Queens Birthday weekend

5 of us went to the Cape Runaway for Queens Birthday, Johnstone and his son Ethan, Cod and his son Sam and Me. We arrived Friday night and immediately got in to a bit of wine tasting, it was good to be there etc etc ( thanks to Zelus Sun winery, Mary and Clive donated the wine for tasting.. excellent, thanks)

wine/beer/vodka/rum/ tasting.

Saturday saw us fishing on Cod follies rock, the day was flat and calm with a half metre lift, a little to big to get on the cape rocks. Fishing was slow with 3 snapper, 1 trevally and a large blue cod being caught, it may had something to do with the big boys heads having a dull thud behind their eyes.

Sunday the wind changed over night blowing from the norwest and then changing to the south, we left from Lottin and went to Hams Rock. The fishing was very good with 18 snapper caught, we released 8 and kept 10. Sam caught the fish of his life a 10.02kg snapper and Ethan followed it up with a 4.45kg one (last year on the same trip Ethan caught a 12.90kg snapper, an outstanding feat)

Sundays catch

Johnstone giving a speech

Sams 10.02kg Snapper

Monday was home day, the southerly had really kicked in with snow on the peaks of the hills to the south of Kemps farm (where we stay) and the mountains and foot hills all the way home were covered

Mount Hikurangi hidden by clouds, these are her foothills

gazebo

gazebo's maiden voyage

Snapper

Terakihi

Today I took Gazebo put for her first voyage, she went really well, her bow cut through the small swell and wind chop really well giving her a real soft trip. We went to south rocks which is 16 nautical miles out from Gisborne. South rocks is a large rocky reef system that covers several sq kms, we caught 7 terakihi, 2 snapper and a trevally (all good eating). The fishing was trying as the current and wind direction kept pushing us off the mark, Overall I was very pleased with the boat.

The fishing trip to Cape Runaway was a good relaxing time, unfortunately the weather played up, leaving us a large swell which made it too dangerous to get on the rocks where we like to fish. Johnstone won the green jacket for the best fish with a 13.88kg kingfish.