Bluenose (from last year)
Bass (from last year)
A 22kg Hapuka we caught last yearHow times flies, the clubs big contest the Enterprise Nissan Bay Bonanza with $65,000 in prizes is here again.
Day one, 28.01.11. We leave home at 3.30am to try and get to the ramp and to be as close as we can to the head of the queue for the tractor, we arrived to find we were number 3 with the 2 boats in front having stayed the night and sleeping in their boats (cheaters). Today we have Evan back on board with us as the boat he is crewing on isn't going out today, bad move we think as the weather forecast is bad, with a ex-tropical cyclone bearing down on us, expecting to hit us tonight. We get the all clear and head out into a sloppy sea from a southerly change last night and head out to our Hapuka spot TR1A, on arrival we have a look around to see if we can find any good sign - plenty of small fish sign but not allot of big sign, so we back up to a spot and start our first drop. Soon we are back into small sharks again in 185 metres of water, the good news is the wind is fading away and the sea is glassing over - still a metre swell running the bad news is - 2 other boats join us. After an hour Evan haul up a nice 16kg Bass and soon after the other two boats depart. We decide to leave as well and set out our lures for a troll for Tuna and head towards EB1A which is about 14 km's away, half way there we spot to our right, the bigger of the 2 departed boats on the horizon. so we decide to head over that way for a nosey, as the area is a big blank on my GPS map. We arrive to find both boats there and both are fishing. The area has a good rocky area above a nice 30 metre drop (we named it EH1A). Evan soon has a 10kg Bass on board and I am back on to the sharks, the other 2 boats are pulling the odd Hapuka and sharks as well, by 10am the sea breeze starts to make it's presences felt and it is time to move. We troll to CO2A a 125 metre rocky outcrop 5 Km's away, we anchor up over good sign, I drop over a small hook rig to see whats there and the boys drop their big hook puka rigs down, I soon catch a couple of Tarakihi, Evan changes rigs as well and sends down small hooks, straight away he hooks something large and after 5 minutes of heaving brings up a 18 kg Bass and I'm soon on to a 8kg Hapuka (so much for fishing the deep). By 3pm the wind and the sea is getting up and the sky is darkening to the east were the decaying cyclone will be coming from, we decide it is time to go and throw out the lures, after an hour of trolling we have 3 Skip Jack Tuna (3kg's) in the bin, with the skies getting darker and the sea rising we pull the lures in and slog our way home.
29.01.11 Day Two...Cancelled .....the storm came Friday night with heavy rain and strong winds, we were lucky, the Bay of Plenty copped the worst of the storm, with flooding, slips, road closures and a bit of damage. The storm was very fast moving and was gone by Saturday lunch.
30.01.11 Day three. Just Murray and I today, 3.30am leave home, a small snag Murray's slept through his alarms, forgot to set one and sleep through the other 2, never mind shit happens. We arrive at the ramp a wee bit late but are number 2 in the queue, the sea is still a bit sloppy and a 2 metre swell is running. We get the all clear a head to EH1A again, we are first there and again the wind is dying away, we manage a puka each and a small Bluenose, soon we have company again the 2 boats from Friday join us, Murray quietly hooks up and hauls up a nice sized Hapuka (21kg). by 10am the fishing has gone quiet so out go the lures and we head toward the inshore reefs 30km's away, by midday we have 3 small albacore tuna in the bin and the sea breeze is rocketing in, we pull in the gear and seeing the rough conditions on the reef head home.
Murray's Hapuka manages to "get us out of jail" and comes in second winning us $500 (which pays for the 3 days fishing Yay).
31.01.11...The day after... Jordan my youngest son and I load the boat and hook it on the Prada and head over to Bowentown in the Bay of Plenty for a weeks Holiday (hopefully the storm damage is cleared).
Day one, 28.01.11. We leave home at 3.30am to try and get to the ramp and to be as close as we can to the head of the queue for the tractor, we arrived to find we were number 3 with the 2 boats in front having stayed the night and sleeping in their boats (cheaters). Today we have Evan back on board with us as the boat he is crewing on isn't going out today, bad move we think as the weather forecast is bad, with a ex-tropical cyclone bearing down on us, expecting to hit us tonight. We get the all clear and head out into a sloppy sea from a southerly change last night and head out to our Hapuka spot TR1A, on arrival we have a look around to see if we can find any good sign - plenty of small fish sign but not allot of big sign, so we back up to a spot and start our first drop. Soon we are back into small sharks again in 185 metres of water, the good news is the wind is fading away and the sea is glassing over - still a metre swell running the bad news is - 2 other boats join us. After an hour Evan haul up a nice 16kg Bass and soon after the other two boats depart. We decide to leave as well and set out our lures for a troll for Tuna and head towards EB1A which is about 14 km's away, half way there we spot to our right, the bigger of the 2 departed boats on the horizon. so we decide to head over that way for a nosey, as the area is a big blank on my GPS map. We arrive to find both boats there and both are fishing. The area has a good rocky area above a nice 30 metre drop (we named it EH1A). Evan soon has a 10kg Bass on board and I am back on to the sharks, the other 2 boats are pulling the odd Hapuka and sharks as well, by 10am the sea breeze starts to make it's presences felt and it is time to move. We troll to CO2A a 125 metre rocky outcrop 5 Km's away, we anchor up over good sign, I drop over a small hook rig to see whats there and the boys drop their big hook puka rigs down, I soon catch a couple of Tarakihi, Evan changes rigs as well and sends down small hooks, straight away he hooks something large and after 5 minutes of heaving brings up a 18 kg Bass and I'm soon on to a 8kg Hapuka (so much for fishing the deep). By 3pm the wind and the sea is getting up and the sky is darkening to the east were the decaying cyclone will be coming from, we decide it is time to go and throw out the lures, after an hour of trolling we have 3 Skip Jack Tuna (3kg's) in the bin, with the skies getting darker and the sea rising we pull the lures in and slog our way home.
29.01.11 Day Two...Cancelled .....the storm came Friday night with heavy rain and strong winds, we were lucky, the Bay of Plenty copped the worst of the storm, with flooding, slips, road closures and a bit of damage. The storm was very fast moving and was gone by Saturday lunch.
30.01.11 Day three. Just Murray and I today, 3.30am leave home, a small snag Murray's slept through his alarms, forgot to set one and sleep through the other 2, never mind shit happens. We arrive at the ramp a wee bit late but are number 2 in the queue, the sea is still a bit sloppy and a 2 metre swell is running. We get the all clear a head to EH1A again, we are first there and again the wind is dying away, we manage a puka each and a small Bluenose, soon we have company again the 2 boats from Friday join us, Murray quietly hooks up and hauls up a nice sized Hapuka (21kg). by 10am the fishing has gone quiet so out go the lures and we head toward the inshore reefs 30km's away, by midday we have 3 small albacore tuna in the bin and the sea breeze is rocketing in, we pull in the gear and seeing the rough conditions on the reef head home.
Murray's Hapuka manages to "get us out of jail" and comes in second winning us $500 (which pays for the 3 days fishing Yay).
31.01.11...The day after... Jordan my youngest son and I load the boat and hook it on the Prada and head over to Bowentown in the Bay of Plenty for a weeks Holiday (hopefully the storm damage is cleared).
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