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Fish with Bish Newsletter
June 1998

Snapper Drift Rig Variation

Pat Langevad, who runs his own charter boat has great success chasing snapper with this variation of a running rig.

First Pat rigs up with a small ball sinker threaded on to run down onto the hook. Then he threads on a running float. He drops the hook over the side and allows it to fall to the bottom, and then he winds up a few turns to lift the hook up to about a metre.
This done he ties a stopper knot on the main line, so the float will hold the baited hook just off the bottom. Once the hook is baited, it is allowed to fall to the point where the float will hold the bait just above the bottom. The rig is then allowed to drift back down the berley trail, in the current, by steadily letting out line from the reel. Pat reports that this method works very well with cut and whole baits. and in a wide range of depths.

Reel Care Advice

Greg services and repairs hundreds of reels, and he finds that most of the reels he fixes breakdown because of two main factors. For reel care that ensures your reel does what it is supposed to, when you want it to, follow his advice.
Using a hose to wash down reels merely forces water into the innards of a reel, pushing salt and sand ahead of the water. There deep in the bowels of the reel the salt and the sand can work its evil, hidden from the human eye.
A far better method of cleaning reels after a fishing trip is to wipe the reel down thoroughly with a damp, not dripping, cloth, then dry off with another cloth. Follow this up with a light spray of WD40 or similar. Basic care that can add years to the life of your reel.
All drag systems are basically the same. They consist of a hard plate and a softer plate, or multiples of these.
The softer plate will ‘slip’ under pressure allowing line to feed off the reel. If the drag system is left done up for any length of time the softer plate will compress. The longer the reel is left with the drag done up the more the soft washer will compress and the more permanent will be the compression.
Eventually the drag will be next to useless as the softer plate will become a hard plate, leaving little or no adjustment.
It is especially important to back the drag right off, if the reel is to be stored for any length of time, and this means days, not weeks. Backing off the drag immediately after a hot bite is a good idea as well. It allows heat and expansion to dissipate.

Hapuku Tackle Purchase Tip

So you are getting ready to gear up for the winter hapuku fishing trip?
Consider buying a spare spool for your Daiwa SG50H, Penn 555GS, Shimano GT4 or TLD 20/40, or Abu 10000, and filling it up with Spectra or similar. It will take around 850 metres!
If you wanted, you could match this up to the new Daiwa 80J rod, now with hypalon grips and reel seat. Definitive deep jigging or puka rod. Works well on tuna too!
If you compare this against the cost of a 9/0 reel on a stand up game rod, you will come off many dollars to the better.

Winter Fishing is Here

Fishing in the cold of winter, fresh or salt water, can be injurious to your health if a few simple rules are not followed.

The rules for staying healthy in the cold are very simple. Take more clothes than you think you need. Layers of clothing are ideal, they trap warm air, and can be easily added or taken off to control your temperature.
When choosing winter gear check out its wind resistance. The chill factor of cold air being pushed by the wind must be taken into account.
Warm hats are a must. Around 30% of the body’s heat is lost through the head.
Booze is bad in the cold. For a start it can give you a false sense of warmth and security, dangerous in itself. Secondly it thins the blood and makes staying warm more difficult.

Bead Bomb Plumbs Depths

Fishing the rivers of the central North Island in Winter means getting your nymphs right down on the bottom. If your fly is not on the bottom you will get a lot of casting practice but not a lot of anything else.

The Gold Bead Bomb is heavily weighted, but streamlined in shape to help it sink faster. The longer the fly is on the bottom the longer you are fishing. Rig the Bead Bomb as your leader fly and then run a less heavily weighted nymph or Glo-Bug off the bed of the bead Bomb hook.

On the subject of heavy bombs, casting them deserves the reputation for ‘chuck and duck’. If you are new to casting heavy nymphs it is advisable to do some practice casting before you get on to fishing water. It seems to be a waste of good and precious fishing time picking bombs out of your fly vest, ears, or hat.

Taupo Region Producing Big Fish

The eruption of Ruapehu a couple of years back may have reduced young fish numbers in the Lake Taupo Fishery but this has meant a lot of feed for the fish who survived.
The fish that are being caught are in spectacular condition, fit fat and fighting like crazy – truly superb fish.
Many people are comparing the size and condition of the fish to the halcyon days of the 1930’s.
There is more good news – because of the long summer and warm temperatures it is likely that the winter spawning runs may well extend into September or later. It is not too late to plan a trip now.

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