www.nzfisher.co.nz 1

ISSUE 30 November 2013

www.nzfisher.co.nz

RoctoberFISH

Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner for Issue #30!

Barrier Kings Fishing In Argentina Micro-Jigging

ALLNEW

GREENMACHINE

Honda’s brand new BF60 four-stroke EFI outboard engine combines exclusive Honda technologies in a lightest-weight-in-class package that delivers best-in-class performance.

The newly-designed, water-cooled, three-cylinder engine incorporates electronic fuel injection, Honda’s revolutionary Boosted Low Speed Torque (BLAST™) air/fuel ratio and ignition-timing technology, and lean burn control to deliver powerful start-up and acceleration together with outstanding fuel economy during cruising (ECOmo). NMEA2000 compatibility allows the BF60 to communicate with onboard marine electronics, while ultra-smooth operation and world-leading environmental performance combine to crown the new BF60: ‘Green Machine’.

BF60

www.hondamarine.co.nz0800 4 STROKE (787 653)

Honda_BF60_BC_FP.indd 1 18/6/2013 8:58:44 AM

ALLNEW

GREENMACHINE

Honda’s brand new BF60 four-stroke EFI outboard engine combines exclusive Honda technologies in a lightest-weight-in-class package that delivers best-in-class performance.

The newly-designed, water-cooled, three-cylinder engine incorporates electronic fuel injection, Honda’s revolutionary Boosted Low Speed Torque (BLAST™) air/fuel ratio and ignition-timing technology, and lean burn control to deliver powerful start-up and acceleration together with outstanding fuel economy during cruising (ECOmo). NMEA2000 compatibility allows the BF60 to communicate with onboard marine electronics, while ultra-smooth operation and world-leading environmental performance combine to crown the new BF60: ‘Green Machine’.

BF60

www.hondamarine.co.nz0800 4 STROKE (787 653)

Honda_BF60_BC_FP.indd 1 18/6/2013 8:58:44 AM

www.nzfisher.co.nz 3

Pg 6

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CONTENTS

editorial

ROCKTOBERFISH6 RoctoberFish 2013

SEASONALFISHING12 Barrier Kings FISHINGCLUBS16 Fishing Club Gets the Measure

SEAFOOD COOKERY18 Musselling Up with the Bradley

19 Reader Pics 22 Competition23 Video of the month

FISHINGTRIPS 24 Fishing in Argentina

HOLIDAYFISHING28 Christmas is coming

NEWTACKLE32 Micro-Jigging: the Next Big Thing

REELRECOVERY33 Reel Recovery NZ

NEWPRODUCTS34 The New Honda 250hp - Silver Bullet

The sweetest of the lot for Snapper straylining and general

bottom bouncing. A nice small arbor and light weight corrosion

resistent frame make it a pleasure to fish with all day. The

carbon drag is silky smooth and has massive stopping power for

those big Snapper! Matched up with the Cortez 6'6” medium

action 6-10kg rod 2 piece, this is a stunning all round setup.

CORTEZ 5 COMBO

The bigger brother of the 5, The Cortez 10 has all the same

features with a narrow frame and more line capacity making

it perfect for fishing those deeper waters for Snapper, Kingfish,

Cod and Pup puka. An all round gem for fishing deeper waters

with its fast retrieve 6.2:1 gear ratio and narrow spool matched

up with the Cortez 6'6” medium action 10-15kg 2 piece rod.

Another winner from Okuma!

CORTEZ 10 COMBO

Watch out West Coast! Massive line capacity with all the same

features as the Cortez 5 & 10. Perfect for fishing a heavier line

class for fishing the deeper waters of the west coast. Light

weight yet very strong. Teamed up with the Cortez 6'6”

medium action 15-20kg 2 piece rod, this combo unbeatable

value with amazing features... check one out today!

CORTEZ 12 COMBO

The perfect setup to get you out on the water jigging for

Kingfish and Hapuka this summer! This combo has been

designed for the Kiwi angler to tackle small to medium size

Kingfish but is still gutsy enough to handle that big one. The

most important features on the reel are the dual anti-reverse

system, stainless steel gearing and carbon drag. Teamed up

with the parabolic Cortez 5’ 300gm jig rod. A superb 24kg entry

level jigging setup at $299 - unbeatable value!

CORTEZ 10 JIGGING COMBO

For news, advice, offers & a good old laugh,

visit us at facebook.com/borntofishnz

Cortez 10ComboCortez 12

Combo

Cortez 5 Combo

Cortez 10

Jigging Combowww.cdrods.co.nz

eCorte

CORTEZ SERIESThe Cortez series has been designed for the inshore fishery capable of catching the popular species you will find around our coastline. Complete with stainless steel gearing, carbon drag, cast control and a dual anti-reverse system, these reels are good quality and housed in a corrosion resistant frame. The Cortez series gives you the tools to tackle those monster Snapper and inshore Kingfish, and is the perfect all round rod and reel setup for both theeveryday angler and serious fisherman.

hery capable

for 2014

HOT!

www.nzfisher.co.nz 5

SUMMER IS HERE, if not in name

then definitely in weather! With

warmer winds, warm water and

some nice breaks to get out, there

have been fish coming in from all

over the upper North. Kingfish

have already been frequenting the

Waitemata Buoys (legal ones too)

and the far North has, as always,

started producing a lot of snapper.

Roctoberfish 2013 was overloaded

with snapper in the mid-teens as

well as a few pushing 20lb. A recent

report from Raglan included a 36lb

snapper while those venturing out

over the Manukau have had bag-full’s

of snapper, gurnard and even open

water kingfish. So where to fish?!?!?

In this issue we look at a new

technique – micro jigging - and how

to best utilise your summer break to

get a feed or even the trophy you’ve

been after for years. Whatever your

plans, there’s fish to be had and great

times on the water with family can

only improve if you plan your trips to

make the most of limited times.

As always safety should be the

first priority – us Kiwis are getting

far to good at drowning ourselves

unnecessarily. If you are not already a

coastguard member, please take some

time to visit their site, sign up and

have a read of their very smart advice.

Whether you kayak, jet-ski or are

land-based or boat fishing; there’s no

excuse not to be a coastguard member

and carry the safety essentials.

NZFisher is publishing our Christmas

issue a week early in December, so

please send in your fishing photos

before the 6th December to be in the

draw for the Christmas Reader Pix

competition. On top of the awesome

trip on Diversity that we give away

every month there’s a $100 Go Fish

Voucher to the lucky winner who will

also feature on the cover of NZFisher

Christmas issue! Get sending now to:

derrickp@nzfisher.co.nz

to be in the draw.

This month we welcome aboard

Ben Assado, our newest contributor

based on the stunning Aotea/

Great Barrier Island. Ben’s a keen

fisho with a passion for the amazing

environment he spends his time in on

Great Barrier. We start with a story

this month from Ben about his first

land-based kingfish.

The weather forecasts for December

look very good; take some time to

enjoy the harbours near you before

the summer silliness begins – it’s

good for the soul!

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

Cover pic: Matthew Ryan & his new PB, a 72cm snapper landed at ROctober2013

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!

ROCKTOBERfish

RoctoberFish 2013

WITH ANDREW HAVING late work

commitments in Australia for Roctober

this year, it was just a mate of mine,

Mark Cosgrove and I for the 2013

edition of Roctober. Mark is one of

the most successful land based fishos

I know, and this year alone has more

than half a dozen 20 pounders to his

name along with a number of really

good tournament results; so I was

looking forward to learning a few new

tricks. And with over 40 keen fishos

heading up, we knew that there was

going to be some stiff competition if

we wanted to get amongst the prizes.

Having fished the Whatuwhiwhi

peninsula a good number of times

recently, we planned to take the

opportunity to get out and fish a

couple of spots that have been on

my must-fish list for a good while.

Day one plan was to fish north out of

Houhora and if weather permitted,

Day two was to be a trip round past

Bergans point - a place I’ve been

trying to fish for years but have always

been kept out of by the weather.

Early morning Friday and there isn’t

a breath of wind – as predicted. But

with a forecast 10-12 knots we figured

that rather than launch from Rangiputa

and head across to Mount Camel -

we’d play it safe (we were providing

taxi drop off for another mate of mine,

Mark Mortimer from NSSC) and head

out from Houhora. The early drive up

was a slow one, fog lying heavy just

about everywhere and not a breath of

wind. Launching out of the campsite

at Houhora we could only navigate

using the GPS. Visibility was down

to just a few metres at time but at

least there was no swell and wind! We

made our way up the coast and found

a good looking ledge with room for all

three of us, got set up, got the berley

going in a couple of spots and started

fishing in the stillness as the fog

started to burn off. Up and down the

coast fishos had been reporting large

discoloured patches of water (algal

blooms?) and the water in front of us

had a definite tea-coloured tinge to it.

After a couple of hours Mark

Cosgrove had three or four nice fish

up to about five kg and I’d fished a

good long section of ledge with not

so much as a bite - so I did the decent

thing and came to fish nearer to see

what he was up to! Not content with

By Forsyth Thompson

6 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Amazing country

www.nzfisher.co.nz 7

ROCKTOBERfish

the berley going out (same berley as

I’d been using just 50m away), Mark

was constantly throwing little cubes

of pillies in. I’d do that when fishing

for kings, but not often for snapper

- especially when there’s so much

berley going out - but Mark had got

a number of decent fish and I had big

fat zero on the board. The other Mark

(NSSC) was trying the exact opposite

approach; taking a leaf out of some

of the SWF guys’ book and hardly

putting anything other than bait in the

water but he wasn’t having any more

success than me. Sometimes more is,

well, just better it seems.

Then, out of nowhere we heard a

massive splash and noise and a couple

of the boys (not naming names!) ran

back up the rock as a truly massive

male orca came right up out of the

water just a few metres directly in

front of us. We’d had no warning at

all, never saw him before this and

then there he was, right up close

and obviously looking straight at

us - checking us out. We’ve all seen

them many times out fishing but never

have I seen one that close and on the

rocks. Truly stunning and all thoughts

of fishing disappeared as we watched

him cruise by.

As the day wore on, the fishing died

off. We’d put a few more snapper in

the bag but nothing to write home

about since Mark’s early strong

start. So we packed the stabi up and

headed further north to try to find

some better looking water and a new

spot. Sure enough, a few kilometres

up the coast we found a lovely area of

broken ledges and really good clean

water and it was only minutes after

setting back up that we were getting

into the fish. And there were kahawai

too - the first livey finally going out at

about 3PM.

Mark Mortimer was first on the board

with a good 72cm fish which he made

the call to keep and weighed 7.72kg

- the exact same as his previous

PB. From then on we had a steady

stream of fish all in the two to four

kg range - feeding hard and fighting

hard - and as we were taking fish for

a mate of mine and his family, we put

a good number in the bag for them. I

wouldn’t normally keep any fish on the

first day of a trip, especially a catch &

release tournament but putting food

Fight on!

Catch and release was extremely popular with only a handful of fish needing to be measured at the final measure up

8 www.nzfisher.co.nz

on a mate’s table is only a good thing.

The fishing continued for a while,

several of the fish being sight-fished

from the berley. Mark C’s cubing

again keeping us amongst the fish far

more than Mark M who was on berley

only. Then, just like the first spot, the

fishing dried up and with light fading

we figured we’d call it a day. We had

caught some good fish (had a solid

72cm fish from the day) but figured we

were nowhere in the running.

Surely in these conditions, with guys

ROCKTOBERfish

able to fish anywhere, there’d be a

number of 20’s on the board? Getting

back to base it turned out not to be

the case; most guys reporting much

tougher fishing than we’d experienced

but there were a few goodies in

amongst them so we knew we had to

up our game for Day two.

Funnily the beers and cheeky rums

meant that Mark and I were up a little

later than planned and slightly slower

than usual to get going. But we stuck

to the Bergans plan and shot down to

Maunganui to launch from the ramp

at Mill Bay and headed off to Bergans

as fast as the new 30hp on the back

of the baby stabi would take us (we

clocked 29 knots at one point!).

I’ve never been able to get as far as the

point itself, let alone round it - and boy

was it worth the wait. There is so much

country through there for land based

fishos - you’re spoiled rotten for choice.

We were only looking at it for the first

time and I was already thinking about

when I could get back for another trip!

We decided on a stunning looking

spot, humped the gear up, got the

berley going and by the time the rods

were set up there were kahawai and

snapper feeding greedily on the cubes

Mark was throwing in. For the third

time in as many spots this use of loads

of berley plus heaps of cubes wasn’t

over-feeding the fish at all; it was

keeping them coming and feeding

with abandon.

First bait, I had a fish around the

4kg mark that I sight-fished and sent

straight back. Then another which we

kept. Kahawai were everywhere so we

deployed a livey and then a couple

of much better snapper cruised up

to snaffle the cubes which were still

www.nzfisher.co.nz 9

flowing freely. One disappeared and

then one I thought was ok came up

from under the weed and took the

half pilli I put in front of his nose.

Then it took off and I realised I’d

underestimated the size of the fish

quite badly. This was no three or four

kg fish at all and was peeling line at a

good rate, heading for ground. After

a really good scrap we got him close

and netted, at which point I realised

he was a pretty good fish. A quick

couple of photos on the measuring

mat and he went straight back in.

At 72cm it wasn’t any bigger than

Mark M’s from the previous day and

smaller than the leading kept fish.

But I had a feeling it was the biggest

released fish - so suddenly weigh/

measure-in got a lot more interesting.

The fishing continued in the same vein

as the previous day - plenty of three

to four kg fish almost all sight-fished

and then it just went dead. No matter

how much berley went in; no more

snapper showed up and we fished the

whole island with no more success.

So, like the previous day we moved

- found a very small rock with a lot of

bommies around it and started the

berley/cube routine all over again.

And again, exactly the same result;

Mark and I sight-fished snapper up

to four to five kg right up from our

feet and saw a much better fish that

we hooked and lost – certainly it

looked at least as good as the one

ROCKTOBERfish

Mark ‘Mr. 20lb’ Cosgrove & his best Roctoberfish

Mark Mortimer & his best of the trip

10 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Waiting, waiting, waiting...

we’d already released - but with time

running out we had to pull the pin and

head back.

As we got to Bergans, we could see

that the forecast was horribly wrong.

The seven to ten knots was a solid 15

to 20 and the sea was nasty. Mark’s

first words were “Forget about making

weigh in” but the new 30hp on the

back and the skipper’s determination

to see about a prize meant that we

made it to the Mill Bay ramp with

what looked like not quite enough

time to make it. But, with the joys of

Far North traffic (there is none) and a

heavy foot - we made it to weigh-in

with about three and a half minutes to

spare - just in the nick of time.

Bloody good thing too – the 72cm fish

I released was the biggest released

fish of the weekend. But with all the

work Mark had done keeping the fish

coming and a couple of the spots he’d

picked to fish being ones I’d have not

bothered with; I couldn’t take all the

credit, frankly! Not all of it anyway ;)

The prize giving, BBQ and final

evening of Roctober are becoming

legendary and this year was the best

yet. Enough food to sink a ship,

enough grog to float it again and

enough fishos swapping lies and

talking up a storm to keep me going

till the next trip away.

An absolutely fantastic weekend as

always, and huge thanks to Derrick

for all his hard work in organising it.

Bring on next year: if you’re into your

land based fishing at all - put it in your

diary now - you’ll be glad you did.

**Roctober 2014 will be held on the

weekend of the 16-18th October at

Whatuwhiwhi Top 10 camp – book it

in now! Ed

ROCKTOBERfish

Jason Chrisensen & his best from the beach. The full

moon and bright days made it hard for beach fishers.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 11

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12 www.nzfisher.co.nz

seasonalFISHING

I got up early again; eager for a

quick, early fish off the rocks. The idea

was to go hard for a couple of hours

and be back at the car at 9am. All my

gear was packed and I left home at

5am. The sun wasn’t up yet but there

was enough light to see where I was

going, although the sky was very dark.

The sea-forecast mentioned rain and

it sure looked like it could pour down

any minute. Half an hour later Rani and

I were walking on Medland’s beach, it

was dribbling a bit but was even warmer

than yesterday. No wind at all, much

more cloud cover than the previous day.

Good and comfortable conditions really;

By Ben Assado

Barrier Kings:

From the Rocks

my chances of landing a kingfish were

pretty good today.

I had a little bag of frozen berley and

low tide would be almost an hour

later, which would give me more

time to get things organized. Come

6pm and I was fishing off the ledge,

the berley was dispersing nicely and

there was a hint of a slight swell which

created some whitewater next to

me. I was fishing for kahawai with my

lightest rod, the strongest spinner

setup was rigged with a popper, ready

in case the kingis showed up.

The big live bait setup was rigged and

also ready to be deployed. My gaff,

a wet towel, bait, bucket with water -

yeah, all the things I might need, were

right next to me. It didn’t take long

for the snapper to go on the bite. I

noticed some trevally and another

similar fish. There was heaps of action

up close; the fish were more active

and bigger in size.

No kahawai though, so I casted the

popper for a few minutes and then

went back to bait fishing. Moments

later, I noticed splashing water in the

corner of my eye; a small school of

bait fish was approaching. They were

small, but fat, juicy kahawai. I spotted

four of them and watched how my

bait got swallowed. Boom - I had one

on the end of the line. Well hooked in

the mouth, thanks to the circle hook.

It was in great condition when it went

back into the water as live bait and

swam happily away.

I tried hooking more kahawai but,

to my surprise, they were gone. I

kept trying; it’s always good to have

a reserve live bait in the bucket. At

Ben Assado

www.nzfisher.co.nz 13

seasonalFISHING

around 7.30am things were going

really well, Rani was sleeping in the

background, the tide had turned

and was coming in, I had the perfect

position for the live bait rod; the kind

of position where your bait covers an

area and can come real close to the

rocks but won’t get caught up in white

water or in the kelp. It just did its

own thing and I didn’t have to touch

the rod any more and could fish for

snapper and closely watch the water.

The kingis were (over)due I was

thinking; they just have to show up

and I’ll hook one on the kahawai.

Perfect size, irresistible prey for any

kingi. Again, on retrieving bait from

the deep I noticed a fish coming up

- it looked like a kingi. It was casual

as, like real cool and stuff - as if it was

hanging in the background, feeding

on the berley at its own leisure. So I

casted out again and retrieved - this

time towards the live bait - and there

it came up again, a small kingi, all

on its own, no big commotion like

yesterday but when it noticed my live

bait, it decided to check it out more

closely. I had heaps of time to put the

bait rod away and take the live bait

Ben’s first legal king landed

A sideline species, but kept for the pan

rod out of the rod holder, taking a

higher position on the rocks. The kingi

kept circling the kahawai, the whole

action was around a meter away from

the rocks, the kahawai went alongside

the kelp, the kingi after it.

The prey was cornered, the predator

was sure of its meal, it just needed that

perfect timing to attack and swallow

the kahawai head-first. It tried and tried

and finally succeeded, feeling quite

happy as it started swimming deep,

taking the balloon with it. I waited,

waited and put the reel into strike

mode, waited for the line to tighten up

and struck - the fish was on.

Then it tried getting away around the

corner but had no chance against the

drag. It tried going deep, changing

directions. I played it, looked at the gaff,

then at the fish. Decided not to gaff it as

I couldn’t tell for sure whether it was of

14 www.nzfisher.co.nz

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:

Great Kingfish countryseasonalFISHING

legal size. It was clearly shorter than a

meter, perhaps borderline. So I went

down to grab the leader - my terminal

tackle was 120 pounds - and I lifted

the fish (after it tried bitterly to gain

at least some distance from the rocks)

by the leader up onto to the rocks and

had a better look.

It turned out that the kingi was really

a borderline call, about two and a half

times my shoe, which would be 75

cm but it wasn’t as long as my full-

stretched arm. Hey, I landed one, I can

land another, so I torpedo-ed this baby

back. It only looks that calm in the

picture because I put it on a wet rock

and covered its head with a wet towel.

Finally, a kingi off the rocks! I was

stoked and since it was just after 8pm,

I chucked the rest of the bait into the

water, emptied the berley and watched

as some bigger snapper came up from

the deep and started munching away

casually in less than a meter of depth. It

was easy enough to land two of them

within the next five minutes.

I was back at the car by 9pm, the

drizzle turned into light showers. I

was really happy about the snapper

in my pack and it was good to finally

land a kingfish off the rocks here on

the barrier. Only a rat; couldn’t put up

a fight but nonetheless I caught it on

a live bait. And not by chance. And

since I targeted kingis this morning, I

can gladly say: Mission accomplished.

This is part I, let’s see what follows.

And by the way, I enjoy early morning

fishing, when you’re finished it is still

early in the morning…

And by the way, I

enjoy early morning

fishing, when you’re

finished it is still

early in the morning…

www.nzfisher.co.nz 15

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:

16 www.nzfisher.co.nz

fishin clubs

Fishing Club Gets the Measure

INSPIRED BY THE NZ Fishing

Competition (www.fishingcomp.co.nz),

an on-line national measure and

release competition, Nelson-based

Dawn Breakers Fishing Club recently

voted to do away with weighing fish

for club competitions, pins, trophies

and leader boards.

The initiative was a response to

concerns that many of the fish club

members were taking were large

specimens and prime breeders,

particularly in the Marlborough Sounds.

“With our members releasing fish

more and more often and a growing

awareness of the value of our fragile

resource, we’ve changed the criteria

for measuring fish for any club events.

Instead of weighing fish, club members

must now measure them from the nose

to the v of the tail. From here on, all

club records will be noted in length, not

weight,” explains committee member

and past club president, Troy Dando.

“The new regulations mean our

members can release fish unharmed if

they so wish, supplying the club with

a digital photo of the fish lying on the

measure as proof of the catch. For the

catch to be eligible, they have to show

the club card in the photo alongside

the measure.”

www.nzfisher.co.nz 17

fishin clubs

Grandaddy Hapuka

Each year club members will be issued

with a new club card so there’s no

confusion about which year a fish

was caught in. The move to measure

length instead of weight reflects

what’s happening in sportfishing

around the world. In many forms of

competition fishing (especially where

fish must be released unharmed back

into the water to score points), length

measurement is routine. It’s also an

increasingly common practice amongst

game-fishers (who measure billfish and

tuna in the water alongside the boat),

fly-fishers and others who routinely

practice catch and release fishing.

Nelson’s Dawn Breakers Fishing

Club use a simple formula to award

points per centimetre, with A, B and

C categories for each of the main

species targeted by club members.

The measure not weight policy applies

to all eligible fish species, except

crayfish which are still weighed in by

club members.

Dawn Breakers club members also

have their own leaderboards on the

NZ Fishing Competition website,

providing a real time overview of each

species in the club competition.

“The new policy and website

leaderboard has been well received by

club members – we think it’s actually

boosted interest in the club this year,”

enthuses Troy.

Last season Dawn Breakers boasted

115 active members, but this year

membership has lifted considerably

and Troy thinks the final roll call will

reach 150 members.

If any other fishing clubs around the

country are interested in setting up

a similar catch measurement system,

they can get in touch with Grant Blair

on 021-996-955 or email

Grant@fishingcomp.co.nz

Troy Dando

18 www.nzfisher.co.nz

seafoodCOOKERY

THIS MONTH I’M GOING to share

a very simple yet very satisfying

entrée option that compliments

any summertime cook up – smoked

mussels Bradley Smoker style!

Mussels are found around most

coastlines, supermarkets and

in restaurants the world over

and recently extracts have been

discovered and are being used in

relieving the effects of arthritis,

gout and other inflammatory health

issues, so the humble bivalve are not

only great ‘chewing’ but also aiding

medical science to.

The fact that mussels are also a prime

candidate for aquaculture is also

pleasing, as wild stock are not greatly

impacted up on when harvested

for domestic or international

consumption and the mussel farms

themselves also provide habitat for

many juvenile species of fish like

snapper and trevally.

Mussels also make for awesome bait

and burley for most inshore table fish

like snapper, trevally and blue cod.

If you are going to be gathering your

own mussels then be sure that you

understand the local recreational rules

and regulations.

So as you can see from the above

the Mussel is rather versatile….

Anyhoo….on with my Bradley

Smoked Mussel recipe:

Musselling Up with the Bradley

www.nzfisher.co.nz 19

PREPARATION

Collect around 80-90 medium 1.

sized mussels (this amount will fill

a six rack Bradley Smoker).

Steam until the shell just begins 2.

to open in boiling water – this

step is just to make the shucking

process easier not to cook

the mussel.

Shuck the mussel meat, de-beard 3.

and check for any unwanted crabs

in to a sieve or colander – retain

one half of each shell.

Allow the mussel meat to drain off 4.

excess water in the refrigerator

for at least an hour.

Place mussels back in to their half 5.

shells and then on to the Bradley

Smoker racks.

Pour on about a teaspoon 6.

worth of your favourite sauce

or marinade on to the meat

and work in to the meat with

your fingers or a chef’s brush – I

personally like standard run-of-

the-mill BBQ sauce and Thai

Sweet chilli (separately – not

together!) but have also had

great success with garlic butter

and garlic soy. Plain is also a

great option for those that enjoy

mussels just the way they are. If

doing a full 6 racks I will mix up

the flavours.

seafoodCOOKERY

SMOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Set your Bradley Smoker to 88 1.

degrees

Place the Bradley Smoker racks in 2.

to the smoker.

Start the smoke generator with 3.

either Special Blend, Pacific Blend

or Apple flavoured Bisquettes for

1 hour and 40 minutes – all are

excellent options in my opinion,

so just experiment to find which is

to your liking.

Shuffle rack position around every 4.

30 or so minutes to give an even

distribution of heat and smoke.

Have an icy cold beverage or two, 5.

chat and laugh awhile with your

family and mates – important step

this one! Be sure to repeat plenty

of times during the Christmas and

New Year’s period!

Remove Bradley Smoker racks 6.

and call in the ravenous hordes to

partake whilst they are still hot!

Tasty smoked mussels straight from

the smoker are a real treat and are a

big hit at our get-togethers and I’m

sure they will be at yours also.

If you are catering for just a small

gathering and not likely to devour

all of the racks of mussels at once

simply turn the oven back down to 60

degrees and bring out the racks as

you require them – effectively using

your smoker as a warming oven.

Just on that point – the Bradley

Smoker make for awesome warming

ovens for large gatherings when

hotplate or kitchen oven space is at a

premium which it can be at this time

of year – once you’ve served your

mussel entrée to your guests you

can then put the snags, chops, garlic

bread etc in until the steak and salads

are ready to be served.

For more information on Bradley

Smokers and a heaps more recipes

then visit:www.bradleysmoker.co.nz

20 www.nzfisher.co.nz

READERpics

Aaron McDonald with his new PB, a 22lb Hauraki Gulf Snapper.

Reader Pics

Camden Andrews with his new PB, a 60lb Oakura Kingfish

www.nzfisher.co.nz 21

READERpics

Graeme Heapy’s crazy diving mates with a bag of pre-frozen, fresh fish!.

WINNER: Paul Skilling with his big silver trevally. Caught landbased in the Far North

Janet Bowman with her new PB, a 27lb snapper from Oakura

Darren Kilkolly and his new PB 14lb Snapper caught off the Hibiscus Coast.

Nicky Taylor with her first ever Kingfish, landed at Rough Rock, Rangitoto Channel

Paul Armishaw & his new PB, a 17kg king from the Kayak on a jig

Sea Ox & the ‘Skiwi’ with their spring snapper haul.

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: Paul Skilling with his big

silver trevally. Caught landbased in

the Far North.

COMPETITION

www.nzfisher.co.nz 23

HERE’S AARON SHOWING us the

best ways to move stickbaits through

the water for Kiwi-fish.

Once you’ve got it sorted, this is

what you’ll need to be ready for –

apologies for the Aussie commentary!

The Yeehaa boys show there’s good

king’s locally too.

Or how about some REEL action like

this on stickbaits!

VIDEO

Fishing Video of the MonthThis month the top-water fishing around the North Island has been hot & getting hotter. Here are a few videos to help both technique and motivation!

24 www.nzfisher.co.nz

MY FRIENDS HAVE sometimes

said that I get as big a buzz from

researching and planning a fishing

trip or campaign as I do from actually

catching the intended quarry. I guess

that’s true, particularly at the moment

as I’m trying to pack enough tackle

to tame another of those bucket

list species - the wonderful golden

dorado - and still come in under the

totally unreasonable 23 kgs weight

limit on the flight to Argentina. This

time I’m a passenger not an organiser.

That role falls to globe-trotting

adventurer and sometime editor of

Classic Angling, Keith Elliot, who

kindly invited me on a long-planned

trip to La Zona on the Uruguay River.

This is the place where the majority

of world-record dorado are caught -

huge fish up to 60lbs plus - and where

white knuckle, reel screaming action is

the norm rather than the exception.

Consequently, Keith, Mark, Jason

and I are in the grips of a monster

fish frenzy with emails flying back

and forth about lures, braid, wire and

unfeasibly large flies. My dining room

table has resembled a tackle shop for

several days now but finally the traces

have been made up, the lures and

flies selected and packed and various

specialist rods and reels bought,

borrowed or acquired.

I’ve never made any secret of the

fact that I retired from Parliament to

‘spend more time with my fish’ but

originally I thought that was more

likely to mean roach, tench, chub

and barbel rather than anything

particularly exotic. Spending 15

months in Australia changed all that

and gave me a taste for hooking big

Fishing in Argentina

Seeking El Derado

Matt Harris with a stunning looking fly caught golden doradoFISHINGtrips

www.nzfisher.co.nz 25

beautiful beasties in the sunshine

- usually on surface or sub-surface

lures. I still love fishing in the UK and

even look forward to those damp

winter days when the river will be

carrying a tinge of colour and my

trotted breadflake will have a good

chance of tempting some fine fish in

peak condition.

But, and it’s a big but, I’m afraid

it’s not enough anymore and while

I’m fit enough and still earning

I’m determined not to miss the

opportunity to add to that fisherman’s

bucket list and charge up the memory

bank against the day when I’ve neither

the health or the funds to go on these

Boy’s Own fishing adventures.

Mind you the wanderlust started well

before I had my fishing sabbatical

Down Under. In 1976 I dropped out

of college and went to work on a

building site to save up enough for

my girlfriend and I to travel around

Europe. We limped that old minivan,

complete with a twisted sub-frame

which gave it a crab like trajectory,

all the way through France, Italy,

Yugoslavia, Greece and Turkey. It

wasn’t a fishing trip as such but a

couple of rods were packed and for

some strange reason we invariably

seemed to find ourselves camping

beside some fishy looking water. I

didn’t catch a great deal, you rarely

do when holiday fishing ‘on spec’ but

it did make me determined to return

to foreign climes on some properly

planned trips.

Like many English anglers of my

generation I took regular trips across

the Irish Sea to take advantage of

the absence of a coarse fishing close

season. In the 70’s maggots were not

easy to come by in Ireland and we

hadn’t yet worked out how to chill

them down in polybags and carry

them over in cool boxes. The game in

those days was to load up with a few

gallons of wrigglers and sneak them

onto the ferry, in pillow slips, would

you believe? We then had to compete

with other anglers to find a suitable,

well ventilated hiding place, usually

inside the lifeboats, until the boat

reached port. Those Irish trips were

great fun, and, with proper research

and planning and sufficient bait they

produced some staggering catches of

roach, bream and hybrids and made

a major contribution to tourism in the

Emerald Isle. But God help anyone

needing a lifeboat on the Irish Sea !

The first real exotic trip came my

way in 1996 when my good friend

Mike and I decided to go on one of

Dave Plummer’s early trips to India’s

River Cauvery in search of the mighty

golden mahseer. I was lucky enough

to land a cracker of 76lbs along with a

good few more over 20lbs.

This was exhilarating fishing - sitting

on a rock in the middle of a fast

flowing river, miles from civilisation,

surrounded by all manner of

dangerous creatures and waiting for

a bite that could see you dragged

half a mile down river by one of the

most powerful freshwater fish on the

FISHINGtrips

26 www.nzfisher.co.nz

planet. A battle with a mahseer leaves

you bruised, sore and sometimes

bloodied but my goodness do you

feel alive. That’s why two years later I

was back on Cauvery and the lucky run

continued with a cracker of 92lbs - the

largest mahseer caught anywhere in

the world that year.

This 76lbs mahseer from India’s River

Cauvery in 1996 set off my love affair

with far off fishing adventures

Keith Elliot with his Texan alligator

gar....he does love those toothy

critters!

Funnily enough, Keith Elliot also has

a love affair with the mahseer and is

chairman of the Mahseer Trust, which

aims to preserve these incredible and

endangered fish. I asked him how he

developed his own fishing wanderlust

and here’s what he said.

Keith’s capers

“My first real wild trip was to Ecuador

in 1990, though I did fish Australia’s

Great Barrier Reef two years before

that. My favourite places are the

Outer (and very wild) Mongolia;

the Bushbetta stretch of the river

Cauvery in India; Great Slave Lake in

the Canadian North-West Territories;

and the River Thames at Maidenhead

where it all began for me. My most

memorable fish were taiman in

Mongolia, alligator gar in Texas and,

of course, the mahseer in India

A million madness’s and adventures

are what these trips are all about.

One was going to Arunachal Pradesh

with the fishing writer John Bailey. We

were the first white people to enter

the country since Victorian times and

our guides took us to a village where

girls came out and danced for us, the

headman made a speech and said:

“We had heard there were people in

the world who weren’t like us. We see

that you are very developed people.

We would like you to tell us how we

should lead our lives.”

Unfortunately we got there just

too late. The villagers were taking

down their fish traps (a bit of a clue)

and fishing was very hard. Though

everyone had a fish or two, including

a rare chocolate mahseer, the fish had

already dropped back into the main

Brahmaputra river. I, on the other

hand, spent a couple of days walking

the river and looking for good spots.

A big mistake for that’s when most of

the fish were caught.

I did hook a mahseer for about 10

seconds, and typically, it came off.

Because I didn’t want to have travelled

all that distance and be skunked, when

FISHINGtrips

www.nzfisher.co.nz 27

we got back to Calcutta, I got up at

3am with a top joint from my spinning

rod, some breadpaste filched from

the dinner table and caught a goldfish

from the hotel pond. Job done ! I’ve

loads more stories, like the fer de lance

in Ecuador, the bird-eating spiders, the

leopard in India...and who knows what

we will experience in Argentina?”

Preparation is key

One thing I’ve learnt over the years

is that much of the best fishing to be

had on this planet is in far off places

where the mankind has yet to screw

up the environment and where the

‘men with nets’ can’t, or won’t, get

there. In fact, I’m at my most happy

when the only route into to these

fisheries is by some rickety light

aircraft or a long boat journey through

a barely inhabited wilderness.

These places often hold great fish

but almost never a tackle shop so

preparation is everything. Some

companies, such as Fox, have really

tried to cater for the travelling angler

with a comprehensive range of travel

rods designed to cope with virtually

any fish that swims. Check out their

Trek travel range at http://www.

foxsportfishing.com/index.php.

There’s something for everyone here

and because they break down to four

or five sections there’s no need to

be humping bulky rod tubes around

anymore. I’m taking their sailfish spin

rod to La Zona teamed up with the

light but powerful Fox Diablo 550S

spinning reel and 80lbs braid. This

outfit is designed for light game

fishing at sea but will give me the

power I need to keep a 50lbs dorado

out of the rocks - hopefully !

Although my fly-casting is somewhat

agricultural it is a fun way to catch

fish so I’m packing a 10 wt and some

awesome flies tied for me by my

friend Martin Webster who now runs

Selectafly. There’s not much Martin

doesn’t know about catching sports

fish on the fly - in fact one of his

regular customers, Matt Harris, has

just posted a stunning picture of a

recent fly caught Bolivian dorado on

the Selectafly website.

Having the time and resources to

make these trips is of course essential

and it’s also handy to have mates

who can loan you the odd bit of

gear that you might never use again.

However, there is no substitute for

doing the homework and finding

out what is catching now and not

ten years ago when the book or

magazine article, that first caught your

eye, was published. There are plenty

of specialist fishing and adventure

companies that will offer to organise

that trip of a lifetime. I’ve been with

Aardvark McLeod and Dave Plummer

and can’t speak highly enough of

both of them. This time we are going

with Steve Townson from Amazon

Angler who is a real south American

specialist. And you can, if you’ve the

time and determination, do your thing

and plan your trip from start to finish

on your own. There are obvious pitfalls

but the information is out there.

The interweb now means that all

this info is just a few clicks away. The

temptation is staring at you from

behind your screen. My advice is to

give in to it as often as you can. But

then I’m writing this in the grips of

yet another fish frenzy of excitement

and planning and you should

probably ignore me....until, that is,

you see the pictures!

The interweb now means that all this

info is just a few clicks away. The temptation is staring at you from

behind your screen. My advice is to give in to it

as often as you can.

FISHINGtrips

28 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Christmas is Coming

But where do I fish?by Neil Wagener

holidayfishing

EVERY YEAR THOUSANDS of Kiwi

families head off on their Christmas

breaks, family & tents in tow, with a

hope for an hour or two to wet a line

between barbeques and sandcastles.

Sadly though, most of us struggle to

catch a fish – even if we do break the

shackles (sorry wives & husbands out

there!), how the hell do you catch a

fish at Christmas?

Every year I hear stories from

depressed fishos who’ve finally gotten

away to their secret Eldorado and

soaked baits for HOURS only to return

with stories of seeing massive kingfish

swim by without stopping, the only

bites coming from starved Moray

eels or sunburn lines for the ages. So,

what’s the secret? Is there one? Or is

this time of year just a write off?

My answer – stick to the obvious.

It’s my experience that the best times

of day to land fish are the fringes

of daylight, both dawn and dusk.

At Christmas and New Years when

there’s a lot of boating activity going

on, the benefit of fishing these times

of day is extenuated. By fishing the

margins, you increase your chances

and impact less on family time by only

concentrating on the high value times.

You can further increase your chances

by selecting the most probable

www.nzfisher.co.nz 29

Christmas is Coming

holidayfishing

locations - places where current &

food sources are closely aligned.

In the case of snapper, this would

likely be just inside headlands over

shallow reefs where fish are unlikely to

be during the brightest times of day

but where food is at its densest.

If you have the time available, a bit

of burley (no need to fill the ocean

with it) into the current that leads to

your chosen spot might be exactly

what’s required. A handful of pilchards

broken into very small chucks and

tossed out into the water might be all

it needs to lure a hungry snapper to

your baited line.

The weather is unpredictable but if

you have a very clear weather pattern

to contend with, landbased or boat

fishing will benefit from lighter line

and no weight when bait fishing. The

more natural your offering, the better

the response from your quarry. While

snapper are not terribly discerning

about what they eat, they are much

more difficult to deceive in bright

lights and calm conditions. Over

recent years we’ve moved to fishing

almost exclusively with fluorocarbon

leaders; I have no doubt that this has

helped with our conversion rate in

brighter weather.

If you’re determined to fish for

kingfish (from the shore), time on the

rocks is really the only answer and

you’ll need a world of Burley! While

the parameters for finding Kingfish are

fairly standard, whether they turn up

or not is completely unpredictable.

Experience tells me that around

Christmas time there are greater

concentrations of kingfish around

harbour and estuary entrances that

necessarily the headlands of bays

– I’ve learned this through many

sunburnt days fishing both and only

succeeding about one trip in three.

If you don’t have livebaits, go home

– there can be no better advice

for successful fishing for kingfish in

summertime. There’s generally a lot

of food at that time of year so they’re

picky – they might occasionally chase

a popper, hit a dead bait or snaffle a

spinner, but I’d say your chances are

30 www.nzfisher.co.nz

about 80% better with livies. Get livies

& get kingfish – painful advice on days

when livies are not playing along!

If you are lucky enough to have access

to a boat or kayak, again stick to the

obvious. Work-ups are the easiest

target and often the most reliable

source of targets in the height of

summer. Unlike inshore fishing, work-

ups can be fruitful throughout the

day with most being most profitable

later in the afternoon. Perfect for the

fisherman who’s enjoyed a tipple or

two the night before.

There is a lot of info out now on

fishing work-ups and most techniques

will work – IF the fish are feeding.

Good old fashioned hex-wobbler style

spinners are a great starting point.

You’ll catch anything from kahawai to

trevally and often fluke a kingfish or

snapper, especially if you let the lure

sink before retrieving. This may sound

un-conventional in the modern times

of Inchikus & slow-jigs but there are

not many boats out there that don’t

have a spinner on board!

If you are into the newest and

greatest things, I cannot recommend

highly enough some of the new

Micro-jigs available. Most of us have

had success with 100gm+ jigs on

snapper & kingfish, but it will blow

you away what will hit a 25gm micro-

jig fished amongst a work-up.

Remember, when you see birds

working a bait school you need to

approach cautiously and do what

you can not to disturb the schools of

fish below working the baitfish up.

Approach from the side (not from up

wind, or up-current if you can help

it) and watch which way it’s moving –

while having an exploratory cast.

If you’re not getting anything on lures,

get yourself in the track of where

the work-up has been and float an

un-weighted half pilchard or similar

down the water column. It’s often up

to 10 minutes after the work-up has

moved on that the following school of

snapper will eventually arrive.

If you’re in a new area and have no

idea where to fish, there’s no denying

the benefit of booking a trip or

two on =a local charter boat.. Most

charter skippers have fished their area

for years, if not decades and know

the best times, tides, locations and

techniques to get the most value

from your precious fishing time. The

Fishing Website has a great forum

dedicated specifically to discussing

good charter boats. I recommend

spending a bit of time looking at

this before you head away and make

arrangements to get out on the water

with them – it’ll take weeks off your

learning curves!

In the next issue we’ll have a closer

look at some of the charter boats

around the upper north.

If you stick to the basics and focus

your efforts on the most profitable

times of tide and light, your chances

will be increased; but fishing being

fishing you just never know what will

happen or when!

holidayfishing

www.nzfisher.co.nz 31

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

32 www.nzfisher.co.nz

THEY ARE ESSENTIALLY a lead lure,

about the size of your little finger. The

hook got turned around a while ago,

so it’s now on the top on most modern

jigs. Butterfly style jigs are making an

appearance. Imagine running over your

finger-sized jig with a steam-roller. Your

jig is now flat, with a fluttery movement

and a thumping action as it drops or

falls: “butterfly action”.

Power Jig was first on the NZ

scene, in early 2011, with the hot-

forged brass/chrome butterfly jig.

It’s proven popular and effective,

for both top-workup dropping and

sea-floor fluttering with a high lift and

unimpeded fall action.

Daiwa have released the Slow Knuckle

this spring in a lighter 20-60g, with

80g and 100g due in early summer.

Depending on the drift, heftier jigs

will be better for our heavier Auckland

currents on windy days (depending

also on the physical size).

Overhead reels suit best as you are

constantly working the lower water

column, in-gear/out-of-gear style.

Use 6-10lb braid and a soft, slow

taper rod, slow-jig, or light jig-style

rod (you probably have the right rod

already). Dump the jigs into a workup

or drop them to sea floor and then

lift the rod-tip high, before dropping

the tip quickly so the lure falls freely,

then point the rod tip at the lure

in a straight line and hang on! Last

summer it was one lift, two lift, three

lift and bam!: snapper.

Modern micro jigs which start at a

diminutive 3.3 grams, new brands

like Zetz, Maria Japan, and ever

fruitful Power jig Jager and shirasu

jigs now fill the walls. Micro jigs are

usually rigged with the jig hanging

on a split ring, ancillary to the direct

contact with the hook. This type of

lure attachment (or lack of it) not

only provides more lure movement

than traditional jigs, which means

more bites, but the main benefit is a

stronger/direct connection between

your line and the fish.

Larger jigs for kingfish have been

rigged this way for a long time, now

their micro cousins are following suit.

For the new butterfly jigs and micro

jigs this is the best way to rig them.

The cord (often mistakenly called

and sold as Kevlar) is a poly-aramid

material. 55-80lb is fine for the little

guys. Hooks need to be small, about

size 2, 4, 6 or 1/0 (16, 17, and 18 in

Japanese sizing).

When the fish are shy on biting, the

best hooks are lighter gauge, because

the hook up rate goes down as the

hook gets thicker. Split rings need

to be size #5 or #7; solid rings size

5.0mm or 6.5mm. The octopus skirt

is compulsory on an inchiku, but the

butterfly and micro could use the

addition if it suits their size and action.

The total length of an assist rig is

about half to three-quarters the length

of the jig/lure body.

Readymade assist rigs are available in

all sorts of variations, but making your

own is very popular now, so you can

get it just right.

Greg Hill, is an importer and purveyor

of all things awesome in the world of

fishing tackle. Check out Greg’s range

at www.gofish.co.nz

newTACKLE

Micro-Jigging; the Next Big ThingSmall jigs have been around for a long time but they are evolving and shrinkingBy Greg Hill, an importer and purveyor of all things awesome in the world of fishing tackle.

www.nzfisher.co.nz 33

REEL RECOVERY WAS founded

in the USA in 2003 by a group of

avid fly-fishers, inspired by their

fishing buddy’s ongoing battle with

brain cancer. Witnessing first-hand

the beneficial impact fly-fishing

provided their friend; they created

Reel Recovery to provide the same

opportunity for other men battling

the disease.

Reel Recovery is now established

in New Zealand. Reel Recovery is a

national not for profit organization that

conducts free fly fishing retreats for men

recovering from all forms of cancer.

Men suffering from cancer do not

have the same range of support

programmes available as women and

are generally unskilled at tapping into

the support that is available. And men

being men are often reluctant to ask.

Retreats are offered at no cost to the

participants and are led by expert

fly-fishing instructors. A maximum of

ten men are invited to participate, to

ensure the quality of the instruction

and to create a powerful small-group

dynamic. This enables a unique

environment conducive to relaxed,

open interactions.

Though only three days in duration,

a Reel Recovery retreat can be a

life-changing event for men battling

cancer. The program blends outdoor

activity with one-on-one fly fishing

instruction, a practical guide to

reading a river, rod and reel setup,

knots and basic fly tying. The

organisation provides men with all

forms of cancer a unique opportunity

to share their stories, learn a new

skill, form lasting friendships and gain

renewed hope as they confront the

challenges of cancer.

One participant in an American retreat

said “.one of the best parts of being

at a Reel Recovery retreat is it reminds

you of how fun and healing it is to just

be one of the guys again—instead of

being a guy with cancer.”

The first Reel Recovery retreat in New

Zealand will be held between the 14th

and 16th of March 2014.

The venue is Castle Rock,

approximately 20kms south of Te

Awamutu. This ideal location is very

reelrecovery

near to the Puniu River. The Puniu

holds many rainbow trout and the

local landowners have made access

easy for retreat participants.

Each participant will be fully kitted

out. This includes waders, boots,

fishing vest, rod, reel, lines and flys.

The only cost to participants will be

their own travel to and from the Castle

Rock accommodation.

As Jeff Entringer eloquently wrote in

his poem, “That Moment in Time,”

In our brief existence that is called life

It is not what happened yesterday

that is important,

And we must remember that

tomorrow may never come.

Today is the only day in which we can

make a difference.

If you, or someone you know would

like to attend a Reel Recovery retreat

please contact the organiser,

Craig Caldwell

183 Newman Road

Te Awamutu, RD 3

Phone 07 872 2686

Mobile 027 279 6766

Email craig@reelrecovery.org.nz

Reel Recovery was incorporated under

the Charitable Trusts Act 1957 on the

18th of July 2013. The registration

number is 2583862.

Reel Recovery is a charitable entity

and the registration number is

CC49558

If you would like to support Reel

Recovery with a donation please

contact Craig Caldwell as above

Reel Recovery NZ

34 www.nzfisher.co.nz

newPRODUCTS

Reel Life Dwodqhdmbdr’ get repowered

The New Honda 250hp - Silver Bullet

www.nzfisher.co.nz 35

IF YOU’VE EVER had the pleasure

of repowering your boat or buying a

new outboard for the new rig, you’ll

know the excitement balanced with

fear that you’re making the right call.

Multiply that about 10 fold and you

might get an idea of how Captn. Phil

felt when he was repowering Reel Life

– the seven metre White Pointer in

need of a new powerhouse – the heart

of the Reel Life Experiences charter

operation out of Whangaroa. Phil had

run a Yamaha Outboard for 10 yearsand was considering all options,

including the newest 4-strokes from

all brands but he settled on the new

Honda 250hp Silver Bullet.

The Honda 250 was released in

2012 to raving reviews but it’s not

until the likes of Captn. Phil give

it the thumbs up that you take the

feedback seriously.

Honda Marine sent their technical

team north to help Phil, a more than

qualified mechanic, fit the new Silver

Bullet but their eyes were more on the

horizon than the transom! That’s the

problem with living on the back-door

of a fisherman’s paradise - you can’t

keep your mind on the job!

That said, Steve & the Honda team got

Capt. Phil’s new Silver Bullet hooked

up & they set out to run her through

her paces. Anyone for a quick fish????

The Honda team were treated to

a short and memorable glimpse of

Northland King fishing at its very best.

Ian Biddick, Honda Sales Manager got

the best of them on the day but the

whole team walked away with longer

arms and bigger smiles!

The NZFisher team is joining Captn.

Phil over the next few weeks and

we’re looking forward to telling a few

more fishy stories and following up on

the settling in and performance of the

new Honda.

newPRODUCTS

The New Honda 250hp - Silver Bullet

36 www.nzfisher.co.nz

COULD IT BE YOU?

Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner for Issue #30!

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!

Bruce Morgan 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 Wednesday 20th December, 2013. Easy!

HOOKEDUP!

www.nzfisher.co.nz 37

COULD IT BE YOU?

Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner for Issue #30!

Have you subscribed to NZ Fisher? It’s free!Simply visit www.nzfisher.co.nz to get a copy of NZ Fisher

delivered straight to your inbox every month!

regionalREVIEWSNEXTmonth

In next months issue: - Ben Assado's next kingfish mission- Strip Strike Club's first outing- Micro jigging in action - how & where they work best