Learning from Mark Hemingway

Over the last five years or so of actively fishing club competitions at the Mount Maunganui Sport Fishing Club, Hayden Speed has got to know some amazing people, including Mark Hemingway who has held the snapper IGFA all-tackle world record since 1992. Hayden caught up with Mark to recount the record capture and other matters angling.

Mark has been part of the Mount club since the early 90’s and is heavily involved in New Zealand Sport Fishing Council (NZSFC), currently serving as the IGFA representative.

The Hemingway family are ‘world famous’ in the Mount club for consistently winning comps and being part of many New Zealand and world record breaking captures. Mark is best known for his massive snapper that still stands as an all tackle world record today. At 17.2kg, caught on 10 kg line in 7m of water fishing at Motiti Island, it’s a pretty epic catch! You only have to scroll through the record book to see the Hemingway name pop up repeatedly! Their success (as well as that of others) inspired me to get into sport fishing. I recently caught up with Mark to discuss that record breaking fish, and ask a few other questions too...

This snapper weighed in at 17.2kg, and remains the all tackle IGFA world record fish.

HS: What was your reaction when the snapper surfaced and you saw colour? 

MH: When I first saw colour I thought that it might’ve been a little stingray, as I saw flashes of the white belly of the fish – in my own mind I thought it was a snapper. It had fought like a snapper. When I first hooked it I thought that it was a kahawai as it fought on the surface the entire fight, which was unusual as it was in seven metres of water so it should’ve gone down into the reef.

HS: How long did the fight last?

MH: The fight was about 10 minutes.

HS: What type of bait were you using and how was it rigged?

MH: It was a whole flying fish and the terminal tackle consisted of a standard one-hook strayline. I always use just one hook.

HS: What did the weighmaster say when you turned up with a 17kg snapper?

MH: He said ‘I think we’re going to need some bigger scales!’ The club scales at the time only went up to 15kg. We had to go down to a local butcher to use his set. 

HS: Did you ever return to the spot where you caught your snapper? 

MH: I took my son there a couple of years ago as he’d never really fished it before. He was after a snapper bigger than the line weight and landed a 6.7kg snapper on 6kg line so it still works! I’ve also pulled a few 20lbers out of there over the years.

HS: Do you think catching the all tackle world record snapper at such a young age changed the course of your fishing career? 

MH: I don’t think it changed the course as I was pretty much into fishing but it put a lot more pressure on me and then some people were obviously jealous and annoyed at it. What they don’t realise is the amount of time and effort that goes into catching a fish like that. Put in the time and you’ll get the rewards.

HS: Besides your snapper, what are your top three most memorable catches?

MH: Probably my 60kg yellowfin tuna on 15kg line is at the top. That was a special one as it was only the second or third fish caught in the country that year. It was also special as it was just me and my old man onboard. 

Mark with one of his favourite catches of all time - a 60.2kg yellowfin on 15kg line.

My second most memorable fish is my first ever trevally to go over line weight. I targeted them for ages on 2kg line and just kept getting busted, and finally got one. It was only 2.2kg but I was stoked! It’s only a little fish but it meant a lot to me as trevally are good fighters.

My third most memorable fish is a 37kg kingfish caught down at the Ranfurly Banks – it ate a whole skippy!

HS: Do you believe the saying of ‘big bait, big fish’?

MH: Yeah definitely, but sometimes you can catch them on a nice little bait, especially if they’re a bit cagey. 

HS: What was your most memorable moment out on the water?

MH: There have been a few but probably our first yellowfin and marlin. We had tried for years to get both and then it just happened. After that it seemed easy but just to catch the first of those species was so hard. With the yellowfin we actually had a four-way strike and landed three of them. We were always in the right areas, but we just didn’t have any luck!

HS: If you could choose one fish, and one method, to catch the last fish you would ever catch, what would it be?

MH: Definitely livebaiting or straylining (cubing) for yellowfin tuna. It’s so visual and you see the big fish come in and you can almost pull the bait out of the way of the small ones. Back in the 80’s and 90’s it was phenomenal – fish just crashing at the side of the boat and you got splashed when the fish were taking baits. It was unreal!

HS: What fish do you most enjoy targeting and with what method? 

MH: Just a good old basic strayline session. If you get onto a good strayline session, you just can’t beat it. 

HS: What is your number one favourite fishing location? 

MH: Probably Waihau Bay. It’s just so special down there and I have a lot of memories there. The fishing is really close for a small boat and you can just go out for a couple of hours whether you’re bottom fishing or gamefishing.

HS: What fish are on your ‘bucket list’?

MH: Yeah there’s still a few. A sailfish and a dogtooth tuna would be pretty cool. I’ve caught most of the other fish on my bucket list but these are the two of the ones left.

HS: What fishing locations are on your ‘bucket list’?

MH: Kuala Rompin in Malaysia. It sounds like a pretty special sailfish fishery there. Another spot in NZ would be Cape Maria Van Diemen. I think if my snapper’s going to get beaten it’ll be from a fish up there!