First time jetski fisherman Josh Rudd threw himself in the deep end, signing up for the 2019 SeaDoo Monster Snapper Hunt, held in Doubtless Bay…

The comforts of fishing off a boat are half the appeal of a day’s fishing for me. I remember when my dad went through his jet-ski fishing phase (a right-of-passage for any male entering middle age) about a decade ago. He came home very wet one day after suffering a return trip in atrociously windy conditions on the ski, and reckons he was envious of the amenities had by an old 14 foot Sea Nymph motoring through the swell along from him. Not the best first memory of what the sport entailed. From then, I just thought of jet-ski fishermen as those mosquito-like characters who turned up to your spot, then departed just as quickly.

When I was told by Grant Blair that we were booked in for a jet-ski fishing competition in the Far North, I didn’t really know what to think. Although I consider myself a somewhat experienced fisherman, I had never a) actually fished competitively before, or b) fished off a jet-ski – the combination of these two points meant it was unlikely I’d be a force to be reckoned with come game day. However, I’m nearly always partial to trying something new, and a trip to the beautiful Doubtless Bay is definitely nothing to complain about, so I decided to embrace the trip ahead.

On midday Thursday, we headed for the Ramada Resort in Taipa. This would be the base for the Sea-Doo Monster Snapper Hunt in Doubtless Bay hosted by Andrew Hill. The set up at the Ramada was ideal – a tidy little utopia looking over the beach at Doubtless Bay which could comfortably accommodate 60-odd jet ski fishermen. We met Denzil Chetty from Yamaha there who kindly lent us a Yamaha FX HO WaveRunner for the weekend. After unpacking and settling in on Thursday night, Grant, Denzil and myself sat down for some strategising over a few lagers.

Friday was day one of the competition. All anglers were to launch at the Taipa boat ramp for a 10:30am shotgun start just off the beach. Sixty-five excited anglers launching at the same ramp would usually be a mild conundrum (at the best of times) but it was a surprisingly smooth operation. Everyone pulled together to get the job done. One bloke helped 30 people launch their skis before worrying about his own. This kind of camaraderie was to be a recurring theme throughout the weekend.

Once all skis were launched, contestants idled around in a spread-out group behind the surf on Taipa beach waiting for the shotgun start. After losing Grant to the flotilla of jet ski’s waiting on the water, Denzil and I hatched a bit of a plan as to where we would go. “Just follow me” were his last words I believe. Andrew Hill sounded the horn (though him yelling “bullrush” might’ve been just as fitting), and we were off – full steam ahead. What a buzz – 60 odd jet skis side-by-side going full throttle for the horizon, but with winds of around 20 knots, the water was snotty at best. Needless to say, I lost sight of Denzil in the jet ski stampede after about 10 seconds of high speed action.

I found myself (and just myself) a nice sheltered cove a few hundred metres southwest of Knuckle Point in Doubtless Bay. I alternated between a slow jigging and soft-bait set up while trying a few different drifts within the general area. The bites were few and far between, but were enough to keep me interested in my new spot. Within ten minutes I was on the board with a nice 5lber in the bin – hardly a podium fish but my first catch off a jet-ski nonetheless. I ended up fishing this spot until about 3pm, pulling in five snapper between 5-10lb before heading back to the Taipa ramp to make the 5:30pm weigh-in.

The Ramada resort was humming when we got back. People were everywhere, heaving chilly bins off skis, washing down gear in the sun and clinking beers at the bar. Tales were already starting to circulate about who had caught what. Come weigh-in time, everyone lined up their chilly bins in front of the scales in the Ramada pool area. There was a prize pool of $5,000 cash with heaviest, average and mystery weight prizes, meaning everyone stood a chance at taking a prize home and there were snapper of all sizes in the line-up. After half an hour of cheers and laughter, weigh-in wrapped up and everyone dispersed in preparation for dinner.

At dinner, the camaraderie continued. Mates or complete strangers, no one sat alone and everyone shared yarns about their day on the blue. The Ramada put on a great buffet dinner that all the hungry anglers were stoked with. After eating, Andrew Hill announced the winners of day one. Nathan Young won 1st place with his 10.55kg snapper, and Fishing News’ Grant Blair did the company proud by taking home the average weight award. Excitement was in the air as everyone plotted their day two tactics over a few drinks.

Spirits were dampened on day two by the sub-par 30 knot conditions. Grant, Denzil and myself played it safe and motored out a kilometre or so north-west of Taipa Beach. Despite the WaveRunner handling the chop with ease, the conditions weren’t suited for jet ski fishing so we came back to the Ramada at midday with a few snapper binned up, none of which were podium contenders. After the second and final weigh-in that arvo, Andrew Hill presented the awards at dinner. Neville Shirley won day two with his 9.75kg snapper, although Nathan Young still took out The Sea-Doo Monster Snapper Hunt gold for biggest snapper of the tournament. Dinner then segued into more of a sports bar atmosphere where anglers gathered to watch the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals while some sweepstakes did the rounds.

Denzil Chetty settling in after a speedy commute to Spot X.

Sunday was the gem, weather- wise, at less than five knots. Despite the comp finishing, a group of newly-acquainted mates, myself included, all met up at Rangiputa boat ramp to head out wide. The ocean was a millpond which allowed us to get to our spots very efficiently, with many of the mob motoring out at just shy of 100km/h. All sorts of creatures were being pulled from the ocean: big snapper, barracouta, kingies. Denzil sorted himself dinner for the week when he managed to snag a respectable hapuka on a jig while targeting kingfish. It was this day that made me realise there was enjoyment to be had in jet ski fishing despite my initial doubts, and it was certainly a day that I’ll remember.

Competition host Andrew Hill stoked to see conditions improve.

A big thanks to Andrew Hill for putting on the 2019 Sea-Doo Monster Snapper Hunt, which ran as smooth as silk. To see so many people enthusiastic about fishing in one of the nicest parts of our country was a priceless experience