So it's been nearly a year and your president has been in absentia but i've been.. you know.. busy.
Anyway, i'll fill you in on the details sometime. in a nutshell it's been work, save, xmas, get a mortgage, buy a house, move, rent the flat downstairs, sort out the garage, etc etc.
but that's not what i'm writing about today.. i've kinda taken to fishing (when i can) and thought i'd detail my descent into the fisho's world on the blog .. along with other ramblings. Today for example i was to go fishing with my mate G who unfortunately had to bail last night. The idea was to try out north head over by Devonport on the mighty Waitemata... not sure what they catch there but the idea of casting off the shelves into the channel seemed like a plan.
With G having to tap out i decided instead to pop over to Birkenhead Wharf on my tod. Always aiming for change of light time (which works in well with getting back early so as to hang with the boy and her indoors) I had planned to get there about 6.30 - being 4 hrs after high tide (apparently the waitemata is best 4hrs after low and after high), and around moonset (apparently a day or so after a full moon then moonset or moonrise is best), and with yon ken Ring's bite time being about high tide of 7-30is.. it seemed the odds were in my favour.
my tide chart is here: http://ofu.co.nz/webgraph/index.php
and ken's fish calendar with bite times/good bad day etc detail here: http://www.predictweather.com/ArticleShow.aspx?ID=343&type=home
Picked up a berley bomb and frozen pillies at the bait shop yesterday but didn't end up using either - the pillies are usually too soft and with all the talk of eels, rays and sharks off the wharf i didn't want to bring around these types so left the berley in the bag - not typical as i'm a firm believer in berley and ground bait.. Instead opting for cutting strips off a fresh mullet i bought for about $4 (cheaper than frozen pilchards even!).
Took three rods, but only used my 10ft surfcaster and my softbait rod - both gifts from my old man at different times. One big thing was to get bait in water asap on arrival - seeing as i got away a bit late and didn't hit the wharf until about 7 this was even more important. In the past we've messed aroudn with rigs etc for ages before we even get a shot at the fish. I grabbed the first leftover rig in my box (a 1.2m chunky trace with two hooks and about a 3 ounce sinker (2in below the second hook - not really ideal) hooked on some mullet and hiffed it out.
There was only one other guy there, an asian fishing for kahawai with a balloon float... not very enthusiastically mind you.
After a few casts i turned to the softbait rod and rigged up a tiny sinker with a hook which i ran through a random brand silverish soft bait... it looked the part when i pulled it in through the water with minnows/sprats chasing it to the wharf. By this time the asian guy had left and another guy had rolled up with his kid (around 6yr old maybe?) and the day was shaping up bright, clear calm and lovely. While i was messing around pretending i knew what i was doing jigging this softbait i saw my other rod twitch and grabbed it before it took off over the side of the wharf, got my wind on and without too much trouble hauled in a 57cm (from tail v to nose) Kahawai! (much to the delight of the kid!)
I was stoked! - that was dinner sorted... and considering the rig, bait etc i really hadn't expected anything at all! A good knock on the noggin and i cut the connection below the gills to bleed him out, took another nick closer to the gills to get him pumping blood as one should with Kahawai (to prevent the meat being dark and bitter). He fair gushed blood which was great as i've hear they pretty much go to sleep dying of blood loss like that and i really want them to die fast and painless as much as possible (not the case this time). I hung him over the side while the blood finished off pumping out and he wiggled like billy o'. Thinking that would be him done i was surprised when ten minutes later he was still slapping the ground despite having lost half a liter of blood+.. i tried to stab (read iki) him in the brain with a knife and pretty sure i got the right spot (a couple of cm behind and above the eye) but his tail sticking out of the bag still had the odd movement in it another good ten minutes later - buggered if i know, i'm doing everything i can to kill 'em quick and humane (barring carrying around a salt ice slurry) but if they won't bloody die then I give up. Cover their eyes and pretend they're long gone i reckon.
Anyway - after that i threw out some more bait, swapped the softbait for a chunk of mullet and a little bigger sinker so i could cast it and ran both rods looking for one more opportunistic kahawai.. but no joy. not too gutted due to the feed in the bag which i think i'll fry up with some beer batter for the fambly tonight. A good morning's work and a bit educational too - less onlookers and being by myself meant i was a bit less self-concious about running odd rigs or not looking too switched on with gear sprawled for africa... end of the day i reckon it was a luck fish but tells me those kahawai will try anything (luckily for me) and keeps my rep as a half decent fisher folk intact ;)
Look forward to having you along next time for the trophy grab G' - game on as always.
good luck all - i'll pop on and recant my earlier exploits for posterity sometime soon.
Rock n roll all.
Your ever lovin' president
Dobbo
ps. fer them what's keen, check out the current competition at marine-deals.co.nz for a crack at a charter on a 140ft boat - cool.
