Kerren
Kerren Packer has always had a passion for fishing. The rivers and streams of the central North island was where the young Kerren Packer discovered the thrill of angling, spinning for trout with his ol' man and school chums. During the school holidays in the Bay of Plenty Kerren spent untold hours at the wharf, where he caught his first Kahawai using a livebaited sprat that he had caught earlier. That moment gave Kerren the adrenalin rush that formed his life long addiction to fishing.
Mr. Packer Senior's job meant that the Packer Family spent a lot of time relocating, but rather than seeing it as a problem, Kerren saw it as a chance to go fishing somewhere new. Fiji was Kerren's home for a bit over a year where there were plenty of fishing adverntures for a keen young fisho.
Throughout all the moves and new schools a passion for fishing remained a constant for Kerren, and when not out fishing he used to sketch pictures of fish and developed a knack for Art and design.
Kerren pursued a career in computer aided graphic design, and settled in Auckland where he took up a position at Yellow Pages. After 13 years at Yellow Pages Kerren had worked himself into a senior position where his sick days miraculously coincided with calm seas, clear skys and good fishing. Kerren would always make recovery from the 24-hour flu and return with fresh fillets fillets for the staff in the art department - funny that!
It was during one of these ‘spells' off work on a tuna fishing trip to Whakatane, Kerren met Matt through a mutual friend. Kerren and Matt got on well, as most like minded fishermen do and it turned out they shared a similar out look on life, which mainly involved fishing, socialising and more fishing.
Kerren was taken by this ‘skinny blond fulla' with such a passion for fishing that he had not seen before in any one other than himself.
The pair would share their favourite past times of fishing and a having a few cold ones, and in one way or another fishing was the topic of discussion. In one such session Matt announced he was going to move north and work on game fishing boats, and in a strategic move Matt also nominated Kerren to the committee of the MSFC, where Kerren soon moved to Club Captain duties and then on to a term in the role of Public Relations Officer for the New Zealand Big Game Fishing Council.
This way the pair could ‘get inside the recreational fishing industry and mastermind a plan to create dream jobs that involved going fishing and getting paid lots, you see what beer does!
Kerren went on to gain the respect from a lot of the major players in the recreational fishing sector and he became the forum administrator for fishing.net.nz. It was at around this stage that the idea of creating a fishing television show was floated, once again beer was involved. So Kerren went about applying his computer skills to video editing while still holding down a full time job.
Shortly after attending Matt's wedding in 2001 Kerren decided it was time he pop the question to his long time partner Nicki Banbury (or Nicki put the hard word on him - details are sketchy on the finer points) In a surprise move Kerren set his wedding in the peak of the fishing season indicating his level of commitment and in March of 2002 Kerren and Nicki tied the knot.
Kerren had developed his video editing skill to the point that he and Matt decided to produce a game fishing video. Bluewater Fishing New Zealand was a success and the positive feedback gave Matt and Kerren the confidence and the mandate to make a TV Show.
Now good mates and business are usually considered a bad idea but despite the pair both having a love for fishing they have very different personalities and skill sets that seem to compliment each other perfectly.
Kerren also became a dad in April 2004, when he and Nicki became owners of a shiny new baby girl. So look out for the Name ‘Kyla Packer' in the Small Fry records in the next 5 or so years.
Mr. Packer Senior's job meant that the Packer Family spent a lot of time relocating, but rather than seeing it as a problem, Kerren saw it as a chance to go fishing somewhere new. Fiji was Kerren's home for a bit over a year where there were plenty of fishing adverntures for a keen young fisho.
Throughout all the moves and new schools a passion for fishing remained a constant for Kerren, and when not out fishing he used to sketch pictures of fish and developed a knack for Art and design.
Kerren pursued a career in computer aided graphic design, and settled in Auckland where he took up a position at Yellow Pages. After 13 years at Yellow Pages Kerren had worked himself into a senior position where his sick days miraculously coincided with calm seas, clear skys and good fishing. Kerren would always make recovery from the 24-hour flu and return with fresh fillets fillets for the staff in the art department - funny that!
It was during one of these ‘spells' off work on a tuna fishing trip to Whakatane, Kerren met Matt through a mutual friend. Kerren and Matt got on well, as most like minded fishermen do and it turned out they shared a similar out look on life, which mainly involved fishing, socialising and more fishing.
Kerren was taken by this ‘skinny blond fulla' with such a passion for fishing that he had not seen before in any one other than himself.
The pair would share their favourite past times of fishing and a having a few cold ones, and in one way or another fishing was the topic of discussion. In one such session Matt announced he was going to move north and work on game fishing boats, and in a strategic move Matt also nominated Kerren to the committee of the MSFC, where Kerren soon moved to Club Captain duties and then on to a term in the role of Public Relations Officer for the New Zealand Big Game Fishing Council.
This way the pair could ‘get inside the recreational fishing industry and mastermind a plan to create dream jobs that involved going fishing and getting paid lots, you see what beer does!
Kerren went on to gain the respect from a lot of the major players in the recreational fishing sector and he became the forum administrator for fishing.net.nz. It was at around this stage that the idea of creating a fishing television show was floated, once again beer was involved. So Kerren went about applying his computer skills to video editing while still holding down a full time job.
Shortly after attending Matt's wedding in 2001 Kerren decided it was time he pop the question to his long time partner Nicki Banbury (or Nicki put the hard word on him - details are sketchy on the finer points) In a surprise move Kerren set his wedding in the peak of the fishing season indicating his level of commitment and in March of 2002 Kerren and Nicki tied the knot.
Kerren had developed his video editing skill to the point that he and Matt decided to produce a game fishing video. Bluewater Fishing New Zealand was a success and the positive feedback gave Matt and Kerren the confidence and the mandate to make a TV Show.
Now good mates and business are usually considered a bad idea but despite the pair both having a love for fishing they have very different personalities and skill sets that seem to compliment each other perfectly.
Kerren also became a dad in April 2004, when he and Nicki became owners of a shiny new baby girl. So look out for the Name ‘Kyla Packer' in the Small Fry records in the next 5 or so years.
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