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If you love fishing you’ll love NZ Fisher e-Magazine, the fresh new digital magazine for Kiwi fishing enthusiasts… and it’s free! Click the cover to read our latest issue in PDF or read online and sign up to get a fresh new issue direct to your email inbox each month! Sign up for free to get a new issue delivered straight to your inbox every month, access to back issues and be in the draw for some great competitions! And don’t forget to join NZ Fisher on Facebook for even more fishy goodness!
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www.nzfisher.co.nz 1
f sherISSUE 24 June 2013
www.nzfisher.co.nz
(Re)Learning LBG Lessons at the East CapeSmall boat Swordfish
Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner for Issue #24!
2 www.nzfisher.co.nz
Can you hang on to 45.4kg of drag? Okuma Makaira delivers market breaking drag and complete over engineering - delivered with dual drag cams to suit your fishing style.THE MAKAIRA REELS FEATURE:• Up to 45.4kg of drag with complete free spool• Patented T-Bar handle• Custom thrust bearing to alleviate side load• Cold forged spool• 17-4 stainless steel components• Silent retrieve• Helical cut gears• Abec 5 – Sapporo stainless bearings
MAKAIRA
New technology leverdrag for ultimate versatility -Solterra features carbonite drag and ergo design,its Okuma’s latest in graphite leverdrag.THE SOLTERRA REELS FEATURE:• Patented T-bar or ergonomic handles• Durable Aluminium Frame• 5 + 1 HPB Bearings• HUGE drag performance• Racheting lever Drag System• Aluminium Handle bar
SOLTERRA
Ultimate weapon! 11kg of drag and massive line capacity - the Andros 2 speed leverdrag is the reel for your arsenal.THE ANDROS REELS FEATURE:• 2 speed, 6:4:1 High / 3:8:1 Low• 6-pcs ABEC 5 rated EZO Japanese Ball Bearings• External Adjustable Casting Control System• Ratcheting Lever Drag for precise settings• Carbonite drag system with Cal’s drag grease• Integrated recessed reel foot for low profile rod fit• Max drag at Full with complete freespool is 24lbs• Max drag at strike with complete freespool is 15lb
ANDROS
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Grab a NEWOkuma leverdrag reel fromthe tackle storethis arvo
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Pg 22
10
14
Pg 6
CONTENTS
editorial
LANDBASEDFISHING
6 New Season Lessons
10 East Cape Dreaming
14 The NZACA Nationals
Roadtrip 2013
SPORTFISHING
18 Small Boat Swordfish
LOCALFISHING
20 Inner City Sole
22 Reader Pics
24 Competition
OLDSCHOOL
22 Shark Fishing the 1880’s Way
28 Hooked Up
Can you hang on to 45.4kg of drag? Okuma Makaira delivers market breaking drag and complete over engineering - delivered with dual drag cams to suit your fishing style.THE MAKAIRA REELS FEATURE:• Up to 45.4kg of drag with complete free spool• Patented T-Bar handle• Custom thrust bearing to alleviate side load• Cold forged spool• 17-4 stainless steel components• Silent retrieve• Helical cut gears• Abec 5 – Sapporo stainless bearings
MAKAIRA
New technology leverdrag for ultimate versatility -Solterra features carbonite drag and ergo design,its Okuma’s latest in graphite leverdrag.THE SOLTERRA REELS FEATURE:• Patented T-bar or ergonomic handles• Durable Aluminium Frame• 5 + 1 HPB Bearings• HUGE drag performance• Racheting lever Drag System• Aluminium Handle bar
SOLTERRA
Ultimate weapon! 11kg of drag and massive line capacity - the Andros 2 speed leverdrag is the reel for your arsenal.THE ANDROS REELS FEATURE:• 2 speed, 6:4:1 High / 3:8:1 Low• 6-pcs ABEC 5 rated EZO Japanese Ball Bearings• External Adjustable Casting Control System• Ratcheting Lever Drag for precise settings• Carbonite drag system with Cal’s drag grease• Integrated recessed reel foot for low profile rod fit• Max drag at Full with complete freespool is 24lbs• Max drag at strike with complete freespool is 15lb
ANDROS
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ol
Makaira
Solterra
Grab a NEWOkuma leverdrag reel fromthe tackle storethis arvo
TO DO:
Andros
for 2012/13
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4 www.nzfisher.co.nz
The day you caught your first fish. The first time you climbed into a boat. These moments make up the beginning of the future.
Today, Honda’s forward thinking comes together to bring you a reliable, fuel efficient range of outboards.
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Contact your local Honda Marine Dealer todayFreephone 0800 478 765 www.hondamarine.co.nz
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BeginningFuture190x225 Traderboat.indd 1 15/11/2012 8:59:10 a.m.
The day you caught your first fish. The first time you climbed into a boat. These moments make up the beginning of the future.
Today, Honda’s forward thinking comes together to bring you a reliable, fuel efficient range of outboards.
The Beginning of the Future
Contact your local Honda Marine Dealer todayFreephone 0800 478 765 www.hondamarine.co.nz
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BeginningFuture190x225 Traderboat.indd 1 15/11/2012 8:59:10 a.m.
www.nzfisher.co.nz 5
AS WE HIT AUTUMN I always
have mixed feelings: I’m a summer
person, no question, I love hot, sunny
weather, blue skies and long days. But
as the weather changes, the water
temperature drops, and we’re into
the cold, rainy season, I don’t mind
so much. That’s because this is, for
me, the beginning of the serious LBG
season, and as much as I love my
softbaiting and workup fishing, LBG is
my real love! With trips underway for
East Cape, Great Barrier, Coromandel
and the Far North twice in the next
few months, topped off by what
will be an epic ROctober this year
(tickets go on sale soon!) it’s going to
be a fantastic season I’m sure. And
it started in great style at the East
Cape on my now annual trip with
the NZLBG club with some fantastic
fishing in what is one of my hands-
down favourite LBG destinations
in our wonderful country. Amazing
accommodation, spectacular country
to fish, untouched ledges, top drawer
fishing, topped off with a night at the
Waihau Bay pub, maybe the friendliest
in NZ. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a start
to the season more in recent times.
But it’s not all landbased colder-weather
fishing either. While we were off at the
E Cape my good mate Andrew was
out there doing it and getting into a
swordfish from a trailer boat, the jetski
boys were having an amazing time
out of Colville and the inner harbour
was firing for the saltwater fly guys.
Just today I was out softbaiting under
workups of gannets and bait with
snapper and kahawai everywhere, and
then I’m heading off to the Far North to
fish another slice of LBG paradise.
The weather might be getting cold
but the fishing is still hot, so make sure
you’re out there getting amongst it!
Tight lines,
FT
//From the EDITOR
editorial
ABOUT /Short and sharp, NZ Fisher is a free e-magazine delivering thought provoking and enlightening articles, and industry news and information to forward-thinking fisher people.
EDITOR / Derrick Paull
ART DIRECTOR / Jodi Olsson
CONTENT ENQUIRIES /
Phone Derrick on 021 629 327
or email derrickp@NZ Fisher.co.nz
ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES /
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ADDRESS / NZ Fisher,
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This is a GREEN MAG, created and distributed without the use of paper so it's environmentally friendly. Please think before you
print. Thank you!
6 www.nzfisher.co.nz
New Season Lessons
THIS YEAR’S EAST CAPE trip was
a memorable one for many reasons:
a first decent kingy for me in 4
years (!), a first livey-caught kingy
for Brenton (see Page 10), a 7.3kg
snapper which fought top water
like a kahawai, and some utterly
spectacular fishing and scenery with
great mates.
But what struck me most of all at
the end of it was how different a
trip it had been for us in the way we
approached the 4 day trip, how we
fished, and how that translated into
results. So, as this is the beginning
of my winter LBG series, I thought
I’d start by sharing a few things that
we learned and re-learned over the
course of what was an excellent trip.
Over the rest of the series we’ll cover
off hardware, tackle and so on, for this
one we’ll focus on some other things.
After 3 days fishing, we’d had some
good successes and were feeling
pretty happy with life: the first day
had put us onto an amazing steady
snapper bite with fish up to nearly
6kg, some much bigger ones lost (!)
and a number of big, fat blue cod.
We’d treated it as a fishing holiday
and had a great time, rather than
flogging ourselves from pre-dawn
till after dark every day. Then, on the
third day Brenton bagged a solid
king but by Friday night I was getting
worried about whether my kingy
horror streak was going to continue.
The forecast was for strong S/SE winds
with rain, and only one king had been
caught between 9-12 anglers each of
the previous days so the other crews
all decided against fishing the last
day. On top of that, I’d hurt my back
so badly before leaving that I had to
LANDBASEDfishing
(Re)Learning some key LBG lessons at the East CapeBy Forsyth Thompson
www.nzfisher.co.nz 7And then it was gone...
lie flat in the back of the truck all the
way down and was dosing heavily on
codeine and ibuprofen to get through
the days!
Despite all that, we got up in the
morning, packed the gear one last
time and headed down to Lottin and
launched off the beach. There was no
chance at all I was going to get my
kingy sitting at home or diving for crays.
We had Midway in mind for our final
push, but as we got round there
the SE was wrapping right up the
coast and making it unfishable, so
we headed back towards Lottin and
found a point out of the wind where
one crew had spent the last 6 days
for just one kingy. But it has always
produced in the past and was surely
due to again.
B and I unloaded the boat (slowly,
my bad back making me pretty
useless!) and then as I stepped off
onto the rocks I managed another
first: missing my footing and finding
myself swimming off the rocks for
the first time ever, in full wet weather
gear! Thankfully the water was still
warm and I just swam round to the
back of the boat, climbed back in and
stopped laughing for long enough to
step off properly.
The berley went in, the country looked
incredible and then the maomao
turned up. Thousands of them. We
couldn’t get baits past them and
couldn’t find a livey to save ourselves
but by casting as far out as possible
past the berley I got a couple and the
balloons went out.
After 3 hours of inactivity, I’d more
or less dried off! I’d just cast out a
bait when I saw the liveys trying to
tangle each other up so put the reel
on clicker and ran up to sort them out.
Then a small king turned up, harassing
the liveys but not big enough to really
trouble them.
I turned and looked back down the
rocks: no rod anywhere to be seen,
it had somehow been dragged in.
Talk about gutted, a bad day was
just getting worse for me and the
expensive loss reminded me how
LANDBASEDfishing
8 www.nzfisher.co.nz
LANDBASEDfishing
much my back was hurting!
Another couple of hours went by with
nothing more than lunch to break the
monotony so at nearly 3pm we had a
final “what shall we do conference”
and came within a hair of packing up.
We were at the exact same stage of
the tide as when we saw and caught
kings the day before, so decided to
give it 30 more minutes and throw
every last bit of berley and bait in.
Within minutes we had a mini work-up
going on with mao mao everywhere
and birds all over the place, creating
a huge amount of noise in the water.
I looked up: “B…where’s my balloon?
No, seriously mate, where the **** is
my livey?”
Then B pointed to it just as it surfaced.
And then blew away in the wind as the
ratchet on my Everol 50 went off! Over
the last 4 years, every time this had
happened had resulted in heartbreak:
bust offs, pulled hooks, spat baits,
reefings etc. But this time I had the
serious gear, 37kg mono, wind-on
leader, trace and a CD 24-37kg stick
to match and there was no chance this
fish was getting off. In fact, I was able
to subdue it so much that I called for
the net until I saw her come up by the
ledge – this was no rat! B gaffed her
straight in the lateral line, and blood
pouring out and heaved her up.
On the mat she went 1.21m, and on
the scales 20.3kg. Not quite a PB but
with all the work we’d had to do to get
this and all the reasons we’d had to
stay at home or pack up and go home,
this was the most satisfying fish I can
remember catching in many years.
So when you bring the right gear, and
you’re in the right place, there are still
loads of reasons to pack it in when
things aren’t going your way. Stick at
it and keep making more effort, not
less. Keep cubing baits, changing
liveys out, cubing baits and doing all
the things that you know work.
The easiest thing is to get lazy and
let your head go down, but when
you keep going, keep doing the right
things, and keep having a great time,
its funny how things go your way!
www.nzfisher.co.nz 9
1
2
3
4
5
5 simple rulesto help you stay safe:
Life jacketsTake them – Wear them.
Boats, especially ones under 6m in length, can sink very quickly. Wearing a life jacket increases your survival time in the water.
Skipper responsibilityThe skipper is responsible for the safety of everyone on board and for the safe operation of the boat. Stay within the limits of your vessel and your experience.
CommunicationsTake two separate waterproof ways of communicating so we can help you if you get into difficulties.
Marine weather New Zealand’s weather can be highly unpredictable. Check the local marine weather forecast before you go and expect both weather and sea state changes.
Avoid alcohol Safe boating and alcohol do not mix. Things can change quickly on the water. You need to stay alert and aware.
For more information about safe boating education and how to prepare for your boating activity, visit www.adventuresmart.org.nz
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
The Boating Safety
Before you go boating on our seas, lakes and rivers, get familiar with New Zealand’s Boating Safety Code, no matter what kind of boat you use.
CODE
www.adventuresmart.org.nz
The Water Safety The Outdoor Safety
CODE CODE
Also available:
10 www.nzfisher.co.nz
By Brenton Cumberpatch
LANDBASEDfishing
East Cape Dreaming
www.nzfisher.co.nz 11
EAST CAPE, LOTTIN POINT. It’s
one of NZ’s great Land Based Game
meccas and when I got an invite
from Forsyth to go fish 4 days of the
NZLBG Clubs annual 10 day Easter
expedition, I immediately said “95%
yes” (Actually I think an expletive
may have replaced the 95% if I’m
completely honest), a quick call to my
long suffering fishing fishing widow
wife and I was 100% commited to
the trip. Awesomeness! Now, how
was my fishing OCD going to handle
the next 4-5 weeks?! Luckily I was
kept busy with work and family life
(you can never earn enough brownie
points, ever. And they only have a
limited shelf life...), so I only ended
up repacking four times in the lead
up to our departure.
I’ve been trying for 3.5 years to
catch a kingfish off the bricks on my
Offshore LBG 70 rod and TLD25 reel.
I’ve been lugging that set around
everytime I go landbased fishing, and
have floated numerous kahawai under
balloons in an attempt to entice those
wily kingfish.
In March of 2012 I caught my first
ever landbased kingfish on a piece
of pilchard I was straylining to
catch a kahawai. It weighed in at
10.1kg, was 98cm long and caught
on 8kg mono. That fish recently
won me the Bill DiMento Shield
for Heaviest Fish Caught on a Club
Outting and the Ralph Kennedy
Cup for Heaviest Fish of the Year
at the North Shore Surfcasting
Clubs end of year prize giving.
East Cape is good 6 hour journey
from Auckland with the boat on the
back. It’s remote and has no cell
phone coverage – not something
I’m used too that’s for sure!
Forsyth’s new Mazda BT50 was
exceptionally more comfy than the
old Isuzu (smelt a hell of lot better
too!) and it hardly even noticed the
Stabicraft 349 we were towing.
Luckily it was also comfy, especially
given Forsyth had put his back out while
fishing over Easter... pain drugs and
resting on the journey down helped to
ease the pain. In fact he looked quite
comfy reclined in the passenger seat,
his iPad slung over the passenger visor,
watching some episodic TV while I
drove. A bit different from how we used
to road trip!
LANDBASEDfishing
12 www.nzfisher.co.nz
We had some fantastic fishing on
some awesome ledges that probably
haven’t been fished since the NZLBG
Club were here last year, but for this
article I’ll focus on Day 3...
Forsyth and I launched out of Lottin,
and went left with a SE wind blowing
over the hills and chilling us down. (Well
me especially as I left my wet weather
gear back at the farm. Clever... not!) We
found another nice gut to park the boat
up in, burleyed up and setup the gear.
Once setup we saw kahawai straight
away. Awesome! 3 were caught in
quick succession and went out under
balloons and the next hour was spent
training them to NOT make plaits in
our lines, useless liveys! 2 were so
misbehaved they were disciplined into
Snapper bait. Luckily the kahawai were
still there in droves, so I cast out my
snelled 2 hook rig and instantly caught
2 more to replace them, these were
were sent out and the message must
have been passed around as they
stayed out there like little troopers.
Forsyth managed a nice 7kg snapper
while I was messing around having
fun catching and releasing kahawai,
trying to ring Mr Kingfish’s dinner
bell with distressed fish splashing in
the shallows. It must have worked,
LANDBASEDfishing
for as I was baiting up another hook I
heard “Zzzz! Zzz-zzzzzzzz!”, I looked
up, Forsyth yelled “B!” I looked
at my virgin TLD25 and it went
“Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!” again. Line
was screaming off my reel! Awesome,
I was in! “Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!”
I raced over, unclipped the tether,
“Strike it! Strike it!” was yelled at me,
I pushed the lever to strike. came up
solid and I pumped the rod hard a
couple of times to set the hook.
Finally I had a kingfish on my livebait
gear after years of frustrating near
misses. The kingfish gave a little run
then the tension came off! Crap! I
wound like mad until I felt the weight
again, and it was swimming back to
towards us. Phew! It didn’t really fight
that hard after that, it pulled against
me a little more but there were no
more runs, so I pumped and wound it
in figuring it wasn’t particularly large...
until it rolled up next to the ledge!
“Gaff!!” I hollered and Forsyth leapt
into action. The kingfish decided it
wanted to roll around a bit in the
kelp and try and get under the ledge,
there were a few tense moments
while disappeared and rubbed against
the rocks and kelp until it resurfaced
again and a well placed gaff shot to
the head saw it being hauled up the
rocks, until it decided that it didn’t
like several inches of sharpened steel
in its head and went beserk, flipping
itself off the gaff and sliding down the
rocks, back towards the sea! “Aargh!”
I screamed. “Crap!” muttered Forsyth,
scrambling after it and swinging the
gaff at it, connecting solidly in the
shoulder and man handling it up the
ledge towards the chillybags. I was
high on adrenalin, grinning like a
www.nzfisher.co.nz 13
LANDBASEDfishing
madman, and staring in awe at my first
big green machine.
There flapping madly at my feet,
was my very first livebait caught LBG
kingfish. Once I had introduced it
to the Shank Of Love™, I pulled out
the lie detector and we strung it up.
Apparently gaffing it in the head and
sticking 4inches of steel in it’s brain
wasn’t enough to subdue this fish, for
as I lifted it’s weight off the ground on
my scales, the bloody thing flapped
around about like crazy, wriggled of
the scales hook and started flapping
down the rocks! Heck, what more do
I have to do to subduew this fish! I
launched myself on top of the maddly
wriggling fish as it slid away from us,
thankfully it slid right into the big
landing net we’d brought as I body
checked it’s downward momentem.
Lucky! It got in a cheeky tail slap to
my legs and a head butt to my check
as I wrestled it under control, before
I finally dealt it a killing blow with my
iki stick.
Once we were sure it wasn’t going to
cause any more grief, we strung it
up on the scales. “Whoa, it’s a bit
heavier than the last one” I grunted
as I lifted it. The scales settled on
18.9kg. Nice! We laid it out on the
NSSCs IGFA measure mat, the v in
the tail was just under 110cm. Yup,
definitely bigger than the first one.
We packed it into the Precision-Pak
coolly bag, spread some ice on it
and stuck it in the shade.
10 minutes later Forsyths livey went
beserk darting around the place
frantically and then stopped. We
waited a couple of minutes with no
movement from the balloon, so we
wound it in to see if it had been killed
and all we found was a bare hook.
Bugger! Interestingly, all the kingfish
sightings, harassment and hook ups
we had during the week were within
an hour of the high tide, not the
typical either side of low tide. Maybe
they’re always there and this was the
bite time? All I know is I have more
chance of a king eating my livey if I
have one out than if I don’t.
Finally I had achieved my long time
goal of catching a landbased kingfish
on my livebait set. I had managed
to do it at one of NZs primo fishing
destinations, with a great mate, in
fantastic conditions. Life was good,
now to get one another livey and aim
for one over 20kg! Unfortunately it
wouldn’t be mine, but it would be
over 20...
14 www.nzfisher.co.nz
LANDBASEDfishing
THIS YEAR’S NZACA NATIONALS
(Nats) were hosted by the Gisborne
Surfcasters club and was held over
four days, beginning with distance
casting, ending with accuracy casting
and two days of fishing between.
I had annual leave with a use-by
date of March, so I planned a ten-
day road trip taking in the Nats in
Gisborne and the Kahawai World
Cup (KWC) at Papamoa.
I’d found the fishing at last year’s
KWC really slow, so wasn’t expecting
huge catches, but I felt I had a slightly
better than average chance of walking
away with the $10,000 1st prize due
to what I’d learnt at last year’s event.
The two-day competition is held off
Papamoa with about 8km of white
sand beach available for fishing.
There were about 200 people
competing, and the Bay of Plenty
was the Bay of Empty for most. I
think there were a grand total of 19
kahawai weighed, with the winning
fish going 1.938kg. I didn’t even get
a bite, but consoled myself knowing
I’d chosen my spot well, with the
winning fish being caught about 100m
to my left on day two. I tried casting a
range of distances, different rigs and
baits including the local go-to bait
of anchovy and didn’t even manage
a bite. Even so, it served as a good
warm-up for the Nats.
Wanting to get some casting practice
before meeting up with fellow club
member Mark Mortimer in Gisborne,
I found myself at a deserted Tolaga
NZACA Nationals 2013, Gisborne (and Kahawai World Cup)By Barry Williams, NSSC
The NZACA Nationals Roadtrip 2013
www.nzfisher.co.nz 15
LANDBASEDfishing
Bay beach and set to work on my
off-the-ground technique. Having
gotten some good distance, I wound
up for a beast of a cast, and…snap!
That was the end of my rod. Bugger!
Luckily, Mark Graham of Action Bait
and Tackle personally delivered a
replacement rod section in time for
the competition - service doesn’t get
much better than that.
Day 1 of the Nats dawned and after
the AGM and competition briefing we
headed to the casting venue, stopping
en route for a flat white (you can take
the Aucklander out of Auckland…).
My confidence must have taken a hit
after snapping my rod the day before
- two of my casts were out of bounds
and my only measurable cast went
144.8m; 12m short of my personal
best. Mark managed 127.8m, beating
his previous best by 2m. The best cast
on the day was 192.833m by Gary
Whitaker from Wellington.
Next up was a drive through the
Waioeke Gorge and on to Te Kaha,
our base camp for the next two days.
We picked a likely-looking spot on
the rocks near the Waikawa Stream,
with a nice mixture of deep water,
rocks and kelp that we hoped might
hold large snapper.
16 www.nzfisher.co.nz
The next day we were on the rocks
at 5am, where we set the burley,
cast out into the dark and waited.
Unfortunately all was quiet so at
sunrise, we moved a few hundred
metres to fish into more open water.
Soon after, Mark landed a trevally of
about 47cm, a good fish to kick off our
Nationals tally. Between us we landed
a few kahawai, snapper and hiwihiwi,
but nothing large enough to weigh in.
For the afternoon, we headed to
Omaio Beach, which, according to
Spot X, has accounted for some
monster snapper. Not that day. Small
snapper stripped our baits almost
as soon as they hit the bottom. We
landed some small kahawai. One was
put to work as live bait for a passing
kingy but only got the attention of a
large ray.
Returning to the rocks for the evening
change of light, we landed a few
decent kahawai, three for Mark and
LANDBASEDfishing
two for me, all over 50cm and in
the 1.8-2kg range. The few snapper
we landed were all below the 35cm
qualifying length.
By 6am on day 2, we had lines in the
water at the previous day’s kahawai
spot, but with no sign we bailed
before the sun was above the horizon,
relocating to the beach at the mouth
of the drought-dry Pakaranui stream.
Surprisingly, this spot produced my
largest kahawai for the two days’
fishing at 2.11kg.
En route back to Gisborne, we
stopped at the legendary Motu River
mouth, planning to slide bait for
kingfish. We took the bush track down
www.nzfisher.co.nz 17
LANDBASEDfishing
from the Tokata Scenic Reserve and
walked along the gravel spit to reach
the eastern bank of the river.
The fishing here was nothing short
of sensational with four out of five
casts resulting in a 50cm+ fat, hard-
fighting kahawai. We soon gave up
on slidebaiting for kingfish, as all the
fish were too large for this technique.
Instead we just enjoyed the spin
fishing and marvelled at the kahawai
surfing the waves.
Spring and late summer are the best
times here - make sure you take
along a few lures as they are easily
lost and bait fishing is frowned upon
by the locals.
In two hours, we must have caught
about 30 fish, all released except for
Mark’s first Motu kahawai. I don’t think
I’ve ever had as much fun fishing as
that session at the Motu. Believe the
legend and pay it a visit if you’re on
the East Cape.
18 www.nzfisher.co.nz
sportFISHING
Small Boat SwordfishBy Andrew Evans
I HAVEN’T DONE TOO much big game
fishing, and of all the 15 or so days
marlin fishing I have done, I have only
actually seen one marlin and my only
hookup turned out to be a mako! So
when a great weather forecast for the
weekend coincided with an invitation
from my mate Josh to go and chase a
daytime swordfish, its fair to say that I
was very excited to say the least.
Josh has had a stonker of a game
season, popping two of his mates’
marlin cherries on his own boat and
then getting himself a 264 kg blue
marlin at the Nationals. Josh and his
crew had lost a swordfish last year out
on the garden patch when the hooks
pulled after 35mins of getting dealt to.
But this year everything was upgraded,
bigger gear, and a new technique on
getting the bait down and we were off
with the Surtees 5.5 in tow. Neither of
us had seen, let alone caught a broady
before but you’ve got to get out there
and give it a shot!
With no bait to be caught in close,
we headed out to the Shallow Patch
where we saw an incredible sight.
Out of nowhere the ocean erupted,
thousands and thousands of sauri flying
clean out of the water. Then we saw
big tuna coming from every direction,
smashing sauri and covering the water
with oil as they exploded out of the
water all around us. Then as quickly as
it started it was over. Arriving at the
Garden Patch we were the smallest
boat surrounded by 7 big sport fishers
and clearly in the right place.
Picking a spot on the bank in 540m we
sent the squid bait down on a double
hook rig with lights. It hit the bottom,
and the breakaway sinker did its job.
Then, only about 20mins in, all the
weight came off the line. Josh started
winding but no weight came on.
After a few minutes further winding
with still no weight on, we knew
something was up…surely we couldn’t
be onto a sword after 20 minutes of
trying, people take years before they
get one. Then, incredibly with only
about 100m of line still out, the rod
loaded up, and we were into it.
The fish had taken the bait without one
click of the ratchet and swum 400m
straight up towards the surface. The
first 15 mins as we backed up closer
to the fish was fairly easy and we were
wondering what all the fuss was about!
www.nzfisher.co.nz 19
sportFISHING
Then things got really interesting as the
fish started dealing to us. The weight
and power of the fish was incredible,
and we had so much drag on that
Josh was seriously struggling. Despite
catching a massive Blue earlier in the
year he called it as easily the toughest
fight he’d ever had. A few times we
got to the 50m leader to only to have it
taken straight back in crackling runs.
After 30 mins on this severe drag
setting Josh was just about broken,
even half turns being hard to get,
and then the harness gave way, the
stainless clip snapping under the
pressure. You can’t overstate how
serious these fish are! The call was
made for a change of angler, so I
clipped in with the spare and got
stuck in. My legs and back were
burning in no time and with half a
wind here it felt like lifting a car: this
just wasn’t fun! About 30 minutes later
we had colour, and it looked amazing
as it thrashed its sword side to side.
There were a few hair raising angle
changes we had to deal with as it
came closer then as Josh had the
leader in hand, it gave a last burst and
smashed the outboard with his bill.
We got it back to the side and up it
came: I threw in the flying gaff, Josh
grabbed the big fixed gaff, I dumped
the rod and Tail roped him.
The fish didn’t have much left at this
point, the heavy drag we used (maybe
a touch too heavy?!) had broken it, as
much as it had us. Up on the surface,
it’s bronze skin was shining like armour,
the bulk and thickness of the fish
incredible, and with its long bill, broad
and sharp, this was a true gladiator.
With its head out water we grabbed
any handhold we could, heaving it’s
head over the gunwale and then she
was in the boat. Relief. High fives, hugs
and a couple of energy drinks were
sunk as what we had achieved hit us.
First time out and just an hour and a
half in and we were both broken and
had a sword on board.
Once we’d got a few pics we realised
that there was no more fishing for
us, we were both done, mission
accomplished and we headed back
to get her weighed at Reel Rods in
Whatuwhiwhi (thanks to Kieron). She
pulled the scales down to a healthy
128.4kg and we’d done what we came
for, an experience I’ll never forget.
20 www.nzfisher.co.nz
localFISHING
CASTING A FLYROD to surface
schooling Kahawai is what many
people think when you mention
saltwater fly fishing. Without a
doubt Kahawai are a truly world
class sports fish that make great
targets for the fly fisherman, but
they represent just a one of the
many opportunities for the way of
the long wand.
New Zealand is relatively new
territory for SWF and consequently
new discoveries are being made all
the time, like Clark Reid discovering
Kingfish riding on the back of stingrays
and Craig Worthington perfecting
pot holing for snapper in rocky
terrain. All those who have seriously
fished fly have brought their own
innovations and ground-breaking
Alan Radcliffe and Scott Macindoe - keeping the Chesters comp on target for 23 years
Inner City Sole
Story and images by Matt von Sturmer
www.nzfisher.co.nz 21
localFISHING
discoveries. Recently Mark Hoffman
and Jeremy Coombes showed us that
Point Chevalier and Meola Reef are
legitimate locations for proper saltfly
fishing all within sight of the Auckland
sky tower. My discovery is as a result
of this growth in the Meola scene and
came about while exploring further
up the harbour system in pursuit of
shallow water kingfish, but that’s
another story.
Technical fly lines matched to the
appropriate size fly rods provide an
elegant system to present creative
lures to fish hunting in the shallows.
Once cast, the fly line is fished in the
hands and this controlled retrieve
combined with the subtle weighting
of the fly, means we can impart
an action of pauses, flits, starts
and stops to fool fish where other
methods just cannot succeed.
Once the water really starts to
warm up, its time to start stalking
the mudflats of the upper harbour.
When fishing there, I’m constantly
scanning the water in the hope that a
passing kingfish will reveal itself with
a telltale bow wave. Or even better,
with a smash and grab feed sending
mullet or flounder flying through
the air. Over the course of many
intense hours waiting and watching,
my attention started to be drawn to
much smaller events. These splashes
of smaller predators began to distract
me from the search for kings, and I
often missed my shot at a passing
king while throwing my lighter fly rod
at what I thought were the splashes
of Kahawai. Then, out fishing with my
mate Trevor (an excellent fisherman
and regular visitor from the UK), we
both got to see a flash of pink and the
back of a snapper bust the surface in
one of these splashes. This suggested
that for the last two seasons what we
had thought were Kahawai were in
fact snapper, surface-busting baitfish
on the flats. I managed to land a
cast right on the spot and instantly
caught the snapper we had just seen,
proving they were there, and feeding.
But we didn’t know what they were
feeding on and what was causing the
splashing. It was not until a further
season had passed that I began to
see tiny bow waves ahead of the
busting snapper, clearly they were
chasing something, but what? The
answer to that question was revealed
to me when one of these tiny bow
waves kept coming towards me and
deiced to take sanctuary between
my feet! And there was the snappers’
quarry: a juvenile of a species of sole
and just 50mm long. My kahawai
chasing bait turned out to be snapper
chasing flatfish! Knowing what these
upper-harbour snapper are feeding
on allows me to present them surface
flies knowing that seconds later a
snapper will hit. As a consequence, my
catch rate of 30-40 cm snapper has
increased significantly. But with all this
distraction, my catch rate on the 10
kg kingies on the flats has not been so
good. Next season I’m going to have
to refuse new discoveries as I really
want to land a kingfish on fly from the
mudflats in central Auckland, and its
going to take some real focus!
We knew there were snapper in the
shallows so it was never a surprise
to come up solid and bring a feisty
snapper to the beach.
22 www.nzfisher.co.nz
READERpics
Aaron McDonald with his PB Snapper at a scratch under 20lb
Charissa and Toni
Frank Mountjoy with a couple of lanbased beautys from near Taipa - PB’s no less!
Graeme ‘Sea Ox’ Cox ‘Dancing’ in 5m Swell and 50km winds
www.nzfisher.co.nz 23
READERpics
This month’s winner of the ReelWear
tee is Aaron Macdonald. Aaron wins
a Reel Adventures, ReelWear Tee.
Keep sending in your pics for the great
OKUMA and Reel Wear prizes up for
grabs every month.
Pursuit deckies, Sam & Zane with a pair of ‘Pup’ Bass
John Callandar with a healthy
Three Kings Puka
:Coromandel Porae YUM
24 www.nzfisher.co.nz
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P R E V I E W T H E N E W H D S G E N 2 T O U C H A T L O W R A N C E . C O M
www.enl.co.nz
Win a Rod and Reel with OKUMA & NZFisher!
JUST POST A PIC of you with a fish to our Facebook
page and you’re in the draw to win an Okuma Salina II
Rod and Reel combo plus tackle worth $750.00.
Not only that but every month we’ll give away an
Okuma T-Shirt and ReelWear between now & June
2013. Every image you enter has a chance to win each
month and also the big prize. The more and sooner you
enter, the better your chances so get fishing & posting
those images to Facebook!
www.nzfisher.co.nz 25
HAWAII ON A Kayak. Legend
in the making right here!
VIDEO
Fishing Video of the Month
26 www.nzfisher.co.nz
oldSCHOOL
Shark Fishing the 1880’s Way
By Sam Elliot
Auckland City
Libraries Tamaki
Pataka Karero
THERE IS NOTHING LIKE a good
fishing story, especially from the
good old days. Fortunately some
of the really old yarns have been
preserved in the literature, and they
make a great read. Here is a doozy
from way back.
In the article below R. H. Matthews
recalls the “old time institution”
of shark fishing, in the far north
(Rangaunu Harbour) during the 1880’s.
Matthews describes how this particular
shark fishing event is a strictly observed
maori custom rich in tradition that is
like a national holiday for maori in the
area around Rangaunu.
They are fishing for dogfish (or
kapeta) (presumably school shark)
with the fishing restricted to two
days per year, first on the full moon
in January and only by night, the
second two weeks later and by day;
with severe punishment if these rules
were not observed.
After a notice of the date of the fishing
was announced and a signal cannon
fired a “muster of not less than fifty
canoes, each with an average crew of
twenty” gathered. So about a thousand
fishers plus a full support crew!
Matthews goes on to describe the
gathering of fishers as a hive of activity
and excitement “For many days prior
to the fishing crowds of Natives were
to be seen going to Te Unahi ….All
bent on having a good holiday, and
on getting plenty of kinaki (relish)…
and looking forward to a plentiful
supply of dried mango (shark) for
kinaki during winter…The village was
humming like a swarm of bees”.
The preparations that were being
undertaken by the fishers also
sounded extensive. Different groups
were involved in a multitude of tasks
including rolling flax fibre to attach to
hooks, lashing ornamental bow pieces
onto the canoes, fastening elaborately
carved stern posts, filling joints
between boards on the canoes and
making movable platforms on which
the sharks were killed.
The most attention, however, was
paid to the hooks and lines that were
Drying Sharks
www.nzfisher.co.nz 27
oldSCHOOL
to be used for the fishing. Matthews
describes how the hooks and snoods
were put together with specialist
technique and material to prevent rust
and avoid being cut by the shark teeth.
The morning before the fishing was
to begin several canoes were sent
to catch bait, clubs (timo) for killing
the sharks were made, and finally the
canoes were pronounced ready for sea.
Then as dark fell “the order was given
to go on board, and off we started
to the refrain of “Huka ka huka”…
When we arrived at the rendezvous
at Te Ureroa we found the fleet in
position… We took up our station…
Here we waited for high water…
The Maoris believed that the strong
spring tides swept immense numbers
of sharks into the harbour and far up
the rivers and creeks, and that when
the tide ebbed the returning sharks
were intercepted by the fleet. As the
time of high water approached, the
talking ceased, and there was a dead
silence through the fleet.
Presently our chief whispered, “Kua
whati te mata o te tai” (The tide has
turned). Almost immediately after
Popata stood up in his canoe and
shouted out in a stentorian voice,
“Hua kina” (Charge). Then followed
a most exciting race for the fishing-
ground and the mataika (first fish).
All through the fleet the Maoris
were shouting…It was a brilliant
moonlight night, and the whole
fleet could be plainly seen paddling
furiously for the channel.
The shouting, yelling, and cheering,
together with the noises that only
the old-time Maoris could make,
were indescribable… As soon as the
channel was reached anchors were let
go… and waterproof coats were tied
around the waist and then the ready-
baited hooks were thrown overboard…
Almost immediately, “Kohi kohia” (Haul
in) was shouted from a canoe close to
us, followed by a loud splashing and
cries of “Mataika” (First fish).
Then came the blows of the timo
clubbing the snout…Presently one
of our crew called “Kohi kohia”.
Eventually my turn came to give
warning. I pulled the shark to the
gunwale, my friend then took charge
and landed it on board… several
smart blows with the timo close to the
end of the snout soon quietened it.
A corner of the raho is then lifted up,
and the shark is passed to the bottom
of the canoe. Within five minutes of
the time of anchoring, and for the
space of at least three hours, the
sound of the timo could be heard
incessantly all around us, accentuated
by shouting and loud splashes. The
scene was simply indescribable.”
When the fishing was done Matthews
noted that ”The catch in our canoe
totalled 180. The cleaning of the
sharks had now commenced… the
bodies were hung by the tails… There
they remained until thoroughly dried
by the sun and wind… In a day or two
the stench would be intolerable.
The livers were thrown into a large
funnel, made of green flax leaves... and
suspended. Large stones were then
heated and placed on them, and the
oil was caught in calabashes. Surplus
livers were put into the stomachs of the
sharks, and hung up in the sun until the
oil exuded from them.
The total number of sharks caught
by the fleet, including those taken at
the pakoki held a fortnight later, was
about seven thousand an average of
about sixty-five per canoe for each
of the two trips.”
R.H. Matthews 1910. Reminiscences of maori life fifty years ago. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Art. LIV, 598-605.
“For many days prior to the fishing crowds of Natives were to be seen going to Te Unahi ….All bent on having a good holiday, and on getting plenty of kinaki (relish)…and looking forward to a plentiful supply of dried mango (shark) for kinaki during winter…The village was humming like a swarm of bees”
28 www.nzfisher.co.nz
COULD IT BE YOU?
Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner for Issue #24!
HOOKEDUP!
HOOKED UP! Every issue, all NZ Fisher subscribers*
go in the draw to get hooked up with some fantastic prizes courtesy of generous NZ Fisher supporters. To find out if you’ve won simply check this section in each issue to see if your name has been drawn and then email us before the deadline to claim your prize. Sweet as!!!
*To be eligible to win stuff in the Hooked Up section you need to be a confirmed email subscriber to NZ Fisher e-Magazine and be a resident of New Zealand at the time of the draw. A big thanks to our Hooked Up sponsors! Please support them!
Allan Preece from PukekoheYou’ve won this month’s awesome Hooked Up prize pack including:
Your choice of mens or womens ReelWear T courtesy of Reel Adventures •
A $50 voucher to spend online or instore from GoFish.co.nz•
A super tough 3-tray tackle box from Flambeau (contents not included)•
Plus two 500ml bottles of Tackle-It Odour Eliminator from PureAir to keep those fishy smells at bay!•
To claim your prize you simply need to email jenniferl@espiremedia.com before 5pm Friday 21 June 2013. Easy!
www.nzfisher.co.nz 29
COULD IT BE YOU?
Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner for Issue #24!
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regionalREVIEWSNEXTmonth
f sherIn next months issue:- East Cape Paua mission- Far North Queensland Barra hunt - Know how: Winning Fishing Competitions
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