Shark wins battle for cricket star's catch

Simon Doull (left) had only the head of his kingfish after a bronze whaler ate the rest during a fishing trip with Paul Green. Photo / Geoff Thomas

Bronze whalers come out the winners in race to grab kingfish

'Lift the rod and wind down!" was the instruction. Simon Doull struggled with the rod, trying to lift it and wind.

But the fish was too strong and the pull was relentless as line slipped from the reel. Paul Green clamped a hand over the spool to try to hold the line, but it was hopeless.

"That is not just a 12kg kingfish, it has turned into 200kg," exclaimed Greeny. And so it had, for a bronze whaler shark had snaffled the hooked king, and Simon couldn't do anything about it.

The drama started when Simon and fellow former cricket international Mark Richardson went out for a day's fishing last weekend on Green's boat, out of Half Moon Bay.

A brisk wind was blowing as he dropped anchor on the leeward side of Crusoe Rock, between Motuihe and Waiheke Islands. The object was to target the kingfish which patrol along the edge of the reef which stretches out from Crusoe, at low tide.

But first you have to catch the live bait, and piper are the top bait for kings. Snapper will also snap up the live piper, so Greeny wants 70 or 80 live piper in his bait tank before he is ready to take on the kings.

After dropping the anchor in six metres of water over the reef he showed how to slip the live bait hook through the side of a piper just along from the tail without penetrating the backbone and fatally injuring it.

The piper are rigged on a long trace which slides on a swivel above another swivel leading down to the sinker. This gives the bait freedom to swim around, and attract the quarry.

The first bait dropped took off as a small kingfish swallowed it and Mark struggled to hold the fish.

"Tough, aren't they?" said Greeny as he netted the king and dropped it back over the side. It was about 60cm long, and the minimum size limit is 75cm, but it gave Mark a good workout on the 24kg breaking strain line.

A succession of baby kings followed, mixed with snapper, until Simon's line took off and Greeny shouted: "That's a 12kg king! That's what we want."

Simon had the fish under control until the line sizzled off his reel as the fish headed towards the rocks. Kingfish will head for any underwater structure, tangling and breaking the line. But this one had some help in the form of a huge shark and when the line went slack Simon reeled it in. All that was left on his hook was the head of a respectable kingfish. The shark had taken the rest.

The head was hooked on to a large, galvanised hook attached to a wire trace on a game rod and dropped back into the water. It had just disappeared from view when the reel buzzed as line was torn from the reel.

Mark tried to lift the rod to put pressure on the fish but it was too powerful, so Simon joined in to give him a hand. But it was like being tied to a freight train and when the shark swam right around the front of the boat the line fouled in the anchor chain and snapped.

"That's why we use galvanised hooks and not stainless steel. It will rust out very quickly, without hurting the bronzie," said Greeny.

More small kingfish followed and were released, and some respectable snapper finished up in the ice box, until Greeny hooked a good king.

"This is the one we want," he said with a smile, which disappeared as his line suddenly took off. "Uh oh! It's turned into 200kg too."

Time to go home. The bronzies won the day.

Bite times
Bite times are 8.40am and 9.10pm tomorrow, and 9.40am and 10.05pm on Sunday.

Tip of the week
When targeting large sharks on heavy game fishing tackle, keep a sharp knife handy to cut the line if the shark can't be controlled when close to the boat. A pair of stout gloves are also useful for handling the trace.

More action can be found tonight on Rheem Outdoors with Geoff, 5.30pm TV3