Japan experts show Kiwis how it's done

Happiness for innovative Japanese fisherman Masatsugu Tokunaga is another snapper from the Hauraki Gulf

Novel technique produces bonanza in 'paradise for snapper fishing.'

It is not often you come across a totally new style of fishing, particularly one which outfishes everything you thought you knew. Like most innovations in the world of snapper fishing this came from Japan.

Over the years we have spent time on the water with Japanese fishermen and they are experts at separating individual snapper from the water. The snapper in their waters is the same as ours, so we have a lot in common.

But the pressure on their waters from a population 30 times ours has created a demand for new techniques and methods. Long, thin rods, light line, long traces with tiny hooks are applied to bait fishing and I have seen them clean up in our waters. Lures like madai jigs, or "slow jigs" have been adopted by kiwi anglers, as have inchuku-style jigs.

An opportunity to spend a day on the water of the Hauraki Gulf this week with two experts in a new style was most illuminating. Masatsugu Tokunaga, known as MT, is president of a fishing club which organises trips every weekend.

"We travel for six hours on a car ferry, then get on the fishing boat," said MT. "In three months I caught eight snapper, but in five hours here I have caught 30. New Zealand is a paradise for snapper fishing."

The interesting thing was the way he fished lures. MT was fishing on the WaveDancer charter boat with his colleague, Ong Teck Poh, who has a company which designs and manufactures a new type of lure called a freestyle kabura. Similar to a madai jig it has a metal head and plastic skirt equipped with two small but very strong and very sharp hooks.

The difference is in the sliding head which, like the sinker on a strayline rig, slides down the line away from hooks when a fish is hooked. A patented sleeve protects the trace when the head slides, and this is the key to the success of these lures.

When the boat stopped by a work-up of gannets and dolphins in the middle of the gulf MT demonstrated the technique. His rod was slender and fine with a soft tip, the braid line was fine and the trace about 7kg. When the 80-gram kabura hit the seabed he started winding slowly, "one turn a second", and when five metres of the colour-coded braid line were retrieved he flicked the overhead baitcaster reel into free-spool and dropped the lure back down.

"The snapper are on the bottom," he said, starting to wind again. Suddenly the line stopped then started pulling off the spool. MT kept winding and few turns came in, then it ran out again and he clamped his thumb on the spool, setting the hook.

"You must not lift the rod and strike the fish," he explained. "The snapper bite the lure and turn away. With the line running through the head the weight does not worry them. You let them take it, then just stop the line."

Even when a fish is hooked he does not lift the rod, but tightens the drag a little for the fight. The rod remains pointing down at the sea and he moves it sideways to put a little bend in it, winding all the time. The light drag slowly brings fish to the surface.

It goes against all ingrained responses not to lift the rod and strike at a bite, but it is common to get a few taps as a fish nibbles on the skirts of the kabura as it moves steadily up from the bottom. You learn to relax and keep winding smoothly until the line tightens and runs out and you can drop your thumb on to the spool and set the hook. These tiny, sharp hooks hook the snapper in the thick part of the lip and they don't fall out.

Four anglers boated close to a hundred snapper in one five-hour session. All but a handful were returned to the water unharmed. But the master anglers from Japan certainly showed the locals how to fish these strange-looking lures.

Freshwater

Last week's rain put fresh water into the rivers and streams feeding the Rotorua and Taupo lakes, triggering runs of fresh trout. As the moon wanes night fishing at stream mouths should improve, and nymphing in the rivers will be productive.

Tip of the week
Always use the lightest rod, line and weights practical for all fishing, Whether dropping baits or lures. Light tackle allows bait and lures to move freely in the current, and will hook more fish. Little soft-bait rods are ideal for casting lightly weighted baits, and teach people to be better anglers as they learn how to use the tackle correctly.

Bite times
Bite time are 5:20am and 5:45pm tomorrow, and 6:15am and 6:45pm on Sunday. These are based on the phase and position of the moon, not tides and apply to the whole country.