New Zealands Chatham Islands is one of the more talked about fishing destinations around the country. Many people desire to go there on holiday, and those who do, love their experience. My experience is listed below, I hope you enjoy the read:
I remember when I started fishing and used to go out in my ‘good old days’ with my grandfather and dad in the dinghy. On rods, let alone the net or setline, it was easy to haul in twenty snapper or the same amount of blue cod. Aint always like that now. As i recall, my grandfather rowing a homebuilt dory rowed out from the house in Eastbourne (NZ), would yield a boat full of good groper and blue cod, all on old cord handlines in quite shallow water. It was truly magical to hear about. I had always thought this was the thing of old peoples memories.
I had always heard awesome things about the a Chathams Stay, so when the opportunity came up to join 12 other like minded blokes and make the journey over for a week, well, its fair to say that the old man and I didn’t need to be asked twice. Especially seeing as he was generous with paying for me!
Flying in, the size of the Chathams amazed us, much bigger than our thoughts had led us to believe. Expansive and being pounded by huge swells, the Chathams Islands impressed all. Val Croon, host of our chathams accommodation, initiated us with an island tour and awesome meal, before we settled into the bar and a while later, our beds.
The next day, we did a fishing trip out to a close by reef and landed a huge variety of fish species, all great sizes that we are not used to on main land. Crayfish or rock lobster were in plentiful supply also! All in all, we had a blast and would certainly return for more of the great fishing to be had!
