June 2010
Bay of Islands Fishing Report
2nd June - We started out looking like canceling our trip because of low numbers but by the 8am this morning we had eight people looking forward to heading out. The forecast was for 15 knot NE winds, showers in the afternoon and some possibly heavy. What we got was zero wind and a couple of very light showers but most of the time it was a very warm trip that was only marred by a rod and reel being lost over the side.
We drifted at our first spot and found reasonable Snapper in water about 20m deep but were also getting hammered by rat Kingis so eventually we decided to try our old spot that had been so successful over the past couple of months. Unfortunately, although there was good sign on the fish finder they just weren't interested so we headed back to the first location and this time we dropped anchor.
The quality of the fish today wasn't fantastic but we did manage 4 Kahawai, 2 Snapper around 2kgs and and about 30-35 Snapper ranging between 30cm up to a kilo in weight. Enough for 2-3 meals per person which in my view is perfect. Plus, the youngest on board caught the biggest Snapper !! Way to go !!
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I didn't get a chance to get any fish photos today but this beautiful rainbow was too beautiful to ignore. Unfortunately the pictures don't do it justice.
Please Note: If you'd like a full version of one of your photos, it's yours for the asking, just send me an email
Plus: I'd really appreciate your feedback on TripAdvisor. Help me become the number one attraction by using this link
Plus: I'd really appreciate your feedback on TripAdvisor. Help me become the number one attraction by using this link
July - We pulled the boat out of the water for our yearly maintenance on the 28th July. We've got a lot planned and there will be some major changes this year. I've decided to blog our progress this time rather than have an empty report for this month and next.
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A few shots of the Arline before the changes
28th June - It's been an interesting couple of days. Everything was going to plan and the Arline was lifted out of the water on schedule and the hull waterblasted. Luckily, I did a double check to make sure the guys knew that I was pulling the shaft for the upcoming survey, so that the boat would be put on a hardstand with sufficient room to carry it out, as the instruction hadn't been passed on. Everything was back on track (or so I thought).
29th June - I was on a course for most of the day so I didn't get to the boat until 3:30pm to find the boat already well in to the cold and very damp shade. The majority of the work I do each year is painting and it usually takes until noon before everything is dry enough to paint and sand. The early arrival of the shade was going to give me a two hour window each day to get the work done and this wasn't acceptable. I spent the next hour arguing with the boat yard management that I had to be moved to a sunnier spot (at their cost). They argued that they shouldn't be expected to guess what each boat was doing each year and place them accordingly. My argument was that the guys should know that wooden boats get painted each year and therefore should be placed in reasonably sunny spots. They all knew my boat and all knew that I spend at least a month on the end of a paintbrush. Eventually they relented and agreed to move me at their cost.
30th June - I arrived this morning and found that the boat had already been moved. The new spot had lots of sun and plenty of room to pull the shaft. All was good!! I had lots of discussions with the fabricator (new canopy), the electrician (totally rewiring the boat), engineer regarding the shaft (4 year survey) and the canvas guy (canvas roof and new clears.) Plus I actually got some work done. The old canopy has almost been removed. We were trying to save as many of the Totara cross-beams as possible and it wasn't easy as there was some serious weight in the canopy. Especially around the guttering where moisture had sat and eventually gotten into the surrounding timber. Anyway .... A lot of weight has been removed and the centre of gravity will have dropped a couple of metres as a result.
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I've been updating various parts of the boat over the past three years and now it's time for the canopy and the wiring.
It's Maintenance Time
Follow our progress as it happens