Your winning fish tales

By COLIN MOORE

Fishing tales are traditionally about the one that got away. Kevin Mills, of Mt Roskill, responding to our request for fishing stories, sent us a variation on the theme.

He writes: "I caught a 5lb or so snapper off Kawau, got him in the boat, spiked his head and my other line went off. I tended to that, lost that fish, so baited and reset both rods, then got back to the 5-pounder.

"He'd being laying still on the floor with my spike still in his head, so I gutted him for berley, put him over the side to clean out his stomach cavity, when he sparked into life, flapping away vigorously.

"I received several spikes in the hands trying to retrieve him, with one straight under the fingernail being the final straw.

"I grabbed for my landing net with a 2m handle only for him to be out of range even with my arm in the water to the shoulder.

"I could see him swimming straight down. This fish still had my spike in his head. He'd also been in the boat for at least 20 minutes. He had no stomach contents at all but he must have had a big heart.

"I scanned the water for a good hour but never saw him resurface."

And another gory tale, from Mrs S. Snell, of Forrest Hill, who upon catching her thumb on a fish hook was told by her husband to "bleed into the water, it'll bring the fish."

The 10 storytellers who win a Geoff Thomas fishing video are: Terry Sawyer, Conifer Grove, Takanini; Chris Barton, Bayswater, Auckland; Rick Williams, Rotorua; Kevin Mills, Mt Roskill, Auckland; D. Chitty, St Heliers, Auckland; Geo Robertson, Helensville; Mrs S. Snell, Forrest Hill, North Shore City; Rachel Harford, Opotoki; C. J. Burrows, Snell's Beach, North Auckland; Kevin Fletcher, Tauranga.