool! For younger kids a crotch strap is vital and if they’re not a confident swimmer, one with a flotation collar is best. Kids grow quickly, but don’t be tempted to get one way too big that they’ll “grow into in time”. Second-hand is usually fine, but check the stitching and all webbing. Having spares aboard for their friends

to wear when they come along too is a good plan, and it’s also good to have one that they’ve almost grown out of to wear when swimming off the boat or wearing over togs. Take the kids with you to a reputable marine retailer, as there’s a range of sizes, styles and colours. Inflatable jackets are becoming more popular, but for young kids they must be an auto-inflate model and must be fitted with a crotch strap. One big advantage is that inflatables are very adjustable, so can be worn over a range of clothing layers. All life jackets should be of an approved type and be regularly rinsed off and checked.

The kids should be wearing their lifejackets as soon as you get to the ramp or marina.

They’ll follow your example – so wear yours too.

And the rest...

Fishing hooks and knives, hot water, gas or simply tripping or slipping over can all cause an idyllic day to turn to tears. Having a stock of their favourite lollies or some other treats will usually recover the situation following something minor, but supervision at all

times is the best safety policy, at least until they become older, more responsible and used to the environment.

Catching their first fish, playing in the sand on an un-touched island beach or simply quality time with parents can make for the best of times and give your kids their first taste of boating that can lead to a life-long passion.

If they want to know more and become more involved, that’s great and they’ll often relish in the responsibility.

RYA Powerboat level 1 and 2 are a good way for your kids to learn the practical skills from a professional as long as they’re twelve or over. Day Skipper and VHF will give the kids all the basic knowledge.

These have been completed by kids as young as eight and will soon have them telling you what you’re doing wrong!

For more information contact Coastguard Boating Education www.boatingeducation.org. nz or call us on 0800 40 80 90

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THE

FISHING PAPER

Published by Coastal Media Ltd 7 Kotua Place, Wakatu Industrial Estate, NELSON PO Box 9001, Annesbrook, 7044, NELSON Ph 03 544 7020 Fax 03 544 7040 www.thefishingpaper.co.nz

Photo courtesy of Colin Sutton and Dr Ken Grange - NIWA

It was the weekend of the big fish. We caught several twelves, a couple of sixteens, an eighteen pounder, then this beauty, 24 magnificent pounds of snapper.

I was with Warren Johnston, and my son Noah and we were fishing one of our favourite spots off Cable Bay, north of Nelson. The conditions and the fishing were sublime. The trophy fish was caught on 40lb

braid, a Black Magic #5 hook, with baby squid for bait and took a good 15 or 20 minutes to reel in.

Knowing snapper are fairly slow growing fish, we got to thinking, wondering how old

Assistant Editor Darryn Palmer darrynp@thefishingpaper.co.nz Sales & Advertising Annette Bormolini 021 996 541 sales@thefishingpaper.co.nz

Are You Old Enough?

By Graham Brehaut

Editor Daryl Crimp 021 472 517 editor@thefishingpaper.co.nz

Alan Williamson beseen@thefishingpaper.co.nz

this mighty beast may actually be. It was time for some research.

I contacted Dr Ken Grange at NIWA who offer the services of technician Colin Sutton who specialises aging fish.

Using the fish’s ear bones, the otoliths, Colin counted the growth rings, much like a

tree’s rings, to establish its age and the result was this 66cm snapper was 37 years old.

Ed's note; At 37 this fish was only middle aged when compared to the oldest snapper ever caught in Tasman Bay. That had marked its 83rd birthday and was still swimming.

Graphic Design Patrick Connor production@thefishingpaper.co.nz Printer Guardian Print Deputy Editor Ron Prestage rgprestage@xtra.co.nz Contributors Daryl Crimp

Wairau Salmon Fishery Just Keeps Getting Better!

By Nelson Fish & Game Officer Rhys Barrier

Darryn Palmer Ali Kennard

Poppa Mike

Ron Prestage Kim Swan

Dave Duncan Steve Terry

Kathy Pantling Mark Roden

Malcolm Halstead Peter Harker Mark Wills

Lawson Davey

Juan van den Berg Miranda O'Connell Rafael Sixtus Steve Cavill Mike Brown

Paul Jennings Jeff Forsee Ash Millar

Grant Campbell Sam Kingsbury Sharon Ford

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Aerial salmon spawning counts recently undertaken in the upper Wairau and Rainbow Rivers recorded a peak tally of 279 live and dead (post spawning) fish. Incredibly, this is just one fish out from the 2008 tally of 380 live/ dead fish for this catchment! In 2008 however, counts were undertaken in the Wairau from the Waihopai upstream, but this year’s counts could only be undertaken upstream from the Branch due to discolouration in the Wairau from Trust Power maintenance works on the Branch hydro scheme intake.

Anglers have also cottoned on to this improving salmon fishery, with unconfirmed reports of one or two individuals catching in excess of 20-30 salmon this year in the Wairau.

With more and more anglers targeting salmon in the river, the angler harvest is likely to have accounted for significantly more salmon this season than in 2008. Consequently the salmon run this year is likely to have been significantly bigger than previous years.

Although the Wairau salmon are not particularly large, with the majority in the three to six kilogram range, a few fish were in the six to nine kilo bracket. While at this stage we are not sure what is driving the significant improvement in the Wairau River salmon fishery in recent years, long may it last!

Unlike the Wairau, the Clarence fishery is essentially a rivermouth only fishery and this season, it reportedly did not fish so well with conditions at the mouth being unsuitable for a lot of the season. During this year 212 spawning salmon were counted in the Clarence catchment, which is down on 2008 counts.

Chris Sharpe

Frank Dunick

Wayne Buxton Rhys Barrier

Russ Chidgey

Graeme Creswell Simon McMillan Scott Thorpe Adrian Staal

Andrea Fensom

Clayton Knowles Neil Murray Ian Bright

Graham Brehaut Steve Terry

Bruce Hobbs The Fishing Paper 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.

The Fishing Paper encorporates the Top of the South Edition and The Canterbury Edition.

28 The fishing Paper

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TIDES OF CHANGE

By Poppa Mike

SS Mapourika The steam ship (SS) Mapourika was originally owned and operated by the Union Steamship Company as an interisland ferry, mainly on a route between Nelson and Wellington. However competition from the Nelson based Anchor Shipping Company proved too strong and the impending arrival of a new purpose built ship Titoki, threatened to provide even greater competition.

In December 1921 the Union Company made a decision to withdraw Mapourika from the Nelson-Wellington service and offered her for sale to the Anchor Company.

The deal was completed on December 16. Marporika was then slipped and painted in the new company colours, renamed Ngaio and put into service on 22 January 1922, with Captain W.A. Wildman in command.

Being a much bigger, faster and more comfortable vessel than any other on the Nelson interisland service, it was well received by the people of Nelson. They also appreciated the changed timetable which made the trip an overnighter with cabin

sleeping accommodation. This service became so popular that the Anchor Company added a second similar sized vessel Arahura, also purchased from the Union Company, to the service in December 1925. Ngaio (ex Mapourika) continued until 1929 when she was replaced the twin funnelled, twin screw Matangi. Together the Matangi and Arahura continued the interisland Nelson service for a further twenty years.

Mapourika was a 1,203 ton single screw vessel, built

by Dennys of Dumbarton, Scotland in 1898. For her first twenty years she had provided reliable service in the Cook Strait and West Coast regions, with one lengthy stranding in Greymouth soon after

her arrival in New Zealand.

There was another soon after in 1900 when she ran ashore in fog near Picton. Despite these mishaps and a few other minor incidents, she was in good shape when Anchor took her over.

NB: Ngaio later became known as ‘the first Ngaio’ when a big new Ngaio was brought into the interisland service by Anchor Shipping in 1950. This only lasted until April 1953, due to dropping passenger and freight numbers, mainly caused by increased air transport services.

Key References: Kirk, A.A: Anchor Ships and Anchor Men Parr, W.H: Port Nelson – Gateway to the Sea

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Hooked on Trout

By Bruce Hobbs

As he was helping land the fish, Ryan became hooked as well.

A six-pound brown on the front fly and a seven-year-old grandson on the back one, well-done grandad Brucie!

“Will it come out Grandad?” asked Ryan.

“Easy,” says grandad. And just like the TV action hero MacGyver, grandad heads back to the car to find a pair of pliers. The barb is quickly flattened and out comes the hook. Not a tear was shed!

“Do you want to go home now Ryan,” grandad asked.

“No way lets go get another fish!”

It looks as though this little guy is going to grow into a good southern man.

Good on ya mate!