Had a great day out yesterday on "Over-Draft' with Steps and Phil.
We launched from Maraitai before lunch on flat calm sea with blue sky, fluffy clouds and a nice breeze and were hooking Snapper a few hundred metres off the beach on our way towards the Waiheke Channel.
Just undersize (Back-in they went) but showing promise so we zoomed towards the Spot-X and stopped a couple more times when the 'blobs' on the sounder were too big to ignore.
Bait was working for Steps and my softys were slow to get going. Some good 32+ Snaps were in the bin then we sat off Pakatoa and caught some good Snapper.
Then the fun started - We noticed the birds hitting the water off our stern and we trolled around them with a couple of 'poppers' (I think they are called) but no luck. The neighbouring boats all wandered away and then suddenly the water began to boil as a wave of Kahawai screamed towards us like an invasion force.
As mentioned in the 'Twelves' thread, there were fish on three levels on the screen. Our main 'problem' was where to cast. We only had soft-baits rigged for casting and threw these into the fray with random directions to avoid tangles. The snapper caught, from below the Kaha's, were excellent pan-sized specimens but the fun was over as soon as it started. Phew!
We motored away ourselves and Steps went for some mussels while Phil & I set about cleaning up the carnage and gutting the snapper.
Newbie that I am I made the cardinal sin error of washing one of the bigger Snaps over the stern with an incorrect grip and was horrified to watch it slip... and slowly sink out of sight away to the deep... It was gutted - I was gutted as well and pink with embarrassment. (You only make that mistake once!)
Some more drifting across the channel gap and we were hooking Snapper again when another bird-exciting swirl-up in the water heralded yet more Kahawai and friends.
Phil had had his nap by now and so he launched his Coconut Ice Z-mans and hooked 2 x Kahawai in quick succession. My New Penny and Bruised Banana which were Snapper magnets were polar-opposites for Kahawai.
I'd never caught a Kahawai before so Steps passed me his rod with one on the hook and I was astounded to see the bend become a U-shape as this beast dragged the line every-which-way but up. Such fun! Finally got it to the surface and Steps netted him so we had three before the rest had raced past en-route to Whangarei I presume.
All of this while having the blue water sparkling in the sun, the green cliffs and clean beaches of the islands as backdrops and the sun getting lower in the sky causing the shimmer on the water to resemble travel brochures of days gone by. Scenic fishing indeed.
We had a long way to go to get back on the trailer so we set off ignoring the sounder screen and 'blobs' galore. The evening run home with lights on was a magical end to the day and the city lights in the distance were a reminder of how close to town you can be and yet be in your own wilderness.
Boat washed, gear cleaned and fish filleted - I was in bed by 12:30 pm.
"Fish of the Day" went to Phil with a 50cm Snapper. Biggest fish I've seen up close. Pic follows.
Biggest fish I'd held until then was the one that got away...