 If you tested Mark Collins blood, it would be as salty as it comes. From a young age, he has loved fishing, the ocean and spent countless days perfecting the art of being a Wharf Rat and helping his family build boats.
Â
From there he spent more time at sea and worked as a deckhand on Pursuit for three seasons while getting his Skipper's ticket. He then moved into commercial skippering before moving to the Eastern Bay Of Plenty to start a family and his new business MC Boatworks.
We are super proud to have Mark as a part of the J.A.F family, he was the first Angler we sponsored, and we always enjoy being a part of his salty endeavours.
Â
So here is Mark Collins Five Salty essentials he can't live without these days.
DAIWA CERTATE 2500
I’m not much of a brand snob when it comes to reels, but this little one has definitely stood out from anything else when it comes to soft plastic fishing. For a small reel, it packs plenty of drag and its built tough as to survive the shit I put it through each trip. I’ve stopped so many fish that I should have lost to the reef on my Certate.
BONZE LURES - THE HEAT WITH SNOW FREEZE SKIRT.Â
A small cup face lure that has caught me pretty much everything that eats lures in NZ waters, including a manta ray... It will run in any conditions in any position and in my eyes is as close to a saury imitation as you could get. Enough said.Â
Z-MAN 4’ PADDLE TAIL SOFT PLASTICS.
Would be my go-to lure for snapper. You can catch so many fish on one bait before it’s destroyed and also require minimal effort to get their tails wagging. The banana and new penny would be my all-time favourite flavours stuck on a light bulb jig head