New Zealands Chatham Islands is one of the more talked about fishing destinations around the country. Many fishing folks dream of vacations at this place, and those who do, talk highly of it. My experience is listed below, I hope you enjoy the read:

I remember when I started fishing and used to go out in my ‘good old days’ with my grandfather and dad in the dinghy. The net would be brimming with fish, such as snapper, and the rods would buckle with the weight of double cod hookups. Aint always like that now. I also remember at the time, my grandfather talking of his 'good old days' as he remembered it, when a homebuilt dory rowed out from the house in Eastbourne (Wellington), would yield a boat full of good groper and blue cod, all on old cord handlines in quite shallow water. It was the stuff that filled daydreams. I had always thought this was the thing of old peoples memories.
I had always heard awesome things about the a Chathams Stay, so when the opportunity came up to join 12 other like minded blokes and make the journey over for a week, well, its fair to say that the old man and I didn’t need to be asked twice. Especially seeing as he was good enough to shout me!
Not really knowing what to expect as we flew in, what struck us all initially was the size of the place. Expansive, sparsely vegetated and being pounded by huge swells, the Chathams Islands was surely a sight to behold. Val Croon, host of our chathams accommodation, initiated us with an island tour and awesome meal, before we settled into the bar and a while later, our beds.
The next day, we did a fishing trip out to a close by reef and landed many huge fish, including great bluecod and groper or hapuka. Plenty of crayfish from the pots also came on board, in good supply! Not only was it a great getaway, it was an amazing fishing trip with plenty of fun to be had!