Tim Lawrence Fishing Spot

16 timlawrence

Fishing Spot

The fish are still here and it’s late July! This has been the best winter fishing in years; even those soft-baiters are still catching fish around Army Bay and at the end of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula. You certainly don’t have to go far to find fish, with reports of gannets dive-bombing straight out from Gulf Harbour a few weeks ago. I have had the luxury of two trips over the last month and both times we all came home with excellent results. Our usual spots at Little Barrier Island are still producing good specimens – although the ‘taxman’ (sharks) claimed a couple of fish on our last trip – but this didn’t slow us down, with our limit caught in a couple of hours. Once again we were using live baits and straylining pilchards over structure – it’s a simple formula that always produces. Last month, I thought the weather would prevent us from fishing in Whitianga, with 30+ knot northeast winds predicted, but we took the gamble and made a run for the Coromandel. This was the first Northern Union Fishing Club outing and eight of us jumped on the Epic Adventures and Mad Max Sportfishing charter boats. The weather window was slim; the hangover was rough but we were on a mission to catch big kingfish. Once we caught our live baits, we headed about an hour north of Mercury Bay (in the open ocean) to fish on one of the outer reefs. The wind got up to about 20-25knots and the rain was horizontal, but we stuck it out up there until lunchtime before deciding to hide behind Great Mercury Island and this is where we got onto some BIG fish. Our boat didn’t have the bananas that day! We landed about 50 kingfish, with the biggest fish landed by Scott Bougen coming in at 1.27m (approximately 26kgs). We had already filled the bin with decent-sized fish, so all of the biggest fish were released to fight another day. Most of the kingfish was smoked by a local and the rest was made into sashimi and steaks – yum. Wow! What an amazing trip with a great skipper and a good bunch of guys to go away with. We are already talking about our next adventure. Apart from landing some big kingfish, one of the highlights of the trip was presenting four bananas to the losing team on the other boat the next morning. Tight lines!

Millwater wine review

Morton Estate Hawkes Bay Black Label Merlot 2009

We’re well into winter now and short chilly days make this the red wine season, with a past favourite red grape varietal being Merlot. However, since NZ Pinot Noir has become ever more available and affordable, it has become the favourite of many – but wait till you try our recommendation, Morton Estate Hawkes Bay Black Label Merlot 2009.

Yes, you read right, a 2009 Hawkes Bay Merlot; this will restore everyone’s faith in Merlot once they try this beauty.

With 7 years under its belt, this has become so smooth, silky smooth! The colour has transformed into the bricky/tawny hue, a good sign of ageing. The nose is soft and full, with good ripeness of fragrant red berry and plum aromas, with wholeberry-like characters, along with plum jam and milk-chocolate notes. Medium-full bodied, the palate features milk-chocolate flavours with soft dark red berry and plummy elements, and some oak notes forming a soft structure. The tannins are like silk; they have melded into the wine perfectly. The Black Label is a Reserve tier, so has the legs to last for many a year and it’s showing its best now.

As a food match, this Merlot is very versatile. It is perfect with the typical winter hearty red meat dishes, or matched to hard cheeses for a relaxing night on the couch. On special at $19.99 this is a super deal, so get in and enjoy a cellar-aged gem.

Ivan Tvrdeich Millwater Resident Manly Liquor