Fishing in the Sea

[coote]

Uplander asked about the fishing I do.

Well... I enjoy fishing, but I generally don't go out of my way to chase 'game' species or to buy expensive gear. I am fortunate to have family connections to a place in the Marlborough Sounds at the top of New Zealand's South Island where I 'camp' quite a bit.

One of the best-eating things I catch - broad squid, I have only ever caught from the jetty at the camp. A certain type of lure seems to be the only thing that works well for these.

The main species in this area is the blue cod. Great eating. The minimum legal size we are allowed to catch and keep is 30cm (about a foot long). Very occasionally we might catch a john dory. This is another good food fish. The john dory is the big one in the picture below:

Another sought-after fish is the snapper. The ones in the photo below are relatively small, but possibly a bit better to eat than the bigger version. Here is a selection of relatives with some of these:

Other fish we might catch include yellow-eyed mullet (like a big herring), spotties - very common and they look like a perch and are one of my favorites to eat. Because fish names are a fairly local thing, naming them without showing a picture may be misleading...but here is a list of species that are typically fished for around my part of New Zealand.
-Hapuku/groper (big deep water fish...I've never caught one)
-Kingfish (BIG pelagic fish. I've seen them, but never landed one)
-Red cod
-Barracouta
-Kahawhai (Pelagic schooling fish, beautiful to look at)
-Conger eel
-Butterfish (generally don't take bait...these are netted or speared)
-Flounder (flatfish...speared or netted)
-Various sharks and rays
-Crayfish (lobster...Ok, not a fin fish...but good to eat)
-Various shellfish (scallops, abalone, mussels...which are also "farmed" here)

Sometimes we fish from the family workhorse boat "Cobros":

I enjoy fishing from a dinghy or my kayak:

Here's the beach at the camp:

Here's the land that typically surrounds the beach:

 

[Yvsa]

That is an absolute dream spot for many of us here in states! :thumbup:
Coote do you also do your trapping nearby or do you have to go further afield? And is there anything else besides the furry tailed possum that is tasty, easy to catch, hunt, and legal to do so?
If I had access to a place like that I wouldn't ever want to leave to go into town.

I could live on seafood methinks, Barbie and I eat maybe three pounds of farm raised catfish a week! My favorite local fish are Crappie and all of the perch/bluegill species as their meat is firm and sweet and not at all oily or greasy like some wild catfish can be, especially the bigger sized flathead catfish. The big Channel and Blue catfish generally don't have that problem.
Crayfish have become pretty popular around here and are easily seined but most folks buy theirs instead of going wading for them. I guess they don't like the thoughts of running into alligator snapping turtles, snapping turtles, water moccasins and the like.

 

[coote]

Ha...I look at photos of the American wilderness and think how marvellous it would be to go hunting in the forests during the beautiful fall. New landscapes and different varieties of fish and animals will always catch our attention.

Yes... I trap brushtail possums nearby. Nearby home in Nelson that is....not in the area shown in my earlier post. Although I have snared a couple of pigs near the Marlborough camp.

I live on the edge of farmland, although it is slowly being developed into residential house lots. Nothing much I can do about that I'm afraid.

Here's the valley I live in looking down towards my home near the mouth of the valley:

Here's my home. I have over fifty fruit and nut trees growing in my small yard:

Brushtailed possums are really the only thing that anybody tries to trap commercially in any quantity down here.

With the exception of some bats and our marine mammals, all the mammals in this country were introduced. They are also generally regarded as pests, so in most circumstances there are no bag limits, no sex restrictions, no special seasons, and no licences required. Permits may be required to hunt in some areas, but this is more of a safety or access thing rather than animal management. Seasons, licenses and fees apply to some bird hunting and fresh water fishing.

You have to be licenced to own and use firearms (although an unlicenced person can use one under the direct supervision of a licenced user. You have to pass a test for this, with one of the questions being "would you use a gun for self-defence" and the passing answer is 'no'

We are generally not permitted to have handguns or military-style weapons, but sporting arms and silencers are fine. Certain collectors can be licenced to own pistols and military semi-autos etc, but they aren't meant to be used except on an approved range under special circumstances

I haven't bothered getting a pistol licence. I'd love to have a pistol, but if I'm not legally allowed to carry it in the bush, there is little point in having one. I do a lot of hunting with just a .22 fitted with a silencer. I also use other rifles including a military Lee-Enfield that my dad converted from .303 British to the more readily available 7.62x39 cartridge.

I have done a bit of hunting with primitive bows and arrows that I've made, although when I hunt primitively nowadays it is generally with snares.... I really enjoy using these and they are heck of a productive compared to a bow or even a rifle.

Now...the animals....

We have several species of deer, with the red deer being the predominant species. We also have pigs, goats, chamois, thar, wallabies, brushtailed possums, rabbits, hares, hedgehogs, stoats, weasels, ferrets, rats and mice.

I hunt and eat deer, pigs, goats, rabbits, hares and possums. Good meat and it is 'free'.

I meant to add to my first post that most of my sea fishing is done with a simple hand line. For years we just wound our line on to a board that had a couple of 'V' notches cut from the ends, but I have come to prefer the plastic hand caster reels:

 

[Grob]

That looks great, I've never been to NZ but it looks like home to me, do you get much in the way of salmon through there? Can make kayak fishing alot of fun, a guy I was fishing with hooked a tyee (chinook/spring/king over 30lbs) while we were kayak fishing, he got hauled around pretty good.

I've got to say looking at your pictures makes me want to go to New Zealand.

Gordon

 

[kgd]

Great fish shots Coote. I love your landscapes. One of my post docs is from New Zealand. He spent one of his graduate degrees working in Papua New Guiney and has an endless supply of stories to tell.

Here are a few of our Canadian freshwater sport fish of choice. Can't find my pics of lake trout and smallmouth unfortunately...

Northern Pike

Walleye (one of the best eating)

Lake Erie Yellow Perch (The best eating)

And can't forget these tasty critters - grouse!

 

[markksr]

Great pics, guys. Thanks for posting them.

 

[Ad Astra]

Wonderful pix- like being there.

Thanks for sharing.


Mike :thumbup:

 

[coote]

Thanks for the comments and interesting photos. It is always good to see something new like this.

Salmon have been introduced here in certain limited areas. I think there is a river or two further south from me in Canterbury where the salmon run each year. Dunno what type though. Salmon are also farmed here, and a few escapees wander around I believe.

Do you guys generally fillet and bone those fish before cooking, or do you cook them with the bones in then pick around them?

 

[kgd]

Hi Coote,

Usually we fillet them. The pike are a little more difficult but there is a five piece fillet method that lets you get them bone free without much loss of meat. Pike are horrible when cooked with their skin due to the high mucous production. Often, for the walleye and perch I fillet and leave the skin on. Then place them directly on the grill skin side down.

My marine ecologist friends always chastise me about how bad tasting freshwater fish is. I've had both marine and freshwater fish while they were still live and kicking and I tend to like both! That squid looks real tasty - how do you typically prepare it? - and what was the secret lure weapon? I've had them pretty fresh and grilled and couldn't complain!



I'll try to get some picks up of the fish we get in the Arabian Gulf this January as I will be spending 4 weeks there doing some marine research!

 

[Uplander]

Coote,
Flounder seems to be spread across the world, I've caught them at the Outer Banks & also in the Puget Sound. I'm also aquainted with snapper & kingfish. Filet, steak or whole depends on size & how l intend to prepare it.
Those deer species, chamois, tahr, ect are considered superb game animals everywhere else. My part of the country has lots of turkeys & whitetail deer & some black bear for the big stuff. I wish we had something like your bushy-tailed possum. It's a good size, almost too cute but since it's good on the table, my concience could stand to slay it.
Uplander

 

[jaislandboy]

great pix Coote....thanks for the show....
Kayak fishing looks like fun..... :thumbup:

 

[coote]

I think that sometimes the best flavored parts of a fish are the skin and the bits of flesh around the bones. We mostly bone out our fillets, but we have a bit of a ritual of frying up the 'wings' (the the front fins and belly flap)....very tasty.

We nearly always fry the squid...sometimes battered. It is great how the 'rings' cut from the main part of the body form a nice circle when you drop them in the hot oil. Before we cut them up, we pull off the head with the attached tentacles and save that for bait. We then pull off as much of the skin as we can, although I don't reckon this is necessary if you don't mind squid that isn't pure white. It doesn't take long to cook.

Here's the only readily available picture of the squid lure that I have. I found it when I was snorkelling in Australia maybe 17 years ago and it is still going strong (although I have repaired it once). Over the last few years I've found similar ones in stores which have worked.

The lure doesn't have a standard hook. It has two rows of thin, barbless, very sharp little hooks at the tail end.