I spent 8 days in the kei with the family. Always great to be able to spend time with my parents, brothers (missed my sister) and our kids. Nice for them to be able to spend easter with granny and grandpa as well.
I arrived on good friday, having woekn up sick as a dog with a head cold from hell, with my nose running like the shad on the south coast in june. Needless to say I was grumpy.
The satusrday I was feeling too miserable to fish, so we stayed home and played witht he kids and waited for the rest of the family to arrive.
Suday my dad and younger brother launched early tyo get bait, while my older bother and I stayed home to see if the easter bunny had arrived, which he had done. We were supposed to go out around 8ish but decided to stay home with the kids and let my cousin and his mate from the usa go out. They are about to sail my cousins yacht back to the usa later this month. They returned around 2pm with a decnet bag of redfish, including one I have never sen before. it looked like a hybrid of an Englishman and a snapper orf sorts. I am waiting for pics to see if anyone knows what it is.
My boet and i dived for a few crayfish and gotr a few but not many.
Monday the 3 brothers lauched early, and left the gilly to get live shad from the bricks for us. he was to call when he had some. The call never came sowe went south to mbolompo area. He then called to say he had our livebait, but too late. The fish were biting but not commiting. Tghey just would not pull you down. We got a few decnt reds and caught a tagged brown rock cod, that had been tagged int he same area by my brother about a month earlier. It looked a bit worse for wear, but after some coaxing, it went back down.
We decided to run out to a famous wreck int he erea that holds some potentiasl. it was my first visit tyo the wreck. We had about 6 runs over her, with only 2 pulls but they only killed the live bait without eating. I think we lost atleast 2 sinkers of 1kg a piece per drift, so decided it was a bit expensive on tackle so trolled home. The rurrent was ripping and the sea beautiful and blue with a few little bonnies aound. we trolled for hrs only getting the bonnies for our efforts. By this time a HUGE storm had built up inland of us and moved between us and home. it was moving fast and we could see the massive lightning bolts all over and big rain and wind. Onother storm was moving in seaward of us and was just as if not more "lively".
We started running as fast as the sea would allow (55km/h) with the storm edge geting within about 50m of us on por port side. The lightning bvolts and the cracks that follwed were simultaneaus. We had to run around the storm. Of course the fuel would run out right then on both motors. A rapid cange of tanks followed and much praying that we did not get struck then as an open fuel tach could have caused a nasty Bang.
a few white knuckles and we made it home, wet, but safe and 120l of juice down.
Usually ther lightning puts the bottom fish off but next am my dad, younger boet and myself headed off. The day started badly with me having to climb under the trailer on the slip to bolt up the springs wxh had snapped the bolt that holds all the leaves together and as a result the axle had shifted and jammed up the wheels. Full of grease I headed for the rocks to get a few shad. We gotabout 10 shad for the live well and were off. we headed out deep on a nasty sea. The swell was huge and it was a bit choppy but the forecast was good. The current was pumping so only 2 down at a time. 2 live shad took a forced swim down 110m. I had hardle settled when i got the unmistakeable smash of a ciopper eating. feed him line wait for the pull down, wind like hell, nothing. Repeat, he was back, repeat the miss, three times. taht was one hngry copper that got a free meal. I pilled back the well chewed lips of a 40cm shad. Next drift, repeat, hit bottom, the bite, wind like hell rocks, and sinker gone. 3rd drift i went for a bonnie fillet and sard soft bait as i was using up the shad fast with my dad not getting a bite.
Hit bottom, wait a few minutes and the bite came. Hit him and vas, as we drove up on the fish to get it back to a striahgt up and down fight the copper started nodding and the hooks pulled. Now I lost my cool and threw my toys out the cot. 14 months without a decent fish and missing 3 in 3 drops and I was not ammused. On my 5th drop I got the solid take again (the 4th drop I got a blue skin which got eaten by a shark, and my dad sitll hadnt got a bite) and finnaly VAS properly. The fight of one of these fish is incredible especially on baid where every tail thump is seen on the rod and felt. Much backwinding due to the swell size and my lower back and kidneys gfeeling like i was being punched there, and finally colour and up popeed my 1st copper since dec 2009. A decnt fish I called about 28kgs, which ended up being 30kg gutted (around 33-35kgs). I was pretty chuffed to finally have broken the curse I had had since my broadbill in march 2010.
I gave up so the others could have a turn. We teried it all, but not eben a bite. to the others. we moved around and eventually got 2 brown rockcod of about 8kgs a peice and then found a spot where the fish were biting. i was driving against the current so the others fished. We got 2 big +-15kg wreck fish in 2 drops (they have never been caught at this spot before and usually frequent the same reefs). as they are illegal to catch both were rerleased, one easier than the other, ansd we called it a day. we didnt want to rishk anothe r wreckfish.
The west pumped for 2 days and friday was my last shot. We laucched late (decided against watching a pommie TOFFS getting married). Tghe sea was that beautiful purple 25.2deg. splendid. I had just put out the 2nd lure and on. a 5kg skipjack IDB. Nice bait. As I was letting oput again we had 3 lhits from more skippies so we stayed in the area. We got 2 more. We were in 50m of water in an area we always see marlin so i gigged one on a bridle and swam it on my penn nt 30. Didnt have big stuff. I held the line in my fingers so i could feel what was happening. we did this for an hr and as we saidf time to quit live baiting, the fish got excited and then smashed. Nylon burns to the fingers and a pounding heart i fed it and struck. Nothing. Pulled in the head of the bonnie. Bloody tax man, but hell that take on a livy gets the adrenaline going.
That was it for the day. We trolled the sea flat but nothing else.
So all in all a decent holiday. a few decent reds, 1 30+kg copper, some good rock cod, a we bonnies etc.
I also took 2 trips up the river with grandpa and Isabella (my 3yr 9month daughter). The fist trip she caght a very decent river bream of about 2kgs on a rapala. She battled a bit with the grinder, but managed to land it. i stupidly forgot the camera in the car. She was happy tyo let it go. The 2nd trip she managed to land a 1-1.5kg River snapper (nkula kula). This took her into the trees on the bank twice so i had to help her pull it oput of there. This was caught on the rod i won here on UA from Big G last year. Thanks again.
I said before I would be as happy as if I caught a 30kg copper for her to catch a fish, well i got both so all in all happy Days.
She just wants to catch more now so I have an aly from now on.
