British fly angler and police constable, Robin Parker, visited the Bay Of Islands in January and had an excellent morning on Terry Newcombes' Island Water taxi.

    It culminated in the capture of this fine snapper on fly. The snapper was estimated at seven kilos an is one of the largest snapper taken on fly in this country. Many saltwater fly anglers have been trying for years to catch a large snapper like this on a fly rod. Robin did it in one day. The snapper came from under a work-up in forty metres of water and was swimming well off the bottom, taking the fly only a few metres under the surface.                                                                                                                                                  

 Previously Robin had been fishing his flies down a burley trail on a moderately deep reef. He had taken kahawai, trevally, small snapper and a few rat kings. Looking for something bigger, they headed toward a gannet work-up and tried their luck. Very soon he was hooked up and loosing line. The fish was powerful and kept Terry and Robin busy for a long   half  hour. They thought it might be a medium-sized kingfish, but a flash of red down deep confirmed it as a snapper. With the fly firmly in it's mouth, the fish came easily to the net.                                                                                                                                                                          

Robin was very pleased with his large fish, but perhaps he didn't realise the quality of his prize. Any Kiwi fly fisher fishing the salt would regard a snapper like this as a trophy. Big snapper don't come easy on fly. Some years back a couple of visiting American fly fishers showed their skills by catching two ten kilo-plus snapper on fly. These remain amongst the biggest snapper caught on fly, but Robin's fish was pretty close to being up there with them. Maybe local fly-fishers are doing something wrong.At the moment, visiting fly fishers seem to be having all the luck. Well done, Robin and Terry.

Contact Terry   0800TINBOAT(08008462628) or fish@islandwatertaxi.co.nz

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