'Hooked for life' after giant catch

Fellow anglers and onlookers couldn’t believe their eyes when six-year-old Eli Cuming landed a whopping 4.11kg rainbow at Wellington’s Capital Trout Centre on Sunday.

The monster rainbow was part of a consignment of 1000 trout recently delivered to the Happy Valley pond from Fish & Game’s Ngongataha hatchery, Rotorua, specifically for the children’s open days held by the Wellington Flyfishers Club each year.

Club spokesman Strato Cotsilinis says the trout released in the pond are generally significantly smaller, around the 0.5kg mark.

“I think the guys from Fish & Game slipped a surprise in this year to add to the kids’ excitement. It certainly achieved that – a lot of adult anglers would class Eli’s trout as a fish of a lifetime going so close to the trophy 10-pound (4.5kg) mark!”

Mr Cotsilinis says the 4.11kg trout caught by Eli is the largest fish caught in the 12 years the Wellington Flyfishers Club has been running the open days at the centre.

Eli’s father Martin Cuming says his son is hooked for life after his monumental catch.

“He’s always been a keen fisherman but I think this has cemented ‘the fishing bug’ for life. He was certainly the envy of the other kids, that’s for sure.

“These open days are a fantastic service the club runs – they [club members] invest a lot of their own time and effort for the enjoyment of the children and the wider community and I know my kids and their friends have an awesome time each time we visit.”

The Capital Trout Centre at Happy Valley is funded by Wellington Fish & Game, Wellington City Council, local businesses and organisations, and support from DoC Turangi.

Wellington Fish & Game manager Phil Teal says there are still plenty of trout to be caught at the centre with a further five open days scheduled – the to be held October 30.

To manage the large number of children keen to have a crack at catching a fish, a booking system has been set up with places reserved through Steve’s Fishing Shop (Wellington), Hamills (Thorndon) or Hunting and Fishing (Lower Hutt).

ENDS

© Scoop Media