Report 013 Quick Friday morning session fishing the shallows... 25th of September 2009

With the week just about over and the constant bad weather, my days were becoming limited for my weekly Jetskifishing report. I basically only had three hours available, so that meant I was up for a 6.00am fish on Friday! The wind was forecasted to increase throughout the day, so this trip could be another rough one.
I launched at Bucklands Beach, just after low tide and the same time having sufficient light to have a safe trip .

I launched at Bucklands Beach, just after low tide and the same time having sufficient light to have a safe trip.

The ferries were leaving Half Moon Bay for their early run and now I have become a familiar face, with all on deck taking time for quick wave. My destination today was the Matiatia Bay area and with a smooth trip all the way to Sergeant Channel. The sea conditions quickly changed, as I was promptly met by the oncoming weather! There was a reasonable swell with some nice chop building, the further I headed north. My plan was to try the area, to see if the fish really have started moving in, so the first stop was the 33 metre hole. I slowed to 10 kph and studied the Raymarine sounder, looking for any sign. There was some brief patches, but no real images of what I was looking for. I then cruised further north, patiently looking for the desired fish activity. Before I knew it, I was at an area past the second point of Matiatia that has fished well for me in the past.

I stopped and tested the area with a few drifts in 15 metres of water and after losing a fish and not seeing much sign, I soon moved over to the wash area. In the shallows the fishing can be so exciting, yet challenging so on the slower fishing days this is a great option. For me, I find one of the more enjoyable parts of fishing, is success with new techniques. For this particular drift, I was fishing in 4. 8 metres of water, in real snag territory! I decided to use 5/8 of an ounce weight with a 7” Gulp Camo soft bait. I lightly cast the bait towards the shallows, constantly aware of the dropping jig head, having potential to be caught on the foul. While working the rod tip and feeding out the braid, I was constantly retaining the tension of a tight line. Within twenty seconds of the cast, I was smashed by an aggressive fish, giving another thrill us fisherman live for, that screaming reel. This was exactly what I was after, yet honestly not quite expecting such an instant result. The fish was pulling more line than I was gaining and I was increasingly cautious of the approaching rocks I was drifting towards. This battle was a race for survival, the fish trying to bust me before I got the upper hand. I knew I didn’t have much time, so carefully I was tweaking the drag and gaining line after each run the fish made. Eventually I got the upper hand and within two minutes and little time to spare a nice Snapper was in netting sight at my ski. After three challenging attempts to net the Snapper, he finally tired and was safely in my net. It was all about urgency now and I quickly started the ski to safely avoid the rocks I was approaching. Then the fish was weighed at 8 pound on my compact Berkley scales and swiftly added to my chilly bin.

I persisted for a few more minutes in the same area, with no more hits. I soon decided it was time to try some other local areas and along the way admired the Jet Raider leaving with some Waiheke locals on the 8.00am ferry.

The next stop was Curusoe, between Motuihe and Waiheke Island.

It was 8.15am and from the first drop it felt like days of summer fishing… The smallest Snapper was 440mm, with all the fish smashing the plastics on the drop, within 5 metres of the water column. My drifts were heading back towards Curusoe and each cast was flicked about 15 metres past the ski allowing for the quick drift rate. The key with this session was switching to an ounce and maintaining the tight line. With the strong wind, I needed to keep the rod tip low to the water straight after the cast. If the tip was high, the wind could loop the braid and I couldn’t maintain the necessary tight line. Once refining this technique, your soft baiting in stronger winds should be more rewarding.
Most of my soft baiting knowledge has been care of people who have had great success with years of experience. So the more we learn from each other’s techniques, the better our results can be on the water. Thanks again, to the many who give me their time and support, originally inspiring me with soft baiting. I hope now, my small reports are doing the same to others intrigued by the rewards of learning the tricks to soft baiting.

After catching a couple more Snapper at Curusoe, I then ventured over to the reef on the other side of Sergeants Channel. The fishing was not much different, in 12 metres of water the fish were just as aggressive and also smashing the 7” Nuclear Chicken!

It was now 9.00am and with six good Snapper in the chilly bin, it was now time to head home to start my day’s work after another fun Jetskifishing session.