Captain Dave Arrell

Dave Arrell is ‘old school’ in his approach to recreational fishing and life in general. He holds strong views on many issues, sticks to his values, and is prepared to defend them.
I grew up in the same town as Dave, Te Awamutu, but it was not until I became involved with the magazine that I got to know him well. He comes from a family of recreational fishers. His dad, Joe, well known in the stock-and-station industry until his passing early this year, and his grandfather, also Joe, shared plenty of time at sea in the eastern Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay and Taranaki.
Gathering kaimoana, whether it came wrapped in scales or in a shell, played a big part in the Arrell clan’s life, and Dave revelled in it. This influence was to set him along a path that saw him become a commercial longliner, fish smoker, charter skipper, club administrator, weighmaster and NZSFC delegate.

Grandfather Joe built the family’s first boat, a clinker-style six-metre displacement hull that was at first oar powered and later pushed along by a Seagull outboard.
“She wasn’t fast, but it beat rowing,” Dave recalls.
On leaving Te Awamutu College, Dave undertook a commercial carpentry apprenticeship, a step into an industry that provided his family with a supplementary income alongside his later fishing endeavours.

After Dave married his wife Sue, the Arrell family expanded with the arrival of Andrew, followed by Tracey, and a move to Russell in the Bay of Islands was made soon after.
Here Dave had his first taste of boat ownership, and quickly found out it was something akin to “a hole in the water you poured an endless amount of money into”.

“I started building a 40-footer, but ran out cash, so we sold it.”

Next up was something a little more modest – a 7.5m fibreglass Bayfisher named Tracy Sue. Designed for commercial use, she was well suited for her snapper long-lining role in ‘the Bay’, as well as for charter fishing. Dave says he was lucky to have the help of Eddie Wynyard, a member of a prominent Bay of Islands fishing family, to teach him the ropes. “It was a quick boat for the times, which made us a popular choice for recreational fishers who liked to spend more time fishing than travelling.”

At the same time, he and Sue began smoking fish on a commercial basis, adding another string to their financial bow. “We weren’t tagging marlin at that stage, so over the game season there were plenty of fish to do.”
However, the late 1970s and early 1980s saw the number of snapper long-liners operating in the Bay explode, creating mayhem at times. So Dave took his down-to-earth practical approach to such issues, and helped get the majority of the fishermen to form an association, setting out some ground rules for simple things such as laying lines in a way that didn’t see different boats getting their gear crossed up.

“Snapper had gone from a meagre 35 cents a pound in 1976 to around $10 a pound at one point, so it became something of a ‘gold rush’ and was getting out of hand.”
But Dave found the pressure of competing for the fish in such an environment got to him, so he pulled out and went back to building. “Typical of my luck, a couple of seasons later the Quota Management System kicked in, and if I’d stayed, I would have banked around eight tonne of snapper quota.

“But the building scene was good, so it probably worked out better in the long run, and we were starting to get busy with plenty of charter work.”
Dave also offered a service to private boat owners, where he would do the maintenance on their craft, running them occasionally and making sure they were ready when they wanted them.
Dave’s first ‘full-time’ drive, other than on his own boat, came with the Margaret Anne, a boat set up for extended game-fishing trips. He also filled in for Bruce Smith as skipper of the Lady Doreen, as well as acting as second skipper for other boats heading to places such as the Three Kings.
After nine years, the chance to buy their own boat, the Lady Clare, a twin-engined displacement launch, came along, and the Arrells based themselves out of Mangonui for a number of years.
“The ‘Clare’ was a great boat, and Sue and I had a lot of fun in her with the family, catching some good marlin – but she was like a lot of boats from the era, slow.”

Selling the boat was a tough call, but with the funds generated from that and the sale of some land, Dave was able to embark on what, for him, was a dream project: building his own game boat from scratch.

Son Andrew, who has served his boat-building apprenticeship with Jim Ashby at Opua, was called in on the project, the family moving south to Whangaroa to set up shop and build the boat in the backyard.

“There was no way we could afford to buy a new boat, so the solution was to start from scratch on one of our own.”
In some respects you could describe it as a ‘bitzer’ – a Norman Wright designed pilot hull, with Formula 4000 topsides from Jim Young – but the result was pure pedigree.
“We designed the cockpit along the lines of the Cairns boats I had fished on, as well as John Going’s boat Kitty Vane, resulting in a practical working space.
“You could still watch the lures while in the toilet, and the ‘mezzanine space’ provided a great place to relax in while trolling as well as when eating meals.”
Dave chose the hull not only for its sea-keeping abilities, but also its round chine – no noise at anchor!

The result was Double Strike, a great charter vessel – and one the writer spent many memorable days aboard, resulting in a number of magazine features as well as a couple of cover shots.
Double Strike took 14 months to build, with Andrew quitting only twice… It proved a good test of the father-son relationship, as both Dave and Andrew have a forthright approach to life. It must be the Irish blood Dave reckons!

Double Strike proved to be a fish puller, producing the goods on a regular basis for family and clients. While inwardly Dave continually put pressure on himself to produce fish, he always had a good deal of repeat business, because his clients enjoyed fishing with him.
Depending on what the clients were willing to pay, Dave did not always run with a deckhand. This saw the anglers get more involved with the day-to-day running of the boat: setting lures, tracing and gaffing fish – even doing the dishes! It often added to the experience.
Dave’s most memorable fish was a big black marlin, estimated at around 350kg, caught out from Whangaroa.

“Sue was the angler, and we got a tag into it in 45 minutes. That was when the fun started.”
With just the two of them on board, getting the fish within gaff range proved impossible, and they eventually pulled the hook.

“Each time I got it close, I had to leave the cockpit controls to try and get a wrap [on the trace], resulting in the fish digging down under the boat,” said Dave.
There have been other good fish: a 180kg striped marlin caught during a Whangaroa Ladies’ Tournament, and deckhand Bliss Ball’s blue of 181kg. Bliss went on to land another four striped marlin that season, taking out the club’s champion angler status, a feat Sue achieved several times over the years, too.

While Dave has played a part in plenty of club records, especially for Sue, there has only been one world mark, the current men’s 6kg snapper record of 16.2kg, caught in 1994 by Japanese angler K Ikegami, aboard Margaret Anne in the Bay of Islands.
Dave also caught a 100kg bass for his father-in-law Ihan Howitt, fishing off Cape Brett.
“It was one of a double header, the other fish weighing around 60 kilos.”
Another memorable fish involved an English backpacker who wanted to go game fishing early in the season.

“No one would take his money, as it was the first couple of days in December and the water was still cold and green. Myself and a mate were heading out for a ’puka fish, so I offered him a ride, but he was adamant that while in New Zealand he wanted to try for a billfish. The upshot was I gave in, and the result was the first stripy for the season that year, much to everyone’s surprise.”
The fish was caught on December 3, and not only was it the first striped marlin of the season, at 156kg it was also the heaviest.

As well as featuring prominently in the fishing press, Dave and his various boats hosted a number of television shows, including three episodes for the Mountain Dew On the Edge series, Project Jonah, The ITM fishing Show with Matt Watson and numerous European (with Hub Hall) and Japanese television shows.

Dave and Sue have always made their boat available for the Whakatane juniors to fish from in the BOI Club’s Yellowtail International. The various crews have had a great deal of success, winning the junior section on a number of occasions, as well as producing several national and tournament records, thanks to Dave’s knowledge and patience.

Another event Dave has had a long association with is the Bay of Islands Fire Brigade Tournament, which he instigated, as well as created some of the original trophies for.
Dave’s philosophy towards chartering is a little different from most operators. Most put the fishing first, followed by the client, and then the boat. Dave works the other way round – look after the boat, then the client, with the fishing third.

“Take care of your boat, respect it, and ultimately it takes care of you and your crews.”
Double Strike was sold recently, and is now based at Marsden Cove. A 7.2-metre alloy Southern trailer boat was part of the deal, and Dave keeps this vessel at Kaitaia, where Sue is principal of the local Intermediate school.
“Up there I have the best of both worlds – east and west coasts.”
Dave is happy to be out of charter fishing, where he says Maritime NZ rules are “killing the industry”.
“It is sad really, as compliance adds significantly to the cost of operating a charter boat, while the returns are diminishing. The majority of people in charge are not men of the sea with any sportfishing experience; they are merely pen pushers with no practical understanding of what happens on the boats.”

The future seems to be in the smaller, faster boats fishing the coast, Dave says.
“Kiwis are very much DIYers, and thanks to websites, as well as social and print media, we now have immediate access to information and techniques that once took a lifetime on the water to acquire. It’s possible to be an ‘instant expert’ on the first trip out.”
Dave quotes broadbill fishing as a prime example: “People are out there catching them on their first shot from small trailer boats. Good on them for having a go, but it does nothing for the charter industry, and it concerns me that overseas visitors, in particular, will not be able to get out and have a shot due to the lack of surveyed boats and qualified crew.”
Dave has always been prepared to put something back into recreational fishing, whether hosting junior teams or participating in club affairs.

As a past president of the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club, Dave is credited with bringing several conflicting factions together with his ‘no-nonsense’ approach to mediation.
He has even been before the disciplinary committee himself, while serving as President. He and several other regulars decided to ‘put down a scrum’ in the middle of the clubrooms and, as can sometimes happen ‘on the field’, the two front rows became a little over-boisterous. Dave offered his resignation, but good sense prevailed and it was not accepted. Dave is still involved in the club today as its NZSFC delegate. Practical fishing knowledge and a ‘straight-up’ approach to club administration is an asset to be valued.

In more recent times, Dave’s attention has turned towards hot-rodding, an old hobby dating back to his Te Awamutu days. He recently drove from the Bay of Islands to the NZSFC’s AGM in Christchurch in his bright-yellow 1956 Chevrolet pickup “just because I could”, before continuing all the way to the Bluff and back up to Cape Reinga.
But come this summer, you can guarantee he will be back behind the wheel of another kind – this one attached to a boat