Report 048 Some new territory for Kingfish action… 29th of December 2010

Christmas holidays are here and I have been staying up at Ruakaka, two hours north of Auckland… I could not resist an early start to some of the nearby fishing spots I had studied on my marine charts. The plan was to launch at first light with the convenience of the Ruakaka River which did not go to well… I learnt the hard way in low light at 5.15am that there was not enough water and had to retrieve the ski back on to the trailer and had to re-launch fifteen minutes away by car at the local marina of One Tree Point. The marina facilities were the best I have used to date, having plenty of parking and a non slip ramp surface, making for stress free launching in a safe environment.

After slowly exiting the three knot speed restricting no wake zone, I was entering the Whangarei Harbour.

Navigating out of the harbour was a challenge being new to the area… without my detailed charts on the Raymarine A50D, I could have really run in to trouble with the unfamiliar surroundings in low light. The destination being Sail Rock is a good ten miles out of the harbour, south of the Hen and Chicken Islands. The ride out was not ideal conditions and took about fourty minutes at a cruising speed. I was well prepared with all the necessary communication safety equipment, including a five watt Raymarine VHF, cellphone in a dry bag and the McMurdo PLB (now available at the Jetskifishing Store). On arrival, the area looked to have potential, with bait fish splashing on the surface…

I soon could see why it is named Sail Rock.

I started off the fishing with some mechanical jigging and soon was enjoying some Kingfish action on the purple Zest four hundred gram jig. After numerous catch and releases of undersized Kingfish, I next tried my luck on the lighter gear using the Gulp soft plastics. It was all on, I was having heaps of fun with Kingfish strikes on the 7” Gulp Nuclear Chicken, seems to be a good option each time I have wanted results.

After releasing a few more fish, I continued jigging, after finding some sign in the shallower water of thirty metres, close to the rock face. The fish size was increasing and my next strike was what I thought was a beauty and after a ten minute battle I landed another legal Kingy that was fouled half way back, by its spine! This explained the struggle I was having and the perception of a solid fish! I ended up keeping it for dinner and decided to head back to Ruakaka to take my sons for a quick fish. The jet-skis are so practical, it was simple to ride right back to shore amongst the surf and to collect the boys to head out for some harbour fishing.

With a short drive along the beach towards the Marsden Point area, we fished a small reef for the kids. Jayden flicked some soft baits and my youngest son Cooper started with some bait fishing. Didn’t take long and he had a big smile, catching his fish of the day.

After a few more casts we called it quits and decided to head back to the batch to enjoy some time at the beach. Me and the boys cleaned down the ski and helped prepare the Kingfish for dinner.