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
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