issue 87 the fishing paper

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December 2012Issue 87

FREENEW ZEALAND

PAPERFISHING

&

NEWS

WORTH OF FISHING

GEAR THIS MONTH

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Great Summer

Kyle's Catch No Elf!Story page 31

HUNTING

THE

www.thefishingpaper.co.nzTHE FISHING PAPER2

By Ali Kennard

Fish On Your SounderA question I am often asked is whether you

can tell different species of fish apart on a sounder, followed by sceptical looks when I tell them that on the majority of sounders, yes. One of the most important factors in being able to do so is having a colour sounder that shows the different intensity of the echoes by different colour rather than using varying (not 50) shades of grey. Also if you’re using them you will need to turn fish symbols off, as they do not give us enough information.

First we have to understand what causes different species to give different strength echoes. This comes down to the swim bladder, which is responsible for about 95% of the return echo, as the flesh of the fish is a very similar density to the water. Each species of fish has different shape and size swim bladder, which give off different return echoes and using these, scientists are able determine the species of fish and with a bit of practice and a lot of time on the water so can you.

The best way to start learning what you are looking at is by catching what you see. If you see some good marks on your sounder take a photo of them and then drop a line and see if you can catch them; this way you will have a photo to show what the fish looked like on your sounder. Once you have built up a few of these, you can then start to see the correlation between that species of fish and how they are displayed on your sounder. Of course it is not always as simple as catching everything

you see, so you can do this the other way by looking at and taking a photo of your sounder once you have caught the fish. If you do have good photos of different fish species on your sounder and are happy to share those with others, please feel free to send them to me with an explanation of the fish so I can build up a portfolio here in the showroom, to go through with customers.

In case you are thinking I am copping out by not telling you what the different species look like, I am not. Each brand and often model of sounder will show the echoes differently, as although the echoes coming back are the same, the processors in the units are different. So I could tell you what a particular fish looks like on one sounder, but it may not look like that on yours.

So as said above, the best way you can know how your sounder displays different fish, is by building up your own knowledge with plenty of time out on the water and looking at your sounder all the time as you’re catching fish. Surely as far as classrooms go, that has got to be one of the best in the world!

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Remember Ripley’s Believe it or Not? Well it’s a shame Ripley never made it to the Coast, because it’s definitely a ‘believe it or not’ kind of destination. Last month,

a crayfish was spotted wandering along the road in Harihari and was generously offered a ‘lift’ from a local and invited home for dinner.

I recently spent a couple of

days there chasing chamois without so much as seeing a hoof-print. The day I left, a local cocky shot a trophy 10” buck on the road while heading out to do the morning milking! Whitebait have been rumoured to attack ducks and the old guy propped at the bar of the Whataroa pub looks dead but is actually Elvis in hiding. The locals won’t shoot anyone who is opposed to 1080 and the resident salmon down that way have interbred with Clydesdales – Believe it or Not!

One thing you can definitely believe in is The South Westland Lions Club Salmon Competition held at McDonald’s Creek, Lake Mapourika, 9 - 10 February 2013. The event has been running for twenty-two years and attracts around 150 participants, all vying for the grand prize of $1,000 for heaviest trout and $500 team prize. There are plenty of spot prizes up for grabs and it’s a great family event or good excuse to experience true Coast hospitality.

P.S. The crayfish and chamois stories are true.

For more information contact: Convenor Robin Davey phone 03 7533070 - [email protected]

John McIntosh at 03 7533040, or Lindsay Molloy 03 7533082

Crayfish Caught Hitchhiking at HarihariBy Daryl Crimp

Tui and Murray Dellaca of Westport with two whitebait taken

as a by-catch in the competition.

THE FISHING PAPER 3www.thefishingpaper.co.nz

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www.thefishingpaper.co.nz4 THE FISHING PAPER

By Mike Green

Certainly no sign of doom and gloom in Tasman Bay as far as the snapper stocks go this year, with snapper being easier to find than a park at the boat ramps around the traps!

Sunday presented one of those days where it was time to get the family out and on the water. Joining the boats leaving the harbour, like usual, we all shot out of The Cut like shotgun pellets scattering off to our respective marks. Seems the bigger fish are well out in the deeper water, so that’s where we headed.

We set our setline and threw out the rods. After a couple of hours fishing we decided it was time to pull in our longline. One, two, three nice fish, one after the other surfaced as we dragged the longline aboard.

We released two good snapper but the pictured fish didn’t have enough fight left to swim off on its own and fearing it would just float, we kept it. A small debate continues as to the weight of this monster; unfortunately I had no scales on board. Upon returning to shore, the debate continued. The only way to put a rest to this game of ‘guess the weight’ is, we weigh it.

My mate had a brilliant idea of weighing it on his bathroom scales, which I’m sure he has modified to weigh 1 – 2 kgs lighter!

I hopped on the scales without the fish, recorded my weight and then got on the scales with the fish and took the reading of the difference … who said maths class never did anyone any good! The fish measured 90cm long and weighed 23 – 25lb. I think I will be heading to Big Blue Dive and Fish for a new set of scales to keep on board from now on!

The Weight Debate

Rachael Green puts on weight for the camera!

A Fish Called FangBy Daryl Crimp

It’s common for fishers to check the stomach contents of fish caught, out of curiosity but also to determine if they are favouring a particular food source. Jim Mikoz of Wellington sent this picture of a strange creature taken from the gut of a blue cod caught off Sinclair Head, Wellington. Andrew Stewart of Te Papa has this to say of the sinister looking creature:

It’s an aptly names viperfish, Chauliodus sloani. Normally these are off shore deep-water but they also are part of the deep scattering layer, which migrates from about 1000m to the surface every night then back down again. The Cook Strait region has such steep drop-offs that this wee chap got too close to the hard where it got snaffled by a blue cod.


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WOW!

I was on the Facebook forum reading about a few rig being caught around Christchurch, so I decided to head to Amberley beach after work. I got there and didn’t like my luck, as a strong north easterly wind had developed. I decided I would battle the winds and see how I went.

I set up my rod and attempted to cast, managing a whopping 20m! I hoped my crab would stay attached to the hook. I made myself comfy in the back of the four-wheeled drive and out of the corner of my eye, saw a small bend in my rod, followed by a much bigger bend.

I knew it was all go and ran towards the rod just in time to strike - into something. I began to reel it in; to start with it only felt like something small, until it hit the breakers. Then it started to strip line, so I followed it down the beach. I waited a few minutes for it to tire and then started to reel it in until it reached the ledge and let the waves do the rest. That’s when I saw it was a huge rig. I grabbed it by the tail and dragged it back to the car. I was sure it was at least 20 pounds and was astounded when it weighed in at just over 25 pounds - a new personal best for me!

Chasing a PB – Literally!By Dwayne Lawson

on

Join the

As soon as it hit 8 degrees at night, I went for a rock fish in Wellington City. It happened slow to start, with only eagle rays and skate on the bite.

I’ve been hunting elephant fish for four years and have learned to buy fresh squid, so always have some on hand at this time of year.

At around 6.30am on an outgoing tide I had a strike and thought I’d hooked into a kingy. It put up a blistering fight followed by a solid battle, so you can imagine I was stoked to see a 7kg elephant fish come in at the end of it. There haven’t been many caught in the Windy City over the past five-years, so I considered this a great catch – and one destined for the smoker.

Elephant Stampedes in Capital CityBy James Silich


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As usual, we ‘berley up the beach’ every year about an hour before start time. We launch my boat at the rocks and travel the length of the beach. To do this we need three volunteers to help throw out the berley. At the time, one of our Lions Club members (Hugh Foster, who has since moved and transferred to Woodend Lions) had an artificial leg. Hugh put his hand up to assist me on boat duties. We duly arrived at the Beach and launched the boat. Hugh leaned over the side to let the flaps down and his cell phone slid from his pocket into the sea. Hugh, who can’t swim, without warning promptly jumped over the side of the boat, still only in chest deep water, to retrieve his phone. As he hit the water his artificial leg fell off! What resulted looked like a person with epilepsy having one major fit, albeit minus a leg. We had to reground the boat, drag Hugh back in and then search for his leg, which fortunately was found. The cell phone however has never been seen again!

Angler Loses Leg at Amberley Comp By Dave Moore

As summer draws nearer, many get the idea that a day surfcasting at the beach seems like a good one. If you are such a person you might find what The Fishing Paper does at Waimea College every year helpful for you to get started in surfcasting.

I assist Waimea College teacher, Trent Dallimore, in term four take a small group of students for weekly lessons teaching the basics of surfcasting. We start by learning two knots, the uni-knot and the longline knot. These two knots will cover all bases when surfcasting: tying on swivels, joining lines, attaching hooks and sinkers etcetera.

Once these knots are mastered, the next step is making a two-hook ledger rig with 3/0 hooks. Swivels are crimped on to the backbone so experience at crimping is gained by the students. Some hooks are made into flasher rigs and this, plus lumo beads and floats, enable

students to create a rig of their own design. Once the rods and reels have been set up

with long shock leaders, the basics of casting come next with the good old NZ special, the ‘overhead thump’. The casting skill is practised out on the playing fields for a number of weeks until a good level of competence has been achieved. This year’s intake of five students all achieved casts of 50–70 metres.

The programme culminates in two trips to the beach for full on fishing sessions. Nelson’s Back Beach off Parkers Road was the venue for the first trip, with all students being equipped with a rod, reel, rod stand, bait and their own rigs. Students learned to bait their hooks with squid and pilchards; tying the pilchards on with bait elastic.

During the two-hour fishing session across low tide, students managed to get plenty of good casts away and the best fish landed was a greyboy shark. A second trip is to Rabbit Island where hopefully the snapper will oblige. These students demonstrated that surfcasting is an easily learned form of fishing to get in to and have success with.

From Sinker to Smoker By Ron Prestage

Starting Surfcasting

Jen lands a greyboy at the Back Beach, using a two-hook ledger rig she made herself.

The Waimea College 2012 School of Fish graduates. Left to right: Jen Grant, Dray Staten, Trent Dallimore, Dylan Smith, Kyle Pilcher, Josiah Morel.


Jen lands a greyboy at the Back Beach, using a two-hook ledger rig she made herself.

The Waimea College 2012 School of Fish graduates. Left to right: Jen Grant, Dray Staten, Trent Dallimore, Dylan Smith, Kyle Pilcher, Josiah Morel.

THE FISHING PAPER www.thefishingpaper.co.nz8

Kayaking with Chris WestRudders and How to Use Them

Last issue we looked at using sweep strokes to

turn your kayak. Sweeps strokes are a great way to turn your kayak when it is stationary or moving slowly. If you have a rudder fitted then this is a useful tool for turning when your kayak is moving. While a rudder is not an essential component of a kayak, having a rudder will assist in keeping your kayak tracking straight, especially in windy conditions.

Know Your RudderWhen you fit a rudder to your kayak or if you

purchase a new kayak, then you need to figure out:

• Which line you pull on to lift/ deploy the rudder

• Does the rudder stay in the fully deployed position when you paddle forward, or does it need to be cleated in place

• How to adjust the position of your footpedal/ rudder flap so the rudder is pointing straight when your feet/ rudder flaps are equal

• Does the rudder turn equally to each side• Are you getting full turn in each direction

Making it WorkTo make your rudder work you need to have

boat speed; to turn faster you need to paddle harder and make the kayak move through the water faster. When trying to turn, make sure that you do not use different turning methods that work against each other. For example, turning the rudder to one side, while doing a braking stroke (not an ideal technique anyway) on the same side will reduce the effectiveness of the rudder. The

braking stroke slows your kayak which reduces the effect of the rudder. When your kayak comes to a stop you will also stop turning. If you paddle forward consistently while using your rudder you can continue turning as long as you have forward speed.

LimitationsA rudder will be less effective in certain

conditions. In shallow water, the rudder may not be deep enough in the water to get a good ‘bite’. Also, slow boat speeds will not create good rudder response, so paddling into a headwind will make the rudder feel less effective. If you are paddling with a following sea (paddling in the same direction as the wind and chop) you will get short surfs on the face of waves. When you are surfing, the stern of your kayak can be out of the water, meaning little or no rudder blade in the water. In these cases you will need alternative methods for controlling your kayak.

Rudders upThere are certain times when your rudder blade

needs to be out of the water (retracted position). The most common is during a surf landing. If your rudder is down, you risk damaging the blade if you end up surfing sideways, or when you get into shallow water.

Learning new techniques is best done under the guidance of a kayak instructor, who can ensure that you are learning the stroke correctly and avoiding learning bad habits.

To view this article, complete with pictures, visit: www.adventures-unlimited.co.nz

In early March 2011, two keen Canterbury kayaking lads decided to get away from earthquake central to hit the southern west coast for a spot of good fishing. With the wives signing off the leave passes, we hit the road late Friday evening and after a marathon drive, bunked down in Fox, but with the wagon fully laden, we could only sleep where we sat. After an early morning rude awakening from a local hotel operator upset at us for sleeping in a public place, we were off to Spot X north of Haast, under an overcast and drizzly sky.

The sandflies knew we were coming and within seconds the entire truck filled with a thick black cloud of the S%@# and they had the feast of their lives while our pants were down. After three-hours on the water we both had heaps of tarakihi and blue cod to 60cm, so decided to head in to Haast to sort out accommodation.

That night we were shocked to hear of a massive earthquake hitting Japan and the threat of tsunamis even here.

At Jacksons Bay early next morning, we checked with a couple of locals about the threat of tsunamis and were reassured things would be okay. So we put our faith in local advice and headed out. The weather and sea was perfect, but we weren’t on the right ground and the fishing was a little slow, so we drifted south, 1km out.

We didn’t get far when Ollie spotted fish boiling on the surface, so he cast the only lure he had, a Lucanus jig and cranked it back as fast as he could. Although he didn’t hook up,

several fish gave chase and suddenly Ollie

shouted, “We have albacore running under us,

quick change your gear!”

I was only carrying a short cod rod and

overhead reel, so I had to think about what to

do. Meanwhile Ollie had hooked up on his

second cast and things got exciting and the

adrenaline started pumping.

Quickly I set up with a Williamson High

Speed Jig 60g and not being very good at

casting an overhead reel, my first thought was

of the huge birds nest I was about to make for

myself, but luckily that was not the case. My

first cast, only a mere twenty feet away, hit

the surface and was instantly smacked and I

hooked up to my first albacore. The 20-minute

battle, excited voices and smiling faces is

something I’ll never forget. Ollie landed his

fish while I was about half done with mine.

Soon after I had another crack, but this time I

chose to jig not cast. I would have been about

one or maybe two metres off the bottom when

I hooked up with my second albacore.

It was just on evening when we made it back

in and as we unloaded our gear, we received

a gentle reminder of the events in Japan a day

earlier. Standing there, we watched the water

around us disappear for some 100m or more

as the seas surged in the wake of the tsunami.

Tuna, Tsunamis and a Prickly PublicanBy Grant Fowler & Ollie Gale

Kayaking with Chris Westbraking stroke slows your kayak which reduces the effect of the rudder. When your kayak comes to a stop you will also stop turning. If you paddle forward consistently while using your rudder you can continue turning as long as you have forward speed.

LimitationsA rudder will be less effective in certain

conditions. In shallow water, the rudder may not be deep enough in the water to get a good ‘bite’. Also, slow boat speeds will not create good rudder response, so paddling into a headwind will make the rudder feel less effective. If you are paddling with a following sea (paddling in the same direction as the wind and chop) you will get short surfs on the face of waves. When you are surfing, the stern of your kayak can be out of the water, meaning little or no rudder blade in the water. In these cases you will need alternative methods for controlling your kayak.

Rudders upThere are certain times when your rudder blade

needs to be out of the water (retracted position). The most common is during a surf landing. If your rudder is down, you risk damaging the blade if you end up surfing sideways, or when you get into shallow water.

Learning new techniques is best done under the guidance of a kayak instructor, who can ensure that you are learning the stroke correctly and avoiding learning bad habits.

To view this article, complete with pictures, visit: www.adventures-unlimited.co.nz


Pam Poole from Canterbury

out fishing with her husband

Graham, or should that be

out-fishing her husband! Pam

and Graham were fishing out

of Golden Bay with Wildcat

Charters when this nice

kahawai leapt into her arms!

Not sure if Pam is delighted

with her catch or whether the

kahawai has just spun her a

good line, but either way she’s

a pretty happy camper!

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November is BIG snapper time, because they move into Tasman Bay for spawning. Sunday 3 November looked like a possible opportunity to get out for a fish – ‘weather permitting’. With northerly winds a few days prior to the weekend and low tide at 7.15am, it had the makings of a good fishing day.

Lenny Smith and myself were on the water by 5.30am heading out the Cut to our spot 15-minutes away. On arrival, the setline was baited with a mixture of pilchards and squid then deployed to the bottom 70 feet below.

An hour went by with a few gurnard and carpet sharks being picked up on the rods; things were looking a bit grim with no snaps.

“Time to pick up the setline,” I said to Lenny.As we were bringing it in I could feel the tug of a good fish and to our amazement we had a huge

snapper -18lb – wow!“There’s still something big on here,” I said and then out of the depth came the second big snapper

- 19lb. We ended up with six snapper, all hooked on the squid baits, while some of the pilchards were untouched. We know where the snapper are, we just need to work out how to hook them on the rods.

Almost a 20lberBy Kevin Bannan

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STORY


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MOTUEKA PORT NELSON SAXTON ROAD

River bars are loaded with potential for mishap and we’d negotiated the mouth of the outlet to Lake Moeraki on the Coast many times, but any crossing is never to be taken lightly. The entrance is protected from the sea surge by a rock stack just off shore but, as we were about to learn, it didn’t guarantee immunity from disaster.

I had three P.O.B, all wearing lifejackets and taped to side of the boat was a tupperware container with PLB and flares. We also weren’t alone, joining another local out there, as the West Coast is not an area to be toyed with. On the way out the prop hit a sandbar, which is forever shifting, so I made a mental note to give it some space on our return.

A couple of hours after the top of the tide, the other boat cruised over and announced they were heading in.

“Well, if you’re going, we’re coming too!” I replied and we prepared to pack up and follow. Little did I realise at that moment that ‘assumption’ was about to be the architect of disaster. I assumed they’d wait once in the river to check that we’d made it and they assumed we’d be right behind them and cross without incident.

Because of the rock stack shelter, the surf comes in at right angles to the outflow of the river and, conscious of that sandbar, I overcompensated a tad on approach and an incoming wave caught up with us. In an instant we were surfing and once the bow hit the river current, we broached and in the bat of a sandfly’s eye, we were over – capsized!

Fortunately everyone kept his head and we stuck with the boat, which was being pushed back out toward the open sea.

There was another rock stack some 200m from shore and we quickly realised we’d need to make that if there was to be any chance of avoiding a trans-Tasman crossing. The only way to achieve this was to right the vessel and here fortune broke

like a sunbeam through the clouds of despair. The bow rope had floated free and entangled around the windscreen forming a loop, so I was able to pull that over the upturned hull. We all lined along one side and using the rope and stem of the outboard for leverage, worked with the wave action to overturn the boat; it took two goes.

During the calamity, the forces of nature had ripped the lid off the tupperware container spilling the contents.

A fish bin and oar had come adrift, but were retrieved by one of the lads who swam out to get them. The bin enabled us to bail out enough water to get us moving under single oar power and we eventually were able to drop the pick near the rock stack and take stock. We set about trying to coax life into the two motors but the efforts proved futile and by now the pounding waves were threatening to inflict another toll, so we made a call to try for shore.

I was wary that we could broach again in the 1.5m high surf, but luck was with us and we caught a good wave that

surfed us right up the beach, where we ultimately dragged the boat above the high tide mark. Darkness was quickly overcoming us and we noticed a crayfish boat tracking north, so we all stood high on the beach so the skipper could clearly make out the three of us with the boat washed ashore.

After a cold damp night we were located by local helicopter operator James Scott, who relayed our position to Search & Rescue.

Any accident or mishap is seldom an isolated incident, but the culmination of a series of little events. While we had taken the appropriate precautions and were equipped with safety devices, the unexpected still happened and this incident could have had a radically different outcome. In the end it was the fact that all three of us kept cool heads, remained calm and worked together methodically, that brought us home safely and in a timely manner. That and the efforts of many on shore.

Assumption the Architect of DisasterBy Lindsay Molloy

A Weekend of Two Halves By Steve Bennett

On Friday 5 October our group of nine guys from Brighton and Green Island, Dunedin, set off for Poolburn. The weather forecast was not the best, but we thought that a majority of the weather would pass over pretty quickly.

It was raining in Alexandra and as we set off up the Raggedy Range the sky got darker behind us. We made it to the hut in time to stow the gear and get the fishing lines out, with huhu grubs on (the wind and rain made fly fishing impossible, and

the water was too rough to launch the boats). My first fish on the Friday night was a 4 1/2 pound jack.

A couple of beers that night, and we awoke to a scene of horizontal sleet, snow, and high winds. It stayed like that for all of Saturday, but it did not stop us catching another 11 fish that day, with the biggest being Chris Keith’s five-and-a-quarter-pounder. One guy from another hut around the corner caught a seven-pound fish in top condition; in fact, all the fish were in good nick.

Sunday dawned fine and clear, and the boats were launched - resulting in a further three fish coming to the net. The clean up and pack up started at 1pm, in time to get back home. A stop in Wedderburn for refreshments saw the temperature at 23 degrees. A weekend of two halves.

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NEW ZEALAND HUNTING NEWS 13www.thefishingpaper.co.nz

Head Southward to Bag a BullBy Simon McMillan

I had never hunted tahr before, but had often been invited to by good friend, taxidermist and avid tahr hunter, Tyron Southward; we just never managed to get the timing right. Until this July when we discovered a week we could both go - awesome! But not before plenty of pre-trip hype and bullshit!

We flew in with Jamie Scott, who was brilliant and possibly the smoothest pilot I have flown with. We landed and set up camp; then it rained for the rest of the first day and most of the night.

Morning dawned clear and calm so we set about having a quick glass, then on with the boots and into the mountains. Most of the day was spent checking various ridges and gullies looking for bulls, but we didn’t find as many as we were expecting, so made plans to look into others areas in the coming days.

Back at camp, Tyron told me to make a brew, “But don’t take your boots off ‘cause you never know when we could be off again.”

Sure enough, I hadn’t even got the billy boiled and the call came to grab the rifle. “I’ve found a bull that looks pretty good, from here!”

By now it was raining again, but we were on task so just got on with the job! We climbed up behind camp for half-an-hour before Tyron was happy with our position. From our vantage point we could see some nannies and two young bulls. Tyron kept assuring me that there was a big boy there; he was just hiding in the scrub and to be patient. I was lucky enough to have a demo pair of Swarovski EL Range binos with me, so Tyron used them to watch the area and gauge the distance - the tahr were 270m away.

Finally, the bigger bull appeared and I lined him up, squeezed the trigger on my Remington XCRII 7mm Rem Mag and knocked him over! We scampered over to where he had been standing and, after a bit of banter from Tyron telling me that he must have got up and walked away, located my trophy: a magnificent 12” bull tahr.

By this stage it was getting late, so Tyron caped him for me and we started the walk out. Although it was now dark and pissing down, I smiled all the way back to camp. Needless to say, I slept very well and woke tired and sore, but happy.

I now await the arrival of my mount. Tyron assures me that I won't see it until next year, so I have plenty of time to work on my wife to get it up at home, otherwise you may just see it on the wall in the shop (the most likely option!).

Simon full of bull!

HUNTINGNEWS

NEW ZEALAND

CHRISTCHURCHSTORY

NEW ZEALAND HUNTING NEWS www.thefishingpaper.co.nz14

I have encountered an alarming number of blokes who hardly ever, or never clean their bore! I know us blokes aren’t the greatest volunteers for cleaning most of the time, but this sort of carry-on is distressing to say the least. With the incredible array of firearm cleaning products out there it surprises me more shooters do not have a regime for keeping their firearms clean. Even if ammunition is not corrosive, shooters should be running an oily patch through as a minimum after every shoot to preserve the bore’s lifetime and

provide clean performance on the next shoot.

The chemicals present within the hot gases

on combustion are myriad, and few of them

agree with steel or serve to protect the bore.

Don’t subscribe to ‘out of sight out of mind’

with your firearms’ barrel and its condition; a

little cleaning effort will keep your bore clean

and uncorroded. I always use this analogy:

Would you drink from a dirty glass?

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Our Crimpy’s a fella with much to his credit, I refer in particular to the paper he edits.

He gathers in stories from the young and the old that tell of experiences, some embellished, some bold.

His commitment is fuelled by a great passion for fishing, but he’s recently noticed his trigger finger itching.

And fancied a trip amongst high rocks and crannies, taking a pop at some nice plump tahr nannies.

Now none of us can claim we’re good at each task, sometimes help is needed and we just need to ask.

And when a trip to the hills Crimpy began to prepare, it wasn’t too long before he was very aware.

He needed the scope on his rifle adjusted, so called up a mate who he knew and he trusted.Pete knows hunting’s more than just taking aim,

he abhors the thought of wounding the game.For years he’s reloaded his own ammunition, then off to the range to confirm his precision. He strives for perfection, each shot is exact, his file full of targets confirming that fact.

So the very next day off went the two mates, and before very long were at the range gates.

Red flags were raised high and all set for some action, with ‘Goat-man’ Pete ready to give a little direction.

Soon Crimpy was aiming at targets some distance away, but the bullets would group, and then one shot go astray.

This went on for some time but in no mood for defeat, he vowed not to give up until the job was complete.

There was no holding back for our determined Crimpy, and by no means could anyone call him skimpy.

The bullets flew faster and with frustration mounting, spent shells fell to the ground, he sure wasn’t counting.

Just then Pete, who there’s no doubt knew his stuff, shouted over the tumult, “Enough is enough”.

And with wise words of advice called out, “Hey! Daryl, you need to cool down that hot barrel”

“Slow down a bit mate and rest for a while” then try again later, it might raise a smile”.

At last Crimpy was pleased with the morning’s success, Pete was right and a good job was done, none-the-less.

The mission completed and gear packed away, the decision was mutual to call it a day.

With his trigger finger now no longer itching, in fact you could say it was uncomfortably twitching,Crimpy admitted the hunting trip looked very bright,

so he thanked his old mate for seeing him right.And as they travelled homeward once more in the car,

Pete was sure he heard Crimpy say again - “Tahr”.

Scope for Improvement By Coryn Owen

Josh Drake was grinning when he approached me, “It worked,” he told me. Two rabbits one after another with his .22 semi-auto.

Years ago I did a bit of rabbit shooting in Central Otago and I’d told Josh about three rabbits I got in one burst with my semi auto. They were lined up on a hillside. I took the top one first. It was further away than the others. If I’d taken the closest animal the other two would have run. When I shot it the other two were confused. That gave me time to drop the cross-hairs quickly onto number two, then number three.

The trick is to drop your gun sights onto you target. It’s much easier because you are working with gravity and you can slow right down and squeeze your shot off as you line up your target. If you lift your gun up onto the target you’re working against gravity. It’s difficult to slow down to line up your target. There is a tendency to overshoot the target.

I learned this technique through trial and error then regular and consistent success.

Here is another tip worth trying with open sights. Don’t adjust your back sight. Just use your front sight. For close

shots use a fine sight. For long shots put the post in the V if you have to and line up the ball at the top of the post with your target.

For extreme long shots you really need to have somewhere to rest your rifle. A .22 bullet drops very quickly. I’ve hit hares like that. They’re bigger targets than rabbits. If you wound them don’t chase them as they will run a long way before they drop, as they have a big heart. Let the shock of being hit by a bullet do its work.

To be good at long distance shooting you need to practise and to know your gun well. Be prepared for a few misses, but it is really worth it when you hit your target.

One of my best shots was across a gully with a long barrelled .22 with a 4x32 scope. The rabbit was so far away I had it at the bottom of the scope. Any lower and I wouldn’t have seen it. It was all guess work.

These days we have some great technology. My nephew Nathan uses a high powered rifle for deer. He has a state of the art dial up scope and uses a laser to measure the distance to his target before he adjusts his scope. Nathan sets the gun up on a tripod, allows for the wind and is taking animals down at 500 metres or more with great success. If you have the dollars and the time the new technology is a very good option.

Hunting Tips By Craig Grant

HISTORICAL TRIVIAArm and a LegIn George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are 'limbs,' therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, 'Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg.' (Artists know hands and arms are more difficult to paint)


“There’s one!” I hissed.A barely imperceptible mark on the heavily

vegetated ridge would later transform into a bull tahr. At the moment it was a smudge on the skyline – experienced hunters’ eyes learn to detect minute anomalies against nature’s background – but when I put the Swarovski 10x32 binos into play, the face of the tahr stood stark against the hebes and tussocks that obscured the rest of the animal. At 750m it was the contrasting brown of the creature’s nose against its spring cream coat that drew the naked eye to it. A tahr’s eyesight is far more acute than ours, so imagine what it could see at that distance.

Colin Murray and I were deep in the creek bed and sticking to the shadows under a shale bench to remain as invisible as possible. We hunkered down and proceeded to glass the three animals that were now descending to the lower alpine meadows above the creek for their afternoon feed.

Both Colin and I were kitted in Sitka gear in order to field test the efficacy of the product and hopefully determine if there was any truth to the claim that its use of computer generated fragmented shapes break the human form and help you blend in the background. Clearly we were unnoticed at this stage because we were stationary, in shadow and the Sitka colour melded perfectly with the grey shale.

When the tahr dropped out of the bluff system 220m away, both Colin and I cautiously stood for a pee – old man’s syndrome – and

the larger bull instantly swung his gaze upon us. We froze and interestingly, his look was not one of alarm or concern but curiosity. It’s important to note here that the clothing doesn’t make you invisible so good hunting practice is still a prerequisite to success. Animals still can detect movement but in this case the bull considered the distraction to be nothing out of the ordinary and continued on and out of sight. The animals did climb back into the lower bluffs though.

With a cold zephyr at our backs, we methodically made our way upstream to a point we could boulder hop to the other side and stalk back on the unsuspecting trio. Ahead, on a meadow kissing the edge of the stream, Colin spied a mixed herd comprising a dozen tahr and while we attempted a bold stalk, the wind and their sharp eyesight outclassed our geriatric fumbling.

We sidled high on the true left of the valley and eventually made the bluffs where we’d last seen our quarry. We were disadvantaged because we had no idea where the animals had headed in the hour-and-a-half it had

taken to get us to this point, so it became a silent inch-by-inch operation. Hugging the bluff base, we skirted the nasty Spaniards that littered the path ahead and climbed a gutter to a prominent point that promised a good view of the sloping meadows ahead.

At one stage I lost my nerve and froze on a gnarly ledge above a waterfall, which necessitated Colin coming back to coax me on and lend assistance with his third leg – MOUNTAIN STICK!

We moved on and as his head broached the skyline, quick eyes caused him to drop back and smile directly at me. Three fingers and then he pointed to the bluffs above us. We held quiet counsel and quickly determined the best path to execute the stalk – a steep, damp chimney that was little

more than a crack, edged with loose rocks and clumps of damp mossy vegetation.

I picked my way cautiously, choosing handholds and footholds with my eyes and checking that the tahr were still heads down, before making the next move. It was snake in the grass stuff, with toes, knees, fingers and other body points assisting with the creep forward. Colin kept whispering advice from below, but like a mumbling stream, I couldn’t make out a word he was saying. He’s deaf and he couldn’t hear what he was saying either.

I crabbed sideways to keep a tuft of tussock between me and the nanny that had materialised across the intervening gut. Then

came the tricky part of removing my pack and setting it up as a bench rest; the terrain was steep and I could only anchor myself with my toes, so my position was precarious.

The nanny detected movement and fixed her gaze in our direction but again it was one of curiosity rather than alarm. I suspect my barrel waving around didn’t help but I’d prefer to blame it on Colin’s hobbit-like face peering up at it.

Because our aim was to secure camp meat for the week, I singled the nanny as my target but there was no excuse for the poor delivery of that first shot – slightly too far back but she wasn’t going anywhere. I refocussed, found my rhythm and quickly dispatched a young bull before swinging back and taking the nanny out with a clean shot through the brisket.

Did the Sitka gear help? Well, the shot was taken at around 100m and a couple of days later we found ourselves very up close and personal with 32 bulls! But, as they say in the media, that’s another story. Tune in next month for more Sitka suspense.

Tucker Time for TahrBy Daryl Crimp

Colin spied a mixed herd comprising a dozen tahr and while we attempted a bold stalk, the wind and their

sharp eyesight outclassed our geriatric fumbling.

NEW ZEALAND HUNTING NEWS www.thefishingpaper.co.nz16

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Johnny Cash had a hit with, A Boy Called Sue, which caused the subject of the song some angst, but call Paul Clark from ‘NZ Ammo’ A Man Called Norma, and it’s likely to engender a smile and sense of satisfaction.

Paul is an enthusiastic hunter, trophy hunter, ex-culler and meat hunter, and together with wife Jenny, run New Zealand Ammunition Company Limited, distributors of a vast range of quality hunting and firearms products. Paul has established a reputation internationally that has seen his company acquire leading brands such as Swarovski, Surefire and Sierra, and he is always on the lookout for quality products to complement their current range.

After 60-odd-years, change has arrived for the distribution of Norma Ammunition in NZ. New Zealand Ammunition Company Limited, a leading importer of ammunition of all types from 12 gauge less lethal to M72 shoulder fired missiles, is pleased to announce that they have been selected by Norma Ammunition Sweden, part of the Ruag Group headquartered in Switzerland, to take over all distribution of all Norma products in New Zealand.

Paul says, “Norma Ammunition and components are a great fit with the existing products that are currently imported and distributed by NZ Ammo, and reloading and hunting enthusiasts can now look forward to a greater range of Norma product availability and service.”

The Norma Ammunition range is one of the most comprehensive in the world, starting at .222 Remington and finishing at the .505 Magnum Gibbs.

“In other words,” says Paul, “there is a suitable Norma cartridge for every animal that currently roams the planet. And if there isn’t - you have been in the pub too long!”

Paul where he is at his happiest – hard at work in his office.

A Man Called NormaBy Daryl Crimp

BOOK REVIEWChopper ChatterBy Ken TustinThe Halcyon PressReviewed By Daryl CrimpI’ve read all of Ken’s books and am a fan of his writing. It’s sometimes hard to define what makes a good author, but in Ken’s case his books work on many planes (deliberate sick pun). Firstly, he writes as though you are sitting across a table from him, sharing a brew and an interesting conversation, and he’s so good at it you don’t even realise he’s the one doing all the talking.Secondly, his subject matter is interesting and his style pacey and engaging. He writes with a smile, his words conveying humour and dry wit honed with a sense of cheek. Yet it is substantive; Ken Tustin’s life reads like a good TV mini-series and Chopper Chatter is filled with the right mix of drama, suspense, levity and interesting characters to command prime viewing – or in this case, reading.While the book does cover the tail end of the venison recovery era, it covers a broader spectrum of helicopter activity, chronicling the varied adventures, places and jobs Ken lived through. It would be negligent of me to list them here, because part of the thrill of the book is vicariously enjoying each escapade as it unfolds at the hands of a master storyteller. Ken has the ability with words to put you in the seat alongside of him and to keep you on the edge of it for much of the ride.

If you dream of beating me, you'd better wake up and apologise.'

Muhammad Ali Quotes


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Product Testfire: Surefire ‘Fury’ Flashlight & Minimus LED HeadlampBy Daryl Crimp

My recent tahr junket, er – hunt, provided the perfect opportunity test a number of products and two that shined were the Surefire LED Headlamp and it’s buddy the Fury Flashlight. Both are precision quality products, which is reflected in the price.

Minimus Variable Output Headlamp – 1 – 100 Lumen.

I’d definitely be happy to find this in my Christmas stocking, but if you are expecting it to perform like other narrow beam LEDs and use it as a spotlight – move on. This unit produces radiant light, which gives about 40m of ‘daylight-type’ light in front of you, at full power and a running time of 1.5hrs. You can turn it down and greatly increase running time, but being a bit of a ‘Tim the Tool Man’, I liked it cranked up. I list amongst its strengths:

• comfort – the adjustable elastic headstrap and broad padded forehead cradle made it almost unnoticeable

• coming off the mountain in the dark was greatly aided by the radiant light, because it allows you to work your periphery vision and therefore have a greater sense of where you are, as opposed to focussing on a narrow beam in front of you.

• ergonomically robust and functional: inset lens protects against knocks; twist grip ends easily adjust light intensity and angle of beam, and looks and feels as though it’s made to last.

• brilliant for around the campfire – cooking, drinking, yakking and stoking the fireNegatives were hard to pick other than the lower settings weren’t that useful, other than saving power

and it doesn’t come with a pack-away case.

Surefire ‘Fury’ Dual Output Flashlight – 15 or 500 lumens (Runtime 46h – 1.5h respectively).

This is a doozey and I want one. A nice piece of craftsmanship that ticks the following boxes:

• compact, robust, stylish and powerful• fits hand like an extra appendage, with

moulded finger and thumb grips assisting• easy to operate thumb button for dual settings• 500 lumen setting lights up a broad area, with

the lens reflecting a strong central light that softens towards the extremities, thereby not taxing your eyes natural inclination to focus and use the periphery vision for secondary information – clever.

Negatives: it’s not cheap so you wouldn’t want to lose it and being small and black, that could be a risk if you put it down and got distracted. I was surprised it didn’t come standard with a lanyard, but I’ve since discovered they can be purchased as an accessory.

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A Hippo with a Chocolate BuzzBy Kim Swan

It was one of those mornings. One of those horrible spring dawns when you take care how you pee, wind gusting so strong and sudden that ‘blow back’ was a likely risk. Wind so strong that it could send you scuttling sideways or swipe your hat and whisk it irretrievably skywards.

We three were weekend warriors. All pig hunting, each to their own, going their separate ways as the sun rose and a blustery nor’wester tore away scent, hats and hope. Poss had three dogs, Donna two and me just one - the numbers did not increase the odds; about noon we each straggled in with tales of blow, woe, and of no-go.

After boiling the billy and scoffing sandwiches, we went for a drive high into the hills behind the hut. Up into the gale. Up there Poss and his dogs chose a rocky ridge and a roundabout route to return. Off they went, moist noses into the wind. Ding-ding, round two - Mother Nature, the old battler, she promptly biffed him around the ears and chucked in some low blows, along with a southerly front.

The rain started. Then snow. Both falling horizontally. The temperature plunged, rapidly toppling from twelve to seven, then hovering between seven and six.

I donned layer upon layer of warm clothes and chose a different route. Then the wind and rain eased. Sweat-inducing, temperature-raising sun soon, became a distinct possibility. I ditched a couple of layers, said, “Ta very much ma’am” to old Mrs Nature and strode off with my sole pig dog in tow.

A sheltered gulch. Merciless sun. Sweat trickling between cleavage - sweat trickling between bum cheeks. I waved to Poss on yonder rocky ridge, him descending there and me ascending here.

Onwards and upwards, letting instinct and common sense guide me. Following game trails and aiming for clearings sheltered from the cold winds. Aiming for bright green spring growth, sun spots, shade spots.

An enormous fat black hippo blocked my path through a sweet green saddle. Her enlarged Angus udder, grossly swollen pink indicated she was recently a mother. She told me, in her silent way, that should I dare approach any closer she’d butt my butt from here to hell.

You might call me a coward but I’d say it was good stockmanship; I altered my route. I sidestepped, climbed high and quiet - up, up, and around her.

It was up there - on a stock route less travelled - that I glanced back towards the big cow’s hideout of broom, matagouri and dry bracken and saw a

chocolate deer. Mmm - chocolate.My heart rate quickened, pulse racing further

as I slid the Remington off my shoulder ... as I tried to slide it off my shoulder. The rifle sling-swivel had caught the hood toggle of my jacket. The chocolate deer looked up, its expression registering concern and alarm. It was a long way off but it sensed I was neither bovine nor hippo.

Heart b’doom, b’doom, b’dooming against my ribcage - I gave myself a little pep talk, “Tiny movements Kim. Don’t panic. Don’t say ‘come off you naughty little piece of plastic, come off for goodness sake’ out loud, as you’d like to do”!

The toggle and its tether finally untangled. The Remington fell to my shoulder. And soon,

very soon, a projectile was speeding down to the patch of frost-burnt broom where chocolate lay abed. It sliced across the top of his heart, severing it cleanly. Lifeblood, and life, both ran out.

Well hello! The clever buck had a friend. Another clever little camouflaged buck lay hidden beside

him, on the edge of cover and out of the wind. He ran and then he stopped to look back.

Another self-talk, “Leave him be, don’t be greedy”. But then, I’m only human. I am, after all, a hunter-gatherer and venison steaks are mighty tasty. Summer is on the way - barbecue season.

So me and I argued. Either ignore buck two or give him a sporting chance. If I could pull off a long range head-shot; if he should fall instantly dead, then good fortune would be mine.

I fired. There was a resounding crack. The buck bolted lop-sidedly. Before this moment he’d sported two palmated antlers, whereas now he had just one. He was unharmed though and good fortune was his.

I made my way down to the fallen chocolate fallow: a beauty, in prime condition and with very even antlers. I danced a little break dance and mentioned the word ‘woohoo’ several times. Then I promptly cut my thumb as I removed steaming entrails, with shaking hands.

As I made my way back through the sweet green saddle, I had a quiet word with the udderly maternal cow, thanking her for previously re-routing me. She tossed her head, swished her tail and exhaled loudly through glistening nostrils. Quick as a cheetah she charged me. I did a little sideways skip and skitterish skitter. You may say I was a coward. I’d say I was simply a little skittish, on a natural high from all the adrenaline in my system. Or maybe my hyperactivity was an after-effect of all that chocolate!


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31stDecember

Captain’s Log: Beam me up spottyDawn was a raggedy thing that

dragged me from my sleeping bag on that cold November morning. Daniel went from dead sleep to full alert in a flicker despite the thrumming of rain on the old tin roof, because there was a hint of fish

in the air. Our alarm clock was one, Rick van Der Zwet, honorary Fish & Game officer of Christchurch whose job description that day was to put us onto fish. Little did I know that it was going to be a funny name at either end of the day that would define this particular Canterbury High Country Opening for me.

We first tackled the shores of Lake Georgina and between wind-driven icy showers, cast ticers, Tobies, ‘ticklers’ and tonnes of metal into the tea-coloured water. I recognised a fellow contributor to The Fishing Paper to my left and he immediately fell short in my estimation. Adrian Staal – if you ever waltz nonchalantly to the shore, cast in front of me and land a fish like that again, I shall plead insanity at my trial!

To the big guy dressed like an oversized French Letter who interrupted my machinations to tease a trout from ‘somewhere’, with breezy Canterbury banter before disappearing into the gloom – you had no bloody right to wander back minutes later with that ‘innocently cheerful’ look on your face. I wasn’t the slightest bit interested in the trout you’d just released.

Later, we fished Coleridge itself, from the shore again – whipped it, flogged it, beat it relentlessly until it looked lake a cold Flat White. Then an old guy got out of a car to our right, yawned and stretched and scratched and proceeded to make the water’s edge, his neoprene waders mumbling at the gravel.

A volley of cars pulled up to our left and a gaggling family spilled forth and assaulted the silence with uncalled for happiness. The guy to the right had one cast and caught a salmon, then retired back to the car for another sleep.

A guy to the left, whom I soon discovered was called ‘Uncle Paul’, flicked out a lure that pulled up tight on the second cast. It was a battered old Toby! I’d been using a Toby for hours to no avail and had only just changed to a rubber thing that looked like an accessory for a miniature French Letter. I’d flicked it through windshear, rain, hail, sleet and ‘sneet’. Yes ‘sneet’ – that’s what sleet looks like in the instant before it turns to snow!

The ignominy of it all was compounded when I made the acquaintance of ‘Uncle Paul’. His smile was radiant, welcoming and genuine – mine was a first degree ‘sneer’ – that’s one degree before it turns to sneet! It transpired that ‘Uncle Paul’s’ full name is Paul van Kuppevelt! If only I’d been out-fished by a bloke with a simple name like ‘Bob Jones’, perhaps I’d have felt better.

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Zac Perriton and Andrew Claridge were fishing off Christchurch’s New Brighton Pier when Andrew loaded up on a good rig. He was using crab for bait, a favourite of the spotted smoothhound, as it is sometimes known as. It is also referred to as lemonfish, gummy shark and pioke. While it has become a Kiwi classic in the fish and chip trade and popular with land-based anglers as a good freezing fish and great deep-fried, the boys were curious about what rig liked on their menu. A quick inspection of the stomach revealed these interesting critters.

These extraterrestrial-like beings turned out to be mantis shrimps, which are common around our coastal waters.

Mantis shrimps (Squilla armata ) have cool pincers that they discretely tuck away and whip out to strike their prey? They are mere inches long but can throw the fastest punch of any animal – some species up to 80kph. They strike with the force of a rifle bullet and can shatter aquarium glass and crab shells alike.

They live in muddy areas from estuaries down to 200m.

Extraterrestrials Rig Special Visit By Daryl Crimp

Paul van Kuppevelt is all smiles!

www.thefishingpaper.co.nz

The Pink Page

Local Stockists: Stirling Sports, Mobil-Richmond, Port Nelson Fuels & Rentals, Burnsco Marine, Big Blue Dive & Fish, Takaka Fuels & Fishing

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Wacka MurphyBy Daryl Crimp

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19THE FISHING PAPER

Sudoku

GO GIRL HUNTING ADVENTURESVenison virgin? Want to be a bit wild?Flummoxed mum, nubile nymph or grey-haired gran - city sophisticate or gumboot gal - ravishing rose or shrinking violet - I can help you achieve your game hunting goals!

Big game, small game, photography or time out.Numerous options, lots of fun, no pressure.

Your guide: Kim Swan, wife, mother, hunter, author

p: 03 5716 170 e: [email protected]

Virgin No More

By Donna Short

A while back I was invited on a hunting weekend with mates Kim and Poss; the forestry block did not have much game, but the scenery was great and it was somewhere different to explore.

As usual, 'sparrow fart' was the time set to meet before transferring my gear, dogs and self to Kim's truck for the 4WD trek into the valley. Once the gear was stowed in the hut, us girls were chauffeured to the top of the hill - with our pig dogs of course. Many kilometres of walking later we reconvened at the hut, all empty-handed.

Afternoon hunts were delayed by a sudden downpour and a rapidly dropping temperature, while the evening stalk only produced a cold tootsie. Having endured all seasons in one day, my warm sleeping bag was very welcome that night.

We woke to a mega frost, -3 degrees INSIDE the hut and very crisp outside. This time Poss and I were chauffeured to the top of another hill. On the journey up, a magnificent fallow stag bounded in front of the truck before leaping a fence and bolting away - what a way to start the day, excitement levels rising!

Around the next bend a trio of red deer were sunning themselves by the track. We stopped and admired them briefly before Kim said to me, "Here’s your chance to shoot your first deer."

'Wow, are you serious?' I thought as my heart rate increased. I got my .22 magnum out of the truck and started to sneak down the track whispering,

"Don’t get buck fever, don’t get buck fever". CRUNCH CRUNCH - trying to sneak in crunchy frost almost gave me the giggles. As I got closer, two of the deer scattered, leaving a nice 8-point stag my target - he seemed loathe to run, hope was rising!

The stag jumped off the track as I got closer, hiding in the tight scrub below me. He hadn’t gone far before I had the scope crosshairs on the back of his head. I squeezed the trigger - it was a hit - he went down! "WOOHOO!"

What a moment. Woohoos - both mine and Kim's - began echoing around the hill.

After the congratulatory hugs and the photos, I was able to thank Kim, my friend and my guide for the weekend - without her I would still be a venison virgin.

Thalia no Minnow Now

By Daryl CrimpThalia Bloomfield certainly

knows how to stitch up the lips of the experts, after delivering this monster in spectacular fashion this past October. On her first outing after a snapper in Kenepuru Sound, she decided against taking an apprenticeship and went straight to being CEO of Bloomfield Enterprises by entering the ‘Double-Digit Club’ with her first fish. Thalia was using a ledger rig baited with squid and is very happy with her 21lb 3oz debut snapper.

Girl Power Strikes Again! By Kieran ‘Danger’ DooleyMy super girlfriend, Sarah the Salmonator Carson, has acquired quite a knack for showing the

boys up. Over Easter she proceeded to dominate the salmon of the High Country canals, with her best of the weekend being a rather chunky 8lber, while us three ‘fullas’, fishing right beside her, were left seething in jealousy and empty bags. Since then she has proceeded to rake up a rather impressive tally of cracker rainbows from our Dunedin reservoirs.

In an attempt to regain some of my masculinity, we rocked off to Toko Mouth near Milton. As I have a bit of a knack for nailing big searuns, I thought I could nab myself something tasty for the table and restore some male pride; alas, this was not to be.

The location was her idea and she had some new toys to try out on those unsuspecting searuns. As I made my way to where I thought would be the ‘ideal’ fishing spot, she cranked up her rod and cast through a rather shallow tidal flat; I hadn’t even reached my spot before – BANG - she was on, and it was a cracker. It weaved and rolled as she played the game: I must admit I was very impressed to see how well she handled this southern brawler.

As it made his way to the shallows, I netted and brought it over for inspection. Her first

brown trout and a nice specimen of just over 5lb.

Right, now I knew where they were. I couldn’t let myself be shown up by my better half yet again, but before I had even made my third cast, she had on another. This one was a sexy lil’ 4lb hen. Alas, on this day I had no luck and we are both neck in neck with our fish tallies for the season. I’m thinking it’s time I get her a fly rod and hopefully while she’s learning the basics, I can get ahead! answers on page 26

THE FISHING PAPER www.thefishingpaper.co.nz

Christmas Cracker Product PreviewSuper Lube Aerosol with Syncolon (PTFE) is a multi-purpose lubricant, safe to use on anything that slides, swivels, rolls or squeaks. It withstands temperatures from minus 40°C degrees to more than 200°C. Super Lube Aerosol with Syncolon (PTFE) is a synthetic, heavy-duty lubricant which is compatible with most other lubricants.Applications:• Industrial - Bearings, conveyors, chains, pumps,

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weightlifting equipment and fitness machineryBenefits:Super Lube Aerosol is synthetic with Syncolon (PTFE) is non-toxic and odorless. It won’t stain or harm wood, rubber, leather, plastics, fabrics and paint, and it’s completely water resistant even saltwater.Super Lube Aerosol won’t drip, run or evaporate. It repels dirt, dust, grit and grime and prevents rust and corrosion while reducing friction. This provides longer machinery life, with the added bonus of reducing maintenance.Trade enquiries welcome.RR Fisher, PO Box 10055, Phillipstown, Christchurch, ph 03 377 0025, fax 03 377 0086

Super Lube Aerosol has it Covered Master Craftsman Captures Dream MomentAward-winning and nationally acclaimed MARINE TAXIDERMIST, Ross Brownson is a master craftsman with a reputation for excellence when reproducing a life-like replica your ‘once in a lifetime’ trophy fish mount. Enjoy a sense of pride with the mount on your wall, while spinning the yarn of how the trophy was caught. If you prefer to return

the fish to the water, Ross has a wide range of different sized moulds so he can still replicate your freshwater or saltwater catch. If the one you caught is the special one you want mounted, phone Ross or visit www.taxidermist.co.nz for freezing instructions, so that the fish can be frozen correctly before freighting. Definitely the one that did or didn’t get away will be the envy of your fishing buddies. Got time, call into Eyes On Nature Fish and Bird Museum to check out Ross’s work and bring the family, it’s a great adventure. Ross Brownson, EYES ON NATURE, 61 Main Road, Havelock, Marlborough. Phone: 03 574 2590 or 0274 979 547 Website: www.taxidermist.co.nz

Kiwi Made IKiGUN Puts Taste Back Into Tasteless JobMost fishermen know ‘Iki’ killing their fish improves the taste and texture, but not many can consistently do a perfect Iki-spike. The latest fishing innovation now makes the process easy, fast and humane.Originating in Japan, the term Iki refers to the rapid destruction of the fish’s brain, which stops the heart and muscle spasms. This reduces the pH change in the flesh, maintaining its fresh texture and taste. The IKiGUN uses stored energy to pulverise the brain tissue with a captive bolt.The Ikiboard is designed to help you handle and measure your fish without spiking yourself or damaging the fish. Gentle pressure on the flap will hold the fish while aiming the IKiGUN. The Ikiboard base will prevent the Ikigun spike from through penetration at all power settings. For the fisherman who has everything else, the completely New Zealand designed and built Ikigun and Ikiboard rounds out the gear.Ikigun $80.00Ikiboard $20.00Ikigun & Ikiboard Combo pack $90.00Available from www.ikigun.co.nz or Tel: 09 815 2999

DIY Kontiki KitsetIf you enjoy fishing but don’t have sea legs or want the expense of owning and running a boat, then an electric kontiki could be your answer. Waverider Marine Limited design and manufacture their own kontikis and would like to introduce to you their Waverider DIY Kontiki Kitset.Your kitset comes with, plastic kontiki shell (plastic moulded) with watertight quick release lid, 30lb thrust Mercury electric motor, 30 minute timer, 30 amp motor relay, base plate with motor tube, prop guard, tacking plate, two dry cell batteries, night activated strobe light, flag and flag pole. This is everything you need, except the glue, screws and wire.Full assembly instructions are included but it’s pretty simple. Cut holes in the kontiki body for the lid and motor tube. Glue on the base plate. Wire the electronics. It’s that easy. Why buy an expensive kontiki when you can make it yourself with the Waverider DIY Kontiki Kitset for only $750 plus freight? Waverider also stock complete kontikis, plastic trace rack, traces and supply all kontiki parts.Available from Waverider Marine Limited, PO Box 4028, RotoruaPh : 027 6166907, [email protected], or www.waverider.net.nz. Checkout us on trademe and sella.

Hands-Free Fishing, Hunting or Cruising with

Native Watercraft Ultimate PropelThe comfort and convenience of the Ultimate series is combined with the function and performance of a pedal drive unit. The 10:1 prop ratio equals speed and efficiency for all day enjoyment. The propel unit can be removed or tilted forward for shallow water launches or when paddling is the preferred option. The drive unit features forward and reverse capability for unmatched control.Features include:Tunnel Hull; Stable and efficient while allowing a wide stance when standing (that’s right you can stand up in these kayaks).First Class Seating; Removable for transport and can be used as a camp chair. Suspended so it drains and vents while moving.Adapt-a-trak; Snap-in feature for quick adjustment of skirts, storage bags, and fishing accessories.RRP $4499 Henderson’s Special Price $3999Available from Hendersons Ltd, 38 Grove Road, Blenheim, (03) 578 9960

www.thefishingpaper.co.nz 21THE FISHING PAPER

Christmas Cracker Product PreviewCRACKER DEAL!

3 rigs for just $25!We’ve cracked it! Why pay more for top quality NEW ZEALAND MADE flasher rigs.Fill your boots and stockings with this mighty saver.TACKLESAVE in conjunction with Henderson’s (Blenheim) and Takaka Fuels and Fishing (Golden Bay) have this great offer to simplify your holiday spend and prezzy search.Three flasher rigs each with a free RIGFOOT rig storer (also NZ made!)Multi sizes, 1/0, 3/0 and 5/0 will cover all options from boat or shore this summer for tarakihi, gurnard, cod, kahawai and more.Hand-tied by HOT SHOTZ, these are already in hot demand - you will never regret buying NZ made quality.Get yours now from Henderson’s, Takaka Fuels or direct to your door from www.tacklesave.co.nz

Sound Safe

An Amazing New Entertainment Product from GME Today most of us appear to be inseparable from our mobile phone, iPod or MP3 player. We literally want to take them everywhere we go, whether it is to the beach, the rainforest, the building site or even white water rafting. Of course our greatest fear is that we’ll get it wet, drop it overboard or ruin it with sand or dust. Well, worry no more! GME introduces the perfect solution for such challenging situations. The GME Sound Safe is a robust, buoyant, waterproof case with an integrated amplifier and speaker, which quickly connects to any media player 3.5mm headphone socket via an internal cable. So no matter if it’s work rest or play, your device is fully protected from the external environment. Virtually any personal media player, cell phone, including the recently released iPhone 5, fits securely within the Sound Safe’s watertight housing, there’s even a little additional space to hold car keys, money and other valuables; in fact, the Sound Safe remains buoyant with a payload of up to an impressive 230 grams. A carabiner clip is also provided for additional security. The GME Sound Safe is offered in three eye-catching colours, safety yellow, jet black or classic white. It is available through GME’s dealer network now. Visit www.gme.net.au or contact your favourite GME retailer.

Ready for sand, salt and big fishThe A360 full metal body, rotor and sideplate finished with corrosion resistant matt body paint eliminates body flex under load and provides a corrosion resistant housing for the Precision Cut Digital Gearing (PCDG) and stainless mainshaft. At the front end is the new Dynamic Carbon Drag (DCD), HD carbon washers are used for a powerful, smooth and reliable drag system. A 5 bearing system with XCR sealed bearings in key locations and ‘always on’ anti reverse bearing make the Salt ready for sand, salt and big fish.Other performance features include a balanced rotor system, heavy duty bail and machined and anodized aluminium handle with soft touch knob.FEATURES Full A360 metal body, rotor and sideplate keep precise gear alignment under heavy loads Dynamic Carbon Drag System (DCD). Powerful, smooth and reliable Machined and anodized aluminum spool Stainless steel main shaft 5 stainless steel ball bearings Infinite anti-reverse Balanced rotor gives smooth retrieves Heavy duty bail arm Machined and anodized aluminum handle with soft touch knob Excellent start out reel for kingfishing this summer. Only $350 including Ugly Stik Platinum 6’0” Rod.Available from Hendersons Ltd, 38 Grove Road, Blenheim, (03) 578 9960

Enjoy the

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desire Clear Vue Acrylic Fencing from your local ITM Building Centre is ideal for around pools, spas, around the porch or as veranda fencing. Comes with a 15 year full replacement warranty, with high impact resistance and superb clean lines that will enhance your view, not obstruct it. Clear Vue Acrylic Fencing is a high quality DIY fencing solution. This is a true alternative to glass panelled fencing. Made of high grade acrylic and easy to install, Clear Vue Acrylic Fencing is a high quality unobstructive solution to pool fencing that meets NZ Pool Standards NZS 8500:2006. Keep pets and family safe with Clear Vue Acrylic Clear fencing from your local ITM Building Centre. Talk to a Building Supplies Specialist at your local ITM Building Centre in Nelson, Motueka, Takaka, Havelock or Greymouth or visit our website at www.building-supplies.co.nz for more information.

Are you looking for the ultimate Fiordland fishing, diving and hunting experience? Then check out Takapu Charters. If diving is your thing you will soon be feasting on delicious scallops and crayfish; for some culinary variety you might cast your rod amongst the bountiful blue cod and groper or perhaps sample your fresh venison, washed down by your favourite drop of course.

The Takapu is one of New Zealand’s most well known charter vessels. Mark, your skipper, is a real dinkum Kiwi and has 12 years of charter experience in Fiordland’s pristine Chalky and Preservation Inlets and as a result knows all the best spots.If you have a group of friends or family who would love to disappear into the wilderness for 7 days, then a Takapu Charter is for you. Many of New Zealand’s outdoor TV personalities have had the Takapu experience and rave about it - you will too.Phone 03 614-8838Mobile 027 224-1284 027 249-6584 (Jo-Anne)email: [email protected]


Marco & the Whitebait

TroutDear Ed,

My name is Marco, I live in Luxembourg, a small

country in Europe and I was in New Zealand from 1-14 November. From 2-7, I stay in a friend’s house in Motueka and of course I went flyfishing every day. On the 5 November, I fish on the Riwaka River. After changing fly, I lost the white bait imitation in the stones. On the sixth I came back to same pool, between the stones I found the white bait back. I fish immediately with that and after 20 minutes, I land this beautiful seatrout: 60 cm and 6 pounds.It’s a far way from Europe, but I be back next year, for sure. I land also a few big ones at the Tongariro River where I stay from 7-14 November.Greatings from LuxembourgMarco Boetcher

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2011 Suzuki Kingquad 300 4x4 $6495

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0800 999 121 www.totallyboating.co.nz

The Crimps

Getting into summer family fi shing fun has never been easier at Totally Boating.

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Daryl Crimp’s Guide to Sea Fishing

in New ZealandCrimpy has been fishing most of his life and, in fact, his mother was once rumoured to have said that he was born with his rod in his hand, which makes him the perfect guide to the intricacies and magic of recreational sea fishing.With his inimitable blend of common sense, expert advice and good humour, Crimpy guides you through the basics of sea fishing so that you might put more fish on the table and gain more pleasure from this quintessential Kiwi pastime. Liberally illustrated with photographs, diagrams and cartoons, this entertaining and informative book would make the perfect gift for the budding fisher this Christmas and greatly extend the family menu. With tips to get you targeting everything from blue cod, tarakihi and snapper, through to kingfish, groper, kahawai and other things with fins, this book is a handy edition to any library.Daryl Crimp’s Guide to Sea Fishing in New Zealand quickly became a best seller and has since sold out, and is now out of print. We have a limited number of first edition copies available, so be in quick to secure your copy of this iconic Kiwi Classic.Christmas Sale Price - $15 plus $5p/p. Stocks are limited.Copies available direct from The Fishing Paper – Unit B/1 Kotua Place, Wakatu Industrial Estate, Nelson, or send cheque to The Fishing PaperP O Box 9001, Annesbrook, Nelson 7044For more information or internet banking contact: [email protected]

Sew Lovely Made in New Zealand and perfect for the Kiwi great outdoors, specialist canvas products from Sew Lovely. The canvas used in their products is extremely strong but amazingly lightweight, which means not only are they incredibly durable, but also are very easy to move in. Gone are the days of feeling as though you’re wearing garments made from an old circus tent! Sew Lovely canvas clothing is also oiled, providing maximum waterproofing qualities. Their leggings and sleeves are ideal for giving great protection when clambering through gorse and blackberry. The leggings design offers complete flexibility providing two options for wearers either as shown in the photo, or reverse them for a higher front. Also check out Sew Lovely's Dolly Dogs.Dolly Dogs have a huge range of clothes for your dog to keep your best friend safe and warm. All sizes and great for weddings, parties and pet days. Visit us at www.dollydogs.co.nz and see our range of K9 clothes!Sew Lovely, Gowan Valley, Murchison, NZ 03 5239577 www.sewlovely.co.nz

Setting The Setline Debate StraightBy Daryl Crimp

Setlines, once denigrated as ’not real fishing’ by purists or sport fishers, are back in vogue and rightly so. Setting a ‘longline’ is a pleasurable and rewarding activity enjoyed by boaties and kayakers alike. Provided the rules are adhered to, it is a legitimate way to fish, a great family pursuit, a good way to prospect new ground and a good insurance policy against the rod not bringing home a feed.

When setting your line, a methodical approach helps:

- check the drift before you deploy- make sure hooks are sharp and traces fresh

and abrasion free (80lb)- bait the longline hooks with small squares

of firm bait like squid, trevally, salted bonito and barracouta before you make the set - spotties are excellent snapper bait

- clip the weight to the longline, the float to the weight and lower to the bottom. In deep water, start attaching traces halfway to the bottom

- depending on the length of your backbone (longline), space the traces every 3 – 5m. It helps to have crimps or stopper knots at intervals along the backbone to stop traces sliding together and tangling

- keep the backbone taught as you drift and attach traces

- once set, allow the backbone to pull tight before lowering the end weight and float

When retrieving:- check drift and lift top end float first. - remove weight but leave float attached and

redeploy. (This is so you won’t be dragging a weight across the ocean floor as you retrieve the line)

- go to bottom end and commence retrieval.- attach hooks to holder as you go- any fish that are difficult to remove hooks

from should be put in a bin for later attention- have someone on watch to make sure you

are not drifting toward any hazards

Know the Rules: No person may use or be in possession of more than one line (other than handlines or rod and reel lines).

All surface floats attached to any line must be marked with the fisher’s initials and surname. A phone number is also useful.

No person may use or possess a line with more than 25 hooks.Where more than one person is using a line from a vessel

(other than handlines or rod and reel lines), no more than two lines (other than handlines or rod and reel lines) may be used, set from or possessed on board that vessel.

It is also a good idea to use large floats, 20l containers or windy buoys so that other vessels see them clearly. Mark both ends on your GPS, or if you don’t have one, stay in the proximity of your line. Avoid setting near or over areas of foul and keep a close watch on changes in weather.

Dan Fisher delighted with a 21lb Tasman Bay snapper taken on a setline recently.

23www.thefishingpaper.co.nz THE FISHING PAPER

Stick Your Oar In

CrimptoonMail your letters to

Stick Your Oar InThe Fishing Paper, PO Box 9001, Annesbrook, 7044, NELSON.

Email: [email protected] Fishing Paper encourages readers contributions and points of view. We ask that all contributions come supplied with contact details. All letters must be emailed, type written or printed legibly, signed and not more than 300 words. The Fishing Paper states that opinions put forward are not necessarily those of the publisher. We reserve the right to publish in part or refuse to publish on legal grounds if the content of the letters are in any way legally contentious.

Have Your Say…

BAYS GOLD LAGERA pale lager with good use of local Hallertauer and Saaz hops. Gold has at least 6 weeks of cold maturation which results in an extremely drinkable lager. Bays Gold Lager was judged New Zealand’s Best Lager at the 2003 New Zealand International Beer Awards. 89 Pascoe St Nelson Ph (03) 547 8097

TIDES OF CHANGE By Poppa MikeA Rush of Gold and Changing Fortunes

After the struggles and stresses of carving a home, business and life out the wilds of Massacre Bay (Refer last month’s issue), James and Ann Lovell were due a ray of light in their pioneering life. It shone upon them in 1843 when they were blessed with another daughter, Mercy Ann, the first European born in the bay. In later life she became Mrs Henry Harwood, dying in 1936 at the age of ninety-three.

As well as helping build houses for other settlers James, realising that travel and trade with Nelson depended on water transport, had shipwright, Robert Allan design and build a 33ft boat for the coal and lime trade. Carbon was registered in Nelson in December 1843. She was soon used for timber and general cargo, then sold to Charles Empson, a merchant trader of Nelson. Carbon was lost at sea in June 1850 on a voyage from Port Nicholson to Napier. James built other wooden boats at Motupipi, but time dictated the use of larger vessels and the more favourable port at Waitapu became the main timber outlet.

In 1849, the Lovells went

to live and work in Motueka, but the Aorere goldrush in 1857 saw them move quickly to Collingwood, where they established a butchery and bakery. Ann and her two daughters served in the shop while James brought animals from Motupipi to slaughter and prepare for sale. Business boomed, often paid for with gold, which Ann would take to Nelson for banking. As the gold rush faded, the Lovell family returned to Motupipi where James built a hotel with the intention of catering for the trade coming in through Motupipi wharf and coastal travellers moving up

and down the coastal route. Unfortunately, the change of emphasis to the Waitapu wharf and shift of the gold rush to Wakamarina near Canvastown, turned Motupipi into a quiet backwater, providing only a minimal income in his later years. Ann Lovell died in 1869. James remarried to Sarah Fletcher and had two sons in 1871. Both James and Ann are buried in the historic settlers cemetery at Clifton, just a short distance across the estuary from their original landing site at the Motupipi River mouth. A modern memorial gravestone has been erected in their memory in more recent years.

Marco & the Whitebait

TroutDear Ed,

My name is Marco, I live in Luxembourg, a small

country in Europe and I was in New Zealand from 1-14 November. From 2-7, I stay in a friend’s house in Motueka and of course I went flyfishing every day. On the 5 November, I fish on the Riwaka River. After changing fly, I lost the white bait imitation in the stones. On the sixth I came back to same pool, between the stones I found the white bait back. I fish immediately with that and after 20 minutes, I land this beautiful seatrout: 60 cm and 6 pounds.It’s a far way from Europe, but I be back next year, for sure. I land also a few big ones at the Tongariro River where I stay from 7-14 November.Greatings from LuxembourgMarco Boetcher

Setlines Commercial HazardDear Ed,

Summer is upon us again and there is going to be a huge amount of people going out and trying their hand at catching a snapper. A lot of small boats are going further afield out into the middle of the bay and setting longlines and shifting further away from them to fish with rods. There are also commercial boats operating 2nm from the Boulder Bank 3nm from Rabbit Island and 1nm from the Mapua Bluffs. There are three different fishing methods being used: trawling single, maybe one set of pair trawlers and Danish seiners. Trawl gear is deployed relatively close to the stern of the trawlers and pair trawlers tow a trawl net between two boats at just over 300m apart. A Danish seiner’s net is deployed 2km behind the vessel and the ropes can be from 1 to 2km either side of the vessel. It takes quite a long time to react and avoid any obstacles in front of the fishing vessels.

There is no time to react to avoid hooking the setlines on the trawl or seine gear when they are only marked with small crayfish pot type floats, or janola bottles. So to avoid losing the setlines if you are not staying with them, please mark them with large floats. Happy and safe fishing.

Matthew Hardyment (Port Nelson Fishermens Association)

This sketch by Charles Heaphy in 1843 shows a small schooner near the beach, which is most likely the recently launched Carbon built at Motupipi for the coal trade (great name!) or the Erin built at Aorere (now Collingwood) in 1842.

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Why do I hunt stingray? Two reasons; firstly they are a sporting fish, being really powerful and can weigh up to two hundred pounds, taking up to an hour to land. I call it ‘Pensioners Big Game Fishing’ - getting a workout on the end of the rod while the battle is on.

The second reason is they are perfectly edible. Cut the wings off, skin and fillet the meat and cook it the same as rig (they belong to the same family of fish).

The largest ray I caught the season before weighed 98lbs and was 1.75 metres wide across the wings. The rod and reel I started fishing with wasn’t powerful enough; the reel drag wasn’t enough, leading to lines and traces breaking. Stingrays have a habit of sucking themselves hard into the sand, chaffing the trace through, then busting off.

So what to do? Go off to the tackle shop and choose a rod, reel and line that is up to the task.

On 7 November 2011 I went to Talleys fishing jetty at Motueka, set up my rod and commenced fishing. The rod holders on the jetty are not suitable for big rods, so I take my own holder and fasten it to the rail with four

layers of electrical insulation tape, top and bottom. About twenty minutes later the rod bent and a battle was on. I

did all the right things and won the war with a 50lb ray on the beach.

I re-baited and waited. Twenty minutes went by and my rod doubled over but before I could grab it, the tape broke and the whole kit and caboodle went over the side into the deep, with a large ray attached. What went wrong? After landing the last fish I had failed to back the drag off!

Next morning, at low tide, I returned with my kayak and dragged a grapnel up and down the channel but to no avail. My insurance company replaced the gear (minus the excess) with the same. Now I was back fishing.

Craig Limmer was fishing off Talleys jetty on Saturday 25 February 2012 when he hooked something substantial. A snag he thought. However, the line moved. Low and behold he had the biggest bunch of seaweed ever - with a rod and reel attached! He took the catch home and washed the crud off. The reel still turned and there was a tangle of line attached. I label all my gear with vinyl name and address stickers so he rang and said he had it.

THANK YOU once again Craig. I gave him a liquid reward. Ten hours of meticulous cleaning has restored the rod and reel to as new.

Pensioners Big Game Fishing By Lester Higgins

The rod and reel before cleaning. It was in the water for 113 days and still works.

“We love it”

Near the boat ramp, AKERSTEN STREET, PORT NELSON

0800 999 121 www.totallyboating.co.nz

The Crimps

Getting into summer family fi shing fun has never been easier at Totally Boating.

CHECK OUT THIS DEAL4.2m Smartwave Boat

15hp Mercury 2 stroke motorOars & handrails,

Anchor pack, heaps of storageHeavy duty trailerAll on road costs

Finance & insurance availableCall us for a demonstration now! Drive Away Today

Awesome Smartwave Package

$9,990Super Deal

THE FISHING PAPER24 www.thefishingpaper.co.nz

23 McGlashen Ave, RICHMOND

25 Main Street, BLENHEIM

249 Hillside Road, DUNEDIN

23 Reece Crescent, WANAKA

206 Glenda Drive, Wakatipu, QUEENSTOWN

71-75 Kingsley Street, Sydenham, CHRISTCHURCH

293 Cranford St, CHRISTCHURCH

79 Austin Street, NAPIER

32 King Street, HAMILTON

32 Campbell Street, WHITIANGA

3 Bond Street, INVERCARGILL

www.plumbingplus.co.nz

Buy Rheem* and

A trip of a LIFETIMEto the Three Kings

withMurray Knowles

and Geoff Thomas+ a unique event jacket

Attention trade

account holders

RHEEM ELECTRIC AND GAS WATER HEATING

PLUS: 12 prizes of Oilskins and Fishing Rods

Collect 6 stampsto enter the draw

Buy a qualifying Rheem product and receive a stamp on your card (any trade account holder)Competition drawn 18th March 2013. Enter as often as you like! PLUS every completed ticket receives an ‘Outdoors with Geoff’ Light Cap.

Call Edward Gibbons

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Rheem Stainless Steel Hot Water CylindersJust released: 250L and 300L models!Manufactured from high quality Stainless Steel, Rheem Stainless Steel tanks can be installed indoors or outdoors and are able to be connected to a range of Heat Pump and/or Solar technologies1. Features include:• Solar and Heat Pump Compatible*• 10 Year Warranty• Suitable for a wide range of water conditions• User Adjustable Thermostat

Rheem Gas Continuous FlowNever run out of hot water!A Rheem continuous fl ow water heater delivers a constant stream of hot water whenever you need it, for as long as you need it. They work differently to traditional storage water heaters, only heating water on demand rather than heating and storing water. Features include:• Wide range of sizes including 16, 20, 24 and 27L models• 10 Year warranty on heat exchanger• Solar Ready (27L model only)• Optional temperature controllers

25www.thefishingpaper.co.nz THE FISHING PAPER

177 High St, Motueka Ph 03 528 8220 OPEN 7 DAYSMon-Fri 8.30am-6pm, Sat 9am-3pm, Sun 10am - 3pm

• Heaps of Snapper Rod & Reel Combos• Snapper & Flounder Set Nets• Longlines and Kontikis• Jigs, Sinkers, Poppers & Braid• Crab & Cray Pots• Kids Butterfl y Nets, Opera Houses & Heaps of Kids Rod & Reel Sets

If you are going fi shing this summer season come and see us and we will make your time out on the

water that much more enjoyable

BAITPilchards, squid, bonito, anchovies, trevally

1.5kg berley & 3kg berley, salt ice

$205 Flasher

Rigs for

$20

5 Packets of chemically sharpened red octopus hooks for

www.outboardcovers.co.nz

www.okiwi.co.nz - 03 576 5006

“SCALLOPS NOW ON THE MENU + BLUE COD, TARAKIHI & GURNARD”

Lodge, Cabin Accommodation or Campsites, Shop & Fuel

The weather may not have turned up, but the anglers sure did. Over 300 men, women and children braved the conditions and joined in the fifth annual Coleridge Fishing Competition.

A number of anglers camped overnight around the various waterways to make the most of first light, and despite the inclement weather, the majority of fish caught in lakes Self and Georgina were taken at this time.

The weigh-in commenced at 9.00am and despite the ‘bite in the air’, people seemed in good spirits, full of chatter around the Fish & Game tent and warmed up by the continuous sausage sizzle.

As the cut-off for weighing in approached, the number of boats coming off the water increased and a late run of fish ensued. Crimpy did a great job entertaining the crowd while there was the inevitable wait to sort out the entries and present the prizes.

A total of 169 fish were caught: 26 brown trout, 64 rainbow trout, and 79 salmon. David Hynam walked away with first place in the adult brown trout section and Paul Satt and Chimene Harris won the adult rainbow and salmon categories respectively. And in the junior sections, Edward Harris caught the biggest rainbow and Luice Henderson the heaviest brown.

Many thanks to Hamill’s Christchurch, in conjunction with Composite Developments (CD), who kindly donated over $10,000 worth of prizes

for this event. Be great to see you all again next year.

Rejuvenating The Brown Trout FisheriesNorth Canterbury Fish & Game hatchery staff

have had a busy month, with numerous sponsored brown trout releases across the city and one into the Cust River. With their habitat degraded by earthquakes, urban development and dairying over the last 15-20 years, the populations of brown trout spawning in these areas has been in decline.

The Geisen, O’Neil and MacDonald families all made donations to Fish and Game and in return have seen the Avon River, Wairarapa Stream, and Cust River benefit, with each waterway receiving between 400 - 1,000 yearling brown trout.

It’s great to see families and individuals care enough to dig into their own pocket, ensuring these fisheries will be stocked for our ‘Future Fishers’.

If you would like to sponsor a release, please contact North Canterbury Fish & Game to discuss options either by ringing 0800FISHANDGAME or by email [email protected]

Where To GoWow…we are nearly two months into the

season and the fish are being caught! Whether it be monsters in the High Country canals or sea-run brown trout in the coastal rivers, don’t forget

to check our weekly fishing report before you head out there. You can subscribe to this free through our website http://northcanterbury.f i s h a n d g a m e . o r g . n z / n o r t h -canterbury-weekly-fishing-report

‘Facing up’… Let’s Crack 1000 Likes

We’re over 900 ‘likes’ on the Facebook page, so now let’s break 1,000. It’s a great page to keep up-to-date with what’s hot at Fish & Game, and we’d love you to send us a pic of your recent catch http://fishing.fishandgame.org.nz/brag-your-catch

Braving The Conditions, Chasing The Big One

Canterbury

I have been fishing the canals since I was young and have taken and released many fish between 6lb and 37lb. I love the drive, the scenery and the fact you don’t have to join the line at the rivermouth, or endure the hustle and bustle and stressful situations rivermouth fishing often entails.

Instead of just spinning, baiting or softbaiting in the canals, we can use any technique and have a lot of success. During the day, matching the current with sinker weight is imperative - faster the flow, heavier the weight; a running ball

sinker rig is my favourite. A continual sinker ‘bounce’ is required to tempt resting fish during daytime hours and best fishing is always at dusk.

Salmon are easy pickings on soft baits and jigheads during daytime and good for a scrap on 6lb mono.

For giant rainbows and browns, I recommend

minimum 10lb braid or 15lb

mono and a stiff stick for

evening fishing. A 30plus

pound trout, even if released,

is NOT something to be lost

due to fishing too lightly and

excessively exhausting the

fish for release.

The Don of Canal FishingBy Donnie Don


From Westport: Greymouth +05 minutes Hokitika +10 minutes Karamea +35 minutes Whanganui Inlet -1 hour 05 minutes

From Nelson: Picton is -47 minutes on the high tides and -1 hour 19 minutes on the low tide Elaine Bay -35 minutes Stephens Island -30 minutes Collingwood -25 minutes Croisilles Harbour -18 minutes on the high tides and -02 minutes on the low tides

From Akaroa: Kaikoura +1 hour 08 minutes on the high tides and +1 hour on the low tides Lyttelton +43 minutes on the high tides and +42 minutes on the low tides Moeraki -1 hour 08 minutes on the high tides and -35 minutes on the low tides

FISHING WITH CRIMPY

SATURDAY MORNINGS | 7 - 7.30

NELSON • 1341 AMMARLBOROUGH • 92.1 FM

WEST COAST • 98.7 FM

NELSON • 1341 AMMARLBOROUGH • 92.1 FM WEST COAST • 98.7 FM

DECEMBER 2012Westport Nelson Havelock

Waimakariri Mouth Akaroa Rakaia Mouth

Tidal data supplied by OceanFun Publishing Ltd www.ofu.co.nz

00:53 2.9 07:01 0.6 13:10 3.0 19:20 0.601:29 2.9 07:37 0.6 13:46 2.9 19:58 0.602:07 2.8 08:14 0.7 14:24 2.9 20:38 0.702:48 2.8 08:53 0.7 15:05 2.8 21:22 0.703:32 2.7 09:38 0.8 15:52 2.7 22:12 0.804:23 2.6 10:30 0.9 16:49 2.7 23:09 0.805:22 2.6 11:33 0.9 17:53 2.700:12 0.8 06:26 2.6 12:40 0.8 18:59 2.701:16 0.7 07:31 2.7 13:46 0.7 20:02 2.902:18 0.6 08:33 2.9 14:47 0.6 21:01 3.003:16 0.5 09:31 3.0 15:43 0.4 21:58 3.204:11 0.3 10:26 3.2 16:37 0.2 22:52 3.305:04 0.2 11:18 3.3 17:29 0.1 23:45 3.405:55 0.1 12:09 3.4 18:20 0.000:38 3.4 06:45 0.1 12:59 3.4 19:12 0.101:29 3.3 07:35 0.1 13:49 3.4 20:03 0.102:21 3.2 08:25 0.3 14:40 3.3 20:56 0.303:13 3.1 09:16 0.4 15:34 3.1 21:50 0.404:07 2.9 10:10 0.6 16:30 2.9 22:46 0.605:02 2.8 11:08 0.7 17:28 2.8 23:44 0.806:00 2.6 12:09 0.9 18:28 2.700:43 0.9 07:00 2.6 13:10 0.9 19:26 2.601:41 0.9 07:58 2.6 14:09 0.9 20:22 2.602:36 0.9 08:53 2.6 15:02 0.9 21:13 2.603:26 0.8 09:42 2.7 15:49 0.8 21:59 2.704:11 0.8 10:25 2.8 16:32 0.7 22:42 2.804:52 0.7 11:05 2.9 17:12 0.6 23:21 2.805:30 0.6 11:42 2.9 17:49 0.5 23:59 2.906:07 0.5 12:18 3.0 18:26 0.500:36 3.0 06:43 0.5 12:53 3.0 19:02 0.501:12 3.0 07:18 0.5 13:28 3.0 19:39 0.5

SatSunMonTueWedThuFriSatSunMonTueWedThuFriSatSunMonTueWedThuFriSatSunMonTueWedThuFriSatSunMon

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05:49 0.8 12:17 4.0 18:10 0.700:27 3.8 06:24 0.8 12:50 3.9 18:46 0.801:05 3.7 06:59 0.8 13:24 3.9 19:25 0.901:45 3.7 07:36 0.9 14:01 3.7 20:07 1.002:27 3.6 08:16 1.0 14:43 3.6 20:55 1.103:13 3.5 09:02 1.1 15:33 3.5 21:50 1.104:04 3.4 09:58 1.2 16:35 3.4 22:51 1.105:03 3.4 11:06 1.3 17:44 3.4 23:55 1.106:11 3.4 12:23 1.2 18:52 3.500:59 1.0 07:22 3.6 13:36 1.1 19:55 3.702:01 0.8 08:29 3.8 14:37 0.8 20:53 3.903:01 0.6 09:28 4.1 15:32 0.6 21:48 4.103:57 0.5 10:21 4.3 16:22 0.4 22:41 4.204:50 0.3 11:09 4.5 17:10 0.3 23:33 4.205:40 0.3 11:56 4.5 17:58 0.300:23 4.2 06:27 0.3 12:41 4.5 18:45 0.401:12 4.1 07:13 0.4 13:26 4.3 19:33 0.602:00 4.0 07:58 0.6 14:12 4.1 20:22 0.802:47 3.8 08:44 0.8 15:01 3.9 21:14 1.003:36 3.6 09:35 1.1 15:53 3.6 22:08 1.104:29 3.4 10:34 1.3 16:51 3.5 23:07 1.305:28 3.3 11:43 1.4 17:53 3.300:08 1.3 06:36 3.2 12:55 1.4 18:55 3.301:09 1.3 07:45 3.3 13:56 1.3 19:52 3.402:07 1.3 08:46 3.4 14:47 1.2 20:45 3.402:59 1.2 09:34 3.6 15:30 1.1 21:32 3.503:45 1.1 10:15 3.8 16:09 0.9 22:15 3.604:25 0.9 10:52 3.9 16:45 0.8 22:56 3.705:02 0.8 11:26 4.0 17:20 0.7 23:35 3.805:36 0.7 12:00 4.0 17:55 0.700:13 3.9 06:09 0.7 12:33 4.1 18:30 0.7


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05:16 0.8 12:03 3.0 17:37 0.700:13 2.8 05:51 0.8 12:36 2.9 18:13 0.800:51 2.8 06:26 0.8 13:10 2.9 18:52 0.801:31 2.8 07:03 0.8 13:47 2.8 19:34 0.902:13 2.7 07:43 0.9 14:29 2.7 20:22 1.002:59 2.6 08:29 1.0 15:19 2.6 21:17 1.003:50 2.5 09:25 1.0 16:21 2.5 22:18 1.004:49 2.5 10:33 1.1 17:30 2.5 23:22 1.005:57 2.5 11:50 1.0 18:38 2.600:26 0.9 07:08 2.7 13:03 1.0 19:41 2.801:28 0.8 08:15 2.8 14:04 0.8 20:39 2.902:28 0.6 09:14 3.0 14:59 0.6 21:34 3.003:24 0.6 10:07 3.2 15:49 0.5 22:27 3.104:17 0.4 10:55 3.3 16:37 0.4 23:19 3.105:07 0.4 11:42 3.3 17:25 0.400:09 3.1 05:54 0.4 12:27 3.3 18:12 0.500:58 3.0 06:40 0.5 13:12 3.2 19:00 0.601:46 3.0 07:25 0.6 13:58 3.0 19:49 0.802:33 2.8 08:11 0.8 14:47 2.9 20:41 0.903:22 2.7 09:02 1.0 15:39 2.7 21:35 1.004:15 2.5 10:01 1.1 16:37 2.6 22:34 1.105:14 2.5 11:10 1.2 17:39 2.5 23:35 1.106:22 2.4 12:22 1.2 18:41 2.500:36 1.1 07:31 2.5 13:23 1.1 19:38 2.501:34 1.1 08:32 2.5 14:14 1.0 20:31 2.502:26 1.0 09:20 2.7 14:57 1.0 21:18 2.603:12 1.0 10:01 2.8 15:36 0.8 22:01 2.703:52 0.8 10:38 2.9 16:12 0.8 22:42 2.804:29 0.8 11:12 3.0 16:47 0.7 23:21 2.805:03 0.7 11:46 3.0 17:22 0.7 23:59 2.905:36 0.7 12:19 3.0 17:57 0.7


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01:12 0.6 07:25 2.2 13:40 0.6 19:45 2.001:53 0.6 08:06 2.2 14:21 0.6 20:29 2.002:34 0.6 08:48 2.2 15:03 0.6 21:13 2.003:16 0.6 09:31 2.2 15:46 0.6 21:57 2.103:59 0.6 10:14 2.2 16:31 0.6 22:41 2.104:45 0.6 10:59 2.2 17:17 0.6 23:26 2.105:33 0.6 11:46 2.2 18:04 0.600:14 2.2 06:24 0.6 12:36 2.2 18:52 0.501:04 2.2 07:18 0.5 13:28 2.3 19:43 0.501:58 2.3 08:14 0.5 14:22 2.3 20:36 0.402:55 2.4 09:12 0.4 15:18 2.4 21:32 0.303:53 2.5 10:11 0.3 16:15 2.4 22:30 0.204:51 2.6 11:09 0.3 17:13 2.5 23:29 0.205:48 2.6 12:06 0.2 18:11 2.500:27 0.1 06:45 2.7 13:03 0.2 19:10 2.501:24 0.1 07:42 2.7 13:58 0.2 20:08 2.502:19 0.2 08:38 2.6 14:53 0.2 21:05 2.503:14 0.2 09:33 2.6 15:48 0.3 22:01 2.404:08 0.3 10:27 2.5 16:43 0.3 22:56 2.405:04 0.4 11:22 2.4 17:38 0.4 23:49 2.306:00 0.5 12:15 2.3 18:31 0.500:43 2.2 06:56 0.6 13:09 2.2 19:23 0.501:36 2.2 07:51 0.6 14:01 2.2 20:13 0.502:29 2.2 08:44 0.7 14:51 2.1 21:01 0.603:20 2.2 09:34 0.7 15:39 2.1 21:48 0.604:07 2.2 10:21 0.7 16:24 2.1 22:34 0.604:51 2.2 11:06 0.6 17:07 2.1 23:19 0.605:33 2.2 11:48 0.6 17:50 2.100:02 0.6 06:14 2.2 12:30 0.6 18:32 2.100:43 0.6 06:55 2.2 13:11 0.6 19:15 2.101:24 0.6 07:35 2.2 13:51 0.6 19:58 2.1


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00:20 0.8 06:32 2.2 12:48 0.8 18:52 2.001:01 0.8 07:13 2.2 13:29 0.8 19:36 2.001:42 0.8 07:55 2.2 14:11 0.8 20:20 2.002:24 0.8 08:38 2.2 14:54 0.8 21:04 2.103:07 0.8 09:21 2.2 15:39 0.8 21:48 2.103:53 0.8 10:06 2.2 16:25 0.8 22:33 2.104:41 0.8 10:53 2.2 17:12 0.8 23:21 2.205:32 0.8 11:43 2.2 18:00 0.700:11 2.2 06:26 0.7 12:35 2.3 18:51 0.701:05 2.3 07:22 0.7 13:29 2.3 19:44 0.602:02 2.4 08:20 0.6 14:25 2.4 20:40 0.603:00 2.5 09:19 0.6 15:22 2.4 21:38 0.503:58 2.6 10:17 0.6 16:20 2.5 22:37 0.504:55 2.6 11:14 0.5 17:18 2.5 23:35 0.405:52 2.6 12:11 0.5 18:17 2.500:32 0.4 06:49 2.6 13:06 0.5 19:15 2.501:27 0.5 07:45 2.6 14:01 0.5 20:12 2.502:22 0.5 08:40 2.6 14:56 0.6 21:08 2.403:16 0.6 09:34 2.5 15:51 0.6 22:03 2.404:12 0.6 10:29 2.4 16:46 0.6 22:56 2.305:08 0.7 11:22 2.3 17:39 0.7 23:50 2.206:04 0.8 12:16 2.2 18:31 0.700:43 2.2 06:59 0.8 13:08 2.2 19:21 0.701:36 2.2 07:52 0.9 13:58 2.1 20:09 0.802:27 2.2 08:42 0.9 14:46 2.1 20:56 0.803:14 2.2 09:29 0.9 15:31 2.1 21:42 0.803:58 2.2 10:14 0.8 16:14 2.1 22:27 0.804:40 2.2 10:56 0.8 16:57 2.1 23:10 0.805:21 2.2 11:38 0.8 17:39 2.1 23:51 0.806:02 2.2 12:19 0.8 18:22 2.100:32 0.8 06:42 2.2 12:59 0.8 19:05 2.1


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00:16 0.6 06:29 2.2 12:44 0.6 18:49 2.000:57 0.6 07:10 2.2 13:25 0.6 19:33 2.001:38 0.6 07:52 2.2 14:07 0.6 20:17 2.002:20 0.6 08:35 2.2 14:50 0.6 21:01 2.103:03 0.6 09:18 2.2 15:35 0.6 21:45 2.103:49 0.6 10:03 2.2 16:21 0.6 22:30 2.104:37 0.6 10:50 2.2 17:08 0.6 23:18 2.205:28 0.6 11:40 2.2 17:56 0.500:08 2.2 06:22 0.5 12:32 2.3 18:47 0.501:02 2.3 07:18 0.5 13:26 2.3 19:40 0.401:59 2.4 08:16 0.4 14:22 2.4 20:36 0.302:57 2.5 09:15 0.3 15:19 2.4 21:34 0.203:55 2.6 10:13 0.3 16:17 2.5 22:33 0.204:52 2.6 11:10 0.2 17:15 2.5 23:31 0.105:49 2.7 12:07 0.2 18:14 2.500:28 0.1 06:46 2.7 13:02 0.2 19:12 2.501:23 0.2 07:42 2.6 13:57 0.2 20:09 2.502:18 0.2 08:37 2.6 14:52 0.3 21:05 2.403:12 0.3 09:31 2.5 15:47 0.3 22:00 2.404:08 0.4 10:26 2.4 16:42 0.4 22:53 2.305:04 0.5 11:19 2.3 17:35 0.5 23:47 2.206:00 0.6 12:13 2.2 18:27 0.500:40 2.2 06:55 0.6 13:05 2.2 19:17 0.501:33 2.2 07:48 0.7 13:55 2.1 20:05 0.602:24 2.2 08:38 0.7 14:43 2.1 20:52 0.603:11 2.2 09:25 0.7 15:28 2.1 21:38 0.603:55 2.2 10:10 0.6 16:11 2.1 22:23 0.604:37 2.2 10:52 0.6 16:54 2.1 23:06 0.605:18 2.2 11:34 0.6 17:36 2.1 23:47 0.605:59 2.2 12:15 0.6 18:19 2.100:28 0.6 06:39 2.2 12:55 0.6 19:02 2.1


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DECEMBER 2012Westport Nelson Havelock

Waimakariri Mouth Akaroa Rakaia Mouth

Tidal data supplied by OceanFun Publishing Ltd www.ofu.co.nz

00:53 2.9 07:01 0.6 13:10 3.0 19:20 0.601:29 2.9 07:37 0.6 13:46 2.9 19:58 0.602:07 2.8 08:14 0.7 14:24 2.9 20:38 0.702:48 2.8 08:53 0.7 15:05 2.8 21:22 0.703:32 2.7 09:38 0.8 15:52 2.7 22:12 0.804:23 2.6 10:30 0.9 16:49 2.7 23:09 0.805:22 2.6 11:33 0.9 17:53 2.700:12 0.8 06:26 2.6 12:40 0.8 18:59 2.701:16 0.7 07:31 2.7 13:46 0.7 20:02 2.902:18 0.6 08:33 2.9 14:47 0.6 21:01 3.003:16 0.5 09:31 3.0 15:43 0.4 21:58 3.204:11 0.3 10:26 3.2 16:37 0.2 22:52 3.305:04 0.2 11:18 3.3 17:29 0.1 23:45 3.405:55 0.1 12:09 3.4 18:20 0.000:38 3.4 06:45 0.1 12:59 3.4 19:12 0.101:29 3.3 07:35 0.1 13:49 3.4 20:03 0.102:21 3.2 08:25 0.3 14:40 3.3 20:56 0.303:13 3.1 09:16 0.4 15:34 3.1 21:50 0.404:07 2.9 10:10 0.6 16:30 2.9 22:46 0.605:02 2.8 11:08 0.7 17:28 2.8 23:44 0.806:00 2.6 12:09 0.9 18:28 2.700:43 0.9 07:00 2.6 13:10 0.9 19:26 2.601:41 0.9 07:58 2.6 14:09 0.9 20:22 2.602:36 0.9 08:53 2.6 15:02 0.9 21:13 2.603:26 0.8 09:42 2.7 15:49 0.8 21:59 2.704:11 0.8 10:25 2.8 16:32 0.7 22:42 2.804:52 0.7 11:05 2.9 17:12 0.6 23:21 2.805:30 0.6 11:42 2.9 17:49 0.5 23:59 2.906:07 0.5 12:18 3.0 18:26 0.500:36 3.0 06:43 0.5 12:53 3.0 19:02 0.501:12 3.0 07:18 0.5 13:28 3.0 19:39 0.5


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05:49 0.8 12:17 4.0 18:10 0.700:27 3.8 06:24 0.8 12:50 3.9 18:46 0.801:05 3.7 06:59 0.8 13:24 3.9 19:25 0.901:45 3.7 07:36 0.9 14:01 3.7 20:07 1.002:27 3.6 08:16 1.0 14:43 3.6 20:55 1.103:13 3.5 09:02 1.1 15:33 3.5 21:50 1.104:04 3.4 09:58 1.2 16:35 3.4 22:51 1.105:03 3.4 11:06 1.3 17:44 3.4 23:55 1.106:11 3.4 12:23 1.2 18:52 3.500:59 1.0 07:22 3.6 13:36 1.1 19:55 3.702:01 0.8 08:29 3.8 14:37 0.8 20:53 3.903:01 0.6 09:28 4.1 15:32 0.6 21:48 4.103:57 0.5 10:21 4.3 16:22 0.4 22:41 4.204:50 0.3 11:09 4.5 17:10 0.3 23:33 4.205:40 0.3 11:56 4.5 17:58 0.300:23 4.2 06:27 0.3 12:41 4.5 18:45 0.401:12 4.1 07:13 0.4 13:26 4.3 19:33 0.602:00 4.0 07:58 0.6 14:12 4.1 20:22 0.802:47 3.8 08:44 0.8 15:01 3.9 21:14 1.003:36 3.6 09:35 1.1 15:53 3.6 22:08 1.104:29 3.4 10:34 1.3 16:51 3.5 23:07 1.305:28 3.3 11:43 1.4 17:53 3.300:08 1.3 06:36 3.2 12:55 1.4 18:55 3.301:09 1.3 07:45 3.3 13:56 1.3 19:52 3.402:07 1.3 08:46 3.4 14:47 1.2 20:45 3.402:59 1.2 09:34 3.6 15:30 1.1 21:32 3.503:45 1.1 10:15 3.8 16:09 0.9 22:15 3.604:25 0.9 10:52 3.9 16:45 0.8 22:56 3.705:02 0.8 11:26 4.0 17:20 0.7 23:35 3.805:36 0.7 12:00 4.0 17:55 0.700:13 3.9 06:09 0.7 12:33 4.1 18:30 0.7


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Tide CharTdeCember 2012

marine WeaTher 24/7

To find out what’s hot and what’s not and whose rod has a in it.

Join Crimpy and Reagan for fishing mayhem, madness and much more!

Tidal data supplied by OceanFun Publishing Ltd www.ofu.co.nz Note: Tides in chronological order. Lower daily depth = low tides. Higher daily depth = high tides.

SudokuANSWERS

My father reckoned I could cast a fly before I could walk, but I reckon he’s probably exaggerating a mite. Even though, Dad and I have flicked a few lines over my 17-years. Much of our fishing has been in South Canterbury waters and the High Country, but this Opening Day posed the dilemma of where to fish.

Winter had brought plenty of rain to the Canterbury Plains and many rivers were still high, so I figured still waters might be best. We know of a tidal lagoon in the Southern Hemisphere that gets little attention, which means it is possible to sight fish for brown trout – most in the three-to-eight-pound range.

On this day we were using long leaders with 6X tippets – 4lb. I was nymph fishing with a water boatman pattern and because the spot doesn’t get a lot of pressure, you don’t necessarily need to land the nymph in front of their noses. They’ll even swing round to investigate a splash behind them and smash the fly with no worries. They sometimes miss and it’s a laugh to watch them thrashing about in the dust cloud looking for the feed; the water is only waist deep.

This was my first fish of the season and probably weighed 4lb – I don’t carry scales and we catch & release most of our fish, although we will take a

big searun for the table from time-to-time. Opening day was a good spot of fun, with the pair of us landing five fish between us.

The Still Water BoatmanBy Matt Jones

AT CALTEX KAIKOURAThe best place in Kaikoura for ice, fi shing tackle, LPG, hot food and heaps more!Come in and talk to Mike and Sharon Neal for the best fi shing spots!

55 Beach Rd, Kaikoura • Ph 03 31 54 92

“Got a nice salmon the other day,” sez Matey.

Other Matey sez, “Talk to me all you like about a salmon, but until I actually see it, I won’t be able to get my head around the concept – just show me some salmon on a plate with a nice salad and a glass of something good … then I’ll understand what you’re telling me.”

Other Matey cuts a track up and down the length of The Coast every week, servicing Cookie outlets the length and breadth of the region.

“Right-oh,” he sez, “you leap into the van with me, and I’ll drop you at Lake Mumbly-phuff on the way down and pick you up on the way back.”

And so began a sort of symbiotic relationship and something of a tradition. It was company on the drive for Other Matey and also an extra pair of eyes to look out for tourists driving on the wrong side of the road.

The first time they made the trip together there was nothing to show at the end of the day, so Matey leaps out early the very next morning, gets in his own car and heads straight back down there.

Got himself a salmon!

On another occasion, people in a camper van were actually bottling their fish and then going out to catch another, thereby breaking the limit set at one fish a day. I believe there should be no space near water for avaricious pricks like that.

One of the best tales to come out of these trips was when Other Matey arrived to collect Matey and someone said, “If yer looking for yer mate, he’s asleep under that bench over there.”

Sure enough, there he was with a self-satisfied grin all over his face as he slept in the sun. Seems he’d caught his fish on his first cast, right after he’d jumped out of the van, which left him with four or five hours to fill! Catching a kip is OK

but he was lucky one of the passing sandflies didn’t suck ‘im dry as he slept. Some of these creatures down there are enormous – they even have what they call mosquito drives – organized shoots of the dam things.

So Matey had his fish ready to be prepared and presented on the table. A memorable dinner followed; the salmon was done in foil with a tiny bit of white wine, accompanied by a green and leafy salad and a bottle or two of the cellar's best.

Famished was banished, a challenge was met and Other Matey finally got his head - and his stomach - around the concept of a salmon.

Salmon South

Coastlines By Ivan Wilson

marine WeaTher 24/7

Tidal data supplied by OceanFun Publishing Ltd www.ofu.co.nz Note: Tides in chronological order. Lower daily depth = low tides. Higher daily depth = high tides.


Published by Coastal Media Ltd

7 Kotua Place, Wakatu Industrial Estate,

NELSON PO Box 9001,

Annesbrook, 7044, NELSONPh 03 544 7020

Fax 03 544 7040www.thefishingpaper.co.nz

EditorDaryl Crimp021 472 517

[email protected]

Sales & AdvertisingAnnette Bormolini

021 996 [email protected]

Reagan [email protected]

Graphic DesignPatrick Connor

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Deputy EditorRon Prestage

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Contributors

The Fishing Paper & NZ Hunting News is published by Coastal

Media Ltd. All editorial copy and photographs are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without

prior written permission of the publisher. Opinions or comments

expressed within this publication are not necessarily those of the staff,

management or directors of Coastal Media Ltd.

Unsolicited editorial, letters, photographs will only be returned if you include a stamped self addressed envelope.The Fishing Paper encorporates the Top of the South Edition and The Canterbury Edition.

Daryl CrimpAli KennardIvan WilsonPoppa Mike

Ron PrestageDave DuncanMark RodenKim Swan

Kieran DooleyMike GreenChris West

James SilichDwayne Lawson

Dave MooreGrant Fowler

Ollie GaleKevin BannanSteve BennettLindsay MolloySimon McMillan

Jim JobeCoryn Owen

Brad McMillanMatt JonesCraig GrantDave DixonDonna Short

Lester HigginsDonnie Don

Vic WysockyiMark Weir

Chris TonkinIan Bright

Donna AndersonDean Kelly

Rhys BarrierKarin Kos

Brett BensemannHugh Shields

Trevor IsittShane Harris

Paul van KuppeveltIan RobertsonAlison Kelso

Kyle Roe

CATCH

ON

Wayne Buxton doesn’t get out fishing as much as he’d like because the vineyard work in Marlborough keeps him busy, so I figured a quick flick before tea might lighten his day. We rigged up to the backdrop of a setting sun and soon had lines in the water. Activity was pretty much nonexistent but then it only takes one ticket to win Lotto!

Of course it had to be big Wayne’s rod that experienced the ‘lucky dip’ and then it was all on. Good-sized rig pick up the bait and swim away – until they feel the weight come on and then they ‘explode’. The rod bends and points

to the horizon, and the sheer power of these mighty fighters become apparent. Closer to shore they light up, sluicing through the waves parallel to the beach, in a visual display that is dramatic and exciting.

Once on the beach they don’t give up easy; their powerful tails still a formidable weapon. However, Wayne can be a formidable opponent as well and on this occasion the rig’s wrath didn’t keep it from the dinner table. I’m sure it went down well with a little nectar from the grapes!

The Grapes of WrathBy Vic Wysockyj

First Cast After CuppaBy Mark Weir

Holidays are great for one thing – fishing – and while I’d had my fill of searun and less than my fill of whitebait, I was itching for an early salmon. The best part of early afternoon near the Rakaia Mouth had produced nothing but a thirst, so I retired to the truck for a cuppa and a breather for a while.

I fish with a CD Graphcast 2 and Ambassador reel kitted out with braid so I can feel ‘the bounce’ and was running two #2 Yellow Dorothies from a banana weight: one on a 3ft trace and the other on a 6ft trace. It gives the appearance of two fish trailing each other and the beauty of this system is the lures are working the moment the sinker hits the bottom, so you don’t have to wait for the retrieve to be in with a chance. For salmon, you need the flies to be working that six-inch margin above the bottom and that’s where the sensitivity of braid helps.

The other reason I think fishing lures is the bee’s knees as opposed to ‘hardware’ is you are targeting searun trout and get salmon as a by-catch – best of both worlds. A chap closer to the mouth was fishing a hole and hooked and lost a good salmon. He put on another lure and bugger me, hooked and landed the same fish – a 9.9kg silver ingot! Plus he got his other lure back.

After my cuppa I went back to the mission at hand and on the first cast, came up solid. The fish did a good job on me, dragging me well towards the mouth before I got it ashore – all 6.6kgs of it.

Surprising what a good brew can do!

"I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale, only last week I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick. I'm so mean I make medicine sick."

Muhammad Ali Quotes


SIROCCO FISHING CHARTERSMOERAKI

Check out our websitewww.siroccofi shingcharters.co.nz

OWNER OPERATOR

Phone Martin or Sharon (03) 439 4818or 027 223 3707

Accommodation and Fishing Charters

Harbour Views By Dave DuncanNavigation Safety

Navigation Safety By-law 218 was ratified by Nelson City Council on 20

November 2012 to take effect from 1 December 2012.

What does this mean to you?For the sensible skipper it’s business as usual,

as this skipper is risk averse, makes considered decisions, knows the laws (both nationally and locally) and generally behaves on the water. However, there may be some new points worth considering:

- Certain areas of the harbour have been set aside for specified predominant recreational purposes (priority activities), as indicated by the maps in the by-law. These zones do not give those undertaking the specified priority activity sole right of use in those zones, however when the specified priority activity is being undertaken, other harbour users should act appropriately. eg avoid the zone.

- A Moving Prohibited Zone and Total Exclusion Zone has been introduced around any vessel of 3000 GRT or more (the bigger size fishing vessels and up) i.e. the big ships have exclusive rights to The Cut and smaller vessels should not enter The Cut when big ships are there.

- A Harbour Transit Lane has been established allowing vessels to legally exceed 5knots when transiting the port, provided they stay on the red beacon side of the channel and do not approach within 50m of any other vessel within the transit lane or port.

- There is an exclusion zone of 50m around any of the wharves or vessels tied to the wharves.

- The person in charge of a recreational vessel

that is less than 6m in length shall ensure that every person shall wear a properly secured lifejacket, unless: 1) The person in charge gives express permission for lifejackets not to be worn. 2) The person in charge of the vessel considers that conditions are such that there is no significant risk to the safety of any person through not wearing a life jacket.

(This puts the burden of safety and accountability squarely on the skipper’s shoulders, so be sensible and ensure everyone wears a lifejacket) - paddle-boarders, this section makes special provision for and includes you.

- Licences are required from council to operate a commercial vessel

- The marina is included in the new navigational safety by law

- Penalties and infringements are contained within the navigational safety bylaw

The Navigation Safety By-law can be viewed on the Nelson City Council web site. If you have any queries relating to the by-law, please do not hesitate to email the Harbour Master at [email protected]

Ensure you know the rules. WE look forward to enjoying a safe summer with you!

If in doubt – don’t go out

Coppers Find Fishing ArrestingBy Paul van Kuppevelt

Sergeant Mike Brooklands and Senior Constable Chris Hurring were patrolling Kaiapoi on the day and came across a chap playing a fish along the banks of the Kaiapoi River. He looked a little stressed, so the staff stopped and rendered assistance. It turns out John Wright had played the fish for over 20 minutes and couldn’t land it, as the bank was a little steep. The able police members quickly grabbed the net and helped John land the trout.

John was very appreciative but a little perturbed; he didn’t really expect to catch anything of this size so didn’t bring a camera with him. Again the able staff jumped to his assistance and photographed the trout with their cell phone.

After chatting awhile, Chris and Mike learned John was just shy of his 79th birthday, this was his biggest fish from this spot, he caught it on a size 12 hook with worms and he was only using 2.5kg line – a pretty blood good effort. He’s a very keen fisherman and is heading to Tekapo to chase some other varieties.

John happy that a little police intervention resulted in this arresting catch!

on

WHAT A WHOPPER!

huntingandfishing.co.nz

This month’s Hunting & Fishing Bragger comes from Blenheim. Here’s Patrick Connor with his 6.5 pound kahawai caught in the Marlborough Sounds. This beauty was caught on the new Shimano 6000 OC bait runner set bought from the brand new Hunting & Fishing store in Blenheim. Don and the team at Hunting & Fishing Marlborough give you bragging rights this month. Well done Patrick. Check out the huge new Hunting & Fishing store, 46 Main Street, Blenheim. You won’t be disappointed, it’s a whopper!

BRAG BOOKBRAG BOOK


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Hendersons (Blenheim)Takaka Fuels and Fishing or from

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Congratulations to Emily Greenbough who won our WildCat Fishing Charters reader’s story competition. Emily has won a fishing trip for two, plus accommodation at Bay Country Lodge in Golden Bay courtesy of WildCat Charters.

WILDCAT WINNER! My husband Terry and I are

recent arrivals in Nelson, having previously lived in Rotorua for 22-years, and we were keen to have a try at some of the fishing that Golden Bay is renowned for. At the end of October we grabbed a window of fine calm weather and booked ourselves into the Bay Country Lodge Motels at Pohara, so we could go fishing with WildCat Charters from Port Tarakohe. We had visited Pohara previously, but only on day trips and we were delighted to find ourselves a

clean comfortable place to stay with a lovely friendly hostess, Michelle Kelly, for whom nothing was too much bother.

Our fishing day started at 7.30am, which is early for us retirees, but we knew the early morning was the best time to be out in the Bay, as the sea breezes invariably get up in the afternoon. We met our skipper Leigh Kelly and his son Dan at the pier and we were soon underway. The Bay was very photogenic in the early morning sunshine, so I was kept busy taking lots of pictures while we motored out to ‘The Spot’.

We arrived and the fun began. It was a beautiful calm sea and we were soon into fish – blue cod, tarakihi, and perch. Many were undersized and had to be thrown back, but eventually we had our quota of lovely blue cod to take home to Nelson. We had a bit of excitement when we hauled up a quite large octopus, but it went straight back to where it came from.

I am not exactly a keen fisherwoman, but I found this a most enjoyable day with good company and plenty of great fishing. Our thanks to Leigh, Michelle and Dan for a memorable few days in a very beautiful place – aren’t we so lucky to have all this on our doorstep!

Golden Bay Enjoyed in Golden YearsBy Alison Kelso

Rainbows Over Lake Waikaremoana By Craig Grant

In October we stayed in a hut on the banks of the Aniwaniwa Stream, which flows into Lake Waikaremoana. There are scenic falls at the road bridge and further upstream that isolate the rainbows in this section of the stream. Above the bridge, it is slow moving and frequented by shags who hunt for the trout hiding under the overhanging banks. Further up there are pools and runs. There I spotted two large rainbows, just above the water intake for the area.

After a fruitless day on the lake, I returned the next evening with a green topped orange Rapala and floated it some distance down into the pool. Then I cast it across the current and systematically covered the water. On the fifth cast I had a serious follow and two casts later I landed a good rainbow.

Below the bridge falls, the river widens and slows and a track on the northern side of the river takes you to a good fishing spot. The area below the top falls looks well worth fishing, but requires some bush bashing.

The shoreline of the lake tends to be steep and rocky, but there are beaches and tracks that will take you to fishable places. We saw the occasional cruising brown trout and I caught two small rainbows on a Hamil’s Killer tied on in front of a spinner. Most of the streams were closed until December, after spawning. The lake fishes better later in the season.

STORY


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CONGRATULATIONS TOJohn Baker of Blenheim

The Winner of November's TXT 2 Win Competition.

John gets his copy of The Fishing Paper and New Zealand

Hunting News from Henderson's in Blenheim and

reckons its the best fishing read in New Zealand.

You could be next month's winner so call in to your local

fishing tackle store, go to page 20 of the CD catalogue and

find the answer to unscramble the letters to win.

GOOD LUCK!

See page 6 in this issue

for more information.Grab your kids

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neighbours phone,

grab any phone

and text to win!

www.cdrods.co.nz

By Kyle Roe

There were five of us fishing from two boats between d’Urville and Stephens Island. It had been a long day out in the sun and I was kind of over it, as there had been no bites to speak of - all day!

I had my rod out of the water, when all of a sudden I could hear the old man from the other boat about 100m away ‘yah hooing’!

I said to Toby, the guy I was with, “The fish must be on the bite.”

So that was me fired up; got a squid and hooked it up on my 9/0 Black Magic hooks and dropped it down to the bottom. It was only down there for two-minutes and then - WHACK! The reel started screaming and I thought I had a shark because there was no nodding, no stopping. He was on his way with my squid!

Five-minutes into it, I began pulling this monster up from 80m down and then we saw it coming to the surface. I was like – WOW - never seen a snapper that big in real life. I wanted to put it back as he was in good nick … but the eyes had popped out of their sockets, so to the chilly bin he went. It could feed an army, I tell ya. What a day.

Black Magic Eye-Popping Moment (front cover story)

Marlin Robertson only lives a hundred metres from Lake Forsyth at Birdlings Flat so it is fitting this is where he landed his first searun trout – in fact, his first trout ever.

I taught my son to cast and retrieve and he developed a liking for the good old Toby. Ross le Compte, who sells fishing gear here at Birdlings, gave Marlin the Toby lure and on the second day of getting his licence, he put it to good use, catching this beautiful searun trout.

There have been quite a few taken from the lake recently and they’re all in good nick, with very orange flesh and averaging 3 – 6lb.

Marlin is very keen now and nags me all the time – ‘just a few more casts!’ Didn’t we all do that?

I am an artist with a gallery at Birdlings Flat and both Marlin and I are avid fishers, so we are looking forward to this year’s crop of trout, elephant fish, moki and tope.

Marlin is all smiles after catching his first trout on his favourite

lure – a Toby.

Trout on Toby Hooks MarlinBy Ian Robertson

LITTLE KNOWN FACTS ABOUT THE OCEANSome primary schools were doing a project about the sea and the children were asked to draw pictures or write about their experiences. Here are some of their descriptions of ocean life.1. This is a picture of an octopus. It has eight testicles.(Kelly age 6)2. Some fish are dangerous. Jellyfish can sting. Electric eels can give you a shock. They have to live in caves under the sea where I think they have to plug themselves in to chargers. (Christopher age 7)3. Oysters' balls are called pearls! (James age 6)4. If you are surrounded by sea you are an island ... if you don't have sea all around you, you are incontinent. (Wayne age 7)5. I think sharks are ugly and mean, and have big teeth, just like Emily Richardson. She's not my friend no more. (Kylie age 6)6. A dolphin breathes through an asshole on the top of its head. (Billy age 8)7. My uncle goes out in his boat with pot, and comes back with crabs. (Millie age 7)8. When ships had sails, they used to use the trade winds to cross the ocean. Sometimes, when the wind didn't blow, the sailors would whistle to make the wind come. My brother said they would be better off eating beans. (William age 7)9. I like mermaids. They are beautiful, and I like their shiny tails. How do mermaids get pregnant? (Helen age 7)10. When you go swimming in the sea, it is very cold, and it makes my willy small. (Kevin age 6)


Phone: 03 525 9438 • 027 613 6873 • www.wildcatcharters.co.nz

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Described as “a Roaring True Tangle with New Zealand Environmental Politics”, Bryan Winters’ new book recounts the life story of Stewart Smith, the man responsible for the importation and illegal distribution of rudd into New Zealand in 1967.Smith was separated from his London family at age 15 when his father emigrated him and his younger brother to New Zealand because he couldn’t financially support the two of them. The early chapters whizz by with stories recounted from Smith’s diaries, often related to his work on fishing boats, and provide a fascinating insight into New Zealand society through the 1930s.Smith wandered a path that led him into the Communist Party and when he refused to join the army in 1939, fearing he’d be shot on patrol, he spent the war years in jail, leading to some eye-opening yarns from behind bars.The middle section of the book deals with the main subject material: coarse fish. Smith had fished all his life and wanted others, particularly children, to enjoy his passion. Although early settlers had brought many new plants and animals with them, the impact of introduced species was only just starting to be understood. Some authorities argued that introducing trout to New Zealand was a mistake, despite the enormous social and economic benefits for the country. Polarised attitudes permeated

into government policy and it was this environment of negativity that frustrated Stewart Smith in his quest to establish a recreational coarse fishery.He resorting to illegally importing then spreading fish around the Upper North Island, and eventually rudd became so widespread the Auckland Acclimatisation Society felt obliged to declare it a sports fish to bring it under regulatory control.Smith got what he wanted, and although the authorities prosecuted and fined him, the chain of events leading up to this episode appear not to have been examined. Chapter 8 is prefaced by the famous quote from Winston Churchill: “If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law”. Therein lies the lesson that was not learnt and that could have prevented at least two similar scenarios playing out in the South Island in the late 1990s, one involving the rabbit calicivirus the other coarse fish.Don’t get me wrong, I don’t condone breaking the law, but if statutory procedures and policy make the likelihood of illegal activity high they should be questioned and revised. If we apply a risk analysis to these three biosecurity incidents it would perhaps have been more prudent for the authorities to contain and manage the risk rather than hide behind the threat of prosecution for the perpetrator.

The final chapters of the book meander through a description of coarse fishing and its followers and concludes that more credibility is needed for this branch of the sport. The author suggests forming a national body, joining SPARC and sending a team to the World Champs, and all of these things have since occurred.I can recommend the book as an interesting read, but perhaps appealing more to the historian than the angler. My only reservation is that Smith’s attitudes and behaviour is interpreted as applying to coarse anglers as a group. Whilst many would sympathise with his frustration there is widespread acknowledgement that his responses were extreme.

That Pommie Bastard!By Bryan WintersReviewed by Dave DixonAvailable: www.oceanbooks.co.nz

BOOK REVIEW

After seven-years of research, discussion and consultation, Te Korowai õ Te Tai o Marokura has finalised its community led marine strategy, Sustaining our Sea, aimed at protecting the Kaikoura coastal area. Te Korowai handed the strategy to government on Saturday 27 October as part of the implementation phase.

Sustaining our Sea was designed by working with local knowledge, the best science available and input from communities. The draft strategy was released last year and from September to December was open to public submissions.

Chair of Te Korowai, Larnce Wichman said, “We received over 160 insightful submissions from the community and spent three-months carefully considering every point, which created good robust discussions within the group and provided good reasons for our final decisions.”

Sustaining our Sea recommends changes; to the recreational fishing rules for Kaikoura, the commercial fishing boundaries, recognises five customary fishing reserves, aims to create a world heritage marine reserve – Hikurangi Marine Reserve, a marine mammal sanctuary, and uses other environmental protection tools to sustain the Kaikoura coastal area.

Te Korowai reached consensus on the strategy by using the philosophy of gifts and gains, where each group made compromises to sustain the Kaikoura coastal area.

People can download or read the strategy online, or can receive a hard copy by contacting the Te Korowai secretary, phone 03 319 6586 or 027 516 1715.

Enough Talk, Time For Action!

onJoin the


Phone: 03 525 9438 • 027 613 6873 • www.wildcatcharters.co.nz

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Hit The Jackpot At Mokihinui

Lloyd Jones, a winner at last year's Mokihinui Fishing Competition.

Surfcasters at the Mokihinui Fishing Competition which runs from Boxing Day 2012 to 4 January 2013, in addition to the major prizes, will be targeting snapper to pick up the daily $50 prize for the heaviest snapper of the day sponsored by The Fishing Paper & New Zealand Hunting News. This daily prize will jackpot, if unclaimed on any one or more days. Usually a few days of the ten day competition go by without a snapper landed so the prize can amount to several hundred dollars as it jackpots. Major prizes include ones for heaviest fish, heaviest snapper overall, longest fish, heaviest trout and top junior and lady angler, plus a kontiki section. Two weigh-ins daily at the Seddonville Hotel.

Tickets are available at: Seddonville Hotel, Knudsen Sports, & Habitat Sports.

For all inquires phone 03 782 1828

10 Day Surfcasting Competition - 26 December 2012 – 4 January 2013

TOTAL PRIZE VALUE $3000

Heaviest FishHeaviest SnapperLongest FishHeaviest TroutHeaviest Kahawai

Mystery Weight

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Heaviest Daily Fish

Electric Kontiki

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With Mark Roden

SpearfishingDopey Moki and Bread & Butter Fish

Looks like some clear water is moving in and we’ve had reports of big schools of kingfish in Admiralty Bay – good stuff. Everyone seems to want to spear a kingfish and that’s totally understandable. You need to walk before you can run though and it pays to start out with a more modest target.

Assuming you have mastered the basics of snorkeling or ‘freediving’ as we now call it and are keen to try spearfishing the usual starting point is the humble butterfish or blue moki. No fish is easy to spear so the early stages can be a bit frustrating; butterfish are spooky and don’t hang around. If you find a weedy spot they can be plentiful and they have a very short memory, so you can swim back over the same spot again and again and the fish will keep poking their heads up out of the weed. With some perseverance you will eventually master the art.

Moki on the other hand are a bit dopey and will often present a much easier target, the difference being they are likely to be in slightly deeper water, not much deeper but enough to challenge a beginner. One piece of advice that seems to hold true with all fish is to get down to their level or even below. Butterfish in particular are difficult to approach from above. Even if you do see a fish from the surface the odds of swimming down and spearing it are not good, best to get right down in the weed, pop your head up and wait for the fish to do the same - pow, dinner! Good luck.

New spearo Sam Johnston with his first moki.

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Seabird Smart Winners Meet Prince Charles By Karin Kos

The New Zealand seafood industry recognised the winners of the Seabird Smart Awards who met the Prince of Wales on 15 November at a “Conservation Champions” reception held at Government House, after receiving top honours earlier in the day for the 2012 Seabird Smart Awards in Wellington.

The prestigious conservation award was presented jointly to Zak Olsen of Whangarei, a 23-year-old skipper on Sanford long-liner San Kaipara, and Adam Clow of Whitianga, a 26-year-old skipper who contracts on long-liner Southern Cross for OPC Fish & Lobster. Brian Kiddie, owner and operator of an inshore fishing boat based in Tauranga was named a finalist and also met the Prince of Wales. Jack Fenaughty, Managing Partner, Silvifish Resources Ltd and Peter Fullerton, Vessel Observer of Sealord were highly commended for their efforts.

Janice Molloy, Chief Awards Judge and Trust Convenor said that the two winners represent the future face of New Zealand’s fishing industry; two young men who go to great lengths to reduce risks to seabirds that may be injured or killed through foraging for food at the back of fishing vessels

The Seabird Smart Awards,

managed by Southern Seabird Solutions Trust, recognise those who demonstrate leadership or innovation in their approach to minimising risks to seabirds while fishing, as well as commitment to best practice seabird smart fishing methods. The New Zealand seafood industry is a major sponsor and partner in the Trust.

This topped a great week for the Trust with the Prince of Wales becoming their Patron. Prince Charles’ involvement in environmental issues, including seabird conservation, is well known throughout the world and his endorsement will greatly help the Trust’s efforts.

Salmon Krill for a FeedBy Brett Bensemann

Jorja Hutton of the Tautuku Fishing Club started the challenge in Dunedin by catching a 1.810kg salmon on Sunday 18 November, between the Port Chalmers wharves. The keen nine-year-old fishes once a week when the salmon are running in the harbour and fishes with her favourite ‘Pink Tip’ rod matched with a 330GTI Penn Reel. Her secret weapon is a single-hook silver toby, fished on a yellow paravane, painted half green to hide against ‘couta strikes’

Over the past five months Dunedin Harbour has been full of krill, which bodes well for the salmon season. In fact, two 20kg salmon have just been landed as I write this, so expect a deluge of silver over the next few months.

Brian Kiddie, Zak Olsen and Adam Clow.

Tautuku

Club Story


Age Does Not Weary ThemBy Hugh Shields

When I was a youngster, my father, Max, bought himself a new Kilwell hapuka rod and new Penn Senator 6/0. It was pretty flash gear and involved the outlay of a considerable amount of money.

We did a lot of fishing around the south coast of Wellington in the family boat. Max was safety conscious and treated the treacherous waters of Cook Strait with a great deal of respect, which meant we never ventured far from shore, so the puka grounds were beyond our range. We targeted blue cod and tarakihi in less than 40m and always caught heaps.

Mana and Kapiti Island were other favourite fishing grounds; we used to travel to Paraparaumu for our Christmas holidays, towing the caravan up one weekend then the boat loaded full of gear the following week. These days people commute that stretch for work each day.

We would fish by studying the charts and lining up a prominent rock with a tree on a ridge or some other landmark. The first depth finder had a circular screen with a thing that would spin at high speed and when the flashing light became concentrated next to a number, that was the depth under the boat.

For several years during the 70s, Max and his workmates would do an annual fishing charter trip in the Sounds. Max never actively targeted puka, so despite a lifetime fishing, he only ever caught one hapuka on his Kilwell rod!

I inherited the rod in 1991 and have continued the family tradition of fishing without either GPS or hapuka. It was only recently, when I went on a charter with John Fargher of Wellington Fishing Charters, that I broke the jinx.

John put us right on the spot, just south of Makara and within four drops I had six hapuka on board: a nil, a double, a single and a treble. The old Kilwell rod was bent over right down through the cork handle on the last drop, but the 40-something-year-old Kilwell and Penn combo operated flawlessly.

We all know that fishermen are a superstitious lot and the success of that trip could have been because of the phase of the moon, getting the tide just right or the skill of the skipper, but it is worth noting that the 68-year-old fellow fishing next to me was named Max and he was fishing with a near new Kilwell rod.

The moral of the story: persistence pays off and no-one ever regretted buying quality!

Mum’s Grump Sparks Avon AdventureBy Daryl Crimp

Eight-year-old Jackson Williams of Christchurch starting fishing in the Marlborough Sounds and is described as ‘an-on-again-off-again’ kind of fisher, until recently when mum got into a grump. A quick thinking dad, Chris, realised he had to extricate the brood from under mum’s feet so she could complete the spring cleaning, so headed to the Avon for a spot of fishing.

There were quite a number of trout present and as luck would have it, Chris’s first cast hooked this beauty and was promptly handed over to Jackson to deal to. He played the fish superbly and was very proud of his catch, which is his biggest to date and his first on a fly rod. Jackson is now pestering dad for another Avon adventure so it looks as though the fishing bug has really bit him.


From the point that most salmon fishermen enter the sport, they aspire to be like the ‘professionals’ and master the use of overhead gear. That’s okay, but don’t overlook the versatility of spinning as an option. Now and into the future we are facing more fishing days with our rivers at very low flows. This can make getting a fish to take on traditional, heavy gear, much more difficult. Last season when conditions were such, I reverted to light spin fishing with great results, finding that my spin set enabled me to case a wider variety of lures that, because of their light weight, would have been almost impossible to cast with traditional overhead gear.

Last season I saw fish caught on Tassies, Veltics, 10gm Zeddies, and Rapalas, all

of which have a far superior action in the water to the good old 28gm Zed spinners. A trick that I saw used to good effect was threading the line through a yellow and white Tassie and attaching a trout teaser lure instead of the usual treble. What a huge difference this made to the action and the angler concerned hooked two fish in 20-minutes on a day when we were seeing plenty of fish but hooking nothing.

Nowadays with the popularity of soft bait fishing there are plenty of spin sets with the rod action and reel drag capacity to more than handle a salmon and with most reels coming with two spools, braid and nylon can be interchanged. Also there are now some ultra thin nylon options. The one I used last season was rated at 20lb with a diameter of normal

12lb line, making it far less visible in clear conditions and letting the lure sink much more quickly. The other important factor is that fine diameter lines allow for plenty of spool capacity without having to use large clumsy reels.

One word of warning however is that much more attention to retying knots is necessary because of the increased abrasion factor of these lines.

There are plenty of good soft bait sets available in the $199-$399 price bracket which is less than the price of most overhead reels and the quality is streets ahead of what was available 20 years ago.

For more tips and information, pop in and have a chat with the boys at Hamills Christchurch, or give us a ring – we’d be only too happy to help – 03 377 5090.

Back to Spin for SalmonBy Trevor Isitt

Family Plan Garage SaleBy Shayne Harris

Edward Harris has just turned 13 and completed his third High Country Opening Fishing Competition Coleridge. The first year, 2010, he won both the largest junior rainbow and largest junior brown categories for which he received an Okuma Magda trolling rod and reel for each category. In 2011 he gained a spot prize of a rechargeable lantern. This year Edward won the largest rainbow category and picked up a spinning rod and reel set, so the competition has been very kind to him. His winning trout this year was caught on one of the rods he won in 2010.

His older brother Henry (16) won the largest junior trout at last year’s competition picking up a surfcasting rod and reel, while I was second in the adult section, winning a spinning rod and reel set. This year I also picked up the spot prize of the CD fly rod, which Edward thinks is great, as he wants to learn to fly-fish as well. Overall we have been very lucky at the Coleridge Fishing competition and are very appreciative of the efforts put in by Fish & Game, Hamills, CD Rods and of course The Fishing Paper.

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straight from the fish’s mouth

Word from the WharfDecember - A time for giving and receiving kids! Parents, there is no better

gift than the experience of fi shing with your kids at Xmas time. Kids rod sets start around $29.95, packet of Sabiki hooks $3.50 and a Jimmys Bait Bullet pack $5.50. Hours of fun over summer for less than $40. Your local wharf is always open for business and has free entry to get in!

Local water temperatures around Nelson are on the rise and school fi sh such as kahawai, yellow eyed mullet (sprat) and the occasional brim are now being caught.

Congratulations to Theo Smith of Upper Moutere for winning our “Guess the number of bait bullets in a jar “ competition at the Nelson Outdoor Expo. Theo won a $50 wharf pack from Jimmys, seen on our face book page.

A quick thank you to Jeff and the boys at Nelson Coastguard for getting me out of a sticky situation recently (story for another day)

Tip of the Month - 85 % of your wharf species are very small so fi sh the percentages with light line, small hooks and small baits, your results will be instant!!

Don’t forget to send us your photos and stories to [email protected] for the $50 monthly prize draw of Jimmys Bait Bullets.

Happy Holidays everyone and good luck with the summer fi shing.

Until next month, HAPPY WHARF FISHING KIDS!

BAIT BULLETS

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Available at Big Blue Dive and Fish at Port Nelson, Hunting & Fishing in Nelson & Tauranga, Pohara General Store Golden Bay, Mitre 10 Mega Nelson, Norcross Fishing World Auckland, Kaiteriteri General Store Tasman, Broncos Sports Tauranga, Decoro Fishing Tackle, Mt Maunganui, Baitworx Ltd, Mt Maunganui, Smart Marine Auckland, Wills Firearms & Fishing Auckland, Cheers Fishing Tackle Auckland, DKM Fishing & Marine Auckland, BP2GO Nelson, Mangawhai Bait & Tackle, Fishing Direct Auckland ALSO AVAILABLE THROUGH TACKLEMAN LTD IN SOUTH ISLAND, ph 03 578 0401

Rosie’s Pick: comes from 4 year old Joseph Cameron seen here with his trophy 65cm barracouta, caught at Seafarers Wharf by Nelson Yacht Club. Joseph caught this himself on his small rod and lightweight trace. Great effort Joseph! Your $50 wharf pack is on its way.

The Marlborough Sounds Blue Cod Fishery will open on 20 December. The fishery is closed every year from 1 September until the 19 December inclusive.

Fishers should bear in mind the following rules for the Marlborough Sounds Area blue cod fishery in the open season:

• You may only take or possess two blue cod per fisher at any one time in the Marlborough Sounds Area (MSA). This applies even if you caught the fish outside the MSA and are transporting the fish through the area.

• In the MSA you may only have blue cod between 30-35cm.• Your blue cod must remain in a whole or gutted state (not

gilled).• You may not fillet your blue cod at sea or possess filleted

blue cod at sea in the MSA, unless you immediately eat them on the vessel. That does not mean you can fillet them and then travel to your overnight mooring location or back to the marina for later consumption on the vessel.

A common excuse used by fishers is that they do not fish in the area on a regular basis and do not realise the rules have changed. Fisheries regulations do change and it is essential that you check the rules before you go fishing. Your local Ministry for Primary Industries office or www.fish.govt.nz is a good place to start.

Handling Blue Cod and Hook SelectionResearch shows that hook selection can play a major part in

survival rates for released fish. Using a 6/0 or larger circle hook with no offset greatly reduces the incidence of gill or gut hooking, which often proves fatal.

Proper hook selection can also mean a large percentage of the released fish will survive and survival may be as high as 95 percent for fish above the slot limit.

The survival of fish also depends on how the fish are treated and mortality can be minimised by careful handling and quick release.

When catching blue cod, it is essential to return under- or oversized fish to the water as quickly as possible. To prevent the unnecessary death of the blue cod, you should:

- minimise the length of time fish are out of the water- measure fish immediately and return fish outside the size

limits gently back to the sea- hold the fish behind the head to extract hooks- when handling fish, wear rubber or wet cotton gloves or use

a wet towel and avoid placing the fish on hot, dry surfaces- cut the line if gut or gill-hooked; do not use a gob stick.

- use a downpipe or similar release method to reduce shag and other predator related mortality

- use only one hook per line to reduce the time the fish is out of the water.

There also appears to be continuing misunderstanding about shucked scallops. The offence is possessing scallops at sea in a shucked or immeasurable state. The only exception is when the scallops are consumed on the vessel. Such fish or shellfish consumed form part of the daily bag limit.

Even if you land those species in the shell (scallops) or whole (blue cod) to shuck or fillet you cannot then place them back on the vessel for transport to another location.

By Ian BrightField Operations ManagerNelsonPhone 0800 4 Poacher

Blue Cod Season in the Marlborough Sounds

By Donna Anderson

Who would have thought that an early morning start 5.00am – way too early for me - would turn out to be my most memorable fishing day. Partner Ian Theobald, Mike and I headed out from Port Nelson in high hopes of catching at least a brim or two. We headed directly to secret spot X (kindly provided by Troy Dando of the Dawnbreakers Fishing Club) to set out the longline.

After chugging along and very carefully following the marks on our GPS, we successfully set up and wandered off to put the rods out. Mine was already set to go, so I baited up and threw the line over the side while Ian and Mike set themselves up. Before the guys managed to even get their hooks in the water, mine started to give the telltale nod. Ian seemed to think I had simply hooked the bottom as we were drifting, but sorry, I managed to hook my biggest fish ever snapper (8.7 kg – 19.14lbs).

It was an enormous surprise to all on board. Not bad for a gal who only started fishing a couple of years ago. To top off the day, Ian managed to hook his own trophy fish, (smaller than mine, but a treat all the same). Can’t wait to get out there again. If you want to know where spot X is, you will have to join the Dawnbreakers Fishing Club like we did.

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Fisheries EnhancementBy Dean Kelly

For the past three years Fish & Game have been slowly but steadily trying to enhance existing salmon and some of the more marginal trout fisheries.

The salmon fisheries in Lakes, Haupiri, Kaniere, Ianthe, Mapourika and Paringa have all had releases of quinnat salmon. These fish have been reared-on from wild, West Coast stock to a size that is optimal between cost and survival rate. There have also been liberations into the Hokitika and Taramakau Rivers, which have been shown in the past to respond well to liberations. Although some fish return as two-year-olds, most mature and return after three-years, meaning the 2013 season could be a ripper! We have already seen signs of good returns, with a larger than normal number of four-to-nine pounders (generally the two-year olds) being caught last season.

There have also been regular releases of rainbow trout into marginal trout fisheries, such as Lake Kaniere, where spawning areas are poor and therefore require regular liberations of fish to sustain a viable fishery. The other releases have centred on our novice and junior ‘put and take’ fisheries at Kawhaka and the Grey Gun Club ponds. The Kawhaka race is open all season and receives a hefty boost of fish in October each year. The Grey Gun Club is a true ‘put and take’ fishery, where fish are released and caught within days to the satisfaction of junior anglers.

What does this mean for anglers this season? It may well be worth your while dusting off the rod this season and having a crack for a salmon in the Grey, Ahaura, Haupiri and Hokitika Rivers. For those with a boat, Lakes Mapourika and Paringa could well be worth a visit with a couple of mates. For families, check out Kawhaka or Lake Kaniere.

Fish & Game MeetingDean Kelly Fish and Game West Coast Manager

Fish & Game is holding its Annual Public Meeting at the Moana Pub on Tuesday 11 December and the inaugural meeting of the newly elected council will be followed by presentation of the Annual Report and a presentation on the Lake Brunner Fishery.

Results from fisheries research in the catchment for the last 15-years will be presented and implications for the future sustainability of this marvellous fishery will be discussed.

Fish & Game is a user pays – user says system where anglers and hunters manage their own resource through an elected council of anglers and hunters. This is your chance to have your say and be involved with your newly elected council. The Annual Public Meeting starts at 8pm. Finger food will be provided.

West Coast

2923 Kenepuru RoadMarlborough Sounds, NZ

RD2 Picton 7282

Freephone 0800 762 442

Email [email protected]

Special seasonal rates & packages are available.

Experience the best the Marlborough Sounds has to offer

THE PORTAGEResort Hotel

The One That Got Away Has Come Back

Nestled in the Kenepuru Sound lies one of the jewels in the Marlborough Sounds’ crown: The Portage Resort Hotel.

In June this year, The Portage Resort Hotel, under new ownership, received a much-needed refurbishment. Barry and Salina Walters have been working hard since June, to quote Barry, “To get the old girl back up to scratch”.

Barry and Silana want to restore more than just the hotel’s structure and physical appearance. “In its heyday, The Portage Resort Hotel used to be the place to go; full of fishing groups, families and tourists and was alive. We want to get her up and humming again and I think we have the mix right now.”

The Portage Resort Hotel is the perfect base for summer, with road and boat access from both Picton and Havelock and New Zealand’s famous Queen Charlotte Track minutes away, plus wildlife eco tours, sea kayaking, fishing and sailing on Kenepuru Sound, its all here.

Come and check out the changes at The Portage Resort Hotel this holiday season, and don’t forget your fishing rod! Hotel and backpacker accommodation to suit all needs, Retro Bar, Te Weka Restaurant, waterside Snapper Café and Kenepuru Store.

The Portage Resort Hotel, 2923 Kenepuru Road, Marlborough Sounds, NZFreephone 0800 762 442 Email [email protected] www.portage.co.nzSpecial Seasonal Rates & Packages are available.


At Mondo we’re passionate about travel and are avid travellers ourselves. If there’s somewhere in the world you’d like to go, chances are one of our team has been there and can share their

knowledge and personal experience with you - making the world of di� erence when it comes to booking your next holiday.

Mondo Travel Motueka | Mondo Travel Richmondwww.mondotravel.co.nz

Call: 0800 804 737 - Motueka or 0800 555 506 - RichmondVisit 183, High Street Motueka or 272 Queen Street, Richmond

Mondo Travel

Presents TFPTRAVELS

A few months ago when we were planning our trip to China, an advertisement in the ‘Fishing Paper’ caught my eye. It had already become obvious that booking travel and accommodation on-line was not a DIY job; in fact necessary arrangements were fraught with potential for a proper balls-up. In the far fl ung parts of Northern China that was the last thing we needed, so in line with Crimpy’s exhortation to support his advertisers,

I phoned MONDO TRAVEL and what a great move that turned out to be.

Karen Inwood jacked the whole thing up and although the trip was not without its traumatic moments – lost bags and typhoons amongst them – the bits that Karen and Mondo organised went off without a hitch.

While by our standards the parts of China we visited will never qualify as a fi shing destination, it was nonetheless interesting to observe the local methods on a man-made lake in the middle of Chang Chun city, Pop.7.5m (give or take a few)!

The most popular sedentary method involved the use of a 2m bamboo rod, tapering from about 10mm at the butt to about the thickness of a match stick at the tip end. With this, the user fl icked a tiny baited hook (about #18) supported by a thin glass fl oat. The quarry was a bully-like fi sh about 50mm long, which, when the fl oat disappeared, was promptly hoisted into a bucket and thence no doubt into a Chinese dish of some sort.

More active types worked the edges, blind fi shing with a scoop net. Although the water was lukewarm and, like all populated parts of the country, polluted to all hell, I was surprised to see one bloke come up with the odd fi sh that looked to me like silver carp.

In case of homesickness I took some back copies of The Fishing Paper and when I opened one up to show an angler what a proper fi sh looked like, I was almost mobbed by the crowd of onlookers and hangers on. Language diffi culties caused the subsequent conversation to be a bit one-sided and charades only take you so far, but I fi nally managed to get one dude settled down long enough to take his picture. As far as I know that copy is still circulating amongst the hutongs!

NOT a job for DIY‘ersBy Chris Tonkin

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEKDon’t forget your FlyBuys card. The only fi shing store where you can collect FlyBuys.

KAIKOURAONE STOP SHOP• Camping gear • Penn fi shing rods & reels • Surfcasting gear • Gulp softbaits • On-site fully secure boat & caravan storage Our friendly experienced staff are happy to share their fi shing knowledge, just ask Bruce Ian & James

Kaikoura Mitre 10 - 107 Beach Rd, Ph 03 319 5013 Fax 03 319 6229- [email protected]

3 Salisbury Rd, Richmond, Ph 03 544 6183OPEN 7 DAYS

Come see us for all your party supplies

We’ve got it

all!

RICHMOND

Here’s to Summer!

McCashin’s Brewery &Motueka RSA Fishing Contest

18, 19 & 20 January 2013Venue Motueka RSA Car Park

Weigh-in1pm—3pm Sunday 20 January

• $1500 for heaviest snapper over 9.06 kgs

• $400 for the average weight snapper

• Plenty of great spot prizes

• Adults have 8 prize categories ($25 entry)

• Juniors (12 and under) have 5 categories ($5)

Fish auction with proceeds going to Nelson Marine Radio.

Entry forms available from Richmond and Motueka sports shops, McCashin’s Brewery, and Motueka RSA.

BBQ, refreshments, bouncy castle, fi sh hat competition and raffl es.

For full details check out the Motueka RSA website

at www.sportsground.co.nz/motuekarsafi shingclub

Bullies Make Trout TastyBy Rhys Barrier

Six weeks into the season staff have managed one drift dive and also received a few reports on the various fisheries within our region. In general, most rivers are now highly fishable due to fairly fine weather that started mid-October. As well as providing wading access to spots not normally accessible in the bigger rivers at this time of year, these conditions mean we are also likely to experience an excellent year for recruitment, due to an absence of large floods during the critical October-November period, when trout fry have emerged from gravels in their spawning waters.

An early season drift dive in the Motueka River revealed an absence of medium-sized fish within this system at present, presumably due to significant flood events. This is a trend we have observed over the last three-years, with the average size of fish now in excess of two-kilograms. These remaining fish generally looked to be in excellent condition, which correlates with what anglers are telling us, although a key difference noted by anglers this year appears to be the return of an active mayfly hatch within the Motueka, which is great news, as this has been sorely missed by many.

Various reports from anglers fishing the Rai/Pelorus system indicate reasonable numbers of good conditioned brown trout are still available in parts of the Rai system, but large rainbows are down a bit at present. Anglers are reminded that trout from the Rai River have a high proportion of fish in their diet due to the prodigious numbers of bullies and dwarf galaxiids in this system and as such, can be very fine table fish. The Wairau has been rumoured to have been fishing well in the lower reaches, with many whitebaiters catching fish on bait or lures. A good evening brown beetle hatch also underway. Nelson Lakes tributaries have experienced reasonable fishing as fish move up river out of the lakes and the Mangles is fishing reasonably well, as is the Maruia, despite the flooding experienced in the Buller system. Matakitaki has had more of a pasting from flooding, however, with fish distribution in this system now patchy.

Tasty early season brownie taken for the dinner table from the Rai River this October.

IRISH LOGICAn old Irishman

was asked, “At your

ripe old age, which

would you prefer to

get – Parkinson’s or

Alzheimer’s?” The

Irishman replied,

“Bejesus, definitely

Parkinson’s! Better

to spill half an ounce

of whiskey than to

forget where you

keep the bottle!”

Nelson Marlborough