It was great to get fishing with a mate again when Gisborne wine-maker Mark Thompson breezed through town
In the last year Covid has really skewered most attempts at fishing with buddies so it was very nice to have some company again.
The breeze from the east was howling and stopped any thought of getting out in the boat. We chose instead to find a rocky point where the wind might be slightly at our backs.
Mark nailed a rat king on his very first cast. This was after me telling him that the first few casts on pure-fly at this spot often produces the best snapper.
The little King reefed him a few times and had me calling it for a trevally. He was very happy to see I was wrong as it was his first kingfish on fly off the rocks. Somehow I got to hold the monster for the camera
We then started berleying, while leaning backwards into the wind and trying not to be blown into the water. I expected a whole heap of small snapper from sub-legal to 35cms to come our way, but they were remarkably quiet. Only one keeper came my way.
What did turn up was a whole bunch of large and very fit kahawai. They fought way harder than any kahawai I can recently remember. They were tearing across the surface of the water with great rooster tails spraying of the line as they charged around. We thought a kingi or shark must be after them, but we saw nothing.
So it turned into a great session with the 10wt getting a real work out. It was so nice to be hooking into fish that had real weight and power. What great fish.
So hopefully Covid buggers off and more fishing with mates can resume