issue 90 march 2013

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March 2013Issue 90

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THE

NEW ZEALAND

NEWSHUNTING

FISHINGPAPER

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Tasman’s Tuna Torpedoes

story pg 31

FREE Kaikoura Fishing Guide

www.thefishingpaper.co.nzTHE FISHING PAPER2

By Ali Kennard

What Do Fish Look Like?

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Inspiration this month comes from a conversation I had with a friend at our now regular pub quiz evening at our local Sprig & Fern (team name: Norfolk n’chance – and yes, we live up to it!), and it is also a conversation I have fairly regularly in the shop.

My friend had installed one of our sounders over Christmas and had just come back from a weekend fishing in the Sounds. As you do, we discussed the fishing and I asked how his sounder had gone. He replied it was great but he was catching fish even though there was nothing showing on the sounder.

I asked if he was seeing anything on the sounder at all and he said there was some stuff there, but no arches like it said in the manual. Now there are two things to take from this: one is, guys do read manuals and two, in this case the manual is slightly misleading, as fish will not always show up as arches on the screen.

Yes, there are times when you will see fish arches, but for this to happen the fish has to go straight through the middle of the beam, either by swimming or by you driving over it. The reason you get the arch is when the target is in the centre of the beam it is closer to the transducer than when it is on the outside of the beam. Hence it shows as an arch that starts to get shallower then deeper again as it travels

though the beam. Now this doesn’t happen all that often and it is certainly never going to look how it does on the unit’s demo screens, where every echo is a near perfect arch.

So what do they look like then if they don’t look like arches? This isn’t an easy one to answer, because different brands and models all show fish slightly differently due to their processors, as well as different fish showing up differently due to the differences in their return echoes.

Just to give you one example , I have attached a picture of blue cod on a predecessor of my friend’s unit. The strong echo in the middle of the screen is krill and below is blue cod, which give off a very weak echo and show up almost as a series of specks on the sounder. When I drew an example of this on our answer sheet and showed it to my friend, asking if this is what he had seen, he said yes. So he had been seeing the fish all along, but had been so focused on looking for the arches as described in the manual, that he had missed the real targets.

I do have various shots of different species on our brands in the showroom so if you wanted to pop in and have look, I will be happy to show you.

With a few marks to try and some anticipation, I set out with great mates GV and Dougie, having had heard tuna were in the bay. We put our setlines down and steamed out to the 45m mark, but four hours of trolling produced not one take!

So back to the set lines: 25 doggies, 1 nice snapper and a good sized rig - things were looking bleak and the sea breeze was getting up and petrol was low. We decided to head

back but leave the lures out. Just a few miles from home my line started

screaming out - I was in! My first thoughts - a kingy, as it was fighting real hard, but the first sighting proved it to be my first tuna. I was so excited and nearly lost it as it made its final dive under the boat, but some deft rod-work and a little luck turned the tables for me.

Two hours later and sashimi was the order of the day ...

Feel-Good Fish for HopgoodBy Kevin Hopgood (Chef at Hopgood’s Restaurant Nelson)

Check out Kev’s recipe on page 27.

What Do Fish Look Like?

THE FISHING PAPER 3www.thefishingpaper.co.nz

Nelson Branch: 78 Vickerman St. Ph 03 548 4987 • Auckland Branch: 65 Gaunt St. Westhaven. Ph 09 373 5595

www.thefishingpaper.co.nz4 THE FISHING PAPER

The tuna were out there, but the ocean looked like a huge desert when you couldn’t see them. Judging by the dubious look on sales manager Reagan Poynter’s face, he mirrored my sentiments. I shot a look out the starboard window, peered through the port window and rubbed a paw over my jaw in Wilbur Smith fashion while I scanned the horizon.

I then suddenly hauled back on the throttle and shouted, “Let’s set the lures!”

I’d only managed to deploy two of our five lures when the first albacore hit and Reagan delighted in notching up another first.

“Jesus that was amazing,” he spluttered after the fish had given him a good workout, “Miles of barren ocean and you managed to stop right on top of the tuna!” The little man was looking up at me in awe, “What made you stop right here?”

“I got sick of the boat bouncing!”

Joining us were The Fishing

Paper layup dude, Paddy Connor, and James Cameron from SiteJET and in the absence of surface activity, birds or other sign, I elected to work some obvious current lines: areas of tidal flow where warmer water hits cooler water. Baitfish tend not to cross these invisible barriers, so predators like tuna cruise along the line looking for a feed. Of course you can never be sure what side of the line holds fish so it pays to adopt a zigzag pattern, or work an area and come back down the other side.

It was a relief to get into fish straight away, because the other point of the exercise was to test some Okuma rods and reels. The boys dealt to a few tuna on James’s Andros

reel and judging by the hoots and yahoos, and subsequent comments, it won the hearts of everyone that day (check out the specs below). Here’s what James has to say about it:

My Andros 511, 2-speed, has really become my ‘go-to’ mid range outfit - paired with the matching Andros 150-250g jig rod. The reel sits very comfortably in my hand for extended jigging and casting and with 11kg of drag at my disposal I find it has far more than adequate stopping power for kingfish, large snapper and other grunty pelagics like albacore. Not only is the drag powerful, but very smooth and rare for a lever drag, has exceptional ‘castability’ (magnetically assisted). On a recent local trip the Andros

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Charlotte Tucker (10) Tim Tucker and Lucy Tucker (8) proudly display 19 pounds of Collingwood gold. Tim’s wife Jane Hilson is the one behind the camera.

Tucker Time in Parapara By Tim Tucker

This amazing fish was caught on our setline with squid bait in about 10 metres of water off Collingwood. We were on holiday at our bach in Parapara. It was the biggest fish our family had ever seen and to be honest, I

couldn’t imagine one that big! We had a pair

of Hector’s dolphins playing with us the whole

time we were out there; they were incredibly

playful and inquisitive.

combo walked all over albacore to 8kg and yet was supple enough to stop and nab a few wary gurnard on softbaits on the way home. Whether it is for deep jigging, straylining, throwing poppers or trolling - my Andros 511 combo is my new favourite.

I went lighter again because you really need to see these things under load. I threw into the mix the new Okuma ISIS drum baitcaster level wind on a X-Factor 6’6’’ 6-8kg Dropshot, which is more suited to straylining, softbaiting, slow jigging and other light tackle applications. It didn’t flinch in its trolling role. Anna and Daniel ultimately

commandeered it during subsequent trips and loved the thrill of catching big tuna on it. The only negative is the kids and I are not fans of the twin paddle handles but that’s only a personal preference observation. The reel itself is beautifully balanced, smooth, easy to cast and nicely crafted.

The X-Factor I loved: very sensitive tip action, plenty of guides to assist smooth loading and very strong in the bottom third of the blank so it has the capacity to really load up on big fish. Daniel and Anna comfortably landed several albacore over 10kg on it, and because of the overall light weight, compact reel, smooth

drag, balance, and power of the rod, they were able to play the fish properly and enjoy the experience. It would serve well as an all-purpose lightweight set that can still handle the big stuff, and I can see it being popular also with kayakers.

Composite Developments put out a very comprehensive catalogue of fishing gear, which includes the full Okuma range. Ask for it at a tackle store and check out the specifications of the gear tested.

And, incidentally, there is plenty of tuna action to be had over the next month, so kit yourself out with some light tackle and hook into a few chooks of the sea.


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Capital Summer Bonanza The capital’s best summer for years, and some say decades,

has maximised fishing opportunities for Wellington fishers over the last couple of months.

A prevalence of sunny summer conditions with notably far less wind, swell and rain than is usual since Christmas has provided ample opportunity for boaties, divers and shore based fishers alike to secure a good feed of quality fish, bag a personal best or that trophy fish.

Some of our more sought after species have been abundant with some consistency: good catches of snapper and groper taken particularly off our west coast from Makara through to Waikanae and further north.

Of particular note this summer has been the number of kingfish landed, especially in Wellington Harbour where there have been unprecedented numbers landed and lost at Oriental Bay, only minutes away from the heart of the city centre.

If good conditions hold till Easter, sought after species like snapper, kingfish and albacore should be on the menu for capital anglers willing to give it a go when the day presents itself.

For more tips and capital fishing information, pop in and see George at Hutt Valley Hunting & Fishing, 444 Cuba Street Lower Hutt.

Prominent Wellington fisho and creator of Kiwitackle rigs Bernhardt ‘The Gurnard’ Schifthner with one of

two nice kingfish in one week landed by him at Oriental Bay using one of

his slider rigs with a livebait.

STORY

CONGRATULATIONS TORick Trayes of Mahana. The Winner

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CAPITAL FISHING with George Michael

With Mark Roden

SpearfishingSouth Island Spearfishing Champs

The SI Spearfishing Champs were run on Saturday February 9 and judging by all the feedback was a real success.

Open winners were Richmond father and son team Brian Davis and Josh McDonald-Davis. It was a great result, as Brian (BD) had last won the trophy in 1991 so he will have his name engraved on it again after 22 years along with his son, 16-year-old Waimea College student Josh.

Also up for grabs was the Wettie New Era trophy. This is a new class that has been introduced to mirror the changing attitudes towards out marine environment, ie the comp still entails some spearing but most of the points are gained from photographing the fish. The winners of this section were Aaron Baker and Anna Waters. Anna has been diving for less than a year so this was a great result.

Women’s trophy went to Gemma Shields from Auckland and Josh McDonald-Davis also took out the junior trophy. Jordan Ewers and Alex Davies won the Queen Charlotte Trophy for first time competitors.

The Chetwode Islands at the entrance to Pelorus Sound was the venue, the weather was

perfect but the current tested the divers fitness. This is where BD and Josh played a tactical game by not wasting all their energy trying to cover the whole comp area, The competition was hosted by the Nelson Spearfishing and Freediving Club, with the much appreciated support of the Nelson Underwater Club and Spearfishing NZ.

Brian and Josh cleaned up.

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Many drowning related deaths could be avoided, but adult bravado/ignorance often gets in the way. Much of the media focus is on educating grown ups to be more aware and responsible, but I learned firsthand recently that our younger generation display an integrity and level of responsibility we could all learn from.

I had the privilege of attending a Hope School camp at Canvastown under the leadership of teacher Di Scott. The kids were nine to ten-year-olds and they revelled in the challenges that were set them: abseiling, rafting, fishing, caving and … river crossing. New Zealand is a land of rivers and drowning related to river crossings feature heavily in our history; obituaries back in the ‘home country’ referred to death by drowning

as ‘the New Zealand Death’, so Di and I seized the opportunity to utilize my back country skills and teach the class the fundamentals.

We looked at learning to ‘read’ the river, understand that wide slow flowing stretches were deep, still flat areas deep pools, narrow turbulent rapids were deep and swift, and that wide smooth areas above another set of rapids that looked shallow, were deceptively deep. We talked of the effect of current and how to recover if you did slip over and get carried downstream. The kids were attentive, focused and took the exercise seriously, understanding the gravity of the situation; there was no hint of tomfoolery, bravado and no cavalier attitudes.

We covered 1) Selecting a place to cross, identify the exit and use the current to

assist 2) Pole assisted individual crossings – placing pole upstream for support, leaning into it to brace, and sliding feet to next foothold 3) Group braced crossings – Tallest and strongest upstream, next biggest downstream and smallest or weakest in middle; brace by interlocking arms and clutching belts or handful of shirt of the person(s) you are supporting. Cross at the speed of the slowest member.

It was humbling observing these kids tackle and master such a complex issue so earnestly and with a degree of maturity not always exemplified by grown ups!

May be we need to learn from the kids we teach.

Kids Lead The Way on Water Safety By Daryl Crimp

Todd Broady goes it alone river crossing.

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Getting The Jump On SalmonBy Lee Richmond

It’s taken me ten years to catch this salmon. I’ve hooked and lost a few, but haven’t landed one for ten years, despite an average of about 20 trips a year.

I had just spent the last three nights in a row travelling to the Rakaia, with no luck, so I decided to call my mate John Inwood, who fishes the Waimak’ every year. I figured it would be a bit cheaper on gas.

We turned up to his favourite spot on the Waimak’, and the river was in mint condition. He went upstream a wee bit and I had been fishing with a zeddy for five-minutes when what

I thought was a snag, turned into a salmon. This time! It gave me a great scrap, but I had visions of the hook pulling the whole time. After about ten-minutes I had it near where I could land it, but I may have been a bit hasty, as the hook pulled out when I dragged it up the bank. We both jumped on it, just in time though.

It weighed 22 pounds, by far my biggest fish. I call it my twenty-grand fish, because that’s what it probably cost in gear, gas and vehicles to catch it! Happy days!

Recent Drift Dive Results Tony Hawker, Field Officer, North Canterbury Fish & Game

The North Canterbury Fish & Game field staff has been ‘drift diving’ over the summer and still have the Hurunui and Upper Waiau to dive to complete the year’s programme. Back in Mid-November we set out on the Hope River just below Kiwi Stream confluence. We encountered 15 large fish over a distance of 1.4km.

Within the last fortnight we took the opportunity to drift the Boyle River, starting at the confluence of the Boyle and Lewis rivers and stopped just after Doubtful confluence. The resulting fish count was as follows: 33 large, 2 medium, 2 small over a distance of 5.6km.Hopefully conditions will be suitable over the coming weeks; enabling the team to head up into the St James and complete the overnight drift dive along the Upper Waiau, and we should have the results for you on the next Reel Life.

‘Dry Fly’ Fishing in March Tony Hawker, Field Officer, North Canterbury Fish & Game

March should be a significant month of any fly anglers’ calendar. The Canterbury rivers have lost their snow melt and the weather is usually more settled, meaning low clear rivers. Anglers should use these conditions to take advantage of sighted dry fly fishing in the backcountry.

Pick a fine day without NW winds and arm yourself with a handful of dry flies. My all-time favourite is a Royal Wulf, but this doesn’t always work. If the trout are being fussy, try a small grey imitation such as an Adams or Blue or Grey Dun. A Large Black Gnat is also a great alternative for an exploratory dry fly and works well on shiny water when other flies are hard to see. I always have a small nymph tied on about 40cm below the dry as well, just to cover all possibilities.

Always keep a couple of cicada patterns, as this can be some of the most exciting fishing. If there are plenty of cicadas about, start smacking it down on the water. No need for finesse, just smack it down to get the trout’s attention.

Drying Up Dirk Barr, Hatchery Manager, North Canterbury Fish & Game

An important notice to anglers! As we head into the late summer months some of our lowland streams are getting critically low. Both the Irwell River and Hanmer Drain dried up early in the month.

‘Once the irrigators have been turned on you can watch the Irwell drop an inch a day,” stated one local.

Not an ideal situation for the fish populating these waterways and unfortunately notice of the Irwell situation came too late and all fish in that river perished. This was a very disappointing find, but a big thanks to the local girl and friends who did manage to save some trout and get them safely back to the lake.

And without this quick thinking young lady the result may have been the same in the Hanmer Drain – the salvage started Waitangi Day and fortunately we were able to save the trout.

‘What I can’t understand is how another local man can walk his dog along here every day and watch the daily demise of the fish trapped in pools, without making a phone call?”

Please anglers, if you see or hear of any similar low water situations that may endanger our sports fish, call Fish & Game immediately. We will be on to it!

Phone us on (03) 3135728 or 0800-FISHANDGAME (0800 347 426) or alternatively email [email protected]

Canterbury


Kayaking with Chris West

Transporting Kayaks - LoadingKayaking can seem

like a great pastime; an uncomplicated activity with minimal gear and little reliance on technology. Unfortunately, transporting your kayak can make a simple kayak trip a whole lot more complex. I will share some methods to make loading your kayak easier.

Kayaks three metres and longer are heavy and cumbersome to handle and getting one onto the roof of your car (or worse yet, a 4x4 or a van) can be a struggle. With some thought and planning, it can be achieved by one person.

If your car is not too high and your kayak not too heavy, then you may be able to lift the kayak above your head and place it on your roof racks. This will not be the best solution for most people though. If you are able to lift one end of the kayak at a time, you will find it much easier on your body. There are a couple of ways to achieve this.

One is to make or buy a load bar extension. This is a folding, or telescopic extension that fits onto the end of one of your roof rack bars and extends out to the side of your car. Place the kayak beside your car, roughly in the same forward to back position that it will

eventually sit in once on the roof. Place an old floor mat (non-slip rubber is ideal) under the rear of the kayak. Now lift the front end up and onto the extension. Tie the kayak so that it cannot fall off the extension. Walk to the stern of the kayak and lift this up and onto the rear roof rack bar. Tie it in place. Now move the bow of the kayak so that it sits in the middle of your roof rack and tie it securely.

Another option for making loading easier is to slide your kayak onto the roof rack. With most wagons and hatch backs, it is possible to trap a piece of carpet or a thick towel in the top of the boot door (open the boot, place the carpet in the opening near the hinges and then close the boot, trapping the carpet in the door). If you wish to protect the stern of your kayak, place a piece of non-slip rubber mat under the stern end of your kayak. Then lift the bow until it sits on the carpet that you placed in the boot door. Move to the stern and lift the stern up and slide the kayak onto the roof rack. You may need to modify this technique a little to suit different cars. Also, be aware that there is a chance that your kayak could slide off sideways, or dent/ scratch your car, so only use this technique if you are sure

that you won’t damage your vehicle.

Four wheel drives and vans are awkward to load. The load bar extension will work for these vehicles, but consider using a folding 2 or 3 step ladder to help get a little extra height. Once you are finished then it will fold up and fit into your boot easily.

In the next column I will look at ways to secure your kayak to the roof rack of your car.

It was cloudy, there was a ripple on Lake Ohau, but the gentle breeze made casting easier from the stony beach. My wife Vivienne, my camera girl, had walked in with me. I was reworking the water with my bubble and fly as I moved to where it was deeper and usually better fishing. The lake was low and most of the weed beds in the bay were visible.My next cast was straight out

and a little longer than the others. The bubble, which was full of water, sank from view and I walked slowly, occasionally turning the handle of the reel so I could work the Hamill’s Killer along the beach. It was a beautifully balanced outfit; the thin nylon on the reel gave me excellent casting distance, but I had a 9lb trace.Suddenly the rod bent over

and for a moment I thought I had hooked a weed bed. Then I felt the fish shake its head and the line began to move. I concentrated on bringing it to the surface by keeping the rod high, to keep the trout out of the weed. Then the big rainbow jumped a couple of times and the line ran freely through the bubble, giving the fish no chance of breaking the line that way. Once it was near the beach, I dropped the rod tip and carefully applied sideways pressure and beached the

rainbow in the shallows. The previous day it had taken

me an hour to kayak into the bay. I had changed Rapalas on the way but only managed to catch one small rainbow, so I tried my last orange and green Rapala. A boat had been trolling the deeper water so I trolled in close to the shore, with a lot of line out, using a zigzag pattern to put the Rapala through undisturbed water. A hundred-metres later I hooked into a bigger brown and a hundred metres further on, I got an even larger rainbow.The next day Viv and I

returned to the bay. She walked in and I kayaked. Using the same orange Rapala I hooked two lovely rainbows over the

weedbeds close to shore, playing one of them for quite a while before it did a self release like the other one.After lunch I tried again and

hooked up a real beauty in the deeper water close to the shore. I was able to play the fish and slowly back paddle to the shore where I landed it on the beach.About two weeks later I was

fishing over the edge of the weed beds at the top of Lake Ohau after a massive rainfall. All but a couple of the small creeks were dirty, but I found some relatively clean water in a bay and zigzagging with the orange and green Rapala, I scored a fat rainbow. I paddled up the inlets, through

and over the grass, looking for trout in the flooded margins of the lake, as I have often seen them there hoovering up the worms. Although I didn’t see any trout, I did a see huge rather bloated eel lying on the grass under the water. At first I thought it was dead, as it didn’t move when I paddled quietly up to it. I cleaned the rainbow and dropped the guts in front of its nose, but it was so full of worms it couldn’t eat another thing. All it wanted to do was rest.On the way back I zigzagged

through the cloudy water close to the shore and picked up a brown. I noticed a couple of boats fishing out further, but I don’t think they landed anything. The kayak is a stealthy lethal weapon when you zigzag over the weed beds.

Zigzagging Over Weed BedsBy Craig Grant

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“Anna’s leaving home in five-years!”Annette’s words stopped me in my tracks

and I half-laughed because I thought she was joking, the kid is only twelve, but the look in her eye suggested her intent was

to remind me that time was running out. Last time I looked, I thought I’d won Lotto every time one of the kids snuggled into the crook of my arm. Now they hang out with mates, speak so fast their tongues spark and they have an answer for everything, like, “Yeah Dad, whatever helps you sleep at night!” or, “Whatever holds back the tears.” My babies aren’t babies anymore. That is a sobering realisation.

However, they are my afterlife, so I figured that if I want a good afterlife I need to refocus and invest more quality time with them. I love my family and I love being a Dad: herd leader, head of the table, role model, father figure, head honcho and

I’m proud to have a Man Cave with dead animals hanging off the wall. Sometimes it’s really important to be a proper bloke otherwise the next generation of males might end up confused and genderless.

Kids are great at reminding you that they love and need you, but they keep it real; everybody starts off life honest. When Daniel was a toddler I was away a lot and I once phoned, tired and miserable, from the Tahr Show. Annette detected sadness in my voice and tried to cheer me up.

“Well, Daniel misses you,” she echoed down the line.“Really?” I piqued up, “What did he say?”She went on to say that Daniel was busy playing with ‘Hippy’

when out of the blue he said rather absently, “Mu-uum … I

really miss Dad!”At the sound of those words I choked and tears blurred my

vision.“Aawwwww!” I sighed. She went on.“That’s nice dear,” she soothed the little three-year-old.“Yeah … without his snoring, burping and farting – it’s just

not the same around here!”Daniel is nine now and last month we slipped away for an

overnighter on the boat – just him and me. We’d been doing heaps of fishing, chasing albacore and catching plenty, but he’d had to share me with others. He just wanted some one-on-one time with his dad.

We took ‘The Big Blue Growly Thing’ and steamed out of Nelson, just the two of us, heading for tuna city and Okiwi for the night. God patted me on the back for doing the right thing and flicked the tuna switch to ‘Full On!’ A reel screamed,

line peeled off the Okuma ISIS and the X-Factor Dropshot rod loaded up time after time. The Black Magic Jetsetter tuna lures proved flavour of the day and the Hot Shotz Tunariza accounted for a few as well.

I was buzzing but Daniel suddenly called a halt to the fishing.

“Have you had enough?” I asked.“No, but we don’t need anymore!” He simply

said. Looks like my investment might be showing

signs of paying off.He then fished for cod and snapper and trevally

while I dealt to the albies. We had a three-course dinner: sausage in bread with tomato sauce. He talked and I listened a lot. Then way past dark he put the rod down and sloped off to bed.

“You had a good day son?” I asked after him.“Yep!” a little voice edged with a hint of rich

timbre drifted back.“What made it special?” I queried.“Fishing!” he yawned and then drifted off.“Whatever helps you sleep at night son!”God smiled and I smiled back.

Whatever Helps You Sleep

By Brett Bensemann

No one wanted to or couldn’t come fishing after work with Grant Hutton - Tautuku Fishing Club Committee Member.

Pity, as Grant had ‘a ball’! The fish danced to his ‘tune’!

While trolling around Carey’s Bay Basin in Dunedin Harbour and up to the ‘cross channel’, he started catching barracouta one after another. While heading out towards the Harbour Heads and over a spot where two days prior his crewmember, Roger Kan, lost a 4lb and his nephew lost a 5lb salmon, Grant spotted a group of blue penguins swimming close to his boat. Just as he was about to take a photo of a lifetime, his rod goes off with a roar – NOT another ‘couta was the thought. There was no real run or surface as salmon do. While just hauling in about half way, the salmon was spotted with excitement. PROBLEM now was the drift of the boat toward the sand bank. Grant had to restart the motor, slowly steer the boat and play the salmon all at once. He finally netted this 21lb Salmon City monster. A tremendous surprise to see the depth and size of this well-conditioned salmon. It’s also great that Grant now does have his ‘photo of a lifetime’! Well none!

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Length of kingfish nose to tail fork in cm rounded down (eg. 85.9cm = 85cm) and tagging location.

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Join The Fishing Paper Tag TeamThe local kingfish are going off. Use this opportunity to play a part and tag a kingi!

There has been some skepticism surrounding The Fishing Paper & New Zealand Hunting News Kingfish Tagging Programme on account of the low number of tagged fish being caught. Some argue that the tags are killing the fish, but this is highly unlikely because these creatures are efficient predators that don’t injure easily. I have caught kingies with healed shark bites in them, so an appropriately place tag is unlikely to do much harm.

The reality is that few tagged kingies are re-caught nationwide, which indicates little is known about them, hence the importance of the programme. Those few that do get caught contribute a huge amount to our understanding and so news of the second South Island tag to be returned is significant.

We have recently been notified that two more fish from our programme have caught and the tags returned. A freediver speared a tagged 15kg, 110cm long kingfish

in the Pelorus Sound on 1 February this year. The fish was tagged by Dan Govier on 17 March 2012, who reported the fish as in good condition, measuring 105cm with an estimated weight of 15kg. The tag was attached for 321 days and the kingfish recaptured about 30 nautical miles from where it was tagged.

The second kingfish was tagged by Barry McFall while fishing from Dan Govier’s boat on 12 May 2012 at Stephens Passage. Barry is the South Island rep for Brittain Wynyard & Co Ltd, the company that distributes Daiwa.

What is interesting is that it had headed the same way as Pete Connolly’s fish, south. Pete’s kingfish was the first tagged fish to be re-caught and was caught in a commercial net off the Otago coast, after travelling 366 nautical miles in 242 days and growing 7cm in that time. Barry’s fish fell to the same pattern and was taken outside the Bushetts Shoals on the southern Kaikoura

coast, in 90 m of water in a commercial set net.

The fish was at sea for 219 days after being tagged and was recaptured 143 nautical miles south from where it was tagged on 17 December 2012.

Sandy Gaskell of the Gamefish Tagging Programme provided us with these other interesting recaptures:

- In January last year a kingfish tagged at French Pass was recaptured off the Dunedin Coast (242 days tagged and moved 360 nmiles south)

- May 2007 a Christchurch tagged kingfish was recaptured off kaikoura (447 days tagged and moved) 56nmiles northeast.

- A fish tagged at Ranfurly Bank was caught off Oamaru in January 2012 (1428 days tagged and moved 560 nmiles southwest). This one was very interesting as it was by far the furthermost south a kingfish has been either tagged or recaptured.

By Daryl Crimp

Barry McFall – kingfish tagger.

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

HUNTINGNEWS

NEW ZEALANDThe undulating landscape of Ngamatea Station inland from

Napier was bathed in the soft glow of sunset as the Amorak dipped into another tussock-covered depression. Sika flitted into the cover in the distance, but I wasn’t concerned. We were heading to an area I hadn’t hunted previously and besides, it wouldn’t be me pulling the trigger.

Joining me in the cab was Greg Duley, Torb & Agneta Lindskog and dog Elsa – you’ll meet Torb and Agneta when you turn the page! One of the four was about to pull off a nice shot, and it wasn’t the dog.

Greg switched the engine off and as the last door clumped shut, a noisy silence settled: dog huffing, grass rustling, insects humming and the odd distant bird call from somewhere in the manuka. Agneta stayed with the vehicle while we made our way quietly down a leading ridge, which was necklaced by small clearings on either side. The day had morphed into a beautiful Ngamatea evening and the hint of a breeze remained in our favour.

Torb is president of Norma and was my guest on this hunt. A very accomplished hunter, he has hunted extensively throughout Europe and Africa, citing Namibia in particular as one of his favourite destinations. This was to be his first experience of hunting New Zealand and while not a trophy hunt it proved to be a wonderful experience.

Scarcely ten minutes into our walk, four or five sika revealed themselves feeding along the scrubby edge of a clearing to our left. Greg cleared some vegetation so Torb could take the shot prone. It wasn’t a difficult shot for him by any stretch of the imagination, but he was using a borrowed rifle and an element of expectation and therefore pressure does come with his position. We had him dry-fire the rifle a few times and then it was all in his hands.

Torb looked comfortable behind Greg’s custom-made 6.5 Fatmax topped with Swarovski Z6 scope, so I wasn’t at all surprised when the deer lurched and ran 20 yards before piling over to a solid shoulder shot. Torb was quietly thrilled with the experience and I don’t think he imagined that it would unfold as quickly as it did.

By the time we retrieved the animal and got back to the car, it was dark. Agneta and Torb were delighted to see more deer leap from the headlight beams as we pulled into the hut clearing, and amazed to be serenaded to as dinner percolated away on the gas cookers. Cheeky sika whistled from outside the window and Torb could be excused for thinking that life just couldn’t get better. But it did.

The next evening he shot another beautiful sika - at 600 yards! The man from Norma is definitely polish and precision – just like his product.

The Man from Norma Hunts

NgamateaBy Paul Clark

NEW ZEALAND HUNTING NEWS www.thefishingpaper.co.nz14

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Torbjörn Lindskog and his lovely wife Agneta left their native Sweden and travelled halfway around the globe to talk matters hunting to an oddball group of thirty enthusiastic blokes and blokesses in Upper Hutt last month. It seems a long way to go just to chew the fat, but Torb, as he likes to be called, did manage to nobble a couple of sika while he was here.

He is an engaging and charismatic sixty going on forty-year-old, a proud father of two grown up sons, a passionate hunter and a dreamer with an impish twinkle in his eye. He’s a character Roald Dahl could have written and while he’s no Willy Wonker, he might very well have starred in his own novel called, Torb & The Golden Ammunition Factory. In fact, that is no great stretch from the truth. Torb is President of Norma, the Swedish ammunition manufacturing company held in high regard for the precision and quality of their product, and he has had his hand on the tiller for 17 years. He was in New Zealand to officiate at and celebrate the relaunch of Norma in New Zealand, with New Zealand Ammunition the new distributors. Paul and Jenny Clark of NZ Ammo invited members of the trade, writers and media to hear Torb outline Norma’s philosophy and future developments.

When the Swedish shooting community decided they needed a domestic supplier in Sweden in 1902, the Norwegian Enger brothers slipped across the border and opened a subsidiary to their Norma Projektifabrik A/S, founded seven years earlier in Oslo. They started with one worker and two machines and now have a staff of 185. Incidentally, the name of the company comes from one of the brother’s obsession with the opera, which he named after Bellini’s Norma.

Torb reckons all hunters are essentially dreamers – dreaming of that next trophy or that special moment – and he says that fits perfectly with Norma’s philosophy – “At The Heart of the Moment”.

“Hunting brings the moment wherever you may be,” says Torb.

And Torb says Norma’s business ethos fits in with the dream and maintains if there is a demand for something, they’ll make it happen.

“If I did a pay-back calculation on every innovation we’d introduced for hunters, we wouldn’t have done many of them.” He lives

the company’s philosophy, “Heart of the Moment” and relies on experience and intuition a lot.

“If it’s good for the company down the track – what the hell, do it!” This attitude contributed to the evolution of the African Series, which has proved very successful and popular with hunters and PH’s. But this philosophy doesn’t

come cheap, as Torb pointed out.“If we created an entire new cartridge, it

requires the manufacture of 105 new tools … at a cost of $500NZ each!”

The company has recently undergone rebranding, with new logo, artwork and packaging, and Torb says this symbolizes their core values, “The fascination of our sport and the spirit of innovation.”

At the heart of what makes Norma a world leader, is the Norma cases and the quality control that goes into their manufacture. The key is consistency, with strict control exerted over internal volume, case hardness, weights and accurate measurements so that all brass is made to withstand at least ten reloads.

Norma also undertakes intensive research in

bullet production, with a focus on precision, mushrooming, penetration, meat waste and retained bullet weight. Huge gelatine blocks and high-speed cameras record trajectory, impact results and internal effects of various bullet types and weights.

“We use the best raw materials, the best components, test shoot a lot and implement strict quality controls over target and hunting applications – that is why Norma is better!”

And that goes to the nub of the Norma Vision – We don’t want to be the world’s biggest producer of hunting or target ammunition and we don’t make the cheapest, either. But, first and foremost, we’ll remain remain one of the best!

The philosophy of Norma Ammunition as expressed by Torb Lindskog during the relaunch of Norma Ammunition at Wallaceville House earlier this month is very much in tune with the philosophy of life held by Paul Clark director of New Zealand Ammunition Company.

“We want to sell and market the best in shooting supplies in New Zealand. Regardless of where the customer comes from, be it the sporting, police or military market we know that every shot counts, and failure is not a pleasant option,” he said. “The phrase that I used in an interview in Gun Trade magazine last year still stands. There is enough shit in the world without me adding to it.”

Torb Lindskog and Paul Clark seal the deal at the NZ Ammo Norma Relaunch.

In The Hunting Business – The Dream Business By Daryl Crimp

Norma’s business ethos fits in with the dream and maintains if there is a demand

for something, they’ll make it happen.


STRAIGHT SHOOTING with Brad McMillan from Belmont Precision Ammunition

Over the last 5-6 years I have noticed a decline in the number of customers who reload their own ammunition. Clearly the availability of affordable ammunition has forced most to come to the conclusion, “Why would I reload when I can buy it cheaper?” For the popular and common calibres this is true, so most people I see reloading are doing so out of scarcity of their chosen calibre or for specialist reasons. Questions I am left with are: 1: “Where are the young guys coming up going to learn about reloading?” 2: “Is reloading a ‘dying art’?”

The market may change and reloading may come into another golden age, but until then we need to ensure that the info and skills are being passed onto a new generation; apprenticeship is preferable to hours of book reading, (and learning by doing is more fun) and often learning from a more experienced person avoids beginners pitfalls etc. Reloading is hard to beat for the sheer knowledge base it can impart about ammunition and its technicalities. If you have a reloading setup and a keen young relative interested in hand loading, be sure and pass the torch!

Reloading, Saving Brass and Saving a Buck, what happened to the good old days

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The weather on the East Coast had been, and was, a period of extremes. This time it was cloudless days … just as well really, as where this trip takes place the access track has many a creek to ford and overhanging vertical cliffs shedding boulders. With adverse weather, the entire top end of the surrounding mountain ranges pour torrents of water into dozens of creeks and streams -flooding follows suit. The same situation obviously repeats with snow. Access becomes one of helicopter retrieval. This is a known and accepted gamble when things get rough.

Several dilapidated musterers’ huts still remain, but these are either derelict or heading down the total collapse path. Two

latter year huts are placed a couple of hours or more apart, offering the only camps via a winding 4WD road/track that snakes along, often clinging to mountain slopes with sheer vertical views of valleys, hanging basins and animal trails that wind from spur to spur. Access to these endless side valleys and catchments is similar to winning Lotto. It seldom happens.

My son Dean, Kevin Grant and I were lucky to get permission but had been warned shooting in some areas was totally banned. We could photograph deer and other animals, but no rifles.

There were vast areas where hunting was okay but one deer each and no big stags. Don’t get me wrong - I mean BIG. Ignore

the golden rules and you had a real vocal problem. You would be a stupid hunter to risk the do’s and don’ts.

We obeyed gladly. Coming back in the Roar with a camera is promising some endless excitement. But the rules will still be set in concrete.

The first afternoon at the top hut and the weather was a scorcher. Dean and Kevin went in different directions, while I found myself in possibly the worst creek in the entire local area. I did come across pig rooting and lots of hoof prints, but nothing really fresh. The wind became a problem so I wandered back to camp. Later Kev came in and said he had located a good ridge with patches of cover. He had taken some great photos of stags and

Beating the Hunter Hands Down By Peter Harker

hinds and was thrilled with his efforts. Dean arrived back and his afternoon had been spent taking photos of a stag, several spikers, a few hinds and a number of fawns.

Next morning we back-tracked down the valley to another cluster of musterers’ huts. Here I met Jeff Lennon who I took an instant liking to. What a great bloke and his knowledge of these vast wild mountain plains and lofty hanging basins was unbelievable. He took me for a short venture around some rolling mountain gullies and in an hour with we had counted fifteen deer, four pigs and two wild sheep.

Jeff was and still is a deer culler, NOT in the past, but right now. He was one of the best shots I’ve seen in many a long year and in my opinion a true hunter and better still, a stalker, which beats being a hunter hands down.

Photo credit: Kevin Grant

“Winston Churchill

Quotes

“

History will be kind to me for I intend to

write it.

Mates: Jeff Lennon and Peter Harker.

NEW ZEALAND HUNTING NEWS www.thefishingpaper.co.nz16

The Client By Kim Swan

Bugger! Camped in the Marlborough hills amidst bush, wildlife and big game. Bugger because I’m a keen hunter camped amongst all these wild animals - I have at hand my Remington Model 7, boundless excess energy and evening is fast approaching. Bugger because all our freezers are already chock-full. Our friends are full, our families are full; even all our neighbours are full. I have been told, NO more meat!

I walk my rifle anyway - can’t have it going into withdrawal. And me, I can’t sit at the hut playing tiddliwinks or simply relax with a good book. There’re acres to eyeball, sweat to shed, wild game to spy. I strike a deal with myself - the 7mm-08 stays slung on my shoulder unless I see a spectacular trophy fallow buck, otherwise NO more meat.

So I walk as the afternoon heat dissipates and the shadows lengthen, walk and walk. On and on till the sun dips in the west and the half-moon becomes ever brighter. And I see deer. Sixteen in all, reds every one of them, mainly females with offspring at foot but there is one male of note. He is a mature stag, summer-fat and sleek. King Cervus Elaphus, he is crowned with non-typical Marlborough antlers.

King Elaphus is a trophy. A working man’s trophy. A true-blue feral stag but with a rack both tall and wide. A rack perfectly symmetrical,

with tines very freshly stripped of velvet and just starting to colour. He is masculine and majestic a fortnight before the autumnal rut.

As a part-time hunting guide I have a client who wishes to shoot himself a trophy red stag. He is a hard-working-man who is well prepared to walk and walk - way up here - to this backcountry basin. Prepared to carry out his kill no matter the struggle and hardship, to utilise it to its best even though I know his freezers are full, as are his whanau’s freezers.

I bring the man back the following evening and we crouch low amongst the tag and the matagouri. Each at our own lookout, we swelter just below the ridge. The shimmering sun dips low but its heat does not relinquish its cruel grip on the basin. We wait, long and quietly. We watch, binoculars busy. We spy a small harem of hinds but no mighty king.

I do spy a wild boar. I see him emerge from his hideaway of grey bracken, matagouri and lawyer. He saunters downhill, pops out a turd, twitches his bushy tail, stretches and yawns before disappearing again.

When the client and I tire of deer-watching, I mention the boar and King Elaphus is forgotten in a trice. The possibility of a wall-hanger, a wild stag of a lifetime is gone. Pfft - gone!

So we go boar hunting, without dogs. And, surprisingly, in this large basin of scattered vegetation, we manage to steal to within forty metres of the very patch of matagouri where the boar is secreted.

He gives himself away whilst feeding. He pops bracken stems, he slops his chops, he grinds roots between his teeth. He even gets dirt up his nostrils and sneezes - once, twice, four loud snorts till, aaah, that’s better - then he grazes again. We’re appreciative of the dust lodged in his olfactory organs as the evening breeze wafts his way more than once.

We wait, quietly and long, till dusk encroaches. Two pairs of darting eyes trying to pierce the thick cover. We catch a glimpse here and there - a bristly back, a swishing tail, a flick of dirt. Then there he is, pushing noisily through the hip-deep tag. Boris, the whole picture, for three seconds.

A sharp bang crackles my eardrums, hurts them. I flinch involuntarily, then smile as the boar falters. Headshot, perfect.

Hhmmmm, maybe not quite perfect. After flinging around in violent death throes for some moments,

the black and white boar rises to his feet growling angrily. We would tackle him if we could reach him, but between us is an unsurmountable roadside bank. Then, when I’m least expecting it, there is another eardrum-crackling shot and Boris lives no more. His death throes are now for real. Thrash, lunge, crash - he flings himself downhill and slides down the bank - beautiful.

I congratulate my client, who gives me an affectionate cuddle in return and says ‘thanks Guide Rangi’.

He’s a good man this. A man who, at the mere mention of a pork-stalk, is swiftly sidetracked from a super-stag. He’s a man as blighted by the pig hunting bug as I am. I’d woo, then marry him, but he already has a wife, it’s that Kim Swan chick, the one who’s learning to be a hunting guide!

Roaring RonBy Ron Eddy

The only things I ever used to roar in stags were my vocal chords and my hands. If I could see or hear that the stag was reasonably serious and was responding to an initial roar or two, then I would continue to try and bring him in, or plan a way to intercept him if he was traveling.

By using your voice and changing the shape of your hands, you can change the tone of the roar to suit whatever situation. This can also be done with the roaring horn. I always tried to match the tone and roar of my adversary and found when you had them responding well and then added a short cough call at the end, it would really wind them up.

To have a large 11-pointer charge in on you and stop on one side of a tree, while you are around the other is very satisfying and entertaining, especially when you put your head around the tree and tell him to bugger off! It is the wary stags that are the real challenge, especially in the bush. They will stop roaring and attempt to stalk you. They know roughly where you are and will start circling you to try and cut your scent. If you stay quiet and listen, you can pick up their sound moving through the bush - sometimes you’ll even get glimpses of them. It is then up to you to quietly move and try and keep yourself downwind of the stag. Sometimes it works, but chances are they will get the better of you. After all, you are on their home turf. When you get the better of them in the majority of encounters, that is then you can say you have progressed as a hunter.


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Bill Preston dragged his fingers absently through his snow-white beard and said in a voice that was in no hurry to go anywhere, “If you want bulls, you’ll need to go almost to the head of the valley – if there are any there, they’ll be dropping out of those bluffs on the true left, ‘bout now.”

Colin Murray and I were enjoying a spring tahr hunt in the Southern Alps and Bill had popped up from his Tekapo base to stretch his legs. We’d followed him up one catchment and seen quite a few animals, but no trophy bulls. He was now leaving us to our own devices, and another creek system, but not before sharing his years of experience with us.

During November tahr are most active from late mid-afternoon, so we left camp late and at a leisurely pace, chipped our way up the boulder strewn creek bed until we made the first alpine meadow. Hunkering down in the lee of a comfy rock, we chewed on snacks and scanned the surrounding mountain-scape with our binoculars. Pockets of tahr materialised with surprising frequency, but most were small herds of nannies and juvenile males. We spotted two big bulls on the true left – both solo – but they didn’t sport outstanding heads so didn’t warrant serious scrutiny. It was pleasant, lying there and soaking

up the sun’s warmth.We carried on to the next high meadow and

repeated the procedure. It was wonderful hunting: no great urgency, just fitting in with our own natural rhythm. We spotted plenty of tahr in pockets, some high on the ridge, some in the bluff systems and the odd group low down on the faces just above the meadows.

“There’re seven bulls way up in that side creek,” Colin muttered, his binos locked to his face. They were little yellow dots to the naked eye, but you could just make out the lion-like manes that gave them that special appeal.

We watched them for a long time, because that was one thing that was in abundance – time. It was fascinating, because they gradually leaked out of the bluff system to become a mob of twenty or more animals – a mixture of bulls, nannies and juveniles.

“Reckon old Bill got it wrong,” Colin said with a wry grin.

We discussed going after them but it would have meant backtracking and having to climb high. Besides, we couldn’t see anything monstrous amongst them and there was always tomorrow. It was such a nice day bleeding into afternoon, we

decided to carry on and check out some new country.

Just as we broached the lip of a steep creek that was still swollen with the remnants of a frozen avalanche – rotten rock welded into a fragile sculpture by dirty snow and ice – Colin noticed a solitary bull dropping out of the bluffs Bill had mentioned previously. We watched it until it disappeared into the creek below us and then gingerly negotiated the creek before us.

The other side opened up into a gorgeous meadow of lush tussocks and hebe. Ahead, a great cathedral of mountain and snow reared silently against a blue southern sky and a searing sun gave lie to the fact that it was only early spring. We saw the odd animal dotted here and there, but they were thin on the ground, so we enjoyed a relaxing smoko break and then turned for camp.

Coming out of the avalanche creek at the base of a neat little bluff system, Colin suddenly dropped to a crouch, turned his convict-like features back over a shoulder and smiled. He held up five fingers, indicating five animals below us. By the time I’d crawled alongside him, those five animals had become seven. We dropped back into the creek, lost altitude and came out behind a rocky outcrop eighty-metres from the animals. They were now ten. As we sat there, eyes agog, the number swelled in ones and twos until thirty-three bull tahr were strung out below us. They kept appearing from behind a large rock as though a hidden magician was practicing a conjuring

trick. It is very difficult to judge the trophy potential from directly above, but two or three looked to have potential.

With nothing really to do other than enjoy the afternoon, we stayed high to keep our scent clear of the feeding herd and used the backdrop of the bluffs to execute a slow stalk. Really, we did little more than follow them as they fed down and over the crest of the terrace. Once the last straggler was out of sight, we set off at a clip and rubbed out the gap that separated us.

Poking our heads over the bank, we were startled to find we were only about thirty-metres from the closest animals. It was amazing to sit so close and watch them feed and in the end it got the better of me. I hadn’t intended taking one unless I saw an

exceptional trophy, but this was kid in a candy store stuff and so I picked out the biggest I could see and knobbled it cleanly from sixty-metres. Sometimes a hunt needs the shot to make it complete.

It was a bit smaller than we’d reckoned but the meat was put to good use and the head is to be my first attempt at doing a European mount. We sat and watched the animals for a long time after. It was pure magic and was best summed in Colin’s final words before we left the mountain, “Bill Preston, eh – looks like the old bugger knows what he’s talking about after all!”

To Bag a BullBy Daryl Crimp

I love books, especially of the hunting genre. In general, I dislike anthologies and co-authored works because there is often a juxtaposition of styles that I find grating and sometimes the flow is disrupted.A Passion for Hunting – Trips and Tips by father and son duo, Alex & Tim Gale, is the exception that proves the rule. From the outset, it is beautifully packaged, with simple format, clear typography and no shortage of great colour photos. Each chapter is introduced with a famous quote relating to hunting that, while becoming a little clichéd, sets the tone and

underscores the authors’ philosophies.The book has elements of it being a compilation of random articles, but the writers’ styles complement each other making it an enjoyable and entertaining read and their combined knowledge and experience make added value in a practical sense.From the young Nimrod through to the seasoned pro’ – A Passion for Hunting is a worthy addition to the hunting library.

BOOK REVIEWA Passion for Hunting – Trips and TipsBy Alex & Tim Gale - Published by The Halcyon Press, RRP $40Reviewed By Daryl Crimp

www.thefishingpaper.co.nz 19THE FISHING PAPER

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I am a keen angler from Invercargill and I really enjoy reading your paper, so I thought you guys might like to see what can be caught down in the Deep South. I caught this beauty in December last year in the Oreti River, just north of Lochiel, using a brown

trout Rapala. It took twenty-minutes to land it and only half the body would fit in my net - it didn’t help that I was shaking with excitement! It weighed 10-pound on the dot and was my very first trophy fish - had to keep it as it had almost completely swallowed the Rapala. It had

very pink flesh and tasted amazing once it had come out of my smoker!

Keep up the good work and I’m looking forward to reading your next issue.

Ed’s note: Cheers for that Sam and you keep up the good work. We’d love to hear more from the Deep South!

Sam’s Smokin’ Down South By Sam Henderson

Nalder … You’ve Done it Again! By Daryl Crimp

Since Robert Leighs walked into my office a few years ago to announce he’d bought Nalder Protective Clothing and that he had this amazing New Zealand Made quality product and he was going to conquer the world and … I forget the rest, because I probably nodded off! Turns out Robert is a bit like the garments he makes: just never gives up, drips simply glide off, very comfortable to have around, soft on the outside but warm inside, no leaks here, popular and durable. I now own three or four Nalder garments and I’m a convert, which is not faint praise because I have an aversion to wearing bulky wet-weather clothing.

As a young hunter I liked to have all my senses, including periphery, exposed to the elements and consequently I preferred to hunt wet rather than be encumbered, so I have never owned or worn wet weather gear all my life. That is, until Robert insisted I field-test an earlier garment and it proved life changing. Sounds a bit twee but Nalder Protective Clothing do make very good gear from high quality European fabric that is specifically produced for Nalder to meet exacting New Zealand standards. It is thicker, more durable and impervious to the elements. All seams are welded, which adds to the strength of the garment while not compromising the weatherproof qualities of the fabric.

The Nalder Team pride themselves on paying close attention to detail and it shows in the fit of the various garments. They also listen to customers and feedback is taken seriously and often results in modifications to items or new products being

created. An example of innovation going forward is the Nalder Short Sleeve Vest (which I wanted to name The Weekend Fisherman, but Robert slapped me), which is essentially aimed at recreational fishers out for the weekend! It’s also perfect for general outside activity, farmers, bach owners and hobby farmers. Nalder also make a commercial grade one for heavy-duty situations.

It comes with the standard Nalder features: 100% waterproof, choice of linings – polar fleece, quilted Dacron or Sherpa Fleece, welded

seams, side pockets, hoodie

or collar option and reflective

tape option. The big feature

that does it for me is the long

back that protects your butt

and doesn’t ride up. There’s

no point being mostly dry, but

with a wet backside and chilly

kidneys. See, that Robert

Leighs and the Nalder Team

think of everything – check

it out for yourself. I’m about

to nod off … this ‘Weekend

Fisherman’ I’m wearing is

soooo toasty comfortable!

THE FISHING PAPER20

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

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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.

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Fush & Chups for Fergus

By Kaye McNabbFergus Macdonald has made a bit of a splash on the world

and at two-years of age, he is a good Kiwi lad, judging by his ability to clean up. The one-kilogram kahawai took a silver wobbler trolled just inside The Cut in Nelson Harbour in mid-February and put up a sterling fight.

When he went home, his Aussie dad made a beer batter and some chups and Fergus ate four whole pieces, after which he took himself off to bed for a long nap. Clearly it had all been TOO MUCH!

Fergus and dad have been a fishing team for some time now but this is his first single-handed catch. Not bad for a toddler.

Well Fed Fish

Budding fishermen enjoy a spot of salmon and trout fishing at the Appleby ponds near Nelson.

The fish were well and truly biting when more than 150 local children visited The Sports Fishing for Youth Charitable Trust’s stocked fishout pond at the Waimea River Park near Appleby, in December. At least half the kids managed to catch fish. Rainbow trout to stock the pond were supplied by Fish & Game and the salmon were reared by the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology aquaculture students, with feed supplied by local company NZ King Salmon.

on

Join the

&HUNTINGNEWS

NEW ZEALAND

THE

PAPERFISHING

Always wear a lifejacket when boating. It is drummed into us and it is very good advice, but how many people fail to heed it to their own detriment? Well it’s good to see the younger generation leading by example.

Luke Spence being safe while taking one of his boats for a spin.

21www.thefishingpaper.co.nz THE FISHING PAPER

PRODUCT PREVIEWOkuma Andros for Your ArsenalWinner of the Best Reel at EFTEX 2010 ShowOkuma has launched a new weapon to its arsenal by producing the Andros 511 reel. This reel is stacked with sensational features, such as two-speed gearing system - 6:4:1 high /3:8:1 low - offering you the ultimate fishing versatility, from cranking high speed jigging, to bottom dwellers such as groper. The helical cut gearing system equates to improved gear smoothness and is considerably quieter. The angled teeth found in the helical cut gears engage more gradually than straight cut or spur gear teeth. The Silent Anti Reverse System allows for a extremely quiet and friction free retrieve, compared to most competitor reels. The bearings are EZO ball bearings prepared by Sapporo Precision inc Japan. Okuma uses ABEC 5 grade bearings for precision performance under all conditions. The drive shaft bearings feature rubber seals to prevent water penetration and are fully packed with grease for longevity. This reel is sure a show stopper and it is well worth you calling into your favourite sports store to have a look at this weapon.

Deepwater Slim JigsBlack Magic released their new range of Deepwater Slim Jigs in January 2013. These jigs have a slender profile designed to create far less resistance in the water making them much easier to retrieve from greater depths. Featuring five hot colours, they will be available in 200gm, 300gm and 400gm weights. The assist hooks are rigged with Kevlar and are made from high carbon steel assuring the maximum strength and performance. www.blackmagic.co.nz

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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, Rotorua– Ph : 027 6166907, [email protected], or www.waverider.net.nz. Checkout us on trademe and sella.

SURFCASTERS BIG 3 PLUS!Here’s another awesome 3 rig deal from the team at HOT SHOTZ Tackle with a tempting bonus.Pulley Rig has two traces and is ideal for snappering.Fish can pick up the bait and move away about 1.5 metres before the hook self sets and the pressure is all on. The Anti-Crab Rig is very effective in all conditions and the built-in floats can suspend at least half a reasonable size pilchard, free floating the bait above pesky crabs.The Paternoster is a simplistic rig with 6/0 Ken’ichi Circle hook, ideal for all species like snapper, blue cod etc. Tangle resistant design, bright lumo trace and super strong.This deal comes with a bonus pack of BAIT TUBE, a product unique to HOT SHOTZ. Our answer to messy bait elastic, it is brilliant for smushy baits like pillies, mussels etc. Simply slip the bait into the tube and set your hooks into it. Like a mini berley bomb!Check this deal out at Hendersons in Blenheim or enquire at Hot Shotz Tackle. Ph 03 4313570, www.hotshotztackle.com - Trade enquiries always welcome.

Reports of good fishing from Lake Rotokahatu in Christchurch held promise of a bumper weekend at the Canterbury Open Coarse Fishing Champs in February. Match weights approaching 100lbs had been recorded with pleasure fishing bags estimated to be even heavier (keepnets are not permitted while pleasure fishing). Two opposite sides of the lake had been producing particularly well and one of the newly cleared swims had been virtually unbeatable throughout the season. Why this peg (41) held so many fish was unclear, but it was the one everyone wanted to draw come Saturday morning. Out of the bag for me came the best swim on the western bank so I was happy, however top Christchurch angler Gary Dallimore pulled out Peg 41 and we all knew it was game on!

From the start it was clear there were fish in front of me, but it took a while for me to settle into a regular catching rhythm. Gradually, I worked out the best method of presenting my maggot hookbait and a string of quality tench found their way into the net. As often happens with tench fishing, there are quiet periods and the key to a good match weight is to limit the duration of these spells. I tried different baits, fishing further out and another area to my right, all with a degree of success, but it was relatively late in the match that I found a different feeding pattern that sparked a quicker response from the fish. Cursing myself for not working this out earlier, I finished with a flurry and when the final whistle blew I’d bagged a haul of tench weighing 81lbs. This was easily enough to win A section but, as expected, Peg 41 had come up trumps for Gary, who took out B section with 93lbs. This was the fifth Canterbury Open match in a row I’d finished second, but the most important thing was to go into the next day on one section point.

The strong north-east wind had made life difficult for many anglers in my section on Saturday, so it was with some trepidation that I drew Peg 7 on Sunday morning. What’s more, my main rival for the championship again drew well with Peg 39. I had some work to do.

Thankfully, the wind blew little more than a breeze and I found Peg 7 to be comfortable and full of fish! Having learnt from Saturday’s experience, I changed my groundbait mix early on and managed to keep fish coming steadily throughout the match. They were, however, much smaller than the day before and although I caught more fish, the total bag weighed only 78lbs. Again, this was clear out in front for A section and I hurried around to the opposite bank to see if I’d done enough. The angler on Peg 41 had found it hard going but Gary on 39 had a net full again. His total of 75lbs meant I’d finally won the match but it wasn’t enough to claw back the deficit and we both finished on 2 section points with the total weight tie-break going in Gary’s favour 168lb to 160lb. This was exactly the same result for me as last year, 2 points but beaten on total weight. However, catching 160lbs of fish over the two days made for a very enjoyable weekend.

Coarse Fishing By Dave Dixon

Canterbury Open 2013 The World’s coolest Thermal Imager is now available in New ZealandThe Pulsar Quantum HD38 thermal imager enables you to see humans and deer at up to 1500 metres in complete darkness. It can also be used in daylight, even in poor visibility such as mist, rain, and smoke. It is ideal for spotting animals hiding in bushes, or a person who has fallen overboard. It can also capture digital video with its accessory recorder.The Pulsar Quantum uses an ultra sensitive, new technology amorphous silicon sensor that sees heat, not light. Made in Europe, this 30Hz military technology is not subject to US export restrictions, and can therefore outperform other companies imagers that cost twice its price. Light, compact, and very easy to use, the Pulsar Quantum HD38 is ideal for hunting, marine safety, security, and navigation. It can also be used for identifying heat-loss in buildings.For more information phone Anthony Corke on 03 9700 570, or visit: www.pulsar-nv.co.nz


Stick Your Oar In Article

Sparks Concern

Dear Ed,I read with dismay the

article by Peter Harker on p17 of last month’s issue. Peter recounts how he decided to cross a “semi-flooded river” by boulder hopping the first half then wading the rest. He even threw his dog across because it had “little show of swimming in the swirling current ...” In another publication I read of a hunter removing his boots and socks before crossing barefoot in hip-deep water.Safely crossing a river involves keeping your boots on, on the bottom, for good ankle support, and using a pole or another person for support and balance. The Mountain Safety Council urges anyone faced with a river to consider the advice in Rule 3 of the Outdoor Safety Code printed

two pages further on in the same issue: “Beware of rivers – if in doubt stay out.”Unfortunately the media is full of examples of incidents generally caused by poor decision making and especially of lone hunters or trampers entering a river in high flow and getting into trouble. Many people are fortunate to still be here having lived to tell the tale, however many are not so fortunate. Relying on a “trusty EPIRB” to call for help after you get into trouble is NOT good risk management. The Mountain Safety Council recommends carrying a personal locator beacon, but it should not be used unless it is an absolute emergency and unnecessary risks should not be taken.Hunters and trampers are responsible for their own safety in the outdoors and it is in their own interests to learn how to keep themselves

safe. The Mountain Safety Council River Safety courses and NZDA HUNTS courses cater to hunters, trampers and outdoor enthusiasts.

The Nelson branch of the Mountain Safety Council is conducting River Safety courses in March and April. For information about the Nelson courses and other courses around the country, please visit www.mountainsafety.org.nz

I encourage readers in other regions to also access their local MSC branch page and take up the opportunity to receive training on vital outdoor skills. Your life could depend on it!

Garry Dunn

Chairperson

Nelson Branch

NZ Mountain Safety Council (03) 5473818 - 027 2064451

Have Your Say…

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TIDES OF CHANGE By Poppa Mike

The Australian TitanicWhen the infamous RMS Titanic was being

built in Belfast for the White Star Line there was a similar luxury liner being built in Scotland for the Blue Anchor Line, destined for the South Africa – Australian route. SS Waratah made her maiden voyage from London to Australia in April 1909, carrying two hundred and eleven passengers and crew, well below her capacity.

On arrival at Durban, South Africa, one of the passengers, an experienced seaman and engineer, unexpectedly disembarked sensing the vessel was top heavy and unstable in rough seas, and conveyed his fears in a cable home to his wife. With one less passenger on board SS Waratah sailed for Cape Town on 26 July,

making contact with another vessel at sea the following day. On 28 July there were two more possible contacts recorded, but thirty foot waves and fifty knot winds made visual and signal lamp contacts difficult.

SS Waratah never arrived at its destination in Cape Town as scheduled for 29 July.. Almost immediately other Royal Navy vessels were sent to search for her and other shipping was alerted to be on the lookout, as it seemed most likely that she had broken down and would need a tow into port. The search continued on into the following year, with some of the families of passengers on board funding a three-month search by the vessel Wakefield. With no success, the theories of what had happened to her abounded.

Despite further efforts over twenty-two years by Emlyn Brown and his team, no trace of any wreck or wreckage has ever been found. When RMS Titanic sank on her maiden voyage in 1912 people were quick to make the comparison with the loss of SS Waratah and so the term “Austalia’s Titanic” originated.

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Switch and Learn By Chris Williams

Whilst fishing with the kids in the Avon, I spotted a number of big ones and pegged them for a solo excursion. I’d heard ‘biggies’ existed in the Avon, but they were heavily pressured and almost impossible to catch.

I ducked out after work for a ‘reccie’ and soon discovered they weren’t taking flies delivered in the regular manner – from downstream – so figured a change of tactics might be in order. I relocated upstream and drifted a fly down so the fish couldn’t see my leader. The result

was spectacular and exciting, with me landing a grunty 8lb trout before hooking into this monster, which went just shy of 10lb. There were at least three other ‘good’ fish in the vicinity, so I reckon the Avon is fishing better than ever. You can see by the colour of the fish that they are resident fish and while there are searunners amongst them, my theory is these fish followed the bait up last year and decided to make the Avon home. Whatever the reason, I’m enjoying a blinder of a season.

Mail 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.

Crimptoon


From Sinker to Smoker By Ron Prestage

Successful SurfcastersNext in the ‘Successful

Surfcasters’ series we have Craig Thin, record-breaking surfcaster from the West Coast and outright winner of the recent Mokihinui Fishing Contest.TFP: What is your first memory of fishing?Craig: Catching yellow-eyed mullet off the Ngakawau Bridge or ‘herrings’ as we used to call them.

TFP: What stages have you passed through on your fishing journey?Craig: I specialised in trout fishing for a long time, often taking out fishing contest prizes with big trout. Sea fishing has been at places like the Cod Rocks at Charleston, North Beach and Tip Head Westport and the beaches

around Hector and Mokihinui.

TFP: What has been your most successful day surfcasting?

Craig: At the just past Mokihinui contest when I caught my biggest snapper ever plus three smaller ones in one session.

TFP: What is your favoured rig for surfcasting?

Craig: The two-hook ledger rig with two different baits. If I’m fishing with two rods I only put one hook on one to get the line out further on that rod.

TFP: What baits do you mainly use for surfcasting?

Craig: Fresh yellow-eyed mullet or kahawai, frozen squid and kahawai.

TFP: What is your top tip for surfcasting success?

Craig: Having the patience to put in the time. For example I sat under a tarpaulin for over two hours in pouring rain before I caught my biggest prize-winning snapper!

TFP: Do you have a favourite surfcasting spot?Craig: The Mussel Rocks north of Hector.

TFP: Besides fishing what else do you like to do in the outdoors?Craig: Riding my motorbike off-road and hunting. I’ve shot six deer in the last three months.

TFP: What do you think of the present state of the West Coast sea fishery?Craig: Improving, with more rig and snapper being caught from shore.

Craig is also a successful hunter!

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The New Zealand seafood industry received formal recognition of its strenuous efforts in recent years to achieve high standards of environmental good practice with the accreditation of three key offshore fisheries: albacore tuna, hoki and southern blue whiting, by the globally recognised Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard.

“These fisheries have been subject to rigorous, independent third party assessment to gain MSC certification, which independently verifies that these fisheries are being managed sustainably and to the world’s best standards,” says George Clement, Chief Executive of the Deepwater Group. “The rigour of the assessment cannot be underestimated. It doesn’t stop there either. There is tight policing of ongoing performance to ensure these fisheries continue to meet the standard.”

MSC’s science-based standard and certification programme is recognised by international environmental organisations including

WWF, as the best available certification programme for sustainable seafood. Only fisheries that maintain healthy fish stocks, reduce impacts on the global marine ecosystem and have effective management systems in place are able to meet MSC’s standard.

“I commend the fishing companies involved for their commitment in seeking this certification,” says George Clement. “It is not easily won.”

The certification was officially announced at a reception jointly hosted by the Deepwater Group, the Tuna Management Association, the Marine Stewardship Council and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) at the Kermadec in Auckland.

The Minister of Trade, the Hon Tim Groser, spoke on behalf of Minister for Primary Industries and said the Government was committed to sustainable utilisation of our fisheries and fully supported the public review and endorsement of New Zealand’s management practices offered by MSC certification.

Rupert Howes, MSC’s Chief Executive, also spoke at the

reception, saying, “I am delighted to be back in New Zealand and to be able to personally congratulate the New Zealand fishing industry on the certification of these three commercially important species. These fisheries have proven their sustainability credentials. On behalf of the MSC’s global programme, I congratulate the hoki, albacore tuna and southern blue whiting fisheries on their MSC certifications. These fisheries have used good management practices to safeguard jobs and secure these precious renewable resources into the future. I congratulate the fishers and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) on their achievement. I’m particularly excited to congratulate the hoki fishery which has been certified as sustainable by MSC for a third time and was one of the first white fish fisheries in the world to enter our programme,” said Mr Howes.

International Big Tick for New Zealand’s Fisheries By Karin Kos

THE FISHING PAPER24 www.thefishingpaper.co.nz

SudokuANSWERS

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 FMMARCH 2013

Westport Nelson Havelock

Waimakariri Mouth Akaroa Rakaia Mouth

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

01:40 3.2 07:47 0.3 13:59 3.2 20:12 0.302:20 3.1 08:29 0.3 14:43 3.1 20:57 0.403:05 3.0 09:17 0.5 15:33 3.0 21:48 0.503:57 2.9 10:14 0.6 16:33 2.9 22:48 0.705:02 2.8 11:23 0.7 17:46 2.700:00 0.8 06:20 2.7 12:41 0.8 19:03 2.701:16 0.8 07:38 2.8 13:56 0.7 20:16 2.802:27 0.7 08:47 2.9 15:01 0.6 21:21 2.903:29 0.5 09:47 3.0 15:59 0.4 22:17 3.004:22 0.4 10:38 3.2 16:49 0.3 23:06 3.205:09 0.3 11:24 3.3 17:34 0.2 23:50 3.205:52 0.2 12:06 3.3 18:16 0.200:30 3.3 06:32 0.2 12:45 3.3 18:55 0.201:07 3.2 07:11 0.3 13:22 3.2 19:33 0.301:43 3.1 07:48 0.4 13:59 3.1 20:11 0.502:19 3.0 08:27 0.5 14:37 2.9 20:48 0.602:57 2.8 09:07 0.7 15:17 2.7 21:29 0.803:39 2.7 09:52 0.9 16:04 2.6 22:16 1.004:29 2.5 10:47 1.0 17:01 2.4 23:13 1.105:33 2.4 11:54 1.1 18:07 2.400:22 1.1 06:44 2.4 13:03 1.1 19:15 2.401:31 1.1 07:50 2.5 14:05 1.0 20:17 2.502:31 1.0 08:46 2.6 14:58 0.9 21:10 2.603:21 0.8 09:34 2.8 15:44 0.7 21:57 2.804:06 0.6 10:17 3.0 16:27 0.5 22:39 3.004:46 0.5 10:57 3.1 17:07 0.3 23:19 3.105:26 0.3 11:36 3.2 17:47 0.2 23:58 3.206:05 0.2 12:16 3.3 18:28 0.200:38 3.3 06:45 0.2 12:57 3.3 19:10 0.201:19 3.3 07:28 0.2 13:41 3.3 19:54 0.202:03 3.2 08:14 0.3 14:29 3.2 20:41 0.3

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00:46 4.2 06:36 0.4 13:00 4.2 19:02 0.401:24 4.2 07:14 0.5 13:40 4.1 19:44 0.602:04 4.1 07:55 0.7 14:25 3.9 20:29 0.702:49 3.9 08:43 0.9 15:16 3.7 21:22 1.003:40 3.7 09:44 1.1 16:17 3.5 22:26 1.204:46 3.5 11:07 1.3 17:31 3.3 23:46 1.306:10 3.4 12:38 1.3 18:53 3.301:12 1.2 07:36 3.5 13:52 1.1 20:11 3.502:25 1.0 08:43 3.8 14:51 0.9 21:15 3.703:23 0.8 09:36 4.0 15:41 0.7 22:08 3.904:11 0.6 10:21 4.2 16:25 0.6 22:53 4.104:52 0.4 11:02 4.3 17:06 0.5 23:34 4.205:30 0.4 11:39 4.3 17:43 0.500:11 4.2 06:05 0.4 12:16 4.3 18:18 0.500:46 4.2 06:38 0.5 12:51 4.1 18:52 0.701:20 4.0 07:11 0.7 13:27 3.9 19:25 0.801:54 3.9 07:45 0.9 14:05 3.7 20:00 1.002:30 3.6 08:24 1.1 14:46 3.5 20:39 1.203:10 3.4 09:12 1.3 15:33 3.3 21:25 1.404:00 3.2 10:17 1.5 16:30 3.1 22:25 1.505:10 3.1 11:40 1.6 17:38 3.0 23:45 1.606:38 3.1 12:54 1.5 18:51 3.101:12 1.6 07:52 3.2 13:52 1.3 20:00 3.202:17 1.4 08:44 3.5 14:39 1.1 20:56 3.503:05 1.1 09:27 3.7 15:21 0.9 21:43 3.703:46 0.8 10:05 4.0 16:01 0.6 22:25 4.004:24 0.6 10:43 4.2 16:40 0.5 23:06 4.205:01 0.4 11:20 4.3 17:20 0.4 23:45 4.305:38 0.3 11:59 4.3 18:01 0.300:25 4.3 06:17 0.3 12:41 4.2 18:43 0.401:05 4.3 06:57 0.4 13:24 4.1 19:28 0.5


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00:32 3.1 06:03 0.5 12:46 3.1 18:29 0.501:10 3.1 06:41 0.6 13:26 3.0 19:11 0.601:50 3.0 07:22 0.7 14:11 2.9 19:56 0.702:35 2.9 08:10 0.8 15:02 2.8 20:49 0.903:26 2.8 09:11 1.0 16:03 2.6 21:53 1.004:32 2.6 10:34 1.1 17:17 2.5 23:13 1.105:56 2.5 12:05 1.1 18:39 2.500:39 1.0 07:22 2.6 13:19 1.0 19:57 2.601:52 0.9 08:29 2.8 14:18 0.8 21:01 2.802:50 0.8 09:22 3.0 15:08 0.7 21:54 2.903:38 0.6 10:07 3.1 15:52 0.6 22:39 3.004:19 0.5 10:48 3.2 16:33 0.6 23:20 3.104:57 0.5 11:25 3.2 17:10 0.6 23:57 3.105:32 0.5 12:02 3.2 17:45 0.600:32 3.1 06:05 0.6 12:37 3.0 18:19 0.701:06 3.0 06:38 0.7 13:13 2.9 18:52 0.801:40 2.9 07:12 0.8 13:51 2.8 19:27 0.902:16 2.7 07:51 1.0 14:32 2.6 20:06 1.002:56 2.5 08:39 1.1 15:19 2.5 20:52 1.203:46 2.4 09:44 1.2 16:16 2.3 21:52 1.204:56 2.3 11:07 1.3 17:24 2.3 23:12 1.306:24 2.3 12:21 1.2 18:37 2.300:39 1.3 07:38 2.4 13:19 1.1 19:46 2.401:44 1.2 08:30 2.6 14:06 1.0 20:42 2.602:32 1.0 09:13 2.8 14:48 0.8 21:29 2.803:13 0.8 09:51 3.0 15:28 0.6 22:11 3.003:51 0.6 10:29 3.1 16:07 0.6 22:52 3.104:28 0.5 11:06 3.2 16:47 0.5 23:31 3.205:05 0.4 11:45 3.2 17:28 0.400:11 3.2 05:44 0.4 12:27 3.1 18:10 0.500:51 3.2 06:24 0.5 13:10 3.0 18:55 0.6


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01:55 0.4 08:05 2.3 14:19 0.4 20:33 2.302:45 0.4 08:56 2.3 15:08 0.4 21:25 2.303:36 0.4 09:50 2.3 16:01 0.4 22:18 2.404:31 0.4 10:44 2.3 16:55 0.4 23:12 2.405:29 0.5 11:40 2.3 17:51 0.400:09 2.4 06:28 0.4 12:37 2.3 18:49 0.401:07 2.4 07:27 0.4 13:34 2.3 19:47 0.402:07 2.4 08:24 0.4 14:31 2.3 20:45 0.403:05 2.4 09:20 0.4 15:28 2.4 21:43 0.304:00 2.5 10:14 0.3 16:23 2.4 22:39 0.304:53 2.5 11:06 0.3 17:16 2.4 23:32 0.305:44 2.5 11:58 0.3 18:08 2.400:24 0.3 06:34 2.4 12:47 0.4 18:59 2.401:13 0.4 07:23 2.3 13:36 0.4 19:49 2.402:01 0.4 08:13 2.3 14:23 0.5 20:38 2.302:48 0.5 09:02 2.2 15:11 0.5 21:26 2.203:36 0.6 09:51 2.1 15:58 0.6 22:13 2.204:24 0.6 10:39 2.1 16:46 0.6 23:00 2.105:14 0.7 11:28 2.0 17:34 0.7 23:47 2.106:05 0.7 12:15 2.0 18:23 0.700:35 2.1 06:55 0.7 13:02 2.0 19:11 0.701:23 2.1 07:42 0.7 13:49 2.0 19:58 0.702:11 2.1 08:27 0.7 14:35 2.1 20:44 0.702:57 2.2 09:11 0.6 15:19 2.1 21:31 0.603:42 2.2 09:54 0.6 16:03 2.2 22:17 0.504:26 2.2 10:38 0.5 16:48 2.2 23:05 0.505:10 2.3 11:24 0.5 17:35 2.3 23:53 0.405:57 2.3 12:12 0.4 18:24 2.400:42 0.4 06:47 2.3 13:02 0.4 19:16 2.401:33 0.3 07:40 2.3 13:54 0.4 20:10 2.402:25 0.3 08:36 2.3 14:47 0.4 21:05 2.5


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01:03 0.6 07:12 2.3 13:27 0.6 19:40 2.301:53 0.6 08:03 2.3 14:16 0.6 20:32 2.302:44 0.6 08:57 2.3 15:09 0.6 21:25 2.403:39 0.6 09:51 2.3 16:03 0.6 22:19 2.404:37 0.7 10:47 2.3 16:59 0.6 23:16 2.405:36 0.6 11:44 2.3 17:57 0.600:14 2.4 06:35 0.6 12:41 2.3 18:55 0.601:14 2.4 07:32 0.6 13:38 2.3 19:53 0.602:12 2.4 08:28 0.6 14:35 2.4 20:51 0.603:07 2.5 09:22 0.6 15:30 2.4 21:47 0.604:00 2.5 10:14 0.6 16:23 2.4 22:40 0.604:51 2.5 11:06 0.6 17:15 2.4 23:32 0.605:41 2.4 11:55 0.6 18:06 2.400:21 0.6 06:30 2.3 12:44 0.6 18:56 2.401:09 0.6 07:20 2.3 13:31 0.7 19:45 2.301:56 0.7 08:09 2.2 14:19 0.7 20:33 2.202:44 0.8 08:58 2.1 15:06 0.8 21:20 2.203:32 0.8 09:46 2.1 15:54 0.8 22:07 2.104:22 0.9 10:35 2.0 16:42 0.9 22:54 2.105:13 0.9 11:22 2.0 17:31 0.9 23:42 2.106:03 0.9 12:09 2.0 18:19 0.900:30 2.1 06:50 0.9 12:56 2.0 19:06 0.901:18 2.1 07:35 0.9 13:42 2.1 19:52 0.902:04 2.2 08:19 0.8 14:26 2.1 20:39 0.802:49 2.2 09:02 0.8 15:10 2.2 21:25 0.703:33 2.2 09:46 0.7 15:55 2.2 22:13 0.704:17 2.3 10:32 0.7 16:42 2.3 23:01 0.605:04 2.3 11:20 0.6 17:31 2.4 23:50 0.605:54 2.3 12:10 0.6 18:23 2.400:41 0.6 06:47 2.3 13:02 0.6 19:17 2.401:33 0.6 07:43 2.3 13:55 0.6 20:12 2.5


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00:59 0.4 07:09 2.3 13:23 0.4 19:37 2.301:49 0.4 08:00 2.3 14:12 0.4 20:29 2.302:40 0.4 08:54 2.3 15:05 0.4 21:22 2.403:35 0.4 09:48 2.3 15:59 0.4 22:16 2.404:33 0.5 10:44 2.3 16:55 0.4 23:13 2.405:32 0.4 11:41 2.3 17:53 0.400:11 2.4 06:31 0.4 12:38 2.3 18:51 0.401:11 2.4 07:28 0.4 13:35 2.3 19:49 0.402:09 2.4 08:24 0.4 14:32 2.4 20:47 0.303:04 2.5 09:18 0.3 15:27 2.4 21:43 0.303:57 2.5 10:10 0.3 16:20 2.4 22:36 0.304:48 2.5 11:02 0.3 17:12 2.4 23:28 0.305:38 2.4 11:51 0.4 18:03 2.400:17 0.4 06:27 2.3 12:40 0.4 18:53 2.401:05 0.4 07:17 2.3 13:27 0.5 19:42 2.301:52 0.5 08:06 2.2 14:15 0.5 20:30 2.202:40 0.6 08:55 2.1 15:02 0.6 21:17 2.203:28 0.6 09:43 2.1 15:50 0.6 22:04 2.104:18 0.7 10:32 2.0 16:38 0.7 22:51 2.105:09 0.7 11:19 2.0 17:27 0.7 23:39 2.105:59 0.7 12:06 2.0 18:15 0.700:27 2.1 06:46 0.7 12:53 2.0 19:02 0.701:15 2.1 07:31 0.7 13:39 2.1 19:48 0.702:01 2.2 08:15 0.6 14:23 2.1 20:35 0.602:46 2.2 08:58 0.6 15:07 2.2 21:21 0.503:30 2.2 09:42 0.5 15:52 2.2 22:09 0.504:14 2.3 10:28 0.5 16:39 2.3 22:57 0.405:01 2.3 11:16 0.4 17:28 2.4 23:46 0.405:51 2.3 12:06 0.4 18:20 2.400:37 0.3 06:44 2.3 12:58 0.4 19:14 2.401:29 0.3 07:40 2.3 13:51 0.4 20:09 2.5


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MARCH 2013Westport Nelson Havelock

Waimakariri Mouth Akaroa Rakaia Mouth

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

01:40 3.2 07:47 0.3 13:59 3.2 20:12 0.302:20 3.1 08:29 0.3 14:43 3.1 20:57 0.403:05 3.0 09:17 0.5 15:33 3.0 21:48 0.503:57 2.9 10:14 0.6 16:33 2.9 22:48 0.705:02 2.8 11:23 0.7 17:46 2.700:00 0.8 06:20 2.7 12:41 0.8 19:03 2.701:16 0.8 07:38 2.8 13:56 0.7 20:16 2.802:27 0.7 08:47 2.9 15:01 0.6 21:21 2.903:29 0.5 09:47 3.0 15:59 0.4 22:17 3.004:22 0.4 10:38 3.2 16:49 0.3 23:06 3.205:09 0.3 11:24 3.3 17:34 0.2 23:50 3.205:52 0.2 12:06 3.3 18:16 0.200:30 3.3 06:32 0.2 12:45 3.3 18:55 0.201:07 3.2 07:11 0.3 13:22 3.2 19:33 0.301:43 3.1 07:48 0.4 13:59 3.1 20:11 0.502:19 3.0 08:27 0.5 14:37 2.9 20:48 0.602:57 2.8 09:07 0.7 15:17 2.7 21:29 0.803:39 2.7 09:52 0.9 16:04 2.6 22:16 1.004:29 2.5 10:47 1.0 17:01 2.4 23:13 1.105:33 2.4 11:54 1.1 18:07 2.400:22 1.1 06:44 2.4 13:03 1.1 19:15 2.401:31 1.1 07:50 2.5 14:05 1.0 20:17 2.502:31 1.0 08:46 2.6 14:58 0.9 21:10 2.603:21 0.8 09:34 2.8 15:44 0.7 21:57 2.804:06 0.6 10:17 3.0 16:27 0.5 22:39 3.004:46 0.5 10:57 3.1 17:07 0.3 23:19 3.105:26 0.3 11:36 3.2 17:47 0.2 23:58 3.206:05 0.2 12:16 3.3 18:28 0.200:38 3.3 06:45 0.2 12:57 3.3 19:10 0.201:19 3.3 07:28 0.2 13:41 3.3 19:54 0.202:03 3.2 08:14 0.3 14:29 3.2 20:41 0.3


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00:46 4.2 06:36 0.4 13:00 4.2 19:02 0.401:24 4.2 07:14 0.5 13:40 4.1 19:44 0.602:04 4.1 07:55 0.7 14:25 3.9 20:29 0.702:49 3.9 08:43 0.9 15:16 3.7 21:22 1.003:40 3.7 09:44 1.1 16:17 3.5 22:26 1.204:46 3.5 11:07 1.3 17:31 3.3 23:46 1.306:10 3.4 12:38 1.3 18:53 3.301:12 1.2 07:36 3.5 13:52 1.1 20:11 3.502:25 1.0 08:43 3.8 14:51 0.9 21:15 3.703:23 0.8 09:36 4.0 15:41 0.7 22:08 3.904:11 0.6 10:21 4.2 16:25 0.6 22:53 4.104:52 0.4 11:02 4.3 17:06 0.5 23:34 4.205:30 0.4 11:39 4.3 17:43 0.500:11 4.2 06:05 0.4 12:16 4.3 18:18 0.500:46 4.2 06:38 0.5 12:51 4.1 18:52 0.701:20 4.0 07:11 0.7 13:27 3.9 19:25 0.801:54 3.9 07:45 0.9 14:05 3.7 20:00 1.002:30 3.6 08:24 1.1 14:46 3.5 20:39 1.203:10 3.4 09:12 1.3 15:33 3.3 21:25 1.404:00 3.2 10:17 1.5 16:30 3.1 22:25 1.505:10 3.1 11:40 1.6 17:38 3.0 23:45 1.606:38 3.1 12:54 1.5 18:51 3.101:12 1.6 07:52 3.2 13:52 1.3 20:00 3.202:17 1.4 08:44 3.5 14:39 1.1 20:56 3.503:05 1.1 09:27 3.7 15:21 0.9 21:43 3.703:46 0.8 10:05 4.0 16:01 0.6 22:25 4.004:24 0.6 10:43 4.2 16:40 0.5 23:06 4.205:01 0.4 11:20 4.3 17:20 0.4 23:45 4.305:38 0.3 11:59 4.3 18:01 0.300:25 4.3 06:17 0.3 12:41 4.2 18:43 0.401:05 4.3 06:57 0.4 13:24 4.1 19:28 0.5


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00:32 3.1 06:03 0.5 12:46 3.1 18:29 0.501:10 3.1 06:41 0.6 13:26 3.0 19:11 0.601:50 3.0 07:22 0.7 14:11 2.9 19:56 0.702:35 2.9 08:10 0.8 15:02 2.8 20:49 0.903:26 2.8 09:11 1.0 16:03 2.6 21:53 1.004:32 2.6 10:34 1.1 17:17 2.5 23:13 1.105:56 2.5 12:05 1.1 18:39 2.500:39 1.0 07:22 2.6 13:19 1.0 19:57 2.601:52 0.9 08:29 2.8 14:18 0.8 21:01 2.802:50 0.8 09:22 3.0 15:08 0.7 21:54 2.903:38 0.6 10:07 3.1 15:52 0.6 22:39 3.004:19 0.5 10:48 3.2 16:33 0.6 23:20 3.104:57 0.5 11:25 3.2 17:10 0.6 23:57 3.105:32 0.5 12:02 3.2 17:45 0.600:32 3.1 06:05 0.6 12:37 3.0 18:19 0.701:06 3.0 06:38 0.7 13:13 2.9 18:52 0.801:40 2.9 07:12 0.8 13:51 2.8 19:27 0.902:16 2.7 07:51 1.0 14:32 2.6 20:06 1.002:56 2.5 08:39 1.1 15:19 2.5 20:52 1.203:46 2.4 09:44 1.2 16:16 2.3 21:52 1.204:56 2.3 11:07 1.3 17:24 2.3 23:12 1.306:24 2.3 12:21 1.2 18:37 2.300:39 1.3 07:38 2.4 13:19 1.1 19:46 2.401:44 1.2 08:30 2.6 14:06 1.0 20:42 2.602:32 1.0 09:13 2.8 14:48 0.8 21:29 2.803:13 0.8 09:51 3.0 15:28 0.6 22:11 3.003:51 0.6 10:29 3.1 16:07 0.6 22:52 3.104:28 0.5 11:06 3.2 16:47 0.5 23:31 3.205:05 0.4 11:45 3.2 17:28 0.400:11 3.2 05:44 0.4 12:27 3.1 18:10 0.500:51 3.2 06:24 0.5 13:10 3.0 18:55 0.6


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01:55 0.4 08:05 2.3 14:19 0.4 20:33 2.302:45 0.4 08:56 2.3 15:08 0.4 21:25 2.303:36 0.4 09:50 2.3 16:01 0.4 22:18 2.404:31 0.4 10:44 2.3 16:55 0.4 23:12 2.405:29 0.5 11:40 2.3 17:51 0.400:09 2.4 06:28 0.4 12:37 2.3 18:49 0.401:07 2.4 07:27 0.4 13:34 2.3 19:47 0.402:07 2.4 08:24 0.4 14:31 2.3 20:45 0.403:05 2.4 09:20 0.4 15:28 2.4 21:43 0.304:00 2.5 10:14 0.3 16:23 2.4 22:39 0.304:53 2.5 11:06 0.3 17:16 2.4 23:32 0.305:44 2.5 11:58 0.3 18:08 2.400:24 0.3 06:34 2.4 12:47 0.4 18:59 2.401:13 0.4 07:23 2.3 13:36 0.4 19:49 2.402:01 0.4 08:13 2.3 14:23 0.5 20:38 2.302:48 0.5 09:02 2.2 15:11 0.5 21:26 2.203:36 0.6 09:51 2.1 15:58 0.6 22:13 2.204:24 0.6 10:39 2.1 16:46 0.6 23:00 2.105:14 0.7 11:28 2.0 17:34 0.7 23:47 2.106:05 0.7 12:15 2.0 18:23 0.700:35 2.1 06:55 0.7 13:02 2.0 19:11 0.701:23 2.1 07:42 0.7 13:49 2.0 19:58 0.702:11 2.1 08:27 0.7 14:35 2.1 20:44 0.702:57 2.2 09:11 0.6 15:19 2.1 21:31 0.603:42 2.2 09:54 0.6 16:03 2.2 22:17 0.504:26 2.2 10:38 0.5 16:48 2.2 23:05 0.505:10 2.3 11:24 0.5 17:35 2.3 23:53 0.405:57 2.3 12:12 0.4 18:24 2.400:42 0.4 06:47 2.3 13:02 0.4 19:16 2.401:33 0.3 07:40 2.3 13:54 0.4 20:10 2.402:25 0.3 08:36 2.3 14:47 0.4 21:05 2.5


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01:03 0.6 07:12 2.3 13:27 0.6 19:40 2.301:53 0.6 08:03 2.3 14:16 0.6 20:32 2.302:44 0.6 08:57 2.3 15:09 0.6 21:25 2.403:39 0.6 09:51 2.3 16:03 0.6 22:19 2.404:37 0.7 10:47 2.3 16:59 0.6 23:16 2.405:36 0.6 11:44 2.3 17:57 0.600:14 2.4 06:35 0.6 12:41 2.3 18:55 0.601:14 2.4 07:32 0.6 13:38 2.3 19:53 0.602:12 2.4 08:28 0.6 14:35 2.4 20:51 0.603:07 2.5 09:22 0.6 15:30 2.4 21:47 0.604:00 2.5 10:14 0.6 16:23 2.4 22:40 0.604:51 2.5 11:06 0.6 17:15 2.4 23:32 0.605:41 2.4 11:55 0.6 18:06 2.400:21 0.6 06:30 2.3 12:44 0.6 18:56 2.401:09 0.6 07:20 2.3 13:31 0.7 19:45 2.301:56 0.7 08:09 2.2 14:19 0.7 20:33 2.202:44 0.8 08:58 2.1 15:06 0.8 21:20 2.203:32 0.8 09:46 2.1 15:54 0.8 22:07 2.104:22 0.9 10:35 2.0 16:42 0.9 22:54 2.105:13 0.9 11:22 2.0 17:31 0.9 23:42 2.106:03 0.9 12:09 2.0 18:19 0.900:30 2.1 06:50 0.9 12:56 2.0 19:06 0.901:18 2.1 07:35 0.9 13:42 2.1 19:52 0.902:04 2.2 08:19 0.8 14:26 2.1 20:39 0.802:49 2.2 09:02 0.8 15:10 2.2 21:25 0.703:33 2.2 09:46 0.7 15:55 2.2 22:13 0.704:17 2.3 10:32 0.7 16:42 2.3 23:01 0.605:04 2.3 11:20 0.6 17:31 2.4 23:50 0.605:54 2.3 12:10 0.6 18:23 2.400:41 0.6 06:47 2.3 13:02 0.6 19:17 2.401:33 0.6 07:43 2.3 13:55 0.6 20:12 2.5


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00:59 0.4 07:09 2.3 13:23 0.4 19:37 2.301:49 0.4 08:00 2.3 14:12 0.4 20:29 2.302:40 0.4 08:54 2.3 15:05 0.4 21:22 2.403:35 0.4 09:48 2.3 15:59 0.4 22:16 2.404:33 0.5 10:44 2.3 16:55 0.4 23:13 2.405:32 0.4 11:41 2.3 17:53 0.400:11 2.4 06:31 0.4 12:38 2.3 18:51 0.401:11 2.4 07:28 0.4 13:35 2.3 19:49 0.402:09 2.4 08:24 0.4 14:32 2.4 20:47 0.303:04 2.5 09:18 0.3 15:27 2.4 21:43 0.303:57 2.5 10:10 0.3 16:20 2.4 22:36 0.304:48 2.5 11:02 0.3 17:12 2.4 23:28 0.305:38 2.4 11:51 0.4 18:03 2.400:17 0.4 06:27 2.3 12:40 0.4 18:53 2.401:05 0.4 07:17 2.3 13:27 0.5 19:42 2.301:52 0.5 08:06 2.2 14:15 0.5 20:30 2.202:40 0.6 08:55 2.1 15:02 0.6 21:17 2.203:28 0.6 09:43 2.1 15:50 0.6 22:04 2.104:18 0.7 10:32 2.0 16:38 0.7 22:51 2.105:09 0.7 11:19 2.0 17:27 0.7 23:39 2.105:59 0.7 12:06 2.0 18:15 0.700:27 2.1 06:46 0.7 12:53 2.0 19:02 0.701:15 2.1 07:31 0.7 13:39 2.1 19:48 0.702:01 2.2 08:15 0.6 14:23 2.1 20:35 0.602:46 2.2 08:58 0.6 15:07 2.2 21:21 0.503:30 2.2 09:42 0.5 15:52 2.2 22:09 0.504:14 2.3 10:28 0.5 16:39 2.3 22:57 0.405:01 2.3 11:16 0.4 17:28 2.4 23:46 0.405:51 2.3 12:06 0.4 18:20 2.400:37 0.3 06:44 2.3 12:58 0.4 19:14 2.401:29 0.3 07:40 2.3 13:51 0.4 20:09 2.5


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Tide CharTMarCh 2013

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.

Activity on Nelson Harbour suggests many people are still unaware of the Bylaw 218 and what it

means to them. There have also been many close calls that could have resulted in serious injury or loss of life, so let’s look at the launch owner and discuss the process from his perspective.

Up at 0500 hours, he knows he is already running late to avoid the queue at the ramp. A rushed cup of tea and toast and off to pick up the three mates. Damn, forgot to tell the partner where we are going and when we would be due back.

“No matter, nothing’s going to happen today,” he thinks.

The good mates are ready and the day chases the moon down over the western hills as they arrive at the boat ramp.

“Check out the queue ... there has to be ten boats ahead of us!”

This is an organised crew however and as the crewman backs the trailer, the skipper and others are quickly motoring off to standby until the crew parks the trailer. What a nuisance the trailer parks are full of single cars, yet another delay.

Missing the alarm, then the parks and now maybe the tide, the skipper believes it’s time to put the pedal to the metal. 8 knots out of the marina, 12 knots up the channel and now they are making good time … just to run into the good bloke the Harbourmaster: $200 exceeding 3 knots, $200 exceeding 5 knots and $400 for two lifejackets left on the backseat (yet another delay going back for them). Now - 3 knots out of the marina, 4.6 knots on the GPS out of the channel and a friendly wave from the Harbourmaster and they finally reach the speed lane.

25 knots of wind in the hair and the engine at 2500 revs on a calm harbour - what could be better than this?

It is worth the ‘blow boats’ noting that whilst the speed lane is a place where vessels can go fast, it is crucial the launch master knows that he must still slow down to 5 knots when within 50 metres of another vessel - regardless of the speed lane. Here comes that good bloke again …

When the launch master reached The Cut he almost had no chance of avoiding the swimmer silly enough to be there in the poor visibility of breaking dawn and then he narrowly misses the inflatable dinghy with no lights on. Good to see the HM paying him a visit … friendly bloke that.

The launch master sees the gathering clouds to the south and doesn’t really pay much notice as d’Urville Island beckons to the north and the kingfish are waiting. It is on the way back though that the southerly suddenly hits, the wind against the tide causing a short steep nasty seaway. Well aware of the law now, the skipper instructs the crew to don their lifejackets and vaguely wonders what it was he had forgotten to do as he left home.

Tired from the early start and a long successful day fishing, the rogue wave was missed, the one that came from the side and in a heartbeat the fish were lost, the boat was upended and he could only account for two of his friends.

Well, every story has to have a happy ending so the next wave flipped the boat upright, the missing crewman was smiling at the wheel, the good bloke the HM came and towed them in (and he destroyed the early tickets as the guys had just had it so tough), the fish all jumped back into the fish bin and he was home on time so his partner never worried.

Have you seen the Tui ad? Stay safe this summer - obey the rules.

Harbour Views By Dave DuncanOnce Upon a Time … Yeah, Right!

23 McGlashen Ave, RICHMOND25 Main Street, BLENHEIM249 Hillside Road, DUNEDIN23 Reece Crescent, WANAKA206 Glenda Drive, Wakatipu, QUEENSTOWN71-75 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

TRADE & PUBLIC

WELCOME

Tip of the Month: Filleting Snapper

1. Make a diagonal cut from the shoulder to just forward of the vent. Cut through to backbone.2. Angle knife forward and slide over the ribcage to the tail, but attached to the tail. Flip it over.3. Make a cut between the fl esh and the skin at the tail end.4. Hold skin with one hand while sliding the knife evenly down the length of the fi llet, keeping the blade angled slightly toward the skin. 5. Place the fi llet face down on the board. A row of bones extends two-thirds along the lateral line. Remove as shown.Wash the fi llets in salt water and prepare for cooking or freezing.

Ensure that all fi sh are well chilled before fi lleting.

1

2

3

45

Talk to the

Edward Gibbon

team about fi shing tips & all things plumbing!


SudokuANSWERS

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

[email protected]

PrinterGuardian Print

Deputy EditorRon Prestage

[email protected]

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 & New Zealand Hunting News encorporates the Top of the South Edition and The Canterbury Edition.

Daryl CrimpAli KennardIvan WilsonPoppa Mike

Ron PrestageDave Duncan

Kim SwanChris WestJim JobePaul Clark

Brad McMillanGreg GilbertDave DixonPeter HarkerRhys Barrier

Kevin HopgoodKarin Kos

Rhys AdamsThalassa Kawachi

Martyn BarlowGeoff Cotton

Winston ChurchillBarry Bartlett

Sam HendersonRon Eddy

Craig GrantLee RichmondTony HawkerTim Tucker

Wayne BuxtonGeorge Michael

Brett BensemannGary Dunn

Kaye McNabbCaroline Saker

Dirk BarrDoug Powell

Chris Williamson

Harbour Views By Dave Duncan

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

Book our 1 or 2 night fi shing packages & enjoy the fun

Hook into some fresh fi sh for the BBQ!

Ask about our vouchers

You do a guy a favour and he slaps you!

Here I was at the helm of the good ship Mistral, steering a course for the fish laden grounds of Golden Bay, while I thought Skipper Leigh Kelly was back astern readying the rods and briefing the punters. With all my years of boating, I rather fancied myself as skipper of the Poseidon Adventure but was alarmed at my inability to track a straight line – or any line for that matter. I outwardly remained calm and poised, but inwardly I was spinning like the helm in front of me. It was twirling back and forth, forth and back, and round and round but the damn launch had a mind of its own, careering over the ocean like an old ewe with grass staggers. Annette let me in on the joke halfway over Takaka Hill on the way home:

“It was so funny watching you wrestle the boat while trying to appear nonchalant,” she giggled, “Leigh was steering from outside!”

That’s it with Wildcat Fishing Charters, you never quite know what’s next, but you can be assured of a good time and plenty of laughter. If owner/skipper Leigh Kelly could possibly be any more laid back, he’d be arrested for planking!

Leigh and Michelle Kelly operate Wildcat Charters out of Port Tarakohe and in conjunction with their motel and accommodation complex, Bay Country Lodge at Pohara. The synergy is perfect because visitors enjoy the added option of adding a fishing trip to their stay, while those wanting to fish the region don’t have the

hassle of having to organize separate accommodation. They are also popular because they take small groups, pairs and will do their best to accommodate singles where possible. It is also a fantastic destination to get away from it all – even just for a weekend.

The Crimpy family joined a mixed contingent aboard Mistral at the end of last month, courtesy of Wildcat Fishing Charters: Emily Greenhough, prize-winner of The Reader’s Story competition, and her partner Wayne Webby, and Keith Patchett from ITM Takaka. We spent the night at Bay Country Lodge, which is superb accommodation: spacious, very clean, well appointed and close to the beach. It is nicely supported with a sheltered, covered barbecue area, vegetable garden for guest use and ample outdoor garden area. Michelle and Leigh are friendly gracious hosts and staying there certainly gave us a fresh start to the fishing day, with Port Tarakohe less than ten minutes away.

Access to the main fishing is a short steam to Separation Point and while some may think Golden Bay has not a lot to offer, think again. I have said in a previous article that I rate Leigh as one of those rare operators who has a knack of putting you onto fish, and I stand by that. The day we fished with him was one of those slow bite days over a full moon, but everyone came

away with a good bag of fillets and plenty of variety.

We commenced fishing by trolling tuna lures along some obvious current and were rewarded with the first fish within a few minutes. It was only fitting that the prize-winner was first up and while the albacore put up a bit of a pussy of a fight, it was great to see Emily notch

up a first. It was also a gentle way to ease into the fishing because, while the lures were out, there was ample time for everyone to mingle, have fun and suck some caffeine back.

After plenty of trolling action, we fished a couple of spots for table fish and were kept busy with an assortment of species, while Leigh filleted

and packaged the catch. The list of species Golden Bay has to offer includes: snapper, kingfish, trevally, kahawai, blue cod, perch, albacore tuna, greyboy and gurnard.

As a package, a Wildcat Charters experience hard to beat and if you book now, there’s every chance albacore will be on your menu.

Wildcat Fishing Charters Golden Bay’s Gem By Daryl Crimp

GOLF SATURDAY, FISH SUNDAY

What else can you ask for?Thanks to The Fishing Paper and Wildcat Fishing

Charters, it was a dream weekend. Wayne and I played

a round of golf Saturday and located just down the

road is the welcoming and relaxed Bay Country Lodge

where we had a comfortable night’s stay.

Fishing on Mistral was a day of firsts … I can now say

I have caught an albacore tuna, seen kingfish chase

cod up to the surface, cruised past a little shark while

trolling and had a successful charter experience.

Leigh was not only entertaining but, of course, he put

us on the fish.

We all got to take home a smorgasbord of albacore

tuna, tarakihi, sea perch, gurnard and blue cod.

Thanks again Leigh and Michelle and “the Crimpy Clan”.

Emily and Wayne

Keith from ITM Takaka with a

pair of tarakihi.

Skipper Leigh Kelly concerned about Crimpy’s steering ability.


straight from the fish’s mouth

BAIT BULLETS

By Jim Jobe

www.jimmysbait.co.nzMAKE FISHING EASY!

• no sticky fi ngers • no mess • long life • easy to store • keep a packet in your tackle box

SEE OUR WEBSITE FOR

THE GROWING LIST OF

STOCKISTS OR PHONE

TACKLEMAN IF YOU

ARE IN THE SOUTH

ISLAND – 03 578 0401

As a young kid, my holidays were often spent fi shing with my aunty and uncle in a little holiday town called Mangawhai Heads. There were two people I looked up to as great fi shermen - Bill Hohepa and my Uncle Murdy.

For them, an important part of a successful day’s fi shing was catching fresh baits! Half an hour trolling, two green bone lures just out from the harbour entrance with Uncle Murdy and we had enough kahawai to start serious fi shing. We hardly ever missed out on a bin full of good snapper.

Thirty years on and fresh baits are still a high priority in my fi shing prep, whether it be fresh jack mackerel caught from the wharf or small kahawai caught inside the harbour. You don’t have to look far to fi nd a good source of bait fi sh.

So save yourself some money, get the kids involved and try using fresh baits instead of frozen.

I consider March as the best month for fi shing off the wharf, so we hope to see lots of pictures and stories coming into us for your chance of the monthly draw of our $50 Wharf Pack. Rosie and I will be out and about around Nelson, so look out for us and keep safe.

Tip of the Month – Bait Bullets will increase the time effi ciency and

effectiveness of catching your fresh baits, without the mess and fuss.

Don’t forget to send us your photos and stories to [email protected] for the $50 monthly

prize draw of Jimmys Bait Bullets.

Word from the Wharf

Rosie’s Pick: Dad catching fresh baits one minute from the local boat ramp!

FISHinfutureS EA RC H

Charting a new path for OUR fi shing future!

By Daryl Crimp

The fear from detractors was that it was going to be just another ‘Talkfest’ with a lot of smoke and little fire, but the three-day FishinFuture Search conference held in Nelson in early February paved the way for much needed change to the way the recreational fishing sector is represented at a national level. In the past, recreational fishing advocacy has relied on volunteers but is now struggling to keep up with complex fisheries issues and powerful lobbying from other more organised sectors. Recreational fishers have failed to unify into a powerful collective voice, which seriously disadvantages them in future fisheries management discussions and impacts on them having a role in planning and dealing with future threats, such as the competition for space.

Nearly seventy individuals from around the country, drawn from a diverse range of interests including recreational fishing, scientists, environmentalists, Iwi, cultural, government, industry and commercial met to see if there was ‘common ground’ for charting a new path for our fishing future, eventually agreeing on eight areas of common ground. The need for a national body to advocate for and represent the interests of rec fishers was agreed upon and a steering committee established to investigate what shape this organisation might take.

It was recognized that an independent and sustainable funding stream would ultimately need to be established to support the necessary infrastructure and professionalism required, and this attracted a good deal of discussion, during the formal proceedings and over a beer afterwards. The hoary chestnut of fishing licences was given

a good airing, with some detractors steadfastly opposed to the concept in any shape or form, while others recognised the reality of living in a user pays society.

“It’s time rec fishers were prepared to ‘man up’ and contribute to the management of our fishery,” said Nelson’s Martyn Barlow.

In the end, it was decided the issue of licensing was divisive, polarised people and detracted from the core issues, so that idea was put on the backburner. Many positive ideas were put forward on possible funding streams, but it was decided the immediate priorities were to seek seed funding so the idea of a national body could be investigated properly and put to the people.

The eight areas of Common Ground going forward are:We ensure a healthy marine environment enjoyed by all.We all take pride in an abundant and healthy marine environment when our community extends Manaakitanga over our fisheries and oceans.We believe in unity and inclusion within the recreational fishing community.We strive to ensure equity of access through stakeholder engagement.We ensure New Zealanders understand and value our marine environment and its resources so we can all be responsible for a better future.We are a recognised representative and accountable body that promotes and protects responsible recreational fishing.We create an independent and sustainable income stream to achieve our aspirations and meet our responsibilities.We create a comprehensive strategy and a network to communicate with members, stakeholders, media and other interested parties.

Check out www.fishinfuturesearch.co.nz for more details.

Adam, Meet AlbertBy Daryl Crimp

Adam Tuhou hails from Gisborne and spent most of his spare time diving, but since arriving in Nelson 12-years-ago to work in the freezing works, he has caught the fishing bug bad.

In early February, he and some mates headed north from Kaiteriteri aboard Glen Holmwood’s 610 HT Osprey with the aim of catching a feed. They had been trolling somewhere out in the bay for awhile, when Adam was suddenly snapped to attention when his rod thumped over as the deep dive green and yellow Rapala was snatched by a predator fish. He described

the fight as average but that didn’t deter from the thrill he got when he saw the fish up close. Adam found himself face-to-face with a fish named Albert, a tuna that weighed in at 15lb. It was his first albacore and he’s stoked.

“I haven’t caught a kingi yet, but we are going to try a spot of jigging in the winter,” he said. Meantime he’s hooked on the chicken of the sea.

“We ate some raw with soy and some of those rice crackers - it was mmmmmmm!” he said, smacking his lips.


Sprig & Fern Milton St

134 Milton Street

Nelson

Phone: 03 545 7117

Sprig & Fern Hardy St

280 Hardy Street

Nelson

Phone: 03 548 1154

Sprig & Fern Queen St

126 Queen Street

Richmond

Phone: 03 544 4900

Sprig & Fern Tavern

54 Ellis Street

Brightwater

Ph: 03 542 2323

Sprig & Fern Motueka

Wallace Street

Motueka

Phone: 03 528 4684

Sprig and Fern Tinakori Rd

342 Tinakori Road

Thorndon Wellington

Tel: 04 499 1390

Nelson’s Craft Beer

I‛m a huge fan of Salad Nicoise and in my humble opinion the clean crisp characteristics of a cold Pilsner are the perfect match for this classic dish - simple as that! Cheers Dave

Don’t forget about visiting Sprig & Fern

at Marchfest. April 6 2013. They have

something special!

www.sprigandfern.co.nzWHA

T, S ON

AT

THE

SPRI

G?

&

Kevin Hopgood of Hopgood‛s Restaurant in Nelson is one of our leading chefs, the food his talented team create and serve being sublime, so when I heard he had snagged his fi rst albacore tuna I suggested he might like to create a recipe for The Fishing Paper & New Zealand Hunting News readers. Enjoy.

BEERMATCH

Tuna Nicoise (Tasman) Salad

DRESSING12 tbsp of olive oil1 tsp of Dijon Mustard2 anchovies fi llets chopped1 tsp thyme leaves chopped2 tbsp basil chopped1 shallot chopped3 tbsp white balsamic vinegar [available at New World , Fresh Choice ]Salt and pepperWhisk altogether and season to your liking (if it‛s too tart add a little sugar, if its not acidic enough add a few drops of lemon juice)

SALAD2 small gem or cos lettuce (Steve at the Nelson market has these)220g green beans (cooked and then cooled in ice water and drained)10 / 12 new potatoes cooked4 soft boiled eggs (or how ever you like them)5/6 ripe tomatoes (Romanos on Trafalgar St does amazing tomatoes)1 handful of black olives1 small bunch of Italian parsley1 small bunch basil1 small tin of anchovies

METHODTear salad leaves into bite size pieces, add the beans, potatoes, tomatoes, herbs, olives and anchovies. I like to serve the beans and potatoes warm but they are also good cold. Dress with your vinaigrette, season, place on plates. Cut eggs in half, season and add to salad.

Grill or sear tuna to your liking, I would aim for slightly under done (tuna dries out easily)Place tuna on top of your salad, dress and you‛re away.Good on you, Kev!

Richmond’s Sprig & Fern

Summer Fare 2013 Dancing in the street, and good times with friends and family! The Sprig & Fern Summer Fare 2013 is on again

FRIDAY 22 MARCH and will be a feast of local food and beverages enjoyed alongside great music and

entertainment for all the family. And it’s FREE!!! Join us from 5.30pm @ Sundial Square.

straight from the fish’s mouth

BAIT BULLETS

By Jim Jobe

www.jimmysbait.co.nzMAKE FISHING EASY!

• no sticky fi ngers • no mess • long life • easy to store • keep a packet in your tackle box

SEE OUR WEBSITE FOR

THE GROWING LIST OF

STOCKISTS OR PHONE

TACKLEMAN IF YOU

ARE IN THE SOUTH

ISLAND – 03 578 0401

As a young kid, my holidays were often spent fi shing with my aunty and uncle in a little holiday town called Mangawhai Heads. There were two people I looked up to as great fi shermen - Bill Hohepa and my Uncle Murdy.

For them, an important part of a successful day’s fi shing was catching fresh baits! Half an hour trolling, two green bone lures just out from the harbour entrance with Uncle Murdy and we had enough kahawai to start serious fi shing. We hardly ever missed out on a bin full of good snapper.

Thirty years on and fresh baits are still a high priority in my fi shing prep, whether it be fresh jack mackerel caught from the wharf or small kahawai caught inside the harbour. You don’t have to look far to fi nd a good source of bait fi sh.

So save yourself some money, get the kids involved and try using fresh baits instead of frozen.

I consider March as the best month for fi shing off the wharf, so we hope to see lots of pictures and stories coming into us for your chance of the monthly draw of our $50 Wharf Pack. Rosie and I will be out and about around Nelson, so look out for us and keep safe.

Tip of the Month – Bait Bullets will increase the time effi ciency and

effectiveness of catching your fresh baits, without the mess and fuss.

Don’t forget to send us your photos and stories to [email protected] for the $50 monthly

prize draw of Jimmys Bait Bullets.

Word from the Wharf

Rosie’s Pick: Dad catching fresh baits one minute from the local boat ramp!


Come see us

03 544 6352 [email protected]

• Boat & car interiors • Seat or squab repairs• Hull lining • Water resistant foam • Canvas canopies & bimini tops• Car restoration • Tonneau covers• Road covers & storage covers

GET IT DONE AT MORTIMER’S.

CANVAS CANOPY NEED REPLACING?

Unit 4, Oxford Mews • 72 Oxford St, Richmond, NelsonCheck us out on

Every summer Nelson/Marlborough Fish & Game staff endeavour to drift dive 1-2 kilometre sites in as many of our regions rivers as possible as part of its annual fisheries monitoring work. Dives involve 4 -10 wet suit clad staff and volunteers floating the river in line and counting fish as they shoot past them. Drift dives do give us an accurate picture of what is happening in each fishery as a result of floods, low flows, didymo, seals, shags, and angler harvest, with floods being the biggest influencing factor in most of our fisheries over the last decade.

This year the stand out dive for this region so far has been the Motueka River (at time of writing staff are yet to dive the Buller and Wairau however), as while the number of 1-2 pound medium fish in this system are well down, reasonable numbers of larger fish in

the 4-6 pound size range are still present and many of these are ‘humpbacks’, they are so fat. High numbers of smelt were also observed within the Motueka and Waimea rivers this year during our dives so this may have been influencing trout condition.

While we have yet to dive the Wairau, we have had recent reports of some excellent fishing in the lower reaches of this magnificent fishery. A lot of medium fish in the 2.5-3 pound range are presently being caught in the river near Blenheim. The salmon in the Wairau are also just starting to be caught, with a 20 pound fish being recently reported, which is a superb fish well above the average size for this fishery.

Drift divers counting trout in the Rai River – lots of small rainbows noted this year.

Reports of salmon catches are now coming into the West Coast Fish & Game office, with the usual Grey River and Lake Mapourika fisheries producing fish in the range of 3 – 5kg; the usual weight range for salmon on the West Coast.The bumper salmon season on the other side of the Alps has been widely reported in the media, so this could be the beginning of a late but fruitful season for the Coast.

Hokitika resident and West Coast Fish & Game Councillor, Mark Smith, unexpectedly caught his first salmon of 2013 in early February. While on a road trip he stopped with the family for a swim at an unnamed South Westland river and thought he better have a cast in the pool before swimming. A 9lb salmon in great condition was the reward (pictured).

The only negative is the dry weather being experienced on the Coast – causing water temperatures to rise and flows to decrease, meaning the salmon were waiting longer off-shore before beginning their run to the spawning grounds.

A reminder for those anglers fishing the lakes: salmon prefer colder water than brown trout, so fish deep in

periods of settled weather.

The sunny weather is great for dry fly fishing and the cicadas are in full force right now. The low flows mean gorges and those deep crossing are accessible and improves access to those lesser fished waters.

West Coast Fish & Game is also expecting this will be the first year the sea-run fish are expected to return from their enhancement releases into lakes Haupiri, Mapourika and Paringa back in 2011.

Salmon fishing season closes on 30 April in most West Coast Region water ways, however lakes Mapourika,

Paringa, and Moeraki close on Sunday 31 March.

A heads-up for river mouth kahawai anglers: the river mouths and 500m down the beach are classed as freshwater so any salmon and trout (sports fish) caught accidentally must be released dead or alive - unless of course you are a sports fish licence holder.

For further information contact: Rhys Adams, Field Officer, Fish & Game New Zealand – West Coast Region. 027 244 2807, [email protected]

Salmon Signal Late RunBy Rhys Adams

Under Cover and Looking GoodThere are a couple of blokes

in Richmond who can make your boat look great while protecting it and you, from the worst the weather can throw down.

Ian and Caleb at Mortimer Auto Upholstery are developing a reputation for their fine craftsmanship in making boat canopies, canopy accessories and boat covers.

A decent looking yet functional boat canopy can make or break a boat. There’s no point in having the best looking canopy in the world that doesn’t work, while on the other hand it’s all very well having a canopy that performs brilliantly but looks like a dog!

No two boats are the same and no two boat owners are the same. That’s why when it comes to boat canopies, covers and canvas accessories Ian and Caleb treat every job individually. You’ll be impressed with their eye for detail.

The process of getting a new canopy made starts on

paper when they sit with you to design what you need to ensure you get the perfect fit. Caleb says customers know exactly what they’re getting well before the first tools are touched. The key ingredient of their service is flexibility.

They recommend acrylic canvas in a vast array of colours, with a five-year warranty, which is guaranteed to withstand the rigours of the harsh New Zealand sun but at the same time, breathe, ensuring there are no nasty moisture build-ups. Ian and Caleb also work with a range of other fabrics to meet customer needs.

For fastenings and fittings

they use top quality stainless steel and alloy along with UV resistant nylon products.

Mortimers make canvas backdrops for hardtops, either running from the roof, right back to the transom, or straight from the roof to the deck with

a door zip included so you can get access to the cabin.

There are motor covers as well as custom designed tightly fitted road covers for protection while in transit or you can choose a storage cover which fastens down to your trailer.

Ian and Caleb also do boat interiors whether you need functional boat seats or squabs for your fishing boat, or fancy leather seats or cushions for your luxury launch.

They use a special marine grade vinyl with antibacterial and UV protection extending the life of the products by hundreds of hours.

Ian and Caleb pride themselves on their quick turnaround with most jobs completed in two to three days, and they guarantee the job will be done right every time, without exception.

Mortimer Auto Upholstery, they have your boat covered!

Trout and Salmon CountingBy Rhys Barrier

At the Waimea River Youth Ponds we need helpers young or old, willing to show young boys and girls how to fly fish or spin fish. And enjoy catching a trout .The Youth Ponds have been a huge success and within 4 days 349 boys and girls have landed 144 trout or salmon.Want to help us ? Please contact Richard at 5448028 or [email protected] Organisers: Sport Fishing for Youth Charitable Trust

HELP IS NEEDED

Nelson/Marlborough

West Coast


TURBO CHARGE YOUR VHFMembership of the Nelson Marine Radio Association gives you use of channels 28 and 60 - instantly converting any VHF into a mighty communication tool that reaches into virtually every corner of Tasman and Golden Bays, plus well up and down the West Coast, out into Cook Strait and into Pelorus Sound. With membership you get:

• Enormous peace of mind - for you and the family• Convenient, easy contact with other members’ boats

everywhere - to chat, compare notes, pass on messages.• Three daily bulletins of weather (5 sea areas), tides, navigation

and safety notices• Friendly operators who - within reason - will pass messages

to and from onshore contacts• Log-in service for trip and position reports.

Nelson Marine Radio Association - owned and operated by boaties, for boaties - JOIN TODAY! Private members $58; commercial $74 p.aJoin your fellow boaties in maintaining this vital facility - Ph 03 528 7629 now.

BLENHEIM Night ʻn Day

“Weʼve got it when you want it!”

60 Main St, BlenheimPh 03 577 2299OPEN 365 DAYS

• Hot foodall day-every day

• Slushies, energy shakes

• Chicken & chips• Beer, wine, magazines+ much, much more...

Open 7 days6am - 11pm

Mondo Travel

Presents

The Mediterranean is not renowned for its big trophy fi sh, but sport fi shing is experiencing a renaissance in Turkey at present, due in part to a Canterbury angler who has unknowingly captured the hearts and imaginations of a small community in Kekova on the south coast of Turkey. Steve Terry of Christchurch has become the offi cial mascot for the Sportfi shers United for Kekova Sardines.Pieman Fan Club president

Fatma Andpa and union spokesperson Mustafa Nudabeer are pictured holding the issue of The Fishing Paper that changed their lives and those of their compatriots irrevocably when they discovered it on a park bench while attending last year’s Gallipoli celebrations.“When we saw Steve on the

front cover, of course we were interested because big men and big fi sh are a great symbol of fertility in our village,” said Mustafa. “But when we learned

that his favourite food is pies and that he is known as Pieman in his native New Zealand – it was like an omen, that God had sent a gift to our people.”Fatma Andpa said the village of

Kekova is famous in Turkey for its pies, with their ‘Gobbler’ brand of pies popular throughout Europe.Fatma said that although they

have never met Steve, he has become an inspiration to the people of Kekova and Pieman tee shirts have proved a hit with the locals, raising a small fortune to help save the threatened sardine, the staple sportfi sh in the Mediterranean.

“Steve has been pivotal in halting the decline of sardines in local waters, so we have honoured him by printing his image on our offi cial fl ag, which reads – ‘Pieman S.U.K.S’,” said Mustafa.Fatma Andpa and Mustafa

Nudabeer said the Village Intermediate Council of Elders had recently voted to create a special pie in his honour and profi ts from its sale will go towards ‘Save the Sardine’.“We are very proud of it and

it should be a big seller,” said Fatma, “It is a one-kilo monster called The Turkey Pieman!”

TFPTRAVELS

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 • www.mondotravel.co.nzCall: 0800 804 737 - Visit 183, High Street Motueka

Local Angler Inspires Turkey Fishers

My partner Ben Wilkinson is an avid fisherman and will happily spend many hours fishing in Golden Bay on our vacations to visit his parents. He will fish anywhere he can get to, off the harbour wall at Tarakohe, at sea in his Dad’s Drascom Luger, which was brought over from UK when they emigrated here nine-years-ago, or any ‘fishy looking’ river in the hope of catching that one salmon or trout.

However, after a few days at Te Hapu on the West Coast he was desperate to get back to the habour wall to try and catch something decent. When he got home later on that afternoon he was sporting a 2ft long, 7lb trevally! This is not his largest catch to date, which was a seven gill shark caught in the Marlborough Sounds.

We live in the New Forest in the south of England where Ben works as an oak frame carpenter. He fly fishes for trout on chalk steam rivers, goes sea fishing for cod and sea bass when he gets the opportunity, and also travels to the Outer Hebrides each summer off the north coast of Scotland for his annual fishing trip.

Ben & Trev Become Friends By Caroline Saker


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On this St. Paddy’s day, get a bit of Irish

in ya’!

Dad Wants to Fish Kiwi-Style By Thalassa Kawachi

What do fishermen do on holiday? Why fish of course!

My father, Wayne Kawachi, has been a commercial fisherman for 25-years, is semiretired now and filling his days with his community service projects, but is always enthusiastic to show visitors a bit of Hawaii-style fishing.

He fishes mostly out of Southpoint, the southern most tip of the United States, on the big island of Hawaii (not to be confused with the island of O’ahu, which is where Honolulu and Waikiki Is). The fishermen at Southpoint have a reputation of being the toughest because of the extreme weather they endure, so really know what they are doing. If the fish aren’t biting in Southpoint, he fishes in the placid waters at Milolii or Kona.

Yellowfin tuna are the bread and butter catch, but wahoo, mahi mahi, bonito, squid and various bottom fish are up for grabs. He uses different techniques to catch fish depending on time of year, what the weather will allow and what kind of fish is around. Because of Hawaii’s

many cultures, there is a market for every type of fish. He has had many interesting adventures and has lots of stories to tell.

Wayne will be in Nelson from 11 March till 11 April and would love to go fishing with anyone interested in taking him out. They could tell some fishing stories and drink some Coronas (his favorite) while waiting for that big one to bite! He is interested in all styles of fishing: river, sea or

lake – anywhere. The only stipulation is that the Kiwis may have to speak slowly, as he still has a bit of trouble understanding the accent. In return he would love to host you in Hawaii so you have a totally different experience, hook up with a local, get to know the people, go fishing and get the inside scoop on where to stay and what to do.

For more information, please give me a ring (03) 539 1342

I’d dropped into a remote little cove for a bite to eat around the middle of a day and a fish appeared out of nowhere. I thought I should share what I had - it was the least I could do. It ignored the bread on the surface but grabbed every morsel that sank and was also a bit fussy, ignoring bits of ham and apple.

The thing was all green-gold and speckled, staying on its beat around the boat the entire time I was there, every detail visible as it finned slowly past less than a metre away.

When I moved off after lunch, I went well away from the spot in case I caught my luncheon

companion - it wouldn’t be right now would it?

I had plenty of trout in the freezer, so the day continued as pure catch and release. Some pothunters might ask, “What’s the point?”

Lets put it this way - I’m out here for the recreation, environment and challenge of fooling a fairly canny creature, but I already know how to catch and kill a fish, so there is no desperate need to prove anything. The ego won’t be dented by returning it.

Nuff said.I learn something each time

I go out: at times during this particular day the fish went off

the boil. Time to consult the memory banks for information gleaned on previous expeditions. Amazingly, once again this sort of contemplation worked and I was back onto fish ... funny that!

Avoid persisting with a fly that’s not doing it for you. It’s not only campanologists who like to ring the changes - anglers also find it a useful device.

There was time when I had little interest in lakes, but I had one or two mentors who held huge enthusiasm for boring, still waters. My idea of fishing was to drop flies onto moving water in rivers and streams that you could read, however, I soon found it’s not the only way. I gave these seasoned fellas a hearing and their excitement for lakes and their ideas began to rub off. So developed a whole new way of fishing and it was possible to utilise the abundance of still waters that run deep around the West Coast region.

If you want to know more about pursuit of the troot, listen to the experienced dudes and take your fishing to another level.

But lets get back in the boat for a bit.

Knowing what to use and when is often behind a tight lines moment - the fly I had on at one stage must have been bang on, because after sighting one particular trout, getting the take and the fish getting off, I made another cast toward it and again the fly was taken. Ultimately the fish was netted and released.

Now that doesn’t happen every time, but it proves the second cast after a take is sometimes worth it.

I Had Lunch with a Trout

Coastlines By Ivan Wilson


A Few Short Years Ago

Pete Cotton and Terry Bom with a ‘normal’ haul of scallops, taken on Pete’s motor-sailer, Sea Fever, from the bed straight out off Mapua in about 10-15m of water. It was not unusual to lose a dredge because it was too heavy. This would be I guess about twenty-years ago.

Pollution is blamed for the total lack of scallops off

Mapua, but that has always been there. The Fruitfed dump at Mapua was untouched and uncleaned then, and fishing was unaffected.

In my opinion, the MAF seeding programme was a success and the industry was sustainable as they managed it. However, the commercials hated paying the MAF for the levy they imposed and I think MAF just walked away in the end. Let ‘em manage the scallops themselves! The rest is rather obvious, I think.

VIEWPOINT By Geoff Cotton

Tuna had turned up in Tasman Bay so I rounded up a couple of the neighbours, Adrian and David, and we set out from Nelson Marina at 6:45am aboard Cristina on an overcast Sunday morning. As we went through The Cut Adrian asked me what my plan was.

“I haven’t got one,” was my reply and steered the boat NNW once through the Cut heading for the middle of the bay.

I had heard of a few kingfish being caught in the middle of the bay, so we set a Rapala as well as a three tuna lures (long before needed but what the hell). David made us a coffee and we sat back to enjoy the early morning light as we cruised along. It looked like the cloud was going to burn off.

According to legend (NewsTalk ZB 7:00am Saturday morning) the tuna were off Tonga Island or Croisilles and as I didn’t have a plan, I couldn’t decide which way I should go so just kept heading for the wide open. As we approached the 30m line the sea was clear and blue and I said to David, “Once we hit the 30m line I reckon we’ll be in action, if not once we hit the 40m line we’ll change direction!”

And what do you know, we crossed the 30m line and the rod with the blue lure (mine) went off. My initial reaction was ‘couta, but as soon as I cut the engine and picked up the rod, I knew this was no ‘couta. “TARGET SPECIES” is what I was thinking - well ok, I was screaming just like my reel was! After a couple of nice runs I had a still lively albacore deep alongside the boat and with the clear water it looked amazing as it came to the surface. Adrian manned the gaff and we soon had it in the boat – big smiles all around.

Five minutes later the same rod and lure went off again and I told David to take the rod and without hesitation, he got to it.

A couple of nice runs and David soon had another nice tuna alongside. I was on the gaff so grabbed the leader and gaffed it in the gills – then the gaff pulled through the gill plate and the hook came free! Shock – horror … the fish was sitting in the water alongside the boat without a hook or a gaff in it. David said you should have seen the look on my face, but I managed to react quicker than Mr Albacore and had the gaff in him before he had cottoned on to the fact that he was free, and number two was safely aboard Cristina – phew, I wouldn’t have lived that one down!

And what do you know, five minutes later the same rod and lure went off again! Adrian’s turn; this one had taken a lot more line, but eventually he was alongside but still wanting to dive and run – no mistake with the gaff this time; three nice tuna in the bin and it was not even 10.00am. The cloud had burned off and as the ice bin was full, we decided that was enough tuna for the day so headed to the mussel farm for troll for kingfish, then in closer for a snapper fish and some lunch. We did manage to get four nice snapper and three kahawai to top up the ice bin, then headed back to port and some mouth watering seared tuna steaks for dinner - yum!

Photo Credit: Adrian Barrett - Mapua www.adrianbarrettimages.com

Tasman’s Tuna TripletsBy Martyn Barlow

An awesome pic of Martyn Barlow. He says, “This is going to look great in my man cave.”

issue 90 march 2013

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