A Northland fisherman has caught and landed a 79.6kg striped marlin from his jet ski - believed to be the first man in the country to do so.
It took electrician Clifford Strydom, 37, three hours to haul it back to shore, a trip that normally took 45 minutes.
Mr Strydom, originally
from South Africa, was trawling for marlin in Helena Bay, 22km northeast of Hikurangi, on Sunday afternoon when he hooked the fish.
Anglers the Northern Advocate spoke to, including the Whangarei Deep Sea Anglers Club, could not recall anyone hauling a marlin and bringing it to shore in a jet ski.
Celebrity television fisherman Matt Watson came close to achieving the feat, but hooked a marlin from a jet ski, tagged and released it.
Mr Strydom usually chases marlin at this time of year but normally goes for snapper and kingfish.
On Sunday, he had been trawling for marlin about 9km from shore at Helena Bay since 11am and was getting ready to head back home when the marlin took the bait.
"I was pretty sure it was a marlin. It jumped in and out of the water ... doing a bit of a railwork," he said. "I let the jet ski idle and pulled myself towards the fish.
"When I came closer, I gaffed it and towed it towards the shore."
His hands were "pretty shot" when he landed on shore.
He will have the marlin smoked then share it with family and friends. "I'll definitely be out there again," he said.
Peter Saul, member of the Whangarei Deep Sea Anglers Club and a director of Blue Water Marine Research, said landing a marlin from a jet ski was not something he would encourage people to do. "It was fairly adventurous behaviour out there. He was totally on his own, without any support and could have potentially got himself into trouble," Mr Saul said.
He remembers only one other incident where a man in Mexico caught and landed a marlin from his jet ski last year.
Mr Saul said marlin were strong and could jump.
Mr Strydom had been in the country for 6 years and later this month would become a New Zealand citizen. It would be a good month for him, he said.
