Friday 4 July 2014

Report # 108 The best way to meet likeminded people... June 26th to 29th 2014

I have been enjoying Jetskifishing for nine years and I still remember the first day I tried the “fishing off a jet-ski” concept. Never did I vision how far the sport could evolve so quickly, much because you can be addicted after catching your first fish! For those early days, the first month of Jetskifishing was purely solo missions and it inspired a waiting list in my family to join me two up  My kids were eager to experience the thrill of catching a fish off the ski, there is no turning back once they got a taste of it! To look back now, a 3 mile trip within the Hauraki Gulf, was classed as mammoth adventure back then. Now we travel up to 30 mile off shore and tow the skis to picturesque vantage points throughout NZ. Even better, we now fish with social groups, largely due to the sport now being my full-time career choice. This sport is a lifestyle for me and many others, even better, living the dream working with what I am passionate about. Nine years on for me from where it begun and with the support of fishos choosing to purchase and use my quality and tested Jetskifishing products, I continue being able to make a difference in other peoples lives with them too being able to enjoy Jetskifishing as I do. To see people enjoying my social events, active in the NZ Jetskifishing Club and sharing their experiences on the Jetskifishing Facebook page, is the bigger picture for me, with so many friendships introduced within our growing community. All this activity sees Jetskifisho’s learning more and being involved with likeminded people eager to meet others and get the most out of the sport. This latest blog gives an insight into our latest winter trip, joined by twenty keen Jetskifisho’s, all eager to have some fun after being prepared and kitted out at the Jetskifishing Store. By visiting at our specialised store, they shop with confidence to achieve what inspired them to get started with the sport, doing it once and doing it right.
Most of us met for an early start on the Thursday and headed off in a group to appreciate the full social experience. Much of these trips is meeting others and we always look forward to welcoming newbies to our groups.
The destination for the Goes Wild trips is at the remote location of Port Charles in the Coromandel. Just over 3 hours journey on a lovely scenic drive.


On arrival, we check-in at the resort’s impressive main conference centre where we were allocated our lodges for our next exciting three nights stay. Couples have their own private lodges and the singles share group lodges with fisho’s with similar experience.
 The weather for this trip was a was looking like mixed bag, with periods of strong winds and a few short breaks forecasted over the four days. The first day we were lucky enough after a reasonable weather window, for a few of the group to ride over to Cape Barrier and some trophy fish being caught.
 More fish from day one, including a new personal best for one of our newbies, Brent!
After a great start to the trip, we all looked forward to a few well-deserved drinks along with an amazing meal at the resort’s restaurant.

Day two and day three had some challenging conditions. Fortunately most of my guests were all kitted out with our Jetskifishing Store winter apparel options, allowing everyone to still enjoy the day and the experience on those wet and colder days.
A bad weather window is always a good opportunity to prepare gear for the following days fishing while enjoying the odd refreshment and sharing some fishing stories.


and a few more beersies!
Dream conditions on day four allowed us a twenty minute, full throttle ride to Great Barrier Island. My favourite style bait, Gulp Nemesis enticing a big Snapper from the shallows!
Day four saw some great fish being caught, including a few of our new Jetskifisho’s catching the big ones.


These adventures are always plenty of fun, a great opportunity to learn so much more about the sport, all while having a holiday. Our next trip is October 2nd - 5th and with only 5 single spots left, you need to book fast!
You now have another reason to visit the Jetskifishing Store more regularly, not only can you purchase our trusted products on sale, we also offer a large range and selection of proven Jetskifishing soft bait tackle. Give me a call to receive an easy email order form for your monthly weekly tackle supplies that are working for me.
Cheers, Andrew Hill

Tuesday 22 April 2014

Report # 107 King of Jetskifishing # 9... April 13th 2014

After much anticipation it was time to see who would earn the title of the newest King of Jetskifishing. With this being the ninth King of Jetskifishing and a bi-annual event, we always have a diverse field of keen Jetskifisho’s attending. The start format is our ever popular amazing race format, which sees all anglers starting at a convenient one base carpark start. All entrants were required to attend the early start briefing with their skis at Lloyd Elsmore Park, East Auckland. On registration at the Jetskifishing tent, entrants receive their complimentary King of Jetskifishing Tournament bag with our sponsor’s goodies.
It has become a King of Jetskifishing tradition, where we catch up the night before for a few drinks and dinner, and meet up with our out of town Jetskifisho’s attending the comp. It was another great night and was a social build up to Sunday’s comp day.
Once again we were fortunate with the weather and had a great turnout with seventy five registered anglers. The competition is continuing to attract nationwide interest. With anglers travelling from as far as the Hawkes Bay, Whangarei and Taranaki, making the most of it and meeting others involved in the fun sport. After the early morning briefing, each Jetskifisho would set off and give it their best at the generous $10,000 prize pool.
Also up for grabs were some great additional prizes, sponsored by the team at Logitech. These new Logitech Mini Boom’s, are a water-resistant wireless speaker and were a cool prize that many had their eyes set on winning. All entrants were in for a chance to win these with various challenges which we had included with their registration pack. The first opportunity for winning a Logitech Mini Boom recognised the angler who had the most courageous and productive strategy, catching a legal fish while travelling the longest distance! Each entrant had to take a photo with a local landmark, showing where they travelled to within the eight and a half hour fishing window from Auckland.
The winner of the challenge was Peter Jacobsen, who successfully caught fish with his massive road trip to Tairua and returning in comfortable time, back in Auckland before the 3:30pm weigh-in cut off.
With the growth of the sport and a large following of our FaceBook page, it made good sense to take the comp to the next level. The weigh in and price giving was held at JFK’s Powersports allowing us to host all the activities under one roof, including a casting competition, wheel changing competition, CanAm Spyder demo rides and kid’s bouncy castle. There was ample parking with the opportunity for public to be able to admire the skis along with a covered area out of the sun for the public weigh-in.
We once again we hosted a casting competition and also introduced a new activity being a wheel changing competition, with the spectators enjoying it just as much as the participants.
There was no shortage of fish to be weighed in, our most successful day yet! Fifty seven of the anglers weighed in their catches, with many having a few different species. We had a few people fishing two up, including fathers and sons, husband and wives, and also a mum and son. The comp has a great feel about it with it still based on a fun spirit, yet with a competitive edge involving the whole family.
The BBQ was cranking all afternoon, with Mad Butcher sausages and steak, a great way to enjoy the afternoon, topped with a few much deserved ice cold Asahi and NZ Pure beers and of course for our younger participants some LOL Fruit Drink with fizz for kids.
We have plenty more pics on the Jetskifishing Facebook Page, here is just a few of the weigh-in, with the elevated stage so the spectators could admire the fish on display.

An amazing range of fish were weighed in and I received plenty of feedback with how much people enjoyed being part of the event. The ongoing comments I hear from people who are involved with my events is that the enthusiasm is contagious, which is a credit to the sport and the growing community. I have a great team that help with my events and without their passion and time for Jetskifishing, it would not be possible for other Jetskifisho’s to learn more and meet other like-minded people.
Thanks again to our sponsors, having long-term sponsors is a big part of growing the sport and achieving a positive return for their input. Our sponsors are active with the comp by participating on the water, or networking with the entrants at the weigh-in/prize giving which they appreciated being part of the event.
We look forward to seeing you included in King of Jetskifishing 10, scheduled for Sunday November 16th 2014.
FOR UPCOMING SPONSORSHIP AVAILABILITY, PLEASE EMAIL andrew@jetskifishing.co.nz to express interest.

FULL RESULTS KING JETSKIFISHING # 9

LOL Heaviest Kids Snapper
1st Sophie Hawes (Sea-Doo GTX), Prize & Trophy - Pflueger rod/reel combo & LOL pack. Weight – 2.1kg
2nd Kodie Hesketh (Sea-Doo GTi), Prize – Berkley soft pouch & LOL pack. Weight – 1.6kg
3rd Cooper Hill (Sea-Doo GTX), Prize – Sharkskin Beanie & LOL pack. Weight – 1.5kg

Attwoods Packaging Heaviest Kahawai
1st Peter Todorov (Sea-Doo GTX), Prize & Trophy – Daiwa soft bait rod/reel combo. Weight – 2.7kg
2nd Matt Maclean (Sea-Doo GTX), Prize - Sharkskin SPF50 Top. Weight – 2.15kg
3rd Garth Nicolay (Sea-Doo GTX), Prize – Cock & Bull Voucher. Weight – 2.15kg

DAIWA Heaviest “other species”
1st Mark Greenfield (Yamaha FX HO),Prize & Trophy–Daiwa rod/reel combo. Weight – 3.75kg (Skipjack Tuna)
2nd Quinn Barnes (Yamaha FX HO), Prize – Sharkskin SPF50 Top. Weight – 2.7kg (Skipjack Tuna)
3rd Mike Barnes (Yamaha FX HO), Prize – Cock & Bull Voucher. Weight – 2.6kg (Skipjack Tuna)

Bradley Smoker Heaviest Kingfish
1st Peter Todorov (Sea-Doo GTX), Prize & Trophy – Bradley Smoker package. Weight – 12.15kg
2nd Peter Jacobsen (Yamaha FX HO), Prize – Sharkskin SPF50 Top. Weight – 11.75kg
3rd Daniel Michev (Sea-Doo GTX), Prize – Cock & Bull Voucher. Weight – 11.75kg

Berkley Average Snapper
1st Stu McMillan (Yamaha FX HO), Prize & Trophy - $500 CASH. Weight – 1.09kg

Catch, Team of Jetskifishing
1st Peter Todorov & Daniel Michev Team Name – Team Sea-Doo’s (Sea-Doo GTX’s)
Prize - $200 CASH & 2 x Catch slow jig packs. Weight (Combined prize winning fish) – 26.6kg

Catch, Best dressed, Team of Jetskifishing
Mark Greenfield & David Johnson - The Net Minnits (Yamaha) Prize – Catch slow jig packs

New Zealand Jetskifishing Club, Legend of Jetskifishing
1st Peter Todorov (Sea-Doo GTX), Prize & Trophy - $400 CASH. Weight – 15.9kg (3 species)

JFK’s King of Jetskifishing in association with Sea-Doo
Heaviest Weight Snapper
1st Quinn Barnes (Yamaha FX HO), Prize & Trophy - $1,000 CASH. Weight – 5kg
2nd Ian Charlton (Sea-Doo RXT), Prize – Penn rod and reel combo. Weight – 4.45kg
3rd Mike Barnes (Yamaha FX HO), Prize – Berkley Tackle Bag. Weight – 4.45kg
4th Steve Manuel (Sea-Doo GTX), Prize – SavePhace Jetskifishing Mask. Weight – 4kg
5th Richard Scown (Sea-Doo GTX Wake), Prize – Cock & Bull Voucher. Weight – 3.95kg
It was great to see a familiar face to the sport taking out the King of Jetskifishing. Quinn our winner has been fishing the comp over the last five years with his Dad, fantastic to see him win first place. As history proves, all entrants have as good a chance as each other on the day, you only need to be in to win and it always surprises us what weight wins on the day.
I hope to be seeing you more frequently as I now stock major brands of fishing equipment and can continue helping you set up and enjoy the sport to its true potential.
 My full range of recommended Jetskifishing tackle is also available at JFK’s Powersports. Please note, the Jetskifishing Store has moved from Top Catch at Half Moon Bay... I am available by appointment at my office/workshop in Bucklands Beach to discuss with you personalizing your next ski package and any advise regarding the full range of fishing accessories I use and now offer for sale.
Be sure to share your pics of your experiences on our FaceBook page, our fans love seeing people hooked on Jetskifishing.

Cheers, Andrew Hill
 




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