Epic mixed bag there :cool::thumbsup:
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Good sea conditions so we got to go out to fish a grouper rock , it didn't disappoint , also got the fattest blue cod we've ever seen too . Sorry no photos as my phone went to the bottom while i was gaffing a puka that had come off the hook :pissed off:
In keeping with the thread title, there are few things like the night before a fishing trip when everything is packed and ready to go (well, there is, but I'm not describing that here!). Good luck to everyone who is out tomorrow! I'll report back whatever the outcome, nothing like a bit of pressure to up your game!
Ok We harvested as much meat off the Harpuka heads we could .Anyone know what to do with Harpuka tongues ?
I have, yes. Yummy morsels of goodness
A very average morning by Northland standards. Rat king did a great impression of a big snapper, so that created a little excitement!
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Out this morning with dad and the kids to try and pick a hole in the weather and catch some snaps.....wind wasnt quite as forcast and with the leftover northerly swell we expected plus the 15 knot souwest pushing chop up against the swell it wasnt very pleasant.
Heading in close to hide out of the wind was effective for the chop but shithouse for fishing in the dirty turbid water from recent rough weather and big tides.....one small panni and lots of dirty slimy flippin red cod[emoji21]
Eventually the weather went as forcast and we headed out away from the murk.
Conditions were still pretty arse for fishing with the wind and tide going in opposite directions but we managed a feed or two of decent snappers but no monsters caught.
The lad got his biggest snap yet and he and I were bloody stoked[emoji41]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...0c61189c23.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d97063d1a9.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...eec5d642b6.jpg
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I took my own advice and smoked up some frames and heads even tho not monsters......that meat from the head is bloody awesome!....just a bit fiddly.
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Vietnamcam...looks awesome mate.....a question,did you cold or hot smoke them?....I have polished the hot smoke of game fairly well.Have smoked for years and love it,gives me an excuse to drown a thirst,whilst tending to the smoker,....but cold smoking,buggered if I can ever get that right,have a hard time controlling that soft temperature.I have 2 smokers, the barrel/box type,and standup,refrigerator type.
Hotsmoking with both is a breeze,cold smoking not so.My bro cold smokes everything,reckons the temp has to be under 38c,and takes several days to do it.Be interested to hear thought,tips,......cheers...
Get one of these and problem solved mate.
Hook it up to anything and great results for cold or hot smoking.
It's called a Smokai.
As you can see I haven't hooked mine up yet but been using a mates one on his farm for the last couple years.
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You should be able to whip one of them up VC. Not much to them I don't think.
Bit of a belated report, VC again took pity on me and tried once again to show me how to catch snapper! I am truely perfecting the art of catching sharks and showed this by boating a spottie dog on the first drop, then escalated things by hooking into a barstard red cod! The wind was doing wind stuff and made it hard for us to sit right to make the most use of the burley.
VC's young bloke and I shared a packet of ginger nuts and a couple of brews of tea, he caught gurnard I helped by getting tangled in everyone's lines. The wind eased and we set a new burley a drift. VC boated a fat brim and low and behold I snagged one to, the tide ran out and the shit fish came on the bite, we pulled the anchor and recovered to hook line. We were rewarded with some more fat snapper.
We all would have preferred them on the rod, but a feed of fresh fish to share is a feed of fresh fish! We had a lazy cruise home, got to the ramp and after yarning to others who had traveled far and wide we had most certainly done very well. With yarns of red cod, spikies and very little else. As I said before VC hunts fish and it is a great pleasure to be in his company along with his lad who is another of young one of life's gentlemen. Polite and full of the joys of life!
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The kingi's are about now according to those that fished up the coast.
Todays trip started with asking the boss early last week if I could take today off if the forcast stayed good......northern west coast is somewhere I have wanted to have a look at for some time but with a bar with a bad rep and seldom good conditions I just never got there....today it come good.
Picked up a mate with some local knowledge on the way and out into the wet.
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Out on the high tide it was plain to see how one could eaisily come to greif on the bar even in the relatively good conditions.
Runnin north to some neat coast line
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That spot chopped up real bad when the swell changed direction and turned the lee side into a washingmachien.
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Nice scenery but where are the fish.
Comming back in I learnt I needed to be half an hour earlier or 4 hours later.
The mouth from the north(death side) and south(best side).....Im well out were Its safe for the picks but in close there are big breaking surf off to each side that woukd eaisily swamp/broach any trailer boat.
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In over the bar a bit shallow!
Not enough water at ramp.....ended up disconnecting and snatch strap recovering trailer out of the mud.
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yup I know of another boat had a few exciting moments there recently, dropped 2m off a wave and skipper reckoned it was very ass puckering, so much so he didn't want to come back in over the bar and was stalling rather than coming in
Out today, first run for the boat as been overseas, for six months, few hours spent on the weekend, fixing wiring on the marine radio, and drain out old fuel and fixing the fuel won't prime problem, and leg won't lower, fricken electrical and salt.
Flat battery at the ramp, sum Idiot, left the lights on in the boat overnight, tow back home charge for two hours and back to the Port,
And not a single bite for 4 hours, oh well, nice to be back in NZ and the weather was decient, after a week of wind.
my boat went on a adventure yesterday too , was similar I didn't think it was going to make it , was touch and go there for a bit . But it scrapped through . A WOF can be stressful :XD:
@VC good mission mate, a place I have spent many an hour.
Did your mate point out the little beach with the big rock bivy on the southern side of the inlet mouth just before the bar. If not have a look on Google earth. Great place for a night.
Also don't be afraid to drop a line in the Chanel inside the bar as it can be extremely productive snapper fishing from time to time. Usually best on small tides 2 hrs either side of low tide b4 current gets to strong.
Well done :)
FRS! All that weed for I'm guessing a pound . https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...942b9c26a3.jpg
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Out today of the port, one just undersize kingy a nice blue cod and four Gurnard., orca were in hunting stingrays a couple meters of the breakwater and in about two meters of water right if the beach. Impressive to watch. Made the day.
Ok how do I post a photo ??
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Hopefully this works, I have been fiddling with the phone for half an hour, don't like the mobile verserion of this site at all, so photo of the photo on the phone, and upload on I-pad.
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Out off Raglan today in 50 metres. Got our limit in an hour and a half. :cool: