Jet ski fishing Blog: 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.