Fishing the perfect holiday fun for youngsters

Holidays provide the perfect time to introduce kids to fishing, or if they have grown up fishing to take them out more often.

Whether fishing from a boat, a wharf or off the rocks it is a good opportunity to teach youngsters how to tie basic knots. A trace with the sinker at the bottom is the best to start with because you can feel the bites.

It can be a flasher rig bought from a tackle shop which is aimed at larger fish like snapper, trevally and kahawai, or the bait flies, or sabikis as they are called, which are designed for catching small bait fish like sprats and mackerel.

But they have a whole string of tiny, sharp hooks which will impale a finger just as easily as the lip of a fish. Cut off two of every three hooks and it becomes more manageable and less dangerous.

Most of the fish caught will be small ones, and this presents the opportunity for teaching how to handle and release fish. If they can be shaken off the hook without touching the fish that is the best method, and a knife blade slid upside down against the hook will achieve this.

Alternatively they can be grasped with a wet towel or rag. Dry hands will damage the slimy coating on the fish, and like everything in nature it is there for a reason. The slime protects the scales and skin from bacterial infections. And always hold fish from under the belly not on top, as the sharp dorsal spines will penetrate a rag.

Whether dropping baits over the side of a wharf or a boat, most fish are hooked on the bottom so the sinker should touch the bottom, keeping tension on the line. Moving it up and down will often stimulate a bite from nearby fish, as moving baits work better than static ones.

If tangling with large fish like kahawai a whole different set of dynamics are involved. A good-sized kahawai will swim all around the place, tangling other lines and wrapping the line around obstacles like wharf piles.

It then becomes a lesson in how to use the rod and reel to try to control the fish. The tension on the reel should be set so that the fish can pull out line under strain, but it is a fine balance. Too loose and the fish has total control; too tight and the tackle might break. If in doubt, it is better to err on the tight side. Then the rod should be used like a large spring.

It must be held up at about 45 degrees, and used to put pressure on the fish by pulling directly away from the direction it is trying to swim.

The rod is the key to the exercise, and short strokes where the rod is dropped only a few centimetres and a couple of winds of the handle gains line are better than large sweeps of the rod which allow slack line on the drop, as the handle can’t be spun fast enough to keep tension on the line.

One fish that can be caught from many wharfs like those at Whangamata, Tauranga, Mangonui and Houhora is the john dory. These strange looking fish prey on small fish, and will usually refuse any bait which is not alive and swimming.

Their slim contour makes them hard to detect from head on and they sidle up to an unsuspecting fish, and when in range the mouth telescopes out sucking in a mouthful of water and the hapless dinner. They like to hang around wharf piles, as the structure offers hiding places to ambush the many different fish which are also attracted to the piles which provide food and shelter.

Fish like little brown cockabullies, sprats and yellowtails (jack mackerel) are favourites of the john dory. These are easily caught on tiny sprat hooks and a scrap of bait, and can be dropped back down on a heavier rod.

A large sinker is needed to anchor the bait, or it will swim around and tangle other lines or around piles. A hook on a loop about 25cm above the sinker is pushed through the skin in front of the dorsal fin of the bait fish, and when a johnny takes the bait the rod will bend and it can be slowly brought in.

Freshwater

Going deep is the key to fishing on the deep lakes during the day, with 30 metres the mark to aim at on Lakes Taupo, Tarawera and Rotoiti. Downriggers are the most efficient method of deep trolling, but jigging will also cover the same depths.

Top trolling lures include black toby and traffic light Tassy devil or cobra.

Some people also like to put a yellow smelt fly above a small swivel about a metre ahead of the lure as an added attractor.

With little moon at night fly fishing will also pick up at cold water stream mouths.