Wesley van den Herik
Wesley is an experienced angler who recently achieved his dream of landing a swordfish while fishing on his jetski. He was fishing 50km off the coast of Tasmania, when he hooked and landed a 132kg sword. It was a second time a sword has ever been landed on a jetski, and was nearly 3 times bigger than the first one which was caught off the US coastline in August 2023.
WHEN AND HOW DID YOU GET INTO FISHING?
I was born in the Netherlands where I spent my childhood fishing lakes and channels for carp and pike. I learnt the basics from my grandfather and friends. When I turned 15 I got a weekend job at the local tackle store. During the eight years I worked there I became even mor epassionate about fishing, learned new techniques, started to fish for new species and also fished in other countries.
SHARE A FAVOURITE FISHING MEMORY OR EXPERIENCE
Australia: I recently caught a swordfish from my jet ski which was the ultimate fishing experience. After catching a swordfish on the boat of fellow Pro Team member Jonah Yick I started dreaming of catching one solo on my jet ski. In 2023 I hooked a sword and lost it while going airborne. This fish haunted me ever since and I was going all in for this season. The months before the season I spent a lot of time fine tuning my set up making sure everything was perfect for when I would get a chance to fight one again. When it finally happened, I got the fight I was dreaming about. I wasn’t sure who was going to break first, the fish or me. The satisfaction and feeling after I got the fish safely in my support boat was unreal and I spent about 20minutes floating idle on my ski enjoying my cloud 9.
Other countries: Before I moved to Australia I lived in Vancouver, Canada for over 5 years. Vancouver is located next to the mighty Fraser River, home of the white sturgeon. Fishing for sturgeon requires anchoring in deep spots on a fast flowing river. Being able to target these giants on the weekend was a dream come true. The scenery while fishing is breath taking and it’s not uncommon to see bears, cougars, deer and bald eagles on trips. The first time I saw a sturgeon go airborne during a fight, my heart skipped a few beats. The biggest one we caught (160kg) was estimated to be 60-70 years old!
WHERE ARE YOUR FAVOURITE FISHING SPOTS?
The more remote the better! I currently enjoy fishing offshore and have a favourite spot in most countries I have been to. My favorites are fishing sea mounts from the Coromandel in New Zealand, Maatsuyker Islands in Tasmania (AUS), and the offshore banks on west coast Vancouver Island.
WHY DO YOU LOVE TO FISH?
One of my favourite things to watch on TV when I grew up was the Jacques Cousteau documentaries. He introduced me to the underwater world, and fishing and diving are both great ways of interacting with this beautiful environment. Fishing is a great way of spending time with friends outdoors and creating memories and adventures.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE STYLE OF FISHING? AND WHY?
I moved to Australia in January 2021, and a few months later I purchased a jets ski. I’m also quite new to tuna fishing so trolling for tuna from a jet ski is definitely my new favourite. It enables me to fish even the most remote places and fishing solo is definitely doable. I have caught a few fish on the shelf hand cranking blue eye (blue nose in NZ) from 500 meters deep. Fishing from a jet ski is a massive work out especially in rough weather so no need to go to the gym anymore if you fish a lot!
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE BLACK MAGIC PRODUCT? AND WHY?
This season I have been successful with the Jetsettter lures targeting albacore. When albacore is around I will always run one and this season I will also put the Jetsetter Maxi to the test. Stay tuned!
WHAT ARE YOU FISHING GOALS FOR THE NEXT 12 MONTHS?
Catching a big (100kg+) bluefin from the jet ski solo is definitely high on the list. I also want to cast for tuna and get my first tuna on the casting rod.
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR DREAM CATCH OR FISHING ADVENTURE?
The location I currently have on top of my wish list is the Three Kings (NZ) because I think it’s a place where a lot of dreams can come true and it’s not too far away from Australia. I would love to catch a monster kingfish, marlin or yellowfin tuna. Catching a giant trevally is also very high on my list.
WHAT TIPS WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE JUST LEARNING TO FISH OR WANTING TO GIVE IT A GO?
FISH FISH FISH! In commercial fishing they use a term called catch per unit of effort. Without getting too scientific, it describes how much fish you catch per hour etc of fishing effort. Over time you can improve your technique and equipment, and this will certainly increase your catch rates. However even for the best and most experienced fishermen it can take a lot of hours or fishing effort to catch these trophy fish. It’s hard to see this from social media posts but it’s certainly not uncommon that you need to spend hundreds of hours to catch this top fish. The reward and satisfaction increases with every hour out there so enjoy the adventure every hour and fish hard!
