A Very Big Fish
How I caught the biggest Blue Moki recorded in New Zealand of the 2022/23 season.
I’ve got six draft posts on the back-burner at the moment, all on the subject of New Economics, ‘Democracy Deficit’ and other serious stuff, but to doggerel an old T-shirt slogan “Political Economy is Important, but Fishing is Importanter”.
I've been surfcasting since I was 17, both in the UK & NZ, and this is easily the best specimen I've ever caught in terms of percentage of record weight, although I did accidentally eat a Dover Sole in the UK before I even knew it was the club record! This was only the second Moki I'd ever caught, the first being a fish of 48cm on the South Coast of Wellington early in the winter of 2022.
17/02/2023.
I usually don't bother fishing in the middle of the day, but I wanted to try out a location on the rocky shore of Wellington’s Miramar Peninsula that I had first fished a few days before in a WSAC shore-based competition.1 I had previously hooked a big fish there on mussel bait but lost it in weeds on the retrieve, ending the competition with just one 330g Tarakihi to weigh in.
The day was overcast with a howling Southerly wind blowing. I arrived at my spot at 1pm an hour before high tide and set up my two rods, the first with a shrimp bait, the other with pilchard. I almost didn't bother taking shrimp, because recently, pilchard had been the go-to bait for snapper, and I particularly wanted a decent snapper or two for dinner!
With my Daiwa Supercast rod and Ambassadeur 6500 reel loaded with 8kg Black Magic Velocity Surf mono, a pendulum-style cast with the wind behind me saw the clip-down rig and 5oz breakaway sinker land at least 130 metres from shore. The line-out alarms on the reels were engaged, and the reel-drag set to minimum "just in case".
Photo: Leki Solo (sorry about the grim face- my arms were aching!)
My friend and fellow WSAC member Leki Solo came by unexpectedly and no sooner had we shaken hands than the screaming ratchet of the alarm announced a vigorous take, and tightening the star-drag put a good bend in the rod. A first-cast fish!
Photo: Luke Slobbe
Leki said "big snapper, Kev!" to which I replied "nah, not bumpy enough" (the bumpy ‘feel’ as it shakes its head is the ‘signature’ of a snapper) and speculated at a very large Spotted Dogfish. The fight was more tug-of-war with a freight-train than spectacular fireworks, such that I even speculated at a big stingray, though Leki was still convinced it was a big snapper.
Photo: Simon Alderdyce
There was a heart-stopping moment coming into the weed-beds that fringe the shore about 30 metres out. For a few seconds nothing moved. I reduced pressure for a few seconds, moved sideways a few metres and resumed pressure. The fish started moving again and I breathed a sigh of relief knowing it was still on! At 20 metres offshore, the fish rolled on the surface and the puzzle was answered- big Blue Moki!
Yummy Moki Pie: Yes, I can cook, too!
A stunned moment, then congratulations from Leki, who made a phone-call to Luke, a committee member at WSAC, who ensured the fish was correctly measured and weighed at 76cm long and at 8.54kg, only 320g short of the club’s all-time record. It was duly entered for the relevant club classes, and also for the ‘The Export NZ Fishing Competition’.