04.12.10 Carpet Court 34 hour contest

Saturday; The contest was postponed from last weekend thanks to our weekend destroying southerlies that have been turning up most weekends of late, even this weekend isn't looking the best with light easterlies forecast (winds from the east fish lest - or so it goes).Up again at 4am, pick up Murray and on our way out to sea by 5am. The wind is light with a half metre swell from 2 directions, we head out to TH1A (40km's out), we arrive to find conditions a little sloppy but fish able in 180 metres of water. Tzar followed us out and scored first with a teen pulling up a nice puka (groper) of 28kg's which ended up winning the Hapuka section, I had a puka of 8.5kgs on board soon after and Murray followed with a small 3kg Bass. THAT was it, sharks were the catch after that (all released) by 7.30 / 8am the wind had picked up making drifting near impossible, so we move to CO2A about 6 km away, where we could anchor up in 100 metres of water, there was plenty of fish sign - in fact 4 metres of them over the rock, but (and I have said before there is always a but) they were rubbish fish (we call them granddaddy hapuka - small orange things) they came up 2 at a time and released, after an hour of that we pulled the pick and moved to TM1A 14kms inshore, yet again lots of sign, again granddaddies, we kept dragging the anchor and sliding off the rock. It was about then when I snapped my Shimano Raider 2 rod in half - short version ..hooked rock ...small tug on rod ...snapped rod...totally f%*ked off. Time to move again. Time to do what I do best - strayline for snapper, 6km later and a bucket of berlie even later not even a bite, so 3pm - time for home.
To make a bad day worse while cleaning the boat I was re bending the anchor arms and I slipped and put my back out.
Sunday; After raiding the wife's medicine bag for pain killers at 4am, on the water by 5am, the wind was already blowing 15 plus knots and the swell had increased to a metre and a half we went to a good snapper spot on Aerial reef, we would have been better off parking in our washing machine, it was ugly, after half an hour we had straightened the anchor again. So we pulled the pick and went for a look at South rocks, we went over 8 of our best marks and not a fish on the finder, where have they all gone??? lots of rumours on shore about a gill netter setting a 1 km nets over the rocks and a out of town trawler running chains over the rocks as well as a long liner setting 40kms of line with 4ooo hooks, fact or fiction who knows. by 9am we had had enough and went home. It must be bad, never have I given up in an contest before like this - 160km's traveled for 2 fish?.
Monday was a brilliant summers day - hot and calm, Tuesday back to southerlies cold and trying to rain.
Talking to others who were out, we were not alone - most struggled to catch anything as well.