That Kayak Fishing Chick

Nice to have the family with me for a birthday dinner at Dawnbreakers Fishing Club prize giving.

Longest Ladies Snapper Trophy came home again and I managed to pick up a bonus prize for the Longest Trevally of Club this season.

From our table:
Corey Parsons and Razel Parsons had a blinder of a season on points , Travis Gaffney was in the lineup with a snapper pin fish and James Plunkett (mia) scored longest gurnard. Corey also picked up the men's kingi. I didn't make a list so it may be incomplete.

Trevally was caught on a Kaveman Tackle micro jig and the snapper on the ole trusty kabura. Kevin has been a fantastic support throughout the season and is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to choosing gear, I am so appreciative of his support.

A big thank you of course to Hunting & Fishing Nelson for tonight's prizes , they will be put to good use.

While I still hope to get on the water over winter (it can be lovely out there on a good winter's day) , I plan to spend more time over the next few months
getting more of a handle on land based techniques so I have options up my sleeve for when the weather isn't cooperating in summer.

Half a kahawhai (left) a jack mack and a couple of snapper wings leftovers from lunch ....might need to bake some sourdough...and decide what fish dish to have with it ...im thinking a chowder may be on the cards.

For those not familiar with kiwi fishing....this is purely what would generally either have a hook put through it and sent back to catch "table fish" or discarded.

We are indeed very privileged in this country

All sorted ready for winter...although short work is being made of the smoked fish

Did something a bit different today, jumped on a boat with the Carol Brannen , Andy and Jasper. Was a learning curve for me ...usually in the kayak its my shoulders/arms that take the strain when fighting fish ...on a boat it was my back, especially the snapper. Everyone caught fish so that was cool.

Was a nice day out, enough cloud cover to cut out the glare without being gloomy, good company and appreciative of the opportunity....Carol was the gurnard queen today for sure. My Jack Mack was a bit of a surprise, thought it was another kahawai for quite a while. Definitely still plenty of good fish about

Might be a weekend to fire up the smoker but for now its an icebath for the fish and a hot water bottle for me.

The April 2026 issue (247) is now live on the website and available in your local store.

The April issue is full of fishing and hunting adventures
• Yolande has been out in her kayak again and a spell of good weather let her get in some good catches.
• Kim reflects on getting old, it’s happening to us all, including the dog team.
• Kim and Poss made time to get to the Chatham’s and by the looks of it they have had some amazing experiences, if it’s not on your bucket list it probably should be
• The vexed subject of fisheries management continues to take a lot of newsprint – what is the best way to manage fisheries, will fishing closures or exclusions achieve anything or just push the problem down the coastline to another area

As always please recognise and support our advertisers. We rely on their advertising revenue to pay for printing and distribution costs.

Check it out online now at https://thefishingpaper.co.nz/issues/april-2026-issue-247/

It's time to have your say:

https://www3.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/make-a-submission/document/54SCPRIP_SCF_3469EE93-FDE8-4760-A8AC-08DE84625BC2/fisheries-amendment-bill?fbclid=IwdGRjcAREwMJjbGNrBETAtWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHlZDHdbyrflYgFlzMFgaCAN2lN3rHX0Z_S_ra7ojWzgLRe5m-v_nW964tbGs_aem_yOI3tZ4plrpFF8b_RT-hJg

Fisheries Amendment Bill - New Zealand Parliament Public submissions are now being invited on this Bill

Nice job Alex Bryant , great fish

⛵️Rudder found floating in the Haven on Tuesday.
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Thank you Kaveman Tackle for the pretty shiny things. Since learning to cast an overhead, I have been flicking jigs around a lot more and found that the seem to appeal to quite a few species. Mostly smaller specimens so far, except my Trev but enjoying the challenge of mastering a new technique - by the time I'm 90, I should be a master fisher 😁

I always leave a kabura bobbing in the water no matter what I am doing out there ...historically, 90% of my fish have been caught on kaburas, including my kings.

The small solid hooksets give me more confidence when tackling the big boys ...for the most part, the smaller fish seem not so keen but that may have something to do with my retrieve- will play around with that and see.