Ben Francis' Five Favourite Things

In what is an occasional series, NZ Fishing News contributors have been asked to nominate their five favourite things with regard to their fishing. West Auckland based Ben Francis confesses that when it comes to fishing and equipment, resisting the temptation to acquire more gear is not one of his strong points, which unsurprisingly is a moot point between his lovely non-fishing wife and himself.

After several years of such temptations being satisfied, one ends up with quite a lot of fishing related gear that could be up for selection in the ‘my five favourite things’ category. So, the following is a list of five items that I simply wouldn’t be without on any given fishing trip, but this is by no means an exhaustive list!

The fishing platform – Senator RH560 powered by a Mercury 4 stroke 150HP outboard

My fishing simply wouldn’t be what it is without our family boat Elma J, a 2008 Senator RH560 which was recently repowered with a Mercury 4 stroke 150HP outboard engine. We predominantly fish out of Auckland’s west coast, which means crossing the Manukau Bar approximately 15 to 20 times per year, mainly targeting snapper with a handful of deep drops and gamefishing missions in the mix each season as well. With the inherent dangers of bar crossings and the varied nature of our fishing, having a boat that provides both a safe and versatile platform is important, and I really couldn’t speak more highly of our setup. It’s not the biggest rig out west but it certainly punches above its weight and hasn’t let us down! This is easily top of the list when it comes to my favourite things.

Elma J, the Francis family’s Senator RH560 trailerboat, recently underwent a major overhaul, including the addition of a Mercury 150HP four stroke outboard.

Shimano fishing reels

As previously noted, we do a whole range of different fishing which requires a range of different reel options – another moot point with my wife but it’s easily solved with ‘trade agreements’!

I was introduced to fishing by my father, and we originally fished with Penn Senators which were great reliable reels. However, over the years we have changed over to Shimano tackle in various forms, which we find to be high performing and reliable, doing everything we ask of them. On the inshore bottom fishing front, we fish relatively deep water (40-60m) and our go to snapper reels are Talica 10 lever drags, of which we have two that are approaching 10 years of service. For our gamefishing, we use the legendary Tiagras; there is nothing like the growl of that ratchet when the pelagics turn up in the spread!

Shimano is the tackle of choice for Ben, who loves nothing better than to hear the howl of a Tiagra under load.

Black Magic tackle bag

Storage of terminal tackle and other ‘bits and pieces’ on a small trailer boat can be challenging, especially so if you’re like me and everything has to have its place. Combine this with the need to empty the boat after every trip to keep thieving hands at bay, and tackle storage that is practical and easy to move becomes essential. I’ve had my Black Magic tackle bag for several years and although it’s now a faded shade of black, it’s still going strong. With the various pockets and slide in plastic storage boxes, I’m able to keep all of my terminal tackle, a few trace spools, balloons for livebaiting, pliers, and more in an orderly fashion, allowing easy access to various items when I need them.

With its many pockets and slide-in storage containers, Ben can cover most fishing bases when he heads away with his Black Magic tackle bag in tow.

Icey Tek chilly bin

My theory with catching fish is that if you are going to keep it, then you treat it with respect and within all practical means do everything you can to optimise its eating quality. There are many aspects to this process which would easily constitute an article in themselves but keeping the catch cold over long days in the summer sun is paramount. We have a 115L Icey Tek, which seems to be perfectly sized for our boat and fits a good catch of snapper and typical west coast sized kingfish. Although salt ice is the best way to make a slurry, we simply freeze a number of bottles filled with saltwater, put them in the bin and add water. After a short time, the water is sufficiently (very) cold and provides an even cooling effect around the fish in the bin. Our bin is no longer a showroom model, with scratches on the lid and a few snapper spines embedded in the inner walls but as a testament to the product, it’s still going strong after what would be at least a couple of hundred trips.

The fish are treated with respect aboard Elma J. Ben keeps the catch in good condition in a 115l IceyTek bin filled with frozen water bottles to create an ice water slurry.

Victory knives

Converting your catch to prime quality fillets for family and friends requires a good quality knife. I’ve tried various brands, ranging from cheap to what I consider very expensive. By far the best knife for me has been from the range of knives produced by New Zealand brand Victory. Being stainless steel, these knives are low maintenance in the saltwater environment, and I have personally found them reasonably easy to keep a good edge on. We have owned four for many years now and they still make their way through a bin of fish no problem. Best of all, if you want to add another variation to the mix or retire an old one to become a bait knife, the price point means buying a new knife isn’t too much of a daunting task.

When dealing with the catch, Ben has found the Victory range of knives work best for him from both a performance and cost point of view.

There we have it – my five favourite things. Although they are my favourites, they might not necessarily be the most important. I consider all of my safety equipment – lifejackets, EPIRB, flares and the like to be compulsory items and should come before all else. Tight lines and keep safe on your fishing missions this summer.