Christian-Ray Simons with the snapper he caught off the South Taranaki coast. Photo: Supplied
A Taranaki kayak fisher brushed off a couple of shark encounters on his way to reeling in a massive snapper, which is odds-on to win its division in the year-long Export New Zealand Fishing Competition that closes at the end of May.
Christian-Ray Simons and brother Daniel paddled six kilometres out off the South Taranaki Coast to where he hooked the 91cm, 12kg monster, but not before having to release two sharks he'd inadvertently snagged.
"We caught a couple of decent-sized sharks, which we usually bring up to the side of the kayak and to get the hooks out if we can. Usually, if they're not too big, we'll lift them up and push their head down hard on our legs, so they can't nip us, and let them go again.
"Most people just cut the hook off and it will rust out in 4-5 days in salt water, so you don't have to lift them up and risk losing your fingers."
Simons, a contract dairy farmer, said it wasn't uncommon to encounter sharks while out fishing on their Viking kayaks, which weighed about a third as much as the sharks they let go on the day they caught the monster snapper.
"One was a big grey boy or a school shark, and was maybe 60kg and 1.5m long. The other one was a seven-gill sort of polka-dot shark that scavenges the bottom, and that was probably roughly the same - 1.5-1.7 metres and about 60-80 kilos."
Simons said he'd only ever been concerned about a shark once, while out on his kayak.
"The only time I've been a little bit worried about having a shark around was when I had a marco shark almost a length of my kayak, swimming around me. That definitely had me pulling my toes out of the water."
He thought he had a shark on the line, when the snapper took his bait.
"I had a nice big snapper bait down, and thought I hooked up to a big kingfish or another big shark, and I fought it for about 20 minutes on the kayak.
"It dragged me - the kayaks aren't very heavy, they're only 25-28 kilos - and there I was sitting on top of the water, being pulled by a fish half the weight of the kayak. It doesn't take much to for it to drag the kayak and start moving you around."
The Simons brothers had paddled out to a sharp drop off and, after reeling in a couple of fish for the table, turned their attention to the big snapper.
Christian-Ray, who also targeted marlin and tuna from his kayak, likened the experience to deer hunting with a bow.
"It feels like the difference of going deer hunting with a gun - you can shoot them 300 metres away - or going deer hunting with a bow. It just adds that extra bit of a challenge, you have put in all the work to get to where you go.
"When you catch a big fish, you have to play it. You can't lift 40 kilos of weight on the kayak or you'll tip out, so you have to play it more strategic and know what you're targeting, and take the gear you need to target that that as well."
In this case, it was a good Shimano rod and reel, big hook and trevally bait.
The snapper weighed in at 12kg and, although giant snapper were not regarded good eating and generally released, this fish came home with the Simons brothers.
"This one was actually delicious. It was no different than getting a good 40-50 centimetre one. It went into a cashew carry and it was delicious."
Simons, who had a second snapper in the competition's top 10, said if his fish did take out top prize in its division, it would be just about the bragging rights.
"We're out there because we love it and not even about winning anything. It's just nice to be out and about and off the farm."
The snapper weighed in at almost half the weight of the kayak. Photo: Supplied
Export Fishing Competition chief executive Grant Blair was in awe of the Simons brothers on their kayaks.
"That shows real commitment, and it's a great example of the wonderful New Zealand spirit of getting out there and doing it.
"It just highlights the fact that some people are very competent and capable, and can have great success. You don't need a $300,000 boat to go and enjoy what we have on our coastline."
Christian-Ray's snapper was eighth equal in the snapper division's Hall of Fame, where top dog was Brad Bowden, who landed a 95cm snapper from a boat off Little Barrier Island in 2017.
Blair said the competition had a founding principle of sustainability, because fishers only had to take a photo of the fish against an approved measurement scale, allowing the choice of releasing their catch, or taking it home to feed friends and family.
The contest was for fish caught using a rod and reel only, and saltwater species could be taken from boat, jetski or kayak, or from the beach or rocks.
Blair said eligible species included snapper, kingfish, kahawai, trevally, gurnard (red gurnard only), tarakihi (excluding king tarakihi), john dory and blue cod, provided they met legal size limits.
"Top dog gets the ultimate in bragging rights, so that's the biggest prize for the longest fish. Other prizes are drawn, and that just encourages people to engage with what we're doing and to think about sustainability, when they're out there fishing.
"You're trying to do your best in the competition and catch something worthy, but also able to release the fish if they want to. It's quite a change in how competitions are run these days."
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