nz fisher - issue 50

www.nzfisher.co.nz 1

ISSUE 49 July 2015


ISSUE 8 May 2011

// The new Ocean Kayak Prowler 4.3 NZFisher scores gold at NZACA Nationals//

The Landbased Pilgrimage - Lottin or bust//

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

ISSUE 9 June 2011

// Broadbill season fires up in the chill of winter

Kawau by Kayak//

// The Prowler 4.3 tested

Monster Snapper at NZLBG Nationals


ISSUE 10 July 2011

// NZFisher gets Fresh with Trout

// LORD HOWE ISLAND!

Mastering Gurnard


f sherISSUE 11 August 2011

// Martin Salter’s Lord Howe adventure continues

Rawhiti: Kiwi El Dorado


f sherISSUE 12 September 2011

Magnificent Squid – International secrets shared

Landbased from the boat – Its becoming a habit!

Great Barrier Is – Better late than never

The Waitemata – Auckland’s overlooked Jewel

NZFisher – One year old!


f sherISSUE 13 November 2011

Introducing the Kiwi Anglers guide to Fishy words

Jetski antics at Coromandel

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Piper, too tasty for bait

Targeting Winter Kings – the Coromandel Experience //Readers Photo Competition//

//Pitch and Switch – Making it Happen with Marlin

Winter Moocher Hunt //Big winter snapper from the rocks

www.nzfisher.co.nz

ISSUE 1 July 20


ISSUE 2 October 20 2010

// So, where do the Snapper go?

What makes a good jigging rod? //

Monsters from the Deep - Hauling Hapuka//


ISSUE 3 November 2010

// Big boy snapper old Skool styles

Scallop’s perfected – The Fish Stock //

Kayaking for Kingfish - Far far north//


ISSUE 4 December 2010

// Sharpening up – being on target for landing Marlin

The Sc-iwi:A Scott in Aotearoa //

Lazy Fishy Days of

Summer//


ISSUE 5 January 2010

// Working the jigs

Unlocking the Secrets of Rarotonga//


ISSUE 6 March 2011

// Northern adventure scores large for newby crew

Landbased – from the boat?//

Goin’ deep for the

big Ones!//

www.nzfisher.co.nz


f sherISSUE 15 March 2012

Finally, a great Skippy recipe

www.nzfisher.co.nz

North, West, East & South It’s all firing!


f sherISSUE 16 June 2012

www.nzfisher.co.nz

NZFisher’s Landbased Bumper Issue - GT’s in Raro- Far North epic- Kings on Stickbaits


ISSUE 17 July 2012

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Whangarei Juniors take out BOI Kingfish International

- The fishing Mecca of Feilding explored


ISSUE 18 Sept/Oct 2012

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Landbased Retreat to the Winterless North

The Tuturoa Trophy - Craig Smith explains

Gearing up for ROctoberFish



www.nzfisher.co.nz

Roctober Fish Rocks! Snapper galore &

PB’s smashed

Trout: What are they good for?

The kids take Dad fishing

Young Greg Savage with his sensational 11.3kg - only his second snapper!


f sherISSUE 22 March 2013

www.nzfisher.co.nz

NZFisher take on the Chesters ‘Fanatical Fishos’ Comp

Rarotonga Still Delivers

SOLO MARLIN!


ISSUE 23 April 2013

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Te Atatu Creek Kingfish!?!?

Solo West coast Marlin

Fish Your Feet First


f sherISSUE 24 June 2013

www.nzfisher.co.nz

(Re)Learning LBG Lessons at the East CapeSmall boat Swordfish

Congratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner for Issue #24!


ISSUE 25 June 2013

www.nzfisher.co.nz

North Queensland Barra, mate!


Paua for the picking

Paua for the picking


ISSUE 26 August 2013

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Winter Moochers from Cape to CapeSnapper on dry-fly?



ISSUE 27 September 2013

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Champagne Fishing – Shore Boys on the WaterKiwis at the 2013 Offshore World Champs




www.nzfisher.co.nz

Aitutaki Bone Fish - A Refreshing Challenge


KINGFISH – Where, When & How?

Strip Strike – SWF Club is Launched



www.nzfisher.co.nz

ROctoberFISH


KINGFISH – Where, When & How?

Strip Strike – SWF Club is Launched



www.nzfisher.co.nzCongratulations to our Hooked Up prize winner for Issue #31!

From Fly to Micro-Jigs

Honda Marine IceyTek & Torpedo7 Competitions inside

Kingfish are on fire!



www.nzfisher.co.nzCongratulations to our Torpedo7 prize winner for Issue #32!

Landbased Kings on Fly

Big Fish –Small Jigs


f sherISSUE 33 February 2014

www.nzfisher.co.nzCongratulations to our Torpedo7 prize winner for Issue #33!

All you need to know about knivesTo believe or not to believe

Sailfish in Malaysia


ISSUE 34 March 2014

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Marlin, marlin everywhere!

Huge on Livebait

Snapper


ISSUE 36 May 2014

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Powering Bottom Dwellers

up the

Rompin Sailfish Video Inside


ISSUE 37 June 2014

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Review: The Lowrance

Elite 4 HDI Combo

GURNARD: What Winter

Fishing Legasea Update:

Getting the Best Back Out of Our Fisheries

is all about!


ISSUE 38 July 2014

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Rooster Rica


ISSUE 39 August 2014

www.nzfisher.co.nz Time to Get Serious About Our Fisheries Future

LearningProTongariro

from the on the


ISSUE 40 September 2014

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Get IGFA Compliant this Game Season

YaksAttackthe NorthThe Maniyaks on fire in Orton Comp

How to Fish Taupo Rivers in Winter


ISSUE 41 October 2014

www.nzfisher.co.nz

The Art of FishThievery

Chasing Sails Simply Wrasse-tastic



www.nzfisher.co.nz

FREWZA! The NZFisher boat launch

OffShore Landbased FishingWIN an OKUMA Salina Combo


f sherISSUE 14 January 2012

Top spot No. 3: The Bay of Plenty

www.nzfisher.co.nz

October Landbased Magic


ISSUE 7 April 2011

// Bye, bye Summer, hello MoochersThe new History of Stickbaits//

Autumn Work-ups firing in the gulf //

www.nzfisher.co.nz


f sherISSUE 28 October 2013

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Your Guide to Fishing - The Seasons


Spring Fishing Is Unleashed


ISSUE 35 April 2014

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Charlie Green Machine

& the

Winterise Your Outboard



www.nzfisher.co.nz

Top Water Kings

Do a Little Jig



www.nzfisher.co.nz

Tired of Catching Small Snapper? Getting sorted for offshore Yakking


ISSUE 44 February 2015

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Yellow Fin On!

Tired of Catching Small

Getting sorted for offshore Yakking


ISSUE 45 March 2015

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Marlin MARLIN

Kingfish from the Rocks II

Tired of Catching Small

Getting sorted for offshore Yakking


ISSUE 46 April 2015

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Catching your Dream Fish

NZFisher goes

hunting www.nzfisher.co.nz 1

ISSUE 47 May 2015

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Rockin’ On

Hapuku from a Kayak!

Surprise on BenIsland

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

Fish of a Lifetime

ISSUE 48 June 2015

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

PotentialWorld Record on Fly!

Enjoying the best of winter in Aotearoa

ISSUE 49 July 2015

Matariki from the rocks.jpgwww.nzfisher.co.nz

50ISSUE

www.nzfisher.co.nz

www.nzfisher.co.nz

www.nzfisher.co.nz

www.cdrods.co.nz

www.cdrods.co.nz

https://www.facebook.com/Borntofishnz

http://www.cdrods.co.nz


4.. Editorial

6.. Fishing Truth: Are We Training Fish to Avoid Lures?

14.. Active Angling: Outsmarting Trevally with Flies & Lures

18.. LegaSea Update

20.. Winter Success

26.. Kayak Fishing: I Hate Winter Fishing

32.. Reader Pics

34.. Video of the Month

35.. Competiion

ABOUT /Short and sharp, NZ Fisher is a

free e-magazine delivering thought provoking and

enlightening articles, and industry news and

information to forward-thinking fisher people.

EDITOR / Derrick Paull

GROUP EDITOR / Colin Kennedy

ART DIRECTOR / Jodi Olsson

CONTENT ENQUIRIES /

Phone Derrick on 021 629 327

or email derrickp@NZ Fisher.co.nz

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES /

Phone Derrick on 021 629 327

or email derrickp@NZ Fisher.co.nz

ADDRESS / NZ Fisher, PO Box 47794,

Ponsonby, Auckland 1011

WEBSITE / www.NZFisher.co.nz

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

before you print. Thank you!

CONTENTS

Cover Images: Every issue of NZ FIsher so far

mailto:derrickp%40NZFisher.co.nz%20?subject=

mailto:derrickp%40NZFisher.co.nz%20?subject=

http://www.NZFisher.co.nz

www.gofish.co.nz

4 www.nzfisher.co.nz

WEATHER FEATURES SO OFTEN in my

editorials I wonder myself if maybe I

wasn’t actually a meteorologist in an

earlier life. The weather windows have

been decent; albeit clear, crisp and very,

very cold. There’s been some extremely

hot fishing to counter the cold – gulf

snapper, kahawai down both coasts,

gurnard chomping at the bit on the

Kaipara and the trout are practically

leaping into fishers creels in Taupo.

I’ve had the pleasure of fishing for all

of these fine species in the last month,

and I haven’t been disappointed.

EDITORIALI managed a new personal best Rainbow

trout on the Tongariro this month. A

brief flick before work benefited me

a 6lb hen that was then beaten that

evening by a 7lber on the Hinemaiaia

– both were in excellent condition and

fought like demons. I was fishing alone

in both cases but managed to get a

local to snap me a pic (see below) on

the Tongariro – I think I’ve found a new

passion – trout are…ok!

I attended the launch of the Marine

Research Foundations new research

project ‘What’s fishing worth’ on the

10th of August. This project is to

investigate the value of the recreational

fishing sector to the whole New

Zealand economy.

For a very long time, we’ve been

told that recreational fishing doesn’t

provide the

same value to

the economy

as commercial

interests.

This study is

looking to balance the books and find

out the true value to the economy

when the estimated 900,000 kiwis

and 100,000 tourists who go fishing

open their wallets. The research is

http://www.nzmrf.org.nz/research.php



being undertaken by world

fisheries economic experts

Southwick Associates who

have undertaken many studies

internationally with a focus on

measuring the economic impacts and

values of outdoor recreation.

The Marine Research

Foundation is looking

to raise $400,000 for

this project and need

your help. If every

fisher helps, the cost

will be covered in no

time. The purpose

of the information

gathered is to

generate statistically

valid estimates

of the economics

(expenditure, jobs, tax revenues,

income and other economic

contributions) associated with New

Zealand’s marine recreational fisheries.

This can then be used to place

recreational fishing in the scheme of

things when the minister considers

the best use of our shared fisheries.

At present, only 6% of all fish taken

from New Zealand’s waters are taken

recreationally, but the benefit of our

efforts are likely to be far greater than

what we take. Please check out the

website, and commit your share to

the cause.

But front of mind for me – this is

NZFishers, our Fiftieth Issue. And we

couldn’t have done it without support

from our reader base. Thank you for the

first 50 and thanks for

the next, who knows

how many!

As I mentioned last

month, there’s been

some big changes at

NZFisher. I’ve been

editor since day one

and have loved (almost)

every minute of it but

my enthusiasm has

taken a leap forward

since last month when I acquired

NZFisher from Espire Media.

NZFisher would never have begun

without the vision of Richard, Jen, Jodi

and Alastair - the Espire Media team.

Thank you guys for your blood, sweat

and tears in our five years –

it’s been awesome. I’m committed to a

bright future for NZFisher and promise

bigger and better things in the months

and years to come.

Tight lines, Derrick

“I’m committed to a bright future for NZFisher and promise bigger

and better things in the months and years to come.”

http://www.southwickassociates.com/




Training Fish to Avoid Lures ?After a modest return from a recent Far North fishing trip I was left wondering how I could have done so poorly. by Neil Wagener

YES, IT WAS WINTER, so I might not

expect the fish to be hot on the bite,

but I had spent a couple of full days

plopping soft baits along an extremely

fishy coastline without any luck.

This result shouldn’t have come as a

surprise; however, since I started using

soft baits in 2007, I have noticed that

those mind blowing sessions have

become harder and harder to come by.

I have even dropped my line weight

down to 6lb to see if that would

help increase my catch rates without

any improvement. It’s unlikely that

snapper numbers have declined over

this time period, which leads to an

awkward question: have snapper and

maybe other fish started to cotton

onto soft baits and other lures? I have

heard others talk about fish being lure

shy before, so was curious to find out

if there was any more to it.

Are We

FISHINGTRUTH


by Neil Wagener

There is actually a lot of anecdotal

information and research to back up

the concept that with time, lures can

become less effective. This process can

work in two ways.

The first occurs when fish repetitively

see a lure, learn that it isn’t food and

don’t bother attacking the lure if

they see it again. If the fish is hooked

during this process and either escapes

or is caught and released, then this is

likely to create a powerful negative

association with the lure. You may

have heard of “Pavlov’s dog”, which

after repetitive association between

food and a dinner bell began salivating

at just the sound of the bell by itself.

The response of fish to lures, as

described here, could be thought of as

the opposite to the dinner bell.

In the US largemouth bass

fisheries this process is called “fish

conditioning”, and there is a lot of

discussion on the topic, with many

pro bass fishermen confident that in

heavily fished lakes the bass become

conditioned to the most commonly

used lures. Some of the best evidence

for fish conditioning comes from

the company behind Berkley Gulp!

Pure Fishing. In lab experiments,

researchers would expose groups of

bass to a particular lure by casting it

across the tank five times. Upon first

seeing the lure all of the bass would

hit it, with the number of strikes

decreasing with each successive cast.


FISHINGTRUTH

Essentially the bass weren’t getting the

food they expected, so they became

less interested. This process was then

repeated on separate groups of bass

with similar results. All of the bass

were then left alone for three months

before the same lure was again cast

repetitively across the tank. This time

each group of bass were uninterested in

the lure, only striking at it a few times.

When a different type of lure was cast

into the tank, however, the bass struck

at it as often as they had when they

first saw the original lure. This shows

that not only were the bass able to

remember that the lure wasn’t food for

at least three months, they were also

able to distinguish between similar

lures. There is plenty of other evidence

from fisheries around the world

suggesting that fish can modify their

behaviour in response to encounters

with lures or hooks.

For example, catch and release trout

fisheries have resulted in a pattern

where the most heavily fished streams

have the lowest catch rates. UK carp

fisheries are well known for ‘bait shy’

fish, with some carp having a reduced

probability of recapture for over a

year after initially being caught. Some

fish farming operations even use the

remarkable learning capacity of fish

to their advantage. When hatchery-

raised fish are stocked into the wild,

the farmers continue to feed the fish,

and each time they put food out they


play a specific tone into the water.

wThey keep this practice up for a while

but eventually let the fish find their

own food. After the fish have grown

large enough to harvest, the farmers

simply play the tone into the water

allowing the expectant fish to be easily

encircled with a net.

The other way that lure effectiveness

can be reduced is through selection.

Essentially some fish are more

aggressive than others and are

therefore more likely to attack a lure

as it darts past. These individuals are

therefore the most likely to be caught

on lures, and as they are removed by

fishing the whole population becomes

less aggressive and lures become less

effective as a result.

Experimental fishing conducted on

largemouth bass simulated this scenario,

by removing individual bass that were

captured by anglers and allowing the

remaining bass to interbreed. After

this selection had been repeated for

four generations of bass, the resulting

population was much more cautious

towards fishing gear than the fish

originally stocked into the lake.

This result goes beyond changing

the number of fish willing to take a

lure, it demonstrates that reduced

aggressiveness has a genetic component,

suggesting that fishing could even

determine how vulnerable future

generations of fish will be to capture!

While there is compelling evidence

that reduced lure effectiveness can

Netted moocher


occur in tank experiments and within

small constrained lake fisheries, these

results are not New Zealand relevant,

and aren’t at the scale of a large marine

fishery where millions of fish mix over

hundreds of kilometres of coastline.

There are indications that similar things

could occur in New Zealand though.

Have you ever been for a swim in the

Goat Island Marine Reserve and noticed

how close you can get to the snapper?

There are a lot of potential explanations

for this, but most of them involve the

capacity of the fish to learn and the lack

of negative experiences associated with

people inside the reserve.

Also, emphasising the capacity of

snapper to respond to particular

influences, tagging experiments have

shown that snapper caught by longline

were more likely to be recaptured by

trawl and those captured by trawl

were more likely to be recaptured

by longline. This shows that snapper

could remember the negative capture

experience and learnt how to avoid

that fishing method in the future.

So ‘fish conditioning’ and ‘lure shyness’

sound like a plausible explanation for

my bad fishing trip, but are others

noticing it occurring as well? NZFisher

spoke to a few very experienced

charter skippers and got mixed

responses. Rick Pollock of Pursuit

Charters is adamant that it has already

occurred for White Island kingfish. Rick

FISHINGTRUTH

Sea ox with 17lb snap.

Shane & last fish


refers to the extreme effectiveness of

long jigs and mechanical jigging when

this technique first came online in

about 2005.

Jigging catch rates at White Island

quickly declined, however, while live

bait effectiveness remained high. Today

Rick states that jigging at White Island

mostly produces rat kingies, while the

live bait fishery is as good as it’s ever

been. These kind of results are very

compatible with how we would expect

lure shyness to work.

Mechanical jigging is hugely efficient,

enabling anglers to catch many more

fish per day than would be possible

using live baits. This combined with

the one fish limit in operation at White

Island and the popularity of catch

and release amongst jig fishermen

in general means that many fish can

quickly become conditioned to lures.

Rat kingies remain vulnerable to

capture as they are new on the scene;

they haven’t seen jigs before. The

live bait fishery for kingfish remains

productive as this method not only

results in fewer encounters between

kingfish and fishing gear, but kingfish

are also less able to distinguish between

a live bait and their actual food.

“Mechanical jigging is hugely efficient,

enabling anglers to catch many more fish per day than

would be possible using live baits.”

Some fish are even stupid enough to fall for a floating Santa


PLEA

SEAPP

ROVE

THIS

ADASSO

ON

ASPO

SSIBLE

.NOTE

THAT

ANY

ALTER

ATIONSMUST

BEFINALISE

DBYOURMAT

ERIALDEA

DLINE.

Fairfa

xMediama

kese

veryeffortto

create

advertis

ementstome

etyourspecific

needs.Please

noteinsome

instan

cesw

emay

beunabletosupplyaddition

alproofsduetoc

omple

xityo

ftherequestordeadlinec

onstrain

ts.©Thisadvertis

ementhas

been

create

dasa

service

ofFairfa

xMedia.

Itcannotbereproducedw

ithoutpermission

.Ifyouw

ishtousethis

material

elsew

here,plea

seconta

ctyouradvertis

ingconsultant.C

harges

willa

pply.

ADVE

RTISING

PROOF

CUST

OMER

ROD&RE

ELLTD

PUBL

ISHING

03/09

/15SA

LESRE

PP.F

RANC

ISPU

BLICAT

ION

NZFISH

INGNE

WS

DESIGN

ERUn

know

nSE

CTION

RUNOF

BOOK

PROO

FED

13/08

/2015

1:41:4

9a.m.

SIZE

9.3X2

6.7AD

ID6828857A

AFA

X09

6342

948

Free Parking right at the Shop!(down beside the Caltex)

Rod and Reel Fishing Specialists480D Broadway, New Market, Auckland

09 520 0307www.rodandreel.co.nz

6694

455A

B

• Now the most affordable Japanesemade fluorocarbon leader in NZ.

• Why pay as much as $29.95 elsewhere?

• Used by the top competition anglers inthe world

• Available in 4lb, 5lb, 6lb, 7.5lb and 9lbbreaking strains.

• Made in Japan

Rod and Reel, home to NZ’s largest range offlyfishing and flytying essentials!

Scierra Canyon Wading JacketNormal rrp $299, NOW we are able to

offer this at $179.95!• Wind and waterproof to 10,000mm and

Breathability to 5,000 g/m2

• Fully adjustable cuffs, hood,waist toggle, etc

• Handwarmer pockets, plus 2 XL sizedfront pockets

• Get in now, ready for the winter fishing,with this amazing deal!

Nautilus reels – new stock just in!

• Grab yourself one of Nautilus’multi-award winning reels ready forwinter or the tropics!

• Models available – FWX, CCF-X2,NV-G and NV Monster in varioussizes / colours.




6828

857A

A

• All water, fast action rod• X-Wrap graphite technology for maximum

vibration dampening, strength and torsionalstability.

• PowerGrip is a non-slip polymer griptechnology created to reduce fatigue andamplify power.

• Carbon fiber reel seat insert with customanodized highlights

• Alignment dots for easy setup• Lifetime warranty!!• All rods are 4pc / 9ft with sizes from #6

through to #12


Patagonia 3-in-1 River Salt JacketNormally $699, NOW ONLY $525.00!

• H2No® Performance Standard polyester shell,with a waterproof/breathable barrier

• Three TPU-coated, water-repellent front zippockets sized to hold fly boxes etc

• Innovative, fully-vented, adjustable hooddesigned to stay in place even at high boatspeed

• Watertight adjustable cuffs, drainage materialin all hems.

• Nano Puff® Jacket snaps out of shell andcan be worn alone or with layers(stays warm even when wet).

• Weighs only 932g

Scierra CC3 XP wadersNormally $399.95, NOW ONLY $249.95!

Redington Vapen red rods now 30% off!NOW ONLY $314.95.

• Strong 3-layer breathable fabric construction• 100% waterproof with more than 20,000mm

and highly breathable with over 4,000mvp• New design with better, more functional fit• Deluxe handwarmer front pocket with water

repellent zipper• Elastic adjustable suspenders with slim

strong buckles• Great inner pocket with zipper and mesh

pocket

Furthermore, kingfish tagged at White

Island are seldom recaptured away

from White Island, suggesting that

the kingfish there are a constrained

population, making repetitive exposure

to jigs a more likely occurrence. Other

experienced charter operators that we

spoke to didn’t consider lure shyness to

be an important issue for either kingfish

and jigs or snapper and soft baits.

In summary fish have the capacity to

recognise lures and to learn to avoid

them, and there are suspicions that

this might be occurring in fisheries

around the world. The jury will

probably always be out as to whether

it is actually occurring in our fisheries

though. So what can you do to

overcome the possibility that it might

be affecting your catch rates?

The answer is undoubtedly keep it

fresh. Whether that be through using a

lure with a different shape, swimming

style, or colour, retrieving the lure in

a different (potentially slower) way, or

using actual fresh or live bait.

A combination of these techniques will

ensure that you are placing something

that the fish hasn’t seen before or

something that it can’t distinguish from

real food in front of its face. For snapper

the lure options are endless due to the

advent of bottom ships, cabura jigs,

micro jigs, slow jigs etc… This allows us

to engage in a lure arms race, always

keeping one step ahead of the fish. ■

FISHINGTRUTH

http://www.rodandreel.co.nz/clothing/c15.aspx


PLEA

SEAPP

ROVE

THIS

ADASSO

ON

ASPO

SSIBLE

.NOTE

THAT

ANY

ALTER

ATIONSMUST

BEFINALISE

DBYOURMAT

ERIALDEA

DLINE.

Fairfa

xMediama

kese

veryeffortto

create

advertis

ementstome

etyourspecific

needs.Please

noteinsome

instan

cesw

emay

beunabletosupplyaddition

alproofsduetoc

omple

xityo

ftherequestordeadlinec

onstrain

ts.©Thisadvertis

ementhas

been

create

dasa

service

ofFairfa

xMedia.

Itcannotbereproducedw

ithoutpermission

.Ifyouw

ishtousethis

material

elsew

here,plea

seconta

ctyouradvertis

ingconsultant.C

harges

willa

pply.

ADVE

RTISING

PROOF

CUST

OMER

ROD&RE

ELLTD

PUBL

ISHING

03/09

/15SA

LESRE

PP.F

RANC

ISPU

BLICAT

ION

NZFISH

INGNE

WS

DESIGN

ERUn

know

nSE

CTION

RUNOF

BOOK

PROO

FED

13/08

/2015

1:41:4

9a.m.

SIZE

9.3X2

6.7AD

ID6828857A

AFA

X09

6342

948




6694

455A

B

• Now the most affordable Japanesemade fluorocarbon leader in NZ.

• Why pay as much as $29.95 elsewhere?

• Used by the top competition anglers inthe world

• Available in 4lb, 5lb, 6lb, 7.5lb and 9lbbreaking strains.

• Made in Japan


Scierra Canyon Wading JacketNormal rrp $299, NOW we are able to

offer this at $179.95!• Wind and waterproof to 10,000mm and

Breathability to 5,000 g/m2

• Fully adjustable cuffs, hood,waist toggle, etc

• Handwarmer pockets, plus 2 XL sizedfront pockets

• Get in now, ready for the winter fishing,with this amazing deal!

Nautilus reels – new stock just in!

• Grab yourself one of Nautilus’multi-award winning reels ready forwinter or the tropics!

• Models available – FWX, CCF-X2,NV-G and NV Monster in varioussizes / colours.




6828

857A

A

• All water, fast action rod• X-Wrap graphite technology for maximum

vibration dampening, strength and torsionalstability.

• PowerGrip is a non-slip polymer griptechnology created to reduce fatigue andamplify power.

• Carbon fiber reel seat insert with customanodized highlights

• Alignment dots for easy setup• Lifetime warranty!!• All rods are 4pc / 9ft with sizes from #6

through to #12


Patagonia 3-in-1 River Salt JacketNormally $699, NOW ONLY $525.00!

• H2No® Performance Standard polyester shell,with a waterproof/breathable barrier

• Three TPU-coated, water-repellent front zippockets sized to hold fly boxes etc

• Innovative, fully-vented, adjustable hooddesigned to stay in place even at high boatspeed

• Watertight adjustable cuffs, drainage materialin all hems.

• Nano Puff® Jacket snaps out of shell andcan be worn alone or with layers(stays warm even when wet).

• Weighs only 932g

Scierra CC3 XP wadersNormally $399.95, NOW ONLY $249.95!

Redington Vapen red rods now 30% off!NOW ONLY $314.95.

• Strong 3-layer breathable fabric construction• 100% waterproof with more than 20,000mm

and highly breathable with over 4,000mvp• New design with better, more functional fit• Deluxe handwarmer front pocket with water

repellent zipper• Elastic adjustable suspenders with slim

strong buckles• Great inner pocket with zipper and mesh

pocket

THERE’S A SIMPLE REASON WHY HONDA’S FOUR-STROKE MARINE ENGINES LEAD THE WORLD IN PERFORMANCE, RELIABILITY, FUEL-EFFICIENCY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY… THE COMPANY

HAS BEEN MAKING THEM FOR OVER 50 YEARS!

CREATING THE ULTIMATE FOUR-STROKE

SINCE 1964

Take a closer look

Honda adopted the policy of manufacturing only four-stroke outboard engines back in 1964. This commitment to first-class four-stroke outboard technology can be found in the words of Mr Soichiro Honda, when he gave the following directive to Honda staff:

“Two things are most important: If they are not reliable, people’s lives can be endangered. Second – water cleanliness. What will happen to our oceans, lakes and rivers if all that exhaust gas mixed with oil gets pumped into the water? I don’t care if everyone else is making two-strokes – Honda has to make four strokes.”

For more information or your nearest authorised Honda Marine Dealer visit us at www.hondamarine.co.nz - [email protected] - www.facebook.com/hondamarineNZ

Honda Marine 1964 Yamaha 1984 Suzuki 1994 Mercury 2004

NZ Fisher 1964.indd 1 22/07/15 3:19 pm

http://www.rodandreel.co.nz/clothing/c15.aspx

www.hondamarine.co.nz


Outsmarting Trevally with Flies & Lures

ACTIVEANGLING

Words by Alan BulmerPictures by Paul Smith of Active Angling NZ

In the throes of battle

www.activeanglingnz.com


ONE OF THE MOST sought after

estuarine flats targets is trevally.

Nicknamed the ‘Silver Prince’, they are

a difficult fish to hook and often can be

even harder to land. The larger specimens

encountered in estuarine environments

tend to hunt alone, unlike in the open

ocean where schools of fish are common.

Tagging studies by local fisheries

scientists have shown

that trevally are not

a wide- ranging fish

and tend to stay

within a 50 kilometres

radius of where

they spend their

juvenile years. They

tend to move into

the shallow waters

of many estuaries

in spring and move back out into

deep-water in late summer.

There is always an exception to this

rule though, and I have caught many

trevally in shallow estuaries through

the winter period. The resident fish

caught over autumn – winter tend to be

bigger than the fish that first enter the

estuary in spring.

In the estuaries, they tend to feed

predominantly on mantis shrimps,

small fish and crabs, so it makes sense

to target them using small lures or flies

which are accurate representations of

these common prey items. Small soft

plastics fished on light jig heads are often

irresistible to big trevally.

Keep an eye on the shallows as the tide

recedes as trevally will frequently move

steadily downstream with the current

zig zagging from deep to shallow water.

Often they will herd and concentrate bait

fish against an underwater obstruction

while doing this

and then charge in

at speed to grab as

many as possible

during the resulting

pandemonium.

Trevally like lures

and flies to be fished

on the bottom, dead

drift. I generally

target them with

soft plastics and weighted flies using

the ‘wet lining’ retrieve and like to feel

the lure ‘tap, tapping’ the bottom as it

swings downstream with the current.

Very slow retrieves, either by hardly

cranking the spinning reel handle or a

figure of 8 for fly lines, seem to work

best. When spinning I really just try to

do enough to keep a tight line to the

lure. The same applies in fly fishing

where a tight line ‘do nothing’ wet line

retrieve works well.

I’ve found that the most successful soft

plastics are the Berkley PowerBait Ripple

“Trevally like lures and flies to be fished on

the bottom, dead drift.”

shad, PowerBait minnows or Bento Bait

minnows in 2” or 2.5” size. They will

occasionally take a toby especially if a

single hook is used, and an orange or

pink soft plastic whirl tail is carefully

threaded onto it.

The flies I’ve found work consistently

well for trevally are what I call the ‘Krill

Clouser’ or the ‘Brush Ranger’ (see

above). Anything that could be mistaken

for a marine worm, shrimp, tiny crab,

smelt or bully will likely work though. In

general imitative patterns work best as

the fly is constantly moving due to the

current pushing them steadily along the

bottom. The fly should always lead the

line in order to eliminate drag.

ACTIVEANGLING

Takes can be incredibly tentative or

equally brutal. If you are fly fishing,

then strip strike at any pause or

irregular movement of the fly. It is

better to strike on impulse and not

hook anything than do nothing and

wonder later on whether you just had

a faint touch.

Once hooked they generally tear off in

a searing run downstream. They soon

tire of this however and then tend

to spin and head back upstream into

the current. Trevally like to fight by

running parallel to the shore as this

allows them to use their broad flanks

to resist the pressure being exerted by

the angler.

The catch


If you want to see how to tie a Krill Clouser, then click on the video link below.

Regular changes of direction, vigorous head shaking and

rapid bursts of acceleration punctuate the fight. This,

coupled with the fact that the connecting flesh around the

maxillary area is delicate, means that it is easy to rip a hook

out if too much pressure is applied. Steady, gentle pressure

works best if there is no foul areas on the bottom to worry

about, but if the territory is gnarly, then a no holds barred

approach is often necessary.

When fighting trevally, move quickly along the shore with the

run and always try to keep a slight angle to the fish. If they

are running into the current, I like to be slightly downstream

of them and vice versa. When they tire, walk them out by

stepping back away from the shore. They follow meekly at this

point, and it is easy to tip them on their side in the shallows

when they are nearly spent.

Trevally are my favourite estuary foe. They are not easy to

hook, fight hard and are excellent table fare. ■

www.gofish.co.nz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-NXiRxzAGQ


FISHERIESMANAGEMENT

A RECENT AUSTRALIAN study found

recreational fishers contribute an

estimated $2.56 billion to the nation’s

economy. But what’s fishing worth in

New Zealand? No one knows.

So the New Zealand Marine Research

Foundation has commissioned

Southwick Associates to research how

much recreational fishers contribute to

our national economy through taxes,

job creation and GDP growth.

Southwick will quantify the economic

contributions per kilo of fish harvested

by recreational fishers. This will account

for the value generated by retailers,

suppliers, boat builders, charter

operators, accommodation and tourism,

the list goes on.

LegaSea is promoting the “What’s

Fishing Worth?” fundraising campaign

to support this important project. The

research is already underway. Results

are expected by the end of 2015, so

please, show your support now.

Legasea Update

What’s our fishing really worth? Update by Trish Rae, Legasea

www.whatsfishingworth.co.nz


Why is LegaSea involved?

LegaSea is leading the fundraising

effort because this research

aligns with our Principle #5:

Value recreational fishing. We are

determined to make the most of this

opportunity because this research is

essential if we want balanced fisheries

management decisions that restore

abundance to our coastal waters.

While a lucky few can remember times

when our fisheries were abundant,

most of us know the feeling of fishing

in depleted waters. In many areas a

reasonable daily catch is becoming a

rarity. More fishers are saying, “we’ve

had enough of ‘sustainability’, we want

restored abundance!”

Clearly the Minister, Nathan Guy, is

under pressure to deliver increased

exports. If he had evidence similar

to the Australian study then he

might feel more confident in

making decisions that take account

of all aspects of fishing, including

recreational interests.

As our decision-maker we need to

give him information that supports

more abundant fisheries and a thriving

recreational fishing economy; because

there is more to fishing than just low-

value exports of our precious kai moana.

What is the cost?

Overall this research project will

cost $400,000, with $100,000 being

sought from public donations. These

costs cover the scoping, research,

report writing, peer review and,

finally, publicising the results. After

all that effort we need to make sure

the public (and politicians) know that

our fishing is a source of jobs, income,

value-added and a treasure worth

passing onto future generations.

Please go online to www.whatsfishingworth.co.nz to add a donation. 100% of your donation goes towards the project and is tax deductible because the New Zealand Marine Research Foundation is a registered charity. ■

Call 0800 LEGASEA (534 273)

Email us [email protected]

Subscribe at www.legasea.co.nz

Read more at www.facebook.com/legasea

http://www.flambeauoutdoors.com/


It’s been a long wait for a cracker weekend day.

Winter SuccessWords and images by Ed Stubenitsky


IN FACT THE BOAT hadn’t been in the

water for three months – you know

how it is with kid’s sports and house

renovations. The guilt had set in, and we

just had to head out to get a line wet.

I managed to convince a couple of

keen fishing buddies, Josh and Graeme

to join me for a fine day’s fishing in

the gulf. None of us have never really

had much success winter fishing in

the gulf, a bit hit and miss you might

call it, well really miss, miss, miss. The

forecast was good, there was some

swish new fishing gear on board as

we set off to Channel Island from Half

Moon Bay early.

It was a cold start, the temperature

gauge in the car claiming -3, ice on

the windscreen of the boat, a thick

frost over all the grab rails and a hot

cuppa coffee to warm us from the

inside out…

The plan was to head to Channel in

the hope of finding kings to test out

some of the new Stick Bait gear recently

purchased, but we needed a backup plan.

First stop – Live Baits, a quiet little bay

in the back of Waiheke proved to be a

successful stop, and after a bit of a burley

session we had a tank full just in case.

On the trip out we saw Brydes whales

and dolphins, but couldn’t find any


likely looking sign on the sounder, so we

decided to stick to the plan and head for

the horizon. A few miles before we got to

Channel we came across some sign that

looked promising. ‘Cubura’ jigs, or ‘Sliders’

were the lure of choice, and very quickly a

few nice pannies arrived in the boat. Now

as I mentioned, winter fishing isn’t our

forte, so we basked in the glory of being

able to take home a feed of fresh snapper.

Next drift things spiced up somewhat,

reels screaming, rods loaded… Well, two of

us anyway.. It’s funny, there’s always one

on board that seems to miss out on the

good stuff, this time round I was stoked it

wasn’t me!! Poor Graeme felt a little left

out of the action, the fish were fantastic at


playing along in the game, only jumping

on the hook long enough for him to get

excited and then spitting it back out.

Meanwhile Josh and I were landing good

healthy snapper between eight and 16

pounds. After we had four or five of these

‘big boys’ in the bin, every fish we landed

we attempted to release with mixed

success. We celebrated as they swam back

to the green depths. It’s just such a good

feeling being able to let them go to live

another day and provide stocks for our

future generations.

In amongst all the action my little 60 gram

Orange ‘Cubura’ got smashed by something

big and heavy. After a long slow battle, we

“ Josh and I were landing good healthy snapper between eight and 16 pounds. After we had four or five of these ‘big boys’ in the bin, every fish we landed we attempted to release with mixed success. We celebrated as they swam back to the green depths.”


saw some colour – a bit of yellow, a bit

of green… Trevally! At 64cm long the

biggest any of us had seen. Both hooks

on the ‘Cubura’ were nearly completely

straightened from the fight. Sashimi all

round was the call, too tasty to go.

With a few more drifts and 15 healthy

snapper on board, we headed to Channel

in the hope of finishing the day on a

high with kingfish in our sights. Alas, it

was not to be and after just a few token

casts the call was made to return to our

snapper spot for and more fish each

before the long trip home.

So happy to say, by far the best winter

fish we’ve had. Thanks to the kind

weather gods, the snappers, Trevor

the tasty Trevally, the good folks at

Surtees and Yamaha for a comfortable

day on the water and finally…. Winter

Success at last. ■


A unique combination of professional-level features plus easy-to-use operation makes the new HDS III Series of fishfinders/chartplotters both exclusive and yet some how effortless.

See it. Believe it. · Superior Lowrance® target separation· Visibly better screens· Obviously faster interface· Full boat integration and system control

The next generation has arrived. To see how Lowrance Gen3 can make you a better angler visit lowrance.com/hdsgen3

Download and upload maps, software, and apps direct to your fishfinder / chartplotter.

Lowrance Pro: Scott Mitchell lowrance.com/ScottMitchell

http://www.lowrance.com/en-NZ/Products/HDS-Gen3/


KAYAKFISHING

Sometimes it’s timing, others technique but after a while you get a feel for what’s working and it’s a damned good feeling.

I Hate Winter FishingBy Derrick Paull


I FIND AUGUST A terrible fishing

month in general and more so for lure

fishing. Cold water, strong, cold winds

and incessant rain interspersed with

bitterly cold clear days. Bliss.

I’ve been chasing truth this winter

and needed a hit of salt water and

decided after a chiding from my kayak

guru Stephen Tapp that the Viking

Reload needed to be reloaded onto

the truck and get its bum wet instead

of spending its winter in the rafters

gathering dust.

My paddling buddies Forbes and

Daz were out so I hooked up a ride

with recent yak convert Orson, and

we headed north neither really

convinced on the best location as we

got on the motorway north. Around

Constellation Drive we agreed on

Shakespeare Bay and got our heads in

the game.

The forecast was for a brisk, but warm

nor-wester that appeared a bit more

on the west once we hit the water

and that complicated situation with

a strong incoming tide frothing the

water just off the headland into the

Tiri Channel. Heading out there was

sign everywhere – but no decent size

to it and definitely no snapper lurking

under it.

The wind picked up significantly and

caused us to head for the shelter of

the headland and into shallow, weedy

shelves looking likely but extremely

barren for the hour or so we needed

to hide until the sun came out and

the wind died completely.

“So what now? The world at your feet – what to do? As I said, I don’t like, or don’t trust winter fishing because fish are slow, fickle and a damned pain in the arse to get to bite.”


KAYAKFISHING


So what now? The world at your feet

– what to do? As I said, I don’t like, or

don’t trust winter fishing because fish

are slow, fickle and a damned pain in

the arse to get to bite.

The sign on the Lowrance was getting

exciting – I’ve become so reliant on

the Chirp/Down-scan functions I’m

stoked I have it now on the kayak too

– but I was struggling to entice a bite.

The fish were hugging the bottom

hard and did appear to be feeding

– but not on what I was offering. I

tried standard soft baits, inchicu’s and

sinking stick-baits. Nothing.

“Daz has an annoying way of finding fish when there’s seemingly none around – and he usually looks like he’s not fishing. ”

30 www.nzfisher.co.nz 18+ lbs snapper off the rocks.

KAYAKFISHING

So, time for a re-think; as we all do

when confronted with these kinds of

situations I looked back to experience

and recalled one such experience

where I got my ass handed to me by

Daz on such a rubbish August day a

few years back.

Daz has an annoying way of finding

fish when there’s seemingly none

around – and he usually looks like he’s

not fishing. This in-fact means that

he puts on a fresh soft-bait and casts,

lets it sink and does nothing. And I

mean nothing. No twitch, no jerk, no

lift and check. Nothing but winding

the slack in. Until it gets a hit. Which

it does because at this time of year

snapper are lazy and slow. Which is

what I’ve been accusing Daz of being

for a long time.

But it worked. I slipped on a Savage

swim bait & doused it in Berley mate

black-stuff and let it fly. The Savage

baits are articulated & the tiniest

movement makes them look very

much like a wounded baitfish, and

you don’t need to move them far –

exactly what’s required when you

don’t want to out-run your prey. The

stink of the Black-Stuff brings them

near and the wounded baitfish gets

the bite.

Less effort, not more.

In the last 30 minutes before dark

managed to bag four keepers after

three hours in the wind catching

nothing. Slow, lazy fisherman catches

slow, lazy snapper. Maybe I could

come to like winter fishing (for the

record, my toes defrosted by the

Harbour Bridge on the way home).■

“Slow, lazy fisherman catches slow, lazy snapper. Maybe I could come to like winter fishing (for the record, my toes defrosted by the Harbour Bridge on the way home).”

www.fishing.net.nz

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

www.boatingeducation.org.nz


READERPICS

Alex & Ollie with Alex’s

PB snapper - a 12.05kg

monster

>

Felicity Anderson with avery nice Pearl Perch from Cairns, on a recent trip

>Winner!

Reader Pics


Mark Cockburn with a PB snapper 5.9kg

from Cape Runaway queens birthday

weekend this year

>

Ollie Reeves with an early winter Ngongotaha Rainbow.

>

Reader Pics


VIDEOOFTHEMONTH

Gurnard Where, How & On What

I love gurnard, for the table rather than on the end of a line. They’re ridiculed for their inability to fight, they’re admired for the stunning beauty of their wings and sought after for their delicious, sweet, delicate fillets.

We took a day out from chasing monsters to fill the fry-pan

– check out how we did it, here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV0GZ4qCTPg


Com

posite D

evelopments

(NZ) Ltd

3 Piermark Drive, Albany Industrial Estate,Auckland 0751, New ZealandPO Box 302 363, NHPC, Albany,Auckland 0751, New ZealandP +64 9 415 9915 F +64 9 415 9965Freefax 0800 SKIN FISH E [email protected]

Like us on Facebook!

www.cdrods.co.nz

2015catalogue

facebook.com/CDRodsNZfacebook.com/Borntofishnz

Composite Developments (NZ) Ltd

Composite Developments(NZ) Ltd

Share an Awesome Photo and Be in to Win!

Share an awesome photo this month and be in to WIN a $150 Composite Developments Voucher!

This months winner is Felicity Anderson. Felicity has won a $150 Composite Developments voucher,

happy spending Felicity! ●

COMPETITION

Competition!

Share an awesome photo of you with a fish to our Facebook page, or email it to [email protected] by ? and you’ll be in to win an $150 voucher from Composite Developments to spend on anything you like from their 2015 catalogue - click here to view.

http://www.cdrods.co.nz/Content/CD_Catalogue_2015_LR.pdf

https://www.facebook.com/NZFisherMagazine

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.cdrods.co.nz/Content/CD_Catalogue_2015_LR.pdf


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!

http://www.nzfisher.co.nz

nz fisher - issue 50

Documents