Posted 09th July 2025

Meet The Crew | Rowan Hook

Bio/Background

Kia ora, my name is Rowan or Captain Hook. I started fishing with my Dad and Grandfather in the Marlborough sounds for large snapper and blue cod, progressively making my way further South until hitting the mighty Invercargill with my local port Bluff. We frequent trips out into Fiordland into the fjords and down into Milford sound where we run into a mixture of species from game fish to deep water.

Specialty and Favourite Types of Fishing

My go to is a blue cod slayer, arguably one of the best tasting table fish in New Zealand they are a fun plentiful fish that put up a fun fight. Requiring little patience and often exciting fishing, they make for an exciting fish to catch for all age groups and abilities. Recently I have explored into deep dropping and tuna fishing with Fiordland giving opportunities for both.

Most Memorable Catch

140Kg Southern Bluefin Tuna caught with my brother in the Hoki Trench off Greymouth. A lot of persistence and teamwork to land the fish of a lifetime and no better than to do it with your brother! The other one is finally catching a blue nose deep dropping. A lot of time and failed attempts before figuring out the know-how to make myself productive!

Daiwa Essentials

3 key sets of gear:

Sealine SL 20 is my ultimate blue cod catcher. With a medium rod and soft tip, star drag and easy lever means it can be picked up and used by my 4-year-old through to my parents.

The 25 Saltiga 10000 is my ultimate jigging setup with a Spartan rod. Used for kingfish and deep-water jigging in Fiordland. The power of the Saltiga combined with the play and backbone of the Spartan rod makes it a must for any jigging adventure

My electric babies! My Tanacom 1200 and Seapower 1200 are both grunty, hearty electric reels for when I need torque and power reeling in the monsters from the deep. The extra line capacity of the 1200 allows for the limit of deep dropping off Fiordland into those 800-1000m trenches.

Favourite Fishing Spot

I love fishing out of Fiordland. The calm open ocean on one side combined with the extreme often snowcapped mountains of the Southern Alps on the other. It makes a stunning backdrop and with the chances of catching literally any species from gamefish to deepwater to blue cod the constant uncertainty of what’s on the end of the line makes it one of the best places in the South Island to fish.