Unusual Ways Of Catching Fish

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29776, 20 March 1962, Page 6

Unusual Ways Of Catching Fish

“The Press” Special Service

AUCKLAND, March 16

Several unusual methods of tine fishing, some of them based on the Kon-Tiki raft, have appeared on ocean beaches of the North Island, and are meeting with varying degrees of success.

One resident' of Thornton, between Whakatane and Matata. manages to combine the sports of fishing and golf. He recently appeared on the beach carrying a driver and a golf ball.

The golf ball, with fishing line attached, was placed on a moupd of sand and driven out to sea. Shortly afterwards, —it is reported—he hauled in his line and walked off carrying a fine snapper. A fisherman at Kawerau has developed a small submarine, driven by a 12-volt battery and electric-fan motor, for line fishing. The submarine is fitted with an alarm clock, set for 10 minutes. When the alarm goes off, a sinker cuts off the power from the battery, and the line drops down into the water.

Another resident in the town, an archery enthusiast, plans to use steel arrows to take out a light nylon line.

A form of Kon-tiki raft, driven by a model-aeroplane engine, has been designed and built by another man. The engine is set on a cross support, clear of the water, and carries enough petrol to take out the line.

A kite, measuring about 6ft by 3ft and built of light bamboo, was used near Whakatane some years ago with considerable success.

Newspaper pasted on the frame peeled off when the kite was dropped into the water, leaving the frame and possibly the fish to be hauled back.

Kites are now being used by line fishermen on the beaches of Britain.

A steel Kon-tiki is now on sale in some Auckland sports stores. This model is basically a pontoon, carrying a keel which can be locked in any position. With a round, steel sail, the Kon-tiki can be sailed almost directly into the wind like a yacht. A tug on a line lowers the sail and drops the hooks up to 1000 yards from the shore.

The simply - constructed wooden kon-tiki and inflated inner tube, relying on a barley sugar dissolving to release sails and line, is still the most popular on North Island beaches.

An Auckland confectionery firm recently received a suggestion from Bay of Plenty enthusiasts that it manufacture a barley sugar which would dissolve in a specified number of minutes. Because of the cost and extra work involved, the suggestion had to be rejected, but the firm still finds that its sales of barley sugar in the Bay of Plenty are the highest in New Zealand.