Report 056 Top Catch King of Jetskifishing Tournament... 20th of February 2011

The day had come again to see who would earn the title of the newest King of Jetskifishing. For those who were unable to attend, I will briefly cover the days event. This being the third King of Jetskifishing and with interest increasing in this growing sport, preparations were required with a stringent safety plan for the competitors and public… The start venue was approved to the larger venue from last years event of Eastern Beach with thanks to the Harbourmaster and the team at the local council. To the Jetskifishos credit, they are definitely responsible and educated riders, which you will see from the YouTube feature, constantly representing the jet-ski community in positive light. Unfortunately in New Zealand there is a stereotype towards jet-ski owners, more so at the vicinity of Eastern Beach with riders continually disobeying marine bylaws and resulting in various incidents witnessed by the public! On the day of the competition, the public and newbies to the sport had a great opportunity to see the skis and people associated with the sport, up close and in person at Eastern Beach. With hundreds of properties surrounding the beach and cliff tops, many people had a front row seat to the shot gun start (by way of hooter) scheduled for 8.30am. All entrants received the complimentary Top Catch coolie bag, full of sponsors goodies on registration at the Yamaha tent in the morning.

Some of the riders and skis arrived nice and early to make the most of the exciting jet-ski only fishing comp that is only held twice a year.

While some were still registering with Kristy, Celine and Amy, at the Yamaha registration tent,
some of the others were relaxing with a big breakfast!

The turnout was great with plenty arriving early for our plane drop organised with the team at UFO.
This was an extra chance for any of the anglers who arrived on time to get one of the blow up aliens that would have one lucky person win a $250 UFO food smoker later in the day at the prize giving. The drop was a little wider than expected, but didn’t stop the keener ones going for a swim!

With eighty anglers registered there was a real buzz with so many jet-skis together in one place!

Once all the entrants had arrived, the riders briefing was completed, covering the safety, rules and the format for the start… The idea of the shot gun start is to keep everyone on an even par, having the same starting time and point, to make for a more sporting opportunity for all anglers. The added bonus of the shot gun start was a great photo opportunity for this unique fishing comp and we also had the TV1 camera crew on board to cover the event.

Plenty of photos of the event are available at our FaceBook page and the Jetskifishing website.

The skis all headed out off the beach to assemble well off shore for the shot gun start. With a few hundred spectators on the beach the event had attracted plenty of public interest with onlookers being introduced to the fun lifestyle of Jetskifishing.

After a few final checks by myself with the starting boats, we were almost ready to be started on the sound of the hooter!

 Then they were off, the beach reports say it was spectacular sight with a sound of mega horsepower to go with it!

 So much fun and within a few minutes most were heading in the direction of Motuihe for their fishing adventures, while some went off to the bottom of Waiheke and areas of Rangitoto Island.

Was a great day for the comp with warm weather and flat sea conditions. There were plenty of groups of Jetskifishos teamed up with their various strategies and some deciding to fish solo…

With our safety team and film crew on the water, the event was reasonably incident free with only a few break downs and fortunately the girls were there on hand to help Mark out with this dilemma…

The following YouTube video link shows you additional coverage of the fishing competition.

All anglers arrived back at the Jetskifishing/Top Catch Store for the weigh in and prize giving, with many of the public who viewed the start coming down to see everyone’s catches.

Once the weigh in was completed, the winner was announced for the UFO lucky plane drop, going to Braden O’Loughlin. The spot prizes continued with the Buy Right Cars – Gulp Soft Baiters Dream Pack going to Joe de Beer. It was great to see everyone coming back to the prize giving and seeing how supportive our growing number of Jetskifishos are.

Once again, I thank all our loyal sponsors and welcome all the new ones that have jumped on board with our latest Jetskifishing events. The latest King of Jetskifishing is Don Bowater, who I recently kitted out for Jetskifishing, his catch a 3.16 kilo Snapper caught north of the Noises. Truly inspirational, showing all contestants have an equal chance on the day! We all can catch larger fish on most trips, but stepping up on the day under pressure, the challenge is increased… The average Snapper was won by Chris Mahar receiving the ultimate in Jetskifishing toys, the Lumishore bung light from Specialized Lighting Concepts. The largest Kingfish went to Peter at 11.88kg winning the ever popular $300 Cock & Bull voucher after a well deserved adventure going to Channel Island at the top of the Coromandel (a 150km round trip!). All places, prizes and categories are listed below, thanks to all those who assisted and entered for our biggest event yet and I look forward to the King of Jetskifishing 4, scheduled for October 2011.

Daiwa Heaviest KIDS Snapper
1st Liam Patten (Yamaha FX HO), Prize & Trophy – Daiwa rod and reel combo. Weight - 1.50 kg
2nd Quinn Barnes (Yamaha FX HO), Prize – Daiwa rod and reel combo. Weight - 1.28 kg
3rd Jayden Hill (Yamaha FX HO), Prize – Jetskifishing bucket hat. Weight - .86 kg

Raymarine Heaviest Kahawai
1st Simon Donald (Yamaha FX HO), Prize & Trophy – Raymarine $500 Voucher. Weight – 2.66kg
2nd Dave Johnson (Yamaha FX HO), Prize – Berkley soft side cooler bag and net. Weight – 2.58kg
3rd Russell Murray (Sea-Doo RXT), Prize – Ultimate Reel Cover. Weight - 2.58kg

UFO (Universal Food Oven) Heaviest other species
1st Kirk Davis (Kawasaki STX), Prize & Trophy – UFO Cooker RRP $695. Weight – 2.40kg
2nd Dave Johnson (Yamaha FX HO), Prize – Colemans luxury directors chair. Weight – 1.82kg

Cock & Bull Heaviest Kingfish
1st Peter Todorov (Sea-Doo), Prize & Trophy – $300 Cock & Bull VOUCHER. Weight – 11.88kg
2nd Stefan Orzel (Yamaha FX HO), Prize – Tachyon Micro Helmet Camera. Weight – 8.52kg

Specialized Lighting Concepts Average Snapper
1st Chris Mahar (Yamaha VX), Prize & Trophy - $750.00 Lumishore Bung Light. Weight – 1.28kg

Top Catch King of Jetskifishing, Heaviest Weight Snapper
1st Don Bowater (Sea-Doo GTi), Prize & Trophy - $500 CASH. Weight – 3.16kg
2nd Carl Hurley (Yamaha FX HO), Prize – Berkley rod and reel combo. Weight – 2.56kg
3rd Rick Williamson (Sea-Doo GTX), Prize – Sharkskin thermal top. Weight - 2.48kg