'Ohorere' - Bay of Plenty by Mark Kitteridge

I’ve been having some pretty neat times around Mayor Island recently and my 22-hour trip with Hugh 'Hughie' Ensor and his charter vessel 'Ohorere' was no exception.

I met up with him and one of his regular charter groups early on Saturday night at Mount Maunganui wharf. At the time, I was trying to appear nonchalant and professional, which is hard to do when the boat is about to leave and you’ve accidentally locked the car with your keys and gear still inside. As a result, some rather embarrassed introductions were made while I made a rather brutal attack on the door-lock with a coat hanger. Fortunately for me, it turned out that one of my new-found fishing mates had the necessary skills to get the door open again, after which they helped carry all my stuff over to Ohorere.

I was learning why Blue Ocean Charters had been so keen for me to join this charter; Ivan, Mark, Wayne, Willie, Henry, and Gail were really friendly people — and keen anglers to boot. There was plenty of room on board to stow our gear. With a length of around 60-feet, Ohorere has space to spare — especially inside, where she boasts the biggest saloon I’ve ever seen in a boat of her size, along with plenty of berths.

Once the decks were cleared, the mooring ropes were removed and Ohorere reversed out powerfully, the whole boat shuddering from the torque of her big V12 engines. Back into ‘forward’ and the wharf slipped quickly away, accompanied by the crisp hiss and pop of beer caps being removed.

First stop was the sheltered harbour of Mayor Island. As darkness had long since fallen, crewman Dave Mitchell rigged up the spotlight and fifteen minutes later our first visitors wriggled into view. Initially they were a rather motley assortment of whitebait and krill, but when the mackerel and squid moved in after them, it was time to bring out the flies. I fished just long enough to get 15 or so mackerel and show Mark and Willie the basics... before quietly sneaking off to bed. Five hours later we awoke to Ohorere’s big engines roaring into life. An early start often pays with puka, and everyone on board was obviously keen.

As Hughie guided us out of the harbour calm, the chill wind stung sleep-warm bodies and the predawn sea seemed black-grey and unfriendly. We scurried back inside for more clothing. With the puka grounds only a couple of miles out from the island, there wasn’t much time to get our gear together and bait it up.

On arrival, Hughie chugged around in an effort to see where our best chances for success lay. When you’re out on the deck, all togged up in harnesses and holding big outfits and monster baits, this always seems to last an eternity: 'Just stop — anywhere! I don’t care! Let me start fishing!'

Fortunately, Hughie is immune to such telepathic pleadings, but finally the boat slowed, went smoothly into reverse, and the much-awaited call was made: 'Okay! Lines down!' Plopping splashes occurred within seconds of each other, with Ohorere’s long walk-around decks easily hosting the seven of us (and sometimes the three crew as well!). Fortunately, my menacing Dynabraid line had successfully banished me to the very back of the boat — no-one wanted me anywhere near his nice, soft nylon line!

I had only been down for a few minutes when, tap, tap, tap - a fish! As the bites continued, I slowly lifted the rod and abruptly it began to pulse vigorously as the morning’s first hook-up was made. Although not quite the size I was hoping for, the fish eventually proved to be a small bluenose of 4 or 5kg and was the only fish of the drift.

Now that Hughie had a more accurate idea of how the boat would travel in the wind and tide, he was able to line us up better for our second attempt.

I had only just got down again, when boof, my rod folded over and 37kg line was pulled from the reel. This was a better class of fish!

Fighting strongly throughout much of the ascent, I began to worry that I had hooked a shark, but to my relief the weight finally lightened and the line began to angle away from the boat. Moments later, around 18kg of fat bass popped onto the surface, its body stiff as a board from decompression and covered in handsome cream and chocolate markings. Dave reached over with the gaff and whipped it aboard.

Up at the pointy end, it looked as if Henry had his hands full, too; his rod was wrenched hard over and line retrieval was slow but steady. Ten minutes later we saw why when two good-sized bluenose were brought to the surface. Way to go!

And this was only the beginning. Although the fishing was not as good as it had been in recent weeks, a dozen or so bluenose and small bass still ended up on the deck, as well as a few oddities. These included a double of frostfish (courtesy of yours truly) and a 3kg rays bream which took Ivan’s bait halfway up on the retrieve. Both species make particularly good eating.

Ivan can thank me for the fish of the day, too. At the time, I was snagged up on the bottom and trying to bust-off. Despite an almost locked drag and thumbs hard down on the spool, that bloody 37kg Dynabraid refused to break. The result was that I held us perfectly over the main pinnacle for almost quarter of an hour — even after cleating my line off on the bow bollard!

In the midst of my problems, Ivan hooked up and a stubborn battle ensued. I left my cleated line to look after itself and picked up my camera instead. After ten minutes of pump and wind, Ivan was rewarded by a rapidly angling line, followed shortly after by a loud whoosh of escaping air as his fish literally erupted onto the water’s surface — a true hapuku this time, and a good one.

It weighed over 27kg, Ivan was happy and relieved; 'thought I was going to miss out this time', he quietly confided as I snapped a couple of photos.

With enough fish around to keep us interested and only five to ten knot winds to gently jostle the jade-green sea, the day went by far too quickly. When we finally had to leave, there was a very happy crew on board and a bunch of fish to clean and gut. A couple of the guys helped Dave with the task while I skived off for a chat and a glass of apple cider with the skipper — after all, I had a job to do, too.

Ohorere is thoroughly comfortable to be aboard (the inside saloon is truly massive and full of beautifully varnished fittings, as well as a TV, a stereo with cassettes and a cell phone) and a pleasure to fish from.

Space is definitely the key: our seven fishers and three-man crew were easily swallowed up by Ohorere, both inside and out. Down below, there are sufficient berths for 12 passengers plus crew, and two showers to wash crusty salt and bait bits off tired bodies. She carries 1,000 litres of fresh water.

She’s fast, too. Twin V12 Mercedes motors push her along at a cruising speed of 10-14 knots and provide a top end of over 20 — that’s pretty good for a 60-ft boat. It means that she’s able to get to some pretty neat locations within quite limited time frames, but with a 4,500 litre fuel capability, multi-day trips are not a problem either.

Her mobility helps her to cater for a wider range of charters, including line, hapuku and game fishing, as well as diving and sightseeing cruises. Custom combos are easily accommodated, time permitting.

There are 30 rod holders for the keener fishing charters, and of course the fully walk-around deck is a real feature. With both a freezer and icebox on board, all caught fish can be kept in good shape.

A helpful list of recommended fishing tackle is sent to prospective anglers: a nice touch that I think all charters should provide, as it certainly helps to have a fishing group that is well prepared for whatever eventuates.

As for her sea-keeping abilities, Ohorere handled the occasionally choppy seas very well. Although a reasonably narrow beam suggested she could be a little tender on the drift, a compensating water-hold successfully kept her stable when we all lined up on the opposite side, and proved useful for storing our fish.

Bait is supplied on request, as is catering. The on-board generator produces 240-volts and there’s a compressor for filling dive bottles.

With two galleys provided, anglers generally look after themselves, as does the skipper and crew. (Fortunately for me, everyone made sure I was well catered for, particularly by John Duff, who was unofficially a half-and-half fisher and deckhand). Tea and coffee is a standard service.

Then there are the skipper and crew. Both Hughie and Dave are good keen men who obviously have a real passion for the briny. I found Hughie to have extensive knowledge of the BOP area and knew how it should be fished. Because I was fishing constantly, I didn’t get the opportunity to talk to him as much as I wanted.

Like his skipper, deckie Dave is a practical, helpful and uncomplicated sort of bloke. Although he enjoyed fishing with us, he somehow still managed to be around when he was needed. He assured me that if we had been less competent and had there been less space on deck, he would have left his gear stowed and been on hand to help anyone who required it. While steaming back, Dave quickly sorted out what needed to be done to all the caught fish and ripped into it, ably accompanied by a couple of willing fishers.

Ohorere is just one of three well-proven craft owned by Blue Ocean Charters. Two other boats, the MV Te Kuia and the MV Ratahi, are long time residents of the Bay of Plenty scene and very consistent fish-catchers.

Brief summaries of the two boats are as follows: MV Te Kuia: built in 1978, she is 50’ in length and powered by a GM 6 71. She cruises at 9-knots, has all the necessary electronic navigational and fish finding aids, and is ideally suited to 25-30 passengers. Tea and coffee is provided.

MV Ratahi: built in 1938 and with a length of 46’, she is also powered by a GM 6 71 and steams at 8-knots. The Ratahi is ideal for 20-27 anglers, but with only a 2.5’ draught, is also the perfect harbour cruiser. She carries the usual electronics and cellphone, and tea and coffee is part of the service.

Having three boats at their disposal means that Hugh and Raewyn are able to cater to most requests and needs. In addition, because they are situated in the midst of a very prolific fishery, the variety of fish species is huge and it’s possible to catch them in some really neat locations. I really enjoyed myself.

For further information, contact Raewyn at Blue Ocean Charters Ltd, 07 578 9685 or 025 773 339, fax 07 578 3499.