100 years since first NZ marlin hooked

Major A.D. Campbell with the first marlin (105kg) caught in the Bay of Islands, in 1915.

Bay of Islands fishing community celebrates the local milestone.

It has been 100 years since the first marlin was caught in New Zealand waters on a rod and line, and game fishermen are celebrating the occasion in the Bay of Islands.

President of the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club Bruce Smith said anglers used to travel to New Zealand for the world-famous trout fishing and smaller game fish like kingfish.

"A Scotsman, Major A. D. Campbell, was fishing for kingfish in the bay in 1913 and he kept hooking marlin on his live baits but couldn't hold them on the tackle he was using. So he went back to England and got Hardy Brothers to make him a heavy rod and reel and came back and caught the first marlin in February, 1915," said Smith.

Local fishermen tried to catch marlin on strong rods made from tanekaha poles and large reels, but had trouble holding the powerful fish on the gear. The single-action reels had large knobs for winding and as the reels spun frantically they would injure the angler's fingers, leading to the term "knuckle-dusters".

The next development in game fishing came when a keen angler, Alma Baker, persuaded the Tourist Department of the day to invite the famous American author and fisherman Zane Grey to visit New Zealand for trout fishing and game fishing. Grey made four trips between 1926 and 1933, and wrote of the fishing: "The New Zealand coast is destined to become the most famous of all fishing water. It will bring the best anglers from all over the world."

Grey introduced new fishing techniques, including trolling for marlin using hookless teasers, which is still employed today, and held numerous world records for deep-sea fishing including a kingfish of 111 pounds (50.45kg) he caught in the Bay of Islands in 1926. The current world record for kingfish is only 52kg, and was caught in the Bay of Plenty about 40 years later.

The swordfish club, started in 1910, is one of the oldest in the world and now has more than 1300 members. Smith said several events were being held to celebrate the milestone, including a ball and several fishing contests. He said the club was proud of its involvement in promoting tag and release of game fish to preserve the resource, and in the classification of marlin as non-commercial species in this country.

"It won't be the recreational angler who will wipe them out. It will be the commercial long-liners in the Pacific Ocean, not local commercial fishermen," he said. More than a million long-line hooks are set in the Pacific every day, with the lines running for hundreds of kilometres.

There were 1667 anglers fishing in the recent national game fishing competition held throughout the country, organised by the NZ Game Fishing Council. The 479 teams represented 40 clubs in the week-long competition, catching a total of 1151 fish. Points are awarded for catching fish on light line in relation to the weight of the fish, with the emphasis on catch and release. Kingfish are always popular, and 62 kings were tagged and 13 weighed. Other fish caught included 25 blue and black marlin weighed and 19 tagged, 155 sharks tagged, 65 mahimahi weighed, 85 skipjack tuna and 144 albacore tuna weighed, and 126 kahawai and 88 snapper weighed. The winning teams included Stray Kats, Mt Maunganui, in the blue and black marlin section with 1077.03 points; Diesel team from Counties with 4707.33 points in the striped marlin section; and Pursuit from Whakatane was the top kingfish team with 1147 points. Individual angler's honours included Donna Pascoe from Houhora who tagged and released nine striped marlin.

Bite times
Bite times are 7.30am and 7.55pm tomorrow, and 8.20am and 8.50pm on Sunday.

Tip of the week
More fishermen and boats to host anglers are wanted for a great day out fishing on Wednesday next week. It is the annual Pakuranga Rotary Club's Top Day Out, and includes a beachside dinner and prizegiving on Motuihe Island at the end of the day. All funds raised go to Coastguard, and interested boat owners and anglers can enter by calling Bruce Martin on 021 169 0382.

• More fishing action can be found on Rheem Outdoors with Geoff, 5pm Saturday, TV3, and at GTTackle.co.nz.