Bruce Ashford is a genuine Kiwi hunter gatherer. And he’s enjoying passing on his wealth of knowledge to a new generation - his young grandson, Joel.

Bruce says he was bought up to understand how best to conserve and serve food the old school way and it’s always been part of his life. More recently, giving Bruce a hand, has been his new Sport 300 inflatable from Rockboat Marine and he’s emphatic about its purpose; “Gathering food, that’s what it’s for.”

Bruce grew up by the sea in the Eastern Bay of Plenty where he learned his craft in “tin boats”. He emphasises respecting the sea and also the ability to read it something he’s also sharing with Joel. After a stint farming in Invercargill, Bruce moved to Taranaki and bought his original inflatable boat.

With Joel also in mind, he recently went online to look for a more suitable, larger craft and was won over by Rockboat Marine’s offering and their service. “Tony was a good person to deal with and nothing was a problem.”

He uses the Sport 300 mainly for fishing locally. “I find it excellent. You can launch it off the beach and it’s good around the coast here.”

Bruce says he mostly catches gurnard, snapper, kahawai and trevally. “There’s no shortage of fish around here.”

As well as laying some fish down for winter, Bruce’s philosophy is to share what he catches; his daughter and his neighbours regularly benefit from his skills and generosity.

Pic cap: Bruce’s Sport 300 with an impressive catch of snapper onboard.