Headed out over the Waikato bar yesterday, flattest bar every seen in couple yrs.
Steady stream of boats going over, from big trailer boats to even a couple little 3.5 m dingies..
Big screw up thu. With early morning 6am start boat nearly loaded up by crew came at 6am here, 1/2 asleep .. check everything , and still had a 'feeling'.
Off to fill up at the gas station, then hit the ramp with a string of big boats behind us.
Headed down the creeks, with the big boats catching up just before the bar.
Check in with CG anyway, over then head to a favorite spot around the 25/30m mark... and birds sitting on the water in bunches everywhere ..
Damn .. forgot the bait, the burly and the bin...
So hooked a few lures up...nothing.. but even with baits takes about 5 or 10mins.
10 mins , nothing.
Time to strip the ham, cheese and salami out of our sandwiches, strip a bit of braid and lash onto the hooks.
Crew just about to drop and " hey a fish just splashed about20m away..
I grabbed the SB rod.. always, no matter where or when, I have a sb rod ready to throw.. Tossed out, got hit but not taken, bit disappointed, then about 10m from the boat hit, and a nice KY.
BAIT
add the baitn to the already ham salami on the hooks, drop couple minutes 1st 45cm snap..
Then a gurnard.
Then a couple sharks, top of the tide, so decided to move to other favorite spot.
Generally the bite goes off by now, but we decided to stay out and get back over the bar 21/2 hrs after high tide, rather than the usual 1 1/2 to 2 hrs, as so calm... limit now was the amount of water up the waikato river creeks to get home.
Another nice snap, KY and gurnard.. then hit with a couple sharks again...then something, big very big, hooked on my line and ran, and ran, drag goes up.. shammano 6000 OC, and still no change in the run.
Down to under 1/4 of the spool left.. still runs.
30lb braid with 60lb trace..
So gently apply a little pressure to the spool, no difference, a little more and the braid snaps just as can see the bottom of the spool. and snapped around the 1/2 spool piont.
Last trip out, this spot, 20m behind us a large black marlin was free jumping, and apparently has been seen in the same area by others...
I would have expected , if a very large shark, for the run to be shorter before running again.. this just ran...and ran.
I have no experience at all in marlin..
So just dont know..
Thoughts???
Ended up with 5 snaps from 40 thru high 50s, 4 fat KY (1 bait) a big mack (bait) and 3 gurnard.
Seemed everyone else had the same idea coming back in at the same time as us...big , medium and small (5m() all in a line heading back up the waikato and up the creeks.
Excellent wide ramp, no hold ups.
Except me.. backing out thu cars, a parked car with person in, in the middle, next to me, resulted in me , jack knifing the trailer getting around him and with fence in front.. Eventually got trailer around and loaded with a 6 or 8 point turn
Another excellent day out.
EDIT: OH and to set the opposite to the guy in the car parked in the middle around trailers, on his phone txting must mention...
the friendly gentleman who was waiting for friends boat to come in, catching boats as they came up to the pontoons ..