Weekend of Fishing

Dave went fishing with a couple of buddies Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night. Jill tagged along one night, and stayed back the other two. Dave also went fishing Sunday during the day with a few of our neighbors. The snapper bite is on fire right now. These are good size snapper between 10 and 20 pounds. A small 80 pound hammerhead was also caught and released on Sunday. Everyone in the neighborhood is feasting on fish this weekend. Every bit goes to use here, not a drop wasted. What one family doesn't want they pass on to the next. Fillets are eaten. Heads are smoked or boiled. Other bits are used in the garden for fertilizer.

Serious Rock Fishing Day 2

On the second day of rock fishing with Marty we went out from the afternoon until sundown. We took the boat north about 3 miles to Black Rocks. It was a wet ride out with the strong wind, but the sun was shining bright so it was still warm. We found a nice flat rock to fish from, that was quite small, being only about 15 feet wide by 50 feet long.

Jill won the award today for most fish caught! She was still hoping for a kingfish on the live bait she quickly caught at the start of the session, but had more luck with the snappers. She got a really nice 15 pound snapper that was a hoot to catch on 20 pound braid on a Shimano telescopic rod. She also caught a 10 pound snapper, and a tiny little snapper. We released the 15 pound female and kept the 10 pound male. Dave ended the day with a count of ZERO, but he enjoyed himself being out in the ocean gaining experience and watching Jill catch fish. Even though Marty was a bit disappointed with the low number of fish caught, he was happy to get some great footage on the video camera today. We ended the day fishing with a gorgeous sunset over the mountains. Fantastic Day!

Serious Rock Fishing Day 1

We have attempted to rock fish multiple times in the last couple of months, but all attempts have failed to provide very good results. So, Tuesday Nov 22nd we went on a "real" rock fishing trip with a man we met here who does it for a living. Marty Benson took us to a rock about 5 miles

out via his small boat/dinghy. It was the three of us and a camera man, as Marty is documenting his land based fishing trips. We spent 14 hours fishing from a 30ft by 60ft rock that was about 30 feet tall at its highest point between two islands in the Pacific Ocean. We fished from several different spots on the rock in different corners and jetties. Jill caught several live bait kahawai and then spent most of the day trying to catch a King fish on live bait. She never caught a kingfish, but she had some fun catching a few small

snappers on another rod. Dave caught several small snappers and two ten or eleven pound snappers. Dave also caught about ten rock hind, which are more of a nuisance than a success. We were also able to get some fresh green lipped mussels, which grow abundantly here in New Zealand.
Rock fishing proves to be more difficult than it appears. There are many obstacles other than the obvious seclusion. First you have to get to the rock you want to fish from and that isn't easy. Maneuvering around these rocky surfaces takes some practice, there isn't much give when you trip or fall into barnacle covered rocks, so you have to be very careful. You really have to watch the rhythm of the waves and plan your moving based on the ocean. When fishing, the edge of the rocks will grab your line like a magnet and then you end up breaking it off. Dave and Marty both spent quite a bit of time making and tying new rigs that we lost in the rocks. If you catch a fish and you allow your line to get snagged on the rocky edge you will lose your fish. Being mindful of all rock edges above and below the water is a must. We both learned a lot on this fishing trip and had a great time. While it was a bit difficult it was a new challenge and we have a great respect for people who catch huge fish from the rocks. We are hoping for even better results on day 2.

Suicide Cow

A few days ago we were driving south on the main road to do some errands. It was a bit of a rainy day, but other than that it was a normal drive. The two lane road here in New Zealand is a bit curvy and quite steep at times, so when you get behind a large truck they are usually going slower than you want to be. You have to wait a bit until the road straightens out or you get to a passing lane to get around the slow moving trucks. So, while heading into town we got stuck behind a cattle semi-trailer. These are double decker trailers. The bottom deck just has windows for ventilation, but the upper deck has a completely open roof. So while talking in the car we notice something black poke up for a second on the top of the truck, but it disappears so quickly we don't know what it is. A few seconds later it pops back up and we realize it is a cow head. Interesting... but not to big of a deal. But, as time passes the cow is getting more and more of his body into the air. We really thought he was going to jump out of the trailer and slam into our car. Dave had to back way off the truck as this crazy cow was literally trying to jump out of the truck. He was frantically rearing up and getting his front hooves over the side. A few times the cow had both his front legs and shoulders over the side. Luckily after about ten minutes of preparing for the cow to jump we were able to pass. Unfortunately we didn't have the good camera, but we did have the i-Phone so we snapped a quick picture as we passed the cow. This is just of his head sticking up, but we swear at times 1/3 of his body was over the side. We aren't sure if the cow made it to his final destination or if he attempted to fly.

Lately

The last week we have just been hanging around laying low. Since we got back from our trip to Taupo our goal has been to chill and save some money. However that doesn't mean we haven't had any fun. Dave got a really great deal on a short term golf membership at the local course so we are there a few days a week. Dave has really improved his game with all the practice he has been getting. Since Jill has been spending so much time watching Dave play, she decided it is time to learn to play herself. She took a lesson with Caroline Bon and played her first game of golf on Wed the 9th. Well it was actually only 4 holes, but it was still her first time. She surprised herself with how well the first day went.

Unfortunately a few weeks ago, our friend Jason who we have been fishing with, wrecked his boat and sent it to the grave, so we haven't been out on the water lately. He did get a new boat a couple of days ago, so he and Dave are working on getting it ready to go into the water. Hopefully we will be out fishing in it sooner than later. We did go out rock fishing one day this week, but we didn't get any keepers. Dave caught a couple fish that were to small and Jill gave up and enjoyed the scenery instead.

The weather here is getting warmer and sunnier! We are excited to be wearing shorts now and getting a bit of a tan. It can certainly still get chilly on overcast days and at night, but we are glad to have put the coats away. We get the morning sun on our deck, so we like to sit outside and play dice, read, or whatever else.

Other than that... we are just enjoying ourselves in this wonderful place!

Recent Pictures

Picture slideshow personalized with Smilebox

Shrimp Fishing

Monday Oct 31st we left Taupo and drove to Auckland. After being on the road for only a few minutes we decided to stop at the Huka Prawn Park. At the prawn park they are raising fresh water shrimp commercially, as the amount of shrimp in the sea is being depleted. They have 19 separate ponds that are thermostatically controlled where they have the ability to raise 32 tons of prawns per year. They allow guests to come and enjoy a day of fishing in a few of the ponds. (Is it called fishing or shrimping?) You get a bamboo pole with about 6 feet of line and a little hook and sinker on the end. Ox heart is used for bait. We fished for a couple hours and ended up with 10 prawns to take home. We actually really enjoyed ourselves. It's almost embarrassing how much fun we had!