Labour weekend provided an opportunity for a mission! 2 boats, far north and an opportunity to fish

some rocks a loooong way away!

First stop was for some bluenose which certainly played the game. 100lt+ Icey Tek full by 9am! Time of year meant small males made up the quota, fantastic eating but not quite the rush of the big females. First drop and game on! Fish from about 4kg to 10kg ish. Johan (Otter) getting into em.

  

A few small bass also joined in, doubles were on! Ian (Baru) getting a morning workout.

The other boat, Dealers Choice chose to have an early morning snap session and nailed two 20lb+ fish on the first cast! Awesome job lads! Bluenose box ticked, 10am what to do? We had a massive plan for day two so chose to head in for a snap session and a few beers! Snaps were all holding in about 40-50m and once on top not hard to rip into. Nothing really big for us this time but plenty around 6-14lb. Good times and rough as!

  

A raft up that evening in flat calm conditions and a over a few rumbos the plan was confirmed to head wide to an area that is largely protected by weather and distance. First drop set the scene for a hell jig session on kings and puka.

This spot can produce some real pigs at certain times of year. First time we have fished this spot in October and size was down a bit with fish in the 12-20kg bracket and the odd smallish puka. Action was non stop... not many jigs came up without a fish on.

The topwater set and new stella got an introduction to what was ahead, and a bit of practise for our islands trip. Hardwork compared with a jig! Johan described it a bit more colourfully than that!

5 hours later and the body was wrecked! Time to do some prospecting. Most spots we stopped at produced more hapuka, bluenose or bass around the 10-15kg size, great eating and heaps of fun. Bins were full and it was almost time to head home when we loaded up on a goody! Hello MR Bass, about a 35kger.

Fantastic end to a hell trip. Great fishing, great mates in a very special part of NZ, makes life feel pretty good. Monday was spent with a mommoth fillet session. Many families have eaten well the last week!

Finally heres a shot of a nice bluenose from a bit earlier in the year that is worth sharing, a 33kger and had a 15kger on the other hook! Great fight from 350m!