Report 089 The latest addition to Jetskifishing for 2013... 16th of December 2012

The weather is warming up here in New Zealand with another summer upon us. Jetskifishing is still growing strong, with more people expressing interest and getting started with this exciting sport. I receive plenty of enquiry regarding all brands of personal water crafts and felt it was long overdue to kit out what I feel is the best fishing platform in Sea-Doo’s latest range of skis. Along with my delayed Yamaha project, now expected to be finished for January 2013, this Sea-Doo GTX 155 is already transformed in to our team’s latest fishing weapon.

The GTX has been complimented with a great Exclusive Jetskifishing Store package, including the latest Raymarine A67 Multifunction Display featuring a sounder and GPS, also fitted with LED navigation lights, the dual battery system and the Ultimate Rod Holder 51 litre with five holders. For this maiden voyage I headed out to the area of the Noise’s to get a feel for the craft and all the add-on accessories before Kristy takes over with the ski for a few of her own solo adventures.

The sea conditions made for a pleasant ride out and I was especially impressed with the Sea-Doo’s electronic neutral, while setting for my first drift. The rewards of fishing sunrise soon had me with a nice Snapper hitting the soft bait and pulling some string! This one caught on the Gulp – New Penny 5” Jerk Shad, in twenty metres of water with a 3/0 1oz Berkley jig head to lower the bait in the current.

It’s always refreshing out on the water bright and early admiring the sunrise and the added bonus of catching fish, what us Jetskifisho’s know as living the dream!

The fish were hitting the Gulp grubs as well and a perfect size fish for our meals over the next few nights.

One of the many bonuses of Jetskifishing is you have your own independence, as a couple of our New Zealand Jetskifishing Club members caught up with me at their own leisure.

With the bite slowing we moved over to the area of Maria Island, hunting the fish using our sounders.
This was the spot of the day for me, yet not much sign on the sounder. The fish were very aggressive though, coming up off the bottom to smash the soft bait as it dropped through the water column.

With enough Snapper for my needs, I headed back after just two hours out on the water. While heading through Motuihe Channel I spotted another club member enjoying Jetskifishing with his wife, it’s always plenty of fun fishing two up...

I’ll be off on a Xmas break over the next week and hope to share a report in January showing where and what I have been up to with Jetskifishing. Be safe on the water and I look forward to seeing you at the Jetskifishing Store next year. We have some great gear for 2013, so come visit me if you are looking at upgrading your ski or adding some of our latest jetskifishing accessories to your jetskifishing machine.

Cheers, Andrew Hill

Report 088 An epic solo mission... 8th of November 2012

The fishing close to home is brilliant at the moment with water temps increasing as we lead into summer. As much as it is inviting to fish locally for a feed of Snapper, I aspire for the more challenging trips. This adventure I was eager to fish the legendary fishing grounds of Mayor Island at the Bay of Plenty.
The drive is a scenic, hour and forty five minutes from Auckland and always a great sight when arriving at Waihi Beach to see Mayor in the distance.

I am very familiar with the area, as I holidayed there a lot in my earlier years. This trip had me using the access way of Anzac Bay, at Bowentown to launch my WaveRunner. The beach is hard packed sand and if launching with an all wheel drive vehicle it isn’t a problem. Keep in mind at low tide you may be limited by the amount of water to float your ski to the trailer, sometimes you need to be prepare to remove the trailer from the car and tow it out via a tow rope.

Once leaving Anzac Bay it is quick navigation to exit the bar which I had previewed earlier from up at the look out on the hill.

The ride out to the island is 30 minutes on a good day and on this occasion I was close to an hour, due to a strong south-easterly wind.

On arrival at the island it was pretty baron, with only one boat in sight. It is a special place with so much to offer in nature, yet you really need to be prepared for everything with safety. I, myself operate a Jetskifishing Tracking system, mobile phone, 5 watt VHF and PLB, keeping me very well prepared for any unexpected scenarios.

The fishing was hard going throughout most of the day. I decided to mechanical jig to target the Kingfish. It can be quite frustrating when you can see the fish on the sounder and they don’t want to play ball. I caught a few small rats mid way through the day and spent a lot of time searching the likely spots with no reward.
The day was coming to a close and by the movement of the other boat nearby he was having the same lack of success also. Once circumnavigating Mayor, I came across that same boat again to see them at my last ditch spot... It wasn’t looking good as I saw them retrieve a Barracuda from the deep!
While I was watched with disappointment, and with the possibilities of more Cuda lurking below, I drifted over a blackout of Kingfish on my sounder!
I dropped my jig and it was smashed within 40 metres into the water column. The fish was an easy retrieve, though being 10 kilo plus it was swiftly released for another day! My ideas were of bigger fish so next drop, I got the hit and a solid fish it was, 30 seconds later, busted off with broken braid...
I knew it was a decent fish and there was no time to be retying knots and miss the other fish below. An impulsive decision was made to step up the challenge and catch a good Kingy on the lighter gear, my Daiwa Sol set.
The following video tells it all!

As captured on video, what an awesome experience and fortunately a great outcome. The fish was placed in the “Ultimate Catch Bag” and I was back home to Auckland with a big smile after landing a new Personal Best on the light gear.
Cheers, Andrew Hill - The Jetskifishing Guy

Report 087 Sea-Doo King of Jetskifishing in association with Woodbine Marine... 28th October 2012

The day had come again to see who would earn the title of the newest King of Jetskifishing. With this bi-annual event being the sixth King of Jetskifishing, it is always exciting to see who is entered. The sport has reached the next level with boaties also having a go at the comp, choosing to rent skis or borrow a mate’s one so they too can participate. All entrants, on registration at the Sea-Doo tent received their complimentary King of Jetskifishing Tournament bag full with sponsor’s goodies.

We were fortunate with the weather and had a reasonable turnout with 60 registered anglers. It is compulsory for all entrants to register for the early morning start, so every angler has an equal fishing window. The competition is continuing to attract nationwide interest with anglers travelling from as far South as Taranaki, making the most of meeting others involved in the fun sport. The weather forecast was for the wind to increase throughout the day to over 20 knots, meaning most choosing the morning conditions as their best chance at the generous $6,000 prize pool.

There was a scheduled riders briefing detailing safety precautions for the event, including updates on the weather and the how the format of the competition makes for a fun day for all involved.

It is quite a sight to see so many skis rigged for fishing in one place and the atmosphere gives a great feel to what the sport is about. With the King of Jetskifishing Tournament, I receive plenty of feedback of why Jetskifisho’s and sponsors continue to be involved.
Most common is the entrants enjoying the fun and excitement of the day, as well as meeting people along with the amount they learn from each other.
In my 6 years involvement with the sport, if you aren’t fishing socially within the comps or a network such as the growing New Zealand Jetskifishing Club, you are missing out the true potential and the lifestyle which Jetskifishing has to offer.

With the exciting “Amazing Race” format, anglers had the choice of where they could launch and fish on the day. Some of the keener group use strategies to fish as far north as the Kaipara and as far south as Tairua… The majority of the group opted for the local fishing area and used Bucklands Beach to get started.
Attached is a link to the original Jetskifishing page on YouTube, with a video of the start and the major prize winners (be sure to subscribe to our Jetskifishing YouTube Channel so you can see future videos first)

After a hard days fishing the anglers were back at the Jetskifishing Store for the weigh-in and prize giving.

The final results were great as we have come to expect with the comp, for the first time in the history of the event the kid’s class fish, being heavier than the open class! Quinn Barnes with a 7.98kg Snapper from the Kaipara…

As usual, plenty of cool prizes to go around, everyone had a great day on the water and was another enjoyable BBQ and drinks for the Jetskifisho’s at the end of the day.

 

 We have all the pictures from the day and previous events uploaded on the Jetskifishing Facebook Page.
All places, prizes and categories are listed below, thanks to all those who assisted and entered and I look forward to the King of Jetskifishing 7, scheduled for Sunday March 24th 2013.

 LOL Heaviest KIDS Snapper
1st Quinn Barnes (Yamaha FX HO), Prize & Trophy – Daiwa rod & reel combo & LOL pack
Weight - 6.98kg
2nd Junior Tomov (Sea-Doo RXT), Prize – Tachyon Helmet Camera & LOL pack. Weight - 2.96kg
3rd James Richardson (Sea-Doo GTX), Prize – Jetskifishing cap & LOL pack. Weight – 2.02kg

JFK’s Jet-ski’s Heaviest Kahawai
1st Phoebe Clarkson (Yamaha FX HO Cruiser), Prize & Trophy – Daiwa rod and reel combo.
Weight – .26kg
2nd Phil Lewis (Raffle draw),Prize – $300 CASH from Fishing On Weight – n/a
3rd Jason Way (Raffle draw), Prize – Cock & Bull Voucher. Weight - n/a

Top Catch Heaviest “other species”
1st Quinn Barnes (Yamaha FX HO), Prize & Trophy – Berkley soft bait rod and reel combo.
Weight – 2.20kg (Trevally)
2nd Nico Linde (Yamaha VX), Prize – Sharkskin Rapid Dry Weight – 2.16kg (John Dory)
3rd Alwin Haagner (Sea-Doo GTi), Prize – Cock & Bull Voucher. Weight - .26kg (Gurnard)

Raymarine Heaviest Kingfish
1st Bill Clarkson (Raffle draw), Prize – $500 Raymarine Voucher. Weight – n/a
2nd Richard Scown (Raffle draw), Prize – $300 Family Boats Voucher Weight – n/a
3rd Paul Clyde (Raffle draw), Prize – Cock & Bull Voucher. Weight - n/a

Attwoods packaging Average Snapper
1st Braden O’Louglin (Yamaha VX), Prize & Trophy - $500 CASH. Weight – 1.09kg

New Zealand Jetskifishing Club, Legend of Jetskifishing
1st Nico Linde (Yamaha VX), Prize & Trophy - $400 CASH from NZJSFC.
Weight – 3.90kg (2 species)

Sea-Doo King of Jetskifishing in association with Woodbine Marine
Heaviest Weight Snapper
1st Mike Roest (Yamaha FX HO), Prize & Trophy - $1,000 CASH. Weight – 4.66kg
2nd Alex Tomov (Sea-Doo RXT), Prize – Daiwa rod and reel combo. Weight – 2.70kg
3rd Braden O’Loughlin (Yamaha VX), Prize – SavePhace Jetskifishing mask. Weight – 1.74kg
4th Nico Linde (Yamaha VX), Prize – Sharkskin thermal top. Weight – 1.74kg
5th Mark Greenfield (Yamaha SHO), Prize – Cock & Bull Voucher. Weight – 1.36kg

Report 086 Safety in numbers... 20th to 23rd of September 2012

This Jetskifishing social trip was back to the lovely destination of Otehei Bay at the Bay of Islands. The attraction with these over-nighters is the opportunity to improve our fishing knowledge with like minded people which normally has us enjoying plenty of fun off the water too.

Our group consisted of fifteen keen Jetskifisho’s who didn’t mind what weather we were going to have, as that is part of the experience!
We had perfect conditions on day one of the trip.

Plenty of personal bests were achieved from the group, with one of the newbies getting his first Kingfish, going 13 kilo. There are so many photos from the trip, I’ve made a video wall for ease of viewing (Click on the link via YouTube)

Plenty of our sessions we were experiencing wet and windy conditions. With the correct clothing, equipment and safety in numbers, our anglers gained plenty of educational experience.

The attached video shows the conditions good and bad, with us fishing sheltered areas for most of our Jetskifishing

Our next over-night social trip is planned for February 2013, be sure to email me as spots are limited.
Don’t forget the next King of Jetskifishing Tournament is in three weeks, great prizes and lots of fun! Attached is an entry form and the event poster for anyone who would like to be part of this fun comp that has seen a novice normally take it out on the day!

Cheers, Andrew Hill

Report 085 The Kingfish road trip... 23rd to 24th of August

On the closing week of winter in New Zealand, a few of us keen Jetskifisho’s headed away on a spur of the moment Kingfish mission. This trip was not far off the area we have planned for the next Bay of Islands social trip/over-nighter in the coming weeks. This was a four hour drive out of Auckland, enjoying the scenery along the way of what our lovely country has to offer.

We were keen to test the waters with one of our most exciting and while still practical, fishing methods on a jet-ski, mechanical jigging! Checking in at our accommodation and where we were based for 24 hours of Jetskifishing fun!

We didn’t need much encouragement and soon had the skis rigged and ready for action. Once launching we headed for a beach launch with a short ride out to the Kingfish grounds. With plenty of sign on arrival using the sounder, we all appreciated the improved upgrade to the latest in 600 watt thru hull transducers.

Our Raymarine sounders didn’t lie, it was all on! Braid singing, hold on for the Kingfish!

If you haven’t experienced this, you need to add this to your bucket list and make it a priority.

No longer is it our saying of “binning up” the Kingfish way is now “bagging up”

We would have caught a dozen fish between us and only keeping the few we needed to feed the families. Best jig of the day was the blue and red 230 gram Jigstar Alien, being my weapon of choice.

After an action packed afternoon we headed back to our rooms for the night and prepared for the next day’s Kingfish jigging.
Day 2 started with a slight hiccup, two vehicles stuck on the beach at first light! It made for a quick reminder for even us seasoned Jetskifisho’s to be prepared, so your day doesn’t go from bad to worst.
Here are some basic launch and retrieval tips...
1. If you aren't familiar with the beach, look for warning signs of soft sand to avoid, or check local knowledge.
2. I suggest walking out in the water to knee deep, where you plan on backing the trailer, making sure of any hazards or sinking sand.
3. I find the best way to launch and retrieve is to jack knife the car on a 45 degree angle with the beach, not to back the trailer and car straight back (allows more traction when driving the trailer out of the water).
4. Try not to get the rear tyres submerged in the washing tide, as the sand soon erodes around your tyres.
  Always be prepared knowing where your car requires to be attached with a tow rope in case you need a tow.
 If unsure, don't risk with an incoming tide, as you will only have a short time if getting stuck before you are in a bigger dilemma!
 Be sure to know where the nearest available local is, if you need a tow!
 If really unsure and you need to retrieve your ski, disconnect the trailer and manually push it in to the water... Then connect a tow rope from the trailer, to your tow bar to bring the trailer out without your car tyres being near the wet sand.
Note: This advice does not suit surf beaches or large incoming swells & may not suit all conditions.

The morning didn’t start off well but eventually we were ready to set off and enjoy the Far North fishing!

With a choppy ride out we were back at the jigging spot and eager to get into them. It wasn’t long before our newest jigging Jetskifisho was enjoying the action and telling me “this is living the dream mate!”

Oisin was back in to it like the day before, just another day for him enjoying the rewards of doing the miles.

There was plenty of fish to go round and making it well worth our choice of an out of town road trip.
Once we were all jigged out and our Kingfish stored in our catch bags, we headed closer back to shore catching a few Snapper to take home for dinner.

The trip is a good taste of what’s to come later in the month with our Bay of Islands “Experience Returns”. There are still some spots left, give me a call if you are would like to join us for some Kingfish fishing and opportunity to top your personal best Snapper.

Cheers, Andrew

Report 084 Living the dream with Jetskifishing... 17th of August 2012

With the water temperatures starting to increase and the fish starting to move in closer, us seasoned Jetskifisho’s are enjoying some great Snapper fishing. This session had three of us meeting up for a gentlemen’s hours Jetskifishing session. We were well kitted for winter fishing and with the latest initiative of our Jetskifishing Masks, we no longer lose upper body heat and no more enduring the uncomfortable salt water spray!

Our destination was a nice ride to the bottom end of Waiheke Island after departing our favoured launching ramp of Buckland’s Beach.

After each of us scouting our desired area with the luxury and independence of being able to split up, we each found our preferred fishing patches. Once finding the fish, they weren’t particularly hot on the bite and I found that fish were coming up higher in the water column to feed rather than feeding at the bottom depths.
My first hook up of the day was a beauty and with a moment of gear failure I ended up with a separated reel handle in my hand and left to the fun and games of manually winding in my line, only to lose the fish! On the positive side, 4 years of a reel being used in the harsh environment of Jetskifishing, I can’t complain.
The Daiwa Sol has outlasted any of my other reels to date and what could have been avoided with a small maintenance repair to rectify. It was a quick reminder to have your reels serviced regularly and the team at Top Catch, Half Moon Bay specialise in the required jet-ski reel servicing. If you don’t want the misfortune I had, be sure to get yours annually done at minimum!
Next cast on a backup rod and reel, I had a 60cm on board making for a good Snapper for the smoker at home.

The fish sure had some healthy teeth on it and flavour of the day soft bait was the Gulp – New Penny.

Once I got familiar with the drift direction, I aligned myself to head fishing in to the shallows where the fish were holding. Always plenty of excitement, having some soft bait fun in the shallower water.

With a few fish in the bin I checked how my wing men were doing and at the same time getting the bonus of a Blue Cod.

 

 I continued with one of my inquisitive reconnaissance missions at Gannet Rock where I also noted plenty of Snapper! Even tried a new colour to mix it up and the Gulp - Crazy Leg Curried Chicken had even more response.
No time like the present for you Jetskifisho’s to get out there if you are not already.

With a few fish released and plenty for my needs, I headed back to round up the boys.

It was another fast ride home, enjoying the power that these big non supercharged skis have to offer.

A quick update, the New Zealand Jetskifishing Club is continuing to grow in momentum with forty-five members signed up, all attracting to the social aspect of the club with the bonus of the helpful free seminars.
Don’t forget the next Bay of Islands over-night trip is September 20th, we are still accepting bookings and looking forward to the opportunity for some more personal bests from the newbies to the sport.

Cheers, Andrew