KEY POINTS:
December, so what to get for the fisherman for Christmas?
Soft plastics are the rage. Need new gear to fish the new technique? The Penn Affinity reel and rod is a well-balanced, robust outfit that won't break the bank and won't break down. Around $450 for rod, reel and braid line.
Berkley are best-selling baits and for good reason - they work better than many others. The "Gulp" brand of scented baits are undoubtedly superior when fishing is hard. Their "nuclear chicken" is New Zealand's most popular soft bait.
Need info? John Eichelsheim's book Gotcha covers knots to knowledge on technique cornered over years of intensive soft-bait fishing, $30.
Black Magic continues to expand its range of Kiwi-specific gear which is designed for local conditions then tested for toughness, thrashed by various anglers from me to experts and modified if necessary before release. I can rate their gear and the application they put into providing the market with what it wants in terms of performance and durability.
They leave the jighead and soft bait supply to well-resourced overseas manufacturers but have developed ranges of braid including one colour-coded to measure depth in 10m intervals, fluorocarbon leader and leader-feeders to aid quick rig changes.
One of the most convenient packaging arrangements I've found this year is their zip-lock packs for flashers, flies and so on and the jig-holders, with a solid plastic box frame and Velcro-locked top and bottom. Again, these allow quick changes of gear and easy storage so there are no hooks floating around. The Black Magic gimble belt has been improved.
For rockfishers, you can't go past the BM pack with moveable compartments, the latest being a thermal chilly bag which can take lunch on the way out and fillets on the way back.
TV presenter Geoff Thomas has re-released his original fishing video series, Snapper and Other Secrets, on DVD after six years off the market because of demand. People still say it's the best fishing video ever made.
Thomas agreed there had been plenty of developments in fishing technology and technique but the advice on the original video is still sound and the DVD series includes some great action, such as snapper up to 14kg being caught from the rocks.
"There is a whole new generation of keen fishos who have never seen it," Thomas said of the release of the eight titles including Kingfish Secrets, Shooting Secrets, More Snapper Secrets, Seafood Secrets, Surfcasting Secrets, Snapper Secrets 2 and Trout Secrets. The videos sold more than 70,000 copies. The DVD series is now on sale in a boxed set and includes a copy of Thomas' new Fishing Soft Baits DVD, all for $79.95. The Fishing NZ series as shown on Sky Sport and Prime TV is also available on DVD.
How about a scallop dredge? For around $120, you'll get a quality small-boat dredge of coated steel with swing-arms to attach the chain and rope, 3m of chain and two good shackles plus 50m of warp. That's around 120 scallops you need to bring up - a couple of trips' worth - and it's paid for. Great for ensuring some kaimoana when the fishing is hopeless.
A CO2 inflating jacket. It's a fact that few hardened fishers wear their lifejacket all the time, because of the bulk and restriction on movement as well as temperature, preferring to keep them handy in case of emergency. To keep your man safe, invest in a jacket he'll wear most of the time: a high-visibility garment that offers some protection from hypothermia as well. The RFD jacket ($300) has zip-off arms for comfort in warmer weather, convenient pockets and reflective taping for visibility when in the water. The manually operated gas canister provides 100 Newtons of buoyancy.
As for the fishing, it's going off. Settled, warm weather has been a bonus around the northern North Island. Most methods are working on snapper. One I haven't tried, but was the only one working when mate Lee Wynyard hit a hard day's fishing, was soft-baiting with a jig as sinker. Lee used a 60gm jig, with the jighead for the soft bait threaded through a short loop in the trace about 800mm back from the jig. Snapper went for the soft bait every time and the jig helped him drop 35m quicker than anyone else on the boat.
