And It all started for me at the age of 25 when my brother-in-law invited me to go Deap Sea fishing. Having never done any fishing of any kind before and knowing even less about deep sea fishing, I more or less went along for the ride. This 10 day trip was most successful with 9 game fish caught and I was so enthralled and excited that I determined one day to build my own boat. In the meantime for the next 15 years around easter, I and three mates would travel by car 300 mile north to the Bay of Islands for 10 days of Deap Sea Fishing, sleeping and eating on the Launch - the primary fishing target was Striped Marlin, Black Marlin, Kingfish & Mako Shark. It was 1965 on our 7th year that I was estatic with the good fortune to strike and land a 291lb Striped Marlin (photo above). In those days most of the marlin catches were smoked and what we didn't keep for our own consumption was distributed to the locals. Today most of the Marlin caught are tagged for scientific research and released .
The Kingfish above are superb eating fresh as steaks and also when smoked . The smoking process, usually done ashore in the evenings and overnite, preserves the flesh for up to 10 days, but normally eaten well before then.
From the day my first boat (the yacht Rubicon) was launched in 1960, and for the next 40 years, as a family we spent all the weekends possible and holidays sailing and cruising, living and sleeping at sea. Each Xmas holidays, for 4 weeks we would cruise north 200 miles up the coast, each nite anchoring in safe shelter in one of the hundreds of sandy bays and coves on the way up and through the Bay of Islands, and eventually returning back home via Great Barrier Island. The area to this day still abounds with fish of such variety and plenty, the most common and most favoured for eating and for export to Japan is the Snapper ( also known as Bream ). Of the 8 boats I built, 45ft Aquilla is my favourite. She has twin 235hp Volvo Diesel engines with Duoprop outdrives, sleeps 8 and cruises at 28 knots per hour 24 hours a day.

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The magnificent fighting Kingfish - also known as Yellotail - also a most desireable table fish fresh or smoked. Inhabitants of coastal reefs and are rare and difficult to find and even more difficult to hook than most other desireable species. When one is fortunate enough to hook one up, sixty per cent are lost because of poor equipment, lack of experience and broken lines usually caused from snagging on a reef. When a Kingfish is hooked, the first instrict of this powerful adversary is to dive to the bottom, deap into the reef, this action inveriably results in a severed line. If your lucky to avoid this manouver and keep the kingfish away from the reef, you will have a long and exciting experience, full of thrills and suspense.
They will take only live bait and ignore all others. The most successful method is to take a live fish usually a Kahawai freshly caught and quickly pierce the hook through the top and just back of the head returning this live bate back into the sea about 3 metres deep - motor switched off - drifting with the tide - no noise and wait. The Kahawai will swim around in a somewhat agitated state which soon attracts the kingfish and -----WHAMO -----You have the most thrilling and exciting gamefish experience (After Swordfish) available in New Zealand waters On occasions you may unwittingly attract large rays and common sharks. However should it attract a Mako Shark then you really will have some fun. Boating and fishing for the last 50 years has been a time of wonder and excitement, with enormous pleasure & joy experienced with a growing family and our boating friends.