A 20lb snapper from the Coromandel

Trip Report - Weekend 16/17 September 2006

The weekend started several months ago with the concept of a group going to the Coromandel, using small boats and sleeping out completing a night fish.

As time got closer details were finalised, numbers grew and then fell away as other commitments meant some of the party were not able to make the trip.

The week before saw amazing days and visions of a great weekend were being sown, however a front was coming. The SW gail warning would have made it very uncomfortable at Spot X where we were heading.

Therefore late Friday night we revised plans and the four of us were now heading to Spot Y on the Coromandel.
Thus 3am Saturday morning arrived and with our vehicles loaded with the usual fishing gear, boats, and kayaks etc we pulled out of Auckland. The usual banter on the way down created a great atmosphere.

We dropped into Spot Y just after daylight, the bay was like velvet. The sight made our smiles and hopes grow even larger, and we all congratulated ourselves on changing the game plan.

After unloading the vehicles and boats were in the water our fishing commenced. The sea conditions opened up many possibilities as to what rock we sat upon. We could have gone anywhere close to shore, however offshore you could see the sea conditions were getting lumpy.

The day unfolded into another great days fishing. Many good snapper in the range of 1-4kg, and some large kawahai were landed. The day started to slow down as we were starting to tire and thought about heading back to set up base camp.

Things changed when my rod went over, and the action began. It has been awhile since my last good fight with a large fish. Once the orange/red swirl was seen on the surface I called for the gaff. I knew the fish was a good size due to the fight that was being fought. As usual when the fish saw me he had one last big run at my feet. By this stage Gaffa was waiting, and when the fish calmed down, and was at our feet the Gaff was set.

Once upon the rocks and I felt the full weight of the fish, and could see the tail up close,  I expected this fish would go over 9.1kg.

After the celebrations were we weighed the fish - 9.42kg.

The rest of the weekend was usual, with more fish, a night fish. The weather turned dog on Sunday, however I still managed to get a line in the water.

The weekend was great, another 20 lber to the list, however the highlight for myself was sharing the fishing experience with some fisher people with "less experience" than myself, and seeing their face change when they saw a big red horse up close. This was the largest fish they had seen, a lot larger than their usual.

I believe we take photos for granted when you see them in magazines or in articles, however it is not until your arm starts aching while the photo is being taken that you can really appreciate the true size of some of the fish we catch. Seeing a fish of this size in person installs that dream of catching a bigger one, and encourages many others in all sorts of ways.

Many thanks to Gaffa, Aaron, and Phil for a great weekend. 

Tight Lines,

Geoff