Spring is on its way and the fishing has been brilliant over the last few weeks. I particularly enjoy this time of year with the winter conditions making for some amazing flat water days, while also enjoying less traffic on the water. Many clients get into the sport with no expense spared, I can prepare them to the same level of gear which I fish with, but no money can guarantee the angler can catch that '20 pound Snapper'. I hear many come into the sport having dreams of catching the dream fish...a Monster Snapper. The reality is, there are very few that actually do achieve this true achievement. With the exception of the occasionally super lucky catch, most fall a bit shy year after year and this is what keeps anglers eager in search of their next personal best with the thrill of the experience.
In my experience if fishing enough, most have had at least one crack at a Monster Snapper, with it no doubt having a go at your bait! If you aren't prepared and on your "A" game, kitted with quality gear and some experience under your belt, the fish will likely out smart the angler by dropping the bait or busting your gear. The factor of luck is a small element in my opinion, as it is no easy task to find the big Snapper let alone land one. So much so, the fight is only half the battle, getting the fish in to your chilly bin on a watercraft is a challenge in itself and you need to be mentally prepared for all scenarios.
My most recent fishing session had me fishing with my long time client Brent Martin who has become a great friend, who shares his passion for Jetskifishing on my many adventures. He often mentions how much it would mean to him to officially land a 20 pound Snapper, one of his lifetime dreams and bucket list 'to dos'.
The odds are, you have more chance of catching your dream fish with a line in the water, than stuck behind the computer, which is definitely not the way to catch one and only leads to fishing envy. Not every trip leads to reward, but it all gains experience and any day fishing is better than a day at work. With another opportunity to come fishing with me, all he could say is "beers on me if you can get me a 20 pound Snapper"
Brent's long-time dream of his trophy Snapper has not been from a lack of trying with 40 years of fishing and 6 years of those, enjoyed from his ski. His angler skills are up there with the best of us and he has always invested in the best gear for his fishing.
The below image is the skull from one of my recent 26 pound Snappers. It shows you the serious chompers on these bigger fish. They have rows of teeth sharp enough to damage gear and jaw strength strong enough to bend hooks, demonstrates why so many fish get away!
Brent was pretty excited about fishing the area of Doubtless Bay, also our best destination for our upcoming social trip in September. Fishing individually on our skis, we fished an area of 35 to 40 metres that has delivered some big fish in the past. When fishing this area your expectations can be high, even though we were fishing on a full moon :-( The fishing was slow, but with so much variety in species of fish, catching Kingfish, Snapper, Blue Cod, Kahawai and John Dory, what an amazing fishery in the Far North. As I mentioned, we often get strikes by the Monster Snapper, it is just a matter of when and if our hook catches! I had only just caught a 55cm Snapper that hardly pulled my set drag and next cast, as my soft bait was dropping my bait was smashed by the Monster, screaming braid with some serious weight... a few seconds of adrenalin to only be left wondering what I lost after the fish not being hooked properly.
Checking in with Brent he too was in to the action, quietly excited that he had just landed a new personal best. His enthusiasm of an epic battle starting off as a heavy weight much like the snagged sea floor sounded very promising after experiencing screaming line and a exhausting 5 minute fight. Very hopeful to confirm a new personal best catch, we decided to head back to our stay and weigh-in his catch.
The fish is being mounted to be on display in his home, I look forward to seeing his prized catch on display. Our next adventure to this same area is 8th-11th September, keep watching our Facebook Page to see how all my guests go and contact me if you are interested in attending one of our future trips.
The latest addition to my social trip destinations is the renowned Hotel Grand Mercure Puka Park Resort, the venue is stunning and is our best adventure yet, amazing food, brilliant hospitality, plenty of activities off the water and amazing fishing grounds.
As with all my social trips which I organise, our guests, clients and good friends learn so much more about the sport while fishing and relaxing with like-minded people. The time off the water is just as enjoyable and entertaining, while making new friendships and enjoying the good life. If you are yet to experience one of my Jetskifishing social trips, book for the next one as this will be a trip to remember and you too could catch a monster Snapper!
I have put together showing a glimpse of this latest adventure and you can see some of the amazing fish that were caught.
Fishing remote locations are a whole new world of opportunities with Jetskifishing. The places I have fished I could only have dreamt about before I started this sport...
With experienced Jetskifisho's, I ventured to the furtherest point of the upper North Island, Cape Reinga. The scenery is breathtaking and the location has some challenges that keep the area unpressured to recreational fisherman.
My learnings from different launching over the years and local intel helped along way to making this trip possible.
Planning strategies around wind, tide, swell, made launching and retrieving achievable, as it is a extremely soft sand beach. Preparation is so important on these trips, there is no cellphone access and little VHF coverage. I prepare for all scenarios on these adventures, fishing with a mate and choosing a late model 4 stroke naturally aspirated watercraft for reliability.
This time of year, to enjoy a full day on the water in a southerly wind I wear the Sharkskin thermal clothing, no chafing, no rashes and being a two piece clothing kit, when nature calls you have no restrictions.
With a 6 hour drive, you want to be on your game and have confidence in your fishing gear, so when you hook that dream fish you can take the fight to the fish! This hook up was thanks to the Gulp White Glow Grub with the 2oz Orange Elevator Rig, these hooks are strong and have never let me down.
Check out this latest video and be sure to share with your friends the endless opportunities available with our social Jetskifishing experiences.
Taking Jetskifishing to the next level is getting involved socially, where you can learn more about the sport in a fun environment. The trips which I host are fully catered in luxury, so guests can really enjoy a holiday along with an adventure in fishing grounds they will never forget. This experience had us venturing to the Far North, a new destination which the guests gave feedback on saying this is our best venue yet.
These trips are foremost about education and this requires a short briefing familiarising the guests about the facilities, safety and itinerary for the four days.
Like all of our trips there are plenty of different launching options and the fishing area was well suited for most wind directions.
All guests fish with a room mate and everyone is required off the water by weigh-in close off for the fun comp each day. With some challenging conditions we still managed to catch some amazing fish and many of the anglers set themselves new personal best targets with their prized catches on this adventure.
More personal bests!
Weigh-in is an opportunity to inspire other guests by seeing what everyone is catching and hearing about where fish are being caught and with which soft baits...
There are daily prizes up for grabs and also an opportunity for one lucky angler to win a luxury suite upgrade with a spa, the only thing is it usually came with many new mates ;-)
Each afternoon finished with a few coldies at the bar, followed by a great selection of food for dinner.
If you own a ski and want to learn more about the sport, sign up to one of Andrew Hill's trips so you too can have the opportunity to catch your personal best with like minded friendly Jetskifisho's. Our trips are always full of fun, on and off the water, a holiday doing what you enjoy while improving your skills.
Check out some of the feedback from just a few of our latest customers and now friends who joined us.
Checkout some footage of our last trip, call Andrew to join us on our next adventure.
We have a new King!
Results of the JFK Powersports King of Jetskifishing!
This was another awesome event with a big turnout of eager Jetskifisho's including our first ever overseas guests participating from Australia. Check out our latest video with highlights from the day.
Congrats to Stu Mcmillan who took out the top prize, receiving $1,000 cash and the title 'King of Jetskifishing' Stu is another of our Jetskifishing Store clients who fishes many of our comps, is an active club member and always great company on our social trips! Great to see him taking away the cash and making the most of his drive up from down country to participate.
Full results as follows
HARD LUCK STORY OF THE DAY - Richard Scown
DAIWA Kids Heaviest Snapper1st Cooper Hill - 1.65kg, 2nd Ryan Johnson - .75kg
JACK LINK'S Heaviest Other Species1st Quinn Barnes - Skip Jack 3.75kg, 2nd Dennis Pou - Skip Jack 3.25kg, 3rd Gareth Leadbetter - John Dory .55kg
SHARKSKIN Heaviest Kingfish1st Peter Jacobson - 11.85kg, 2nd Lucky Draw, 3rd Lucky Draw
MARINA CANTINA Heaviest Kahawai1st Jackie Williams - 1.85kg, 2nd Stu Mcmillan - 1.85kg, 3rd Johann de Beer - 1.80kg
NZ JETSKIFISHING CLUB Legend of JetskifishingDennis Pou - 3 species
BERKLEY Average Weight Snapper Jason Harris - 1.75kg
JFK POWERSPORTS King of Jetskifishing1st Stu Mcmillan - 3.40kg, 2nd Lachlan Haddon - 3.05kg, 3rd Michael White - 3.05kg, 4th Marcus Peterson - 2.90kg, 5th Grant Roxburgh - 2.60kg
Wow! What an amazing adventure we just got back from, the pictures say it all. Amazing weather, in good company, we caught plenty of fish and many personal bests. Two of our guests also joined the 20 pound club, with this latest social trip living up to our guests expectations on and off the water. We had one of our biggest groups yet attend and so many of them are already keen to register for our next trip.
Our trips are the best opportunity for Jetskifisho's to learn more about the sport, with the added opportunity being able to refine fishing techniques. Knowing where to find the fish and what baits are working best on the day is a massive head start to catching the big one. This trip had the crew learning quickly where the fish were holding and didn't take long to see the excitement from catching big fish. Overall the Gulp White Glow Grubs and the New Penny colour baits worked best for the highest catch rate and some of the baits are only available exclusive at the Jetskifishing Store.
The top 10 big Snapper of Goes Wild 10
These next few months we see the fish in closer to home and now is the time to take advantage while using quality electronics.
Some basic tips before your fishing, prepare yourself with some local knowledge on to which general area people have been catching. This will help you find the fish faster, while hunting with your sounder in areas you would expect the fish to be feeding. A big attraction with Jetskifishing is the quick time for our fishing sessions and more reason to find the fish first with your sounder. Fishing is more successful when having confidence on where to direct your soft bait and at what depth. I can assure you, even with my 10 years soft baiting off a ski, if fishing without sonar charts on an accurate fish finder, I wouldn't achieve as an effective catch rate.
In my experience, six of my 20 pound plus fish caught on soft baits, have all hit the soft bait high up in the water column. This is the area as the bait sinks once being cast away from the ski, typically the big fish are coming up to attack the soft bait as it is being twitched via my rod tip and the fish will strike in the upper 10 metres of depth. You may laugh, but my fishing method is pretty much common sense, I visualise from a Snappers perspective on how, where and what they are feeding on. Once locating the fish at the target area, this will give me a head start to what bait selection will work best, and which size/weight jig head for the fish I am targeting.
If you are still struggling to catch fish, go back to basics, sometimes it is as simple as knots and gear preparation being the reason your bait presentation is not enticing the fish. I am happy to assess your own fishing gear and make any recommendations on solutions I offer to suit your budget. Once you are catching on regular outings, you can start enjoying the sport to its full potential.
On the other side of it, rigged right with the fishing is red hot, the fish will pretty much hit the bait any how its presented! Check out this latest video of Cooper and I fishing the other week at another of our pick spots. Once we found the fish on the sounder, the rest was easy, so much that Cooper only needed to get the bait to the bottom and the fish did the rest!
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