A young Hauraki angler has wrangled his ‘biggest fish’, with high hopes for an official world record. DAVIDDA HIKATANGATA reports.
It took Lukas Robinson around one hour and 50 minutes to wrangle the biggest fish he’d ever caught.
“It felt really good when I finally got it into the boat,” the 14-year-old angler told The Profile.
That’s because it was a whopping 132.45kg Broadbill (Swordfish) caught on a 37kg line.
It should come as no surprise the year 9 student from Hauraki Plains College was now waiting to have the catch verified by the International Game Fishing Association (IGFA), hoping for an official world record, which would place him among some of the best young anglers in the world.
“It will be amazing to see my name and New Zealand on the IGFA Records.”
The young angler said it felt like a “huge accomplishment for someone my age”.
“It is the biggest fish I have ever caught… I was really excited when dad [Matt Robinson] said it could be a world record.”
The prized catch was fished up at Mayor Island with an Ultimate Rod and a Moimoi-branded line from his dad’s boat: a Blue Fin 665HT.
It was “hard work” and his feet were sore due to ankle problems, he said.
The whole time he kept thinking about whether he was going to land it or lose it.
But that’s not the only thing Lukas caught this season.
The young angler, who is part of the Tairua Pauanui Sports Fishing Club alongside his family, snapped up a stack of awards in the 2024-2025 season such as: champion junior angler, heaviest gamefish, most tag and releases, most meritorious catch, junior boys champion, heaviest hammerhead and heaviest broadbill.
The most important accolades for Lukas were champion junior angler and heaviest game fish, he said.
It was clear he was passionate about the sport. “I have fished all my life since the age of about three. All my family are into fishing.”
When he was out on the water, he said they would drive around slowly and look around for bait and signs of life and then “we drop the line”. But Lukas doesn’t just catch the fish. “I eat my catch. I love fish, my favourite is Swordfish – cooked, pan fried and seasoned.”
When it came to techniques, there were a few the young angler was working on.
“I’ve been learning to jig for Blue Fin [tuna], which we do at night and I got one.
“The other thing I want to learn is how to stick bait for Yellow Fin which means you cast out the lure and work it back to the boat, the lure floats on top of the water,” he said.
But when it came to goals, Lukas said his ambition would be to catch a Blue Marlin and beat his dad’s record of 265kg.
He also has a vision to have his own fishing vessel. “I dream about owning a Viking 62, they are really nice boats and I will have to work really hard to own one,” he said.
His hope was to one day fish at the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns, he said.
“It holds some of the biggest Marlin in the world. If you were going to catch a Grander [Marlin] it would be there, the weight would be approx 1000lb plus.”
He said one of the most challenging parts about fishing for Marlin was hooking them, because “sometimes they just don’t hook properly”.
Lukas said he was proud of the support he got from the people around him.
He said he wanted to thank his dad, Matt Robinson, and poppa for always taking him fishing, and also his dad, Block O’Brien and Hunter Bryce for “helping me land the fish”.
His words of encouragement for others passionate about fishing was to “keep doing what you are doing”, he said.
“The big one will come along one day. Never give up.”
By DAVIDDA HIKATANGATA
