Spirits
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: Landbased & Surfcasting
Forum Description: From rocks or beaches, here's the place for the landbased fishos to share information
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=29216
Printed Date: 04 Jul 2026 at 5:47pm
Topic: Spirits
Posted By: Shilo
Subject: Spirits
Date Posted: 10 May 2008 at 9:45pm
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Still some big fish up there! Just spent the last week up in the area
but the weather only let up enough to hit the rocks on Tues and Wed.
Fished the harbour on Monday and Thursday but only rats showed. Tuesday
saw some mega KY and Trevs off Rod Holders but no Kingi's. Wednesday I went a bit further around to Bucks. Knew there were some big Kings around when a tinny with 3 guys came past with one trying to hold up a Kingi to show me, the size of which left my chin dropping onto the rocks in amazement. Not sure what it would have weighed but it was biggest I'd seen. At 3pm I changed the live bait for a more lively version, threw it out then wondered why it wasn't settling down. Instead it was zipping around like its life depended on it - which it was. A huge hole in the water appeared by the balloon then I saw the dorsal and tail fins of a Kingfish. Going by the distance between the 2 fins I knew it was big bugger. The splashing and frantic zipping around continued for a full 5 minutes until the Kahawai bait used its brains and headed into the weed. Bugger! pulled him in and threw him back out into clear water again. Once again the splashing and zipping started up again, I actually sat down wondering how the Kingi ever caught anything to eat. Then the balloon broke off and the reel started to let out line. Let it run for awhile, flicked on the drag and the pain started. 3/4 hour struggling to hold the rod against the drag while stumbling back around the rocks following it. I was cursing that I had looked but decided not to buy a fighting belt when I got the new reel. But managed to wear it out before I did and led it up a gut in the rocks. My scales bottomed out at 22kg and since there was still a good third to lift off the rocks I estimate the Kingi to be between 25 & 30kg. Hard to get a comparison pic when solo but that is a TLD 25 reel by its head. Its back out there waiting for my return next year.  |
Replies:
Posted By: of2fsh
Date Posted: 10 May 2008 at 9:55pm
nice work 
------------- 2009 and 2010 BERKLEY SOFTBAIT COMP CHAMPS,Runner up 2013 ( solo),winner 2013/14 longest kingfish nz fishing competition |
Posted By: Blue Asparagus
Date Posted: 10 May 2008 at 10:06pm
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good stuff, thought you might get into a few this time of year, nice pic and even nicer you let her go for next time, now that right there is what its all about mate, bloody well done. ------------- Ultimate GAME Fishing Adventures. Northland |
Posted By: one leg
Date Posted: 11 May 2008 at 9:00am
nice fish , and a great report  ------------- woman who say they are equal to men ,show lack of Ambition . |
Posted By: FarNorfOwnage
Date Posted: 11 May 2008 at 9:01am
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Hey mate thats awesome! Top stuff on the catch n release and you did a great job on the solo piccie too. Did you see any Spearo's hanging around?? Those guys have been hitting spirits HARD in the past month or so (I counted six in the water the other week) Keep up the good work, far north bricks still got a good couple of months left in them ------------- out there doing it or STFU |
Those pair-trawlers were back a couple of weekends ago too, watched them do a four hour shot from taput's to just in front of hoopers and with a seriously bulging trawl-net they dissapeared round n.cape. Posted By: JK
Date Posted: 11 May 2008 at 9:46am
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nice one island pladdler. Good fish mate and top stuff for the release!
------------- LedgeNZ LBG |
Posted By: Shilo
Date Posted: 11 May 2008 at 11:00am
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Had to release him anyway - no way I could chew through that much fish flesh especially without any refrigeration! Have a personal policy of only taking as much fish as I can eat in a couple of meals, prefer fresh over frozen so its no use stocking up the freezer when I can just zip out the following weekend and get some more. If a fish doesn't revive enough to release and I already have enough to eat then I'll give it away. FarNorfOwnage: No spearo's there, in fact very few fishers at all. One large family group had taken up the area to the left of the road who were fishing but mostly off the island. Pity about the trailers, I was brought up in Whitianga and during the late 70's and the pair trailers used to come right into Buffalo Beach to strip it. Used to get good snapper off the beach before then but it took another 10yrs before the beach fishing improved again. Hate to see that happen up north. When I was fishing of Paua, some MAF inspectors turned up. First time I have ever come across them. After a chat about fishing, the area etc they disappeared. A few hours later a chiller truck turned up to load from a barge. I was packing up and leaving at that time but when driving out the inspectors flagged me down from a hidden spot and asked about the barge. Not sure of the outcome or if anything illegal was happening but it was good to see them working in such an isolated area. |
Posted By: INOV8A
Date Posted: 11 May 2008 at 12:00pm
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Nice fish, well done! God I hate those Trawlers up there! I have some mean footage of them raping and pillaging in close to N.cape. ------------- INOV8A out. |
Posted By: LEVCAT
Date Posted: 11 May 2008 at 2:05pm
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bloody brilliant mate... that's a brute king there, big ups for the release..
well done
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Posted By: Rock Fish
Date Posted: 11 May 2008 at 6:52pm
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Looks like you had a killer time up there Grant. Be a nice change from the Island. Must get back out that way at some stage for a meet up and fish. Thats a beaut Kingi and nice work on the release . ------------- Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught. |
Posted By: the gas man
Date Posted: 12 May 2008 at 9:55am
| awesome effort doing it solo!! must have been interesting getting it out of the water and onto the bricks. |
Posted By: Boz19
Date Posted: 12 May 2008 at 10:02am
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Mean king!!! Wicked going mate
------------- http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: KeenAs
Date Posted: 12 May 2008 at 10:05am
Shot!
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Posted By: Bungel_
Date Posted: 12 May 2008 at 10:47pm
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wickid effort d00d... released too, much respect!
------------- here fishy, fishy fishy..... |
Posted By: deacs
Date Posted: 12 May 2008 at 10:59pm
Awesome fish there IP been trying for ages to get a fish like that off the bricks! Much respect for the release would of been a hard haul to take it home anyway  ------------- http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: phantomdeviant
Date Posted: 13 May 2008 at 6:26am
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Great fish from the bricks IP. Would love to fish up them ways one day. ------------- Skirt Pulla |
Posted By: toasta
Date Posted: 13 May 2008 at 9:28pm
| Mean as kingi IslandPaddler! Spirits and Cape Maria Van Dieman are my top two fishing things before i kark it wishes...you're a lucky man. |