607 fishing stories — and still going strong!

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By Bostik Gone Fishin presenter and new Building Today columnist Graeme Sinclair


Bostik Gone Fishin started more than 25 years ago, and in that time 607 stories wrapped around fishing have been slipped in to the “can”.

During those 25 years I got married, have had three children, and lost the use of my legs because of a disease called multiple sclerosis. It has been quite a journey!

If there is one thing I have learned, it is that change is inevitable, and fishing is a classic example.

When the series first kicked off, bait and burley were the preferred fishing method, unless you were targeting trout, salmon or marlin.

Anglers were starting to use jigs, and I even remember a fantastic early filming session catching kingfish off the Poor Knights using poppers.

Poppers were like Christmas crackers festooned with hooks, and their erratic retrieval across the surface resulted in kingfish exploding all over them in a violent shower of spray.

It made great television, and in the next block of Bostik Fishing Today stories I am going to replay a few “blasts from the past”.

History, as they say, is very quick in the making. It all seems like yesterday!

Having my son James along for the ride provides us with the chance to cover some of the really physical stuff that my body can’t hack any more.

He has a great passion for big fish, such as swords, marlin and tuna, especially out of a trailer boat.

Small boat game fishing has come of age, and today’s motors such as our Honda 250 are quiet, economical and reliable. With a fuel tank holding 280 litres, our range is huge.

Add to that the Simrad Evo 3 electronic passage, and we mark a spot, pinpoint fish, assess bottom structure, and navigate home and return at will, even in the dark.

I have a diary that my father kept in the 1950s when he skippered the trawler Tawera out of Lyttelton. In it there are diagrams of distant headlands and how to line them up for a tow — because back then there were no electronics.

A lot depended on knowledge which included what you accumulated, and what the “old boys” were prepared to pass on.

Even with all of our modern wizardry, learning how to get the best from the information you glean is critical. Success has an element of luck, but consistency requires much more.

That involves using available information, which often means doing some homework.

I used to religiously keep a diary that included information on target species, technique, tide, moon phase, water temperature and all of the data available from the electronics, including GPS position.

Knowing how a spot fishes at different times of the year for different species can push luck towards an element of certainty.

Although a lot has changed, there is one overriding consideration. Learn to trust your judgement and be patient.

Sure, you can charge around looking for workups and be confident of wading into a feeding frenzy, but being able to identify a species on the sounder and setting up for a bite saves fuel and sharpens your instincts.

I still love stray lining a live bait or big dead bait down a burley trail. There is something electrifying about having that bait picked up, hooking up and seeing line peel off as a fish heads towards another country. Fantastic!

During the next few months, we will review options such as soft baits, slow jigs, micro jigs and stick baits.

They all work, and my philosophy is to head out covering a number of options. The options, more than ever before, are simply incredible.

As a kid, my choices were size of hook and weight of sinker, coupled with a flashy silver lure for kahawai.

Now the array of angling bling is mind blowing. Just walk in to any tackle store and look around.

I guess you know you are doing what you love when every trip to the boat ramp generates the same level of excitement. It has been that way for me from the time I was a little kid.

For the past 20 years, I have been patron of Police Blue Light. We support a large number of incredible fishing events around the country.

These Kids Gone Fishin days involve parents, caregivers and kids spending quality time together.

I very quickly came to the realisation that the greatest gift we can give our kids is time. Something simple, but in today’s society, also elusive!

Add outdoor New Zealand and a fishing rod to time, and the equation adds up to a potentially life-changing experience.

Time, in my case, has literally flown. Twenty-five years and 607 episodes. It all began yesterday!

Together with Bostik and some of the other sponsors, we are looking to create a prize package to celebrate this 25-year milestone.

The new series of Bostik Gone Fishin kicks off at the end of September, and there will be something in there for every angler, including those “blasts from the past”.

Thanks for your support!

Tight Lines!

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