Chasing monster kings in New Zealand (again!)

[steelfish]

wow, a fantastic trip or should I say, fantasy trip

[redsetta]

if i kill one of these in 60 seconds, can i lay the rod on the rail?  it works great for yellowfin tuna!

Haha, nope!
Unless you want the skipper and deckie swearing at ya   
They pretty much all go back over the side anyway.

[alantani]

ok, then pass.  need to protect my shoulders.  two bad rotator cuffs take priority over a skipper and deckhand!!!!

[boon]

ok, then pass.  need to protect my shoulders.  two bad rotator cuffs take priority over a skipper and deckhand!!!!

They might give you a bit of grief but at the end of the day they're there to provide a top quality experience and if that's how you want to fish they can shut up and accommodate it  . I'd love to see how the rail technique works down this part of the world. I've never heard of people doing it because of the "tough macho" thing.

[Patudo]

Charter crews outside the U.S. won't give an American angler serious grief (ie. beyond a bit of banter) about the way s/he fishes, because they all know how well U.S. clients tip! 

Leaving that aside, I think in some parts of the world there is that perception that placing your rod on the rail is somehow unsporting, but who cares. That style of large NZ vessel is not dissimilar to a CA party boat and should be a good situation for rail rodding (high rail, large unmanoeuverable vessel where a longer rod can keep line away from the boat, etc). 

[jurelometer]

Yeah, the sporting thing is a bit arbitrary about where the line is drawn.  Fishing for sport is a bit of an oddball activity, so it doesn't make sense to me to tell someone else how they are supposed to have fun.  Fly fishing can get to be ridiculous when it comes to what is "sporting".

But I was also thinking that our southern hemisphere members must be cringing a little watching our San Diego long range trip videos.  Lots of rod-railing and handing off rods to deckhands to complete the fight.  I think that the SD long range trips originated with harvesting as a goal, and while it is changing slowly, harvest counts are still how a trip's success is measured.  Nothing wrong with harvesting, BTW.

If I went on one of these NZ yellowtail trips, I would probably go with the flow, figuring to learn a thing or two, but have to be honest about not being enthused about staying off the rail on a 70 lb fish

Been awhile since I have been to NZ, but remember that in that part of the world, the exporting of American tipping culture was not looked upon favorably. I am on their side on this.

The problem with tipping is that rather than coming to an agreement on what a fair price for service is, the customer gets to decide how profitable the service will be.  And then there is always that guy who thinks that he will get a premium service by overtipping, which drives up the average tip, which just increases the portion of payment that is arbitrary.  All this creates an imbalance of power.

One customer tactic I see a lot in Baja is negotiating down to a very low price and then tipping very well (30% or more) if happy with the trip, which is usually more about how good the fishing is rather than if the guide puts in a honest day's effort. In the end, it seems to both sides are usually less happy, and price transparency is hard to come by. Not a healthy marketplace. This is a direct result of having a large portion of customers coming from an area where being a big tipper is considered high status.

If tipping is customary, I think that it is only fair to pay the customary tip.  Being a "big tipper" is not helping in the long run, and introducing tipping where it is not present is not so great either.

Just my opinion...

-J

[redsetta]

Re: the tendency to avoid railing here - it's probably a combination of factors.
It's a lot more common in NZ to use big spinners (eg Saltiga, Dog Fight, Stella etc) on monster kings, whether casting or jigging.
For obvious reasons, railing isn't an option when using an eggbeater, so there's definitely a bit of an attitude that if they can land a 90lb king without using the rail, why should anyone need to?
Also worth bearing in mind that the average size of kings on these trips (in my experience) has been 75-90lb (115lb at the top end), which is a terrific fight that really doesn't require rail assistance.
If our kings got to cow tuna size (eg 200lb+), however, that'd be a different story...

[jurelometer]

"Only" 75-90 lbs?  I will rail a 30  lber off the rocks  without shame

-J

[boon]

A friend just came back from a 3 Kings trip, I was invited but work got in the way.

Best Kingfish (Yellowtail for our northern friends) was just shy of 100lb, many fish over 60lb. All released.
Filled the freezer with Bass (Wreckfish), 2 fish over 90lb and several other very solid ones.

Weather was apparently terrible the entire time but they fished through it. No billfish this trip.

[steelfish]

wow a 100# kingfish !!   

[Crab Pot]

My back is sore just thinking of a 100 YT and not being able to use the rail...

[boon]

[redsetta]

Good times!