1. Art and Diseño

www.theadventurer.co.nz
FISHING
1
FEBRUARY
2015
300kg+ Blue Marlin KING
Monster
on the
spear pg 10
103KG
TUNA
pg 13
Ultimate
JETSKI
Adventure
pg 17
by Scott Robinson
One of the greatest sights of game fishing is seeing a released marlin light up as it
swims back into the depths. And it was the 13th of January this year that we were
lucky enough to do just that on a magical scale.
Aboard Tairua vessel Radar we had travelled 45 odd miles north east of Tairua to an area known
as the ammo dump. With myself, Johnboy and Grilla aboard we found ourselves working a small
area with a significant temperature change when at 1pm the long corner running a old school
Pukula Animal disappeared in a quick strike. The fish barely showed itself apart from his bill and
Continued page 3
dorsal and gave no clue as to its size.
Memorable
Boar
pg 25
www.theadventurer.co.nz
FISHING
2
Summer FISHING Tournament Dates
February
WHAKATANE SFC - Annual Ladies Tournament Sponsored by Ocean Sports Marine Thu 5th to Sat 7th Feb
MERCURY BAY GFC - BONZE SKINS *** Fri/Sat/Sun 6-8 Feb 2015
BOWENTOWN SFC - Nauti Girls (harbour only) comp 7th Feb
TAIRUA/PAUANUI SFC - Fin Nor Game Fish & Light Tackle Sat 14th Feb
WHAKATANE SFC - EBOP Kayak Club Tournament Sat 14th Feb
TAURANGA SFC - Bridgeman Concrete Fish’n Chicks Tournament FEB Sat 14- Sun 15
MERCURY BAY GFC - BILLFISH CLASSIC Sat/Sun/Mon 21-23 Feb 2015
MERCURY BAY GFC - TRISTRAM MARINE MERCURY BAY OPEN Sat - Sat 21-28 Feb 2015
NZSFCA NATIONALS - Sat 21-28 Feb 2015
TAIRUA/PAUANUI SFC Tairua 4 Square Fish “N” Chicks Sat 28th Feb
TAURANGA SFC - Wish for Fish Charity Fishing Competition FEB Sat 28
March
TAURANGA SFC - FIN NOR One Base Tournament MAR Wed 4-Sat 7
BOWENTOWN SFC - Gallagher Classic ‘Open Water’ Sat 6th & Sun 7th Mar
TAURANGA SFC - ZESPRI Fishing Tournament MAR Fri 14-Sat 15
MERCURY BAY GFC - TRAILER BOAT Thur/Fri/Sat 12-14 Mar 2015
MERCURY BAY GFC - LADIES BLUE Sat/Sun 21/22 Mar 2015
MERCURY BAY GFC - ALTO *** Sat 21 Mar 2015
WHAKATANE SFC - Asaleo Care/SCA Tournament Fri 21st & Sat 22nd Mar
TAURANGA SFC - Western Bay Services Tournament MAR Mon 23-Wed 25 (briefing 22)
TAURANGA SFC - Billfish Tournament MAR Fri 27-Sun 29
April
MERCURY BAY GFC - KIDS- Sat Easter 4 April 2015
MERCURY BAY GFC - JUNIORS Sat & Sun 11-12 April 2015
BOWENTOWN SFC - KIDS- Sat Easter 4 April 2015
BOWENTOWN SFC - JUNIORS Sat & Sun 11-12 April 2015
TAURANGA SFC - Contractors Federation Tournament APR Sat 11
TAURANGA SFC - ECOLAB Dairy Farmers Tournament APR Tue 14-Thur 16
WHAKATANE SFC - 10th annual Surtees Boats only tournament 18th & 19th April
FISHING
www.theadventurer.co.nz
3
Cover article continued
The fish didn’t do a great deal initially apart from a
few lazy jumps behind the boat. Whilst it was clearly
a blue over 200 kilograms, it never fully exposed itself
enough to give a more accurate gauge. The leader
was first taken around 20 minutes into the fight and
it was here things got interesting. Feeling the extra
pressure from me grabbing the trace, she powered
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Adventurers/Writers
Jackson Shields
Jason Harris
Brett Waterhouse
Arthur Olsen
Bonze
Shaun Thomsen
Josh James - Kiwi Bushman
NZ Kayak Fishing
Fish & Game NZ
Rick Pollock
Carl Muir
Eric Carter
Rachael Blackie
Rebecca Murray
Joe Dennehy
Jeremy Viall
Trish Rea - Legasea
Martitime NZ
Scott Robinson
Dicko (Dick Featherston)
Andrew Hill - Jetski Fishing
Matthew Dufty
Joel Dickson - Gamegear
into the air behind the boat, side on and exposing her
massive bulk just a few short metres away. Not much
was said but we all knew was in that magical 300 kilo
class.
head was second only to her incredible length. She
was thick right through her body and down into
her tail where blues tend to carry so much of their
weight.
Both the hooks had to be removed with a pair of pliers
such was the hookup and we took some quick photos
before giving her a swim behind the boat with the
snooter just to make sure she was going to be ok.
The angler Grilla made the call that only the angler
can make, and said he wanted to tag and let her go if
we could. With that in mind we increased the drag as
we tried to break the stalemate and get her in before
she tired too much. Yet despite the sun-setted drag of
the 80 wide and the pressure from Grilla’s hand being
clamped on the spool we just couldn’t lift her within
leader range, instead she kept powering along within
view of us for most of the next 2 hours.
As she turned her colours from flouro blue to a deep
bronze Grilla cemented his call to release her and
whilst I would have loved to know its true weight on
the scales I, along with Johnboy, couldn’t have agreed
more with his decision.
As Grilla finally let go of her thick bill, she turned her
head towards the depths and powered off with her
massive tail, lighting up her entire bulk as she disappeared back into the abyss, in what was truly an awesome and unforgettable sight.
We decided that we needed to change things up and
knew that getting up current of her was the key. So a
call was made to run away and around the fish, and
get ahead of it. Without the current to help her, we
soon had her within leader range and on the second attempt I was able to pull her closer using more
weight than I dared. As she rose up beside the boat
Johnboy popped a tag in by her dorsal and we could
claim her as caught.
As she broke the surface beside the boat, she rolled
to her side and showed us that she was in a true size
class above anything we’d had boatside before. It
was with complete confidence the call was made of a
weight estimate of 300 plus kilos.
Her bill was thick and strong, and the depth of her
Andrew and skipper Mark in battle, which took 3hrs
Great to see a monster blue released
FISHING
4
This season has been the best I can recall for Kingfish in the Gulf. I got a respectable kingfish on a Kabura slow jig last Saturday and friends fishing next
to me with softbaits got two, and we all got snapper
as well.
Hauraki Gulf
By Joe Dennehy
Aren’t we lucky?
I still can’t believe the weather we have had. After
the crap weather we had from October all the way
through November till mid December we were probably overdue for a nice run of weather. But the last 6
weeks continous run of highs over the country from
mid December without a break up to and including Anniversary weekend is unprecedented. I have
searched my fishing diaries for the last 22 years, and
whilst we have had many great holiday periods, every
other year it has been broken up every few days by
rain or a bit of a blow, not these holidays however, the
run of weather we have had is fantastic.
The snapper are still spawning quite a few weeks
late as I have reported, so even in the early morning last week a few days after new moon when the
fishing is usually excellent, it was good but certainly
not as good as it could have been. We always managed to get the early morning fish but we had to
work a bit harder than usual. The fishing will be very
good in february the snapper will have finished
spawning and will be hungry, so get out and catch
some when you can.
Joe Dennehy
LOOKOUT for the full
“Secret Hauraki Gulf
Fishing Calendar”
in any good book store
or tackle store near you
Firth of Thames
By Eric (Buster) Carter - Snapper Express
Thank God, this is a great country we live in. Every
day I wake up and look out the window to check the
state of the office. The last few weeks have been
awesome, with a bit of a breeze in the afternoon,
but otherwise just a typical New Zealand summer.
Even the fish have been playing their part, with some
really nice fish being caught. The early morning or late
evening have been the best, whereas from 10 a.m. till 4
p.m. has been a little harder. As the sun hits the water
this tends to turn the fish off.
A few people have been asking me how it is that over
summer, as a charter-boat skipper, I always seem to get
my crews into some decent fishing when others seem
to struggle. It’s simple, stay away from the masses and
fish the most unlikely places. I have a simple theory that
when 200 or so screaming two-stroke motors start up
and head out from various ramps up the coast, the fish
have a fair idea what is about to happen. Several times
I have got into a spot, started fishing, and within half an
hour 4-5 boats have spotted me and tied up beside me
“’cause he has to know where the fish are”, and that’s
the end of the bite. No problems though, just part of
the job.
Thanks to a Facebook posting I have just read, I have a
bit of a topic this month very close to everyone’s heart
which is commercial fishers being accused of high
grading and dumping fish, and selling fish at 25cm.
Well, to state my position clearly on this matter, commercial fishing has been going on since the dark ages
and has fed millions of people directly or indirectly. As
I look around the Firth of Thames most days and see
hundreds of recreational fishermen out there looking
to get a feed or catch the big one, I wonder how many
fish at 30cm minimum legal size get put back so a bigger one can be kept later in the day. During summer
it is not unusual to keep one in five fish, as there are
plenty of small ones out there and there is nothing
wrong with this if they are handled carefully. But if you
do the maths and four fishermen go to sea and keep
one in five, and say they take home five fish each, then
together they have caught a total of 100 fish and kept
20, returning 80 back for another day. If the death rate
on those returned was 5% then four fish have died.
Now multiply that by 1000 fishermen on any given day
and the number will start to scare you. Work it out over
the year and sit back and compare it to the commercial
sector. Maybe my maths is faulty and illegal dumping
of fish is a waste, but before you cast the stone make
sure you don’t live in a glass house.
Anyway, as for fishing in February, this is my favourite
month. You know the season is on the change, the
fish are starting to come back in to fatten up and the
weather is generally settled. The masses have dwindled back to just the regulars.
So, until next month, tight lines and be safe.
Norm’s 10 pounder he caught on Snapper
Express Charters recently!
FISHING
5
Own a small alloy boat
from 10 to 16 foot?
Eastern Coromandel
By Jason Harris - Strikezone
Well, what a great spell of weather we have had
over the past month with mostly light winds and
calm seas, and plenty of opportunity to wet a line
in the water. If you were fishing on the eastern
seaboard of the Coromandel for snapper, most
anglers would have been disappointed with their
catch. There is always the odd exception of course,
and those that preferred early morning and late
evening sometimes had okay snapper fishing.
The charter boat, STRIKEZONE, had a good session on
snapper at the Alderman Islands one evening recently.
Much burley was pumped into the water, and just on
dark the anglers on board quickly put half-a-dozen
nice fish up to 4kg in the bin. A jet-ski fisho I spoke to
at the ramp also did okay on snapper, with the long
line accounting for most of them and one really nice
fish caught on a Rapala-style lure being trolled close
in to the rocks!
If you read my December article there were many tips
on how to put a feed on the table at this time of year
and it seems some anglers took this advice. There
has still been some Tarakihi in the 30 metre mark and
some nice trevally caught in the harbours of late. There
have also been some kingfish in the harbour hanging
around the Tairua Wharf. What has been a little disappointing is some spear fishermen shooting these
fish at the wharf, which is a bit like shooting sheep in a
paddock - come on guys, leave these fish for the wharf
fishermen and kids to enjoy watching.
Large schools of Kahawai have been found around the
inshore islands, and the best way to catch these fish
has been to use a very small lure or saltwater fly. As
they have been feeding on whitebait and krill, they are
focused on very small food items. There have been lots
of kingfish inshore, mostly small fish, but the odd better specimen amongst them so upsizing your live baits
to target these bigger fish is advisable.
Game fishing has got off to a rip-roaring start with
some beautiful fish caught, including some nice
striped marlin up to 120kg, and the best blue marlin
to date was a 273kg fish brought into the Tairua weigh
station. What is even more impressive is the return of
some yellowfin tuna into our waters. The Whitianga
club has weighed a horse yellowfin
of over 80kg and several more fish of 50kg! The count
to date is around 20 yellowfin weighed in for Whitianga, which is the most game fish caught for 10 or more
Enjoyed your xmas, new year and summer fishing trips?
Catch lots of fish? Came home with a few hard luck stories? Did you ever find yourself saying “stay over that side
of the boat!” If you’ve said that this summer on the boat,
you probably realised that the stability in your beautiful
alloy boat is slightly marginal and if only you could fix
this… well now you can!
Now’s is the perfect time to get some more stability for
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Shortbilled Spearfish caught on board
Strikezone Charters.
years. Imagine if there was no commercial fishing for
yellowfin for a period of five years, then a strict quota
put in place thereafter. It would be great to see this
species once again prolific on the NZ coastline. There
are some tropical oddities out there now too. Brian
Harris caught this nice shortbilled spearfish a couple
of seasons back.
As February rolls on the fishing just gets better and
better. The snapper will build in numbers, the kingfish
will bite better, the skippies will get closer to shore for
winter
snapper bait. Game fishing should be at its best this
month and next. Gee, it’s a hard place to live!!!
To get the latest news and info, or even better, to book
a charter with us here on STRIKEZONE, give us a call.
Tight Lines - Jason Harris STRIKEZONE FISHING CHARTERS TAIRUA PH 021 608512
or 07 8648190
Two people can stand safety on one side of a
small alloy boat with the aqualisers
REPORTS
FISHING
6
West Coast
up to handling a fish of this size so it doesn’t end
in tears.
By TopCatch crew
The Topcatch sponsored Manu Bay fishing competition was held on the Sunday of Anniversary
weekend and conditions could not have been better with a meter of swell and 10 knots for the entire
weekend. There were some quality fish caught with
Dustin Wilson’s snapper of just over 7 kilos trumping the rest, and Craig Petrie had the best snapper
for a club member coming in at 6.5kg fishing onboard The Mutley, this boat had a bin full of lovely
snapper also. Joe Clark took out the heaviest tuna
with an Albacore of 7.5kgs, surprisingly there were
no Billfish caught although there were a bunch
of boats out looking. There were marlin seen and
hooked from 20 meters right out to the 300 meter line but unfortunately nothing stuck. With the
moon on the rise hopefully the game fishing will
improve over the next fortnight. However we have
the best two months yet to come.
GAME OF TWO HALVES
After a spring spawning season with such
shocking weather it’s hard to believe the
awesome West Coast weather we are currently experiencing, long may it continue.
With the water temperature consistently
over 20 degrees the snapper have completed
their spawn and have spread out anywhere
from 10 meters to 60 meters. Some crews
have reported patchy fishing and yet others are doing extremely well. It’s a case of
being prepared to move around a bit until
you locate some good sign. If I am targeting
snapper during this time I prefer to spend a bit more
time motoring and head further north up to the Black
Rocks area and fish from the back of the breakers out
to about 25 meters. Just be aware of the swell conditions if you plan on fishing in close.
If you are interested in a bit of exercise then there are
plenty of Kingfish on the northern pinnacles at present with reef 21 absolutely loaded. As usual this reef
holds a lot of juvenile fish which is still great fun just
be mindful of your handling procedures when releasing these smaller models. Having a large livebait out
in this area can also pay some dividends, you will most
likely have some of your livebaits taxed by the toothy
brigade but if you hook into a large marlin you certainly won’t be the first. Just make sure your gear is
With the swell being at a meter or less for a prolonged period and some nice clear water on the
coast the divers have been doing well although in
some of our favorite coastal spots there has been
an abundance of smaller crays, that said though it is
not too hard to scratch up a feed.
Here’s hoping for this awesome weather to continue for the next couple of months and for those
Gamefish to turn up on the coast in numbers, it certainly won’t be for lack of trying whilst this weather
keeps holding. Good luck and see you out there.
Jordan with a pearla kingi that went over 30kg!
Bay of Plenty
By Brett Waterhouse - Wai Whare
The game fish have arrived with beautiful blue 21+
degree water and plenty of bait arriving with it.
The Tauranga Game-fishing Club has weighed Yellow-fin Tuna, Striped Marlin, Blue Marlin and Mahimahi. This is a very early start to one of the best game
fishing seasons, according to the records. Wai Whare
has been out and has had a bite north of Motiti which
never stuck (that’s fishing). Two-hundred metre line
seems to be the line to work, as this is where the bulk
of the bait is grouping up. There have been big patches of skippies outside Penguins, so the Marlin will be
spreading throughout the waters over the month of
January. The warm water has now pushed down to
the Waihau area, and hopefully, the notorious big
Blue marlin won’t be far behind (more into Feb).
Yellow-fin Tuna have been caught in numbers that
haven’t been seen in years. This is a good sign to see.
Good size of 30+kg as well.
The Super Seiner has been tied up in Nelson for the
past few months which may have finally let some
yellow-fin make it down from the tropics (that’s my
theory anyway).
So when towing lures around this summer, don’t forget to put one, if not two, tuna lures out as well.
Inshore fishing has been reasonably difficult as the
snapper I have been catching have been caught in 15m
and as shallow as 8m. Tarakihi fishing has remained
stable with the three-hook rig doing the trick. The Tarakihi have been quick to bite, hence three-hook rigs
give you that extra bit of chance, as Tarakihi suck squid
off without you even feeling a bite sometimes.
Sharks have shown up in large numbers down Pukehina way which has closed the beach for past week,
with Bronzies and Marko spotted from the beach
swimming in the surf line.
The toxin in the shellfish is still a threat as people are
still getting sick from eating the mussels and pipis in
the affected areas. Please be careful when taking shellfish.
The weather has finally been playing ball with the
last three weeks bringing calmer water, allowing the
much-needed fix of fishing to become a reality.
Although the wind has been light, there has been a
swell hanging round since Christmas Eve. The Kaituna
River bar is very shallow and half-tide is recommended, as the lack of rain hasn’t flushed the river out and
the swell has banked the sand up, making a large plateau of sand.
Safe fishing, and let the fun and games begin. Now
is the best time to get out of your comfort zone and
come fishing with Wai Whare Charters.
Start crossing off your bucket-list fish!
Olivia Jack caught this nice Hapuka at Mayor Island fishing around 300m
7
FISHING
Kayak
FISHING
Kayak Fishing
and Sharks
Summer is here along with warmer water
temperatures, and once 18 degrees Celsius is reached we find apex predators,
like sharks, moving in. The word shark
always seems to grab the attention of any
watersport enthusiast, usually putting
the fear into the mind. Although they are
considered dangerous and should be treated with
caution, you are more likely to be injured, maimed
or killed in a car accident. During the many years
spent fishing and diving from a kayak there have
never been any major problems with sharks.
There has been only one case in New Zealand where
a great white shark took an interest in a person using
a kayak to fish from. This case was an isolated incident
that happened mostly out of extreme carelessness
by the user. At the time, the kayaker was using a long
line, and along with this, some berley which was being chucked over the side by the hand full, not only
creating a slick around the kayak but also soiling the
upper deck and sides, which then leached out the
scupper (drain) holes making the entire kayak appear
to be some form of food source. The fish were also left
on the longline for an extended period of time. What
this did was not only attract the shark with blood and
scent from the berley but also with a distress signal
from the struggling fish. There are other things that
further made the situation go from bad to worse, but
despite this the kayaker still lives to tell the tale.
Because this is an isolated incident, it is very unlikely
any problems will arise if we have the correct procedures in place. When it comes to sharks in New Zealand, we are relatively lucky and most of our oceans
have plenty of food for them to feed on so they really
aren’t too interested in us, apart from the occasional
one that can come in for a quick look out of curiosity. In reality, very few sharks bother to check us out
and when they do it is only briefly before departing
the area. This is, in most cases, all you can expect from
sharks when you are just paddling around. Unfortunately, if you have either a fish or bait on your hook
in the water, your chance of having an encounter can
increase if a shark wants it.
Sharks can pose a danger to the kayak angler especial-
8
by NZ Kayak Fishing
- Yak Fish Productions
ly if they get annoyed and charge at you, then jump
out of the water and possibly onto your kayak like a
mako shark can. Smaller-sized juvenile sharks are, in
some cases, much easier to handle when hooked enabling you to bring them to the side of the kayak to
deal with. A word of caution: not all sharks are easy to
handle and will thrash around when kayak-side, putting you in a situation which could cause you and your
kayak to tip over. One option, if close enough to shore,
is to paddle in and then fight the shark from there. If
you are hooked up on what you perceive to be a large
shark, or don’t feel confident enough to deal with it
onshore or kayak-side, then gain as much line back as
you can before cutting free.
At times it is possible to have fish on your line stolen
by sharks, which can be a little daunting especially
when they are almost at the side of the kayak. Hammerheads are known for this, as well as the bronze
whaler.
So, let’s look at how we can minimize the risks of having an encounter with these predators. Firstly, if you
use bait or berley it is advisable to store it in sealed
containers that don’t leak. Bait can be pre-cut before
going out on the water, but if you are catching your
own bait while out fishing and using it to catch other
fish, then pre-cutting isn’t an option. In this instance,
the use of a small plastic chopping board works well
as long as you make sure you clean up any mess as
you use it. Berley should also be treated in the same
way as bait and be stored in a suitable leak-proof container or bag. It is recommended that you keep the
kayak deck and sides clean and free from any bait,
berley or fish blood, and if you do happen to get some
on your kayak wash it off immediately.
The last thing to consider is storage of your catch, as
this can also leach juices which will possibly attract
sharks. If you store your fish in your front or rear well
(not inside the kayak hull) then chances are, these areas will have scupper holes in them. The scupper is
designed to self-drain, which means so can any juices
from fish you have stored in the area. If you are using an insulated cover or fish bag, then it’s possible to
seal the scuppers with a plug. These are usually made
from high density foam and will require a pull string,
Extreme care is necessary when handling even the smallest shark beside the kayak.
so you are able to quickly pull them out to drain any
boat while out on the water, or worse, involved in a
water that may have accumulated. This is important
car accident while driving to your fishing destination.
because a large volume of water in the well area can
affect the kayak’s stability.
Using any of the previously-mentioned methods does
not guarantee a shark won’t come and check you out.
However, it will prevent the encounter from going
any further. One thing that is changing is the amount
of people who are now out on the water on kayaks,
and as the numbers continue to grow, so will encounters with sharks. Sharks are in our waters whether we
like it or not, and often an encounter can catch you
off guard. The best advice I can give you is to keep as
calm as possible, don’t panic and try not to be scared
at the sight of them. Most of all enjoy the moment.
After all, they are a necessary part of the eco system.
Ironically you are far more likely to be run over by a
SLOW YOUR DRIFT DOWN TO INCREASE
YOUR CATCH RATE!
Check out
kayakadventures.
co.nz to purchase
one and to view
many great online deals!
DEEPWATER
The “Horseshoe”
FISHING
9
Kuaotunu Chalets and Charters
By Rick Pollock
This undersea structure lies about 8 nautical miles Norwest of the Volkner Rocks,
11 from nearby White Island. As the name
suggests, this reef system is shaped very
much like a horseshoe with deepwater in
the middle and to the open end in the east
with relatively shallow reef from the south,
circling around west and onto the north.
With the shallows being under 300 metres, the
encircling deeper water goes quickly down to
500 plus. It’s quite a diverse reef which can
yield some exceptional bottom fishing at
times. Even though it receives a reasonable
amount of pressure from both commercial and recreational fisherman alike, it still can produce the goods
on a mixture of bluenose (some of monumental size),
hapuka, bass, gemfish, rubyfish and alfonsino. One
word of caution however – beware of the “shallows”.
There has been a lot of lost gear so don’t add to it!! The
Southern highspot it would appear to be the worst.
Smart
Tips
Fishing down the edges is far less fraught
with fouling problems. Bottom fishing
not your cup of tea?
There is plenty more
to capture the interest
of most any angler.
Broadbill
swordfish
take up residence
here and have been
taken by both nighttime drifting as well as
day dropping. Still not convinced? Standard trolling
around this prominent BOP structure has produced
a myriad of game fish. Winter and spring can yield
some great runs of XOS albacore and even the occasional bluefin tuna. Summer and autumn? Sky’s the
limit! Most any pelagic game fish that swims into New
Zealand waters can and has been caught in surround-
ICE MANAGEMENT - the secret
to Ice Retention is Preparation.
To make your ice box do its job and hold ice for days this summer, here are a few essential and
easy tips to keep the drinks cool, bait frozen or the fish in top shape.
1. Prepare the ice box the day before use by cooling the interior down with ice or ice bricks, at least 1/3rd
ice.
2.Once the box has been cooled, drain out the melted ice and fill with your items your items. Putting
warm items into the ice box will melt the ice quicker so pre-cool drinks in the fridge overnight before you
put them in for your trip and put already frozen items in there, don’t rely on the icebox to do the initial
cooling of the items or you are shortening the age of the ice.
3. An hour later, drain any melted ice again via the bung and top up the ice again to at least 1/3, jiggle
the box to help compact the ice and reduce air pockets within the ice. After this, add more if needed and
you are ready to go!
Please note:
-Ensure you have a quality icebox with good insulation and check the days the box is designed to hold
ice for if managed correctly as larger boxes last longer and smaller ones less but may well be all you need,
such as 3 days.
-The amount of times you open the ice box will melt ice faster also and though not often an option on
a boat, try to put the ice box in a shaded area and organise the items in there so the ones you grab the
most are at the top.
-Salt ice will last even longer but it does not taste so great with drinks!
-Don’t forget when not in use, store your icebox with the lid part open and the bung loose to allow it to
breathe, retain shape and a good seal from the lid.
ing waters if not on top. Blue and striped marlin,
shortbill spearfish and mahi-mahi have all been
landed here with recent good specimen of a bigeye tuna succumbing.
So consider a visit to the somewhat “out of the
way” reef system when heading “out wide”.
Closer investigation of the “horseshoe” won’t go
amiss and could just produce the catch of your
angling career!
Like most Coromandel destinations – Kuaotunu is very
easy on the eyes. It’s not often you can experience
true Coromandel beauty and it not cost you a fortune.
Kuaotunu Chalets and Charters offers true value and a
holiday experience you’ll never forget. You can stay in
a chalet nestled amongst pristine New Zealand bush
and still get a sea view. Kuaotunu is a fantastic little
Coromandel getaway destination, and it presents you
with solitude and calmness. It works well with the kids
too – there are glow-worms to see at night and plenty
of exploring to do throughout the day. Your host – Andreas – love’s seeing kids off digital devices when on
holiday as they are far more social and can really enjoy
family time. Not to mention the Charter service that
is available – it has the latest fish finding technology
and tackle and experienced crew. There are packages
available for Chalet and Charter combinations so if interested call Andreas on 078660190. Whitianga is only
a short 15 minute drive which has everything from supermarkets, pharmacies and restaurants. If you would
like to really be at one with nature – Kuaotunu Chalets
and Charters is the spot for you. There are stunning
birds you can see too – from Tui to Quail to Pukeko
and more. Book your spot today!
Spearfishing
FISHING
10
Monster
kingfish
There had been a lot of hype for the start of the
summer season, plenty of good fish being caught
and clear water! This season seems to be unusual
with the big snapper turning up in force in the
shallows during December rather than November. This resulted in the holiday makers encountering lots of big snapper and kingies during the
Christmas period. Along with this, we have had
clear water oozing through the Hauraki and Coromandel islands, when typically we are inundated
with algal bloom this time of year.
I was getting lots of reports of great diving while I was
stuck at work for the busy time of year. I managed to
sneak a day off before New Year’s to get wet. Contacting my dive buddies, most of them were away on holiday, so I gave my mate, Jorn, a call to see if he wanted
to come out to the Barrier on my boat. He proceeded
to convince me to come down to Pauanui to go out on
his boat. So the next morning I awoke at 3.45 a.m. for
a big day trip. We had the boat at the ramp at 7 a.m.
and headed out on smooth big swells. It was a perfect
day and we had a good plan in mind. I was quick smart
to get my gear on arrival and slipped into the water.
The current was very slight and difficult to determine.
I worked a weedy bank edge at around 20m amongst
the demoiselles and blue mau maus. I had only dived
this area once and had little idea of its structure. It was
10m visibility, which made it possible to follow the
contours of the bottom. On the way up from a dive,
a big kingfish made a pass in mid-water, checking
me out, but well out of range. I don’t typically shoot
kingfish, so was not too worried. Small pockets of big
trevally that would do well in a raw fish salad ghosted
along the edge, but were not interested. Working my
way along the edge, I hit a plateau where the school
fish hit on the surface, with hundreds of kahawai and
trevally followed by a school of kingfish.
Jackson Shields with his 42kg kingi. Stoked to have it on the boat!
Straight away I made a calm descent to the bottom to
hide in the weed, and sure enough, there was a big
school of snapper shadowing under the school fish,
most likely feeding on leftovers. They were well onto
my thinking and kept their distance.
A few dives on the snapper proved fruitless, so I continued over the flat area out wide hoping for a rise. I
still hadn’t seen pink mau mau, which are commonly
found in the fishiest part of the area, as they will feed
on the up-current side of many offshore deep reefs.
The silhouette of a bommie appeared, then another,
and another. I made a few dives on them to inspect,
but there wasn’t enough fish life or current. Continuing further out wide, a ridge came up out of deep water to 8m. As soon as I hit the face of it a big school of
pink mau mau hung mid-water, feeding on the krill.
Then the school-fish hit head on, followed by a steady
stream of small kingfish. I duck-dove down and shot a
koheru, and swiftly reloaded and took it off my spear.
Hitting the surface, I tilted and dropped back down
under the fish and sat motionless at around 15m. The
small kingies kept filing past and got bigger and bigger, until the tail end of the school morphed into 30kg
fish. These fish were far more cautious, keeping their
distance and watching me. I still made no movements
with my gun and watched these big fish drift into the
deep. All I could see was green heads in front of me,
but emerging from the back of the school was a huge
By Jackson Shields
head dwarfing all the rest. All my focus swung to this
fish as I anticipated its turn, just as it was getting into
range of my 110cm WETTIE carbon gun. It spotted
me and broke its path, turning broadside and revealing its deep forest-green back. I lunged out and fired
just behind the head on the lateral line and the fish
froze. Instantly, I thought I had broken its spine and
began to retrieve line until it woke and took off into
the depths with my gun in tow. I was not prepared for
a fish of this size, only having my smaller gun, but due
to the gun’s accuracy I could place a good shot. As I
hit the surface I played the fish gently, trying not to
put too much pressure on it, and called Jorn over to
get the back-up gun. I made some line on the fish and
gave the tension to Jorn, then made a dive down the
floatline to the fish, but Jorn’s line was too short.
I grabbed the line back off him and worked the fish up
trying to tire it. As soon as I made a few metres it would
surge back down. After close to 10 minutes I spotted
my handle, grabbed the gun off Jorn, and whistled
down to place a second shot. Once the second shaft
was in, I was stoked. We sorted the mess and I dove
and grabbed the fish. Only then did I realise how big
it was, wrapping my arms around its head. We were
both ecstatic and made our way back to the boat. After a few photos and resting, we jumped back in on
the reef. The fish had moved down and it had gotten
a little quiet. Diving the edge, there were plenty of
pinkies and baitfish. On one drop Jorn was hanging
on the bottom and two nice kingis cruised in to have
a look, so he pulled a great shot, stoning the fish in the
spine. Back at the boat we realised there was no need
for any more fish as the chilly bin was way more than
full and we had plenty of meat. So we cruised back at
12 p.m. to clean up and make the trip home. It was an
early climax in the day as we both landed personalbest kingfish. It’s a day we both won’t forget, as fish
this size are difficult to come by without going up to
the Three Kings.
Two Days of spearfishing glory
FISHING
By Jeremy Viall
Saturday.
The rubbers had broken on my gun so I was a forced
spectator as Brad dived down and nailed a nice
Kingi. I was filming with my go pro and we had nice
clear blue water, we were diving a deep ledge out
at the Alderman’s hunting for Kingfish and I was
feeling very frustrated! Worse, I had tied the rubbers myself so I had no one to blame but me!
I dived down to get some close up footage of the Kingi
on the spear and as I levelled out I noticed a very nice
John Dory cruise up in mid water, bloody typical I
thought! But I decided to have a go anyway and after
a couple of attempts I managed to stab him with my
un-loaded spear gun. At least it wasn’t a total waste of
time, and I got some neat footage of it as well!
We were hunting the Alderman’s on the lookout for big
Kingi’s and a few of the lads had some firsts that they
wanted to tick off, so we started the day out on the
pins out the back of the Aldies. There were some nice
Kingi’s around but they were a bit shy, staying deep
and not responding to us spearing the odd Pink Mau
Mau or Kahawai. So after an hour or so we moved back
towards the islands hoping for better luck. The Skipper
Rick was kind enough to lend me his 130 double rubber railgun for the duration of the day so I was back in
action. I found a spot where the current swept round
a point with some nice reef structure and baitfish, so
I started scanning for Kingi’s and almost immediately
spotted a nice fish holding in the current. I dived down
towards it and was intercepted by a slightly smaller
fish; he still looked alright so I took the closer shot, all
but stoning the 15kg fish outright. As it twitched its last
few, a big school swept in and I gestured excitedly to
the guys on the surface that they needed to dive now!
Jordy reacted first and soon had secured a slightly
bigger version of my fish, his first Kingfish and he was
stoked! Tony took one more fish and then the Bronzies
turned up and we moved on to a nice sheltered bay
with some really nice shallow weed edges and broken
foul ground. It wasn’t real fishy but I did manage a very
nice squid from the sand on the weed edge, one of two
that I took that day.
We moved again and to dive a really nice weed edge
that varied from 9 - 14m over its length. Fortunately the
current was flowing in the right direction and we were
able to drift dive the full length with the boat right
there to deposit our fish onto it as needed, although
Tony did lose a good Porae to the Tax Man. A few nice
Porae, some Red Pigfish, a big Blue Moki and a Kingi
SPEARFISHING
11
The crew with after an awesome hunt underwater - John Dory, Boarfish, kingfish to name a new species.
made it into the bin and I had a really cool encounter
with a very large Bronzie that came in for a good look
at me whilst I was waiting on the bottom hoping for
a Tarakihi.
was a nice Johnnie under me and it was quickly dispatched. On my very next dive I spotted another dory
all by himself but he looked a little small so I let him
live and carried on looking for a Boarfish.
We made our final move of the day to a nice deep rock
that holds the odd Tarakihi. After swimming almost
the entire circumference we found the fish holding not
too far from the boat. There was fat Tarakihi and a few
nice Pinkies, so they joined our catch for the day… and
then 3 nice fat Bronzies turned up and we called ‘time’
on a really lovely dive out at the Aldermans.
After not seeing much… the call was made to move
again and Rick put us on the money. On my first dive I
spotted a nice Blue Moki and executed a perfect stone
shot to secure it! On my very next dive I spotted a nice
Boarfish and added it to the fish bin! Sadly a massive
shark turned up so we made the call to move again to
a nice deep ‘reefy’ area hoping to secure a couple of
Kingi’s. A lot of fish were seen but none were taken,
aside from another nice Johnny and a 10kg Kingi so
the call was made to move again.
Monday.
Monday was Auckland Anniversary day so I organised
another trip with Rick, unfortunately the weather was
not good enough to get to the Alderman’s so we dived
Slipper Island instead. We started out on some shallow foul reef structure but that proved fruitless so the
opportunity to move was taken and we headed to the
Watchman. Everybody split up when we reached the
Watchman and the visibility looked really nice! I had
moved onto the weed edge in about 19m of water
hoping to find a nice Boarfish. On my first dive I managed to shoot a very large Porae, one of the biggest I
have speared ever. On my next dive the target species
was seen but the Boaries were playing hard to get! A
few of the guys had found a nice fishy spot and had
picked up some nice John Dory, so Rick picked me up
and took me up there. As soon as I hit the water there
The visibility here was awesome, and some really nice
fish were quickly put on the boat with Patrick landing
his first Johnny, Shaan taking a nice Blue Moki and Reif
shooting his first Blue Moki and a VERY nice Boarfish!
I was working a very nice Shallow gutter for Snapper… I was snooping over boulders and hoping for a
nice moocher when I saw a big tail disappear behind
a kelpie boulder. “Gotcha!” I thought as I snuck up on
the spot quietly carefully peaking over the top. To my
great surprise there were two nice boarfish in only 3m
of water! Acting quickly I placed a shot into its head and
killed it quickly. The other fish stayed
around for a while but then moved
on as Andrew approached. We had
had a great day out once again with
a stack of nice eating fish to everyone.
Thanks heaps to Rick Turner of Ricks
Charters Tairua for a great weekend!
Join LTS (Learn to spearfish) on Facebook for more epic trips and training
sessions!
NEW IN!
Towel Ponchos
- Perfect for
getting in &
out of your
suit without
flashing your
mates. Great
stocking
filler! Contact
Wettie on 09
4794232
Jeremy with his well sought after Boarfish.
Jordy with his first ever Kingi nailed on the spear
Gamefishing
FISHING
12
Gamefishing season gets off
to a roaring start.
Traditionally, the game-fishing season in
New Zealand is a bit slow to start, with
only the odd fish being caught in late December and early January. Usually, the
water temps are only marginally warmer
and the weather a little unsettled. Not
so this year, with the first Marlin of the
season being caught out from Tutukaka
in mid-December in the “Arthur’s Emporium” grid. The Mercury Bay area fired up
in early January, with several Marlin, both
Striped and Blue, being caught and tagged by
mid-January, and the water temps out deep being
recorded at 22 degrees and above.
Other great species being encountered are Shortbilled Spearfish, Bigeye Tuna and Yellow-fin Tuna, the
latter being almost extinct in New Zealand waters for
the last 10 years. Mercury Bay weighed two Shortbilled Spearfish in the 2013/14 season, and there have
been eight weighed this season at the time of writing.
The grids being the most productive in the Mercury
Bay area are “Havard Logging”, “Seiling Farms”, “NZ
Fishing News” and “Ground Prep LTD”.
The East coast of Northland has also started to fire up
as January wears on, with both Bay of Islands and Tutukaka recording good fish numbers.
Here at Fishgrid we have just released the ‘2014/15
Fishgrid Longsleeve Tee’. This is in conjunction with
Bonze Lures and features the artwork of talented
marine and wildlife artist, Amber M Moran. At $65
+ $10 delivery, this is an essential year-round shirt.
It will keep the sun at bay during summer and great
for layering in the cooler months. To secure your shirt
simply email [email protected] with your size (L,
XL or 2XL).
Don’t forget to load your fishing photos onto our photo brags and share your secrets with us on the forums
section of the site. We will be running a photo competition as the season progresses. We are sourcing some
great prizes as this goes to print. Keep your eyes on
www.fishgrid.com for further details.
Lure positioning
– By Bonze
General lure spread
The shotgun lure is straight
out the back. The corners
can be short or long. The
out-riggers can be short or
long too. And the teasers or
dredges need to be close to
the boat.
A general rule with the big
active lures is to have them
closer to the boat and the
smaller lures further away
from the boat. In clean and
calm conditions - Have a
mixed spread of lures as
fish can be very picky. Use
a combo of cut-face and
angle-face and run them in
pairs. Have a lazy lure or bullet lure in the shotgun position, and small lures on
the outriggers. In rough conditions – use cut-face
lures that stay under the water – this will increase the
hook-up rate.
Tip for blue marlin
– use big lures and have a fast speed of
8-9knots.
Tip for striped marlin
– use smaller lures behind a teaser setup
with a slower speed of 6-7knots.
Hot lure colours that are working
this summer:
The squid colour – brown and orange.
The traditional black and purple, and
anything that’s got pink on it!
BTK (medium)
This cup face pusher is without doubt one of the most consistant lures in
generally unfavourable conditions. Its long smoke trails raises fish and provokes the hardest calculated hits. Beat, Torture and Kill suits this lure well,
just watch all this unfold right in front of your eyes. Easy to run, this lure will
tolerate the worst conditions you can throw at it.
Skirted Length: 330mm / 13” Hook Size: 9/0 – 10/0 Leader Size: 300lb –
400lb
JACKHAMMER (medium)
Fish commit suicide over this lure. The baby brother of the Violator and Behemoth it has had a lot to live up to and it has not let the family down. With
it’s heavily weighted insert and scalloped face it has just enough wiggle to
cause trouble!
Skirted Length: 330mm / 13” Hook Size: 9/0 – 10/0 Leader Size: 300lb –
400lb
Mammoth Tuna
went 103kg
Narrated by Dan Rasdall – Story by Matthew Dufty
FISHING
Kilwell LIVEfibre
GAME SERIES rod
LIVEfibre! The unique blend of the finest
aerospace grade carbon fibre and woven fibreglass is bonded with a specially
modified resin and combined in a three
layer Crowsfoot construction.
GAMEFISHIng
13
Twill Weave bi-directional fibres impart
additional strength and toughness and result in blanks that are
light, powerful, and
with huge lifting power,
but tips so sensitive
that even the slightest
contact with the fish is
instantly transmitted to the
anglers hand.
LIVEfibre GAME SERIES rods
are available in both Chair
and Stand-up.
*The LIVEfibre 37kg chair rod
uses AFTCO Super Heavy
Duty guides
*2 piece bent aluminium butt
*Ethylene Vinyl Acetate EVA
foregrips
*Underbound and overbound
guides
Like all Kilwell branded products these rods have a Kilwell
Lifetime Warranty.
Proudly made in New Zealand
by Kilwell Rodcraft.
Vessel: Seaduction
Skipper: Dylan Stevenson
Angler: Matthew Dufty
Leaderman: Cam Elliott
Rehydration Specialist: Sam Wileman
Reel: Old, re-conditioned 1st model Penn international 8 wide
Rod: Old, solid traditional Wyn Rod
Matthew with his special catch
I caught up with Matthew a few days after he landed his trophy 103.10kg big eye tuna. The story is
classic! The boys were on a b-line for the footprint
many nautical miles out at sea when the news
came on the radio about a commercial boat seeing tuna, swords, marlin and more. On cue, about
20 boats made a sharp right turn and headed for
the knoll. A few hours later the boys landed a nice
5kg Mahimahi so they had some fresh sandwiches
with not much action after that.
It was on the way home in about 1100 metres of water, 40 nautical miles from land… and bang, the reel
stared squeaking – after all, the reel is over 30 years
old. Matthew reckons that it was a hell of a fight, and a
team effort from the boys. It was hot work, sweat was
dripping and water was being fired around on deck
to each other cool off. After 1 hour and 40 minutes of
battling, the stonker tuna was landed. The boys put
the hammer down to get within the radio reception
to contact the fishing club for a weigh-up. On arrival
at the wharf, it was packed out with people and boats
wanting to see this nice tuna.
Coincidently, there was a tuna tournament on this
particular day and $10,000 dollars was on the line for a
100+ kg tuna. Matt wasn’t in the tournament, but Matt
joked at the water’s edge earlier that day with others
in the tournament that he’d go catch a huge tuna. It
turned out that no one in the tournament caught a
tuna over 100kg that day. It’s murphy’s law – Matt said
even if he’d been in the tournament the whole strategic fishing plan on that day would’ve been totally
different. He would’ve been using different lures, at a
different speed and probably in a different place. So
he may not have even got this one – but all we know is
that Matt is stoked with his rare catch and he deserves
to be. Great fish Matt! Beauty alright!
FISHING
14
gamefishing
What is the best lure
PERFECT NEW YEAR
shape and tackle to use? PRESENT
By Dick Featherston (Dicko)
with Trophy Lures
Trolling for trophy fish in deep water can
provide some of the most exciting angling experiences on earth. With the right
conditions, waters and know how, you
can settle in for a wild fight with massive
tuna and mahi-mahi, swordfish, short bill
spearfish and even a big shark. For a oncein-a-lifetime experience, your party might
hit into a marlin, an unforgettable adventure. Catching any of these fish depends
on the quality of your offshore rigging, lures and
the sharpness of your hooks.
Use a Lure that works for that area and has a great reputation. Yes nearly every lure may catch a fish. There
are better choices to be made for your lure pattern
including colour and action of lure.
You cannot go past colours in your pattern such as
1. Blue/Black/Silver, matching a bait fish
meritorious catches)
3. Slant face tend dive, waggle then run out of
bubble trail before surfacing.
Each lure has its merits and dependant on the
fisherman each will have plus and minus qualities
Good hooks and quality lures are inexpensive,
when compared with the cost of fueling or chartering an offshore boat, plus the expense of rods,
reels, tackle and bait. Buy the best saltwater lures,
hooks and terminal tackle you can afford. Use
them for rigging your lures. Carry a sharpening
stone to add an edge to your hooks before any
lure goes in the water. Game fish have tough,
leathery mouths and Bills that can easily spit or
shake off a dull hook. Troll at 7 ½ to 9 knots for
best results. This range approximates the speed
of baitfish.
2. Purple, Skipjack colours
I had a bungee out for skippies, and half-way to the
Aldermans the bungee was stretched to the max. On
the end was an almost-legal kingi which I let go, and
there were black petrels winging everywhere as far
north as the eye could see. I saw another kingi have a
go, so I pulled the bungee in for later use.
By now the sea was worse so we pulled in close to
the Aldies’ west side out of the wind and into calm
water where we set the outriggers and the rods and
lures, then headed for the Pins, north of the Aldies. I
joined Sturz on the bridge and had a discussion about
the bloody weather. I told him that sometimes about
midday the sea and winds calm down, and by noon
there was an improvement showing.
There were a few boats on the seventy jigging for kingies as well as the other pins. We caught an albacore
using only the bungee. There was nothing on the
radio so I said, ‘Sturz, the sea is dead and there are
no birds. Let’s head for Castle Rock then back to the
clubrooms for a few beers’.
3. Lumo
4. Brown and silver, Baitfish
Then consider the action of your
lures
1. Cup faced lure tend to be pusher type easy to set up and give a
constant bubble trail
2. Kona Lures are more erratic; to
say the least they are unpredictable. They at one stage don’t
dive as frequently others and can
skid on the top or dive for ages.
This is dependant on the sea and
their placement in the pattern. (I
have witnessed a very successful
skipper travel at 10 plus knots
with the lures skipping on top of
the surface and catch some very
I left Tairua at 5.30 a.m. on Sunday 4th January
to join my mate Kevin (Sturz) on his launch, Sunshine, at Tairua. The weather was supposed to
be five knots variable. Well, by the time we had
passed Shoe Island we had white caps everywhere
and an increasing wind.
We had a nice following sea as we headed for Castle,
and had barely travelled 400 yards when we heard an
almighty crash of something. We looked at each other.
I stood up to notice the starboard outrigger thrashing
in the wind, so I looked down onto the stern to notice
Sturz’s brand new Shimano 50 two-speed and new
rod with the lure screaming back towards the 70 reef.
Nice stripy caught on Trophy Lure “Evil” out from Tauranga. Photo Credit:
Jamie Lee
Want to read this paper free online?
www.theadventurer.co.nz
I jumped down, cleared the other three rods and my
bungee, only to see his line running over the side of
the roller on the rod tip. I quickly managed to turn
the rod so the line was back on the roller, but by now
we had lost 800 metres of line in the single run made
by the fish. I thought we had a blue on the line. I am
used to backing up a boat with an outboard on, and
it’s quite different with a launch. I drowned Sturz a
couple of times backing up too fast, but in the end he
did say I had done a very good job.
Dicko & Sturz, with their beautiful 98.9kg stripy caught
out from Tairua
We had the fish alongside the boat in an hour and all
tied up on the duckboard. Wayne Newell of Impulsive
came alongside to say, ‘Hey boys, that’s a bloody nice
fish you’ve got there’.
I said to Wayne, ‘Now you better get the rust out of
your barrel mate, our shooter’s smokin’ mate, the
smoke is still drifting out of the cockpit!’
We had no beer on the boat to celebrate, so we fullnosed for Tairua, and the fish weighed in at 98.9kg.
With everything cleaned up, we headed for the fishing club where the beer tasted like nectar. I haven’t
drunk a jug down so fast for a long time.
15
FISHING
Mercury Bay Tuna
Tournament
A near perfect weather forecast, the potential for an
even larger pay out in prizes, and the fact that a good
number of gamefish had been hooked in the week
leading up to it, saw a solid turnout for this tournament. Compared to last year, boat entries were up
75% to 63 and the number of anglers increased by
almost 60% to 195.
There was a fair bit more activity on day one with 37
tuna weighed and a number of marlin and mahimahi
too. Day two saw 28 tuna weighed for the tournament and a smattering of non-tournament catches
including a blue marlin that weighed 149.1kg and a
yellow fin tuna that weighed 50.56kg.
It was great to see the return of yellow fin tuna to
our waters – the last time we weighed one was Feb
2011 and this weekend we weighed 8 of them. Spare
a thought for the guys who landed a 103.1kg big eye
tuna which would have netted them $13,000 cash –
had they entered the tournament!
Some excellent fish caught and our congratulations
to the following prize winners:
ANGLER
BOAT
SPECIES
WEIGHT PRIZE $
1st
Peter Murray
Goin’ Deep
Big eye
65.4
$3000
2nd
Joanne Knight
Aceiano
Yellow fin
29.36
$2000
3rd
Margaret Tidmarsh
Aceiano
Yellow fin
28.54
$1000
4th
David Tucker
Trophy
Yellow fin
22.90
$ 700
5th
Shaun Wotherspoon
Mosh Pit
Albacore
13.47
$ 600
6th
Alexander Papich
Another Fishy Itch
Albacore
12.59
$ 500
7th
Vance Lowe
Waka Rua
Albacore
12.41
$ 400
8th
Nicholas McEntee
Carpe Diem
Albacore
12.35
$ 300
9th=
Tas Smith
Stella Marie
Albacore
11.84 $ 150
9th=
Brent Willcocks
In Trim
Albacore
11.84 $ 150
Peter Murray with his winning Big Eye Tuna 65.4kg
Joanne & Margaret with there 2nd & 3rd place Yellowfin
16
Tairua Stand Up
Tournament
Thanks to all the Anglers and Sponsors that took part
in the Shimano Stand Up Competition held at the
Tairua Pauanui Sports Fishing Club on January the
24th and 25th. What a huge turnout and fantastic
weather! There were 69 teams made up of 209 anglers! There were 3 marlin weighed in, and 7 marlin
that were tagged. Check out the results table below!
GAMEFISHIng
FISHING
Trevally
1st Brian Rose
2.230
2nd Jason Harris
2.110
3rd Stuart Ross
1.965
Kahawai 1st Dave McPherson
3.590
2nd Darren McClelland
2.930
3rd Matt Donerlly
2.915
Snapper 1st Steve Kiely
7.665
2nd Jason Harris
6.375
3rd Warren Maher
6.110
Hapuka
1st Liza Maher
6.465
2nd Jeff Bergerson
4.485
3rd Roger Conning
2.205
Kingfish 1st Jeff Bergerson
15.150
2nd Carl Sanders Edwards 13.28
3rd Kelly Stevenson
11.15
Heaviest marlin went to Alec Stevenson with this nice
Skippy/Albercore
1st Roger Boese 11.95 Alb
153.8kg Blue
2nd Mark Robinson
11.70 Alb
3rd Alec Stevenson
11.15 Alb
Marlin
1st Alec Stevenson
153.80 Blue
2nd Matt Nelson
132.10 Stripe
3rd Anthony Van Sessel
82.85 Stripe
Tag and Release Olivia Jack x2 Striped Marlin
Tonette Laing x1 Striped Marlin
Scott McCulloggh x1 Striped Marlin
Chris Phillips x1 Striped Marlin
Dave McPherson x1 Striped Marlin
Brett Sample x1 Striped Marlin
Top Junior 4.5kg Skippy
Top Lady 1st Kelly Stevenson 11.15kg Kingie
2nd Liza Maher 6.465kg Hapuka
Top Boat Mad Fish 200 points
Jason Harris took out 2nd place in the snapper section
17
Enjoying the full Jetskifishing
experience!
FISHING
by Andrew Hill/ Jetskifishing.co.nz
One of the most enjoyable experiences we have
while Jetskifishing is the exciting road trips
throughout the country. If you already have your
ski kitted out with our products and it’s on an easily towable trailer, there is no reason why you can’t
experience adventures like mine.
I have a couple of my group social trips in the Coromandel planned for later next month. So with this fast
approaching I headed up to the venue to organise a
few things before we all hit the road as a group and
drive up together in a few weeks time. This was also
the perfect opportunity to take the family up there to
enjoy the surroundings and at the same time go for
a fish.
From my home base in East Auckland, the trip to this
beautiful spot is a scenic three hour drive. This location is a hidden paradise, with fifteen luxury lodges
set on an 800 acre block of native flora and fauna.
Nestled in the Tangiaro Valley with native bush surrounding the whole resort. The sound of hearing the
local kiwi adds to the ambience of this unique base
for our trips.
Launching options are a leisurely five minutes drive
from the resort, with the choice of two beaches. From
both beaches you are able to launch off the sand, yet
the first beach requires an all wheel drive car, as it is
softer sand. It often helps to speak to locals or observe someone launching first, saves embarrassment
later. As you see, when backing in the water, I park the
car on an angle, this helps with traction when pulling
out of the water.
Along with the location being so peaceful and remote, we gain easy access to some of the amazing
fishing spots our country has to offer. On a good
weather day, Great Barrier Island is within 15 minutes
riding, and with other choices on offer such as Cuvier
Island and Channel Island. My youngest son Cooper
came along for this adventure, no chance of rejection
as he gets as excited about riding the ski with Dad, as
he does about the fishing!
Finding peaceful and remote location are part
of the experience
It’s easy to launch a jetski from a beach
The benefit with fishing any area, like Great Barrier,
is that it has less fishing pressure which increases the
chances of catching a new personal best Snapper. The
area we fish has seen many people who have joined
us on my “Goes Wild” social trips, catch their biggest
Snapper ever, my fingers were crossed for Cooper!
Over the years, I’ve observed so many people get
started with our fun sport, yet spent money in the
wrong areas and miss the basics. Often they never
get to experience the sport to its true potential and
don’t ever get to catch that fish that inspired them to
get started in the first place. That’s why these road
trips are the best experience money can buy, after
already investing in the expense of kitting out and
owning a ski, coming on one of my social trips is a
breeze. Everything is arranged for you, in the prime
location where all you need to do is fish! Guests learn
as much off the water in good company about rigging gear, techniques, and how we hunt the fish. The
great meals, meeting like minded people, safety in
numbers on the water is all a bonus while enjoying a
holiday! I know catching a big fish is the real focus and
thankfully this usually happens for most who join us
on these experiences.
On this trip, Cooper was eager to catch a big fish. The
best strategy for him was to fish an area where any
decent fish could not easily bust him off on foul
ground. We located structure on the sounder where
we could see fish holding and then fished the drop off
area, with the drift going to deeper water which also
helps to avoid any frustrating snags while mastering
soft baiting. My current pick bait for good sized Snapper is the Gulp - New Penny 6.5” Grub. In depths of 35
meters plus, rigged with the Berkley 2oz Elevator Rig,
helping the bait to sink easily in the strong tidal current. As Cooper’s experience increases his technique
is slowly improving, needless to say he is pretty proud
of himself, as now he is well capable of casting his bait
and allowing for the bait to sink through the water
column to reach the target fish area below the ski.
Within the first quarter of an hour Cooper soon had
a few Snapper on board which was very worthwhile
after an early start with Dad.
Cooper still eager to catch a bigger one and now even
more excited about Barrier fishing struck another solid fish! Keep in mind, you will need to be more patient
with the ‘big one’, as the bigger fish pull plenty and
are much more aggressive. One of the great things
you get to experience while Jetskifishing is being so
close to the action. I was able to offer plenty of words
of encouragement, while also trying to refine Coo-
Cooper with his new personal best! Well done!
per’s technique:
• the importance of allowing the fish to complete its
runs without the fish’s head shakes gaining more momentum than the angler.
• if possible let the fish fight down current away from
the ski, don’t try fight it with the rod tip bent under
the ski, risking the braid rubbing on the edge of the
ski. (expect on the initial fish strike, you may have to
lift your rod tip over to the other side of the ski, often
happens if the fish hits your bait on the drop...)
• lifting the rod the moment the fish stops its run this is the opportunity to gain the upper hand on the
fish.
• do not lift the rod too high - you don’t want to point
load the rod tip or create too much slack line on the
next wind...
• next, when lowering the rod, retrieve as much of the
braid on the wind before the fish makes its next run.
• being familiar with the drag pressure on your reel
makes the battle easier. Knowing how many tweaks
to release or add drag to speed up the fight and tire
the fish out.
The moment you see the colour of the fish coming to
the surface, is the time to stay calm. Getting the fish in
the net is just as much of a challenge, plenty of nice
fish get lost at the ski!
• Guide the fish to your net, leave the bail arm open so
if you drop your fish, you won’t break the rod tip
Cooper did great and the smiles and excitement are
another one of those great father and son moments
why we take our kids fishing.
With a new personal best for Cooper we carried on
fishing to see if he could land anything bigger. The
next fish he hooked was a monster, screaming braid
and too much for him to hang on to it! Even with some
help from Dad, I too didn’t manage to get on top of
the fish, such an exciting area to fish! We then called
it a day and headed back to our lodge with Cooper
enjoying cooling off at the local water hole after a rewarding day out on the ski.
Another awesome road trip in a very special part of
our country. If you are keen on joining us for this experience, come catch some fish with myself and a great
bunch of jetskifishos at our next social trip later in the
month. Only a few spots left, sign up before you miss
out on a spot jetskifishing.wufoo.com/forms/goeswild-65/
safety
BOATING
18
EMERGENCIES
CAPSIZE
85% of boating fatalities are the result of
swamping or capsizing in boats under
6m.
Almost always, a capsize is totally unexpected and happens in a few seconds.
There is no possibility of grabbing anything other than what is immediately to
hand. Countless people have died very
soon after a capsize, before help could
reach them. Men on a fishing trip are the
most likely casualties.
Being prepared means:
Realising that an accident can happen to anyone,
no matter how experienced they are, or how safe
their boat is. Wearing life jackets in boats under
6m. In larger boats, life jackets must be immediately accessible – not stowed under seats.
Knowing whether your boat will sink, will float
with just the bow above water, or will float level.
Almost certainly, equipment such as distress flares
or a distress beacon will be able to be retrieved
from a boat that is floating level, even if it is upside
down. Many accidents have shown that equipment cannot be retrieved if the boat floats bow
up, even for experienced swimmers or divers.
Understanding that cold water shock can kill very
quickly. Initial response to sudden unexpected
immersion causes a number of changes to a person’s breathing and pulse rate. Many people inhale water and drown, suffer heart problems or
panic. Without a life jacket many people do not
survive the first minute or two.
Ensuring you have the means to tell someone
you are in trouble once you are swimming beside
a capsized boat. Unless sealed in a plastic bag, a
VHF radio will not work after immersion, although
some hand-held VHF radios are waterproof. Cell
phones may provide the communication needed
to save lives but only if sealed in a plastic bag.
They should be kept in a person’s pocket for immediate access. There is no loss of signal strength
if cell phones or VHF radios are used while in a
bag.
Knowing that red hand-held flares are the best
visual distress signal and can be used by day or night.
They work well in spite of immersion. Orange smoke is a
daytime signal. Every boat should also carry a powerful
waterproof torch.
Having equipment that is not able to be retrieved or will
not work when wet is pointless. If your boat floats bow
up or sinks, ensuring safety equipment is available will
almost certainly turn a capsize from a fatal accident into
an inconvenience.
MOST SERIOUS EMERGENCIES OCCUR UNEXPECTEDLY
AND VERY QUICKLY. BEING PREPARED MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE.
FIRE FIGHTING
In the event of a fire, remove one of the following:
fuel – turn off the gas or petrol supply, or remove
combustible material
heat – apply cold water
oxygen – smother the fire with CO2 dry powder or
foam, or cover with a fire blanket. When using an extinguisher, keep low and aim at the base of the fire.
SINKING
Prevention of fires
If your boat starts taking in water, the first thing to do is
ensure everyone on board has their life jacket on and that
it is properly fastened.
NEVER smoke while refuelling!
Try to locate the cause of the leak and reduce the flow of
water by pushing something into the hole. Make a distress
call and head towards shallower water.
Bail the water out as best you can.
Should the boat submerge or turn over, stay with the
boat – you have a much greater chance of being found.
Never attempt to swim to shore unless you are wearing
a life jacket.
Accidental immersion
The first reaction when suddenly entering cold water is
shock, with breathing difficulty and increased heart rate,
which can cause death in a few minutes. Those who survive then rapidly lose heat from the limbs, causing severe
loss of muscle strength and inability to carry out simple
tasks, such as putting on or manually inflating a life jacket
or setting off a flare.
Wearing a life jacket with a secure crotch strap (to prevent
it riding up) will help you to survive the cold shock and
will reduce loss of strength. It will also remove the need to
tread water or move the arms to keep afloat, thereby preserving warmth in the body. Heat loss is greater in water
than in air of the same temperature.
A life jacket can reduce the chance of death by 70%, provided there is means to call for and get help.
If you are in the water with floating objects e.g. upturned
boat, then raise as much of your torso out of the water as
possible.
For more on how to survive in cold water, visit www.maritimenz.govt.nz
Ventilate the boat thoroughly after refuelling. Petrol
and LPG vapours are heavier than air and will accumulate in the lowest areas where they may be ignited
by a spark.
Remove all rags and material that have flammable
products on them, such as oily or turps-soaked rags.
Maintain the electrical systems on your boat to prevent shortouts and sparks.
Fit a smoke detector in the cabin
Extinguishers
There are different types of fire extinguisher, each
suited to a particular type of fire. A dry powder extinguisher is a good general purpose type which will
work well on most fires. It needs to be shaken occasionally to prevent the powder compacting.
Fire extinuishers should be kept outside the engine
space in places where they can be reached from the
open deck or cockpit after the fire starts.
Ensure all on board know where the extinguishers are
stowed and how to use them.
Protect fire extinguishers from salt spray and the elements and have them serviced regularly.
Under no circumstances should water be used on fuel
or electric fires.
PERSON OVERBOARD
THROW a life buoy, throwing line, cushion or anything
else to hand that will help the person in the water to
float, and mark the position.
WATCH the person in the water carefully, and have
someone on the boat point continuously at the person. Record the position on GPS if you have one.
STOP immediately to keep the distance between the
person in the water and the boat to a minimum.
Remember that when you turn, the stern (back) of the
boat swings and therefore the propeller swings when
you alter course. To avoid injury, turn the stern (back)
of the boat away from the person in the water.
Agree on, and practice, your person overboard drill
with all those on your boat, so that everyone is aware
of what to do in an emergency situation.
Person overboard is a distress situation. Do not hesitate to call mayday on your VHF radio if you are unable to rescue the person in the water immediately.
RECOVERY OF PERSON OVERBOARD
Ensuring you are clear of the person in the water, approach the person from downwind (into the wind).
Stop the engine when you are near the person, so you
can throw a line or they can swim to you.
In small open boats and those with a low freeboard,
boarding should be over the boat’s bow (front) or
stern (back). If your boat doesn’t have a boarding ladder, use a rope to make a loop over the side for the
person in the water to put their foot into.
REPORTING ACCIDENTS
On average there are 15 deaths in pleasure boats each
year, most of which could have been avoided.
Understanding the reasons for boating accidents is
an important function of Maritime New Zealand. They
need your help in reporting accidents, so lessons
learned can be shared with the boating community.
The four basic things to remember when a person
goes overboard are:
It is an offence if you do not report an accident within
48 hours to Maritime New Zealand and, if the accident
is inshore, to the harbourmaster.
SHOUT very clearly MAN OVERBOARD so that everyone on board is aware of the emergency.
You can report accidents online at: www.maritimenz.
govt.nz/report-online
Credit - Safe Boating an essentia guide
BOATING
19
A great way to help look after New Zealand’s fisheries for the future is to return any undersized
fish, or fish you don’t want to keep, to the sea as
quickly and gently as possible.
Many popular recreational fish species have minimum
size limits to allow the fish to get old enough to breed
a few times and contribute to the sustainability of the
species before they can be harvested. These include
snapper, tarakihi, gurnard, trevally and blue moki, to
name a few.
Ministry for Primary Industries District Compliance
Manager Nelson/Marlborough Ian Bright says careful
fish handling makes a big difference to the chances of
returned fish surviving.
“It’s all about handling them gently, keeping them
wet, removing the hook with minimal fuss and get-
ting them back into the water as quickly as possible.
* Minimise the time the fish is out of the water
* Squeeze the gill cover or gut area
“It’s common sense. Fish live in a cool and wet environment. When you pull them into a warm and dry
environment with lots of rough, dry surfaces, they are
easily damaged, often beyond recovery.”
* Remove the hook carefully from a mouth-hooked
fish
* Lift the fish by the tail as this can dislocate
the spine
* Cut the line for gut-hooked fish
* Drop the fish or place it on a hot, dry deck
or rocks.
Mr Bright says fishers can lessen the chances of catching undersized fish by using a larger hook and bait,
and moving from a spot when a lot of small fish are
being caught.
* Return the fish gently to the sea.
A few key tips for handling and returning fish:
“Fish last about as long out of the ocean as a fisher
does with their head under water. So when returning
fish, be quick and gentle. You might be able to catch
it another day.”
* Only remove the fish from the water if you have to
Make sure you DON’T:
* Wear cotton or rubber gloves or at least wet your
hands
* Hold the fish by inserting your fingers inside the gill
cover
* If you need to handle the fish out of the water, lie it
on a soft wet surface
* Poke or touch the eyes, and never hold the fish by
the eye sockets
Tips for servicing
a Hutchwilco 150N
inflatable lifejacket
It is important to service your inflatable lifejacket so ensure it’s safe and reliable.
Here are basic DIY instructions, but we highly recommend you going to www.
hutchwilco.co.nz for a free 6 minute video and rundown of how to do it yourself. The
Adventurer recommends you take your inflatable lifejacket to a local servicing agent
if you are not confident with the DIY instructions.
• Look at outer cover - make sure there is no damage or fraying of seems.
Check webbings for any holes.
• Check pull tag is in good condition. Check it is not frail and it is strong.
• Open up outer cover; unscrew the cylinder, checking that there is no corrosion and it
hasn’t been fired. Check the video on www.hutchwilco.co.nz to see the difference
between an unfired and fired canister.
• Open jacket and unfold the bladder. Check the inside of the cover to make sure it’s in
good condition and all stitching is in place.
• Check the operating mechanism has no corrosion or dirt on it. Make sure tamper clip is in
place and the cord is not frayed.
• Check whistle. Make sure it’s clean and clear.
• Pull the buckle through and ensure the grab rope is secured around it.
• Ensure the grab line is secured around the oral tube.
• Inflate lifejacket by blowing air into the oral tube. Once inflated, leave for 24hours.
• Any loss of pressure in the 24hours, Hutchwilco recommended the jacket be replaced.
• Deflate jacket by releasing air by reversing the oral tube cap and pressing the top of the
tube, press down with hands to get as much air our as possible.
• Start folding the jacket back, making sure the pull tag is out of the cover.
• Fold the jacket back, pull out the bladder and fold under, and over, and back on top.
• Repeat the process of expelling air, folding the bladder and resealing jacket until all
is done.
• Finally, open the jacket back up and screw the CO2 canister back in and then reseal
the jacket.
To watch a video on how to DIY service your lifejacket, please scan the QR code from a
smart phone to watch a 6 minute video, or go to www.hutchwilco.co.nz home page and
press play on the video link.
Information on all limits and sizes including
closures and other rules can be found on the
MPI website www.mpi.govt.nz .
News
Be gentle returning undersized fish to the sea
Fishing rules pamphlets are available at MPI
offices and at many fishing shops, or text
“App” to 9889 to have the NZ Fishing Rules
App sent to your smart phone.
MPI encourages people to report any suspicious fishing activity to 0800 4 POACHER (0800 476 224). All
calls are confidential.
Valuing recreational
fishing
By Trish Rea, LegaSea Liaison
One of LegaSea’s 5 Principles is to value recreational fishing. Our fishing supports a vast array
of businesses, from charter boat operations, boat
builders, tackle dealers, bait and ice suppliers and
the assortment of fishing media.
The generation of export receipts rather than the high
value consumption of imported components;
Many coastal communities rely on the summer influx of tourists, including fishing families, to maintain their accommodation, fuel and goods supply
businesses.
So what does this mean? We stop buying tackle and
imported fishing gear? We stop building boats and
outboards and seaside infrastructure? Forget about
coastal communities who thrive during the summer
months?
It is irrefutable that recreational fishing adds value
not only to our lifestyle but also to our communities and national wealth.
In 2013 Seafood New Zealand, the lead industry
fishing organisation, submitted against the Minister adjusting the recreational allowance for snapper to meet current needs. Instead they submitted, (in part) “we would note that the interests of
New Zealand are better served by:
The need to ensure that available savings are channelled into productive investment and not wasteful
consumption.
Not likely!
LegaSea is adamant, recreational fishing and the
economy of our fishing activities is not “wasteful consumption”, it is pure gold, so we are working on ways
to value our fishing and more importantly protect our
kids’ fishing future.
Please register to receive LegaSea e-news and stay
updated on what is happening in your fishery.
BOATING
20
Boat Profiles 6.5-7m Fibreglass/Plastic Range
Smuggler 695HT
Specifications
HP Range 175-250 hp
Length overall 6.95 m
Beam overall 2.4 m
Length on trailer 8.3 m
Height on trailer 2.7 m
Height rocket launcher 3m
Deadrise at transom 27 degrees
Towing weight 2050 kg
Fuel capacity 260 lt
Water capacity 80 lt
The Smuggler Stealth 695 XS Hardtop is the ultimate in performance
and comfort. This is a boat you can be confident will give you the best
ride with powerful Smuggler 27 degree deep vee hull – no matter what
the conditions. The innovative and incredibly practical pontoons make the Stealth 695 XS the most stable boat on
the water, so you get the best in ride and stability. If you want to sneak away for the odd weekend, have a family
day out, go fishing, diving, or just play, the Stealth 695 XS will exceed your expectations. That’s a promise.
Buccneer 685 Exess XL Hard Top
Specifications
L.O.A including bow sprit 7.135m
Hull Length
6.820m
Beam
2.488m
Deadrise
22.5 °
max ppl/weight kgs 8/600kgs
Height on Trailer 2.900m
Length on Trailer 8.500m
Width on Trailer 2.495m
Bunk Length
2.000m
Fuel Capacity (approx.)
240L
Hull Weight (approx.)
1,250kg
Total Road Weight (apx.) 2,220kg
Maximum Horse Power
250hp
Maximum Engine Weight 269kg
Thaw the bait and bring the ice bin, these boats are real fishing vessels.
Whether you’re fishing for snapper or going on an overnight marlin mission, the Hardtop is ready to handle blue water adventure.
The full hardtop protects in choppy seas, while the magnificent curved
windows with windscreen wipers ensure superb visibility from the helm. Featuring a large and lockable cabin, with
room to comfortably sleep two, and plenty of stow space for your gear.
Optional extras including Live Bait Tank, washing sink. Exess range comes highly specced from the factory and is also
available in the Sportsman Range specific for fishing
Haines Hunter SF650
Specifications
Overal Length Beam Deadrise Recommended HP Dry Hull Weight
6.80 m
2.45 m
23 Degrees
130-200 hp
940 kg
Without doubt the SF650 is an exceptional rough water boat. This no compromise
blue water performer has the space and
​
comfort to satisfy all your boating requirements.
Rayglass Legend 2200
Specifications
Overall length Beam Weight (approx) Outboard Length Hull degree Fuel capacity Recommended hp 6.70m/ 22ft
2.45m/ 8ft
1950kgs
25”
23°
250 litres
175-300
This latest offering from Rayglass boats continues a tradition of capable, superbly finished blue water boats combining practicality, comfort and style. With the Legend 2200, Rayglass has produced a handsome under-7m hardtop that looks and feels better balanced than most.
Rough water ability is excellent, as one would expect from a Rayglass. Performance with a 200hp is more than
adequate but the hull will accept up to 300hp if the owners need more excitement.
The Rayglass Legend 2200 is a lot of boat squeezed into a compact, easily-managed and easily towed package.
Reflex - Haines Signature 670c
A beautiful trailerable weekend cruiser from the Haines family. The
Haines Signature 670c is absolutely a boat apart. Featuring John Haines
patented Variable Deadrise Hull the 670c delivers the softest surest ride
with outstanding stability at rest. Turn key factory packages including
quality NZ made multi roller trailer, registered, setup and ready for the
water!
Challenger 650
Specifications
Beam: 2.50 m
Berths: 2
Bouyancy: Polyurethane Foam
Filled Underfloor Buoyancy (PuFF)
Deadrise: SVDH 33 - 21 deg
Fuel: 200 Ltr
Height on trailer: 2.6m
Hull length:
6.70 m
Hull weight: 1630kg (Hull & Trailer)
LOA: 6.81m
Max load : 950kg
Max people: 8
Max. engine weight: 270kg
Power: 130 - 225 HP
Power option: Outboard
Targa top: Optional
Width on trailer: 2.5m
Specifications
L.O.A
6.50M
Draft
0.38
Beam
2.38M
Approx Tow Weight 1850KG
Deadrise 18.5°
Rec HP 150 - 175 HP
On galvanised Tandem axle
Multi roller braked Trailer with
Spare Wheel
The 650 had surprisingly wide decks for a trailer boat of its size and it is quite feasible to walk around the cabin to
the bow with the aid of a full length stainless bow rail. All up the 650 presents very well. It has a simple yet practical
layout that lends itself to a variety of boating activities, which is a large part of the boat’s family appeal.
The combination of strength, agility, layout and performance makes the Challenger 650 an obvious choice for
both novice and experienced boaties looking for a dependable all-seasons boating package.
21
TAHUNA SCHOOL WRIGHT BAIT AND
TACKLE FAMILY FISHING COMPETITION
Show your support and be part of the Tahuna School
Family Fishing Competition! If you need any fishing
gear before the competition, be sure to drop into
Wright Bait and Tackle in Morrinsville.
All the details are below, including the entry form! Be
part of it!
You can post the entry form below to:
Fishing Competition Tahuna School
Tahuna School
RD3, Morrinsville
Or they can be left at Tahuna Tavern.
Fishing Competition Rules
Fish are to be gutted and gilled for weigh in.
Eels do NOT need to be gutted (but dead).
Fish and Eels to be caught on a hook, no nets allowed.
Cut off for weigh in is 5.00pm sharp (you must in in
the queue).
You may enter as many fish as you like but there is
only one prize per person per category.
Juniors may enter all sections.
Judges decision is final.
Fish may be donated to the school for the auction at
prize giving if you wish.
Trout licence must be sighted at weigh in.
Each angler must catch and weigh in their own fish.
You must be at prize giving to collect your prize.
Entries available at Wright Bait and Tackle, Tahuna
Tavern, Ideal Cars, Tordoffs or you can contact Tahuna
School (07 887 5848, or Faith Baker 07 887 7726).
KIDS
Make sure your rods and reels are in good order,
because you’re going to need them! Check you’ve
got plenty of hooks and sinkers, check your nylon
or flurocarbon, and make sure your braid is not
frayed, because you could catch that big one!
www.theadventurer.co.nz
BOATING
Copyright © 2015 JGB Service, http://www.mazegenerator.net/
BOATING
Adventure KIDS
22
WIN THIS
Brought to you by Fullon Fishing www.fullonfishing.co.nz
WINNER
Chloe (6) has been fishing since she could fit into a life jacket
and been slaying it ever since! She’s so proud when she brings
home a kai for her Whanau :)
Joshua on a kayak adventure to
Matakana Island!
Marcus caring up!
Photo credit Ngatea Hunting & Fishing Club
WIN
A Disco Stix
valued at $50
Sponsored by Fullon Fishing
Logan and his 5.93kg mammoth eel!
Photo credit Ngatea Hunting & Fishing Club
Master Nikau with couple of young pigs
Mason when he went camping with his Pa
Send in your kids adventure photo’s and
they could win a Kilwell LED Disco Stix
Spinning Rod valued at $49.99
thanks to FULLON FISHING!
Post them to our Facebook page www.
facebook.com/theadventurerpaper or email
[email protected].
Charter Directory
Coromandel
Bay of Plenty
Bay of Islands
Display your
charter here for just
$45+gst
Auckland
23
HUNTING
HUNTING
24
Rafting hunt
Joel’s Bucket List
With the popularity of The Bucket List
movie, I decided to lay out some awesome
Bucket List hunting adventures for 2015.
Rafting with dogs and a gun was right up
there, and having my young fella, Rusty, with
me was a must. Only a week after writing the
list a surprise meeting with Jason from Adventures Unlimited was the catalyst to put it
all together.
We travelled light with two dogs, a rifle, sleeping bags, and one change of clothes each.
Within days of talking to Jason we were on
the water.
Sliding down the river in absolute silence, it
was hard to remember that every now and
then I was required to paddle. There was just
so much country unlocked by using the river
to travel.
Pig hunting
With native bush right to the river’s edge, it wasn’t long
before the dogs were winding hard out, and keeping
them aboard was becoming an issue. “Another 40 metres and we can pull in and walk them back up,” Jason
hissed as we bumped and splashed between boul-
ders. Walking them back up was not an issue. We hit a
shingle bench and they exited the raft at high speed
and vanished back up the river, 200-300-400-500-600
metres - uh oh, time to grab some gear and go.
By Joel Dickson/gamegear
I was born as a short-wheel-base model, so after a less
than graceful exit off the raft in what Jason classed as
shallow water, I sloshed after the dogs with a wet arse
and even wetter boots, and even at a fast waddle still
never gained on the dogs. They returned, tongues
hanging out, whether from laughter at me or exhaustion, I wasn’t sure. One-nil to the pigs. ‘Well, I guess
you only get wet once,’ I thought as we began to
move further down the river. We drifted up on an awesome looking gully. ‘Maybe the deer will play nicely,’
I thought as we quietly glided up behind a large rock.
I slid my only pair of dry socks on and passed the 222
to my young fella, and off we snuck.
then 400 metres away, a bloody pig started grunting.
Can’t be my dogs, they were right here only seconds
ago. The GPS told a different story though, with the
dogs leaving us 200 metres back and looping right
around out in front. Off I charged, surprising Jason
and Rusty with my speed and agility, and gained a
considerable head start before they realized it was
all go. Within 100 metres of the dogs I still held the
lead and things were looking good until with a slip,
a few curses, and my last pair of dry socks saturated,
I realized the young fella had me beat. Out came the
camera and I yelled for everyone to slow down so I
could get some footage. It worked perfectly, and as
they slid to a stop, I blasted past waving the camera
aimlessly, and raced in to grab the pig. “Still can’t beat
Dad to a pig,” I wheezed as they crept in, trying to look
good for the camera.
Rusty was in the lead with Jason right behind him. I
was relegated to the rear with both dogs and tasked
with keeping quiet and stopping them from spooking
any deer we came across. All went well till we heard
a branch break and the sound of something moving off quietly. Whoops, no dogs - where were they?
‘Mongrels, better not chase that deer,’ I thought, and
Day one was over, and with the score at one each between us and the pigs, we decided day two was all
about getting a deer. The sandflies lifted me from my
bed on day two, and before I knew it, we were slipping past clearings and open native faces that just
screamed deer. ‘What a way to hunt,’ I thought as the
damp from my sodden socks crept up my bare legs.
The maiden
hunt.
By Dan Rasdall.
First off, I’d just like to say I am a fisherman
at heart. I grew up in Rotorua for 18 years
and was lucky enough to learn the art of
angling. Trout are a cunning species which
you have to stalk – especially in a river or
stream.
All that aside, my best mate Arthur is a keen
hunter. He got into hunting years ago for two
main reasons. One: to gather food for the
whanau, and two: to get away every weekend and stay
out of trouble. As funny as this sounds it was a very
smart decision. Arthur invited me on a pig hunt, and I
was actually quite wary about going bush for a whole
day. I didn’t own a GPS, I had very limited bushcraft
knowledge, and I was slightly scared of gnarly boars
as I’ve heard stories of angry boars attacking hunters.
I once got told a story from Wayne – Arthur’s dad.
Back in the day, a group of hunters went deer stalking
down the line. They had 12 dogs. There was one huge
gnarly boar with massive dog-killing hooks that roamed
the area. Many hunters tried to get this old battler, but
none could. It killed dogs and hunters – it didn’t care or
have a favourite – a kill was a kill. The dogs sniffed the
smelly boar out and rounded it up. The boar was scrapping with the dogs and when he saw the hunters, the
boar charged them without any notice. All the hunters
climbed a tree each, and the boar was ramming the trees
repeatedly to try and knock them over, or knock the hunters out of their trees. The .308 was loaded, and four shots
were fired. The first three bullets ricocheted off the boar’s
head, with the fourth penetrating the skull. The boar was
down. But 8 out of 12
dogs had been killed
too. The boar went
over 400lb!
None the less, I wasn’t
going to let that
stop me from learning a new avenue of
h u n t e r- g a t h e r i n g .
We got up at 2am on
a Saturday morning,
drove 2.5 hours to the
coast, and then on
Dan and Wayne enjoying the carry out
to Arthur’s secret spot.
ing in the Toi Toi. Right on cue, Arthur’s pit bull-labThis spot is a fourth-generation hunting spot – Arcross came blitzing in and grabbed the sow by the
thur’s great-granddad had hunted there. We walked
for ages using our headlamps in the cold, dark bush.
ear. A pup quickly got in there too, and Arthur gave
We walked up a stream once the daylight arrived, and
me his knife. He grabbed the back leg and said,
stopped for a hydration break. The dogs started act“Here, roll it over!” I quickly stuck the pig cleanly
ing weird, their tails just got really stiff all of a sudden.
down the brisket and it was put out of its misery
Their noses were flaring in the wind and they took off super-fast.
up a ridgeline away from the stream. We stood up
I was stoked! It’s a different feeling when you’re
and listened…we decided to carry on slowly up the
out there catching your own food. The sense of
stream as the water was pretty low. There was lots of
sand on the side and I looked over and saw pig prints. satisfaction is very sweet – and it opens doors for
you where there were only walls. I never was interI whispered to Arthur, “Is that prints bro?”
ested in hunting animals for food until now. I used
He replied, “Good spotting, cuz… yes they are.” The
to take the easy option – buy it from the butchery.
prints were coming from the ridge the dogs had gone
I still buy a lot of meat from the butchery, but now,
up, and across the stream.
a portion of that meat is hunted and gathered ourWayne saw a flash of black out of the corner of his
selves.
eye and pointed in the direction he saw it. Arthur
and I climbed the stream bank, and
walked 10 metres into the thick native where we saw a pig track. We
moved along the track and poked
our head around a Toi Toi bush. And
there it was, a nice, small sow hid-
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Around a tight corner we spun and there, not 100 metres away and, standing right on the river’s edge was
a nice big hind. We glided into a shallow beach and
out came the 222. She stood watching us, trying to
make out what this large round thing was until, with
a crack from the 222, it was all over. I volunteered to
do the carry, and with a small push she rolled into the
raft and we were off again. The trip ended too quickly,
and in no time we were in Murupara. “Not a bad adventure,” I said to Rusty, and when no reply came back
I looked over to find him fast asleep. ‘Looks like Dad
wins again,’ I thought, but it was touch-and-go, and it
won’t be long till I’m left in his dust!
Joel & Rusty on a great adventure
HUNTING
PIG HUNTING
25
Memorable Boar
By Rachael Blackie, NZ Woman Hunters
One pig hunt for me was memorable for a couple
of reasons, both of which are unlikely to ever occur again!
My boss had ever-so-kindly granted me a long weekend, and what better way to spend it than hunting
with Ben and his friend James. James is a keen hunter
from the South who wanted to see what North-Island
hunting was all about.
It was a miserable, drizzly summer’s day. The dogs
were fresh and keen to get out of the trailer as we navigated the quad bike down into the pine trees. Almost
immediately, my young dog Pash put her nose in the
air and took off across the gully with four other dogs
following her. I was so proud to see my dog take the
lead. Luckily, Ben was paying attention as to where
they were heading. He drove the bike to a higher
point and cut the engine. They were bailing!!
The three of us were off like a shot down the gully
to where the dogs had a good boar bailed. Even my
lab pup was amongst it. BANG! Ben shot it with the
30-30 and it dropped like a sack of spuds. Ben, James
and I were immediately drawn to the boar’s pearly
whites. One side was a good three inches, while the
other curled around on itself and measured an impressive 7.5 inches!! What an unusual sight!! The dogs
had done us proud, especially my young one; she had
These 2 lovely lady hunters
receive a prize from Game Gear,
check out NZ Woman Hunters
Facebook page for more photos
Tessa and a 115lb boar her bitch caught for her
pulled off a 700m find through the pines and down
into a native gully.
James took first carry and made easy work of the
steep climb. At the top Ben had some news for me
– since my dog caught it then I had to have a carry!
Fair enough I thought, I was keen to prove my worth,
and although it was heavier than pigs I’d carried previously, I knew I could do it. I stood up slowly with the
pig in a backpack. I walked slowly down the slope towards the bike. It was still raining and I was cautious
as to where I placed my feet. My clumsiness eventually overruled and I stepped into a slight hollow. I fell
quickly and awkwardly. The weight of the boar added
to the gracefulness of it all. My face hit the grass and
my right ankle twisted at an odd angle along with
making a ‘crack’. Ben quickly pulled the pig off my
back and the pain in my ankle was now considerable,
I was so embarrassed! I realised that I wasn’t going
to be able to walk on my ankle until the shock had
worn off, so the boys helped me to the quad which
was thankfully only 20m away – O the shame, I was
so close!
I had brushed off my bruised ankle as only a slight
sprain, with more harm done to my pride, but x-rays
early the next morning showed otherwise. I had fractured it and would need to be in a cast for the next 6
weeks – how’s that for luck, a once in a lifetime 121lb
boar with a 7.5 inch jaw, and
a broken leg to go with it!! At
least I now have a good excuse as to why I don’t carry –
it’s bound to end in disaster!
Scan the QR code for NZ Woman
Hunters, facebook page
16 y o Kelsey with her first stag shot at 170m with the 308
www.theadventurer.co.nz
HUNTING
26
Second-hand goods FOR SALE - send in your free classified’s to [email protected]
Fisherman/woman
Hunter
Boats
Outboards
Trucks
Motorbike
12ft Parkercraft and 15hp merc, $1,700ono
Yamaha 8hp, Has 6hp cover runs but
1997 Toyota surf, 3lt inter cooled turbo
diesel, 275,000 kms doesn’t get hot engine
runs mint. Has usual hunting truck scratches and dents. Cash offers only ph 0278 604
023 located south Waikato
2003 Toyota Hilux SR5 Dcab 4x4 3.4lt auto
2007 Honda 420 4wd quadbike, $3000
ono, ph 021 821 686, Bay of Plenty
2006 Honda trx350 quadbike 4x4 well
looked after mint condition runs mint
$3000ono kawerau B.O.P txt 0278494611
1993 250 husqvarna recently been rebuilt,
— Tauranga txt 0272922631
17ft fibreglass boat, 85 Suzuki with electric
start, power trim & tilt and oil injection, Permatrim on outboard, Lowrance fish finder, Navigation lights, Anchor & warp, Twin tanks, Auxiliary outboard bracket on transom, Wof & rego,
Canopy and cover. Only ever used in fresh water.
Whangaparaoa, TXT 027 2799887 offers
16ft fiberglass boat, 85hp suzuki 2stroke
direct oil injection engine, Dual bilge pumps,
brand new Lowrance Elite-4x Colour fish finder,
brand new Narva L.E.D trailer lights 1yrs rego.
Needs 1 wheel bearing for WOF, Brand new
Winch, 25ltr Tote tank, Swivel seats, New Steering Cable, Rock anchor and rope/chain, Motor
runs well, $2,800 Kawhia, Ph 0278431163
12ft Quintrex - Aluminium hull with wooden floor, 15 hp Mercury outboard 1992 goes well, Fitted petrol tank - gives extra
space for those extra fish, Hoskings trailer
with Rego - expires March this year. No Wof
but no problem getting one, Nav lights
Rod holders, 3 lifejackets, anchor included,
$3500 Pick up from North Shore, Auckland,
text/phone 02108591185
Rayglass 620 legend. 175 hp yamaha with
500 hr on rebuild. Just had its yearly service.
Features include, 180litre underfloor tank, electric winch, ski pole, rocket launcher, toilet up
in cabin, braked tandem axle trailer plus much
more. Very well looked after boat. Selling as
time to buy a house. Open to all offers. Valued at
30k. Any questions please ph me on 0210669429
15ft runabout with an evinrude 25hp 1991
outboard only used in fresh water on trailor, just
had a fresh coat of paint, new window seals, rod
holders and bait board put in. tote tank’s, oars
and anchor. $2,000 , phone/txt 021871287
needs sum love. I replaced complete impellor set up $350 located Snell’s beach, offers,
ph 0212604583
9.9 4 stroke Yamaha, awesome motor
for very tidy $1500 firm ph 0274137480. Mt
Maunganui
Trailer
petrol, New rebuilt motor under 100km on it,
just been put in by certified mechanic, new cam
belt kit plugs and leads, radiator service etc, has
new wof and reg. Mint truck. Have receipts for
work done. 1600. Phone or txt for quicker response. 0273 588 175, Rotorua
18ft Boat Trailer, No rego n wof, centre
95
Jetski
Kawazaki 1100cc Jet ski and Trailer motors seized. Papakura, Offers! Txt 0220976278
rollers missing $300 as is, Pick up Manurewa
, Ph 0210393295
Accessories
Navman fish finder 4100sx $100 West
auckland Ph 0223249635
hummin bird wide 128 fish finder
works sweet all wires there I have upgraded so no longer needed. 80ono tauranga
0273876295
Ocean hunter wetsuit 2 peice 173CM
$150 West auckland Ph 0223249635
Precision Scary Sharp, hardly been
used in new condition, retail $420, $250
Ph 0274918604
2ton power built winch with all cables
and bits.$80 02102347580
Colapsable cray pot $40 phone
0272986379 Coromandel
Toyota
Hi
ace
WOF regd until
recently/4000km rucs/re october/serviced mote
locking/clear lights/17” enkei alloys/390xxxkm/
auto/2.8litre diesel...06 Suzuki DRZ250/electric
and kick start/runs well...auto have all the gear
to go out riding straight away..really want to
sell/swap for a boat and trailer combo...otherwise hit me up with offers...0272592745
2001 toyota hilux 265,000ks goes well 4x4, 3
litre non turbo canopy sprayed deck liner,reg an
warrant $13,000 (negotiable) — Taupo, phone
0272557217
1993 isuzu big horn 3.2l v6 manual never
been bush so pretty tidy inside and out fully serviced etc, $2,000 — taupo, txt if keen
0273073737
Tractors
Layland 262 tractor with front end loader
Taupo, $8500 ono, phone 021 02709590
Massey Ferg 28 tractor, runs wells $1300
ono phone 07 864 8191
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adventure pictures and stories on
Bait/Tackle
1992 hilux seats. $150 — manawatu, in good
condition. No rips. ring 0226528350
L200 ute canopy Double cab complete
Tough top, $200ono Pik up manurewa Ph
0210393295
Moultrie trail cam only used once, offers
text or call 027 831 4597
Great outdoors tent, 4 person, still like
new $500 ono located in New plymouth 06
751 5245
Dog Boxes
Large Dog Pen and Run - Kennel slat floor,
professionally made $400.00 Please call:
Jim 07 3331950 Rotorua
brand new titanium alloy box. light in
weight, extremely strong and corrosion
resistant. there is nothing wrong with this
box. not suitable for our own requirements.
$1100 - Waikato 027 655 0031
Dogs
15 month bitch going on find caught a few
herself . Bails and holds good on bonnet
and in kennel $500 taupo ring 0273158414
Lambs ready for the freezer, $120ea ph 07
8689066 or 0274986379
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Accommodation
Equipment
Livestock
BUSINESS Directory
Painting/Plumbing
super quick, needs new throttle cable, serviced
after every ride . Near new tires. Open to offers
Ph. 02108213882
Tyres
Other
Kumo tyres
Tairua
Plastering & Painting
Insurance
BOOK THIS
SPACE
Email:
[email protected]
HUNTING
BUTCHERS’ CORNER
By Arthur Olsen
27
brought to you by
How to fillet your catch
(This month is Greenbone / Butterfish).
1. Last weekend I went out on a spearo
mission with my mate Daniel and scored a
few of these tasty treats called Greenbone (or
Butterfish). This month I will be showing you
how to fillet and skin these tasty fish. These fish
are unique because you cannot catch them on
a line. You can only acquire these fish by net
or spear, so gathering them can turn out to be
quite the adventure.
5
5. Once we have done this we need to cut down to
the bottom of the fish, past the ribs, and continue
this cut until we reach the tail.
9
2.
2. Here we have our freshly speared butterfish ready
for filleting. The first cut we need to make is from
the top of the head, past the pectoral fin and down
towards the gut. Making sure to have the back facing
you, and the head to your left hand side.
6
6.Now that we have cleared the fillet, we can
remove the fillet from the frame. To do this we
just simply cut down towards the bottom of the
butterfish.
10
9. The fillet should be clear all the way to the back- 10. Once again, we just need to go over the ribs and
cut towards the tail, then through the bottom of
bone. You may need a cut back up towards the
head to ensure the fillet is clear from the frame.
the fish to remove the fillet.
13
13. Beautiful clean fillet.
14
ELITE MEATS BUTCHERY
It’s important to note that this method of filleting fish can be used on many different species such as Snapper, Tarakihi, Gurnard and the like. The order of the steps are essential to getting a nice clean fillet.
3.
4.
3. The next step is to run your knife down the backbone until you reach the tail, making sure to keep
the tip of the knife on the backbone throughout
the cut. If need be, run the knife back up towards
the head to ensure the cut is made cleanly.
7
8
7. For the next side we need to start exactly the
same as the first side, by cutting down on the angle
from the head to the gut cavity.
8. Here we are just running the knife down the
backbone, but making sure to keep the knife close
to the backbone. This maybe difficult and the fish
will be on a slight lean.
12
11
11. Here we have both fillets off our butterfish.
Now comes time to skin them. You can cook them
with the skin on, but if you have not scaled them it
may make your dinner rather interesting...
14. After you have removed the skin from your
fillets we just need to remove the bones that
we cut through so we could clear over the ribs
earlier in the filleting process. To do this just
make two cuts up the fillet from the thick end
roughly in the middle where the backbone
would sit and proceed to take these out of your
fillet. These bones will be very small but this tip
will prove vital to your eating experience.
4. Your butterfish should now be opened up quite
nicely. The next step is to run the knife over the
backbone and proceed to cut over the ribs, so there
is no excess bone in your fillets.
12. To skin your filets we must start at the tail end
and skin towards where the head would be. I find
by holding the knife at a 45 degree angle and pulling the fillet through the knife, that the fillet comes
off the skin effortlessly and cleanly.
15
15. Here we have it, two beautiful fillets off our freshly
speared Greenbone / Butterfish. Enjoy!
28
HUNTING