This adventure was to an area I had been considering for quite some time now, of the Mokohinau Islands. Accompanying me, one of our newest converts named Bill, who recently traded is boat to take up the sport of Jetskifishing. With Bill not shy to adrenalin fueled sports being a NZ speedway champ, the concept of Jetskifishing was a great choice for his desire for big boys toys. As with any companions of my larger range trips, I make clear the extremities that are faced for someone so green to the sport! Bill being a typical kiwi bloke said no worries mate, I’ve done this and that Bla! Bla! And in his words he will be fine! Famous last words, as he was soon introduced to endurance Jetskifishing… Our trip started with a long peak hour traffic drive of 1 hour and half from the Eastern Suburbs of Auckland to the launch ramp of Omaha.
The conditions were looking average for the one way leg of approximately sixty kilometres. Once we exited the Omaha bar, we were greeted by the small chop that needed to be endured for the next hour to our first stop being Simpsons Rock. With longer riding time, luxuries on my WaveRunner such as the cruiser seats and cruise control, definitely made for an easier ride… had a short discussion between Bill and I at the beginning of the first leg, agreeing on a VHF channel to communicate on and decided to head out at each of our own speed comforts. Definitely makes it easier when using the GPS that most of us Jetskifishos now have installed, I just set a GO TO option and my Raymarine shows me an imaginary line to my destination. On days like this it is so important to have the right navigation equipment as visibility was poor and fuel needed to be conserved for the unknown territory. After a good hour slogging it and losing Bill behind in the distance I arrived to a calm watered Simpsons Rock. What an active fishery, the Kahawai were schooling on the surface, with Skippies splashing and plenty of small Makos basking in the sun!
After a few minutes at Simpsons I was getting a little concerned where Bill was, as I couldn’t spot him coming from anywhere! Tried to raise him on the VHF and sent him the text of concern… yet knowing he was well equipped with all safety equipment, I still wanted to know where he ended up! After me having time for a bite to eat, prepping my fishing tackle and a few jigs, he finally rolled up, somewhat exhausted! A few laughs later with some expletives of what he described as hard work. Truth be known, he just about called it quits after the first twenty minutes, but after his determination, braved the trip to some foreign territory. We fished Simpsons for a while where we both caught a few rat Kingfish while being circled by the local Makos…
After no real serious Kingfish strikes we decided to head over behind Maori Rock where I found some more activity with my first for dinner!
It wasn’t long and Bill was having a decent work out on his new jigging set. I can tell you Bill is having a great time with this Jetskifishing, after only two weeks in the sport…
1. Fished in the Top Catch King of Jetskifishing Tournament, catching fish soft baiting first time out!
2. Caught a chilly bin full second time out soft baiting on his Yamaha WaveRunner.
3. Next time caught a feed and got the experience of riding with the Orcas!
4. Now caught his biggest fish while fishing!
Maybe he is just a lucky bugger, but he sure is having fun and since having a ski he is getting plenty of opportunities to enjoy the lifestyle of Jetskifishing. This Kingfish caught was only a rat but, definitely had us enjoying the jigging buzz!
We continued fishing the same pin for an hour with plenty of hook ups and releases… Bill was determined to get his first legal Kingfish, even after each of us were tiring after the continual mechanical jigging action. At one stage the fishing was so hot, the jigs were being smashed on the drop within 10 metres of water depth. It was truly exciting fishing and a great introduction for a newbies Kingfish jigging session! Bill’s next fish really had him struggling and full of excitement, as he was sure he finally had his first legal one.
After a short wrestle to confirm the fish’s legal length, the Kingfish demonstrated its power and punchered a hole straight through his net! With some quick thinking the only way to secure the fish while being unprepared with his chilly bin, the fish was gaffed before being put on ice.
On this trip it wasn’t looking like we were going to get any big boys, so we started heading back with a few quick stops along the way.
We had one last go at Simpsons Rock where we caught a few more Kingfish and I also got a Snapper on the jig.
We called it quits after a good six hours on the water and headed back to the Omaha ramp enjoying the scenery with the odd flying fish keeping us company on the trip home. We stopped at the local Matakana bar to have a few laughs over a coldie to congratulate Bill for a top effort in some pretty challenging conditions for a personal best!
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