Slow day fishing and next thing a screamer!

In this day and age in these busy times, it is all more the reason to embrace Jetskifishing where little time is needed to go for a quick fish. When your teenage son asks you to go fishing, you know that this upbeat sport appeals to a large span of age groups. Jetskifishing is fantastic for any parents wanting to take the opportunity to spend some one on one time with their children, while still getting their own fishing fix.  So when my son Cooper asked me on the weekend, "how about we go fishing?"  I didn't need any encouragement to spend some quality time with him and seeing him enjoying catch fish!

We made an early start, launching at the Bucklands Beach public ramp just on daylight. While heading out I was unsure if the forecast of 5 knots would be as good as they said. Fortunately it was flat conditions and made for an enjoyable ride at full throttle on my Sea-Doo to our destination, Durville Rock. On arrival we had the area to ourselves which made for pressure free hunting, as we could survey the area with the Raymarine looking for fish sign. There was plenty to see and it wasn't long before we were getting excited by the hits on our softbaits.

It was not long and with some fish in the chilly bin we decided to fish another area holding fish at the bottom end of Waiheke Island. A good call heading further south with plenty of activity and soon another fish just over 50cm in the chilly bin. The area was plagued by boats and a few other skis, with fish being hauled on board it always attracts attention and other fisherman want to park right beside you! Little did they know, there is a little more to it and our secret weapons of Gulp Chocolate Sparkle Squid Vicious and Salmon Grub were all the difference.

With the conditions being mint we went exploring, trying out the deeper water but found on the slack tide that the fish we could see on the sounder weren't interested in biting.

Though I was having success occasionally and adding fish to our catch, Cooper was struggling to actually hook a fish. The ones hitting his bait were smaller and were spitting the bait after about 10 seconds of fight. The objective for Cooper on todays session, which I found out, was that he was determined to get his name on the kids club leader board.

The challenge and pressure was proving a bit much and frustration was setting in, words of encouragement from Dad were all so important before he lost focus! These are the challenges of fishing, added pressure comes back on the skipper when fishing with your children. We kept on persisting and I was confident that an hour or so after low tide that there would be more action and movement with the softbait lure in the current... As predicted, one hour fifteen minutes after low, Cooper had his first Snapper coming on board, approx. 40cm, he was so excited! The pressure was off us both and with enough Snapper in the bin for our family dinner we decided one last stop on the way home before calling it a day.

On arrival at the next spot, I told Cooper to drop his line, while I cast my bait ahead of the ski and allowing for it to drift back towards the ski.  The next thing I hear is Cooper's braid screaming! All my attention was directed to him, I knew he was on to something special. The video shows a brief segment of the fight, the fish giving him a real challenge in the shallow water with plenty of foul bottom.

After a 5 minute battle, he was buzzing with the reward. He never gave up and landed another big Snapper! The fish going 715mm (7 kilo) which will be a massive benchmark for our club Kids Leader Board.

Chocolate Sparkle did the damage again and made me appreciate the importance of retying your knots before each trip and using the reliable Daiwa gear. Cooper was well prepared with his trusted Exceller,  it shows you can use affordable gear and still land your dream fish.