Friendly competition between father and son
Father and son combo landing big snappers off Kawau Island
There’s nothing like some friendly competition when you’re out fishing – and that’s exactly how Hooked-up 100% Aotearoa Fishing’s Hamish Beesley likes it when he’s out on the boat with his son, Noah.
On a recent trip out of Kawau, Hamish and Noah were doing their usual battle to see who could pull in the biggest snapper – and this time Hamish managed to bring the big one up – overtaking his previous personal best while he was at it.
“We were fishing at Kawau, where we usually fish each year. During lockdown, I had been looking at my fishfinder at little bits of rocks and areas that I would want to fish when I was out next. So I had a pre-marked spot that I hadn't tried yet, about 30m off Kawau out in the deep,” Hamish says.
The battle was on straightaway, with the first bait down seeing an epic fight with a big fish.
“We were pretty sure it was a kingi, or it could have been a shark. But then about 10 minutes in we lost it! But the next bait that went down, we got another big fish, and we thought it could have been a shark or kingi too,” Hamish says. “But as it came up, we saw a bit of colour, and she was actually a huge snapper!”
The snapper turned out to be Hamish’s personal best, weighing in a 12.4kg, beating his previous record of 24lb on 3kg.
“That one was pretty awesome itself, and then this one came along and took it out,” Hamish says.
“When we saw it come up – when you see that deep colour – we got cold shivers. It looked 3lb when it came up, it was so big.”
Hamish said that while he may have got the big one that day, Noah, 14, always gives him a run for his money.
“Every time we're out, it's biggest snapper wins, and Noah loves a bit of competition because we do so much fishing together,” Hamish says. “He was in the boat when he was a baby, and he’s been properly fishing since he was about four years old. He's caught 20lbers before, huge kingfish and trevally – he's definitely a bit of competition.”
Hamish says one of his favourite things about fishing with Noah is that they can just enjoy themselves.
“There’s no pressure – we just go out and I can do whatever, it's cool that he's really into it,” he says. “He's been a bit spoiled actually – when I think back to when I was his age, I absolutely loved fishing, and my biggest fish was like a 450 kahawai, whereas when he was 12 caught huge 15-18kg kingfish! So yeah, spoiled!”
