1
A nice brown trout taken on a
hunting trip to NZ2
A lovely rainbow trout taken
locally on light gear.light weight and easily
transportable. Similar to
hunting gear, your fishing
tackle should be reliable
and of good quality. You
never know, your fishing
gear may come to play a
pivotal role, should you get
lost or injured in the bush.
I have always used Shimano
and have found their
products to be faultless.
It really comes down to
personal preference, and
the choices in fishing tackle
are as varied as those of
firearm manufacture.
RODS: I prefer to fish the
western rivers for Murray cod
and yellowbelly with a
bait-cast outfit. My personal
rod is a two piece 5’10”
Shimano Bass Raider in the
2–5kg range which can be
easily taken down to fit in a
hard rod tube ideal for
transportation. This rod has
proven to be one of my all-
time favourites and with care
has handled cod up to 40
pound. If I am hunting the
mountains where I am more
likely to encounter waters
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holding good numbers of
trout and redfin, I carry a 7
foot 3 piece Shimano
Squidgy Flick Stick. This rod
is easy to handle when
casting light weight lures
over small water. Again this
rod is easily broken down for
ease of carrying in heavily
timbered country. Take down
rods are the way to go, as
they can be packed away out
of the road when not in use.REELS: Most good quality
reels today are made from
composite materials or lightweight alloys ideal for the
weight conscious back pack
hunter/fisherman. It is
important to match a good
quality reel to your preferred
rod so as to have a balanced
outfit for ease of use. My
baitcast reel is a Shimano
Curado 200G7 which weights
a tad over 100 grams, making
the entire combination no
more than an extra 300
grams to carry. Not much
considering the advantages
it may have if you stumble
across some good water. My
preferred threadline reel is a
Shimano Stradic 2500 which
again has minimal weight
and can be dismantled for
ease of transport. Good
quality, reliable gear is an
asset for those who wish to
get away from it all.LURES: It is generally easier
to carry artificial lures on a
hunting/fishing trek. My
way of thinking is that bait
can generally be found
around river banks if you
know what you are looking
for, so you don’t generally
need to carry it. I rarely baitThe majority
of properties
have some
type of
permanent
water source.”
fish these days anyway,
preferring to stalk and hunt
fish with lures. On
a typical backpack hunt,
I carry a number of lure
styles which can be adapted
to different waterways.
I never leave home without
an assortment of lures
consisting of celtas and
small hard body lures for
trout and redfin, up to some
of the larger ¼ and ½ ounce
spinnerbaits for cod.
Spinnerbaits are my
preferred cod lure as they
can be packed flat in lure
folders not taking up much
room at all. They are more
user friendly than the larger
hard bodied lures and are
not as susceptible to
snagging due to their single
hook design. I prefer purple
coloured lures for native
species such as cod and
yellowbelly, a colour proven
to appear natural to these
species in a freshwater
environment. Surface lures
are always a spectacular and
entertaining way of catching
fish and should be an
inclusion in any tackle box.
You don’t need to take many
lures, just those that are time
proven and work for you.FLY FISHING: Like any
hunting/fishing nut, I have
tried it all and have been
lucky enough to have a Dad
who taught me to fly fish
from a young age. Fly fishing
to me, is the ultimate way to
hunt and stalk a fish. I have
travelled extensively
undertaking this pursuit and
find it incredibly rewarding.
While not everyone’s cup of
tea, fly angling can be