Posted 10th October 2024

Meet The Crew | Doug Clifton

Bio/Background

Growing up in Nelson at the top of the South Island I cemented my fishing addiction spending all of my free time down the wharf catching spottie's, mullet and the odd unlucky snapper.

From there my passion for fishing continued to grow and I found myself exploring all forms of fishing our country has to offer.

Nowadays, I like to pursue all forms of the sport from backcountry fly fishing to chasing kingis on topwater, and everything in between.

Fishing area of speciality/favourite type of fishing?

Topwater fishing for kingfish is one of my favourite types of fishing. It's hard to beat watching those big green backs come out of the water to crush your stickbait! Also, straylining for snapper in the Marlborough sounds, there's some proper moochers floating around at the right time of year.

Most Memorable Catch?

My most memorable catch would have to be my biggest topwater kingi from this year that gave the arms a real good stretch! The big hump headed snapper that came from the Marlborough sounds last year was right up there too.

What Are Your Daiwa Essentials?

For topwater fishing it would have to be my Saltiga 14000 reel and Saltiga C85-5 rod. I run the Saltiga EX12 braid in PE8 on this set and it's an absolute beast for stopping those big winter kings in the shallows! For our snapper, in the top of the south we do a lot of slow jigging. I run two different setups, the first is the Lexa TW 300H-P with a TD Zero 691, and the other is a 22 Saltiga 15H on a Spartan SJB62-2. The Kohga slider in orange is my go to lure, and combined with the Kohga Mega 6 Octopus Skirt it's a game changer!

One Of Your Favourite Spots?

My favourite fishing area would have to be the outer Marlborough Sounds. There's so much coastline to explore and if you put in the time trying new locations it can provide some insane fishing.