Report 081 Jetskifishing "Goes Wild" social over-nighter trip to the Coromandel... 14th to 17th June 2012

These social trips are as good as it gets with Jetskifishing, when you have so many like minded people with a passion for the sport all in one place. This adventure was to a remote area at the top of the Coromandel, Kiwi Retreat, located at Port Charles. Most of our group of 29 met bright and early for the road trip starting at Papakura for the Jetskifishng convoy.

The drive to the lodges takes a total of three and a half hours from Auckland and is a scenic trip venturing along the Coromandel Coast.

Our last fuel stop was at the Coromandel Township.

Then we made one last coffee stop at the Colville General Store.

We arrived at the Colville T junction to start our gravel road drive to Port Charles where we would finally get to see our accommodation for the next few days.

 It was one last check we had all the last of the group still following before hitting the slow last leg of our trip.

 Mud and gravel, the trip was already living up to its name Jetskifishing “Goes Wild”

 Thirty minutes of gravel and we arrived at Kiwi Retreat as a few of the early risers were leaving for a fish after their earlier check-in.

 What a location, everyone was really impressed, Steve was already there and he had made the drive up from Whakatane.

 After a stretch of the legs after the long drive, we made our way through to check into our lodges.

We checked out the conference centre while at check-in and then made our way over to our allocated lodges.

As we were unpacking, most of the guys were making the most of the weather and were quickly heading out for a fish.
I was just as eager and wasn’t far behind them, as the mission on the first day was to catch dinner for the following evening.

My fish contribution to start the trip was from the area of Channel Island, due to the strong cold winds dictating the area we could fish.

After a few hours on the water we headed back to the luxuries of the lodges and this fantastic dinner cooked by the team at Kiwi Retreat.

The first night on these trips are always full of entertainment, plenty of good fishing stories over a few beers with a few on-tour antics! You can see many more of the photos at our Jetskifishng Facebook page.

The next couple of days experienced some cold winter fishing in 20 knot plus winds, but that didn’t stop us eager Jetskifisho’s making the most of it.

Plenty of fish caught on the soft plastics with the Gulp soft baits cleaning up on this trip.

Along with the fishing, there was just as much fun off the water!

Great meals and living the good life!

I never experienced the treat of catching so many John Dory. One session had me landing three while fishing with the 6” Gulp – Grub.

This was another trip of a lifetime, adding to the whole lifestyle we enjoy with Jetskifishing. Great friendships strengthened, plenty learnt on and off the water, at another piece of paradise New Zealand has to offer.
Our last day had us enjoying a walk through the native bush enjoying the history of silver mines and Kauri logging.

Our next social trip is back up to the Bay of Islands to Otehei Bay, email andrew@jetskifishing.co.nz to be part of these limited number trips.
You can now track all my Jetskifishing adventures, live on our website showing you exactly where and when I fish www.jetskifishing.co.nz.
Here is the fishing grounds we covered while fishing the Coromandel.

Cheers, Andrew Hill

Report 080 Dive bombing Gannets in work-up mayhem... 4th of June 2012

I had just arrived back from the rainy weather of the Gold Coast to see an awesome local weather forecast in Auckland. I could not resist the urge to get the fishing mojo back! 8am on the Monday morning, I took full advantage of the easy lifestyle of Jetskifishing. Easy preparation, solo launching and a rapid ride out to the work-up area where I found some fellow Jetskifishos scouting the area for fish activity.

On arrival to the group of Jetskifisho’s, you could feel there was a work-up in the making as the Gannets were circling the area above and the schools of Kahawai were also active on the waters surface.

With the anticipation building we could see the Gannets starting to dive!

That was the sign for us to step up our game and join the action…

It was one fish after another with plenty of Snapper falling victim to the Gulp soft baits. We just had to have our witts about us with the Gannet frenzy all around us.

The Snapper were in great condition and were mainly hitting just under the water column of where the Kahawai were working.

The Kahawai were of good size and gave a great workout on the light gear. Of recent with the big numbers of Kahawai it has been a bonus taking a few home for the smoker so we can add them to a smoked fish pie.

Sessions like this are an epic experience seeing the fish life in the water and nature at its best with Dolphins and Whales amongst the feeding frenzy.
We all had plenty of dinner, so after a quick sorting of our fish on ice it was all four of us for a full throttle ride home.

The next report is the Jetskifishing “Goes Wild” Coromandel over-nighter, always plenty of fun on these trips and a great way to meet other Jetskifisho's.

Cheers, Andrew Hill

Report 079 My first trans tasman Jetskifishing session... 2nd of June 2012

With a Queens Birthday weekend holiday break planned for the Gold Coast, I was fortunate to get an invitation to go Jetskifishing. I’m always interested in fishing different areas around the world, so this was an exciting opportunity.

That was the last of the blue sky for this trip, on arrival I was welcomed by rain and wind which was to be for the whole stay of the trip! The Jetskifishing session was not looking promising so I decided to visit the local jet-ski dealers. Gold Coast Waverunners had made some big changes since my last visit, bigger premises and a very impressive showroom.

The jet-ski dealers are another level up from what we experience in New Zealand, stock levels are plentiful with many models on display. This is the local BRP dealer, once upon a time Gold Coast’s largest jet-ski parallel importer.

Seeing all these skis was enough motivation for me to run with my offer of a Jetskifishing session on the Gold Coast, rain or shine. On the Saturday, I arranged for an early start with Rexy Redden (a kiwi but now one of the locals) to show me the sights… 6am early start from the apartment I was staying at.

Ten minutes drive down the road and we arrived at the Broadwater waterways to launch the ski for a two-up new Jetskifishing adventure.

Rexy’s plan was for a five minute ride on the Yammie to the local bait shop, accessed by water at Howard’s Landing. This was a new experience for me and an interesting concept that would be much appreciated at my local fishing grounds.

Plenty of Gulp baits in store and Rexy knew exactly what was needed for the local fishing grounds.

All stocked up and we were off to the Seaway, we were limited and had to stay in close due to the approaching swell. Target species was Jewfish and we were fishing amongst lunatics on pole skis in a rapid current.

I don’t have a lot to report from the fishing, as we were pretty limited with opportunities due to the weather. I learnt plenty about the local soft baiting techniques and believe much of what I have learnt with soft baiting back home in New Zealand would be very successful on the Aussie fish species. This was the rig Rexy had us using, unfortunately I only managed a couple of hits for my few hours wet Jetskifishing.

We cruised the local sights, familiarizing me with the area for the next time I fish Aussie waters under better conditions. It was a scenic ride back via the waterways, there are some amazing properties and most looked to have at least one jet-ski if located on the waterfront.

Was an amazing experience even without catching any fish, something to remember with Jetskifishing. The adventure of Jetskifishing is the fun of going for a ride and catching fish is the bonus as it happens.

Thanks again to Rexy for showing me around and his hospitality, a refreshing reminder of the good people we meet with Jetskifishing.

Cheers, Andrew Hill