This is the up to date blog written by the Jetskifishing Guy, Andrew Hill from New Zealand. There are many adventures including the latest photos and videos of daily fishing trips.
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
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.
