NEW ADVENTURE

Every Day is a New Adventure...

Check out what we've been up to lately on our latest news and adventures. We tell it how it is.

Tasman's Great Taste Trail Opening

Waimea River Bridge Opening 8 July 2012: We were at the Official Opening of the Richmond - Brightwater section of Tasman's Great Taste Trail. This trail will eventually link Nelson City, Richmond, Mapua, Motueka and Kaiteriteri and be a great ride for locals and visitors alike.

June 2012 Stag Hunt: Marlborough red stag above the tree-line.

New Boat 'Strike Adventure'

Our vessel 'Strike Adventure': 5 chamber aluminium pontoon boat, 4.1metres long, full safety gear and systems. SSM registered commercial vessel with Maritime NZ, Ministry of Fisheries, Tasman District Council and Dept of Conservation - We can fish virtually anywhere.	Qualified Skipper: Zane spent much of August & September back at school obtaining his skippers ticket with radio, navigation and engineering exams. Above is ILM Engineering tutor, Mark Rothwell, after a ride in Tasman Bay.

We're excited about our new fishing platform, which has performed very well already.  We are the only fishing guide service to be commercially certified for Tasman Bay, Golden Bay, Croisilles Harbour, Current Basin, Marlborough Sounds, Nelson Lakes National Park and other areas. 

The Tasman District Harbourmaster advises that there are only three commercial vessels able to operate on Lakes Rotoiti and Rotoroa.  We can get you to the best fishing on the Travers, Sabine and D'Urville Rivers that other guides can't access.

Fishing for Votes...Peter Dunne, United Future, Outdoor Man

Outdoor Politics: Hon. Peter Dunne (R) with Ministerial Advisor Hayden Cox, troll for kahawai with Zane.	Lunchtime: Peter and Zane catch up for lunch at TDC.

We had Peter Dunne, Minister of Revenue, Associate Minister of Health, Leader of United Future, and MP for Ohariu out on my boat recently when we circumnavigated Rough and Rabbit Island on a Waimea Estuary Crossing.

Peter Dunne is a great man, an astute and experienced senior politician, who is a friend and ally of outdoor people, and one MP that we’d crawl over broken glass for. We first met Peter in Wellington before the 2005 General Election when we merged the Nelson-based Outdoor Recreation NZ political party into United Future, and he’s kept in touch ever since. It’s also great to have Nelson’s Doug Stevens, a keen outdoor man, as No.2 on the United Future party list in the 2011 general elections.  Here's hoping for stable government - with an outdoor flavour.

First Trout of the Season

New Season Success: First Brown Trout of the 2011-2012 Fishing Season.  Travers River, Lake Rotoiti, Nelson Lakes National Park, October 2011

New Zealand Rugby Extravaganza

Nelson City was the venue for some great Rugby matches in the September -October World Cup.  Nelson hosted three games, Italy vs Russia, Italy vs USA and Australia vs Russia.  Canterbury-based Crusaders held three "home" matches here too.  Fishing and Rugby was a great combination, and we loved it!!

We love Rugby (& fishing!): Zane & Aimee Mirfin at Nelson's Trafalgar Park, watch Crusader's & All Black's star player, Dan Carter, practice his kicking.	Victory Lap: The Crusader's salute the crowd after their 36-8 win over the Sharks.

Winter Trout Fishing

We're a year-round guide service and Zane was out and about with our anglers in August and September with success.

National Politics/ Nelson-Tasman Tourism

Freshwater Politics: Zane Mirfin and Tasman District Mayor, Richard Kempthorne (far right) discuss the politics of water with Hon. Nick Smith, Minister for the Environment, and Nelson MP, on June 30th 2011.	Coffee Time: Zane and Nelson Tasman Tourism CEO, Lynda Keene, talk local tourism over an extended coffee session at Ambrosia Cafe in Richmond.

June Fishing & Hunting

Fish Dinner: Scott Mirfin with a red Gurnard caught on a slow-jig, on a recent fishing trip in Tasman Bay.	Pheasant Hunting with Grandad: Stuart Mirfin with grandsons, Jake & Ike, after a June hunt.

 

Strike Adventure One of Top 10 New Zealand Experiences 2010
Strike Adventure is proud to announce we have been voted by the travellers of New Zealand Travel Inc, as one of the top 10 New Zealand tour experiences of 2010.  Thanks to all those customers who voted for us!

Late Season Fishing April-May 2011

Mot is Hot!: April and May are two of the best months to fish our lowland rivers. Rivers are low and clear with fine sunny days with no wind.  Hatches can be good and fish come on the feed in preparation for spawning over the winter.  Some days onstream are t-shirt weather! Best of all it is rare to see another angler.  Guide Martin De Ruyter shows how it is done on a recent boys day out with Zane.

Mirfin family update

ZM meets Minister for Local Government

Dancing with the Stars:
Zane Mirfin talks fishing with the Hon. Rodney Hide, Minister for Local Government at a Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce Luncheon on 10th August. Rodney  is a well known New Zealand Member of Parliament but also known for his celebrity appearance on popular TV show " Dancing with the Stars".  We hope to take Rodney  fishing sometime.

First Aid Re-certification

Every two years our guides renew their First Aid certificates.  This process is underway and the first course was on 5 August 2010.  It was great to refresh our skills and learn the updated CPR techniques.

Strike Adventure joins Nelson / Tasman Chamber of Commerce

A Kid in Sport Stays Out of Court: Sport Tasman hosts the Nelson / Tasman Chamber of Commerce & members at their new offices at the Saxton Sports complex - Tim Dean (L) - BNZ Partners (sponsors), Nigel Muir - CEO Tasman Regional Sports Trust, Dot Kettle - CEO Nelson / Tasman Chamber of Commerce, Zane Mirfin (R) Strike Adventure Ltd (NTCC's newest member) Tuesday 3 August 2010

Strike Adventure has joined the Nelson / Tasman Chamber of Commerce.  As a local business the Chamber offers some great business benefits and in tougher economic times having stronger connections with more than 500 local businesses makes good sense.  http://www.commerce.org.nz

Strike Guides Win Club Trophies

Cameron Reid

Cam was the recipient of three awards at the Nelson Trout Fishing Club annual awards held on 21st July 2010: the Nelson Trout Fishing Club Award for Top Photograph, the Nelson Trout Fishing Club Award for Distance Casting, and the Christopher Lenting Memorial Cup for Services to the Club.  Cam is the Club Treasurer and a hard working and enthusiastic member working behind the scenes to keep the club running well. Well done Cam!

 

Zane unexpectedly won the Doug Zumbach Cup for the Best Newsletter Story ( He was surprised as he hadn't actually entered the competition )  The story was about taking the kids fishing.  Doug Zumbach was a former Nelson Acclimatisation Society ranger from 1956-1987 and was the longest serving ranger in the history of the Nelson Society.  Zane remembers Doug 's contribution to the fishery and his fishing advice from when he was a boy starting out fly fishing. The cup has a long list of well known Nelson trout fishing names engraved on it, interestingly Zane first won it in 1984 when aged just 16 years old. 

 

 Prize Giving:  Nelson Trout Fishing Club President Dennis Ealam (left) and Past President Richard Boyden (right) present the Doug Zumbach Cup to Zane. Photo: Henry Sulser
 

Winter Fly Fishing 

We've been out guiding a few days over the winter - Strike Adventure Fishing is a year-round operation.

Winter Success: John Dow, Chairman of Pike River Coal, New Zealand, with Motueka River brownie.	Showdown at High Noon: Roy Fuerstenberg, of Documation LLC, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA, braves 5ºC water on 10 July 2010

Zane Mirfin Speaking Engagements June / July 2010

Mr Strike Adventure has been out and about talking fishing to interested groups:

 July 10^th, Zane & Aimee are "special mystery guests" at the annual Tennyson Inlet Boat Club Dinner where Zane will talk about his many outdoor adventures.

 June 17^th, Zane was the guest on local fishing personality Daryl Crimp’s popular radio show ‘Fishing with Crimpy’ which airs on Newstalk ZB and other South Island radio channels. Zane & Crimpy discussed the topic ‘technological creep’ where increasing technological sophistication is affecting where, when, and how we fish and what fishing of the future may look like.

June 10^th, Zane addressed Motueka Rotary Club at an evening dinner. A promotional 5 minute Strike Adventure DVD was an instant hit, followed by an image show and talk on big trout, wild places, and exciting fly fishing.

NZ Professional Fishing Guides Association AGM,  June 2010

Business Lunch: National Director of Fish & Game, Bryce Johnson, with Strike Adventure's Zane Mirfin.

President's Shout: Post AGM drinks, from left, Kris Shepherd - Turangi, Grant Petherick - Napier, Tony Entwistle - Nelson, Nigel Birt - Methven, Bryce Johnson - Wellington.

Strike Adventure co-founders, Zane Mirfin & Tony Entwistle, were at the New Zealand Professional Fishing Guides Association (NZPFGA) AGM in Christchurch on June 11^th & 12^th. As usual it was great to see guides from all over NZ at the annual gathering of the clan to discuss threats and opportunities to the wider fishing guiding industry. The most pressing issue of debate was the current global recession which has acted as a grim reaper of the guiding world.

 Guest Speaker was Mr Bryce Johnson, National Director of Fish & Game Council who talked positively of the actions both F&G and NZPFGA could undertake together to safeguard opportunities for anglers.

 Rigorous AGM debate on the floor was also supplemented by portfolio reports from:

 Frank Murphy, Motu – Presidents Report, Tourism NZ, Marketing, Political Affairs

 Bryan Colman, Rotorua – Membership, Marine Transport.

 Grant Petherick, Hawkes Bay – Disputes, Standards & River Etiquette, Publicity, Tourism Industry Liaison.

 Alan Simmons, Turangi – Fish & Game, Internet, Taupo Advisory.

 Neil Goldie, Christchurch – Bio-security, Finance, Administration.

 Kevin Payne, Timaru – Membership Benefits, Public Relations, ACC

 It wasn’t all hard work though, and plenty of ale & wine was consumed at the two social evenings and formal dinner. Another great NZPFGA AGM!

 

Strike Adventure Team Night

June 3rd 2010
Our annual Fly tying night was a great success.  One of the advantages that Strike Adventure guides have,  is access to the best fly tying materials, tungsten beads and hooks etc, at rock bottom prices. We want Strike Adventure guides to have the best flies and terminal equipment available for our fishing customers come summer because that's how the best and biggest trout get caught. Ross Gigg, Sales Rep for Feather Merchants, ran us through the latest & greatest materials plus old favourites. We discussed techniques, strategies, and equipment for the coming 2010-2011 fishing season plus had a lot of fun and learning at the same time. Our guides purchased a huge amount of fly tying materials and associated fishing tackle and are now busy tying loads of innovative and effective flies for you to fish with.

Photo: Zane Mirfin thanks Ross Gigg for a great Strike Adventure Fly Tying Materials Evening.

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Strike Adventure Award For Excellence 2010

As usual it was a tough decision as to who would receive the 'Award For Excellence' Trophy. Following in the footsteps of Martin de Ruyter 2007, Tony Entwistle 2008, Cameron Reid 2009, our 2010 winner was Bill McKenzie.

Bill McKenzie is a wonderful guide, whose ability to step up to the mark and perform to an excellent standard at short notice when another Strike Guide went down with illness, was very much appreciated by all concerned. Bill's can-do attitude and loyalty to the team typify what it is to be a Strike Adventure guide. Well Done Bill - we salute you!
Bill is also on the Nelson / Marlborough Fish & Game Council, which manages the local fishing resource. Bill was formerly Chairman of the Council for a number of years, and has done more than most, to contribute to the ongoing well-being of the trout fishery.

Photo: Zane Mirfin presents Bill McKenzie with the Strike Adventure 'Award For Excellence' Trophy for 2010

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Political Lobbying for Anglers

May 20th 2010

Strike Adventure Fishing has always believed in doing our best to protect fishing here in New Zealand for recreational & visiting anglers, as well as for future generations. Lobbying important politicians has always been an important role to us.

Zane Mirfin met up again with the Hon. Peter Dunne, Minister of Revenue in the current Government, at a Nelson / Tasman Chamber of Commerce luncheon recently.

The Outdoor Recreation Political Party (2002 founders - Stuart & Zane Mirfin) formed an alliance with Peter Dunne's United Future Party before the 2005 General Elections and the two men remain close. Peter Dunne and Zane hope to go fishing together again sometime soon.

Hon. Peter Dunne, Minister of Revenue 2010 with Zane Mirfin, Strike Adventure Ltd.