Thread: Fishing tomorrow!

Trip report…VC & VC jnr picked me up at 6 on Saturday morning loaded to then gunnels with camping gear boat wetsuits etc! I added to the pile some more gear and a couple of tanks and we set sail for Kaikoura.

Left home in pissing down rain, which we enjoyed right through to the other side of Havelock, it eased and cleared away and the sun burnt away the remaining clouds as we hit the coast, the water was blue in parts of the coast that that are always always milky and rubbish.

We were fizzing a slight swell and blue water…got to Kaikoura , out of the truck into wetsuits into the boat and off to get amoungst it. South had a meter of swell pushing but we found a bay to tuck up in and into the water, VC headed in close looking for butters whilst Jnr had a shit of a time being a seal magnet …they wouldn’t leave him alone, and the poor bugger abandoned the dive “ one seal I can handle but two in my face is way to many”

I had look around but the spot was a bust even for VC who saw some huge butters either on the end of his breath or right in his face after looking in a crack for a cray.

So we changed locations and headed for @Munsey rock, a productive spot that hold a few fish, tanked up hit the cracks …to a ghost town… clear 5 meter vis and nothing to see damn near broke my heart. A big school of blue moki lighten my mood and I followed them to another crack …feelers and small crays ..looked at them and took the biggest , next hole the same ..great vis but few crays ..back in the boat ran them over the lie detector 1 mill under , 2 mill undersize VC ruthlessly chucked my catch over the side muttering ……” you had one job” …


With the days tank we headed south in search of tea of some sort …I resorted to free diving which has being quite a while and it showed, Jnr jumped in and 10 mins later was back in the boat, the half grown seals just loved him , never came near me and VC but Jnr vc poor barstard …they wanted him bad.

We found a handy few gutters of xxl pāua and noted them for the next opening. Then we ran out of puff ( I’d run out ages ago) VC put in some serious miles and pulled the pin.

Got to the grocery store for some snacking tucker and a box , headed for Peketa camp , ( which is threatened with closure) to find it full of folks loving this precious camp ground..support it on line please..honestly it even a long weekend and the place would have had easily 600 souls on board, little folks , old folks young families and us.

We found a shady spot in the tent block set up and cracked a coldie, next minute @Munsey rolls up ( a huge and very welcome surprise) and the yarns began!
Then the eating began mussels olives mutton chops venison cutlets all well enjoyed.

We wandered off to bed early ish and we were awoken to the sweet gentle bird song of the fucking rooster across the the road!

He gave it to it for and hour …before he decided he’d woken the neighbourhood up, so coffee and then even more food bacon eggs mushrooms sausages and a wonderful pound of whitebait cooked and throughly enjoyed.

Given the results of the Saturday mission , and that Jnr had work Sunday arvo, I geared up and we boated back out into the deep blue , I chatted with a bloke from ch - ch as I wandered back from the trailer park , they were suffering the same problems marginal crays all summer .

So VC and I devised a cunning plan and found a patch of reef well away from any cray pots or boaties…hit the bottom to flat rocks with no turf ..swam and swam today water temp was cold almost chilly…finally found some turf and onto the crays took only the biggest left dozens and dozens of smalls.

Found 3 cray pots 2 were wrecks and the third I thought was someone’s as the rope was quite clean, finished my dive to realise there we still no pots around and it would have being a keeper. Back in the boat I measured and chucked back my whole catch all females all just undersize ..


Whilst the diving was rubbish catch wise but wonderful vis …it was a tremendously enjoyable trip away to an absolutely beautiful part of NZ.

Thanks VC and munsey and Jnr what a weekend of diving food and just good times …cheers!

What’s more fun than catching kahawai on light gear at the river mouth? Watching your son do it.

@stingray on day 2
I also saw a humongous ray of some sort cruise past while diving on the Saturday. It looked to be as wide as a dingy.

Originally Posted by Mr300WSM

What’s more fun than catching kahawai on light gear at the river mouth? Watching your son do it.
Attachment 242183

Keep fishing,might be a salmon next time.

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Attachment 242192
@stingray on day 2
I also saw a humongous ray of some sort cruise past while diving on the Saturday. It looked to be as wide as a dingy.

Manta ray?

Originally Posted by Gibo

Manta ray?

Possibly?

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Possibly?

Could easily be man, we get them up here most summers and with the marlin and stuff down south this year its likely the water temps. Hell my mate swam with a whale shark up here a year or so ago

Well when you had a tough weekend on the fish and then you recieve these photos...bloody proud of them but it hurts just a little bit more



Yes a small snapper / brim but for south island spearos that and a JD some real trophies

Just before it absolutely pissed down, Bowentown

Caught this little fellow today. First on I have got on a slow jig.

Aren’t they a beautiful fish!

Originally Posted by stingray

Aren’t they a beautiful fish!

They sure are. This one went back in the ocean to get a bit bigger.

Might be worth live baiting in the area you got that one. Such great eating !

Yeah. We were on our way back to Kaiuma bay and it was the first time I had dropped a line in that spot. Pretty sure I hooked another one too but dropped it. I might modify one of the slow jigs and put some bigger hooks on.

Got one on a soft bait once but reckon that was a fluke.
Live baiting for kingies with weight holding the bait on the bottom has produce zero kings but a few JD.
Then there the ones when bait fishing u get them in the boat and the baby snapper who been hammering your bait falls out of the JD’s gob��