On any given weekend a skinny Kiwi kid with shaggy blonde hair could be seen dragging his dinghy laden with fish and fishing gear up the steep hill at Weymouth boat ramp. The boat's trolley had a dodgy wheel that would regularly fall off, making the 1 mile trip from the boat ramp to his home take more than an hour. But this didn’t deter the kid one bit; his passion for fishing was such that nothing would dampen his enthusiasm. As the next weekend rolled around, before the first rays of sunshine lightened the Saturday morning sky he’d be towing his dinghy back down to the sea for another adventure.
No-one could have predicted that this kid from a small seaside town in New Zealand would some day step out onto the world stage, featuring on shows like The Late Show with David Letterman, The Today Show, 60 minutes, NBC News, BBC World - to name just a few of the countless shows, news agencies, publications and websites that have been fascinated by what he does.
The kid was Matt Watson, who everyone predicted, including himself, would some day grow up to be a fisherman. What he does that has attracted so much attention is bring the intrigue and excitement of searching the world’s oceans for adventure to televisions screens. Part stuntman - part conservationist and self confessed ‘mad fisherman’, Matt captures the attention of his audience by pulling off impossible catches - unbelievably big fish from ridiculously small boats.
Current work
From starting fishing as a 3 year old, Matt worked weekends and holidays for his Uncle as a commercial fisherman and made the decision to make fishing his career at age 25. Alongside a highly successful game fishing career, working on the most successful boat in New Zealand for four years in a row, Matt wrote articles for New Zealand Fishing News and launched his television career with his own production company.
Television
Matt has since become a popular character in New Zealand and overseas for his engaging and energetic presence on television. But ironically, when filling out a departure card, in the space titled "occupation", Matt prints "Fisherman". So he is one of the lucky few working in the job that he always dreamed of!
"Matt was a great speaker, he interacted comfortably with our clients; many of who had brought books and articles of clothing for him to sign. He was inundated with requests for photo's and ... keep reading Peninsula Roofing
Matt was brilliant - the delegates raved about him. He was humble, exciting, hilarious, and told a brilliant story of his life till now. He stayed on and mingled with the delegates which was totally going above and beyond. Such a genuine, knowledgeable guy. We definitely recommend!
