FISHING
Fishing is generally the best it has been for a long time both inshore and out wide. There are some really nice snapper being caught and most popular spots seem to be holding fish. All around the Mercury Islands, Cuvier Island, and for those that don’t wish to travel far, the river is also giving up some nice fish. Out wide, many experienced fishers are reporting their best ever game fishing. Quite a number of boats have experienced ‘pack attacks’ with numerous marlin taking multiple lures at once. Due to the difficulties this can present, catch rate is probably a bit lower than normal but it’s extremely exciting nonetheless. So far this year the club has over 100 tagged marlin recorded with 19 stripeys, 7 blue and 1 black marlin all weighed.
WHITIANGA DIESEL/COASTLINE EXCAVATIONS TAGGING CLUB
Once again, thanks to Jason & Rod, $5000 cash will be handed out to someone at prizegiving that has tagged a marlin in local waters for the Whitianga Diesel/Coastline Excavations Tagging Club. There are a lot of entries so far and also many multiple entries. This is the year to get out there, tag yourself a marlin and be in for a chance to win this fantastic cash prize.
TRISTRAM MARINE OPEN
This tournament is in full swing and with the exception of yesterday the weather has been reasonably kind to us. We’ve had plenty of fish either weighed or tagged and the club is doing well in the NZSFC Nationals as well. John Neighbours (convenor) has once again done an excellent job organising all the prizes and will have to dig deep to supply all the reels, rods and combo’s won by people tagging marlin in the Tristram Marine Open (64 fish so far!).
THANKS
The club relies on volunteers on a regular a basis and I won’t name everyone right now but there are a few people that have gone above and beyond the normal call of duty for the Tristram Marine Open and the Nationals. Thanks to Melissa Ford (and her daughter Lexi) for getting away from work early to get to the weighstation at 3.30 each day, also to Joe at Placemakers for letting her go. Bill Skinner and Margaret Neighbours for keeping their ears glued to the radio all day. John Neighbours of course for all his time and energy organising the whole event and Caroline in the office for all the extra hours she’s put in this week so we can stay up to date with the results in both the Tristram Marine Open and the Nationals. Thanks too, to all the other people helping at the weigh station and to Craig Scarrott for taking care of our recycling while Scott and Debbie are away.
CRC TRAILER BOAT TOURNAMENT
This is the next competition on our tournament calendar and runs from the 10th-12th March. There is a fantastic early bird prize of $10,000 worth of Raymarine Electronics and you need to enter by March 4th to be in the draw for this prize. Also, the first 200 anglers entered will each receive a magnificent looking long sleeve shirt that looks great and is well worth having. Get your entries in a.s.a.p. and keep your fingers crossed that the fishing stays as hot as it has been this week.
Tight Lines
Alan Proctor
