Fishing Personality - Pete Lamb

When I started with NZ Fishing News three decades ago, I inherited an eclectic bunch of contributors, and included in the mix was Wellingtonian landbased specialist Pete Lamb.

He was part of an extremely talented angling lineup who were super-passionate about their fishing, making the most of any piscatorial pursuit presented to them. There was an urban myth doing the rounds at the time that suggested the capital’s anglers had the ‘biggest and best maintained tackle collections of any fishers nationwide’ – the weather was always so crappy they never got to take their gear into the field, but were left sitting at home polishing it.

I was soon to find out that was far from the truth as I spent an evening ‘somewhere just a little north’ of Ngawi, sheltering behind a log from the blast of the rampant southerly while targeting blue moki. If you poked your head above the ‘trenches’ you got a face full of gravel for your trouble, and there was just a bottle of artillery port between us and total hypothermia. We caught nothing, but ‘Lambo’ was more than happy – he was in his natural environment and was fishing!

Napier-based writer Bruce Basher (left) and Pete Lamb with a Henderson Point, Houhora, kingfish capture.

I also learned that evening just how dedicated Wellington anglers were to their sport as Pete got a crayfish out of the chilly bin – I thought he was being the hostess with the mostest, treating his northern visitor to a seafood delight. While I waited for the crackers to appear, Pete deftly cut a chunk of the uncooked cray tail, whipping it onto his hook with bait elastic. Crayfish as bait? You have to be kidding me, right? No, with shoulders hunched into the ‘breeze’ and bent like a staple, he angled his way to the shoreline, wading out as far as he dared before casting the tasty morsel to where he hoped a blue moki was waiting – it turned out it wasn’t!

Since then, I have enjoyed several adventures with Pete, including a trip to fish the Ninety Mile Beach Snapper Classic where, on a day when a huge swell made surfcasting almost impossible, we headed across to Henderson Bay on the east coast for a spot of landbased gamefishing. It was to be a most memorable day for me, landing a kingfish in the 40kg bracket off the bricks. It was put back to fight another day, a decision made all that much easier when I saw the hill I would have had to carry it up to get back to the truck!

We caught several other kingfish that day, along with a couple of snapper in the midteens. It was my first day of ‘LBGF’ and I have had some good ones subsequently, but none as exciting or as productive as that. Pete had spoilt me for life!

The Wellington coastline can produce some great fishing to which Pete can attest.

Pete is a Wellingtonian through and through. Brought up in Paraparaumu by keen fishing couple Tom and Joy Lamb, he was introduced to all things marine from a very young age. He was schooled in Tawa, attending Redwood Primary and then Tawa College.

A career involving the sea was always a given, and his first ‘job’ was a six-month stint at Greta Point research facility where he was involved in deepwater studies. A highlight was a twoweek trip to the southern orange roughy grounds and another was a study on crayfish where he participated in the fieldwork.

At around 17 Pete went to work at the Talleys Motueka factory, doing stints in the fish sheds and freezers.

“It was not the job I thought it would be – it was more like a prison – so I only lasted a month or so,” Pete recalls.

His next job was at ICI Ltd as a computer operator. This job had unsociable hours, but to a young fanatical fisho it was perfect as it freed up daylight time for his passion. It also gave him time to write the occasional article for the WASAC ( Wellington Angling and Casting) club newsletters, and this led to contributing to NZ Fishing News.

Taking on computer tech contracts with DoC and Telecom saw Pete double his income from his earlier days. It allowed him to work six months on, earning enough to sustain his fishing habit for the other half of the year. He was in fishing heaven, traveling throughout the North Island in pursuit of big snapper and kingfish.

“Pete’s claim to fame was New Zealand’s first landbased yellowfin tuna, caught at Cape Brett.”

And it wasn’t just this inshore species that piqued his angling interest. Pete and various buddies made the trek to Cape Brett 10 times or so in pursuit of a landbased marlin – they never caught one, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.

The closest they came ‘could have been’ a billfish.

“We had put out a small kingfish as a livebait which attracted the attention of something big – all we saw was a fin and a big splash before it raced off. Neither of us (Richard Newton-King was his buddy that day) had seen a marlin this close, but the fin I saw was nothing like that of one of the many sharks I was familiar with. I grabbed the rod, lost 350m of line and foolishly applied more drag rather than less, popping the line soon after due to the water pressure.”

Pete says Cape Brett was one of those places full of promise for the landbased anglers with the stamina and mettle to fish it.

“We had some hairy moments. I was washed off the rocks twice, another angler put a popper’s treble hook through his lip, but we encountered some big snapper. One trip yielded half-a-dozen fish over 20lb.”

Pete with a tasty 'puka caught from the Cook Strait aboard Daniel.

Pete had always wanted to get into business on his own account. This opportunity came when he set himself up as a landbased charter guide.

“I soon found out this was very much a lifestyle choice, not a money-making venture.”

His favourite fishing ground was the East Cape’s Lottin Point/Cape Runaway area. He would take charters away for several days, staying at the Kemp family farm.

The late Jim Kemp (who passed away on Boxing Day, 2022) became a close friend who shared the same passion for the region and its fishing opportunities.

“East Cape, and in particular Cape Runaway, was a place where you were rewarded for your efforts.”

Pete’s claim to fame was New Zealand’s first landbased yellowfin, caught at Cape Brett. It was also where he caught his PB kingfish, a respectable fish of 33kg.

“I have hooked some bigger ones, but the encounters have always ended with the fish winning!”

Not wanting to go back to a ‘desk job’, Pete hooked up with Les Flower initially to run boat charters, along with Norm Carson and Pete Able.

“These guys had the boats and the (skipper) tickets, I was the fishing guide.”

After getting enough sea time, Pete gained his skipper’s ticket and purchased a six-metre Shark Cat which he put into survey.

“I was probably a little naïve and made a poor choice for several reasons. I had believed the boat would be good to fish five to six people, when in fact three to four was more ideal but didn’t fit the business model.”

It was to be the school of hard knocks and a tough learning curve for the inexperienced skipper.

Returning to Island Bay after one trip with a paraplegic angler on board, the boat filled with water and sunk, leaving everyone in the tide. Fortunately, all were wearing lifejackets.

“Our rescuers were close at hand and everyone made it back to shore safely, only to be met by radio and television media who had a field day. They (the media) hounded me for several days – it was a bad time for all.”

The MSA investigation censured Pete, who admits he made some mistakes.

“Water is easy to take on board, but a bloody sight harder to get off.”

Going back to his partnership plan, Pete hooked up with Dave Woods who owned Sandra J.

“It was a slow start, but Dave knew the Trench – a popular Cook Straight deepwater fishing location – very well and as our reputation grew, so did our client base. We would always set a few pots so the anglers would go home with fish and, if they were lucky, some crayfish. It was a point of difference that worked to our advantage.”

Pete says he and Dave had ‘created a monster’ that wore them out, their partnership dissolving as they went their own ways.

Pete then joined forces with John Fagher to import Melicent, an ex-Australian (Hobart) commercial fishing boat, which they operated out of Mana for several years. The partnership bought another vessel, the Daniel, a former bluefin tuna boat which they operated out of Wellington, fishing the Strait.

“Daniel was a beast of a boat at 62ft long and weighing 115 tonnes, carrying 10 tonnes of diesel, and she could be a handful to manoeuvre.”

Pete admits having a couple of ‘interesting’ incidents when handling the boat at close quarters. All he would say was, “Cellphones should not be allowed on the bridge, they are too distracting.” (I think the police are trying to get the same message across to motorists, Pete!)

Pete Lamb at the ‘command centre’ – his office at Pete Lamb Fishing and Southern baits at Rongotai.

It was not just as a charter operator that Pete has made his mark on the local fishing scene. While all the chartering was going on, he established Pete Lamb Fishing, a shop and Southern Baits factory at Rongotai. For five years he had a second tackle/bait shop at Seaview.

“I sometimes think I had taken on more than I could cope with, especially when you add a family into the mix.”

Taking his own advice on board, Daniel was sold six years ago and Pete is back working with owner/ operators where he does the guiding.

His latest effort is with George Elkington who has two boats – the 50-foot Elusive at Mana and the 40-foot Destiny. The latter will soon be based in Wellington where they will be offering 3-4 hour trips fishing the harbour.

“What we have on our doorstep is a fantastic fishing resource and it is much less affected by the strong northerly and southerly winds. We can see dolphins most trips and we also offer evening barbecue and music cruises.”

Pete has another passion and that is blues music. On his earlier charters his harmonica was never too far away and he loves to jam at any opportunity where he also drums and plays the guitar.

“My passion for music is as strong as my love of fishing. A good jam session is as big a buzz as a hot bite – real feel-good stuff.

“An ultimate buddy is one who fishes and loves to jam – there have been a couple of those in trout guide Louie the Fish and fishing personality Billy Hohepa,” as well as various Wellington and Auckland-based muso/fishing mates.

Pete’s passion for music has been shared with younger daughter Jackie who is an accomplished mandolin player and in demand among Irish, English and Scottish folk music bands in particular.

And Pete’s current project? He is working on a bunch of songs for a fishing-orientated album, with one special one dedicated to his late great mate Jim Kemp.

Back to the fishing, and Pete has some good advice for any newbie out there wanting to work on their knowledge base.

“Get yourself along to a club and get out among the seasoned anglers for even just an hour or two. Don’t fish, just watch what they do – how and where they cast, their rigs, baits, hook sizes and trace. Be respectful, tread gently, make yourself useful and the invites will come.”

And to conclude, Pete’s favourite fishing place, his Holy Grail?

“That’s easy, it has to be at East Cape at a place a few of us call Competition Point. You never know what is going to turn up along this coastline as we have seen tuna being caught there, along with some impressive trophy snapper and kingfish.”

So exactly where is this Competition Point, Pete? “To find that out, you will have to take a landbased charter.”

July 2024 - Grant Dixon
New Zealand Fishing News Magazine.
Copyright: NZ Fishing Media Ltd.
Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited