With a break in the weather last week, I headed north of Auckland to some of my favourite fishing grounds. This journey included a few of my long-time clients joining me for this adventure. Day one was targeting Kingfish on the jigs and while they were aggressive on the bite, we were plagued by smaller fish! The Snapper fishing did not disappoint, with couple of the crew catching some big moochers.
Dinner provided by our host was the perfect finish to the day along with a few coldies. It was just what we needed to be one step closer to being charged back up for day two.
Day two and a couple of us headed off for an adventure to Cape Reinga. An early 5:15am start had us arriving at the launching beach just after sunrise. This part of the country was new to me and you really need to do your research before entering any of the beaches! Launching was slowed up by the soft sand. It pays to let some air out of your tyres and have an electric pump on hand for when you get back on the road...
It didn't take long to find some fish sign on the Raymarine E7, with a mixed species hungry on the bite. Fish hitting my Alien Jigs included Snapper, Blue Cod, Trevally and plenty of Kingfish!
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Another epic trip and hard to believe, I was back at home in Auckland by 9:30pm to appreciate the true lifestyle of Jetskifishing! |
JOIN US ON NEXT WEEKS 4 DAY SOCIAL TRIP, DON'T MISS OUT! |
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Fish one of the best Snapper locations in the country, stay in luxury and learn more about the sport. Includes 3 nights stay, meals, only $525 per person |
Last Sunday was the New Zealand Jetskifishing Club "Snapper Cup", which is an all jet-ski, members only comp for big cash prizes! The club has over 80 current members, with 39 of them signing up for the free fishing comp with a chance to win $850 in cash prizes along with lunch hosted by the club after the days fishing. With winter fast approaching and some atrocious weather forecasted, it was enough to reduce the number that headed out on the day!
The joys of owning a jet-ski in Auckland, there is typically somewhere you can find shelter to fish in whichever wind direction or conditions. I opted to take advantage of the ramp facilities at Kawakawa Bay which made for a short and comfortable ride across to fish at the bottom end of Waiheke.
Having a short fishing window with the weigh-in commencing at11:30am meant some pressure fishing! As with any fishing competition, you just don't know what size would be required for the winning Snapper on the day. My morning started off with a Snapper on the first drop in 25 metres of water, but soon to lose enthusiasim with it a mere 34cm, not even qualifying for weigh-in :-) The deeper waters didn't seem to be providing so I decided to move into the shallows as the drift was running nicely along the reef. Fishing the shallow depths in around 8 metres with one of my favourites, Gulp - New Penny Grub was producing some results. The bait was getting smashed by some good size Snapper just over 50cm. Within the hour I had caught half a dozen nice sized fish, but none of which I would expect to be the winner. Happy to have fish in the bin, I took my chances and made my way back to the weigh in to see how the others got on and enjoy a hot lunch with a few coldies at the club.
Plenty of fish were caught, in some hard conditions but the size of fish was a struggle with many of the anglers being plagued by under 40cm Snapper at the area which we fished. Another great comp, my 2.65kg Snapper was enough to claim first prize and $500 cash. Congrats to Craig Brown and David Mckenzie placing second and third, and taking the rest of the cash prizes!
If you are:
See a big line up of skis setup to the next level of Jetskifishing, including the various brands fished off by our club members. Speak to the people who are fishing all year round and catching trophy fish while Jetskifishing.
Next open evening, winter 2016
This was another awesome event with a big turnout of eager jetskifisho's from all throughout the country. Check out our latest video previewing this exciting event.
Congrats to Ian Charlton who took out the top prize, receiving $1,000 cash and the title 'King of Jetskifishing' on his Sea-Doo GTX iS Limited which I recently kitted out for his fishing missions. The full build and what gear he uses is at http://www.jetskifishing.co.nz/pages/sea-doo-gtx-ltd-is-fit-out
HARD LUCK STORY OF THE DAY - John Henning
CLUB MARINE LUCKY DRAW - James McNeill
1st Ryan Johnson - 2.30kg, 2nd Cooper Hill - 1.75kg, 3rd Josh Kelly - .85kg
1st Paul Piper - John Dory 1.05kg, 2nd Peter Jacobsen - Gurnard, 3rd Lucky Draw
1st Peter Jacobson - 8.90kg, 2nd Lucky Draw, 3rd Lucky Draw
1st Richie Hanna - 2.60kg, 2nd Adam Thompson - 2.50kg, 3rd Ryan Johnson - 2.35kg
Peter Jacobson and Brent Martin - Yamaha
Paul Piper - 3 species
Daniel Michev
1st Ian Charlton - 5.0kg, 2nd Adam Thompson - 3.75kg, 3rd Mike Barnes - 2.45kg, 4th Roy Rowden - 2.20kg, 5th Quinn Barnes - 2.15kg
There are four cool logo colours to choose from and they all have proven very popular with the first order sold out! New stock arriving tomorrow, don't miss out... You can easily order these quality hoodies at our online shopping site.
Cheers, Andrew Hill
We have a few more exciting activities on the Jetskifishing calendar.
The biggest jet-ski event of the year is on next month, the JFK Powersports King of Jetskifishing!
Come be part of it with $7,000 in prizes up for grabs, including $1,000 cash for the Heaviest Snapper. Don't miss out on registering, you can buy tickets online, visit JFK Powersports Mt Wellington or come see me at the Jetskifishing Store.
The people involved with our events are continuing to get the most out of the sport, feel free to call me if you would like to hear more about our upcoming events. Your next opportunity to join us on our ever popular social group is open for bookings, only a few spots left!
Exciting news for online shoppers, the Jetskifishing Store is now easier than ever to shop while at home, work or on the run with this iPad and iPhone friendly website. Our new look online shop is easy to browse our full product line for all your jetskifishing needs.
Try out the convenience of buying online and receive 25% discount on Gulp softbaits if entering the following discount code " March " at final stage in the shopping cart.
By 11:30am I had already arrived at Great Barrier and had caught some fish for dinner. The fish were on the bite and by using the Nemesis Sapphire Shine, I was rewarded with a 7 kilo Snapper out of the wash. This was a trip like no other, everyone catching fish at their various pick spots.
When organising these trips, I get so much enjoyment from seeing our guests catching fish and them all having such a great experience, so there is no need for me to be out fishing all day. With a few fish in the chilly bin, I opted to head back, get cleaned up and get ready to see what every one had caught.
Talk about the dream trip, I always see new personal bests from our anglers and what unfolded were some pretty special moments. Malcolm, only new to our sport, catches this monster and joins our 20 pound club with this 9.75kg Snapper caught on the Gulp Nemesis Pink Shine.
After being blown away by that catch, their was rumour of a even bigger catch! Next was from a complete newbie to our group. Jeff has been Jetskifishing for 6 years and after eagerly following my adventures, gained courage to join me on one of our social trips. The big selling point was the thought of him possibly "catching a personal best". How is this for a catch...the first drop and he lands this massive 33 pound Snapper, the biggest Snapper any of us had seen!
Caught on one of our 40 gram Orange Gold Jitterbugs, I am sure this will be a big selling coloured lure this month at the Jetskifishing Store ;-)
The first day had some truly amazing catches and continued for the four days of the trip! We even managed to fit in some Kingfish action at Cuvier Island. This pic shows the bite we had, all four skis hooked up at once, got to love Jetskifishing!
Seeing new people to our sport having as much fun as they do, is what keeps me motivated to put so much time in to this sport. Their appreciation and excitement is inspiring for others on these trips, so much fun on and off the water. Lachlan pictured below, rated this days fishing with us as his best in his life, that says it all about these social trips!
All of us who ventured wide caught Kingies, and I even played on the light gear with the Berkley Squiddos.
An awesome trip with a great crew, can't wait until this weeks Goes Wild 7, with 36 keen Jetskifisho's booked to head for the same fishing grounds. Here's hoping we get some more of the same action and the weather plays ball.
Cheers, Andrew Hill
The last few months has seen me continuing getting many newbies started with Jetskifishing. A vast number of the enquiries start off with a phone call to me and most saying "I own or owned a boat and are interested in the fun you are having with Jetskifishing"
Some of the common reasons they aren't enjoying the boat as much as they expected:
cleaning time
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Follow our advice and you will be a step closer to having more fun fishing! In my experience, I see that many of our community now catch more fish and are constantly achieving their new personal best targets. Much of their success is a result of their jet-ski fishing platforms being outfitted to a premium level and fishing with educated techniques for soft baiting. |
As much as I enjoy the different levels of Jetskifishing, like catching a Monster Kingfish or landing a Trophy Snapper in the middle of nowhere, I still always appreciate the simple basics which keeps me in touch with what the typical kiwi bloke wants out of Jetskifishing...Catching a feed of Snapper!
Don't get me wrong, the extreme side of Jetskifishing is heaps of fun, with the 'out wide' missions and big Kingfish, but realistically only a small minority of people ever really get out to do it. This is because it is:
If setting up with the sport correctly, you will get the same enjoyment that got me hooked which was having so much fun with soft baiting and slow jigs for Snapper.
Remembering my early years of boat fishing with smelly baits, yes I know 'big fish, big baits', but not the mess you need and extra work for on a ski! Keep it simple and most important sporting.
A Jetskifishing platform is one step closer to the water than you would be use to on a boat. Bent rod action has your rod tip beneath the waters surface, a very cool feeling knowing you are so close to the action! You can really appreciate the atmosphere of being in touch with nature and sometimes a little to in touch ;-) We catch a great average size fish soft baiting and plenty of nice ones once learning the basics about what tackle works best on a ski.
Jokes aside, I've only seen a few Sharks and most of the time as soon as the ski starts, they bolt! I don't burley very often, so there is no real attraction apart from the occasional fish on the end of your line.
I have been targeting Snapper over the summer break in depths of 15 to 30 metres, plenty of fun on my Daiwa Saltist rod.
My years of photos with Jetskifishing paint a lovely picture of the sport, yet there is a physical side! We get bad days on the water too, like any boating. I expect the weather forecasts to get it slightly wrong and will often time my trips with tides so I only endure a one way a rough ride... On occasion it is not unusual for me to be subjected to 35 plus knots in 3 metre swells however it is surprising what the skis can handle in these sea conditions and the riding on a larger ski, allows me more confidence than on a small boat. I operate a cellphone in a dry case, high wattage handheld VHF, personal locator beacon, so you need to be prepared. Always wear a vest and be clothed appropriately, as you never know what can happen unexpectedly on the water. The mask is an extra measure to make the rides more enjoyable, with:
Attached is one of my recent videos of soft baiting for Snapper, using 1 oz jigs which I cast away from the ski and work the soft bait while it was sinking through the water column. I find the bigger Snapper hit higher in the water column and the pannies are often the bigger numbers sitting in the lower depths.
Some additional footage of Kingfish action on my Snapper gear, fighting well above their weight... heaps of fun!
If you are Jetskifishing, post your pics on my Facebook Page and tell us where you have been fishing. Our next social trip is 26th February. So if you want to catch big fish and learn more about the sport, sign up before you miss out on our last summer trip.
Cheers, Andrew Hill
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