I had a call from Grunta the other day it went something like this:
"Smudgie! The weather is looking terrible for Friday, I'm thinking of going fishing on Diversity, are you in??".
'Well that depends Grunta, I don't go fishing with just anyone you know, who else is going?' . Grunta reeeld off a who's who of the fishing industry with a couple of fishing.net names thrown in for good measure - perfect!
'Ok Grunta, I guess if everyone is keen to fish with me, I'm in'. I replied trying not to sound too excited.
'Meet at Diversity, Pier Z gulf Harbour at 6.50 Smudgie & don't be late like the last two trips!" said Grunta with a stern tone to his voice.
With those words ringing in my ears I forsook the traditional maggot pack at the Service Centre on SH1 and went straight to the big boat. First one there! Yeah! More satisfying than a Warriors victory that was. Next to turn up was John Eichelsheim of NZ Fishing News. A real gent & a great fisherman, it was good to have him onboard with us again. A couple of minutes later and everyone else was on board except for Boulder. So far we had myself, John, Grunta, Tony Wheeler, Spencer Roff, Bruce Duncan, John Elliot & Peter Tracey.
Boulder had been 'held up' by an Armed Offenders Squad road block, luckily though he slipped through the net (must have been a HUGE net Bouldie
). Pretty soon though we had Boulder on board but while we were waiting I tried my best to talk Tony into taking Boulders corner on the good ship. Boulder always claims the spot on the forward port side, conveniently located close to the flushing toilet on Diversity. Tony, although not a frequent fisherman wasn't born yesterday and didn't rise to the bait.
Boulder turned up in good time & Captain Chris went through his safety brief and we were underway on a dead flat sea. Within a minute we were out of the marina and facing ever worsening seas and some shoddy looking weather. Perfect!
A double rainbow had the cameras clicking away, a really beautiful sight in the early morning.
As usual we drifted the middle ground somewhere between Tiri & Little Barrier in around 40m, the only difference between this and a typical Diversity trip is the fish were only small.
Tony got the first good fish
As the drift progressed the fish slowly got bigger and soon Spencer landed the fish of the day.
The pics as always don't do the weather gods credit, they literally worked up a storm for us with the rain hosing down for a time. it would be more accurate to say the rain was hosing in because it certainly wasn't going straight down - it certainly had a sideways aspect to it.
Despite the weather it was a very enjoyable trip and what I learned from of it was that although we considered the fish small and the fishing only average, we all took home some lovely pannies with an average size of 40cm or so. Am I spoiled or what? What a wonderful place we live in, going out in less than desirable but perfectly safe conditions with a bunch of great blokes and getting some of the nicest tasting fish in the ocean.
Without a doubt inchiku jigs were the go. My choice of Gulp Crazy Legs wasn't a bad choice though and along with the obligatory nuclear fowls the soft baits dealt to a fair few fish. Smelly baits came a distant third, producing plenty of fish but almost universally throw backs.
Straylining expert Bruce Duncan was the first to give baits a go, wisely opting for a dropper rig and circle hooks which are ideally suited to the conditions. I tried the same setup, as I usually do but soon reverted to soft baits with Bruce going for the inchikus.
Here's Peter and Bruce sharing a special moment:
I've been lucky enough to fish with most of these guys before and one word of advice I consider to be the most important of all when it comes to fishing tips is this - fish with as many different people as you can and learn from what you see them do.
I've learnt a few things, Grunta is the perfect host and a takes a the best fishing pics - he even knows how to fish!
Boulder is the keenest angler I've ever met, he once turned up on a Diversity trip the day after returning from a two week YFT expedition in the Gulf of Mexico, absolute legendary stuff.
Spencer always has an inspirational tale from the Kaipara that somehow makes me feel guilty for not returning to the place that taught me the gurnard code and is a real nice guy to fish with.
Tony was on his fourth trip ever on the sea but his freshwater skills he brought over from Missouri ten years ago did him proud, catching some nice fish.
I have never fished with Bruce before and he was using tackle that would look right at home in my shed. He did have a fancy little yellow rod that he used to devasting effect when he conceded baits weren't the best option for the day, proving he has plenty of tricks up his sleeve.
John Eichelsheim really knows how to fish a soft bait, his hook up rate would be twice that of mine, using lighter braid, lighter jigheads and is a good guy to fish with and learn from.
John Elliot - this guy deserves a medal. I've fished with a lot of people and while everyone has their day, each time I've fished on Diversity with John he has consistently caught more fish than anyone, His secret? Well he uses Daiwa tackle and Daiwa Pirate jigs exclusively but there's more to it than that, others use the same gear too. He has a sixth and seventh sense, the man is a freak and I mean that in the nicest way possible. A great guy and a truly great fisherman.
Peter is a mate of Grunta's and these two make a great tag team - plenty of laughs and friendly rivalry and that is the best learning of all, fishing has to be fun.
Captain Chris of course is an integral part of the Diversity experience, looking after his clients very well. It's a little strange having someone net your fish, iki it, remove the hooks and put it on ice when you're used to doing all that yourself, the guy works hard for his money and made the day a very enjoyable experience even in driving rain and lumpy seas, way better than work.