Report 098 Take advantage of the small weather windows with Jetskifishing... 19th of June 2013

With the winter weather here, it pays to be prepared for the cold temperatures so you are able to enjoy some rewarding shallow water Jetskifishing. Fortunately with all of our seasoned Jetskifisho’s research and development towards suitable winter apparel, you no longer need to be wet and cold as we have all the apparel you need in-store. At the Jetskifishing Store we stock the fully proven Sharkskin thermal range and also new on our shelves, are our newest range of additional wet weather layers. Our packages, start from an affordable $260 for a set, including separate top and coastal trousers. Give me a call so I can discuss what is best available to suit your needs.
Something you soon experience once Jetskifishing, is that every trip can easily be turned into a different adventure. Of late, I have enjoyed exploring some different areas amongst my local fishing grounds. My last two local sessions have seen me heading down the inside of Waiheke Island, to fish what is known as the bottom end.
This particular day had me leaving the less than pleasant central Auckland weather, to these magic conditions only fifteen minutes ride away.

If you haven’t fished this area before, I recommend you go exploring, as there are great fish holding there over the next month. Be sure to study your marine charts so you are familiar with the no fishing zone of the local marine reserve and any submerged rocks. You know you are in the right area for the Snapper when you are being accompanied by the local commercial boats working a 3km zone.
As with the majority of my Snapper fishing, it was once again successful with the Gulp soft baits for the shallow waters of 15 metres.

Just like my previous session, the fish were aggressive and hitting any of the coloured baits I threw at them. Curiosity soon got the better of me and I headed over to Gannet Rock where I had released my best Snapper of last week. I’m always eager to have the battles with the big moochas, can’t get enough of that lighter gear action.
I am very selective with what fish I take home for dinner, so many get released, as the biggest attraction for me is the sporting side of Jetskifishing.
When you have your ski setup with the electronics and gadgets such as the systems I have supplied and fitted for my clients, it’s rewarding being able to hunt the fish in the areas you know they are holding. Heading to my GPS spot I had marked on my Raymarine E7 sounder from the previous week, I was able to locate the fish sign. For those unfamiliar with setting for a drift, I then rode about 50 metres past the sign, so I had time to prepare the bait for casting so the bait would float down in to the fish zone.
Great when it works to plan, more fish with the desired eating size getting better.

More fishing and more catching, always exciting when the fish are on the bite. The next fish had some real ‘get up and go’, plenty of string being pulled and I had my hopes set for a solid fish. It was a different species to my all familiar Snapper, this being a nice Trevally, which put up a superior fight.

Eventually the wind started to increase, so I headed back around to Kauri Point to find some shelter.

This is where my better fish of the day came from, just fishing the drop off.

I soon had enough fish to feed our family for a couple of nights meals. So I packed up the gear for a fast ride back to Bucklands Beach beating the approaching bad weather.
Thanks again for all the friends making donations to help make a difference for the Heart Foundation.
http://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/fundraise/page/the-jetskifishing-guy
We now have fifteen riders stepping up to the challenge, and have already raised over five thousand dollars!

Cheers, Andrew Hill

Report 097 Time to get training for the Jetskifishing CannonBall Run... 7th June 2013

This is the time of year where we see less boaties on the water and if you strike the bonus of variable winds, you are in for a high speed treat. This spontaneous session had Brent and I on a full throttle, 65 miles per hour ride to our first fishing area of the day, the Noise’s. Within two minutes of cutting our engines we were enjoying the practicality of no smelly baits and deploying our lures to the depths. Brent was on his game, soon hooking a Snapper with the Jitterbug lure.

Not long and a nice sized Snapper was being added to his Igloo chilly bin.

After each of us binning a few Snapper we took advantage of the flat conditions with an impulsive twenty mile ride out to Anchorite Rock. Along the way we spotted the thousands of birds working the bait fish a few mile before Anchorite in the middle ground. I’ve fished the area lately and being plagued by Kahawai, it didn’t tempt us to stop there on this occasion. We arrived at Anchorite to be greeted with a few Dolphins and Gannets, the area always has such a fishy feeling about it! Brent had his mojo going, with more hook ups, this time a smaller Kingfish giving him some entertainment on the light gear.

Out at this area is typically a popular area to find the work-up activity, I’m always conscious of the opportunity and scanning the horizon. We spotted the odd Gannet flying through from the direction of Great Barrier Island towards Tiri… The activity became more frequent, admiring them flying through in what could be described as regular bomber squadrons. Temptation got too much and I soon encouraged Brent it was time to follow! The birds were travelling quickly, around 35 mile an hour, so any delay could risk us losing them.  One of the big attractions with Jetskifishing, is how quick we can prepare to move spots with a ski rigged correctly to attach your gear for high speed missions. Once all the gear was clipped down, the ski was fired in to life and in search of Gannets we were!

With a slight head start on us, we could no longer see the Gannets, so we had no choice but to go with our instincts. We scanned their last general direction and rode a further fifteen odd miles before coming into some low rain clouds. When chasing Gannets on blue sky days it is far easier than the visibility we experienced on this overcast day. As we passed the area of Flat Rock I spotted a single boat in the distance, normally when in the middle of nowhere it can mean work-ups! 
This was the case, once arriving within five hundred metres of the boat, the adrenalin kicks in once spotting hundreds of dive bombing Gannets. 
Excitement was on, lures dropped and string pulling action! There was acres of larger Kahawai, a good opportunity to measure up a few for the New Zealand Jetskifishing Club leaderboard.

We tried various lures and all lures were being hit, with the fish on a feeding frenzy. If we managed to get to the bottom, there was the opportunity of some nice sized Snapper.

Another big bonus with Jetskifishing is you have freedom on and off the water and on this occasion with commitments back at work, I could conveniently head home without shortening Brent’s day on the water. I headed back on a solo ride at 65 miles per hour enjoying the horsepower fix we experience with our sport.  The ride back to the ramp was twenty five minutes, about the same length of time (weather permitting) of our next charity ride, the Jetskifishing CannonBall Run, which all experienced riders can participate in. After recovering from my recent heart attack, we are proud to be raising all proceeds from the July 28th ride to my charity of choice. I personally and our committed Jetskifisho’s would really appreciate your support, firstly with sharing our cause to increase heart disease awareness with people you care about.  Secondly, please post a message on my link, with a donation to help make a difference for the Heart Foundation. http://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/fundraise/page/the-jetskifishing-guy  If you have your own ski set up for fishing, you too could be one of the 35 who step up to the challenge, we have already raised two thousand dollars!

Cheers, Andrew Hill