He Wasn’t Even Trying — The Accidental World Record Kingfish, Rick Pollock

Captain Rick Pollock grew up in Hollywood, the son of a doctor whose patients included movie stars, and had boated 100 billfish out of Baja Mexico by the time he was 18. He arrived in New Zealand in 1978 on what was meant to be a one-year contract skippering a charter boat out of Whakatane, fishing White Island — and never left. Rick sits down with Nick to share stories from nearly 50 years on the water, including White Island — his home away from home — plus the day his boat tied the All Tackle world record kingfish, and a career built almost entirely around the country's most obsessed-over sportfish.

The conversation is a genuine masterclass in kingfish: how to read a seasonal cycle that swings from "hibernating" fish sitting empty-stomached in 300m of winter water to explosive, angry stickbait strikes in the shallows come November. Rick breaks down the live-bait care most anglers get wrong (why handling bait with your hands kills it, and a Southern Hemisphere trick for orienting a bait tank to the Coriolis effect), the mechanics of a proper dummy drift, and exactly how to fight a fish from the first "freight train" strike through to the gaff — including the five-minute rule that tells you whether you're going to land it.

Nick and Rick trade stories from nearly fifty years at White Island, Ranfurly Bank and the Three Kings — including the day a total accident, not a plan, saw his boat tie the All Tackle world record kingfish (52kg on 24kg line) while everyone was distracted by yellowfin tuna. Rick doesn't hold back on his running war with bronze whaler sharks, which he blames for gutting the kingfish fishery in many of his favourite spots, and relives the night a 70-plus-knot blow at North Cape put his charter boat on the rocks — a story that ends with a rescue helicopter, a flooded fish hold, and a deckhand who refused to leave.

Nearly five decades, a world record kingfish and enough close calls to fill a book — this is one of the deepest dives yet into what it actually takes to become one of New Zealand's most respected charter skippers.

Guest:Rick Pollock — charter skipper, White Island / Bay of Plenty and Three Kings. Skippered the charter boat Pursuit when a 52kg kingfish on 24kg line at White Island tied the All Tackle world record.

⏱️ Chapters / Segments

(00:00) — Meet Rick Pollock. A Hollywood upbringing, and the one-year NZ contract that became a lifetime.

(08:00) — Fishing Like Taking Candy From a Baby. Arriving at White Island in 1978, dog-chain traces, and turning charter clients onto giant kingfish and tuna.

(24:00) — The Live Bait Masters. Butter-knife bait handling, the Coriolis-effect tank trick, and why a full moon ruins a night's fishing.

(36:00) — Reading the Drift. The dummy drift, leading the school, and the seasonal shift from deepwater winter kings to explosive summer stickbait bites.

(55:00) — War on Bronze Whalers. Rick's case against the sharks he blames for gutting the kingfish fishery, plus five days chasing trophy kings at the Three Kings.

(1:12:00) — The Accidental Record and the Night at North Cape. How his boat tied the All Tackle world record kingfish by mistake, and the night 70-plus-knot winds put the boat on the rocks.

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🎵 Music Used

✅ Proctor, Topher Mohr & Alex Elena

✅ Satellites, Swello

✅ Momentum, Zplit

✅ Upbeat Funk Happy by Infraction [Copyright Free Music]

✅ "Long Road" by Infraction, licensed via inaudio.org

✅ Source (YouTube Audio Library)

🎥 Production Notes

✅ Shot on: Sony A7iii + Sennheiser Mics

✅ Edited in: Adobe Premiere Pro

✅ Shot, Edited & Produced by Nick Hoyle