Fishing: Fly rod world records claimed in Bay of Islands

By Geoff Thomas


Three world records for snapper on a fly rod were set at the second International Saltfly tournament in the Bay of Islands last weekend.

American anglers Joel Day and Joel Kalman landed snapper of 13.36kg and 11kg while fly-fishing with tipper material of only 4kg breaking strain. Virginia Duncum, a member of the New Zealand women's team - the first women's saltfly team in the country - pulled in a 3.63kg snapper to establish a world record catch.

All the record claims have still to be ratified by the International Game Fish Association in Florida, which administers world records for all types of sportfishing.

The tournament director, John Giacon, of New Zealand Angling in Auckland, said the tournament was the most successful saltfly event ever held in this country.

"We had 11 teams and 44 anglers from Japan, the United States, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Britain and Canada. In two days of fishing they landed 2461 fish of eight different species," he said.

The winning team were Northern Ireland, who had come last in the first tournament last year, and the top individual angler was Robert Buick, from the same team, who recorded six different species.

Unless required for a record claim the fish are released, and points are awarded for the variety of species caught and the line weight used.

The main species hooked were trevally, kahawai and snapper, with blue maomao, pink maomao, koherum pigfish and john dory also featuring.

Giacon said: "Saltfly, or saltwater fly-fishing, is one of the fastest growing sports in world angling and we had some of the top anglers at the tournament.

"They cannot believe the variety of fish we have and the easy access to them. The potential for promoting our saltfly fishing overseas is huge.

He said interest in the sport was also growing in this country as people discovered just how many fish can be caught on a fly rod.

"Anglers using the same rods which catch trout in Lake Taupo can catch school fish like kahawai, trevally and maomao, and large game fish are caught on heavier fly rods with specially designed reels to handle the extreme pressure.

"Fish like kingfish, sharks, tuna and even marlin have been caught in our waters on saltfly tackle."

The two-day tournament involves one day of fishing from a boat and one from the shore. The rules governing the sport are strict, and the leaders may have a heavy shock tippet at the end to protect the monifilament from sharp teeth and scales, but a section of what is called test leader is then attached to the shock tippet.

This may be from 1kg to 10kg breaking strain, and records are awarded for catches in the various leader classes.

Berley can be used to attract fish to the boat or the rocks, but boats may not
be under power when fish are hooked. When game fishing a boat may troll lures with no hooks as teasers to attract a fish, and the angler then casts to the fish after the boat has stopped.

When sinking fly lines are used, the fly can be presented to species which live close to the bottom, and the variety of fish which will take a fly continues to grow, with more than 30 species recorded in our waters.

The flies used vary from small baitfish imitations like those used for trout or nymphs which resemble plankton or krill, to long, colourful flies which are
designed to attract the great game fish.

There are also restrictions on the materials which can be used, the number of hooks (no more than two) and how they can be rigged.

Anglers who have tried fly- fishing in the sea report that it is a totally different experience from trout fishing, and while trout are a delicate fish, a kahawai or trevally of the same size is a much tougher adversary on the same tackle.


Kahawai are called salmon in Australia because they resemble members of the salmon or trout family, and they are regarded as a great sporting fish on saltfly or light tackle.

"Kahawai readily take a fly, and they jump like a trout - but are much stronger than trout. Visiting anglers love to fish for them, and we could develop a tourist fishing industry just around the humble kahawai," said Giacon.

He promised that next year's tournament would be even bigger than last weekend's successful event.