Fishing show's new angle

Mandy Kupenga, Nicky Sinden and Chloe Paterson. Photo / Doug Sherring

They can bait a hook, cast a line and are happy to gut their catch.

And soon you'll get to see attractive anglers Mandy Kupenga, Nicky Sinden and Chloe Paterson on television, as finalists in the new reality show Matt's Fishing Apprentice.

They are among a new breed of women taking up the traditionally male-dominated sport, according to Fish and Game New Zealand.

Since family licences were introduced 10 years ago, the number of women taking up the rod has surged. More than 20,000 family licences, costing $147, were sold last year to mum and dad fishermen, compared to less than 10,000 in 1999.

The three finalists of Matt's Fishing Apprentice - which begins next month - say fishing is a huge part of their lives.

Aucklander Nicky, 26, said: "When I tell people at work that I am a mad-keen fisherman, they are surprised."

Nicky learnt to fish at Motiti Island, off the Tauranga coast, and joined the "20 pound club" at age 14 when she caught an 11kg snapper on a handline with two friends.

Mandy Kupenga, 37, who works as a sales and marketing manager for Vodafone, took up fishing when she moved to the coast at Leigh, north of Auckland.

"It was in my DNA. My name means fishing net, my family were all crazy mad fisherpeople."

Chloe Paterson, 21, once caught a bluenose weighing 38kg - around two-thirds of her body weight - near White Island. "After I get a big fish, I am shaking with adrenalin."

Bill Miles, of Tightline Television, which makes The ITM Fishing Show, said it had broadened its appeal with female viewers and was moving to a primetime 7pm slot on April 16.