CAMPING THE KIWI WAY

My introduction to fishing as a child: I recall being taken to the Waimakariri river and using a string hand-line with red meat as bait, I don’t recall any success .

However we did have whitebait and flounder on our menu so I assume this was purchased or obtained from family or friends.

Later as a young teen I was introduced to lure spinning rod fishing in Marlborough rivers for trout and kahawai with some successes.

While living in Southland for 6yrs we went on 2 fishing trips out of Bluff with a good cod catch, again, using hand-lines and sea sickness as a result.

Then in my late 30s, back in Marlborough, I was introduced to snorkelling along the Kaikōura Coast, for paua, kina and crayfish which lead to doing a scuba course with Scuba Schools International and my hobby became serious.

A secondhand 16ft runabout was bought in partnership with 2 friends and regular trips in the Marlborough Sounds especially to Tory channel entrance ensued.

The cost to fish, either from shore or by boat, can be a wide gulf depending on your desire, but can be economic if you purchase secondhand and build up your gear as you go, and if done with a group then items can be shared, repaired, bought and sold , and experience shared and taught.

One of my best buys was 2 pink Shimano boat rods on special at Hunting and Fishing for $69 each — they catch fish, much more so, to the disgust of other fishers, with considerably more expensive rods.

After nearly 30 years and over 550 dives logged, jumping over the side of a perfectly good boat that’s not sinking, taking a catch bag and spear gun, we have enjoyed and shared local tasty seafood treats with many family members and visitors.

The sea sickness is now few and far between but can and does still happen occasionally.

Scuba diving has also included diving some local and international wrecks as well as coral reefs and shark viewing, looking but not taking is strange as a hunter gatherer, but rewarding in a different way.

We have been fortunate to arrange permit dives for 3 weddings and some funerals along with other family gatherings and certainly have had our share from the ocean.

Would it be cheaper to buy the fish? Possibly but you can’t put a price on a good day on the water with family or friends, and knowing where it was sourced and how fresh it is.

Preparing and cooking the catch, well, that’s another thread and topic for a future magazine. n

you can’t put a price on a good day on the water with family or friends