Meet the Crew | Milan Radonich
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Tell us a little bit about you, plus how you got into fishing:
I’ve been a nature freak from the time I took my first breath. As a young kid I travelled the world with the family and had lots of opportunity to explore nature, with a passion for reptiles. I was always in my happy place when exploring the coastlines, up in the bush or whatever wild environment presented itself. My Dad, Uncle Steve and Nana Rad were always either hunting, fishing or just collecting food off the land, and the fishing always captivated me, even though every time I set foot on the boat I vomited everywhere due to my seasickness that I still have today.
I discovered that fishing gave you the opportunity to explore some incredible environments, and after watching David Attenborough in the Amazon with giant catfish when I must have been all of 10, gave me the want to make a fishing show and go do cool things like David. I took a U-Turn in my early twenties and studied to be a draftsmen due to my love for design and did that until I was 30, then I meet a quirky Danish-men called Nikolaj, and a bodybuilder that we all know as Nathan. From there, we decided to make a fishing show called Big Angry Fish.
Big Angry Fish was all about having fun, exploring our inshore fishery and showcasing it in a fantastic story with wild New Zealand scenery. We did 8 seasons, got it into 42 countries and had a fantastic time. In the end with kids on the way, we hung up our riding gear and took some time to ourselves, and I started spending my time building gardens as that is the other passion I love, growing flowers.
The Lateral Line reared up with Nathan taking an interest in filming his hunting, and from there we decided our next adventure would be starting a Youtube Channel all about our adventures with a bit more of our personalities thrown in due to the flexibility of being online. Nathan’s story telling ability has given us the edge and the show is starting to expand into a global market.
Fishing area of speciality/favourite type of fishing?
Due to our location in the world, Kingfish have been my fish of choice, I love running big live baits to target them, but of late have quite enjoyed casting surface lures. Chasing Big kingfish in shallow water makes them a tricky target and requires time and flat water. You don't get many every year, but the ones you do get, you always remember. This is because you work hard for everyone. They are hard to hook and even harder to catch but they are worth every day you throw at them.
If I had the choice, I would load our rivers with giant freshwater fish, like Murray cod, sturgeon and giant catfish as that's where I would love to be, with all the bush and critters at close hand on the river banks. Over the years, I have had the ability to travel and chase all the big freshwater species on my list including an exploratory trip into the back blocks of the amazon jungle. Here, I hung with the Wia Wia Indians and explored a piece of untamed nature.
Most memorable catch?
I have a weird fascination with Aotea Harbour on the West Coast, it would have to be one of the hardest places to fish, but on the odd occasion it does spit out giant kingfish in very shallow water. They come as a result of weeks of fishing, and I’ve only ever landed 2 of them, but they are the ones I love the most. The other are giant Murray cod taken on surface lures in South Australia. When doing this style of fishing you normally only catch one fish for the 10 days of fishing, but man they are worth it.
What are your Daiwa essentials?
The only essentials I need are some of the key items from Daiwa’s Saltiga range. This includes the the Saltiga 20000 reel, PE8-10 rod, and Saltiga 12 braid. If you are going to chase big fish then buy the best gear, for the time and energy you put into getting your lure or bait in front of a monster kingfish, when you hook it you want to be able to land it. Years and years of time and money go into catching those big fish and if your braid fails or you can’t stop it going to ground, then it’s all over.
Essentials:
Fishing the Tauranga Harbour for kings Waihi Beach end.
All harbours have their own patterns – it’s just a matter of working them out. Waihi Beach is easy for kings as you start collecting your live baits on the incoming tide on the sand bars, bigger baits are better (kahawai). Pump a berley trail and fish small cut baits free floating down the trail.
Once you are about an hour and a half from high tide, head to the entrance and start drifting back in with free swimming live baits. As you drift into the deeper holes, the kings will be waiting for you. It might take a few drifts to find them but when you do , make the drift on the sounder and do it over and over again. Bigger baits swim down to the bottom, smaller baits stay high in the water column.
Youtube: The Lateral Line.
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Instagram: @the_lateral_line
The Lateral Line is released on the 15th and the 30th of every month
