Time: 2pm - 5pm (NZ) [SG time= 9am - 11am]
Date: 7th November 2007 [Day 6 in NZ]
Location: Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown, New Zealand
Fishing Method: Lure Trolling
New Zealand is such a wonderful and beautiful place to live in and its very much a heaven compare to where i'm living in currently. In New Zealand, you wonldn't feel any stress or pressure at all. Life is really carefree and its the best place for retirement.
Boatman explained on using the equipments
DownRigger and my rod
Seriously, I had never ever thought that i will have a chance to fish Salmon or Trout in my whole life but this day finally arrived and i not miss the chance to catch one. Since i'm having my honeymoon trip in New Zealand and my CO (Commanding Officer) gave her greenlight to fish on the 6th Day so as to prevent me from disappointment.
My first Salmon fight...Easy job
As i will be the only one fishing, i paid NZ$100 for a 2 hour trip and my wife as an observer will have to pay NZ$50. I was really excited as this is my 1st time catching Salmon and Trout and my target is to get a big juicy fish for my sashimi dinner. The main reason why my CO allowed me to fish during our honeymoon is because she will be able to eat the freshest catch from the lake and this reason is enough to lure a Sashimi lover...hahahahaaaa.
Knock out the fish before taking out the treble hook
Trolling fishing is pretty simple and not much experience is needed. All you need is to release your line to the required length and a downrigger is used to set your line to the specific depth.
With all this done, all you need to do is to wait for the fish to strike. As i'm pretty lucky, my fist catch came within 5 minutes. The fight was not much for the salmon as is not really big and less than 2 minute, the fish landed. Another thing to take note is that when fighting the fish, do not strike too heavily as the salmon has a soft mouth. Hence, got to fight with care to prevent fish lost.
My very 1st Rainbow trout
Cleaning up the fish
Total catch
A big brown trout surfaced for food
Big Eel are hungry too!
Within the 2 hours time frame, i landed 3 Salmon and a decent Rainbow trout. It is pretty fun and a wonderful experience for me which i will not forget in my whole life. When the Boat reaches the Jetty, the boatman helped me to cut and clean the fish so that i'll be able to bring my catch to the local restaurant to cook. The intestine of the fish was thrown into the water and immediately, a big brown trout surfaced and grab the food. The boat man told me that Fishing near the Jetty was strictly prohibited and all fish at the Jetty are protected by law. Indeed, fish in New Zealand are really lucky ...if it is in Singapore...hohohoooo!
Rainbow Trout Sashimi for dinner...anyone?
As my wife loves Sashimi, I bought my catch to a Japanese Restaurant to prepared it for Sashimi which cost me NZ$15. The Texture of the Rainbow trout was superbly tender and the fresh taste really sweet without any soya sauce and Wasabi. My wife and i cleared up everything and nothing was lefted behind. Hahahaha...This is what i call fresh Sashimi. The 3 Salmon were brought back to my motel for my next day breakfast, lunch and dinner. The fish were cooked with salt and pepper using microwave and all i can say is wonderful and delicious.
