Report 039 Triple hook ups at Little Barrier... 15th of July 2010

For this Jetskifishing session, four of us decided to try the plentiful fishing grounds of Little Barrier. I was accompanied by some of our Jetskifishing forum members, Alex, Bobby and Steve. Alex is an ex boaty with plenty of knowledge of the area, so I was to enjoy the day following his lead… We used his usual launching ramp at Omaha, making for a short distance ride to Little Barrier with a brisk morning early start.

We cruised out together fully kitted in our various Winter mode attire… It was an exciting start, with each of us launching over the approaching two metre swells, while the sun was rising over Little Barrier.

With the lumpy ride out, we each received plenty of sea spray over the top of our skis! We were refreshed for our early morning start, Alex made the call choosing a first fishing spot in thirty six metres of water. The forecast was for an ease in the southerly wind and I was anxiously hoping for sooner than later! With plenty of sign at the first spot, I sensed it wouldn’t be long before my mind was focused on fishing and not the weather…

Little Barrier was living up to its reputation, we were all getting our soft baits hit on first drops! Wasn’t long and I had my first fish in the chilly bin, a nice conditioned Snapper caught with the Gulp 7” New Penny.

The sets of large swells were rocking us around on the skis, not making for perfect fishing… A few us were feeling a bit green after an early start, especially Bobby, showing the effects and producing his own personal burley trail!

The jokes about his burley trail were well received, especially once he landed the best Snapper of the day going 3.6 kg. We continued fishing the area with each of us resetting our drifts once going to far past the sign. I thought I was on to the Snapper of the day and after a few good runs and the deceivingly strong nods, confirmed it was only a Cuda!

After carefully removing the jig and avoiding its razor sharp teeth, I was soon back fishing. There was plenty more Snapper caught and released, with any Gulp colour I used working on the day. Yet I did find the Pink Shine was the most targeted by the Cuda, so I soon switched back to other colours to reduce the chances of being hit by Cuda. Alex made the call to try another area, where it normally holds better sized fish, once again we were on to fish…

With my one big hit, I was left re-gearing my line after a knot failure on the drop and not having the drag set for it! After replacing my spool, rather than losing time tying knots on the water, I was back fishing with the frequent triple hook ups we experienced.

Amongst the catches there was also a few John Dory landed, as well as some Cod that also hit the Gulps. The hottest bite time was three hours after high tide or otherwise it was just a coincidence we found the best of colour of the day. It was well agreed the fish attracted best to the yellow and I found for me, the Gulp 7” Curried Chicken had the most results.

After a great day catching a feed, we all headed back as the wind finally eased, with a return ride of just over twenty minutes. Thanks again Alex, it was great having a responsible and knowledgeable leader for the day, I look forward to another fish with you guys soon.