CURRENT LINES 8^th December 2014

Intro– “You better not shout, you better not yell”, “tiz the season to be jolly falla lalla la, la la la la”. They’re here. What, who’s here?

Hear ye hear ye- the season’s first striped marlin has been tagged and released at 0830 hours Saturday 6^th December. Fishing out along the 600 meter contour, Tutukaka, the 4.85 metre Surtees “Yonkers” and angler Kyle Ridling, tagged an estimated 90kg stripy to claim the silverware for the Whangarei Deep Sea Anglers Club and first for us, the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council Inc. The water temp according to the VHF was 17.3 degrees up to 21.8 degrees later in the afternoon.

For the most up to date oil on where to go, what to use and who is catching what. In the days of old before the internet you listened to the fishing report on AM radio or went down to the local fishing club to hear all the stories of the one that got away or didn’t get away. Today however you log online and can check out any or all of the following; Club web pages and blogs, Club Facebook pages, “the Work up” on www.fishing.net.nz/  www.fishgrid.com, local VHF channels when passing through the area, and lastly but by no means least any of the printed media fishing magazines, local newspapers and holiday reports there is no shortage in today’s information overloaded society.

Mangawhai ladies fishing comp  was held Saturday 6^th December. The day dawned fine, slightly overcast light breezes and a calm sea. Expectations were for a great day, the moon had other ideas though. Top Snapper was caught by Rebecca Eynon at 3.710kg, top Kahawai by Amber Organ at 2.355kg, top Gurnard by Tara Nolan at 0.570kg, top John Dory by Leonie Adams at 2.165kg and top Terakihi by Debbie Ryan at 1.455kg. However heaviest fish of the day was caught by a Waipu angler fishing at the Mokohinaus in 8 meters of water on a snapper strayline setup with a whole dead mackerel for bait. Tracey Davies caught her kingfish, her personal best, weighing in at 39.61kg or just over the old 87 pounds.

PL FUEL CARD – NOW GO FUEL: Go to www.gofuel.co.nz . The application form for joining up is so much easier – just remember to put your Club name on the form. The Westhaven Marina site opened on the 24^th November. Remember if you are a member of a NZSFC Club and have a fuel card you can get 10 cents a litre off the pump price at Mobil Stations.

Nationals- February 21 – 28, 2015. As an added incentive to the Nationals, SIMRAD has come on Board. The Nationals will be known as the SIMRAD NATIONALS. Simrad have given us 7 really, really good prizes, so it will be one for each of the first 7 days. Everyone who has entered at the time of the draw, even if they haven’t caught a fish, will go into the daily draw.  Prizes range from VHF Radios valued at $350 to Combo Sounder- GPS’s valued at $6,000 with the total package $18,000. Simrad will also provide 200 Hats, T’s and Bags and we will work out the percentage of teams entered per club and send them to the clubs to give away after the SIMRAD Nationals have finished.

Something special- at the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club. Keep tuned into their website www.swordfish.co.nz and be a part of their 100 years of marlin fishing in the Bay of Islands.

Lost for that special giftfor that special person? The Houhora Big Game and Sports Fishing Club are offering gift entry vouchers to enter their 21^st One Base next March. A great gift for those who have everything.

Congratulationsgo to Mangere Boating Club Junior angler Zane Leggett who in the Club’s Annual Kahawai Competition caught the heaviest kahawai in the greater Auckland region by a junior in the month of November. His fish was caught on 08/11/2014 weighing in at 2.34kg, well done Zane.

Club Marine– Don’t forget if you need to insure your Boat – Club Marine is the place for you.  Go to our Website or click the following link http://nzsportfishing.org.nz/club-marine/ and remember to put in your Club Promo number so your Club gets a rebate.

JetPark– is the place to stay in Auckland, especially if you are travelling overseas as they have a free shuttle to the airport and 14 days free car storage.  Just quote BIGGAME when you book www.jetpark.co.nz

Water Safety – with the silly season upon us, the festivities and over indulging, please be careful out there, whether on the road or sea you only have 1 life, let’s make sure we are all able to enjoy the trips of tomorrow by staying alive.

Editor

NZSFC