Jurassic Park

Just fresh back from a whirlwind trip to New Zealand I am quite awestruck with the place. Having only been to Christchurch before I found the rugged beauty of the North Island quite something and I can't find the words to do it justice, but Jurasic Park come off the top of the head, quite awesome. In summarising this trip, we traversed above the Bay of Islands at out of the way Whangaroa to avoid strong winds further south however we still met some uncomfortable conditions either side of one calm day where we made the absolute most of it. Whangaroa is a famous marlin port and we were definitely 'out of season' but it was a better option than sticking with the plan to fish the better known Coromandel area when the weather dictated we would not get out as we were fishing from a 5.5 meter trailer boat - the decision to stay or go is one of the many dilemmas in fishing.

We had pretty much no idea where to find the fish however a quick scan of a nautical chart revealed many a submerged pinnacle worthy of an explore and they did not disappoint. The bigger kingys that I was longing for were scarce but the sheer numbers of fish pretty much made up for it. Bust up after bust up provided a unique layer of birds, mako sharks and schooling trevally on the surface, kahawai just below, then rat kingfish, snapper mid water and then lower down numerous pesky jig stealing couta and some bigger kings of which a few provided a quick rub off on the ample reef testament that we had our chances. Jigging, soft baiting and surface luring all produced equally and quite simply, I am busy planning my return trip when the water is a touch warmer. Hope you enjoy the images.