www.nzfisher.co.nz 1

f sherISSUE 28 October 2013

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Your Guide to Fishing - The Seasons

Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner for Issue #28!

Spring Fishing Is Unleashed

2 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Visit okumafishing.co.nzfacebook.com/borntofishnz

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www.nzfisher.co.nz 5

HAPPY, HAPPY SPRING everybody!

Wow, what a difference a few

degrees makes.

The fishing has definitely taken a turn

for the better with captures of solid

fish from the inner East Coast Bays

, Gulf Islands and monsters from the

Bay of Plenty and Hawkes Bay. By

the time we get to print there’ll be a

decision on the future of the Snapper

1 Fishery and barring a miracle or

disaster we should be happily catching

snapper for the Christmas table in

a few months. It’s a real pity the

ministry hasn’t done a bit better job

of finding a solution to the issue.

Credit where it’s due, Sam Mossman

presented a very interesting and

informative (read eye-opening) article

on the history of Snapper in NZ in

Fishing News. If you haven’t seen it,

track down a copy.

Sam managed to look past the state

of the fishery we see today and look

back to the times when the fishing was

unconstrained and the real damage

was done. Sadly, now, as we did

then, we’re seeing ‘our’ fish sold off

for a price far below their worth. It is

my opinion that the snapper fishery

should be treated like a national

treasure, a Taonga of the nation; its

worth is far greater than the export

dollars our political leaders are willing

to hock it off for.

On the ‘value’ front, I’ve been aiding

an Auckland University student,

Ahmad Shendi, in getting his survey

on recreational fishing habits in the

Hauraki Gulf responded to by as many

local fishos as I can. If you have a few

spare minutes, please click here and

help generate some sound answers.

Politics and dollars aside, this is

without doubt the season to catch

a fat, tasty snapper in the north or a

puka out wide – both would go down

a treat on the plate!

Note: Our apologies that the promised

‘How to’ Kingfish articles have not

materialised due to a continuing

trend of poor weather when we’ve

attempted to get out. We’ll be getting

them sorted soon & hope to bring

them to you next month.

Tight lines,

Derrick

//From the EDITOR

editorial

ABOUT /Short and sharp, NZ Fisher is a free e-magazine delivering thought provoking and enlightening articles, and industry news and information to forward-thinking fisher people.

EDITOR / Derrick PaullART DIRECTOR / Jodi OlssonCONTENT ENQUIRIES / Phone Derrick on 021 629 327or email derrickp@NZ Fisher.co.nzADVERTISING ENQUIRIES /Phone Richard on 09 522 7257 or email richardl@espiremedia.comADDRESS / NZ Fisher, C/- Espire Media, PO Box 137162, Parnell, Auckland 1151, NZWEBSITE / www.NZFisher.co.nz

This is a GREEN MAG, created and distributed without the use of paper so it's environmentally friendly. Please think before you

print. Thank you!

LOCALfishing

Converted By Seduction

By Tom Lusk

6 www.nzfisher.co.nz

www.nzfisher.co.nz 7

UNTIL RECENTLY, I FISHED for

snapper from the rocks using the

same, very effective method that

most readers would probably use. A

promising ledge would be found, a

big lump of frozen berley would go

in, and I’d cast un-weighted pillies or

similar baits out into the berley trail.

I’d been doing this for many years,

and caught a lot of great fish: the

method works. Every so often

however, the snapper would come

right up to our feet. Usually silly little

pannies, but sometimes, a monster. I

once sight fished, caught and released

an estimated 20lber that

came steaming up out of

nowhere and nearly gave

me a heart attack.

Then, this autumn,

regular saltwater fly

contributor Matt Von

Sturmer put me on

to a whole new way

of fishing. I’d already

transitioned from bait

to salt water fly and

was catching plenty of

good fish in the berley

trail alongside my bait

fishing mates. On this particular

day, however, Matto drew me away

from the berley to a shallow and an

unpromising-looking (to me) gutter.

Here, he had a group of five pannies

zipping around about a metre from

the surface; snaffling shreds of pillie

he was flicking them! In a nearby rock

pool, he had two fish well into the

40cms that he’d already caught from

the same spot. It was unbelievable. In

about 2-3 metres of water, snapper

were charging about, all lit up and

completely fearless! Matto crept a

little closer, made a cast of 3 metres,

and an angry pannie absolutely

smashed his fly. Fish on! After he’d

caught and released this lovely fat

kelpie, Matto moved on and let me

tussle with its mates.

I’d read about this technique in

articles by Craig Worthington, but

had always imagined it would take a

huge amount of patience. Sometimes

it does - but these times are rare.

Often we will get the first fish up

and feeding within five minutes. Last

Saturday it wasn’t quite like this as it

was almost two hours before I raised

my first snapper. This is very unusual,

but there was a nasty southerly cutting

in, which might have kept them dozy.

Once they came on however, they

were suddenly everywhere. My

approach is to “seed” four or five

likely looking spots on arrival, and

usually by the time the last spot is

seeded, the first one will have some

interested customers.

Seeding involves shredding a pillie

and flicking it into your spot while

crouching down low so that they

can’t see you. The oil from the pillies,

the silver pieces falling through the

water, the splash as the shreds hit the

surface, and the excited spotties and

hiwihiwi stampeding around all sound

the dinner gong.

At some of my spots, there would

be four or five snapper fighting each

other for the shreds. In this situation,

it’s very difficult to present your

fly to the biggest fish - one of the

tricky and exciting aspects of the

method, but also very frustrating. If

you do catch a small fish, however,

the bigger ones will usually be back

and happily feeding quite soon

afterwards, provided you haven’t

been rushing around at the water’s

edge waving your arms

around. The benefit of

having several spots is that

you can rest three spots

while you focus on one.

As the tide receded, better

and better spots became

exposed. At one of these, I

threw in a couple of kina to

boost the action and within

ten minutes I had a lovely

50cm snap rushing around

with the pannies.

The white marabou fly sunk

for two seconds before he charged

it, gulped it down, and I struck. He

powered off for the Barrier in a 30m

run, then the hook pulled just as the

backing knot was streaking through

the guides, leaving me with the long

wind back in.

Fortunately I’d caught some nice

40cm fish, and my mate Mikey had

got his share using unweighted softies

and the same seeding method, so we

had a good haul to take back to the

families. Another great day when the

wind was knifing in from the south and

keeping a lot of us at home.

LOCALfishing

Seeding involves shredding a pillie and flicking it into your

spot while crouching down low so that they can’t see you. The oil from the pillies, the silver

pieces falling through the water, the splash as the shreds hit the

surface, and the excited spotties and hiwihiwi stampeding around

all sound the dinner gong.

8 www.nzfisher.co.nz

seasonalFISHING

AFTER BRACING THROUGH what

can often be a barren winter, spring

represents “New Years” for fishing. So

when I see kowhai trees in flower and

new lambs in the paddocks, I know

the fishing will be on the improve.

That isn’t to say that big fish can’t

be caught in winter (check out last

month’s issue of NZ Fisher), but in

general you just have to work much

harder for them.

As such, now is a good time to plan

your fishing year and lock in fishing trips

before pesky commitments such as

work, family and friends get in the way.

With that in mind, it’s probably a

good idea to know what to expect

throughout the year. It’s also probably

fair to say that your approach to how

and where you are fishing should

change with the seasons.

Below are a series of “rules of

thumb” of how to approach the

year (focussed on the Hauraki Gulf

and snapper). There are always

exceptions to the rule, but for the

entry level fisher, this guide should

help to maximise your experience.

By Sam Ellison

A New Fishing Year Dawns:

Your guide to fishing the seasons

www.nzfisher.co.nz 9

seasonalFISHING

EARLY SPRING: September and October

Although spring will have sprung on

land, the water takes a bit of warming

up, so the appetite of the fish is still

low during this period. School snapper

will begin moving into embayments

such as the Hauraki Gulf and this can

result in some very good fishing. The

best way to take advantage of these

school snapper, if they are around, is

not to head out to the same spot that

you always go to. Instead, use what

resources you have at hand.

This means covering a bit of distance

looking at your sounder in search of

“eyebrows” near the bottom and

keeping an eye peeled for working

birds. In general if you can get out to

30-50m you should be able to find

fish, but success can be had closer to

the coast if you are lucky.

When you find fish don’t anchor

immediately. Drop a flasher rig

weighted with a 3-4oz sinker baited with

small cubes of pilchard or squid. If the

fish are there you should get a response

within a few minutes. If you don’t have

any luck consider starting the search

again, or if your drift is too fast and your

bait isn’t staying near the bottom, this

might be a good time to anchor.

The general rule is that you aren’t

going out to fish particular spots or

looking for structure on the seabed,

you are trying to fish where the fish

are. I call this the “search and fish”

method. This type of fishing also

works well with lure fishing (soft baits

and the various forms of jigs that are

around these days), but controlling

your drift so that your bait stays near

the seabed is paramount.

Other approaches for snapper

include anchoring up, burleying and

stray lining baits over a rocky bottom

(often in shallow water). This method

will work with varying degrees of

success at all times of the year.

Furthermore, if you are around the

back of Great Barrier Island or in the

Far North, you will probably pull big

snapper using this method during any

season. But, as a general rule for the

Gulf, there are better times of year to

try this approach (see autumn).

For other species, these months can

have a good reward. Hapuku tend

to move into shallower water over

the entire spring period, so this is

the preferred time of year to target

them. If you have a big enough

boat to target hapuku you probably

don’t need me to tell you what to

do. In general it involves large cut

baits, a foul bottom and deep water

(preferably over 150 m).

The spring months can also be good

for kingfish, specifically they can be

found chasing bait on the surface in

deeper water or in areas near deep

water. October would be a good

month to get your stick bait rod out

for example, but that isn’t much

help to our Hauraki Gulf based fisher

sitting in his dinghy with a Jarvis

Walker rod.

LATE SPRING: November and December

Yes, that’s right by the fishing calendar

December is spring. Furthermore,

these months can be some of the

most rewarding. At this time of year

snapper group to spawn. As such, if

you can find the spawning fish you’ll

have great success, if you can’t, you

could go home empty handed.

This time of year lends itself to the

search and fish method described

above. By now the snapper should be

closer to the coast, so this is a good

time for the dinghy owning Jarvis

Walker bearing fisher to head out.

Just remember to keep your eyes

peeled for signs.

10 www.nzfisher.co.nz

SUMMER: January and Early February

Summer is the shortest season in the

fishing year and thank goodness for

that. This may sound strange, but

have you ever noticed just how slack

the fishing can be at this time? It’s the

ultimate inconvenience that when half

the country is camped at the beach

with fishing on the mind, the fish

themselves won’t cooperate.

You’d have to ask the fish for an

explanation as to why, maybe they

aren’t that interested in food after all

that spawning, maybe there are just

too many people on the water? Unless

you have the ability to get out wide

chasing gamefish, I’d almost go as far

to say that you could leave the rods at

home. Sell the idea to your missus as

your desire for quality time together

and she won’t mind you legging it for

a week when the fishing is really firing

later in the year.

You could always chase kingfish

as they should be hanging around

certain inshore spots at this time of

year. Look for reefs that rise out of

deep water, areas of high current and

man-made structures such as marker

buoys. If you see bait working on the

surface, or schools of bait on your

sounder, these can also be good

signs. There is a multitude of ways

of catching kingfish from jigging to

surface lures and live baits.

If you are fishing in the shallow inner

Gulf, jigging isn’t the most effective way

of targeting kingfish. Casting poppers

or stick baits at channel marker buoys

can be productive, but the kingfish

generally become accustomed to the

seasonalFISHING

lure after a couple of casts and are

usually quite small. Live baiting is very

effective if you can catch the baits.

Put the time in to fill up a bucket of

live baits before you head out; it can

pay dividends. While suspending the

live bait under a balloon is probably

the most well-known method, it is

really only appropriate if you are

fishing in shallow water or from the

anchor (and that can often mean that

you aren’t in the fishiest of spots).

So if you are serious about catching

kingfish, devote the trip to it. First

find your kingfish or likely sign and

then drop a livie down to where the

fish are. If they are on the surface that

could mean you need to use a balloon

or no sinker. If the sign is in mid water,

then drifting (no need to anchor) the

livie down with a 4 oz sinker above the

swivel is usually the best approach.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 11

AUTUMN: Late February to June

After the shortest season comes

the longest and my favourite. Water

temperature is at its peak, as is fish

appetite. Combine that with the fact

that the school snapper are still in

close to the coast and there are likely

to be kingies in the mix, and you have

the time of year when fish are most

accessible to our near shore angler.

So if you are only going to go fishing

once or twice during the year, do it

over these months. It’s no coincidence

that nearly all fishing competitions are

held at this time (NZ Fisher just had to

be different). That includes gamefish,

but they are not that easy to catch on

a Jarvis Walker spooled with sunburnt

10kg mono.

One of the best things about this

time of year is that there is a range

of different approaches that can

prove fruitful. The search and fish

method is a good first option, but

if you prefer to anchor up at your

favourite spot, this is the time to

seasonalFISHING

do it. The fish flood through

channels at this time, so

anchoring up in deeper

water with a reasonable

current (between islands or at the

entrance to a harbour) will work well.

For fishing from the pick, consider

replacing your flasher rig with a

running rig (i.e. a hook on an arms

length of leader, tied to a swivel,

with the sinker above the swivel).

Using as light a sinker as possible to

get the bait down in the current can

really help bring the fish on the bite.

Periodically feeding line out to keep

the bait near the bottom helps keep

your sinker weight down. With the

fish moving into channels, this is also

the best time of year to catch snapper

within harbours and estuaries.

Another snapper option is stray lining

baits over a rocky bottom. If you can

get to a more remote rocky outcrop,

then this is going to be the most likely

method of getting that larger snapper.

As such, large baits are a good way of

excluding the pickers.

Don’t forget to burly and don’t

be afraid to fish extremely shallow

water in search of that moocher (<5

m can be productive). This is also the

best time of the year for rock fishing.

Soft baits will also do extremely well

fished in close at this time of year

(i.e. “wash fishing”). Cast right in

close to a rocky outcrop and jig the

lure back just fast enough to keep it

off the bottom. The softies also work

well in the channels at this time of

year too.

Kingfish should be available for most

of this period (maybe not May and

June for the inner Gulf). Apply the

techniques described in summer

and expect some bigger specimens,

especially if you can get to deeper

water reefs (>80 m),

WINTER: July and August

Not much to be said here. Yes, good

fishing can be had at this time, even

in the shallow waters of the inner

Gulf. In fact, if you can’t get right

out wide to deep water, your best

approach at this time of year is to

stray line baits in shallow (<10 m).

Lots of burly and persistence is

the key. Expect to be cold and not

catch a large number of fish (but

potentially a good one). You are

probably better off planning your

fishing trips for the rest of the year.

Again, use the “quality time” excuse

and bank the brownie points.

Cold hands, nice fish

12 www.nzfisher.co.nz

competitionfishing

Fishing the Australian Angling Association NationalsAUSTRALIAN ANGLERS

ASSOCIATION, commonly known as

AAA held their bi-annual Nationals

on the Sunshine Coast, Tuesday 16th

August to 22nd August 2013, based

at Golden Beach Caloundra.

These Nationals are exceptionally

well run with Off Shore

Championship, Rock and Beach

Championship, Estuary Championship

and a Casting Championship for

anglers to compete in.

This saw the opening ceremony

followed by a welcome night of drinks

and nibbles for competitors to mix &

mingle and garner a little knowledge

from the locals. The opening

ceremony was quite emotional; our

Aussie friends are extremely patriotic.

First the Australian flag is raised to

the National Anthem followed by

the NZ flag raised by Betty Edwards.

And Jessie Vuletich and Ann Dawber

between them raised the NZACA

flag in their turn along with all the

other State flags. Each state makes a

“good to be here” speech as their flag

is raised, of which Graeme Dawber

spoke representing NZ.

The third day of fishing began, the

registrations were always very early,

3.30am most days, and casting was a

little later at 7.30a.m. Lines up each

day ranged from 11a.m. to noon

which was a very early finish for most

kiwis – we wanted to fish all day!

Weigh in was very quick and everyone

is there to see the day’s catches - you

wait for approximate 30mins then the

results are given out and there is a

presentation of daily sponsored prizes.

One notable thing is that sponsors are

Kiwi anglers take high honoursBy Anne Dawber on behalf of the NZACA

Registration and Captains meeting take place the first day. Betty Edwards representing NZ.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 13

competitionfishing

not recognised until the actual day,

no winner has any idea what they are

going to get. The emphasis is always

on being the champion and gaining

that elusive trophy. The excitement

and cheering are awesome.

Graeme, Jessie and Betty were

fortunate enough to have a great

boat and skipper who made sure

that they did well; Graeme and

Jessie went out three times, Betty

twice. They got really shook up

on one trip, but of course enjoyed

telling the story; they got to see

plenty of dolphins and whales.

When it came to the estuary fishing,

our team weren’t quite so successful.

Graeme had a fish weighing 0.28kg

and strangely that is acceptable, but

Betty beat him by 0.03kg but you can

catch as many of those as you like as

the winner is the biggest bag of these

tiny fish. It’s all about bag weights for

estuary fishing; they’re not individual

fish weights, except for best of

species awards.

Rock & Shore was hard going

finding the right spots, as the

Queenslanders do not give away

their secrets! We struggled here

but fished hard all the same.

Casting is always very interesting as

it is so different to NZ. They use level

line reels (overhead) and don’t use

leaders. Both our ladies got on the

board and did well for NZ.

On the last day everyone gets very

excited wondering which State won

and whom the champion fishers

are. This night is so much fun, there

was music. and at the dinner they

presented a few trophies. Then

we had two courses and more

presentations with the supreme

awards after dessert.

Like New Zealand they have many

trophies to present; each trophy

comes in a numbered bag or box and

the recipient must take the bag or box

and sign for it. There are magnificent

prizes to go with the trophy but as

with the daily prizes, the emphasis

is on that trophy, the prizes are

secondary and again no one knows

what they are getting.

The sponsors are all there that night

and they present the prizes they

sponsored. It’s quite an awesome

array and the prizes range from

fishing gear to baskets of toiletries,

groceries to BBQ’s, and all manner of

equipment. Various clubs throughout

the country are asked to sponsor

something as a prize (mostly used

as the daily prizes) as well as others,

which is a great idea.

There’s so much excitement as you

get to the climax is of the champion

male and female fishers. Queensland

and New South Wales gained most

trophies. It is a wonderful moment

when NZ gets their trophy which is a

beautiful carved wake in a glass case

and Jessie was thrilled to find her

name engraved upon it.

This trophy had been donated by

Air New Zealand many years ago. Of

course we don’t get to bring that one

home, but Jessie received a lovely

native wood miniature trophy in the

shape of Australia plus a cloth badge

to be sewn onto a garment stating

that she was one of the champions.

The Kiwi team really made their mark on the ‘offshore days’ with this great haul of HUGE Queensland snapper.

14 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Incidentally, all trophies are already

engraved when you receive them

which is a marvellous feat considering

there’s not a lot of time.

I would recommend NZ fishing

friends to attend the AAA Nationals.

The camaraderie is amazing, and

at the final meeting prior to the

presentation night, each fishing

group has a representative to state

what they enjoyed.

It was amazing that first came

the camaraderie, the catching

up with people you only see

every second year and the

fishing side came second.

RESULTS:

NZ did our NZACA proud with the

following awards:

Jessie Vuletich (Auckland Lady •

Anglers Cub) – Champion off-

shore Vet Ladies competition,

heaviest cod caught

Betty Edwards (Rotorua Fishing & •

Casting Club) – Heaviest snapper

caught, 3rd place vet ladies

estuary comp’, 3rd place vet

ladies casting competition.

Graeme Dawber (Rotorua Fishing •

& Casting Club) - 3rd place vet

men’s off-shore comp’, 5th place

vet men’s estuary competition

In the teams event, our results were:-

2nd place in vet ladies off-shore •

teams comp (Jessie & Betty)

2nd place in vet ladies casting •

competition (Betty & Jessie)

3rd place in vet ladies estuary •

competition (Betty & Jessie)

3rd place in vet men’s off-shore •

teams event (Graeme)

It’s a great experience and well

recommended, very competitive. Of

course there are the odd niggles, but

they are so quickly settled, usually to

everyone’s satisfaction.

.

Jessie Vuletich with the Kiwi Trophy

competitionfishing

Know whatyou’re doing

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

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Know whatyou’re doing

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

Core Courses Specialty Courses RYA Courses

Wide range of courses for all types of boating available nationwide

Ocean Yachtmaster

Day Skipper

Boatmaster

Maritime VHF Operator Certificate

Coastal Skipper

Radar

GPS Operator

Engine Maintenance

Marine Medic

Sea Survival

Sea Kayak and Waka Ama

Club Safety Boat Operator

Bar Crossing

PWC

Powerboating

Sail Cruising

Motor Cruising

16 www.nzfisher.co.nz

freshwaterFISHING

FELLOW ANGLERS AND onlookers

couldn’t believe their eyes when ten

year-old Tom Weeks landed a whopping

7.7kg (17pound) rainbow at Wellington’s

Capital Trout Centre on Sunday.

The monster rainbow was part of a

consignment of 1000 trout recently

delivered to the Happy Valley pond.

They were from Fish & Game’s

Ngongataha hatchery near Rotorua,

sent down for the children’s open days

held by the Wellington Flyfishers Club

each year.

Club spokesman Strato Cotsilinis says

the trout released in the pond are

generally significantly smaller, around

the 0.5kg mark.

“I think the guys from Fish & Game

slipped a surprise in this year to add

to the kids’ excitement. It certainly

achieved that – most adult anglers

would class Tom’s trout as a fish of a

lifetime - going over the 17 pound

(7.7kg) - mark!”

Mr Cotsilinis says the 7.7kg trout

caught by Tom (from Miramar,

Wellington) is the largest fish caught

in the 14 years the club has been

running the open days at the centre.

“Oce all the club members present

realised that Tom had a big fish on,

there was much excitement, and then

of course a variety of estimates once

it had been landed. In any angler’s

terms, this is a giant fish.”

Tom’s twin brother Ben also landed a

trout, with his around 0.5kg, a point

of difference for the twin boys. Tom’s

father Gary Weeks says “It was a

fantastic start to Father’s Day” and

to see both his sons hook fish, he

thanked the angling club volunteers

for their help.

Wellington Fish & Game manager

Phil Teal says there are still plenty of

trout to be caught at the centre with a

further five open days scheduled.

“These open days are a fantastic service

the club runs for kids – club members

invest a lot of their own time and

effort for the enjoyment of the wider

community, and I know many kids have

an awesome time when they visit.”

The Capital Trout Centre at Happy

Valley is funded by Wellington Fish &

Game, Wellington City Council, local

businesses and organisations and is

supported by DOC Turangi.

To manage the large number of

children keen to have a crack

at catching a fish, a booking

system has been set up with

places reserved through Steve’s

Fishing Shop (Wellington), Hamills

(Thorndon) or Hunting and

Fishing (Lower Hutt). More from

Fish & Game Wellington here.

By Wellington Fish & Game

Monster Fish Hooks Young Angler for Life

www.nzfisher.co.nz 17

18 www.nzfisher.co.nz

sportFISHING

Fishing through the Eyes of the Occidental Politician

IN 2011 MARTIN SALTER, long

suffering UK coarse fisherman

(Seriously, it does seem a bit like

suffering from here...) has a new

position on the Angling Trust, the UK’s

Rec Fishing peak body.

Martin’s role is saltwater centric

nowadays, and he’s got a blog

running, touching on a number of

worldwide angling issues. This blog

below (from August 2013) looks into

the phenomenon of ‘Extreme fishing’,

something NZ & our

own extreme fisher,

Matt Watson, would

seem to be quite fond

of lately. I think Vladimir

Putin missed the point

in his attempt though!

Ed.

Click HERE to see

the blog

Blog linked with permission of Martin Salter,

former member of Parliament for Reading, England.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 19

OBITUARY

IT IS A SAD DAY when an obituary

must be written and so much sadder

again when it flows three months after

the death of the friend in question.

Pete Goosev aka Pete the Yank aka El

Ganso del Oro (The Golden Goose)

aka Pete the Goose was a relatively

new friend to me but one who burned

an indelible mark on my fishing

memory and what it is that defines

whom a friend is these days.

Pete passed away in Hawaii on the

19th of June this year. I’m still a bit

shocked, and deeply sad to have

lost a great friend and really top

bloke. Pete & I fished together first

in 2009 at the NZACA National

Champs in Coromandel. We were

both members of the Hibiscus Kayak

Fishing Club (until Pete’s shoulder

gave out in 2011).

I managed a few more trips after, but

mostly we caught up for lunches and

drinks in Mt Eden to discuss fishing,

tackle and the state of the world (more

recently the demise of fisher’s interests

by the political powers of the day).

Pete was an unashamed tackle whore

with a tackle collection on constant

rotation; as he found new bling he’d

move on the old gear, often un-used.

There are many Kiwi fishos out there

who have no idea how cool the guy

they bought their gear off really was

– to many he was an easy going dude

who just wanted to give his gear away.

What Pete was also responsible for,

was fostering my growing love of

saltwater fly fishing – a new angle on

our sport, which I’ll both struggle with

and enjoy in times to come. When I

finally land my world record fish on

a Fly, it is to the Goose man that I’ll

dedicate it.

There are many more words I’d like to

share, but really I just hope my Yankee

mate Pete has found a nice spot out

there overlooking the sea with a rod in

his hand and a glint in his eye.

I have no doubt Pete will be off

fishing somewhere with an eye on the

Americas Cup - god only knows whom

he’s cheering for though!

El Ganzo del Oro

20 www.nzfisher.co.nz

READERpics

Reader Pics

A fat Hutt River Trout landed by keen fly fisher Paul Rountree landed during a quick conference break!.

Luke Stout’s first ever John Dory - not a bad effort for an after work quicky!

Craig Mullen with 21kg Bass mayor Island on board blue ocean charters

WINNER

www.nzfisher.co.nz 21

READERpics

Graeme ‘Sea Ox’ Cox & Aaron McDonald with a handful of HUGE Three Kings Bass n Puka

Hamish & Isla with a beautiful Brown trout. Isla cast for it, hooked it, retrieved but woudn’t hold it! Sea Ox’s est. 120kg Three Kings Marlin

released after a spirited battle

John Buckley & a 20kg+ king he landed, bung shoulder & all!

22 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Win a Trip on Board Diversity with Tackle-It & NZFisher!

JUST POST A PIC of you with a fish to

our Facebook page and you’re in the

draw to win day trip aboard Diversity

care of Damo and the team at Tackle-It.

Every image you enter has a chance

to win the big prize. The more and

sooner you enter, the better your

chances so get fishing and posting

those images to Facebook!

WINNER: LUKE STOUT for his fat

and tasty John Dory from the kayak

COMPETITION

www.nzfisher.co.nz 23

NIWA HAVE BEEN filming the sea

floor around NZ looking for what lies

beneath. These videos cover depths

from under 100m to well over 1000m!

Three Kings underwater shot• s

• White Island III

White Island I• I

• White Island I

And if you’ve made it this far, you’ve

obviously got a passion for angling.

This one is a bit on the fruity side

by today’s standards, but cannot be

ignored for its very direct message

– look after your catch, especially if

you’ll be releasing it.

There’s more here too.

VIDEO

Fishing Video of the MonthWhat is under the water?

24 www.nzfisher.co.nz

marineSAFETY

I WAS BOUGHT UP a land based

fisher but migrated to boats in the

mid nineties under the wing of some

experienced if not ill-educated

boaters. I learned a fair bit but never

form reputable sources and never

did my learning come accompanied

by a certificate or ‘how to’ manual.

One trip however, I was on a mate’s

dad’s boat, a 30 something foot

cruiser on our way to Great Barrier

for a week away when disaster hit –

we’d blown a flux capacitor or similar

and needed assistance. My mate’s

old man got on the radio & got us

a tow sorted; to the barrier I might

add - not back to the mainland!

The marine radio operator course from Coastguard Boating EducationBy Derrick Paull

Marine Safety EducationKnowing your Maydays from your Albatrosses

www.nzfisher.co.nz 25

marineSAFETY

His use of the radio was so polished,

knowledge of the phonetic alphabet

seamless and poetic. I’d never been

exposed to VHF and fell in love with it

then & there.

Despite having owned many boats

and registering many call signs with

the Coastguard I’d never actually

learned to use the VHF. It’s only now,

after 20 years of boating that I figured

I should get myself sorted (we are

travelling up to 30 miles from shore

in a 5 meter boat on occasions, so it

does seem sensible!)

I headed down to the Coastguard

Marine Education centre at

Westhaven Marine (Next to the

Richmond Yacht Club) and spoke

to the team there about getting my

VHF skills up to speed.

I was really impressed with the state

of marine education – these guys

are ahead of their time with online

learning and assessments for the

VHF course. I was quickly issued a

log-in and sent on my way home to

learn, research and test myself before

being allowed to undertake the final

assessments for each of three core

units – the passing of which sees a

certificate issued for Marine VHF

Operator Qualification. I learned far

more than I expected, and the whole

course took just two nights (at home,

on my PC). At under $70 I highly

recommend this course to all levels of

boaters – the info in the course could

be the difference between a fun day

on the water and a tragedy.

For booking information, please head

to the Coastguard Boating Education

Courses page, here.

26 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Cook Pork like No OtherBy Derrick Paull

HOWto

GREAT FOR PARTIES as you can

layer it off as you need it if people are

coming late or you get hungry later

on after a few drinks. This is also is an

inexpensive way to feed a crowd. I

have even done lamb and chicken yiro

parties for my kid’s birthdays.

Ask the butcher for a pork fillet, skin

off. With skin on it will take an extra

30 minutes to cook as you want to

render the skin fat and crisp it up.

I prefer skin off and you can fit up

to 6kg per shaft. If you are doing

less than 6kg per shaft you can cut

fillets in half to make them a smaller

diameter and stretch it out on the

shaft to save half the cooking time.

You can also use chicken thigh fillet

which has a smaller diameter.

Season the tray with either Classico

or Portuguese seasoning, then season

each piece and place on the Smoker

Rack. Cold smoke the pork pieces for

2 hours using hickory wood in your

Bradley Smoker.

Then place them on top of each other

with the sword supplied with the spit.

No need for oil as there is enough fat

on the pork and there is also no need

to leave to marinate as you can cook

straight away. Tighten one prong on

the shaft then slide the pork onto it.

Make sure the fillets are compacted

down the best you can then put one

prong at the other end.

Cook on high heat all the way. Start

to layer off thin layers with a knife as

pictured. Then cook the next layer,

then repeat until it has all gone.

Preparation time 15 minutes.

Cooking time up to 3 hours for

7kg plus.

1

2

3

4

5

5 simple rulesto help you stay safe:

Life jacketsTake them – Wear them.

Boats, especially ones under 6m in length, can sink very quickly. Wearing a life jacket increases your survival time in the water.

Skipper responsibilityThe skipper is responsible for the safety of everyone on board and for the safe operation of the boat. Stay within the limits of your vessel and your experience.

CommunicationsTake two separate waterproof ways of communicating so we can help you if you get into difficulties.

Marine weather New Zealand’s weather can be highly unpredictable. Check the local marine weather forecast before you go and expect both weather and sea state changes.

Avoid alcohol Safe boating and alcohol do not mix. Things can change quickly on the water. You need to stay alert and aware.

For more information about safe boating education and how to prepare for your boating activity, visit www.adventuresmart.org.nz

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

The Boating Safety

Before you go boating on our seas, lakes and rivers, get familiar with New Zealand’s Boating Safety Code, no matter what kind of boat you use.

CODE

www.adventuresmart.org.nz

The Water Safety The Outdoor Safety

CODE CODE

Also available:

www.nzfisher.co.nz 27

1

2

3

4

5

5 simple rulesto help you stay safe:

Life jacketsTake them – Wear them.

Boats, especially ones under 6m in length, can sink very quickly. Wearing a life jacket increases your survival time in the water.

Skipper responsibilityThe skipper is responsible for the safety of everyone on board and for the safe operation of the boat. Stay within the limits of your vessel and your experience.

CommunicationsTake two separate waterproof ways of communicating so we can help you if you get into difficulties.

Marine weather New Zealand’s weather can be highly unpredictable. Check the local marine weather forecast before you go and expect both weather and sea state changes.

Avoid alcohol Safe boating and alcohol do not mix. Things can change quickly on the water. You need to stay alert and aware.

For more information about safe boating education and how to prepare for your boating activity, visit www.adventuresmart.org.nz

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

The Boating Safety

Before you go boating on our seas, lakes and rivers, get familiar with New Zealand’s Boating Safety Code, no matter what kind of boat you use.

CODE

www.adventuresmart.org.nz

The Water Safety The Outdoor Safety

CODE CODE

Also available:

28 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Garmin GMI10Reviewed by Derrick Paull

gearREVIEWS

From NZ Fisher:

With the Honda BF60 outboard all

sorted aboard the NZ Fisher boat we

started looking at the fuel economy

and performance of the outboard

compared to the recommended stats

from Honda and other users.

While we could easily enough have

the data downloaded via an NMEA

port on the outboard we were looking

to have a real time feed and visual

available to the helm.

After some investigation, we learned

that the GMI10 multipurpose gauge

form Garmin could provide the data

we were looking for (speed, fuel use

to date, current fuel consumption,

hours and distance to empty) at a

reasonable price.

According to the Garmin site, the

GMI10 “improves upon the traditional

method of marine instrumentation,

in which standard marine instruments

have their own dedicated display. By

displaying data from multiple remote

sensors on one screen, the GMI10

offers a streamlined approach to

marine instrumentation.”

Most modern outboards are fitted

with NMEA2000 connectivity, but I

can only vouch for the unit’s seamless

integration when paired with the

Honda (or two Honda’s it turns out

– Honda NZ also use the GMI10 to

manage dual outboard set-ups on

many commercial vessels they supply).

Because of the NMEA2000 system

you can also interconnect the GPS,

VHF and other electronics to provide

inputs as well as verifications for the

GMI10 unit.

What I really appreciate is the breadth

of information available and the

simple interface that allows easy,

intuitive scrolling between screens.

If you can use a smart-phone you’re

already over qualified to operate and

navigate the GMI10.

We have tested fuel usage accuracy

extensively and have found that it is

accurate to within 5% over a 8 hour

trolling day and under 5% on shorter,

moderately intensive trips. The only

scenario where fuel consumption

was out by more than 5% was when

trolling and the motor was running

continuously for over 10 hours. On this

occasion, the GMI10 over-calculated

fuel consumption and we arrived at

port on a tank that had shown to be

emptied approximately 4 miles earlier.

To be fair though, this only added to

the units appeal as I’d rather have

more gas than I thought in the tank

than less.

We have one bug-bear, and it’s a

small one. The GMI10 requires manual

inputting of fuel levels when the

tank is refilled. While not a biggie,

having no fuel sender unit means it is

possible to leave port on a full tank &

only realise half way through the day

you’ve forgotten to reset (yes, we did

do this) and then fuel computation

becomes a matter of shaking the tank!

Despite this minor gripe we’d buy one

again and recommend the GMI10 for

those wanting a compact, easy to use

engine & fuel management unit for

small to medium boats.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 29

Garmin GMI10Reviewed by Derrick Paull

COULD IT BE YOU?

Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner for Issue #28!

HOOKED UP! Every issue, all NZ Fisher subscribers*

go in the draw to get hooked up with some fantastic prizes courtesy of generous NZ Fisher supporters. To find out if you’ve won simply check this section in each issue to see if your name has been drawn and then email us before the deadline to claim your prize. Sweet as!!!

*To be eligible to win stuff in the Hooked Up section you need to be a confirmed email subscriber to NZ Fisher e-Magazine and be a resident of New Zealand at the time of the draw. A big thanks to our Hooked Up sponsors! Please support them!

Mike Cole is the winnerYou’ve won this month’s awesome Hooked Up prize pack including:

Your choice of mens or womens ReelWear T courtesy of • Reel Adventures

A $50 voucher to spend online or instore from • GoFish.co.nz

A super tough 3-tray tackle box from • Flambeau (contents not included)

Plus two 500ml bottles of • Tackle-It Odour Eliminator from PureAir to keep those fishy smells at bay!

To claim your prize you simply need to email jenniferl@espiremedia.com before 5pm Friday 11th October, 2013. Easy!

HOOKEDUP!

www.nzfisher.co.nz 30

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regionalREVIEWSNEXTmonth

In next months issue:- The Strip Strike Flyfishing Club is formed- Kingfish – How, where & when