www.nzfisher.co.nz 1www.nzfisher.co.nz

PotentialWorld Record on Fly!

Enjoying the best of winter in Aotearoa

ISSUE 49 July 2015

www.nzfisher.co.nz 3

4.. Editorial

6.. In Search of Beasts

14.. LegaSea Update

16.. Kingfish off Takatu Point

20.. Matapouri Moocher

30.. Muz’s Pauanui Lifestyle

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

GROUP EDITOR / Colin Kennedy

ART DIRECTOR / Jodi Olsson

CONTENT ENQUIRIES /

Phone Derrick on 021 629 327

or email derrickp@NZ Fisher.co.nz

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES /

Phone Derrick on 021 629 327

or email derrickp@NZ Fisher.co.nz

ADDRESS / NZ Fisher, PO Box 47794,

Ponsonby, Auckland 1011

WEBSITE / www.NZFisher.co.nz

This is a GREEN MAG, created and distributed without the use of paper so it's environ-mentally friendly. Please think

before you print. Thank you!

Contents

Cover Images: Main image. Credit Barry Williams. The transit of Mars & Venus across the Southern Sky.

Inset: Nick Whitby & his potential World Record 6.8kg Trevally on Fly

4 www.nzfisher.co.nz

WE’VE BEEN SPENDING the last month

looking at the history of NZFisher and

finding the changes we need to make to

bring you the best online magazine in

New Zealand. We’re 49 issues old, and we

promise some big things from our next

issue, the 50th, and into the future.

We’ve listened and learned; you’re asking for

more ‘How to’ and a bit more info on where

and how we land our best fish. We’ve also

heard you ask for more unique digital video,

so that’s high on the agenda. We’re co-opted

International Multi-Award winning filmmaker

Karl Lear to produce our content, and there’ll

be some big names on board too. After 49

issues we reckon we’ve done some good

work, but there’s plenty more to give, and

we’re as motivated as ever.

Thankfully, the coldest of winter appears

to have passed (surely it can’t get that cold

again!) but it hasn’t dampened the fishing

much. The trout are running hard in the

Taupo streams, the snapper have been

feeding up in the Hauraki Gulf and the

Taranaki coast, and there have been great

hauls of Kahawai from the beaches and

harbours down the east coast.

Editorial

We’ve had some cool footage come in from

my old mate Murray the Butcher from the

sunny shores of Tairua Harbour. Murray’s

images are included, free of the obligation

of words in this issue. Murray’s set up in

Pauanui for the winter, and he’s tapping into

the natural goodness the harbour provides

in sustainable quantities. Unlike the snobs

like me, Muz has been very pleased with the

taste and abundance of Parore, Kahawai and

the odd snapper or flounder he can snare.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 5

It’s easy to forget how bountiful the waters

that surround us are when we search, often

fruitlessly, for trophies or a specific species.

In fact, there’s an awful lot of damned fine

seafood swimming by the shore and ripe

for a short set of the net, a quick spear or at

the end of a line in the channels.

On the political front (I cannot leave it

alone sorry), I’ve been alerted to a meeting

hosted by MPI in Auckland last month.

Apparently the Ministry invited a number

of fishing representatives, including at

least one TV fishing ‘celebrity’, with the

intention of finding a group with some

punch who are not Legasea related but are

keen to work with the ministry to develop a

recreational fishing future.

Now, I know the Ministry can engage

whoever they want to discuss recreational

fishing issues, but it is reprehensible that

they would not also engage the largest

and best organised recreational fishing

representative group in the country. I

know there’s never going to be consensus

on who should represent our rights,

but by ignoring the leading group, the

ministry expose their glaringly obvious

desire to once again disrupt and divide the

recreational fishing voice.

As of our deadline, there’s been no official

word on the outcome of the Legasea

Hawkes Bay/MPI/Commercial held in

Napier. The meeting has come about due to

the joint efforts of many local recreational

members who have been galvanised under

the local focus of Legasea.

Sadly, in the lead-up to the meeting

an unnamed MPI manager tried to talk

the local representatives out of inviting

Legasea contractors to the meeting. This

was another attempt to keep a valuable

knowledge base out of the meeting and

again undermine our sectors ability to

represent ourselves.

We want a future with fish in it, but this

won’t happen if MPI’s goal (“The goal is

to double primary industry exports in

real terms from $32billion in June 2012

to over $64billion by 2025.”) to double

exports is achieved.

Tight lines,

Derrick

6 www.nzfisher.co.nz

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In search of Beasts Challenging the Three Kings and returning with a (potential) World Record

This article and images (including the great cover image) by Nick Whitby

www.nzfisher.co.nz 7

IT WAS A LONG-TIME dream to head north

to the remote Three Kings for our group

of keen as fisho’s. It was a pleasure to be

aboard Pursuit for the journey with the

infamous Rick Pollock at the helm and

keeping us in line. Rick is well supported

by skilled deckhands Mark Collins and

Heath Kamins, who worked hard the

whole trip to provide an experience that

will keep us looking forward to heading

back one day.

Rods were parabolically bent all day long,

either ending in triumph or with the skipper

reminding us not to mess with a gorilla and

to give these fish the respect they deserve.

Craig Anderton managed to hook a monster

Koheru during a morning livie session and

within moments of dropping this poor

ecstatic fish into the depths on King Bank a

well-conditioned 35kg kingfish engulfed it,

giving Craig a tussle to remember.

During a deep drop, we had an 800grm jig

race to the bottom which ended abruptly

for Craig as he ran out of line on his reel!

As he pronounced “good luck boys” and

started to jig back up, the rod buckled

over with only a few turns left on the reel,

unbeknown to Rick who had leaned out

of the window explicitly saying “don’t you

touch that drag”?

Nick & his brother with the pending World Record Trevally on Fly

8 www.nzfisher.co.nz

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www.nzfisher.co.nz 9

Craig was embedded in a stand-off, only

able to use the swell to lift the fish and

finally get some line back, subduing a

beautiful 37kg Hapuka.

Being a passionate fly fisherman,

the opportunity I’m most grateful

for presented itself when Rick asked

if I would like to chase trevally on

fly amongst weather-beaten rock

arches and the surging waves of

the spectacular Princess Group.

Mark enthusiastically set up a cube trail

while the rest of the group started to get

stuck into some nice kingfish and it was not

long before silver hoodlums with rich blue-

green backs and yellow fins would flash up

in the depths. We agreed that it was critical

for the fly to sink naturally, so I made a

roll cast with my favorite shrimp fly and

concentrated on letting the fly fall through

the water column. It was not long until I felt

a take and set the hook carefully.

10 www.nzfisher.co.nz

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A hard fighting trevally was off heading

straight for the bottom with the backing

appearing rapidly. After managing to turn

the fish and make some headway, the hook

pulled. That first fish won the fight.

In no time another, much larger Trevally, was

on. Again, it headed straight for the bottom

where it stayed, battling until for some

unknown reason the trevally shot for the

surface where it lost the fight. Once landed

we realised its size, and now it’s a pending

8kg class tippet NZ record Trevally of 6.9kg.

The most epic and longest battle of the trip

went to Kasey ‘Ox’ Coghlan, who willingly

hooked a kingfish on a light 14lb braid

line, taking him on a trip up and down the

gunnels. After an unrelenting long distance

stand-off, a beautiful conditioned green

backed 22kg kingfish was boat side with a

very happy Ox. We will endeavour to return

one day to the place of giants, but this trip

will be hard to beat!

www.nzfisher.co.nz 13

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14 www.nzfisher.co.nz

FISH

ERIE

SMAN

AGEM

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NEW ZEALAND IS FAST BECOMING

world-renowned for trophy-sized kingfish

and lots of them. This is no accident.

Management changes a decade ago,

Mother Nature and the care shown by

recreational fishers who release much of

their kingfish catch have all contributed

to the stock rebuild.

Annual monitoring of kingfish length

during the Bay of Islands International

Yellowtail Tournament over the last five

years is showing a strong pulse of fish from

successful spawning events 9 or 10 years

ago. Recreational fishers fund the project

to collect data from this tournament. This

support comes from the Bay of Islands

Swordfish Club, the New Zealand Sport

Fishing Council and LegaSea.

In addition, a Government funded

monitoring project is underway this

year. Recreational charter and private

fishers around the upper North Island

are helping to monitor kingfish stocks by

recording catch details.

Legasea Update

Positive prospects for game-fishing Update by Trish Rae, Legasea

www.nzfisher.co.nz 15

While kingfish are hardy creatures,

LegaSea encourages fishers to learn how

to successfully catch and release kingfish

in good condition. Most important is

to use circle hooks, which lodge in the

corner of the mouth.

Gamefish successFor 58 years, the NZ Sport Fishing Council

has been at the forefront of research

and conservation of gamefish, and more

latterly the management of inshore

fisheries and marine environment.

LegaSea is promoting this vital work

and recognises the Council as the

only organisation in New Zealand that

purchases and distributes fish tags to

recreational fishers.

There have been some large yellowtail

kingfish tagged this season, and overall

the average size and number of kingfish

appears to be increasing.

This past season has also been notable

for the return of yellowfin tuna across a

range of sizes in modest, but encouraging

numbers. There have been 110 swordfish

tagged and released over the previous

three years with two recaptures to date.

Marlin fishing on the east coast was

sporadic this season, but generally on

par with 2013-14. Fishing on the west

coast was very good at times. The Council

is committed to tagging 50% of striped

marlin and encourages all anglers to tag

and release fish less than 90kg.

Some fishers like to keep the first fish of

the new season. The NZSFC encourages

you to tag and release subsequent

captures of that species, to conserve

them for the future and so we can study

their movements

Stand upBecome a LegaSea Legend by making a regular $10 per month contribution. ■

Call 0800 LEGASEA (534 273)

Email us info@legasea.co.nz

Subscribe at www.legasea.co.nz

Read more at www.facebook.com/legasea

16 www.nzfisher.co.nz

THE PREVIOUS WEEKEND my brother

came away with his PB Kingfish that fell

to a live-baited Jack Mackerel. A solid fish

made better still by it being his first from

a kayak. Not surprisingly he was chuffed,

and I was envious!

The Kingfish put up a solid fight, and Eric

kept it off the bottom with some tough love

and his luck held, so it didn’t run towards

the rocks. We were in around 20m deep

water and not far from the cliffs. A solid

20 minute hard-yakka fight ensued; the

excitement was nail-biting and the visual

confirmation at the end, gripping.

We knew he had something big but we still

couldn’t believe that we had indeed caught

what we set out to catch - a kingfish and a

decent one to boot at just on 1 metre and

a PB at 26lb. We got what we came for and

were buggered for it. We had around a 6km

paddle back to our launching spot of Jones

Bay and at times the going got tough, a

slight headwind working against as and the

tide turned to its way out, but the smiles on

our faces kept us in good spirit and eager to

tell the story of the one that didn’t get away!

It’s the last weekend in February and after a successful mission a weekend prior with my brother targeting Kingfish from a Kayak, the weather gods put together another stunner weekend of great kayak fishing weather on the Tawharanui Peninsula.

Kingfish off Takatu Point

Words and images by Danny & Eric Wilson

Getting down ‘n dirty with the king

KAY

AK

FISH

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www.nzfisher.co.nz 17

A week later I was ready for round two and set out even

earlier to maximise my days fishing. I was

on the water by 5am, well before the 7am

sunrise - it was a starry morning and only half

a moons’ worth of natural visibility.

Tasked with catching as much live bait as my

handy homemade tank could handle, I was

surprised to see so many Piper in shallow

water. I managed net a few unlucky ones who

were very curious towards the illumination

my kayak was giving off. Frustrated with

my net not being fine enough to net a good

amount of Piper, I set off further up the

peninsula for Jack Mackerel on my sabiki.

Livies acquired; I set out past Elephant point,

settling in around 20m of water and about

200m off the cliffs. It was around about 9am

by the time I was well settled in my spot.

Dead low tide was approaching at 9.50am.

My Piper were quickly becoming

claustrophobic and with one on the line

not giving off much fight I continued

paddling in long slow circles. I needed

some help, so I set about chumming up

some of my Jacks to help get some scent

going. Within a few minutes, my line

peeled off. I had myself a fight!

Eric has every reason to be happy!

Hell of a fish from the kayak; but could Danny better it.

Failing to plan is not an option.

18 www.nzfisher.co.nz

One in the bag and a load of tired looking

live bait left, I quickly stowed away my catch,

rigged up another live bait and tried for

another. Almost on the drop, my line takes

off, feels like a Kingfish strike! This time I was

in for a good fight and one that I was handling

on my Shimano Bait Runner 6000OC.

This Kingi danced around my yak a bit,

and it was taking me longer to reel in. It

felt like it was being chased. My luck held

and eventually I got it up to the surface to

deal with. And with a big grin on my face,

I started my trip home to be back on dry

land by lunch time.

I was hoping to beat my brother’s catch,

but I fell just short of bettering his, but I did

manage to land two pretty much back to

back, which was a first for me.

Takatu Point continues to pay off in my

books as one of my favourite destinations

to Kayak fish, but it’s never short of a lot of

hard work, determination and fight, before

you get to come away feeling chuffed. It

pays to be prepared and to know exactly

what the tides and forecast are doing. Get

the tides and the wind wrong and you can

be in for a long day. But time it right and it

can delight! ■

The weather gods are smiling

Thats some serious fillets!

Not perfect, but the recipe is being followed.

Mint!Incredible how much you can fit into a kayak!

KAY

AK

FISH

ING

www.nzfisher.co.nz 19

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20 www.nzfisher.co.nz

KAY

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FISH

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Having only started kayak fishing just over a year ago I have been focused on getting my head around the fundamentals of this exciting way to get in the water and chase a feed of fish. Top of the list was ensuring I stay safe on the water but I have also been coming to grips with new fishing techniques such as the use of soft plastics and slow jigs.

Matapouri Moocher

By Orson Waldock

www.nzfisher.co.nz 21

WHILE MY INITIAL TRIPS out on

the kayak were largely about time

on the water, I have now started

to think more about setting goals

including landing a legal Kingfish (still

a work in progress) and targeting big

winter snapper in the shallows.

One of the key pieces of advice I have

picked up from others is ensuring you

have a good plan. Preparing for a fishing

trip based on knowing what you want to

target, where, when and how stand you in

good stead while chasing those big fish or

elusive species.

A recent trip up to Tutukaka provided me

with an opportunity to explore a new

section of coast along with the goal of

dragging a big winter snapper out of the

shallows. Armed with my new knowledge

of the importance of planning, my trip

started on the laptop.

I used Google Earth and maritime charts to

survey a new area of the coast I was keen to

explore. From the comfort of home, I was

able to identify areas where fish are likely to

be holding. This included visible foul, weed

beds, ledges and reef systems. Knowing all

this greatly increased my chances of success

when fishing new ground.

I launched into the Matapouri Estuary

and headed out the bay at just after sun

up. Although a 40knot north-easterly

had dropped there was still a significant

amount of swell moving below the kayak

and smashing into the coast. I headed

straight to a cliff face I had identified a few

days before with the plan of fishing the

wash for large resident snapper.

22 www.nzfisher.co.nz

KAY

AK

FISH

ING “ It feels

good to have set a plan, executed and it and have the fish to show for it at the end of the day.“

www.nzfisher.co.nz 23

Conditions were tough with a stiff westerly

breeze pushing me off my casting position

and well out of the bite zone. With little

chance of connecting in that spot, I headed

to the next headland I had identified where

I could set up a drift. The new spot looked

more promising with the westerly pushing

me along a reasonable length of wash zone

and rocky foul.

Something like this is a tricky situation as

the impact zone is where I want to target

large snapper, but not at the expense of

coming to grief on the some fearsome

looking rocks. I needed to stay mobile

as there were some large waves coming

through, so I used my paddle to hold station

while lobbing a light weighted soft bait

toward the boiling cliffs. I was keen to target

10 metres or so out from the wash area

assuming that large predating fish would be

patrolling this edge looking for crustaceans

and small fish that had come to grief.

On my second drift, my soft bait was hit

on the drop and something started to pull

considerable line. I was not sure what it was

at first as rather than distinctive head shakes

this fish just swam hard and straight. My

issue was that it was heading straight back

into the wash at a considerable pace.

With some big waves rolling in, I even

considered flicking over the bail arm and

backing out. I had started to make some

ground on the fish, though, so continued

to put more pressure on the line which

24 www.nzfisher.co.nz

BEN

ISLA

ND

.CO

.NZ

18+ lbs snapper off the rocks.

brings up a good Snapper alongside. Still

not out of the woods I netted the fish and

paddled out to deeper water before iki’ing

the fish and stowing in the back. With

relatives from overseas at home, this 62cm

snapper provided a reasonable feed for the

whole family.

I had the GoPro on the whole morning

and Managed to capture the fight –

check it out here.

There were a few other fish that came

alongside, some good Kahawai and the

world’s smallest Kingfish but they all

went back. It feels good to have set a plan,

executed and it and have the fish to show for

it at the end of the day. With the westerly

picking up I called it quits and headed back

into the shelter of the estuary. ■

Know whatyou’re doing

Phone 0800 40 80 90 or visitwww.boatingeducation.org.nz

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26 www.nzfisher.co.nz

REA

DER

PICS

Angela Kerr keeping an eagle eye one her lines in late July off the Coromandel coast

Reader Pics

Ollie Reeves (Last months winner) with another great Ngongy Rainbow

Alex Reeves with a solid 11.21kg Taranaki surfcasting snapper

www.nzfisher.co.nz 27

Eoghan Waldock showing his skills with another Snapper he caught with his Dad on the kayak

Jase with a 5.2kg mid-winter Far North snap. Jason Christiansen with a solid landbased king

Teaghan Erringtyon’s results from a late August weekend

www.nzfisher.co.nz 29

Shane Grahams with a hefty Kingfish

Ted Audain, Jeff & Louisa Zeelie at Papa Aroha fishing with the North Shore Surfcasting Club.

30 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Muz’s Pauanui Lifestyle

When a retired fisho takes a break from the city, but needs to take the city with him, you’ll find his laptop on wharves and at the beach with him. The mobile’s in his hand but the scenery is the star.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 31

www.nzfisher.co.nz 32

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