Report 034 Big air, with little reward... 2nd of April 2010

On Good Friday I headed out for a quick fishing session from Bowentown, with the destination of Mayor Island. I launched at the local ramp, at 6.00 am for another high speed solo mission with the forecasted two metre swell.

After the thrills of the white washed bar, I was soon enjoying the gradual ramps with a rolling two metre swell. The ride out had plenty of big air, an awesome feeling to start a fun Jetskifishing session. For those yet to enjoy the buzz of a high speed launch experiencing plenty of air time fully rigged, it is a must! Just make sure you have the right fishing hardware, such as the “Ultimate Rod Holder” kit, a proven kit to handle all conditions, making for increased riding fun.

The trip out to Mayor took thirty five minutes, to where I stopped at my first fishing spot of the day, Tuhua Reef. I tried with no success, I then moved to fish a few other local spots. I next got hit on the jig, in a hundred metres of water, to the sad reward of a large Barracuda. After an hour of jigging, I called it quits at Mayor and decided to test out Penguin Shoals for any promising fish sign. Things weren’t much better at Penguin, I couldn’t seem to find any Kingfish on this trip… I continued surveying the area with the Raymarine GPS, knowing my fishing time was running out. I next made a decision to try the recent hot spot of Astrolabe! I had never been there before, so it was to be a challenging long range trip after already covering so many miles. On arrival at Astrolabe, it was an awesome site, experiencing the rising swell breaking over the reef.

There was plenty of boats in the area, giving an eerie feeling of a serious fishing spot. There was many live baits balloons with their various rigs, with plenty of keen fisherman also testing the luck with their jigging. Wasn’t long and I had christened Astrolabe, with my first hook up, catching a nice Snapper using the 200 gram jig.

I admitted defeat, with not finding any Kingfish on this day… So I decided to pluck one of the Kahawai feeding on the bait fish, using a Daiwa - Bay Pirate with my Sol rod and reel.

I then had to call it quits, as my kids and girl friend were looking forward to some fun with me over Easter. I raced back from Astrolabe with a thirty five minute return trip, to have my son Cooper keen to help retrieve the ski.

The rest of the weekend had no further fishing success, just plenty of fun on the biscuit and wakeboard.