Could Niua Hakai be the luckiest salmon fisherman in Dunedin ... or possibly the best ... or the most dedicated?
The 62-year-old Dunedin man has landed six salmon from the wharf in Otago Harbour this season including an impressive 17lb [7.7kg] beauty yesterday.
It could well be the most salmon caught by a single angler since the unofficial salmon season started in October last year.
Mr Hakai did not consider himself lucky despite wearing his "lucky hat'' to aid in the pursuit.
"I arrived at the wharf about 6.30am and I got the fish on about 7am,'' Mr Hakai said.
"It struggled a bit but it was lucky I used a heavy line. Now I'll go home and have a sleep.''
Mr Hakai works the night shift at Pak'n Save and often goes fishing after work before going home for a "rest''.
Sometimes he spent six or seven hours a day at the wharf.
But he said there might not be much rest once news of his success reached his family.
"I will get home and the phone will ring,'' he said.
"I'll divide it with the family [and] I'll keep a piece.''
Asked how he would cook it, Mr Hakai said he would "just put it in the frying pan ... with a bit of oil''.
He took his catch to the Hunting and Fishing store on George St yesterday to be weighed as the store was running a competition to find the heaviest salmon for the month.
Although his was not the heaviest salmon the store had seen - the heaviest so far was 24lb [10.8kg] - owner Scott Kunac said salmon had been getting bigger since the beginning of the season.
"It seems to be a better season than it was last year,'' Mr Kunac said.
"Obviously, we don't see them all [but] it's better than last year and the numbers have been increasing.''
Dunedin Community Salmon Trust chairman Brett Bensemann said he had heard of a couple of fishermen who had caught up to five salmon this season but not six.
"There are salmon being caught. It's happening,'' Mr Bensemann said.
"There's a lot of feed in the harbour. In the last month she's been all go.''
