The weather forecast for the Sunday, was touch and go, with high winds forecasted for each day, either side of the event. After receiving many calls and texts on the Saturday, questioning if the event was still going ahead, the decision was made. Unless the conditions were a safety issue, I decided there was no reason to postpone the scheduled start. The final call, would be confirmed 6.30am on the morning of the event. The weather played ball and the keenest jetskifishos started arriving at 6am, knowing over fifty anglers were registered for the event!
As with the previous event, all anglers were required to meet at Bucklands Beach, at the Yamaha tent, where each entrant received complimentary packs, in their Top Catch coolie bag. The contents included a packet of Gulp soft baits, Ministry of Fisheries Handbook, Loaded sports drink, fish measure guide, Salt Free ready to use spray, the Buy Right Cars key ring and any pre ordered Jetskifishing merchandise.
Once all registration forms were confirmed and riders received their weigh in tickets, we all gathered for the riders/safety briefing.
With so many entrants, it was a photo opportunity to have all the skis together, hence the spectacle of a shot gun start. The concept of the shot gun start was in no way a race, it was an opportunity to see everyone leave together, capturing the atmosphere of so many jet-skis in one place.
The team from Helisika Helicopters, were ready and waiting for the exciting start.
With the flag dropping and the hooter sounding they were off!
So much for no race! The adrenalin had kicked in, most were on a full speed mission to their fishing spots.
The start was all captured on video which can be viewed on You Tube at The Jetskifishing Channel.
Eventually the excitement of the start had settled, with most skis heading via Motuihe to their favourite spots. With the days schedule, my son Jayden (who was fishing off the back of my ski) only had a couple of hours fishing, so we headed to the Ahaaha’s where there has been plenty of fish in the recent weeks.
On arrival at the spot, it wasn’t long before I found some fish while using the trusty Raymarine sounder. I was not fishing in the tournament, I was Jaydens skipper for the day, as I was out on the water for safety assistance and photos for the contestants. Jayden was a bit out of fishing practice, having not been on the water since the March tournament, yet it didn’t take him long to land a fish while using the Gulp 6” Lizard-Green Pumpkin. With the first fish on board, the pressure was off! In comps you never know what size is a possible winning fish, so any in the chilly is a bonus. In the mean time, Craig on his pimped out Yamaha FZS was yahooing… as he was doing well with some quick success, landing a couple of nice Snapper.
After an hour of fishing, Jayden and I cruised around the area seeing how the other anglers were doing.
We then made a heading back to Home Bay, only ten minutes from our launching ramp.
We set up for a drift and after experiencing the direction over the reef, we reset for a better line over the drop off… For this Jayden selected his own choice of bait, the 4” Gulp - Fluorescent Pink which on first cast, had him on a challenging string puller in twelve metres of water. By no means a big Snapper, yet a good fight for a young angler on the light gear!
With three fish in the chilly bin, it was time for us to head back and get prepared for the prize giving.
We cruised back to Bucklands Beach, knowing Jayden had made a good effort for his class, on a challenging days fishing. Once back on land, it didn’t take long to wash down the WaveRunner, reality hitting home how versatile and convenient jet-skis are, with less time required for wash down.
The prize giving was held at the new Top Catch/Jetskifishing Store at Half Moon Bay. We set up the Yamaha tent and arranged for a bbq and drinks for all those involved in the competition.
The weigh in started at 3.30pm and most who participated in the event, turned up to see the fish and prize giving. All entrants had a chance for the special draw for the Buy Right Cars – Gulp Soft Baiters Dream Pack which was won by Dave Johnson. There was plenty of the public there to see the event, with everyone enjoying the sight of so many of the jetskifishos catching fish in such a short time frame. There was a few respectable fish caught at the comp and all winning fish were caught on soft plastic baits. Plenty more photos of the weigh in are now added at the gallery on http://www.jetskifishing.co.nz/king-of-jetskifishing-2
The prize giving started with thanks to all that took part in the event, also mentioning the following sponsors that made the event a huge success.
Top Catch HMB
Helisika
Yamaha NZ
Gulp/Berkley
Daiwa
Raymarine
Buy Right Cars
McMurdo
Salt Free
Tachyon
Loaded Sports Drinks
No Limits Magazine
CTEK
Coastguard
The full categories are listed below.
Tachyon Heaviest KIDS Snapper
1st Jayden Hill, Prize & Trophy - Tachyon Micro Helmet Camera including 8GB SD Card. Weight - 1.68kg
2nd Quinn Barnes, Prize – Daiwa rod and reel combo. Weight - 1.42kg
Raymarine Heaviest Kahawai
1st Ben Cometti, Prize & Trophy – Raymarine 5 watt hand held VHF. Weight – 1.00kg
2nd Peter Jacobsen, Prize – CTEK battery Charger. Weight – (No fish weighed) Lucky Draw
Top Catch Average Snapper
1st Logan Carpenter, Prize & Trophy - $300 Top Catch Voucher and Daiwa Red Back rod and reel combo. Weight – 1.54kg
Sharkskin Heaviest “other species”
1st Mark Greenfield, Prize & Trophy – Sharkskin thermal tops and bottoms. Weight – 11.86kg Kingfish
2nd Russell Murray, Prize – Colemans luxury directors chair. Weight – 2.08kg Trevally
King of Jetskifishing, Berkley Heaviest Weight Snapper
1st Russell Murray, Prize & Trophy - $850 Fast Find Personal Location Beacon.
Weight – 4.44kg
2nd Alex Tomov, Prize – Berkley rod and reel combo. Weight – 3.10 kg
After the prize giving, we enjoyed a bbq with some refreshments while many discussed their experiences of the days fishing.
No comments:
Post a Comment