The ‘bling thing’

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By Bostik Gone Fishin host Graeme Sinclair

 

I remember filming in Kaikoura quite some time ago when Brent, a local guide, wanted to prove to me that blue cod would eat just about anything.

He wrapped a piece of yellow electrical tape around a hook, dropped it over the side and within a few seconds had hooked a cod.

Today, tackle stores are filled with angling bling! Bright, shiny, colourful, deadly, very attractive looking — and all supported by a great story.

We got to test two examples recently — micro jigs and Glowbites — both of which now have a permanent place in my tackle box.

Jigs have been around for years, but the idea of using very small examples has been proving deadly.

Our experiments have encompassed the range supplied by Pure Fishing. As well as a great range of sizes and colours, they also boast a number of shape variations which all induce a different movement or flutter. A good article on micro jigs was published in the October issue of NZ Fishing News.

Glowbites are a bulbous, colourful, tasselled weapon of the kaburra style that boast one intriguing difference — they have a flashing light in the head.

Wes Braddock got the idea from a toy owned by one of his children, and started experimenting. The experimentation included setting up a Go Pro camera with two lures positioned out front. One kaburra had a light in the head and the other was standard. You do not receive a prize for guessing which one got most of the attention.

Wes was initially interested in kingfish, but Glowbites are dynamite on snapper, blue cod and almost anything that swims. When the fishing got hard while we were testing them, we just added a little piece of bait to each hook and away we went again, hooking a prodigious number of snapper.

Movement seems to be the key, although you will still get action by leaving the rod in the holder. Wes was fishing two rods at times — that is, until he tangled me for the second time.

A Glowbite in the rod holder doing its own thing still works, such is the power of that light.

There was a time when I delighted in hunting down kingfish with a spear. Kingfish are inquisitive, and to make the most of their curious nature I clamped a bicycle bell on my spear gun.

I would dive down, sit on the bottom and make a prolonged but very soggy sounding ring which often resulted in a kingi swimming by. Whack!

When it comes to fish and fishing, there are a number of senses you can appeal to!

Sight, sound, smell, movement, colour, shape — they all play a part, and that is why the “bling thing” feeds a voracious angling community. We are all looking for an advantage, and micro jigs and Glowbites are two recent examples.

As an angler, and especially one filming a fishing show, I am always looking for places where the fishing is so good that bling becomes almost irrelevant.

At this time of year, the Bay of Islands can be amazing for snapper and kingfish, and the Hauraki Gulf becomes the scene of accessible gannet workups.

As the water temperature increases, snapper move in to spawn. Generally, this movement starts in the north and drifts ever southward. Pretty soon you will see plenty of boats anchored around the Auckland harbour bridge, and snapper will be found way up in the farthest reaches of the harbour.

Further south we encountered excellent snapper and kingfish action just north and west of Wellington, and around Banks Peninsula fishing for gurnard is excellent.

Drift south of Christchurch, and elephant fish can be caught surfcasting off the beach. Elephant fish have rebounded quite dramatically, especially since the inshore commercial fleet volunteered to stay at least a mile offshore.

That move has improved the commercial and recreational catch. The fish spawn without undue interference, and a better spawn means a population increase. Simple really! It is amazing what can be achieved when we all work together for the betterment of our fish stocks.

One other species that has dramatically increased in range and number is yellowtail kingfish. Kingis are popping up everywhere, and although live baiting is a dead cert, the “bling thing” is tailor-made for this species.

You can catch them on poppers, trolled lures such as Rapalas, soft baits, and a variety of jigs worked in different ways, including the aerobic workout called speed jigging.

In most places around New Zealand the fishing is productive or improving, especially where the various groups work together, and no one knows a region better than the people who live in it.

In the 25 years since Bostik Gone Fishin first hit television screens, a lot has changed. Equipment is much better, electronics superb, and social media communicates where the action is, almost as it happens.

As we get better at finding fish and develop new ways to catch them, it becomes important to know what impact our activities are having.

Commercial, recreational and customary fishers, and environmental groups, have a responsibility to manage our fisheries sustainably. We should leave enough of each species in the ocean each year to ensure that they not only survive but thrive.

It’s not rocket science, but it does require us all to get around the table and work productively. It means having a conversation!

Tight Lines!

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