20 THE FISHING PAPER & HUNTING NEWS - MARCH 2018
From Sinker to Smoker By Ron Prestage
Fishing with Fish! In this month’s column we hear from fishing enthusiast, Wayne Gillard, now based in Karamea on the West Coast.
Take heed the
Barometer Your Craft
SPECIALISTS
Daryl Crimp
Hello, my name is Wayne Gillard, but I’m called Fish. Why you ask. It’s because I have an annoying habit of catching fish when most others don’t. I tend to know where they are and what to catch them on. But at the end of the day, just one more cast or one more set of the kite can so often turn a bad day into a good one.
LITTLE CREATURES 6 x 330ml Bottles
17 99
$
PANHEAD
I have had a lot of experience and success working at charter fishing based in Cairns, Australia, and catching salmon and trout in the Hurunui area, a variety of fish at Norfolk Island, plus many other places up and down New Zealand. We arrived in Karamea in December 2017. I’m a chef by trade and I have a saying, “If there’s no fishing I’m not coming”. On the drive to work at The Last Resort in Karamea, my partner and I looked at the awesome beaches along the coast that screamed, fish, fish, fish! The Karamea River mouth area, famous for trout fishing and whitebaiting, was our first surfcasting spot. Once we’d sorted out some gutters and holes to fish in, snapper, rig, and kahawai soon were
500ml Bottle
Wayne’s Karamea kahawai
landed. We fish for kahawai with light trout gear and our favourite lures and have outfished the locals with their silver spinners. We take a couple of kahawai to eat and some to cut up and salt down for surfcasting bait. This is my main bait along with some fresh squid, if available. I have four rods, 14 to 16 feet long, and run Alvey sidecast reels. I am thinking about getting a Bait Blaster to fire baits out a long way when the surf is up. When using the 4WD on the beach, I let my tyres down to 22/24lbs.`
My plan for the future is to set up a rod and reel hire service for visitors to use, along with maps of the fishing locations. Local helicopter pilots are keen to fly fishers in to the more remote beaches and ledges. If you want bait or information, call in to see me at The Last Resort Cafe, Bar and Accommodation Karamea snapper and I will be happy to help.
Barometers measure the ambient atmospheric pressure and used largely to predict weather changes, but it can be a useful tool in determining fish activity. Atmospheric pressure changes do influence fish and animal behaviour, so understanding this can help improve your success rate. Changes in air pressure are thought to affect the air bladder in the fish. When the barometer is really low, fishing can be really slow as fish spend a lot of time equalising their swim bladders. However, as the barometer starts to fall can be a good time for a quick fish, as I have found there is often a ‘bite window’ preceding the arrival of a front, where the fish feed frenetically. Fish, and animals, have an innate understanding of the weather and live by it. It is not uncommon to see animals having a good munch just before a storm, so factor this into your planning. When the barometer is high, the fishing is generally good, but when do fish come back on the bite after bad weather? Fish can
start feeding as soon as the barometer starts to lift again but I have found there to be a peak activity or window sometime after the change. Just as fish and animals feed vociferously before a storm, they sometimes go crazy on the chew 12 – 36 hours after the event has passed. A good rule of thumb is to learn to observe animals and birds around you, like lambs, cows, rabbits, horses, sparrows, this, and the like. If all of these creatures are active, up and about moving, and wild animals are out early in the day, the pressure is high and stable, and the fish activity will be similar to that of land animals. If, on the other hand, sheep, cattle, and horses are predominantly sitting, birds quiet, and very little sign of wild animals, you can expect a similar response at sea.
GEAR FOR EVERYONE!
WHEN YOU ARE ON THE COAST COME AND SEE US AND WE CAN GET YOU SORTED
The team of focused, friendly accountants available at Alison Blanchett Smart Business Centre Accountants, offer a wide range of expertise and experience in the world of accountancy and business advisory. For more information on how our expertise can benefit you please enquire now. Contact us today!
knudsen sports & Toyworld
P 547 7995
170 Palmerston St, westport - Ph 03 789 6293
99
EMERSON'S 6 x 330ml Bottles
2199
$
SAWMILL 6 x 330ml Bottles
19
$
99
See our craft range & more super deals in stores now! AVAILABLE 26 FEB - 25 MAR
FISHING-HUNTING-BIKING-CAMPING
• Fishing tackle and rods • Bike and accessories • Hunting and tramping gear
7
$
www.smartbusinesscentre.co.nz
238 High St, Motueka P: 03 528 1113 2 Muritai St, Tahunanui P: 03 548 6623 3 Salisbury Rd, Richmond P: 03 544 6183