New Plymouth Sportfishing & Underwater Club - New Plymouth Sportfishing & Underwater Club

New Plymouth Sportfishing &
                           Underwater Club
                           April 2022 Newsletter
NPSUC April 2022 President’s report

As the summer starts to draw to a close, the autumn fishing is coming on with plenty of Snapper
and Kahawai being caught, and with recent relaxations on Covid restrictions by the Government
we are starting to see members returning to the Club. The same can't be said for the Marlin, who
have given us a wide berth this Summer – with what must be one of the lowest number of Marlin
caught in a Season off our Coast.

We have seen a continued catch of Mahi Mahi this season, and the run of Southern Bluefin Tuna
has continued. It great to see these different species hang around, and hopefully we see a return
of these fish again next season. We have managed to have some good weather, and great to see
the A+ Driveways Ladies and Lassies Comp, Ian Roebuck Crane Hire Take a Kid Fishing and Kilwell
Classic fish in some good sea conditions.

As a Club, with reduced foot traffic due to Covid, we have applied for and received 3 recent grants
(Covid Support Payment) from the Government, totaling approx. $22,000. While it is good that
such support is available, the threshold to get these grants is a 40% reduction in income – which
unfortunately was easily achieved during the height of the Covid Red Setting restrictions.

At the Club, Covid has had an effect on our operational team, knocking out a few team members
for periods with isolation requirements and it continues to have an affect on the supply of food
and beverage to the Club. So if next time you are at the Club and the queue is a tiny bit longer, or
we don’t have your favourite tipple – it will be due to Covid and the team will appreciate your
consideration and patience. With that said, it is pleasing to see us (hopefully) returning to
something that more closely resembles ‘normal life’. It was great to see Hannah Froome win
nearly $3,000 in the recently resumed Tui Wild Joker Draw. With only two cards left she had a big
decision on choosing the correct card - and she managed to find the Joker.

Our Membership draws on both Thursday and Sunday nights are back in full swing. All you have
to do as a Club member is be present for your chance to win.

The Clubrooms are in good shape, with the only recent blemish being a recent repair on our main
chiller (keeps the beer kegs and bulk drinks cold). We have deferred the resealing of the main
carpark until next summer – the current surface is certainly past its use by date.

The inaugural NZ Sportfishing Council Youth Nationals commenced at Easter, which is open to any
young people and fished in two age categories (0-12 and 13-17) during the April School Holidays.
A great opportunity to take the fishers of tomorrow fishing, and compete nationwide for 15
species of fish. It is a nationwide event and runs for 16 days (finishes Saturday 30th April). There
are sections that don’t require knowledge of sportfishing – the key focus is participation and the
tournament also includes a couple of photo sections. Entry is only $5 with some great prizes on
offer.

Coming toward winter we are looking at a few non fishing events, and also commencing planning
for the next season. We welcome any ideas that you may have – feel free to share them. Our last
scheduled fishing tournament of the season is the Automotive Brake and Clutch Brass Monkey in
late May.

Ian Steele
0276 881 441

Club Captain Report

Gidday Team,
Our NPSUC hosted Fishing Competitions are flying through.
Here is a brief summary of these:

A+ Driveways Ladies and Lassies Fishing Competition - 19th March 2022

The plan was for fun and it was great to see the ladies enjoy themselves.
110 Anglers
39 boats
$15,000 Prize Pool given away

Ian Roebuck Take a Kid Fishing – 3rd April

The weather was great this year which really helped.
192 kids entered
32 boats.

There was alot of smiles on kids faces as the majority of kids haven’t fished a lot
before.

Club Captain Report (Cont.)

Kilwell Classic Bottom Fishing Competition– 10th April

This was our 3rd of 4 bottom Fishing comps that form part of our Top Boat Series.
Based on the weather forecast at hand at the Skippers Briefing, the Saturday
wasn’t a suitable day for all boats to be able to fish safely, so the lay day of Sunday
was confirmed. It was great to see anglers had a great day out with some good
fish caught.

Some key points to note:
   95 anglers
   26 Boats
   ·$13,000 worth of Prizes given out

Club Captain Report (Cont.)

Hard Out - Top boat and Top 10 winners for the Kilwell Classic 2022

Weigh Station:

A reminder if you are competing in our Club competitions or wanting your catch
weighed that the angler and skipper are responsible for a number of areas to
ensure they flow through the weigh station smoothly without holding up the line
or being disqualified.
This is an extract from our Competition rules:

The angler and Skipper are responsible for the following:
    Producing tackle and requirements as requested by the weigh master.
    Washing down the weighing table and pad after use and disposing of fish.
    Ensuring that the correct details are entered and signing of the weigh sheet.

What our weigh masters are also noticing and wanting to give us feedback on, is
the skipper should be able to identify which Fish are caught by the angler.This is
not decided at the weigh station and should be organised beforehand.

To avoid disqualification, a tagging / Notification system should be arranged on
your boat prior. When you get to the weigh station, each angler’s catch should be
easily identified, and the weighmaster / recorder can move through your boats
catch smoothly. Your assistance is appreciated

Club Captain Report (Cont.)

NPSUC Fishing Competitions current, or coming up:

LUCKY MARLIN OF THE 2021/22 SEASON
BTW Company Ltd have kindly sponsored a $2,000 Cash prize for a ‘Lucky Marlin’ tagged or weighed
Marlin of the 2021/22 Season – drawn from all Marlin caught by Club Members in the 2021/22
Season that meet competition Rules.
This includes a photo of the fish submitted to NPSUC to enter (either weighed on the Gantry or their
Tag photo).
For more information including a full list of rules, visit our website:
https://www.npsuc.co.nz/lucky-marlin.php

NZSFC Youth Nationals 15th -30th April 2022 – Over school holidays
(see later in Newsletter for more details)

Automotive Brake & Clutch BRASS MONKEY Competition (Top Boat series) – 28 / 29th May

Finally, a reminder to keep sending the photos of your fishing experiences into
npsucmarketing@xtra.co.nz and you may see them on our screens in the Club and/or you could
even win a prize.

For more information on these competitions, keep an eye out on our Club Facebook Page, your
emails and The NPSUC Website.

We look forward to a great season ahead.
Have fun, plan safe.

Closing trip report;
Club Captain Hayden Markham

Diving Report

No one could complain about the visibility around the Sugar Loaf Islands as I write this news article easter Sunday. The
blue water has pushed in and vis has been 10m plus. There are few crays around although this year I have noticed they
are on average generally smaller than in the past. It will be interesting to see if this is a pattern next season.

There are a few club members interested in a trip to the Poor Knights. These islands are off Northland and it is world
class diving.

The reserve is located around 22 km off the east coast of Northland. It extends 800 m offshore from all the Poor Knights
Islands and associated islets, rocks and stacks including Sugarloaf Rock and High Peak Rocks (Pinnacles). You are able to
swim, dive and travel within the reserve but you are not permitted to disturb the marine life or to land on any part of the
islands or rocks.

I am looking at organising a trip to the islands Matariki weekend (Matariki is Friday 24th June). The dive at the Poor
Knights would be Saturday, travelling on Friday and perhaps going for a dive at Goat Island on the Saturday. Travel back
to New Plymouth would be Sunday. If you are interested and would like to come along let me know. Dive Tutakaka
charge $229 per person for the day for getting out to the Islands if you take your own gear. There would be 2 night’s
accommodation on top of this as well as some costs for food, etc.

If you are interested let me know (0274 712 012) and we can talk through the logistics.

Regards

David Gibson
Dive Delegate

NZSFC Delegate Report

1.Satellite Tags West Coast Striped Marlin Satellite tagging programme (commenced 2019/2020) 4 of the 6 tags were
deployed in Striped Marlin in 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons. Those 4 did not report over the last two seasons. With a
lack of confidence in suitable tags, Stanford University replaced 3 tags with 3 month tags, and IGFA have come through
recently and supplied another 3 / 3 month tags. This means that the tagging programme has 6 new 3 months tags to
deploy next season. Here is hoping for a successful 2022/23 season.

2. Ministers decision released on review of Hapuka Bass Area 7/8
Main points from decision – reduced Commerical take and Recreational reduced bag limits - no longer merged with
kingfish. Now 2 Hapuka / Bass per day, 3 per multi day trip. More info here
 https://www.mpi.govt.nz/consultations/review-of-sustainability-measures-2022-april-round/

NZSFC Delegate Report (Cont).
3. Youth NZSFC Nationals – 16th to 30th April 2022 (April School Holidays).
    Entry forms available at the Club and online - $5 per angler
    Individuals, Clubs - No teams
    Two age categories – 0-12 and 13-17
    15 species – normal Nationals plus Blue Cod and Gurnard
    Several sections – including an ‘All tackle’ section where gear is not as closely scrutinised
    Weighmasters are 'on call'

Sections:
   CHAMPION NEW ZEALAND YOUTH ANGLERS – INDIVIDUAL ANGLERS (a fish scoring the highest points)
   NZ CHAMPION ALL TACKLE YOUTH ANGLER – WEIGHED FISH (the heaviest single fish for each of the fish species.)
   OVERALL CHAMPION ANGLER - the highest aggregate number of points from the scoring fish from each of the fifteen
   species (maximum 15 fish, 1 per species) – NZ Wide. Tagged fish included
   LENGTH SECTION
   TAG AND RELEASE SECTION
   TOP CLUB - INTERCLUB COMPETITION (the highest aggregate number of points from the scoring fish from each club
   for each of the fifteen species (maximum 15 fish, 1 per species).
   CLUB CHAMPION ANGLER - There will be 1 Champion Angler per club (One for each Age Category).
   FUN OR FUNNY PHOTO – best still photo or video taken by an entered angler during the tournament showing fun or a
   funny moment
   MARINE PHOTO – best Marine still photo or video taken by an entered angler during the tournament. Photos to
   include the marine environment.

4. New changes announced for recreational daily bag limits for finfish and baitfish

Minister David Parker has decided to include all finfish species, including those with individual species limits, in the
combined daily bag limit for finfish (except specified baitfish species and freshwater eels) as well as:

1. retaining the existing combined daily bag limit caps (20 finfish per person, per day, for the Auckland/Kermadec, Central
and Challenger fishing areas and 30 finfish per person, per day, for the South-East and Southland/Sub-Antarctic fishing
areas),
2. setting a separate daily bag limit of 50 per person, per day, for specified baitfish species (additional to the combined
daily bag limit for finfish), and;
3. including the southern bluefin tuna daily bag limit of one per person, per day, in the amateur regulations.

Conflict arose in Tairua, Coromandel, earlier this year when hundreds of pink maomao were being landed and people
realised no bag limits applied. MPI were powerless to respond because the regulations have not kept pace with changing
fishing patterns. Asimilar incident occurred last week again off Coromandel.

Consequently, the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Hon. David Parker directed Fisheries New Zealand (FNZ) to review
bag limits for recreational fishers.

The New Zealand Sport Fishing Council, LegaSea and other organisations supported an amended version of Fisheries NZ’s
Option 2: include all finfish species not currently subject to a daily bag limit in the combined daily bag limit, and within that
the Minister:

1. Sets a maximum limit of 3 per person per day of any of these reef species: pink and blue maomao, grandaddy hāpuku,
pigfish and wrasses.
2. Includes the maximum of 3 of any reef species within the existing combined daily bag limit.
3. Bans the sale of these reef species.

This is a step forward from the previous version of the rules, where some species like Pink Maomao and other reef
species were outside the finfish bag limit requirement and subsequently had no limits. Changes take effect 5th May 2022
Read more below: https://www.mpi.govt.nz/.../review-of-recreational-daily.../

NZSFC Delegates
Ian Steele, Lee Drummond and Sauce (Pete Saunders)

Gamefish Tally through the weighstation
Marlin
  Weighed 4
  Tagged 7
  Total   11         (8 eligible for NPSUC awards and trophies)

Totals include non-members and Affiliated visitors

Mako - 15 (many have also been released but not tagged)

Mahi Mahi - 26 (many that haven't gone through the weigh station) -
caught as recent as Easter Weekend

Southern Blue Fin Tuna - 11

Skipjack - 21 (though there are alot out there)

Albacore - 181

(provisional totals - provided as an indication to 20 April)

LADIES AND
LASSIES 2022

LADIES AND
LASSIES 2022