That is the West Coast of course,
The Coast is enjoying yet another attraction for visitors – game fishing,
Over the 2nd to last weekend of Winter a large number of sizable boats appeared at the ramp in Greymouth for a big game fishing competition.
They launched and parked in the area provided beside the northern end of the Cobden Bridge, before heading down the Grey river, out over the bar, towards the deep, dark depths of the Hokitika Trench, some sixty plus kilometres off the coast.
Over a period of 8 years, the Greymouth Boating Club has put in the hard yards to transform the area, including the ramp and steps to a landing jetty, and in 2023, with a small grant from the council’s contestable fund, they also installed a solar light. The ramp and parking space has not only helped boost the district’s economy, but it has also provided facilities for local boating and fishing enthusiasts.
Greymouth Boating Club as lead developers for the facilities at the ramp and surrounding features, have installed noticeboards with safety information and also they make it plain that while the ramp is a free community facility, users can make a donation for its upkeep. The weekend was supported by Greymouth Boating Club, Fishermans Loft, Black Magic Tackle, Shimano Fishing New Zealand and Marine Intel. The main target species was blue fin tuna, but they also hooked up with a couple of others, the standouts being a swordfish and the odd mako. Congratulations to Bill who landed a one hundred and forty point 4 kg swordfish. Bill was fishing with his grandson Will and his friend Griff – a tight-knit crew who put in a serious effort. After a full day trolling, they anchored up overnight with one always on watch. At 5am, coffee in hand, the action began. By 5:20am they were hooked into something massive that just wanted to dive into the deep. The fight was brutal – 3.5 hours of back-and-forth, the harness snapping after just 30 minutes.
The boys had to take turns winding in by hand, so determination and teamwork got the job done. Bill built his Image boat to spend quality time with his grandsons and make unforgettable memories out on the water. His craft is a 2019 Image 8.75 m Fishmaster, powered by a 350hp Suzuki Marine NZ outboard. His boat is aptly named “Bill’s Dream” and over this game fishing weekend, the dream became reality.
The bluefin hang around the hoki boats and grab what they can as the nets are hauled, so boats targeting bluefin must also be in proximity to them, and troll at a depth of around 40 odd metres, to get the chance of a hook up. Over the weekend, some half a dozen tuna were boated, ranging from 77 kg to 103.9kg along with the swordie at 140.4kg.
Weather conditions were stable for the visiting fishos, making access to the Tasman via the Grey river bar a little less challenging, but at times it can be downright hair raising and for anything less than a large commercial boat, not worth attempting.
The rules for the event were fairly straightforward with the biggest tuna each day winning $1500 (gilled & gutted) Hours for the Greymouth “Unofficial Official” Weigh Station at the Cobden Ramp were fixed as Saturday: 9am-4pm and Sunday: 9am-2pm. Weigh-in was a typically creative, Coast setup, with the use of a telehandler. One thing that was noticeable was that few of the boats seemed to have auxilliary motors and were relying on the dependability of their large outboards. While the visiting fishos were undoubtably experienced, a seasoned, local, commercial fisherman, plus a former naval man, both observed that while the motor might be in top order, it only takes a problem with the fuel to cause trouble. A weather change can make things even more serious, and currently Greymouth doesn’t have Coastguard services.
However on the up side, there were no calamities and judging by the demeanour of returning fishos, every one enjoyed the event.
