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