May 2010 - Part 2
Bay of Islands Fishing Report

17th May - We had a Sole Charter today which was made interesting in that, apart from the interpreter, most of our clients had very little knowledge of English. On top of that they were all new to fishing on a boat. This was our first trip in 11 days and we were confident (fingers crossed) that the long spell of bad weather had brought in the fish.

We headed back to our last trip's spot as this was beginning to show promise just before the storm. It turned out to be a good decision, although our first couple of dozen fish were small, suddenly we hooked into a 6lb Snapper. The fish from then on proved to be a consistent 3-5lbs and definitely a huge buzz to our group of novice anglers. Today's catch was topped off by yet another John Dory (this one took a bait of white squid.)

The weather was stunning, no wind, dead calm and the quality of the fish for this time of year was brilliant. The biggest buzz for me was experiencing the excitement of group of people who don't share a common language but can still communicate their pleasure, be it with a smile, a thumbs up, pat on the arm or an enthusiastic handshake at the end of the trip which makes my job worth doing every day.

Thanks to Raymond for his translating skills. His group got on well together and obviously responded to his team leading skills.

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John Dory anyone
One of todays many Snapper
The excitement is obvious after catching his 3rd great Snapper

Unfortunately, due to the language barrier,  I never got to know these guys names but their obvious pleasure tells it all.

It was a trip that I enjoyed from beginning to end.

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Group Photo which catches the day pretty well

22nd May - The weather is very changeable at the moment so it's real battle getting people together on a particular day when the weather is good. We finally managed it today and although we only had four people, the weather was so nice it was going to be a crime to miss it. Besides it also gave me a chance to fish (which is always good.)

It was a strange day with the fish being very fickle. Judging by the constantly moving charter boats, we were not the only ones experiencing difficulty. The day ticked along with Snapper ranging between 30cm and 2kgs coming aboard sporadically. Everyone was commenting on the beauty of the day so any fish kept were a bonus. The end of the trip resulted in the perfect amount of fish kept for everyone. Not too much or too little so all was good.