Report 064 Time to fill the Ultimate Catch Bag! 11th of June 2011 (Day 3 of 3)

 After plenty of talk between the group at dinner on Thursday night, I didn‟t know who to expect at the ramp first thing Saturday morning! The last I heard was, see you at 7am… and there was no way I was going to be late, this was the day to get my game up to speed…  

With at least ten of us launched and ready for this last session, the procession of skis started their adventure with the first challenge of exiting the Tairua bar. I had a small incident after sucking up some seaweed at dead low tide in the shallow water channel, but with a few tricks learnt from my many riding hours, it was soon ejecting out the jet unit. I needed to catch up with the group and the bar was pretty extreme with the big swells and in close sets. The breakers were there to make for some big air excitement and after a quick adenalin fix,I was ready to see what the open water conditions would be today! The fishing grounds would be dictated by the sea conditions and some of the anglers went for the easy ride, choosing to fish some of the closer pins. While a small group led by myself, went in the direction of the deep water pins. We were heading into a huge swell, making for a tough ride, with every ten seconds an airborne drop, off the back of the swell.

With having a distance to cover of 35 km out to the spot, it wasn‟t long before my group started fading, with a few turning off and fishing closer to the Alderman Islands. Eventually I only had one on the chase, he was just as keen or more to the point 100% dedicated to land a big fish. So it was Andrew Howard and myself on a serious mission, determined to finish the trip on a high! Fifty minutes of riding later, my Raymarine GPS track lead us to Spot X which feels like in the middle of no where! Now keep in your mind, as mad as we sound, we have experienced 100‟s of hours and are fully prepared with safety equipment, having a VHF, Cellphone and a PLB to communicate with emergency services.
I could see the fish on the sounder at our first stop, so much so I yelled out to Andrew "drop your jig here"! I had a little bit of preperation to do before I could get in to it and was enjoying catching my breath after the long ride. Andrew had not long dropped his jig and on the way down he could feel the jig being hit... that was real encouragement for me to join the action! Eventually his jig made it to the bottom to start the retrieve and with a few winds of the reel and a couple of lifts of the rod he was hooked up! Exactly what we were after, Kingfish action and he had quite a battle with the fish making some strong runs. Seven minutes later and one exhausted angler, the Kingfish was at the surface. Going 12.2 kg which was a new personal best on the ski for Andrew and a real adrenalin fix after our hard ride out.

Next a quick photo opportunity, with a fopar of dropping the fish in the water, luckily able to retrieve it as it was still hooked on the trace.

With one fish landed, Andrew was shattered and called it quits. Until you ride one of these mammoth trips, it is hard to understand the energies lost. For me I had the hard work ahead of me. I had already done a couple of drops with retrieves from 80 metres of water and felt like my arms were going to drop off. In hind site the three days with so much jigging and riding had taken toll on the body! Never the less I was not giving up, it would be a long drive back to Auckland evaluating the „what ifs‟ of the trip without some Kingfish for the fridge.
The jigging went on and on, with me resetting drift after drift and feeling the cudas damaging my fluorocarbon! Forty five minutes later and my fishing buddy was starting to lose patience! I finally hooked up on what I knew was only a small rat Kingfish by the little strain on the Monster Mesh rod tip. It was exhausting me like a 10 kilo plus fish fighting and after a 5 minute battle I confirmed an undersized fish getting the better of me and it was quickly released! With a few not so pleasant words I was back into it and feeling worse than ever, fish-less and close to calling it quits. Then when all felt lost my jig was smashed within metres off the bottom and what felt like a solid fish! After the quick hype of this is the one... I had a slow retrieve with a fish that had the upper hand for the first 5 minutes, not moving it out of the 60 metre stage colour of my braid! I was cautious not to over apply the drag as I was aware of the early damage the cuda had worn on the trace. I was only getting one last shot at landing a fish as I was out on my feet! After 10 minutes it was looking like we were on to the fish of the trip. I could see the fish coming up through the water, spotting it through the clear visability as far as 15 metres down. It‟s always a good feeling when you see a solid fish‟s colour after a long fight between fish and angler! This is the stage when you have to think fast, 1- Never to leave any slack line for the fish to dislodge the hook and 2- Not to fluff around too long that a shark can take easy picking. Before I knew it I had the fish lying sideaways and tired (like myself) beside the ski on the surface. There was no time for the gaf and I took the risk to grasp the hook with my hands to lift the fish out of the water. That‟s when it all is worthwhile after a wicked hour on the water, I had the fish on the ski knowing this is why we do this sport, what a high!  

Winter Jetskifishing can have many rewarding days like this!

After all my gear was secured, I put the Kingfish on ice in the Ultimate Catch Bag... with the fish stowed in the bag, I securely tied the bag while set in the footwell. The Yamaha cleats are used for tying off, which come fitted factory on the FX HO and SHO Cruiser models. I can tell you from experience, insulated catch bags are the best option to maintain the condition of your large fish, especially on these long adventures. The catch barely moves while secured in the footwell at speed, where as in the chilly bin the fish can receive a battering in rough conditions and ice melts quickly with the chilly bin lid ajar.

After a long ride back, we had one last horsepower fix as we headed in through the rolling swell of the bar! As we arrived back on land, the locals were commenting on the other catches including Peter J with his new personal best of an 11 kilo Kingfish from the local pins.
The social trip was well appreciated by the whole group, being just as much fun off the water as on the water. We all learnt plenty from the experiences, with many tips being shared between the group of friends. Keep in touch if you are keen on the next over-nighter I have planned for July and be sure to contact me if interested in a new or used Yamaha WaveRunner.

Report 063 Round 2 and we brave the storm...10th of June 2011 (Day 2 of 3)

Day one was a blast! our bodies were still aching and after a good night out, there was no stopping us for round 2! The forecast was, to put it bluntly, absolute crap! Huge swells, high winds and lots of rain but we were there for fun and that’s what we had!

After fueling up at the local Gull we were off to launch the skis just after 7am. For some reason no matter what I did I always ended up last to the ramp! Joys of organizing everyone else and then they ditch you, thanks guys!

I am not sure if everyone knew what they were in for but these are the conditions (see below) at the safest part of the day! It was damn miserable at one stage…

Once again the plan was to get out behind the bar and head off to one fishing area, but like normal with all the independence on the skis they went off in their own groups with safety in numbers. One lot went north for what was a couple of hours wet fishing for a few Snapper around Shoe Island. This was probably a better option than my choice as they only had to ride back with the large swells, unlike me heading South! I can tell you the conditions were plenty of fun one up, but for Peter and Toni fishing two up on their Sea-Doo they had to turn around as the conditions were feeling unsafe with stability worries…
This is where I started my fishing down by Slipper Island area, got a bit hairy with the swells almost breaking at times!

I was fishing the shallows on the Gulps and wasn’t long till I was joined by the soft bait shredders!

Check out the sharp teeth on them, explains how they so easily munch the plastics.

I persisted for a while in the same area, eventually trying a casting technique to avoid the lower water column where the Leather Jackets were feeding. The fish were hitting the soft bait within the top four meters of the water column and I lost a good string puller after a couple of minutes battle in the swells… After a bit of frustration I was back in to it, eager to get a fish in the chilly bin with the challenging conditions! I soon caught a couple of Snapper in succession on the Gulp Nuclear Chicken Grub, this was quite a relief after a possible zilching!

My drifts were exceptionally quick, so much so, that this is one of the few occasions I would opt for a drogue while Jetskifishing… Before I knew it I spotted a couple of others from our group - the benefits of wearing reflective jackets in the poor conditions. Steve in the distance was fully enjoying the whole experience, he is a newbie from Whakatane who had only purchased a ski off me two weeks ago! He is a keen surf caster and was totally hooked once seeing the Jetskifishing buzz. Once hearing about this trip, he jumped at the opportunity to learn from a group who had been Jetskifishing for many years.

We went for a fish behind the islands where we thought there would be the slightest break from the weather. No such joy it was like we were still in the eye of storm. While in the area, we found the Kahawai and had some fun on the light gear before calling it quits, then a long ride back in the building weather! Stopped for a quick nosey at a seal in his element, the weather didn’t bother him much!

On the way back, Chris was well in front, navigating his rough but fun ride back… Wave after wave, with plenty of air with the slightest squeeze of the Yamaha 1812cc power! Next, with a lack of concentration I saw he was mimicking the seal and having a swim… was a few more laughs…Surprisingly enough even with the rough conditions, he was so quickly back on the ski I couldn’t even get a snap shot, with the stability of the ski he pulled himself up from the side.

It’s hard to explain until you experience this sport, a miserable day’s weather or a slow day’s fishing is still heaps of fun on a ski. With Steve, he has only ever ridden eight engine hours on a ski and was having a ball!

We patiently waited outside the bar to set up for the safest route in, this was the easiest ride of the trip, there was not as much white wash and the water was quite settled with some nice breakers. The late model skis have plenty of weight and with their acceleration and maneuverability it was one last horsepower fix riding in.

We arrived back to find there was still Oisin and Buzz doing the hard yards, as they are known for. These two truly love the sport and good on them for persisting, Buzz was rewarded with a Kelpie that he drove out from the wash.

Everyone reported in, safe and sound and once the skis were cleaned down Mr UFO was hosting smoked fish and drinks at his unit... followed by many a fishing story over some afternoon drinks!

As the weather was not getting any better, three of the group headed home early... The die hard group was not giving in and were determined to fish the third day as the weather couldn’t be any worse than day two...at least that’s what we hoped for as we went for dinner and drinks at the local pub for a bit more of the social thing. 

Cheers, Andrew (Day 3 report coming soon...)

Report 062 Some people are just real plankers... 9th of June 2011 (Day 1 of 3)

With an open invite to a large group of my keen Jetskifisho clients and friends, we confirmed 17 anglers eager for some time together enjoying Jetskifishing. This adventure required time off work for most, not a hard decision considering the fun and experience we have on these trips. The weather forecast was not that glam, yet all were committed and went ahead with meeting at BP Papakura, 7.15am Thursday morning. The meeting point was a great opportunity to be introduced to any newcomers and have a bite to eat… As with these events, having a large group of males we had a sporting wager between the group, to add some more fun into day one’s fishing.

The weather forecasted for day two was for huge swells and high winds! As we were all prepared with the appropriate safety equipment and there was safety in numbers on reliable skis, we all decided to brave it!

Cheers, Andrew

Some of the group were over eager and were waiting at McD’s well before 7, so it wasn’t long and we were off on our mini convoy to Tairua. Was a good feeling hitting the road early knowing we were about to be fishing within 2 hours! The drive down to Tairua is a comfortable distance and always has some interesting sights along the way.

Around 9am and our convoy rolled in to Tairua, I had arranged a group booking rate at the Pacific Harbor Lodge which had all the local conveniences that we required.

We already decided before heading to Tairua who was sharing units with who and once we were checked in, it was time to get the skis prepared. The common fishing tackle including soft baiting, live baiting and mechanical jigging gear, for some out-wide Jetskifishing around the Alderman Island’s. As we are now fishing winter months in New Zealand, we are clothed appropriately with thermal apparel, most choosing the quality Sharkskin brand. If you are not warm on the water, you simply won’t enjoy the experience, so call me if you want to learn more to do it once and do it right.

All of us had plenty of fuel, and were well prepared for a chance to land a big fish! We launched by the local dive shop which is a simple beach launch in a tide effected area the leads to the Tairua bar. Note for the newbies, stick to the markers when heading out at low tide (sorry reader what goes on tour stays on tour on this incident!).

We had a tentative plan of heading to common areas together, but once the adrenalin kicked they were all off like the start of the King of Jetskifishing Tournaments!

Some of the group went towards the Alderman Island’s and fished around the scenic areas targeting Kingfish and Snapper…

Some caught more than they asked for, Neil hooked a small shark to his disgust!

The group that I led out, went thirty five kilometers off shore, targeting some Kingfish spots and wasn’t long till we had some action… Peter landing his personal best off a ski on this adventure.

Our group had plenty of fish on, no record breakers and plenty of the menacing Barracuda. I also had some unwanted predators who decided to take advantage of the rat Kingfish that were plaguing our jigs!

We caught and released plenty of fish, not to forget losing a few solid fish to damaged fluorocarbon after the constant hook ups of the cuda!

With everyone having some fish it was time to head back after another fun day with Jetskifishing. All of us arrived back safe and sound to compare their fishing stories after a challenging day on the water…

Then unexpectedly, a real planker! In fact the first Jetskifishing plank, many had laughs from that one!

After putting our fish on ice, we all got cleaned up to head out for dinner at the Tairua Landing. We split up the winnings, with the heaviest fish of the day going to Peter, catching a personal best with our journey out wide. The evening flowed with plenty of refreshments and a generous three course meal made for a great night catching up with our fishing stories.