Having seen the thread about the Gurnard competition on the forum I had been thinking about maybe heading up depending on what the weather was forecast to do that weekend.
Didn't do much about it as Smudge had already posted that tickets woulkd be available on the morning so there would be no problem just turning up on the day.
Closer to the time I was watching the thread and weather predictions from the locals and it wasn't looking too flash but there was a glimmer of hope for the afternoon so the idea stayed brewing in the back of my mind.
Saturday afternoon came around and I was sitting at the computer at 6pm awaiting confirmation whether the comp was to go ahead or be postponed and there it was in black & white - the comp is ON!!
Messaged Smudge that I was still wavering and to confirm the whereabouts of the Te Toro ramp as I would be driving through the night if I did make it and didn't want to be making a muppet of myself at the wrong location. That sorted, and a very generous offer of "if you make it up you're welcome to crash at my place" I headed off to have dinner and watch the Rugby with my Dad and his wife (who was cooking the fish we caught on Saturday for dinner, our usual BOP trifecta of Kahawai, Snapper and Gurnard - big ones for me down average around 35cm).
Decion was made firmly after the rugby, "Right, I'm going!" My Dad looked at me funny - "Did you see the forecast on the news tonight?" "Nope, but the rain should ease off by lunchtime up there, that's what the internet people say anyway!!" Dad looks back at me like I'm slightly demented and shakes his head!!
Got home at about 9.40pm with a mission to put the boat back onto the ute, pack an overnight bag and get everything ready for the drive up. With an intended departure time of 2am it was into bed at 10.30 and 2 alarms set for 01.15.
The back-up alarm was the only one I heard so bolted up, took care of the remaining bits that had to be readied for the journey and filled a flask and travel mug with strong black coffee to keep me going.
Pulled out the driveway just after 2 so right on time and got a good start on the road North with the GPS on my phone telling me I should arrive in Waiuku in 3hrs 36 minutes...
The road-trip went downhill really fast just after I passed through Matata when the rain hit with pure vengence, had to slow down to 60km/h and with wipers on full only just clearing the windscreen the first shadows of doubt crossed my mind - "Maybe Dad was right, what the hell am I doing out here in the middle of the night in this?" The thought of turning around and going back to my still-warm bed was growing pretty strongly but the Matata straights are no place to be attempting to u-turn with a boat on tow so I pushed on in hope that the rain would at least ease and it did, Not too much further on the clouds desisted and the drive became enjoyable again - for a while!
Through the night I went only meeting the occasional other vehicle - no-one else was mad enough to be out on a night like this so I had the radio blaring and eventually arrived at the BP in Pukekohe to stock up on fresh coffee and traditional fishermans breakfast of pies not long after 5am. The rain had long returned by now, but nothing like it was earlier but I still got soaked running in to get the coffee.
Wasn't too far away now, so hunger satisfied it was back in the car for the final stretch up to the boat ramp, where on arrival at 6.30 there were already a couple of empty trailers and a few more cars parked up in the dark - "Bloody hell, at least I'm not the maddest one here!"
Had time to make final checks on the boat and empty out the rainwater that had come along for the ride while watching for Smudge to arrive.
Met Smudge, Aaron and Scotty at the ramp, paid the entry fee and it was time to launch, my backing skills aren't great in the ute using mirrors but with guidance from Aaron I managed to get the boat's bum in the right place after a few false starts and it was just about time to head off.
Smudge had very generously offered to show me a few of his spots so I followed him out in a pretty nasty chop (still raining btw!) to the first spot and it was anchor down time and start fishing.
Had plenty of warm clothes and a big heavy jacket so despite the rain was fairly comfortable until the sun canopy started to drip through, there was no escape from the wet to be had and the old towel I keep on the boat was being wrung out constantly after mopping up water from everywhere, so much water was pooling in the bilge pump recess I had to wonder whether I had tightened the bung up properly!! Had a few bites and there it was, my 1st Manukau Gurnard, an average sized one for me at 34cm, so back he went with a message to please tell grandad to come see me.
A few baby sharks followed along with another 34cm Gurnard which had swallowed the hook so he went into the bin bleeding profusely from the gills. Next up was a 39cm model that had me all excited, my new PB Gurnard!! Biggest previously in the BOP was 36cm, and the average I find down home is the 34-35cm versions so was pretty pleased with that after only an hour or so. Fishing slowed after that with the seemingly ever-present kahawai making themselves a nuisance but finally from the first spot another 2 39-ish cm fish joined their mates in the bin.
Smudge made the call to head off, they had also caught a few and I could see the kahawai coming up for them too. By this stage the rain had done it's dash and there was even a hint of a big red ball in the sky and bits of blue making an appearance overhead.
The next spot was pretty quiet, another pesky kahawai and not much else there, but by now it had warmed up and was beginning to be a more enjoyable day. Had a bit of a chat across the water and time to move off to another spot where Smudge and crew didn't have too much longer to fish before they were due back to set up the stage etc for the prizegiving. 3rd spot didn't even raise a bite for me, but I had 3 in the bin that were bigger than my previous best so that was all good, and still a couple of hours to go before weigh-in.
Before heading back Smudge gave directions to a likely looking spot on the edge of the channel, so I duly headed off there, lined up (ish) the landmarks I was given and put the baits back in the water in about 8m and let them drift way out the back of the boat. Pretty much straight away there was a bit of a nod from one of the rods and the buzz started to grow again, only to be dashed when the line lightened and a clump of weed came up. Next up was another couple of Gurnard around the 39-40cm range so I had something to weigh in and a decent feed to take home. The Kahawai came back in style causing tangle after tangle so spent a good part of my last hour dealing to a bit of crochet-work and finally got baits back in the water with about 10 minutes to go before my target return time. Got the cleaning up done while keeping an eye on the rods, not a great deal happening so the remaining baits were chopped up and despatched overboard and the rods cleared in one by one.
I have my "lucky" rig on the back corner behind the drivers seat, it's my "never fail" fish catcher back home and that is always the last rod to come in and no change to routine today.
The clock was ticking, and it was time to head back so with a bit of reluctance I started winding in when about 1/2 way up the rod gave a nod and took a bend in it with a bit of weight. "Damn bloody Kahawai" was the first reaction as I watched the line dart about at the back of the boat and the fish took a couple of decent runs on me. Well, drag wound up a bit I thought "I'll deal to you"... All of a sudden there was a flash of orange out the back and my heart skipped a beat, "Bloody hell, a Snapper!" was my 1st reaction... nope, as it came into view again there was a huge Blue & Green wing attached to the biggest Gurnard I have ever seen in the flesh!!
Got him beside the boat and had a "moment" while lifting it up, "Don't drop the bloody thing" was all I could think of by now.
Got it wrapped in the towel and a shaky pair of hands placed it on the measure - 46cm still wriggling - WOW! Anyway, no time for going all gooey-eyed at a fish, there's a weigh-in queue to join by 3pm and I wasn't too sure how long it would take to get back to the ramp.
Opened up the 60 horses on the back of the Mclay and had an enjoyable 25 minute blast through the channels on a mirror-like surface that was completely at odds with what we endured heading out a few hours before. Got back to the ramp and took my turn in the queue to get the boat out. Bloody hell, my backing 'skills' would be on show for all to see now, "Better try and avoid making a fool here boy!"
Managed to get the trailer down in reasonable fashion and off to join the queue for weigh-in with about 8 minutes to spare. That done it was time to tidy down the boat and join the crowd in the Green Shed for a sausage from the BBQ and see what else had come up, and some impressive looking fish were coming in too.
By this stage I was pretty knackered, with only 3 hours in bed before the drive up, and had spent about 6 hours on the water on Saturday at Whakatane so things were starting to catch up with me big-time.
The prizes for the Juniors were given out first, with some good sized fish taking out the top rankings, then it was on to the main prizes.
There was a bottle of Captain Morgans Spiced Rum up on the stage and Smudge called me up to accept that for being the "furtherest travelled" to fish the competition - there were a few looks from the crowd that reminded me of my Dad the night before - "Madman"!!
As the prizes were being announced the size of fish was getting up to the 1kg mark, and I was starting to get a bit of a tingle up the back of my neck, "Bloody hell, the rod & reel sets are nearly gone..."
Well, it was time for 2nd place to be called and knowing the weight of my fish the tingles were really going to town by now, and a couple of people at the table who knew my weight were looking and whispering in my direction.
2nd place went to a fish at 1,07kg - YIKES!! Only 10 grams heavier, my fish of 1.08kg had taken out the main prize on my first ever trip to the Manukau Harbour, and was well over twice the weight of any Gurnard I had ever caught before. I couldn't really believe it, that a looney from the BOP could rock up not knowing a thing about the Harbour and catch a winning fish, what a buzz.
I was left pretty speechless when Smudge called me back up onto the stage, but absolutely rapt.
What an amazing end to a pretty crazy day. I just realised I don't have any photos yet but will grab a couple before the fish goes under the knife later today.
Many thanks to Smudge and the Counties Sport Fishing Club for arranging the competition, it certainly looks like becoming a firm fixture on the fishing calendar up there and I already have a note on my calendar for a return trip next year, where hopefully the weather will be a bit kinder.
Cheers to everyone I met up there, a load of good buggers for sure, and a special mention to Uncle for his amazing Terakihi flashers which is what caught most of my fish including the big one. I have used this particular rig at least 10 times now and it never fails to catch fish, getting a bit threadbare and the line is twisted like a willow tree from all the tangles previously inflicted on it but it still catches fish like no other. Awesome!
Of course the biggest thanks and credit must go to Smudge again for his generosity in having me tag along behind him all day and the hospitality of him and his family. I hope you enjoy the remainder of the Rum mate and know you are most welcome down this way any time.
well done on the PB too
www.kavemantackle.co.nz
daz500 wrote:
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