Louis Ingles piscatorial artwork

A passion for fishing can manifest itself in many ways. Grant Dixon talks to Louise Ingle, whose piscatorial artwork under the Just Add Water banner is turning heads…

Growing up in a fishing family with lots of opportunity for quality fishing from a young age, it’s no wonder Louise Ingle is passionate about her fishing. That passion is expressed not only on the water, but whenever she puts pencil, brush or even electronic pen to paper, to reveal a remarkable artistic streak.

Louise’s parents, Eric and Maree McIver, are both keen and accomplished anglers, and they view fishing as a great pastime to be shared with the family from an early age.

“Dad was right into his motocross, but realised this was not something easily shared with a young family, so fishing it was.”

The Morrinsville farming family purchased boats and a holiday home at Waihau Bay, so there was plenty of opportunity to get out on the water, both there and the nearby Western Bay of Plenty.

Louise wasn’t truly bitten by the fishing bug until 1999, when she was 12, upon catching her first marlin off Taranaki, which was ‘going off’ that summer.

“I remember there were fish (marlin) everywhere, and it proved to be a fantastic year for everyone fishing the west coast.”

She says the only time she has seen a similar frenzy was at Waihau Bay a few months ago, when the bluefin tuna arrived, followed by anglers in great numbers.

“It [Waihau Bay] was crazy, I have never seen anything like it – it was busier than at the height of the summer holiday season.”

Growing up, much of her fishing took place aboard the Bladerunner Ariki Tai, the family boat for around 16 years, until her parents sold and replaced it with the Extreme 850 Reel Busy. Brothers Lucas and Brad, along with Louise and husband Ryan, have shares in another boat, Fowl Hooked, an Extreme 700. The name reflects the family’s business raising chickens.

On one trip, Louise learned a valuable angling lesson. She was hooked up to a blue marlin which became tail-wrapped and died, necessitating a determined effort to raise it one hard-earned turn of the handle at a time.

“I wanted to show the white flag, but Dad pointed out that if I was in labour, I wouldn’t be able to give up, and to keep grinding it out. We eventually got the fish after much effort.”

While Louise rates one of her best catches as a 69.9kg bass (wreckfish), a then-national record, her passion for fishing has seen her travel to Samoa, Exmouth and Cairns in Australia, and Hawaii’s Kona, chasing billfish.

Louise says she has yet to tangle with anything really big, but that is only a matter of time.

“The big fish have eluded me; they have been caught on the boats we fish on, either the day before we arrive or the day after we leave. I think they do it just to keep me coming back!”

In 2015, Louise did three days aboard the well-known Australian charter boat Hellraiser fishing out of Cairns. While they caught six black marlin, the ‘big girl’ eluded them there, too.

Louise is a firm believer that it is not the size of the fish that matters, but the company kept while chasing them. She fishes as often as she can with good buddies Candice Lawson and Nicky Sinden, and they have shared a number of adventures together, including catching a ‘billfish slam’ out of Exmouth, Australia.

“I have met some cool people through fishing.” Her next offshore adventure will be with her brothers and husband, who won an entry to the IGFA World Championship in Costa Rica next year, courtesy of a Waihau Bay Sport Fishing Club event.

“I am really looking forward to that! I have heard so much about their fishery and will enjoy fishing a different style to ours here in New Zealand. I am sure there will be lots to learn, and hopefully we can apply it to our efforts back home.

“It is rare that Ryan and I get out fishing together, as one or other of us usually has to be home to run the poultry farm.”

There is a fourth-generation family member who continues the family’s fishing tradition – Louise and Ryan’s son, Boyd.

At just under five years old, Boyd is as keen as anyone in the family to go fishing, and already has some good fish, including hapuku, to his credit.

“A bent-butt rod in the holder and ‘granny gear’ saw Boyd recently catch his first ‘puka out from Waihau Bay. I am not sure who got the biggest buzz out of the catch – him or me!

“If we haven’t been able to go [fishing], Boyd will say to me, ‘We haven’t been fishing for a while,’ and that is motivation enough to get back on the water.”

Louise has always been into her art – “if I couldn’t get out fishing, I would muck around drawing” – and in more recent times it has turned into a business called Just Add Water.

Some of her more recent work has appeared in various guises in this magazine. Tony Orton’s Journey of a Fisherman signature marlin is Louise’s handiwork, and the vinyl wrap on Nicky Sinden’s Ados Addicted to Fishing Extreme 750 was created by Louise, too.

Louise is currently working on some artwork for the Extreme Boats’ Tournament out of Whitianga in early November, as well as doing work for Carl Muir’s Trifecta Competition. Louise’s main artistic tool is her laptop – a highly mobile ‘studio’ that she can use to work from anywhere. Generally, she will start off with a sketch that develops into a painting or digital art.

“I haven’t actually done much painting recently, as all the demand has been for digital stuff.”

With Photoshop and Illustrator programmes installed, Louise can use her creative talents at the click of a mouse, “gaining inspiration from the things I love that surround me”, she explains.

Nicky Sinden says Louise doesn’t realise how much talent she has.

“Louise is extremely humble, but her artwork speaks for itself. I love what she has done for me on the boat.”

Similarly, Tony and Bea Orton have several pieces of her work hung in their Mangawhai fishing lodge and have shared it with others around the world.

“It’s been great having Louise work with us on the Journey of a Fisherman project; her true love for the water and fishing comes through in her art – the detail is amazing,” Tony says.

“The art is well received from all the captains and crews we fish with all round the world. When you sit down and talk with Louise you really understand what fishing means to her and her family. She is a very gifted woman.”

Although Louise and Ryan’s Kerepehi home is a little way from the water, the sea is never far from Louise’s mind via her laptop and creative juices. We can expect a great deal more from her as she grows in confidence and makes her work more public – something we’re looking forward to!

To see more of Louise’s work, check out her Just Add Water Art Facebook pages.