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Current Lines 23rd March 2014
'A ship lies rigged and ready in the harbour tomorrow for the fishing grounds she sails'… oops, bugga here comes T.C. Lusi. I wonder how many fishing trips, competitions and holidays were washed out and blown away?
From Waihau Bay: The weather may have not been that harsh, yet there are still marlin being caught amongst the mahimahi.
From Tutukaka: Six broadbill over two weekends. Is this now the swordfish capital of New Zealand? A recent capture, octogenarian Stuart Smith not only cut the trees down on his farm to build his most loved Conchita (the family launch), he trained his son Craig into a fine skipper and fisherman who took dad and his 84 year old mate as deck hand for a fishing trip out wide. The results; a 222kg broadbill on the third daytime drop, a gem fish first up, then a miss and then lookout we’re hooked up, a short time later after a couple of close jumps one mighty sword was landed on 37kg line. Seems the Garden Patch and Mayor Island are coming a close second both fishing well with daytime deep baits.
A new Marine Weather APP: MetService and Maritime New Zealand have joined forces to bring Kiwis a new marine weather app for Android smartphones and IPhones, designed for those heading out fishing or just having some summer fun on the water. The app features recreational and coastal marine forecasts, tides, severe weather warnings, rain radar and isobar map imagery – as well as links to vital boating safety information. The MetService Marine APP is free, ‘MetService encourages people to know the forecast before heading out on the water.’
Triple strike off Gisborne: As reported “At Wednesday’s fishing club draw night a few of us were sitting round looking at the rubbish forecast for the weekend and the decision was made to go for a troll on Thursday before the southerly hit. We had a chart from Paul@Ocean SST's and it had an area shown on it that I liked so we headed towards it. When we hit the area we saw a few birds in the distance and once we got closer I could see a school of saurie just below the surface. I pulled the lures round the edge of the school and within 10 seconds we had 3 reels screaming and 3 striped marlin jumping all over the place. I like to think we are fairly well organised on my boat and we all know what to do when we get a strike or even a double strike, but there were no plans in place for a triple and I've got to admit it looked like it, everyone froze for what seemed an eternity, until it was decided who was taking which rod etc. Charlie took the chair as he's an ex commercial longline skipper and a bit soft. Quinney and Darryl got the Black Magic harnesses on and took the other 2 x 37 kg bent butt chair rods that were screaming. Unfortunately Darryl's hook pulled after a few minutes, leaving us with 2 marlin heading in opposite directions and leaving me unable to back up on either fish. Quinney had his fish to the boat in about 30 minutes and as he had never caught a marlin in NZ it was decided to gaff it. Charlie was still on his fish but the hooked pulled within about 20 metres of the boat. We put the gear back in and within 5 minutes we had another shot, but this also didn't stick. We worked the area for another couple of hours with no more marlin strikes but did get a couple of 13 kg Albacore. Quinney's fish went 93.4 kg back at the club weigh station. This is the first ever triple strike off Gisborne that I am aware of but hopefully there will be a few more. Most people do not realize how good the fishery is off Gisborne and a lot of that is because we don't have enough boats out on a regular basis looking for game fish. If anyone wants to try a new area, consider Gisborne. We have a great club with great facilities and some excellent fishing.”
New NZSFC Fish length competition: All members of NZSFC clubs can now claim New Zealand length records for a range of popular species – Snapper, Kingfish, Kahawai, Trevally, John Dory, Blue Cod, Skipjack and Albacore. In conjunction with The NZ Fishing Competition and with the support of Thompson Walker and Petroleum Logistics, the Council now has length records on-line. What do you need to do to claim a record? Once landed, the fish is photographed on an approved measure - see specific rules and guidelines. Any members keen to try for length records should read these rules carefully, and in particular, the rules around the fish being photographed correctly. The capture must also comply with IGFA rules however there are no line-class records, it’s just the overall length that matters and the catch must be released to qualify. Either the NZ Fishing Competition or IGFA measures are currently approved for NZ length records. If you would like to purchase a measure, check if your club has measures on hand or if not, they can be purchased on-line here or at selected retailers. More information here
Not an April fool’s day prank: Please remember that on April 1st 2014 the new Snapper area 1 regulations come into force. The new recreational minimum size is now 30 cm, with a new daily bag limit of 7 per person. Ignorance is not a defence in these times, so please be careful out there.
GOT A BOAT? GOT A VEHICLE?! – If you’ve answered YES to one or both, then we can save you $ PL Fuel Cards – No Card Fees – Just savings! For you and your club! 6c/L incl gst discount off pump price at PL Marinas! 10c/L incl gst discount off pump price at participating Mobil Service Stations & Truck Stops, Pak N Save, New World Fuel and Allied Fuel Sites! We can also offer PL AA Roadside Assist for an annual fee of just $47/vehicle/unlimited callouts! Email admin@plpl.co.nz or phone 0800 42 83 83 to request forms! EASY! – Remember to write your club name at the top of the form to receive these great discounts!
Regards
NZSFC
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