As mentioned in a previous post my younger brother was arriving from Cairns so in anticipation I had a trial run on a couple of rivers, also out in the boat sea fishing to establish where was fishing best & felt I had found where the fishing was hot.
However as the old adage states "The best laid plans of mice & men etc." were about to be proven true, but will get back to that later.
The night after he arrived we had a meal of freshly smoked sections of blue nose including the head which before smoking looked absolutely grotesque yet once smoked the pockets of tender flavoursome meat proved to be superb.
Before smoking :-
After smoking :-
Enjoying "the proof of the pudding !"
We obviously must have imbibed rather vigorously beforehand, as when we recalled how when we were kids our old grand dad, much to our horror used to delight in using a spoon to scoop out the eyes from freshly cooked fish heads, then eating them that a mutual challenge was made to do likewise, hence the title "An eye for an eye". I considered myself quite safe as was certain Les would not be game but to my amazement he followed through leaving me no option but to follow suite or lose face. Actually once the initial feeling of revulsion had subsided we both had to admit they tasted ok & surprisingly enough with a gelatinous texture rather than as had been expected .... marble like.
Next morning we set off albeit quite a bit later than planned arriving at the river about 2 - 30 inn the afternoon & after getting set up to fish toddled off to the river, beginning first with technique practise as had been quite a few years since Les had fly fished. Once it appeared he had the hang of things once again, we decided it was time to move on slowly upriver to try the 'real stuff" whilst I tried to advise where the fish usually lay & how best to fish for them. After less than ten minutes Les was into a fish which he duly landed, certainly far from a monster nevertheless a well over legal size brown & that seemed to bode well, or so we thought.
That evening we had a problem with the lighting in the motorhome as the lights faded soon after switching them on, then also with the lack of power the water pump was not working so we were without water so had to resort to cooking & eating by torchlight.
Next morning I managed to land a reasonable size fish but from thereon only managed to hook undersize fish most of which could be best described as tiny despite Les's technique by now being near faultless.
The power problem with the motorhome seemed to be linked somehow to the 3 way fridge / freezer however Les managed to restore the lights by cleaning up the battery cable lugs which had oversize holes that suited the previous battery but due to lack of contact had not been providing enough power to run various applications so we opted to switch off the fridge even tho it ran on LPG when the motor was not running. We enjoyed a meal of fillet of deep sea Bass that evening along with pre dinner ales, followed by a couple of toddies from a fantastic rum Les had brought from duty free then a good wine with dinner.
Residing as he does in tropical Cairns Les is used to 35 to 40 c temperatures & no doubt as happens in a hot climate his blood has thinned somewhat so is no surprise he began to feel the cold that night as the first frost for the year began to form but neither of us was anticipating the intensity which
was such that waders left outside could have probably stand on their own.
Unfortunately meantime there had been a deluge up in the hills resulting in the river having risen considerably & was coloured to the extent that fishing was barely marginal. Therefore we decided on some local sightseeing to kill time until the river settled down which it did in due course but sadly the fishing had not improved at all & we only managed to catch small juveniles despite trying several new stretches we had not as yet fished.
We were advised by Daryl the farmer on the land we were camped on that the mature fish had moved on to the upper reaches to spawn & our results certainly supported that theory but I found it amazing that it could have happened in such a short time, as I had experienced red hot fishing there a little over a week ago.
Had we had more time could have moved further upriver to find them but Les was on a restricted schedule so we left on an uneventful trip home having enjoyed a good time together even if the fishing had been far from mind blowing.
We had planned on having two trips out sea fishing in the boat when we arrived back in Auckland once on the West Coast & the other on the East on consecutive days but thankfully common sense prevailed when deciding we would put all our eggs in one basket by settling to have one only. Had been out on the Kaipara recently and the fishing had been red hot, plus we would be able to fish,
gather oysters & set the flounder net so the Kaipara it was.
The first objective was to set the net on the way out to collect on our return, then move on further to fish. As it was close to high tide there was plenty of water to get out but was mindful that coming back before dark could be different. I could not understand why on the previous trip about a fortnight ago the fishing was all on with big fish yet here we were in virtually the same spot & only boating
undersize fish. This continued for quite some time, seeming like it was destined to be a repeat of the fly fishing trip & I was beginning to wonder if Les was a jinx when he finally landed a healthy size snapper around 8 lbs.
I managed one keeper then Les was hooked up on a another nice fish about 6 lbs.
Next followed a ray each & a plethora of kahawai which are hard fighting fish but only need so many so it was decided we would go ashore for oysters as well as clean the fish. I had been a bit concerned about the tide times as the water was still falling & there would need to be at least 2 1/2 hours of incoming in order to get back in which was cause for concern as to if there would be enough light at this time of year to see the channel markers as well as haul the net.. We managed to push out then refloat the boat then head out again to fish whilst the tide built, at the same time keeping a concerned eye on the falling light. We optimistically set off earlier than ideal inevitably running aground a few times requiring we jump over to push / pull the boat but thankfully finally reached deeper water & it only remained to retrieve the net.
Murphy's law prevailed yet again inasmuch as this time there was a huge amount of rubbish caught to the extent the anchors had dragged & it was purely by chance we came across the marker buoys a couple of hundred meters from where we had left it. Somehow with great difficulty we managed to haul it in without getting caught up in the prop or whatever complete with a couple of ky sans any flounder. Was dark by time we pulled into the ramp which as it often is on low tide muddy & slippery nevertheless retrieved the boat onto the trailer without mishap.
Once again had just got back by the skin of my teeth & despite the fact we were already going to be late home elected to have a beer at the nearby boat club which went down a treat. Was a late dinner however the thick fillets of fresh snapper were particularly delectable no doubt because the fish had been kept in a salt ice slurry from the time they were caught.
Clearing the net the next morning of assorted debris which even included of all things a bicycle tail lamp.
Les is currently spending time with our sister & brother before returning to fly back to Cairns on Sunday however plans may need to be altered as sadly a cousin passed away yesterday.
cirrus wrote: Was the breather on the tank open when you last washed the boat down. Could water enter via an open breather.? Not sure how possible that is but close mine down tight as precaution. |
Tasman and Golden Bay snapper still running hot We are not far away from daylight... Read More >
Variety is the spice of life On one recent trip, the plan was to spend a... Read More >
Fish where the fish are! Catching fish or just going fishing? I tackle this issue... Read More >
Thoughtful tactics required for better fish Over the course of each year the fishing varies,... Read More >