Newbie News.
Improved my Snappy PB yesterday!!
Let me say from the outset - I'm a Z-Man Softbait wannabe ambassador...
Enjoyable day out on "Over Draft" with Steps and Vinnie The Chef. Every boat should have a Vinnie!
A leisurely mid-morning launch at Maraetai saw us on the water at the 'Bottom End' of Waiheke by 1030 Hrs and getting bites on both smelly baits (them) and softies (me). Smally's though, so we pootled up the channel to a nice bay with scenic views and some jumping fish. (Always nice to fish in scenic surroundings).
The go-to Bruised Banana snared a couple of Yellow-tailed thingys for me which went into the tank for later. I'm told they were Mackrel but I swear these were mini-marlin by the way they fought!
The KY I had on proved to be trained in the art of Catch-&-Release and departed the scene with my Lightbulb and Banana.
Moseying along we drifted across the Pakatoa jetty and my move to curley-tailed Purple-coloured "Mood Ring" paid off and the result was a decent 33cm keeper. All this while Vinnie and his expertly sliced & diced (restaurant quality) Mullet strips were hooking 27-29cm teasers.
Steps was catching Snaps with a couple of decent 35's on god-knows what bait using two rods. He can catch fish with an old jandal on the hook!
Vinnie produced some gourmet chicken-legs as a snack to pass the time when things got a bit slow and (predictably) as soon as you had a hand-full of hors d'oeuvres your reel sounded and the rod bent... Great tactic.
This technique scored us all a couple of keepers each but things were looking so good (on the chicken leg front) that we sent some 31's back to spread the good word.
A wander around some miscellaneous landforms and we chose to drift with the current/wind (towards Whangarei it seemed to newbie me) which proved to be the Holy Grail Drift.
Darker deeper waters led me to unleash the new "Pearl" (White) jerk-shad which I'd bought at the recent Takapuna Top Catch presentation evening (Cheers Kerion). What a beast of a bait this is. Snapper jumped on my hook, literally. Secret Sauce of the day was Anchovie for me (With a touch of chicken leg marinade).
Circa lunchtime now and Vinnie The Chef hands out more seasoned chicken legs which, true to form, caused ambidextrous chaos as snapper hooked on and fingers were being licked.
Then the coup-de-grace moment. Vinnie produced his legendary Secret Scones. Strawberry Jam was the flavour of the filling and they were to die for.
Naturally, with a mouthful of scone and only one hand on the rod I hooked up and the rod bent like an umbrella handle... The Chef calmly hands me a plastic lid for a tray and the fight began. Tightened up the drag a bit and slowly retrieved braid by the metre with each lift/wind cycle.
Eventually we see colour and the net was unfurled to finally raise the 44cm snapper which became my PB. It was fat too!!
The rest of the scone was washed down with a Ginger Ale and my super snapper joined the others in the bin. All told we (3) brought home 16 snaps yesterday.
We coined a new phrase for any snapper on the boat over 44cm to be called a "Sconer".
Some exploring of rocks and landforms, kelp, outcrops and inlets etc rounded off the day. We cast into various pools. The Chef immediately hooked a decent snapper.
I mis-cast my Pearl softie and it hit a rock about 2.5m above sea-level. Gave the line a tug and the bait dropped off the rock into the kelpy water and... Boom, I'm on to something chunky. Turned out to be a large cod which joined the snaps in the bin. Nice big fat fillets resulted.
So - a great day out on flat water with overcast skies, warm enough for shorts, and Vinnies chicken legs and the Secret Scone doing the biz. Lots of fun and back at the wharf by 1715 hrs.
My best day fishing ever with the PB Snapper, 2 x Mackrel and the Cod. Amazing and all on Z-Man Softies. (Hello Paul Senior - I'm available for endorsements/sponsorship!!)
Excellent fishing. Gotta have a Vinnie on your boat I reckon!