|
Fishing:
Long lining
 By
Mark Hofert
One
thing that lots of beach-going New Zealanders love to do is to go
long lining.
This
is where you take a long fishing line - up to one kilometre long
- from the beach with up to 25 hooks attached and, a couple of hours
later, haul in a variety of fresh fish.
It
all sounds too easy, but start talking to the locals and you'll
find that long lining has become a fine art.
Getting
the line out is the first consideration. People will use kites,
plastic bags filled with air, kayaks, home-made contikis (rafts)
and even revolutionary torpedos.
Each
has its pros and cons, but all will get the line out the required
distance to get the angler, into the fish. The line is spooled on
a reel fixed to the beach.
 Some
people will pre-bait hooks then pull the line out onto the beach
and attached everything before casting out the line. Others will
send the line out then bait up as it goes out to sea.
Kayakers
will sometimes take their line out, anchor it, then bait up back
along the anchored line.
No
matter what method is used though, they all get their fair share
of fish.
What
is the most important thing about long lining though is that it
is largely a social event.
Whole
families and neighborhoods will take all their collected equipment
down to the beach and help each other to launch their various rigs
into the ocean. They will swap ideas, make fires and enjoy the two
or more hours that there is before you can again collect your line.
 Just
recently I was on the beach at Matata awaiting my catch when our
group of families were treated to a show from a pod of Orca just
10 metres from the beach. Our children followed them down the beach
for over a kilometre while the whales frolicked in the surf. (Shame
you forgot to take your camera Mark!!!!!!!!! - Ed)
We
all help each other pull in the line once it's full of fish. The
biggest challenge of the day is the competition that invariably
ensues around who can give away the most fish.
My
favorite way to prepare beach caught Kahawai is to smoke them. Smokers
can be bought at almost any hardware or tackle shop. You place little
cups of metholated spirits under the smoker. Inside the smoker you
spread a small quantity of wood shavings, manuka is the best. Above
this goes the rack with the fish and on top of the lid.
Preparation
and Cooking
-
Clean the Kahawai then split the fish through the backbone, but
not through the skin and open it out flesh side up.
-
Mix about 2 cups of brown sugar with a half a cup of salt
-
Coat the fish liberally with olive oil
-
Coat the fish with all of the Sugar / Salt mixture
-
Place in the lit smoker for about 20 minutes
-
Serve hot or cold on a large plate in the middle of a table This
is a finger food and must be shared. It's a very popular way to
eat Kahawai in New Zealand and you must give it a try.
|
