Fishing in New ZealandLink to Home Pagelink to Fish with Bish Tips Articles IndexInformation on Fly Fishing the Taupo RegionSearch pagelink to Fish with Bish All Articles IndexTrout Fishing ArtilclesSaltwater Articles IndexGeneral Fishing Articles IndexInformation on Fly Fishing the Taupo RegionBooks Index & InfoThinking Angler Articles
Fishing Newsletters, Tips, Tricks and How To's


Home
Fish with Bish
Tips, & How To's
Fish ID
Fly Fish Taupo
Search

Contact Bish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fish with Bish Newsletter
July 1998

Despite the fact that the advances in ‘nylon’ line manufacture over the last twenty years the old (too old) advice to wet your knot before tightening is still prevalent today.
Way back when, ‘nylon’ fishing line was first made, the surface was quite rough. Wetting the line was necessary to avoid heat build-up when the line was drawn up tight. In addition old lines were very stiff. In order to effectively pull all the twists and turns in a tight up tight a good hard pull was required.
Now days line is much thinner, smoother, and much more supple. Wetting the knot and then pulling up hard to ‘seat’ the knot is actually likely to cause a knot failure.
Wetting the knot can lead to the much more supple line of today actually crossing over itself and forming what is called a ‘liar’ knot – that is a knot that disguises where a turn of nylon crosses over another. When this crossover is pulled tight it can actually scythe through the line below it.
Jerking the knot up tight to ‘seat’ the knot is bad practice as well – especially when it is combined with wetting the knot. The jerking is more likely to produce crossovers in the line and weaken the knot.
The best method of tying a knot is to tie it slowly and carefully, ensuring that all the loops and turns lie neatly up against each other. Then slowly pull the knot up tight allowing the knot to form under even pressure.
For more on knots

Tackle Tips
Got a Problem With Your Tackle But Not Sure What It Is?

Sometimes you know something may be wrong with your tackle but you are not sure what it is. Here are some hints to reveal hidden problems.

A common hidden rod fault can often lead to bust offs for no apparent reason. Your line just seems to snap in mid-fight.
Very often the fault is a crack in the inner ring in a guide. Sometimes these cracks are virtually impossible to see, especially when the rod is not under load. These cracks are lethal on line.
A quick and easy method of finding if there are cracks is to pull a stocking or panty hose through the guide – any crack will instantly snag the stocking. Cotton wool does a good job too.
Another problem that can lead to bust-offs is a sticky drag.
The best way of detecting a sticky drag is to put the reel on a rod, thread the line through the guides and have a friend pull off line while walking away. If the rod tip ‘nods’ as line is pulled off against the drag, you’ve got a problem.
Fortunately both problems are an easy fix, a quick trip to the tackle shop will have the rod or reel back up to speed real soon.

Fly Fishing Taupo in Winter

If Your Fly Is Not On The Bottom You Are Not Fishing

To consistently catch trout over the winter, in the central North Island, your flies, wet or nymph, must be consistently on or very near the bottom.
Trout moving up river during winter have just one thing on their mind – a spot of naughty bits on a nice gravel bed up the river. To catch these trout means placing your fly right in front of their nose.
When nymphing or using Glo-Bugs it is vital that the nymph spends as much time on the bottom as possible. Heavy nymphs cast well above the probable lie, with a no-drag drift are essential if you are to catch fish.
Your indicator must be bobbing up and down during the drift to show that the nymphs are hitting the bottom. Frequent hook-ups on the bottom are another good indicator that your fly is where it should be. If you are scared of losing flies, then you should expect to catch less fish.
Wet fly fishermen need to ensure that as soon as the cast hits the water, they toss in a big upstream mend to ensure the fly has time to fully sink by the time it reaches the lie. As the fly begins its swing, you should be able to feel the fly bumping and sticking on the bottom.
Most anglers who are having trouble catching fish over winter in the central North Island would increase their catch rates if more concentration was put on where the fly is, rather than what the fly is.
For more on fishing Taupo in the central North Island of New Zealand

Catching Big Kingis Is Made For Winter Fishing and You May not Have to Travel Far to Catch Them

Sure the hotspots like Whakatane, the Coromandel and the Bay of Islands will produce plenty of big fish but a big fish may be closer than you think.
Many of our harbours, estuaries and rocky points will attract kingis over winter. Small boat anglers should have plenty of opportunities to catch a big kingi with some planning.
There may not be as many kingis about over winter but those that are tend to be big. Around half of the World Records for kingfish, virtually all held in New Zealand, are for fish taken in winter. If you consider that there are far less people who fish over winter, then the ratio of big fish caught per angler over winter is way ahead of the fish caught per angler over summer.
So are there any special techniques required for fishing kingis over winter? Not really. The same techniques that work over summer, work over winter.
Live baits will catch the biggest kingis. Because there are less numbers of fish around getting a good berley trail going is essential, to attract the fish and hold them. A good berley technique is to set up a double trail.
Set up a trail from the berley bucket off the back of the boat, but double up the efficacy by also setting up a bottom trail using a ‘Berley Mate’ or other bottom berley dispenser. Live baits can then be set out with one near the surface and one down deep. Once fish are located, all baits can be set at much the same depth. But if your berley proves unattractive get on the move.
Jigging is a good way to get some action going or to confirm what the sounder is telling you, but once you have located a school of kingis, if you really want to target a big one, drop a live bait down amongst the pack.(It is a very good idea to have a live bait already rigged up ready to go swimming in the bait tank or bucket. Just a quick tip here – if you want the live bait to tend to swim deep fix the hook near the anal fin, to swim shallow fix the hook ahead of the dorsal fin.)
Most kingi jig design seems to concentrate on making sure the jig will move at high speed without tying itself in knots. So narrow profile jigs can be the go. But pop a couple of wide, flat sided jigs in your tackle box, especially jigs that can be bent a bit. Sometimes over winter, especially if water temperature are very cold, an exaggerated slow flutter will turn kingis on when speed does not.
Often during Winter it can be hard to turn kingis into feeding mode. They just seem to loll about, disinterested in baits. Try to excite them by spraying water from a deck hose onto the water around the boat. Throwing buckets of water over the water surface can turn them on too. So can a rod tip slashed through the water in figure eights.
Pulling a live bait onto the surface of the water so it splashes about as it struggles can provoke some action. Casting poppers around the general area can also turn the fish on, and often get the poppers hit.

Too often winter is the time many of us put away the game gear and dream about next summer, ignoring the kind of kingi fishing most of the rest of the world only dreams about.
Tips & Tricks Index

Newsletters:

May 2000
Ambers Trout
February 2001
December 2000
October 2000
September 2000
July 2000 News
May 2000 News
Apr 2000 News
March 2000 News
Feb 2000 News
Jan 2000 News
Dec 99 News
Nov 99 News
Oct 99 News
Sept 99 News
August 1999 News
July 1999 News
June 1999 News
May 99 News
April 99
March 99
February 99
December 98
November 98
October 98
September 98
August 98
July 98
June 98