You can but try...

[redsetta]

G'day all,
Just had a week away with the wife and kids for the school holidays and tried to fit in a few fish.
I took enough gear for all of us to get a line in the water, but 'the best laid plans...' as they say.
Within a few short hours of arriving at Wainui beach in Gisborne, my daughter and I came down with a bug from the water tank.
Fortunately my wife and son avoided it, but the week was pretty much a wipe out.
Despite the illness, I tried to get the family up to Tolaga Bay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolaga_Bay) for a fish, but my daughter had a monumental 'technicolor yawn' right through the car within 10mins of departure.
Finally managed a 35-40lb eagle ray (released) and two nice pan-sized kahawai surf-casting right in front of the bach (holiday house), one of which is pictured below (along with our modest, but much-loved accommodation).



After that semi-disastrous effort, it was time to get down to business so I headed off to a mate's place on Auckland's east coast last Sunday.
The Surtees Workmate 5.5 (18ft) pictured below is a cracker set-up for our environs and is apparently proving popular overseas.
It's got quite a deep vee, which handles the rough well and also contains a cavity that fills with water when stationary, making the boat more stable. It simply drains away once the boat's under power.



Just heading out of the bay here - you wouldn't believe we're less than an hour from New Zealand's biggest city.



Steaming out to Kawau Island (http://www.kawauisland.org.nz/index.php).
It's still a bit early in the season for the big summer work-ups, so the fishing was patchy.
Picked up a couple of nice trevally, though, with the larger being about 60cm (24in).



Not much to speak of really, but we were aiming for yellowtail kingfish and spent most of the day live-baiting, trolling and jigging over sea-mounts (needless to say, to no avail).



Just to prove how whimsical the gods of the ocean can be, my mate managed to drop his jig set-up over the side - consigned forever to Davey Jones' locker.
It was a nice up-speced 8500SS that I built for his birthday a couple of years back.
He reckoned he had the 'claw hand' from all the jigging and it just slipped out, so I'll have to add a Tani/Kolekar grip to the replacement I'll build him for Xmas.  
Ah well - as the ocean giveth, so too it taketh away...
Righto, hope you're all well.
Cheers, Justin

[Norcal Pescador]

Hey Justin,
Sorry to hear you started out crook, but it sounds like you finished up fine. (I always liked that term, "technicolor yawn." ) Anyway that's a fine looking boat and a nice catch for your efforts. Goodonya, and take care!
Rob

[redsetta]

Cheers Rob - yeah, it came right in the end (winning the Rugby World Cup certainly helped). 

[Dominick]

Justin:  You have to go back.  We need a better fishing report.  Dominick

[wallacewt]

that 1st photo i suppose you was fishin for bloody mud crabs.you have got to remove the digit justin and get fairdinkum.you won the cup but thats only good till your next fishing trip.

[alantani]

i was just admiring his cutting board!

[Bryan Young]

I was too.  Nice cutting board with rocket launchers.  Very cool.

The papio and tai looks awesome and the perfect eating size.  Thanks for sharing.

[Alto Mare]

Nice fishing rig you got there, Justin. I'm glad some of us  got to enjoy the water. You could probably do better next time if you remove the Heineken from the rod holder and  place a rod there . Thanks for sharing. Sal

[alantani]

you actually put rods there?  i thought the beer bottles were supposed to go there!

[Alto Mare]

I know Alan...just giving him a laugh.

[alantani]

either way, it is a very nice rig!

[broadway]

Hey Justin,

        I'm digging the "stabilizer" that fills a cavity with water while at rest... never heard of that before, but makes good sense to me.  Where is it located on the boat...I assume midship?  Glad to see you got out instead of answering all of our questions here for a change
Dom

[Steve-O]

Nice write up, Justin! Sad to hear about you getting the gut bomb. yech! Like the others already stated the Workmate looks rigged for business. Very nice outfit. Is the kayak around or is the paddle for the boat?

We've had our first couple of snows -on the mountains once and in the valley already, too. So our fishing season goes from soft water to the hard stuff and I don't fish over a hole in the water while freezing and you guys are just getting into your summer angling. I sure am envious of that and of all the lush flora in the driveway.
thanks for sharing.

Steve-o

[redsetta]

Cheers lads - yeah, need to go back and do the fishing justice.
Probably Feb now, once it's warmed up a up - it was maybe 50F while we were there (water temp in the high 50s).

You're right Wallace, the RWC seems like ancient history already.

Got a stack of reels to work through before the next expedition (did four last night trying to catch up - a TR200, TLD15, Sealine and a great little Speedmaster IV). Probably like many of us, it's a hobby that needs to be balanced with work, family, chores etc...

Dom, the chamber runs the full length of the keel, venting air up through the anchor well (and draining the well).
The chamber holds about 85 gallons (320 litres) and adds 660lb (300kg) to the boat.
A flap in the rear is controlled by a draw cord, but we always leave it open.
It's supposed to be good to keep the water in when you've got a heavy following sea, though.
It's a particularly good boat for the beach as it can be launched in just 16in (40cm) of water.

Steve-O, we take the kayak paddle on the boat 'just in case'. The Honda's pretty reliable though.

Sal, I haven't seen too many trailer-boats in the States, but they always come with beer holders in NZ.

Righto - all the best, Justin

[redsetta]

G'day all,
Had another crack at getting into some action yesterday for my mate's 60th birthday.
Headed out into the Hauraki Gulf from the Outboard Boating Club, just a few minutes from downtown Auckland.



We exit the OBC via the Ngapipi Road bridge on Tamaki Drive - the main waterfront road in Auckland.
That's Rangitoto Island in the background - a volcano that popped up in the Gulf about 600 years ago.



The city backdrop in the first pic and North Head in the second.
This was a key defensive position during the wars and is honeycombed with tunnels, rooms, gun emplacements etc - all open to the public now. You might be able to see a couple of machine-gun posts just above the waterline.



Hammers down and heading out...
The action was thick and fast, so there was no time to snap shots while fishing.
Here's the beginnings of the haul.



Coming back to the OBC - the tide's a bit higher now, so we'll have to squeeze under the bridge.



Here's the boat - a McLay 'Fisherman' of about 18ft - which was ideal for three fishos with five rods on the go.
The final tally was pretty much solely snapper, but included a couple of kahawai.



Lastly, the skipper with the prize fish.



Just under three hours of fishing - mostly ledger rigs and straylining - and we were done.
Around 50-odd keepers caught and 25 of the best kept (ie less than our limit).
The skipper's fish was about 10lb.
A great day and a cracker way to celebrate a mate's 60th.
Job done...  
Cheers, Justin