I’ve always been in to making my own tackle as longs as I can remember. For me, it started at my grandparents house, both were mad keen fly-fishers. My grandparents had his and hers fly tying desks and I would sit there and tie flies as a kid and tie at home with my dad. When I started getting into targeting kingfish, it was natural for me to start making my own lures.

When I first stated targeting kingfish, we would go to some of the best ledges in the country and target them by livebaiting kahawai under balloons. We hooked plenty, but generally got absolutely blown away by big fish as we didn’t have the gear to stop them. We’d also sometimes find it harder to catch livies on some days than the kings. It was the most frustrating thing watching good kings cruise past and not having decent baits to catch them with – especially first thing in the morning. You would often miss that crucial first light window by not being ready. That’s when I basically stopped live baiting and started casting lures.

To be honest, I never intended to start a lure making business. I was just making stickbaits for myself, but a few people started seeing me catching fish on them and one thing led to another. It just grew from there. When it comes down to it, I still selfishly make lures for myself. I want to make lures that are going to give me the best chance of catching a fish of a lifetime. If I can help others get a chance too, then that’s cool too.

The early productions stages of an NaCl lure

2. What do you believe makes your lures, your brand, your offering to the NZ fishing public so unique?

A lot of the lures we have available here in NZ are designed and made for specific fisheries internationally – topical GT fisheries, tuna fisheries etc. The best thing about buying a lure from a NZ based maker is that those lures are designed and tested specifically for our unique fishery. Even in NZ, different lure makers design lures for one style of fishing or another – i.e. lures tested mostly from a boat in glassy conditions etc. For me, landbased fishing is my jam. The thing with landbased, is you’re not that mobile. You often can’t get out of wind and swell, and you’re often casting from a high ledge, where your line angle is less than optimum. A lot of lures out there just don’t swim in those conditions. My lures are adverse conditions lures first and foremost. For me, they need to be able to perform when the going gets tough.

Wooden lure creations underway at NaCl HQ.

3. Is there a particular catch on one of your lures be it overseas or by another angler that you’re most proud of ?

I couldn’t pick just one catch that I’m most proud of. I’m always proud of the first catches of a particular species. I’m proud of the big ones - a number of Kingfish and GT catches over the 40kg mark. A blue marlin. Many of these photos are on display in the NaCl workshop and serve as daily inspiration.

While these are all cool, size isn’t the only reason to be proud of a catch. At the end of the day it’s a pretty arbitrary measure. I think the most important thing is what that fish means to the angler, and if a particular catch means a lot to the angler then that’s what I’m proud of – that I was able to play a small part in enabling that angler to have that experience. If it’s a young guy who has got up at 3 in the morning, walked to a ledge and caught his first kingfish on top and he’s absolutely buzzing that it’s the first one he’s ever caught…that’s what I’m most proud of. When it comes down to it, it’s not a question of who’s the best fisherman. Is it guy who caught the biggest fish or the guy who had the best time? I’d say it’s the latter every time.

4. The niche market of topwater fishing has grown substantially over the years. What direction do you see NZ’s topwater scene heading in the future?

The whole topwater thing has been through a few waves, ups and downs in NZ over the years. The first was when rods and reels specifically designed for topwater became available in the early 2000’s. It had another resurgence in the early 2010s when a whole lot of handmade lure makers popped up, but tackle was quite hard to source as it was comparatively expensive. Then over the past 4 or 5 years topwater has really grown – particularly with the hype that Instagram and YouTube have helped to stoke. The availability of quality affordable spinning reels, topwater rods and mass-produced lures has also helped provide an easier way for anglers to dip a toe in. 

I think that now topwater is starting to mature in New Zealand as a method of fishing that is more than just a fad. The popular method over the past few years has been to cast big lures on heavy tackle. I think over the next few years topwater is going to shift to a more technical “finesse” style of fishing – particularly as fish start to see more lures and are more pressured by topwater anglers. It’s going to take a more calculated approach than just making a lot of noise. Selection of lure size, profile, action, colourway, leader weight, and the action that the angler imparts on the lure for particular fishing situations are going to be paramount.

The finishing on an NaCl lure is nothing short of perfection!

5. Who is an angler that you draw inspiration from?

At the moment I’m drawing a lot of inspiration for Gian Booysen who own the Kings to be Found salt fly charter operation. We chat every few days and deep dive into sustainable and ethical fishing practices, handling techniques, research papers on fisheries in NZ and internationally as well as a good dash of topwater/salt fly tactics chat. I don’t think I’ve ever come across someone in the industry who cares more about the welfare of fish than him.

A fully rigged NaCl lure, ready to rip.

6. What do you think NZ’s topwater scene could learn from the International Topwater circuit?

Although topwater anglers are generally pretty good at catch and release, I think our handling methods can be greatly improved by looking at what international anglers are doing to look after their fish. Think of it this way, imagine you run a 5 minute run as hard as you can…then someone holds your head underwater for 3 minutes or more as soon as you finish that run while they take photos of you. It’s a pretty rough time. 

Some of the most prominent Japanese GT charters are utilising revival tanks on their boats to make sure fish are kept in the water while cameras are organised, and many photos are taken in these tanks too, meaning their weight is fully supported, and the fish can’t be dropped. Obviously this isn’t something that’s possible on a trailer boat, but it speaks to the care that we should take with our kingfish no matter how durable we think they might be. Using things like lip grips as opposed to gaffs and taking photographs without lifting them out of the water is another great thing I think we should implement that’s very popular internationally.

And they work. Hamish with a trophy kingfish caught on his self-made NaCl lure.