Report 023 The soft bait lesson to remember... 5th of December 2009

The crazy season has arrived, there is now a frenzy of PWC riders rushing to be involved in the growing sport of Jetskifishing. Those who are already enjoying the sport, are learning more with every adventure, which is half the fun of the experience.
With this year‟s introduction of the Jetskifishing.co.nz internet forum, users can now access a global community with all the questions and answers surrounding these great fishing platforms. The forum community is where this particular soft bait lesson was first initiated. One of our recent forum members Eddie, a long time bait fisher and boatie, had recently converted to Jetskifishing. Soft baits are the most practical method with PWC fishing, having many attributes with proven results, yet learning the basics is a must if intending to bring home some fish. Eddies Jetskifishing trips are a prime example, to date he has only experienced a couple of hot soft bait fishing days after many fishing adventures. It was bamboozling some of us regulars who could not understand what was going wrong, when literally catching fish right beside him! With some absolute basics analyzed on the forum, we soon diagnosed that the first issue was rigging his line. This can be an easy mistake to make, with the technique of rigging for soft baits being so important. This is a tip for any newbies, new to soft baiting and unfamiliar with the correct line requirements to connect the jig head, that your soft bait is applied to. In this scenario, Eddie was running braid straight to his jig head… It is highly recommended to have a fluorocarbon trace between the braid and jig head for best results, so the line is not visible.
So the story goes, as simple as this, Eddie then comes over home on Saturday afternoon, I supply some Berkley twenty pound Vanish and tie his knots, rigging his bargain sixty dollar rod, with the fluorocarbon and attaching his 1oz jig head to the clip at the end of the trace.

Here I was hoping, that this was the gear issue sorted, even knowing he had 20 pound braid, this could still make challenging fishing with the excessive line weight!
No time like the present, we head out for a fish and put some theories to practice with a one on one session for soft baiting.
We launched at Bucklands Beach ramp at 3.00 pm, each with our own fishing machines.

The first destination was Sergeant Channel by Waiheke Island. This was another great day to be on the water, with little swell making for glassy conditions. We arrived at one of my local spots, with me hunting around at idle using the Raymarine, to find the fish. It was not proving to be at all rewarding, with little activity, so we continued up past Matiatia looking for any inviting stops… Things didn‟t get much better, so we were just experiencing what we joke about as a „Seahog‟ cruise day. I didn‟t want to give up and after a few casts here and there, with no success we were soon cruising over to Rakino where we found some sign, with some interest on the plastics. Me being Mr Impatient, expecting instant results and hoping to give Eddie a productive lesson, made a call to head around to my old faithful spot off the Haystack. This was the choice of the day, especially since the tide was starting to run back in, being an hour after low tide.
The lesson seriously stepped up a level, there was no mucking around with me being the demanding tutor, saying do this, do that, and hoping it was all sinking in with the eager student. The purpose of my trip was purely to find Eddie his lost fishing mojo with a few helpful tips on my behalf! There was the usual turn your damn ski off, park right here, the fish are here, we are going to get smashed, all quite entertaining in the heat of the moment! I get far too excited when you confirm that desired sign on the trusty sounder.

The cast direction was established and Eddie was now following commands in true form. We were casting a good 10 metres away from our skis allowing our baits to drift back under the ski to where the fish were holding at eighteen metres. Next, I am hearing yahoos from Eddie he is hooked up on a fish and I am also full of enthusiasm showing the same energies and saying “This is where it‟s at!” and before I know it he has lost the fish! Never mind I say, at least we know they are here and on the bite. Next cast and he is on to another, this time he lands it, only to our disgust, as it was just legal.

We debated the merits and as there was no fish in each of our bins and any fish are appreciated after all his zilchings, this would have to do as a keeper. We were soon back in to the fishing after a few laughs and next I was hooked up on a panny using the 7” Gulp Camo.

Eddie was into his next drift and next thing I am hearing the yahoos again, I was first thinking he is getting over excited and living the moment with his hat! But next I hear the reel screaming and see him standing up, fishing out the back of the ski with his sixty dollar special fishing rod, doing the business.

I could see Eddie tweaking the drag each time he tried retrieving some line, as the fish gained just as much on each wind… Before I knew it our skis were getting closer together as the momentum of his fish was surprisingly pulling Eddies ski up wind within metres of me. I now had the perfect vantage point for some great photo opportunities, as Eddie soon had the upper hand on his good sized fish. Before I knew it, the hard yards were done and the fish was up at the surface to confirm the reward for some real persistence of sticking with the soft baiting. I was relieved to first see some colour of a great looking Snapper and second of all, the knots I had tied had lived up to the exciting battle.

Eddie‟s big fish was caught with the Gulp 5” Nuclear Chicken and after a few more photos it was safely in the chilly bin, as his prized fish to be caught on his ski.

We continued our fishing for another half hour, with each of us adding a few more to our chilly bins.
We then met another passing Jetskifisho, Brian who had ventured over for a fishing session from Whangaparaoa.

After a chin wag and swapping some fishing experiences Eddie and I headed back to the ramp. We had grins ear to ear after another exciting Jetskifishing session and Eddie well on course to mastering his soft baiting technique.