Category: Tagging program

The silly season – Catch and Release

The silly season is upon us and there’s no turning back. With that it’s fair time to remind people of a few basic things, most of all the practice of catch and release. So, here’s a few key things to take into consideration to ensure a strong healthy release if that’s what you intend to do.

Fighting the fish

  • Fight hard, the quicker you bring it in the better chance it will have to swim off strong.
  • Use gear that is up to the task, no point being a hero with that butter knife at a gun fight.
  • Go barbless, you won’t lose fish because of it, trust me.

Handling

  • Use a soft rubberised knotless net
  • Have everything ready to go for release – camera, tag kit etc
  • When lifting fish for pictures etc get a good grip around the tail and support under the pectoral fins with the other hand – avoid the gills.
  • Keep the fish in the water as much as possible, you try holding your breath after running a marathon. If it means you dunk it back in the water for a breather then do it.
  • Don’t drag them over the rocks or sand. Saying “they’re pretty tough” doesn’t cut it.
  • Wait until the fish is upright and able to swim off on its own.
  • Only spear them into deep water if there s a risk from sharks
  • If sharks are present either race away from them in the boat and release, or throw a bucket of water in one direction followed soon after by the fish in the other direction – the sharks should respond to the first commotion and hopefully miss the fish release.
  • If you’re getting sharked there’s no point catching more fish. You may as well keep undersized fish and not worry about limits, plus you’re just educating the sharks for future easy meals.

There’s also this thing called etiquette… If someone’s fishing a flat drop in behind them and give them heaps of room. Same goes for fishing the navigation markers – there’s a load of them, go to a different one if there’s someone already there. Assessing the action of people fishing before rushing in goes a long way, having a friendly chat also helps if its a busy area.

Lastly, learn the basic navigation rules for when on the water. There are day skipper courses that cost less than the price of a standard tank of fuel, this should avoid any of those potentially ugly situations arising.

Have a safe and enjoyable festive season on the water.

 

Tauranga Harbour – Salt water fly set up and tips

If you want some info on what we use in Tauranga Harbour chasing Ray rider kingfish on salt water fly gear then peep the video below. Our season here is nearly done, don’t forget to secure your space for next year by flicking a message to the link here.

Flats kingfish recapture 

The Tauranga harbour Kingfish season has been bubbling away for a few eager salt water fly fishermen. It was a special moment when Aussie angler Rob hooked a ray rider Kingfish on the flats earlier this week.

Tauranga, flats, kingfish, fly rod, salt water, fishing, yellowtail
Rob Alfeldi and his prized Tauranga flats kingfish

What made it even more poignant was that this fish had a tag embedded in its side from earlier in the year . Back in March I was joined by Jim Hanley for a morning prior to a storm front rolling in. We had a glass calm flat with bow waves and tails showing themselves wherever we looked. Needless to say he caught a few yellowtail kingfish on fly that day.

Kingfish, ray rider, tag, salt water fly, tauranga, bay of plenty, new zealand
Jim displays his tagged kingfish from March 2017

What this fish has done over winter will remain a mystery but it’s appearance this week was very welcome.

Kingfish tag details

  • Time at liberty: 238 days
  • Growth: 6cm
  • Distance: 5NM
  • Grew an eyebrow

We are finding more interesting info as these data returns come back to us. The importance of looking after these smaller sports fish and maintaining their population for generations to come should not be overlooked.

Tag, kingfish, fly rod, salt water, collingwood, manukau, waiheke island
Rob sends another tagged kingfish back to carry on hunting the Bay of Plenty waters.

At this stage it seems each region has a slightly different story to tell, most likely in accordance with environmental factors such as water temperature and quality determining fish movement. New Zealand’s key salt water fly fishing destinations of Waiheke Island, Collingwood, Tauranga and Manukau harbours are covered by the tag a king on fly program and we expect to see more recaptures this season adding to the data bank.

If you are lucky enough to land a previously tagged kingfish please treat it carefully, ideally get tag details – a close up picture is easiest and fastest. Measure it along your rod and return it to the water promptly. If it’s legal maybe even think twice about keeping it, the story about the goose that lays a golden egg is a perfect analogy.