www.nzfisher.co.nz 1

ISSUE 42 December 2014

www.nzfisher.co.nz

Top Water Kings

Do a Little Jig

Live and breathe boating?Introducing the new Honda BF80 and BF100.

Call for a quote, you will be amazed at Honda’s value! Freephone 0800 478 765 or visit www.hondamarine.co.nz.

“

“Since I’ve changed to a Honda outboard I’ve experienced considerable fuel savings across the rev range. I can’t believe how quiet the engine is and the performance is outstanding. I have to say “I love my Honda.”

- Graeme Sinclair

80 & 100 Boating NZ New Ad.indd 1 10/03/14 4:29 PM

www.nzfisher.co.nz 3

Contents 6.. Top Water Kings

12.. Do a little jig

17.. Recipe: Lime Panko Crumbed Snapper

18.. Winter Fishing Taupo Streams

20.. There’s Always Something New Out There

22.. Legasea December Update

25.. Video of the Month

26.. Reader Pics

28.. ‘EPIC’ Snapper Session on the Hauraki Gulf

30.. Competitions

ABOUT /Short and sharp, NZ Fisher is a free

e-magazine delivering thought provoking and enlightening articles, and industry news and information

to forward-thinking fisher people.

EDITOR / Derrick Paull

GROUP EDITOR / Richard Liew

ART DIRECTOR / Jodi Olsson

CONTENT ENQUIRIES /

Phone Derrick on 021 629 327

or email derrickp@NZ Fisher.co.nz

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES /

Phone Jennifer on 09 522 7257

or email jenniferl@espiremedia.com

ADDRESS / NZ Fisher,

C/- Espire Media, PO Box 137162, Parnell,

Auckland 1151, NZ

WEBSITE / www.NZFisher.co.nz

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

you print. Thank you!

Cover image: Mark Starns with his PB trev (and first on a Slow Pitch)

www.nzfisher.co.nz 5

EditorialI FEEL LIKE A scratched record – when will the

wind end?! The wee gaps in the weather have

provided some pretty hot fishing for those keen

enough to trust the forecast, but those days are

few and far between. In October we headed out

on two separate days; the forecast predicted a

dropping wind, or at least staying stable, but on

both occasions the wind came up – and hard. I

know we can’t complain about forces of nature,

but ye gods it’s frustrating when you spent the

time, money and effort to get on the water and

get blown away before you even get the burley

flowing.

I wish there was a quick fix, but really in both

cases it was a matter of making the best of a bad

situation. That’s fishing I guess. The NZFisher

team are heading north for a few days on the

water this month and the anticipation is growing

by the day. I’ve been keeping an eye on Jason

‘Fish whisperer’ Neute’s travels out in the Far

North with Swordfish Steve. They’re compelling

viewing; why would we live in the city with a

location like that just a couple of hours north?!

Can’t say I’ll be sad looking at the Harbour Bridge

in my rear view mirror! This trip is about feeding

the family − a pre-Christmas stock-up of snapper

− well received after a lean spring. I’m feeling

half guilty about heading away with a full bin in

mind; it’s been a few years of ‘limit your catch

not catch your limit’ that’s done it to me, but I

can’t help it. I spend so much time defending

our pastime I can’t shake the feeling it’s not ok

to actually take my share every now and again.

With a reduced bag of 7 fish per day, I’ll still have

a bunch of fish and a very happy family. The end

justifies the means, and that means I get to fish

HARD for two days! We’ll be up in the North

again over Christmas and New Years’ once again.

While we’ll be after some kai moana, our hunts

will be more likely be for quarry that doesn’t

swim away – pipi, tuatua, scallops and crays – and

a few trevs from the schools we see around rocky

headlands. If you’re heading away there’s always

a chance to get some fish but it’s traditionally a

hard time of year. If you don’t get lucky, do think

outside the square and enjoy some of the finest

seafood in the world; it’ll be buried in the sand

at the beach, sitting on top of it in the sheltered

bays or hiding under rocks on reefs.

Leave your rods in the caravan and strap your

snorkel on and hunt something new! As it’s

Christmas, we want to give some gifts of our

own. If you do land a nice fish, get a good haul

of scallops or crays, take a pic and send them

through to derrickp@nzfisher.co.nz to be in the

draw for a $150 Okuma Fishing Tackle Voucher.

There’ll be one drawn again in January – and I

want to see some great fish! Drive safe, be safe

on the water and have a great Christmas Break.

We look forward to entertaining you again in the

New Year.

Derrick

6 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Making it work on less than a grand

Top Water Kings

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By Derrick Paull

www.nzfisher.co.nz 7

Top Water Kings

I HAD A DAY ON the water off the coast

of Mayor Island in December 2010 that

changed my life. I saw, for the first time, 25

kingfish in the 15 to 20kg range erupt and

chase a stick-bait I’d just hoofed out the back

of the boat. I’d hooked plenty of kings on

jigs, which was a revolution in itself! But this

was different, so visual and so brutal and so

adrenaline pumping I will never forget or

give up chasing the same buzz again. Like a

drug, I need more, more, more!

The problem is, of course that there’s such a

small window on a weekend and the weather

plays a big part in whether there’s a chance

to flick stick-baits at marauders over reefs,

around headlands or chasing bait schools in

bays. So, with such a limited timeframe, it’s

hard to justify the high-end gear that, while

perfect for the task of chucking lumps of

wood and plastic then landing the hoodlums

that smack them in anger or greed.

It’s not only the rods and reels, but the

stick-baits themselves can get the foo-foo

valve pinching with each cast as you fear the

chance of a wind-knot or worse and you see

it flying away, half a week’s wages drifting to

Davey-Jones’ locker.

So, what’s the solution? Thankfully there are

a whole range of new, high quality well priced

options out there that will cast the baits, lure

the fish and handle the fight. I’m not a big

fan of multi-purposing with tackle, but there

are even a few combos that can be utilised for

other tasks like stray-lining big snapper, land-

based casting or live baiting.

First of all, figure out where you’ll be doing

most of your fishing. There’s no point getting

an 80lb set-up if you’ll be using 60gm baits

at 10kg midgets under harbour boys and vice

versa (That’ll be very expensive!). So we’ve

created a bit of a pick-list for 30, 50 & 80lb

sets that might just about do it for you, on a

budget of under $1000 including braid and a

starter kit of stick baits.

They’re not out yet, but after my recent

Malaysia trip, I’ve fallen in love with the all

new Okuma Salina II series of reels. These

guys are nuggety, have drags to stop rhinos

and remain incredibly smooth after heavy

battles. I’m going to run a set of these

when they become available in February

(sorry to be such a tease) as they’re a really

economical way of putting quality gear

in newbies hands too. For a little insight,

check this video at iCast 2014.

8 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Below we look at the 30lb (PE3), 50lb (PE5)

and 80lb (PE8) sets we can recommend,

based on our own experiences.

PE 3 SET: OKUMA SALINA 2 5000 & OKUMA

X-FACTOR 1PC 7’0 SPIN 6-10KG ($498.00 rrp)

I get as much joy fishing for just legal kings

on this set-up in the harbour shallows and

channels as I do much heavier gear fish

heavyweight hoodlums on the reefs. You

can flick a 40 gram (or smaller) lure all

day with these combos and the fights

can be sensational!

The Salina II comes in a range of sizes, but

for the 30lb, or PE3 class, I’d suggest the

Size 50. It’ll be light to hold, have plenty

of drag but be nimble enough you can cast

the small, lightweight baits you’ll need to

flick around the buoys, piles and in-shore

reefs. This set works well for sinking baits at

snapper too – don’t think these

are exclusively kingfish rigs ;).

You’ll also need high quality braid

(we suggest you speak to your

local retailer for the best options)

of 30lbs or there about and some

strong, hardy, but pliable leader.

Be it nylon or fluorocarbon

connected with a PR or FG knot

(Check You-Tube if you need

advice on these knots) it needs to

be about 2 metres long.

I love these light weight sets, in the

right environment you can land

just about any fish, but be prepared

to lose a lot too. For this reason I

cannot advise using high end stick-baits and

poppers – but if you’re over a sandy bottom,

in decent depth and have plenty of time – go

for it! If not, there are a number of options at

most tackle stores, but try these for starters:

Duel lipless minnow

Or the Starwalker Z sinking baits

These are both injection moulded, plastic

lures with through-wires. They’ll stand a

beating and are unlikely to let you down in

the heat of battle. They both swim nicely,

especially slowly and are easy to get good

action, even from beginners. The smaller

kings often chase big stick baits, but don’t

bite. They will hit these baits more often

as they directly re-create the prey they’re

chasing (Yellowtail-macks and pilchards).

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X-Factor Rod

Okuma Salina

www.nzfisher.co.nz 9

PE 5 SET: DAIWA SALTIST 4500 & DAIWA

SALTIST 7 FOOT CASTING ROD ($749 RRP)

I’ve used this combo extensively on bigger

fish around the Hauraki Gulf and North of

the country on kingfish, kahawai & the odd

trevally. It’s a versatile, mid weight combo

with the potential to land record fish but the

flexibility to use over a range of scenarios. The

rod is a touch stiff for 100 gram lures but that

doesn’t mean you can’t use them, you just

have to work harder to get them swimming

right. Using a wooden stick bait with this

combo (they tend to be more expensive, but

more effective on tough days) is less risky, the

reel has up to 22lbs of drag which is actually

plenty on a reel this size.

With this set you can flick baits from 80 to

150 grams, but it’ll work best with 100gm

and most kings will happily scoff a 100gm

bait if it’s swum properly. I’m a fan of the 100

gm Hitter ‘Aurora’ stick baits from the team

at Assassin Sport Fishing. They are close

imitators of some of the best stick-baits in the

market, but at a fraction of the cost they’re

worth every cent. They’re still handmade and

stand up to serious punishment. If you’re

new to stick baiting, check out the Assassin

guy’s very useful instructional video here. It’ll

fill in a few blanks and helps understand the

best way to fish their baits.

I’ve got mine spooled with 50lb (PE5) Tuff-

Line Supercast – it’s designed specifically for

casting and has a low occurrence of wind

knots or other casting issues. There are a

multitude braided lines on the market, but

you need to be a bit careful which you choose

– if it’s not designed for casting you might

find you’re losing lures through aborted

casts or worse, through wind knots breaking

during a fight. Again, consult your local tackle

experts, they know there stuff.

When you get to this level, you’ll really need

to be using a casting specific joining knot

between the braid and your leader. I use the

PR knots most often, but the FG is considered

the best. Markus of Rod & Reel made

this video back in his FCO days and

it’s a simple, useful knot to make

your life much easier.

Saltist 4500

Daiwa rod monster mesh max

10 www.nzfisher.co.nz

PE6-8 SET: OKUMA RAW II 80 & OKUMA

X-FACTOR 2PC 8’6 ROCK ROD 10-15KG

I’ve had a Raw for a year now and I’ve put it

under some serious pressure at spots like the

Three Kings, Cape Karikari and Coromandel.

It’s performed extremely well and has

stopped some real horses.

This is one of those reels that performs well

beyond its price tag. The important bits in

this reel are the bearings and after a year

of punishment they’ve stood up to it with

aplomb. The Raw has sealed bearings, but

they still need care. Like any reel, wash it

down after every trip and use quality grease.

While it provides a short term fix, I don’t

recommend Inox or WD-40; they can affect

the rubber seals and cause more harm than

good. The Okuma 5-year warranty gives me

real confidence in the gear and trust it’ll

perform when we need it to.

This reel can be used to flick big stick baits

at big fish, so you’ll need some strong line to

stay connected. Spooling the reel with 80lb

or PE8 braid is a good fit. Again, I’ve run with

the Tuff-Line Supercast and it’s been great. I

did start off with a generic line & after casting

away a $180 Orion stick bait I made the

change to the good stuff!

The Okuma Rock Rod may seem surprising

but it fits the bill of a heavy stick bait rod

really well. It’s got a good, whippy tip and

some serious grunt when you need it. It’ll

happily cast an 80 gram bait but also handles

a 200 gram one too. At under $150 this is a

brilliant rod and you won’t mind pushing it

to its limits.

As for the baits, I’ve been falling in love with

the new range of hand-made baits out there

but again the Assassin Hitter baits really do

it for me. They swim well and are great value.

Work them well and you’ll get big fish.

You’ll also want to seriously upgrade your

leader. A minimum of 100lb fluorocarbon

is recommended, but don’t be afraid to

push that up to 150lb in rugged areas of if

you’re nervous!

If you’re fishing form the shore (or close to

it from the boat), good luck! But seriously,

your leader will need to be minimum 150lb

and I’d suggest you run with a ling trace,

right up to 21 foot (IGFA maximum). It’ll

give you more control with feisty fish in

close or around the reefs.

What-ever your choices, you won’t find

fish at home on the couch. Get out there,

look for bait, look for sign and search likely

areas by casting and retrieving your baits

relentlessly – you’ll be rewarded and the

fight will blow you away! ●

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Sailfish slaughter

Okuma Raw II

www.nzfisher.co.nz 11

Know whatyou’re doing

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

Core Courses Specialty Courses RYA Courses

Wide range of courses for all types of boating available nationwide

Ocean Yachtmaster

Day Skipper

Boatmaster

Maritime VHF Operator Certificate

Coastal Skipper

Radar

GPS Operator

Engine Maintenance

Marine Medic

Sea Survival

Sea Kayak and Waka Ama

Club Safety Boat Operator

Bar Crossing

PWC

Powerboating

Sail Cruising

Motor Cruising

12 www.nzfisher.co.nz

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Do a Little JigBen from Rod & Reel

has recently been introduced to slow-pitch and micro-jigs − but he’s a fast learner!

www.nzfisher.co.nz 13

WITH A NICE WEATHER window hanging

around, the decision was made to get out on

the water bright and early after getting up to

watch the rugby test at 3am!

We arrived at Takapuna nice and early, ready

to go. Undecided on where to head, we idled

away from the ramp contemplating going

north. With some nice reports coming in

from east of Kawau at the 50 to 60 metres

mark it was tempting to head in that

direction. However, wanting to avoid the

boat traffic, the call was made to head for

the top of the Coromandel.

We had success in a similar area two weeks

earlier, encountering large snapper, trevally,

and moderately sized kingfish. After an hour

or so of driving, we were greeted by gannets

hitting the water and decided to stop and

investigate. We idled around the fringes

looking for some solid signs, as the workups

were relatively short and spontaneous,

covering a large area of water.

This resulted in Devon’s first slow pitch

caught fish, a solid 7lb Trevally, caught on a

100 gram Seafloor slow-pitch jig. This proved

to be the first of many nice trevallies caught

throughout the day. Moments later and Mark

hooked up to a solid snapper, also his first

slow pitch fish, caught on another Seafloor

slow-pitch jig, but the 90 gram this time.

The gannets worked the 45 metre mark

sporadically all day, with loads of signs

throughout the water column. It was good

to see the water temperature up between

18 to 19˚C, getting to 20.3˚C at the peak of

the afternoon. This meant large schools of

14 www.nzfisher.co.nz

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If you find the birds, you’ll be in!

Great haul for a great day!

www.nzfisher.co.nz 15

kingfish and trevally were up higher in the

water column, with Snapper feeding actively

but fairly hard on the bottom.

The trevally were feeding aggressively all day,

smashing any jigs that were moving quickly

through the water column, or that paused

post pitch. Larger micro jigs in the 15 to 30

gram range proved deadly on these, especially

in silver or zebra colourations.

These fish put up some stunning fights on

the light micro jigging tackle, providing

some spectacular runs. Kingfish were

regular by catch when targeting these, but

were more frequently encountered when

slow pitch jigging. If you are looking to

target trevally, micro jigs in the 15 to 30

gram range are perfect.

Conditions played along (finally!)

Big trevs are not common, but where theres one, often theres many

Trevally are hard fighting and stunning fish

16 www.nzfisher.co.nz

A soft rod setting accompanied with a gentle

jerk and half pitch of the reel works these

jigs well; always remember to place emphasis

on the falling action, as this is where the jigs

come into their own.

You can mix it up and do some faster jerks

in a higher pitch, or some long fall as you

see fit. Silver and white jigs worked best,

especially in Zebra patterns; glow seemed

beneficial but was in no way essential.

Pink tones also work very well, more

specifically when they are feeding on krill.

It was an awesome day out catching fish

which aren’t often targeted inside the gulf.

And the weather really couldn’t have been

any better for it.

With thanks to www.Rodandreel.co.nz ●

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A nice screenshot of what awaited below! Zets Microjig

REC

IPE

NORMALLY MARK’S WOOING us with

smokey sweet treats, but today’s recipe,

utilising Fogdog Panko Crumbs, is very

simple but looks amazing! I learnt this

smart little recipe recently but changed

out normal breadcrumbs for Panko crumbs.

IngredientsRind and juice of one lime

50g Butter

Panko bread-crumbs (aprox 50g per fillet)

Snapper (or other firm white fillets)

MethodGrind lime, butter and Panko crumbs

together and put on top of your freshly

caught snapper.

Fan grill for 10 minutes.

Sometimes you need a little zingThis recipe comes to us care of Mark ‘Mr. Bradley Smoker’ Thodey

Lime PankoCrumbed Snapper

The result was perfection next time I might add a hint of Chilli ;) ●

Lime Panko for Snapper

Pre-Lime Panko Crumbed Snapper

18 www.nzfisher.co.nz

FLYF

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Winter Fishing Taupo Streams

NZFisher put’s Rod and Reel’s tips to use

www.nzfisher.co.nz 19

FOR AUCKLAND, TAUPO is a bit of a trout

fishing mecca. I’ve fished it heaps, but with

little success and usually the wrong way. It’s

hard to learn on water you don’t understand

without some coaching. With thanks to Rod and Reel Newmarket and their great write

up in our August issue, I decided it was time

to hit the Taupo streams and show the boss

how it’s done.

Markus’ tips were pretty simple and that

combined with some local tips from the

guys already on the streams, we headed

down to the Tongariro and tried our skills

on the big water. Derrick started the day

pretty well with a nice rainbow before

breakfast, but with a whole lot of traffic on

the river we decided to head to a smaller

stream, the Waimarino Stream.

Here we had to contend with fast moving,

very clear water and easily spooked trout, but

once again Derrick snuck one out on a copper

rabbit – or something like that! Sadly I didn’t

get any improvement on my average of zero;

but there’s always next time! ●

Derricks First

Derricks Second - where’s mine! They do taste very good!

20 www.nzfisher.co.nz

NEW

SPEC

IES There’s Always

Something New Out ThereGoing deep

By Neil Wagener

Ugly buggers, but so tasty

I LOVE CHASING new species, but love it

even more when you don’t know what you’re

actually chasing. On a recent trip to the far

north, we headed out wide to some pins

in 250 metres. The sounder failed (maiden

voyage jitters) and we were left floating

around guessing where we were and what

was below. We did have a GPS, so moved

around to a likely looking spot where the

contours bunch up, indicating a steep incline

and the increased chance of fish. We lined up

to drift over it and dropped bait.

At this depth it’s hard to know how deep you

are and whether you’ve hit the bottom, but

a fish hitting the line is unmistakable, and

after a few minutes we were hooked up onto

a couple of mildly excited fish. Dragging them

up from 200m+ isn’t exactly fun, but the

excitement of finding out what’s on the other

end is pretty cool.

Mine was a gem fish, which was a first for me,

and also pretty cool. Darren landed a double

header of gemfish and a shark, while Derrick’s

was an ugly, (but ultimately tasty) scarpie or

scorpion fish. We didn’t manage any of the

target species (Hapuku, Bass or Blue nose)

but we get a feed and some new species.

The gemfish were seriously delicious, we

made Gem-sliders using an Al Brown recipe

and they blew the crowds away. ●

Daz waiting patiently

Prickly bugger!

Midwinter trolling!

22 www.nzfisher.co.nz

www.legasea.co.nz

LegaSea

FISH

ERIE

SMA

NA

GEM

ENT

Update December 2014

www.nzfisher.co.nz 23

“

RECREATIONAL FISHING NOT PART OF QUOTA SYSTEM

A POPULAR MISCONCEPTION is that all

fishing is managed via quota and the Quota

Management System. Truth is, quota is used

to manage commercial fishing. Recreational

fishing is managed outside the QMS, and

daily bag and minimum size limits are used to

control each individual’s catch.

LegaSea is committed to ensuring public fishing remains free of any fixed allocation or quota. Nathan Guy has recently been

reappointed as Minister for Primary

Industries. When making fisheries decisions

his duty is to allow for recreational interests.

This can be achieved in a variety of ways

including area controls and making an overall

allowance to cover the public’s expected

annual catch.

Recreational allowances must be more

flexible than an allocation because our catch

can vary a lot between years due to weather,

fish availability and other factors.

Allowances also acknowledge that

population growth is inevitable and

recreational fishing is a popular cultural

activity undertaken on a random basis by

almost a million people every year.

LegaSea is committed to ensuring public fishing remains free of any fixed allocation or quota.

24 www.nzfisher.co.nz

FISH

ERIE

SMA

NA

GEM

ENT

LegaSea is the public face of the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council. The Council has an experienced fisheries management, science, policy and legal team. On behalf of the

Council LegaSea provides public-friendly information about a variety of processes that are important to the sustainable management of fisheries for future generations.

Without doubt our ability to go fishing and catch a feed of fish must, by law, be allowed for by the Minister. One

of the major talking points during the

2013 snapper debate was the assertion

by officials and commercial interests

that recreational catch had increased

exponentially, and that effort needed to

be reined in through bag limit reductions.

Seafood NZ, the main representative body

for commercial fishers, even referred

to recreational fishing as wasteful

consumption!

In reality, management of Snapper 1, on

the north-eastern coast, had not been

reviewed for 16 years and the recreational

allowance made in 1997 did not reflect

any sliver of reality, either then or now.

In Area 1 during 2012-13 the average

snapper catch per person, per trip, was

around two kilograms. Boat fishers

averaged about one kilogram of kahawai

per person, per trip.

These individual catches are neither

uncontrollable nor unreasonable,

and many people are conserving fish

on a regular basis by not taking their

daily limit. We need to celebrate this

conservation effort, and that we’re fishing

to put natural, unprocessed food on the

table for our families.

Another cause for celebration is that

people are learning new ways to take

better care of their catch and to share

unused portions with others in their

community through freefishheads.co.nz.

Any talk of recreational quota, allocations

or uncontrolled amateur fishing is a

myth. Every person that goes recreational

fishing is controlled by a daily bag limit,

minimum size limits and ultimately the

Minister’s allowance. ●

VID

EOO

FTH

EMO

NTH

THE TITLE SAYS it all – this video is simply

unbelievable. These guys may be insane, but ye

gods they’re having a great time proving it! You

must watch this video, if you don’t watch videos

normally, make an exception. Do it. Do it now.

Simply Unbelievable Fishing

But for those after the finer things in the world of fishing; here’s another great landbased vid from our own shores.

26 www.nzfisher.co.nz

REA

DER

PICS

Fave Reader Pics

27lber on 8lb line & 4lb leader

Chris O’Niel of Rod & Reel with his best GT from a recent Aitutaki trip

Stephanie Ryan wih a PB, 3.25kg Porae

Scott DeLacey with a grunty kelpy in Doubtless Bay

www.nzfisher.co.nz 27

Fave Reader Pics

Stephanie Ryan wih a PB, 3.25kg Porae

Scott DeLacey with a grunty kelpy in Doubtless Bay

Edward NgChok with a huge Rarotongan GT caught inside the lagoon, landbased!

Clive Evans’ mate ave with his New PB - a horse of a snapper form under the gannets near Tiri

28 www.nzfisher.co.nz

FISH

ING

THEW

OR

KU

PS

THE PLAN WAS TO rally up the Pure Fishing

troops and meet up with Brett from Assassin

Charters out of Sandspit. Brett had said they

were having a good snapper bite just North of

Kawau over the past few days. As we headed

out of Sandspit the weather had closed in a

little, but getting out past Kawau it must have

only been five to 10 knots all the way out to

the middle.

There was not a lot of action going on in the

way of bird activity. We had bought all our

new braid micro jigs, squiddo’s, slowmo’s and

good old gulp soft bait. I was starting to think,

man we are going to need bait with no work

ups around! As we stopped off around 45

metres we could see schools of rat kings so

we dropped our jigs and soft bait and it was

all go. Everyone was hooking up left, right

and centre; the guys were stoked hooking

into fish. It didn’t matter what it was or how

big, but the ‘yahoos!’ kept on coming.

A couple of the guys made it to the bottom

and picked up a few small snapper. After

catching a few fish with rods buckling like

they had never buckled before, Brett decided

to head a little more North.

We had been fishing for awhile and still no

work ups; I was thinking we had come all

this way and we weren’t going to have a hot

fishing sesh. How wrong I was. As Brett got

us down to a spot, he said we would all hook

up on fish. We got a little excited seeing a few

gannets working.

We all reached for our choice of weapon and

set them up with micro jigs, squiddos and

lumo elevator heads for attaching a mixture

of soft bait. One of the greenhorns gave

a Koha to Tangaroa (a nice combo at the

bottom of the sea) but it seemed to work as

we dropped our jigs and softies. Everyone was

hooking up, and to some nice fish too! We

thanked him (Tangaroa) each time we pulled

in a good snap, they were anywhere between

two to six kilo.

Mal was working the new Braid T Caster

which was smashing some good snaps. I set

up one of the combos with my favourite,

the squiddo – ‘pink shine’. The big snaps

‘EPIC’ Snapper Session on the Hauraki Gulf

Reproduced care of Jason ‘Fish Whisperer’ Neute

‘Greenhorn’ giving the rod a ‘High-stick’ working over (Snap)

www.nzfisher.co.nz 29

‘EPIC’ Snapper Session on the Hauraki Gulf just couldn’t leave it alone and Josh, one of

the greenhorns, was smashing snaps with

it on every drop. Of the soft bait, it didn’t

matter what we used, none of it was getting

to the bottom. Mid fishing sesh the boat

was surrounded by acres of pilchards and it

sounded like rain on the water. There were

millions upon millions, and not really any

birds, what an amazing sight.

For the next hour or two we ended up with

a good looking bin. With the good size fish

we were landing, we ended up keeping 22

between seven of us which gave us three

solid fish each to take home. The guys smiles

lasted all the way back to base as well. What a

great arvo out on the water with the troops.

If you want to get into some of this hot action

then you need to get hold of Brett from

Assassin Charters; he has amazing knowledge

and the know-how to get you onto some

good fish for a good time… ●

30 www.nzfisher.co.nz

Com

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Auckland 0751, New Zealand

PO Box 302 363, NHPC, Albany,

Auckland 0751, New Zealand

P +64 9 415 9915 F +64 9 415 9965

Freefax 0800 SKIN FISH E sales@cdrods.co.nz

www.cdrods.co.nz

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Share an Awesome Photo and Be in to Win!

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

Competition!

Share an awesome photo of you with a

fish to our Facebook page, or email it to

derrickp@espiremedia.com by 25 December

2014 and you’ll be in to win an $150

voucher from Composite Developments to

spend on anything you like from their 2015

catalogue - click here to view.

This months winner is Edward NgChok

has won a $150 Composite Developments

voucher, happy spending Edward! ●

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www.nzfisher.co.nz 31

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Merry Xmas from all the

NZ Fisher team! See y’all in

2015!!