35lb snapper & 14 point Stag

This year will be remembered fondly by keen Rotorua outdoorsman Alec McIver, having nailed both a 15.5kg (35lb) snapper and a 14-point red stag within a couple of months of each other.

In mid-February Alec was diving on the Motiti Island scallop beds with a couple of mates – Quinton Riordon and Chris Duff – along with son Josh, when they noticed a number of octopus lairs that had been savaged. ‘Totally destroyed’ were the words Alec used to describe the signs of the obvious struggle in the vicinity.

“We had seen it before, along with a number of scallops having been munched, and Chris reckoned it might have been the work of decent-sized snapper,” Alec says.

They did a run over the beds, using the Minn Kota to push them along and picked up halfa- dozen snapper, the best being a respectable 5.5kg fish.

“Then I hooked what we first thought was a decent kingfish, it ran so hard.”

“We knew that so long as the knots held and the line was good, we had a decent chance of landing the fish as we were out on the sand.”

Much to their surprise, 30 minutes later a snapper popped up behind the boat.

“Although we were only in 17 metres of water, it floated up like a hapuku out of the depths and when we saw what it was, there was a bit of a panic.”

They first grabbed a big net and then the gaff was called for, which saw the totally spent fish brought on board.

The drama did not end there. Josh, on the first cast after his dad had landed the trophy snapper, was into another substantial fish.

Unfortunately, he was not as good at tying knots; the join between the mainline and the trace parted a short way into the fight. While it was a disappointing end to the day, the crew couldn’t complain with a feed of snapper, scallops and crays on board, not to mention a fish of a lifetime.

The big snapper is now in the hands of taxidermist Kevin Flutey and will no doubt grace the walls of the family home, alongside the head of a 14-point stag Alec shot during the roar only two months later.

Alec does a fair bit of fishing, both salt and freshwater. He is a Honda brand ambassador, with a 225hp on the transom of his McLay 6.5m Hardtop.

For the record, Alec caught the fish on a Gulp! 7” Nuclear Chicken jerk shad, using a Shimano XS Pro rod and Shimano Baitrunner 4000 reel.

As mentioned, almost two months later to the day, Alec was hunting in the Mamaku Ranges when he came across a big red stag, which he stalked and shot. When measured, the animal’s head went 320.5 on the Douglas Score. This was another great trophy, making the first half of 2019 something to remember!