It all started with a hook

Black Magic KS and KL hooks were introduced in New Zealand, and the hooks quickly outclassed other hooks on the market, earning them widespread recognition as “magic”. We started life as Fisherman’s Warehouse, in a small garage in West Auckland, advertising in NZ Fishing News and selling through 2 retailers – Western Underwater in New Lynn and North Shore Canvas in Takapuna (Auckland, NZ). Before long, demand grew and Black Magic Tackle (now a wholesale business) was born.

We quickly outgrew the garage and moved on to bigger and better things … twice! In 1993 we moved into an 800sq ft warehouse in New Lynn, before moving again in 1994 to a 5,000sq ft warehouse in Rosebank Road. We’re still located in Auckland, New Zealand; but in a much bigger location where we stock all our products, raw materials, and components, and facilitate all our testing.

In 1993 we launched the Wasabi® brand in New Zealand, with a range of recurve and suicide hooks and swivels. Wasabi remains a staple brand in many tackle stores across New Zealand and Australia, offering a wide range of fishing tackle to suit the everyday angler.

This was a big year for Black Magic! We launched the Equalizer® gimbal and harness set, which quickly gained international recognition and won “Best in Show” at iCast USA. The Equalizer® continues to be the stand-up gimbal and harness set of choice for many around the world.

Our custom designed Snatcher® rigs were launched, and are now market leaders in NZ and Australia. The design has been copied by many, but our original rig is still hand tied in New Zealand using our own components, cementing our reputation for quality, consistency, and performance.

Gisborne angler, Alain Jorion, landed his NZ record 473.2kg black marlin while fishing off Tatapouri. He achieved this feat while strapped into our Equalizer® gimbal and harness. His lure was home made. His boat was called ‘Freedom’ and he achieved a ‘grand slam’ of billfish when he landed the black marlin. And from there, our Freedom Grand Slammer lure was born. Alain’s black marlin still holds the NZ record today (2024).

In 2004 we introduced Supple Trace to the market following the success of Tough Trace. Our mono leaders have been popular since day 1 and they continue to be a product we’re well known for all over the world.

In November 2006 we added Tough Fluorocarbon leader to our range. Delivering the ultimate level of abrasion resistance, it quickly captured the market and remains the go-to leader for many anglers around the world.

In July 2012 we released our new hook – the C Point®. With 3 micro cutting edges, a bent back eye and an offset point, our C Point® hooks are designed for ‘striking’ when the fish bites or runs with the bait. It quickly gathered a loyal following and remains a core part of our hooks range.

At the 2014 Australian Fishing Trade Association (AFTA) show we won Best Terminal Tackle with our new Longreach Surfcasting rigs. This popular rig continues to go from strength to strength in both New Zealand and Australia, as more anglers try their hand at landbased fishing.

We continued to expand our range by introducing Rainbow Braid 8x Elite. Owner, Rick Wakelin, had seen this braid for years but waited until we could achieve a strong, durable braid that delivered against our high quality and performance expectations.

In 2016, we released the sharpest hook in our range – the DX Point®. This unique hook is manufactured with 4 micro cutting edges and a chemically sharpened point. The hook is also PTFE coated giving it a slippery texture. This combination makes DX Point® hooks incredibly sharp and achieved 'Runner Up Best Hook' at the AFTA 2016 show.

We joined forces with Scott and Mig from Fishing & Adventure (TV show) as their exclusive terminal tackle sponsor. Fishing & Adventure is currently the number 1 fishing show in New Zealand (2024), and we continue to our proud association with the boys and their crew.

2018 was a busy year for Black Magic. We launched 4 new products – the KLT® hook, Pink Shock leader, Deception Ultra Pink leader, and our patented Snapper Snacks®. All of these products have cemented themselves in markets worldwide, with our KLT® hook becoming the go to hook for so many anglers.

Our commitment to producing market leading, performance tested products continued to drive our business forward, and helped so many anglers achieve their PB's as well as world and national records. The introduction of our custom engineered Twin Pin Pro gimbal, which is compatible with our existing Equalizer® harness, offered anglers maximum leverage whether using a straight butt or bent butt rod, without the need for an adaptor.

The introduction of our XT game lures started with the evolution of our original Maggot and Flea lures. The new near-unbreakable resin lure heads of our XT lures are manufactured using XtraTuff technology - a high tech material that improves the strength and durability of the heads meaning they won’t crack or break under pressure.

Our Equalizer® gimbal and harness continues to deliver record breaking catches including Wyatt Johnston’s Junior World Record 364kg black marlin caught off the Whakatane coast (NZ); a New Zealand 60kg line record 358.2kg swordfish landed by Alan Langdon; a New Zealand Smallfry 37kg and all tackle 170kg striped marlin, caught by young Lewis Bodman; and Team OceanicGear’s 1050lb Atlantic bluefin tuna our of Boston, USA.

In 2021 we celebrated 30 years of innovation, quality, and excellence. During that time, we’ve helped anglers achieve national and world records, personal bests, and simply enjoy a day on the water. This reinforces our market position as “the best by test”.

Over the last 2 years, we’ve grown our product range through our commitment to developing tackle to suit the needs of anglers in New Zealand, Australia, and around the world. We've expanded our range of XT game lures and added to our line and leader ranges including the addition of our high performance Hyperglide® 13x Braid. We've introduced new specialist rods, and grown our range of freshwater lines, leaders, and lures. And we're not done yet ...