Fishing: Black Magic that performs so well

Just in time for peak straylining season, Black Magic has released a couple of nice running lever drag reels with a bait-run setting that also allows easy casting.

The BSX 5:1 ratio 8kg reel holds 345m of mono, the BMX 4.5:1 takes 330m of 10kg and both are available with matched rods.

The reels have been tough-tested by a variety of retailers, charter skippers including Rick Pollock on Pursuit, and TV hosts including Adam Clancey from Sky's Fishing NZ.

They are made in Los Angeles by a family of Armenians who arrived in the United States penniless in 1986 and now run a huge business.

The father, first name Avet, gave that name to the family business, and Avet reels are popular overseas, though less known here. Black Magic's Rick Wakelin saw them at an international marketing show and bought one, brought it home "and gave it death".

"It was a good product to fish with, but I wanted to see how long they would last."

A year later Black Magic commissioned a prototype run of a model re-designed for New Zealand conditions.

They were initially released to a number of regular anglers who also put them under strain to find faults. I was one of three fishers who broke an early model rod - the 8kg model, with a 15kg kingie on the other end. It snapped mid-section with the fish already at the boat.

Re-worked and now released on the market, the best catch reported back to Wakelin so far is of a 35kg kingfish taken by an angler at Port Augusta, South Australia. Wakelin agrees it is basically a snapper set, though.

For those who like to fish overheads, the new Black Magics are a good option to Penn, Shimano or Abu, which have long dominated the area.

Wakelin claims black anodising is the best because the colour black adheres better to the aluminium. For those of us who are left-handed, reels are available.

My boss appears to be the only guy who can't catch a fish at the moment.

Lance Paniora from Smokin' Reels said his charters have been "loading up" every evening.

"A limit bag is not a problem. The fish are in the 2 to 3kg range, in the channels and all along the northwestern coast of Waiheke."

His customers have also been getting an unusual number of gurnard and john dory, as have others. The john dory are taking small, hooked snapper, kahawai or jack mackerel before they are pulled in, especially on unattended lines, and also are hitting soft baits. Those anglers targeting the delicious fish with live baits have been scoring well.

The gurnard are taking ledger rigs with flashers and have been caught everywhere from the Rakino Channel out to Great Barrier. Anchorite Rock is holding lots of kingfish. Most are small, though a mate reports a bust-off on a big fish.

There have been major anchovy schools in the mid-Hauraki Gulf, with huge work-ups of kahawai, kingfish and dolphins. Follow the hundreds of gannets, and drop jigs for kahawai.

The snapper, though, will jump more quickly on to a ledger rig, sometimes mid-water. Light bites can still be from big fish.

Up north, marlin have been sighted off Doubtless Bay, at both Berghan Point in the south and Cape Karikari in the north. The first yellowfin tuna of the season were landed at Whangaroa and the Bay of Islands during the last week, and a short billed spearfish was weighed at 22kg at Paihia. Water temperature has been pushing towards 19C, and another half a degree should bring the blue and the big fish in closer.

Divers report huge numbers of small crayfish around the Bay, said Doug McColl of Coopers Beach Sports. Visibility has been good and divers have been scoring with crayfish and scallops from Taupo Bay to Rangunu Harbour.

Local Campbell Matthews, 12, caught the week's best snapper, a 10.8kg fish taken at Puheke. The Doubtless Bay kite contest featured 36 teams who landed just over 100 fish despite fluky wind conditions. The best was a 7.4kg snapper caught in the middle of Tokerau Beach.

The Manukau Harbour has been discoloured by the high winds and rainfall of recent days, slowing the snapper fishing. The 11 trawlers seen working just off the Manukau mouth may also have something to do with that. Mostly undersize fish are being caught in the harbour. Gurnard are around and everyone is getting trevally.