Well hard yakker, just n case your curious the boating was predictable.. and not that productive but took from 6:30am ..2.30 pm,. half an hour to get boat ready fuelled and including solving problem (poor maintenance) getting jokey wheel to recline.. fixed now but needs a lube with grease.
Anyway daughter arrived around slightly after seven, her and wife on drive laden with food plus coffee and Prosecco... although I had snuck few beers in chillybin
Launched castor bay... not into taka ramp. Tide well on way in pretty easy. Found birds and kahawai working half way towards rangi, had softbait only small fish . Wife said go to rangi light and daughter said she like picture up close so did that... then had to listen how wife’s grandad caught 3 x 80lb kings in one day there... probably 100 years ago (And 100th time heard story)... on bait though but encouraged me to fire a popper around. I told her there were no kings there this time of year, so eventually we set off round to Gardner’s (nth side of mototap). We’ve caught some great fish there softbaiting over the years but if you ask me is now completely overfished for resident kelpies.
Yes she did manage one pannie and few throw backs. After about 10am I could of come in, but thought we could kill an hour off ECB given effort to launch boat.
We fished longer way off than would in yak. Was couple kayaker out there too, one had launched off castor when we had, other was Darren (well known marine biologist and snapper expert) I suspect..was a campbells bay local as a kid and we went past his dads place this morning,with his yak set up on pavement ready to go.
Anyway they went in and we stayed and fished. Wife went to bait and we didn’t change the 20lb flouro trace, So went straight on 20 lb flouro softbait trace,on with 1/4 ounce sinker, whole flounder head (her favourite bait) with an 8/0 hook. While I managed a nice pannie snap and a bonus gurnard on my strayline, she had little interest for a while.
Anyway I’m not really sorry that a big snapper that came along and ate her flounder head and after a few minutes broke the light trace with its massive head nods near boat... as it saves me not hearing about it for next 6 mths. Almost made cleaning up boat filleting, and packing everything away pleasurable... another hour and a half of my life lost... Was drinking beer so it did make cleaning up washing boat by hand with saved bath water slightly longer than I last remember.
Moral: kayak fishing is best, unless you after marlin. And some people like myself should probably fish alone. That said love taking family out.