Jet ski fishing Blog: Report 082 The reward of winter Jetskifishing... 30th of June 2012

Friday 6 July 2012

Report 082 The reward of winter Jetskifishing... 30th of June 2012

The weather here in New Zealand is certainly encouraging us Jetskifisho’s to improvise with the right kit for the cold season. Some of our days are starting off as cold as 0 degrees celcius but that isn’t stopping us getting out there enjoying the lifestyle of Jetskifishing.
Saturday afternoon, I decided to nip out for a fish at the last minute. An advantage of having a ski is you don’t require much time for preparation. I decided for a beach launch rather than the ramp, a ski adds to the convienience knowing you can launch at most beaches if using a All Wheel Drive vehicle.

I was keen on a decent ride rather than settling for a short range local fish, so I set off for a ride out wide to the general area of the work-ups. There wasn’t a lot of fish sign out wide when I arrived, just a few Gannets circling and Dolphins playing around while the Whale boat was also looking for some activity.

With the wind still gusting around fifteen knots, I opted to fish closer to Waiheke Island out of the wind. First stop and I spotted Boris the resident seal at Gannet Rock, his meals made easy being at his door step.

There was plenty of Kahawai activity at Gannet Rock, but with the slack tide at high, I wasn’t getting much interest on the soft baits. I was really keen on some fresh Snapper for dinner from this mission, so made my way round to a spot that produces well in the colder months.

It took a few drifts to get set up correctly, I needed to achieve a drift towards the desired shallow foul. The technique as the tide started moving (about one hour after high tide) was to cast ahead of the drift about twenty metres and as the bait dropped a couple of metres in to the water column, the fish were feeding above the kelp. First fish hooked was a strong coloured kelpie as you would expect in this environment.

The fish weren’t particuarly my size expectations for the dinner table so I carried on using the proven winter soft baiting technique. Working a treat, I had another fish hit the Gulp-Lime Tiger using a 7” Jerk Shad, I was sure to entise a better sized fish! With the fish hitting so high in the water column in the shallow depths of 6 metres, it made for fun soft baiting, needing to keep the fish’s head up, as it was giving its head shakes in an attempt to gain line or bust me off on the foul ground.

Once that one was securely in the chilly bin, I was back in the zone. Start the ski then follow my track using my Raymarine mapping back up to where I started my drift… Same method again, cast well away from the ski and feel the braid as the soft bait drops through the water, ready to strike the predatory Snapper! Here is the result, more Snapper.

If only every Jetskifishing day was as great as this, that’s why it’s called fishing as it is never a sure thing what you are going to catch or how many.
This was one of those days that my patience was well worth braving the cold conditions… I kept seven nice Snapper, making for a good few meals with the bonus of a couple for the smoker.
With light fading fast, I left the spot for another day.

With everything tied down and the reel covers attached to the rods to eliminate the salt water spray and any gear overboard, it was navigation lights on for a fast ride back in low light! Here is the video for this fun session.