Firth and Papa Aroha get-together

[Schecter]

Going out fishing is very difficult for me to do these days and making fishing videos more so. A lazy paddle on Wednesday morning at the Firth resulted in 5 fat delicious Snapper.

On the 5th of November an annual fishing event takes place in the Coromandel. Rob Fort and the New Zealand Kayak fishing forum have teamed together to hold the event with the briefing held at the Papa Aroha Campground. Dozens of participants gather together for a weekend of fishing, banter and fun.

Myself, Mike and Andrew launched from Papa Aroha to Moturua (Rabbit) Island at 6:00am. The conditions were shit to say the least. 20+ knot winds and a gnarly swell didn't make fishing ideal. We paddled very close together until we safely crossed the channel to Rabbit Island.

The sign looked very promising on the Fish finder so down went the micro jigs. There were many small Snapper being caught so I changed micro jigs to entice some bigger fish. A dozen drifts over this very small patch resulted in 3 x 40+cm Snapper. Another drift over the same patch resulted in a very fat 62-64 cm Snapper. A photo and a successful release is what I needed to be in to win. Soon another drift resulted in very large 70+cm Snapper. A brief photo and many attempts of releasing the fish was futile. This fish was caught too deep and bought to the surface too quickly which probably resulted in Barotrauma. I reluctantly bought the fish home. A change of tide and strong winds made crossing the channel a little scary, but finally made it to Papa Aroha at 9:30am.

This is a fantastic event for families and especially children. I look forward to seeing the old and new faces at the event next year. Thanks to the organisers, participants, sponsors and supporters for another memorable event.

[Snap 4T]

Very video Schecter and respected size fish to. well done, mate.

[Big k]

Nice work there that man ,well done great video, don't forget you need a permit to come into the Firth champ :