Posted 19th December 2024

Meet The Crew | Sam Morrison

Bio/Background

Like lots of Kiwis, I've shared a passion for fishing since a young age. Growing up on the east coast in Hawkes Bay and living a short walk from the ocean, days, evenings, and weekends were spent scouting the estuary and coastline fishing and adventuring. Netting flounder, spinning for kahawai, and chasing snapper on the surfcaster kept us kids occupied.

I was introduced to surfcasting by my neighbour Jim, he was your typical kiwi bloke into all things outdoors and a member of the local surfcasting club. Countless hours were spent learning knots, how to tie rigs, and surfcasting technique, and I'd save my lunch money and buy my tackle from the dairy and put it all into practice. Thankfully my dad had a Daiwa surfcaster in the shed so I had everything I needed to hit the beach and chase the elusive 20 pound snappers I had heard about in Jim's tales.

Into my late 20's and early 30's I was now travelling around the majority of the north island surfcasting and rock fishing with good mates met along the way. I had learnt that fishing could take me to some of the best locations New Zealand has to offer, with stunning scenery and what feels like untouched places for you to explore. Lure fishing has just started to become a 'thing' here with the introduction of soft baits and this new style of fishing 'topwater' being talked about on fishing forums online.

I started to dabble in making wooden top water lures from my garage at home, as I improved and my lures gathered a following I would spend all my spare time hand crafting fishing lures to be sent to anglers around the globe chasing fish I had only ever seen in magazines. No one was doing this at the time in NZ and I had more orders for lures than I had time to make them, I started to burn out and had to take a break. The garage is still full of gear and all my equipment, and when I find the time I still enjoy the process of hand making fishing lures.

Now having just turned 40 years old, fishing is about mates and mental health. Taking the time to be present, away from the hustle and bustle of our busy lives and to enjoy the places it takes me. I still enjoy chasing down a memorable catch and get just as much enjoyment from seeing a good mate catch something special as well.

Specialty and Favourite Types of Fishing

For me it has to be surfcasting. It has to be one the most easily accessible styles of fishing with very low barriers to entry. Followed very closely by casting lures and baits from the rocks.

There's something about surfcasting a beautiful surf beach or a rugged piece of coastline on the West Coast. Chucking on the wetsuit and wading out into the surf in search of placing a bait in just the right spot and never knowing what you might catch. The variety of fish that can be caught whilst surfcasting is also a huge appeal, from kahawai, to kingfish, snapper, gurnard, blue moki, trevally and more. All of these fish are accessible and are a great source of clean protein for friends and family or to be released for the next angler to enjoy.

Most Memorable Catch

I have many fond memories but a couple that stand out are a 14 year old me and my neighbour Eddie catching some nice 6kg to 8kg snapper off the beach after countless evenings of trying and bringing them home to show Jim and getting the classic photo on the front lawn with some beaming grins.

More recently it has been competition surf fishing in the Snapper Bonanza held on the 90 Mile Beach with a great bunch of mates in the team 'Bounty Hunters'. The teams event is fiercely competed for and catching snapper on days that are extremely hard going with minimal fish caught are memorable, never have you been so excited to catch a couple 2.5kg snapper to keep the tally going!

Daiwa Essentials

For me it's pretty simple -

Daiwa Tapered Shock Leaders - absolutely essential for surfcasting
J-Thread Fluorocarbon leader line
Daiwa Cast IZM - high performance rod for the avid surfcaster
22 Sensor Surf 45 SCW Reel - long casting with smooth, reliable drag

Favourite Fishing Spot

West Coast, Taranaki. It's a completely different set of terrain and landscape than the east coast, with a coastline that is naturally protected by the weather. When you can get a window it's a super exciting place to be with many XOS Snapper coming off of the beaches.