FRIDAY FLASH 25TH MARCH, 2022
FISHING:
The weather has been so bad no-one has been out fishing since last Saturday, so nothing really to report recently. We had a really good marlin bite on at this time last week and that was right on the full moon so plenty of people were looking forward to getting gout there this week with the expectation that the bite should be a lot better just a few days after the full moon. Alas, the weather has dashed our hopes. Going back a couple of weeks there were a lot of inshore species caught with snapper being fairly easy to come by. We weighed 7 Snapper over 7kgs in the CRC Trailer boat Tournament with the heaviest one by Luke Saward on Slaywards a hefty 11.02kg. So far this season the club has weighed or sighted tag cards for nearly 250 marlin which is an incredible season.
JUNIOR TOURNAMENT:
This tournament is coming up once again in the middle of the school holidays which this year is also Anzac weekend. Running over the Saturday and Sunday 23rd and 24th April. Once again there will be heaps of great prizes and the organisers are well into their work. Entry details are available at the club or on our website.
NZSFC YOUTH NATIONALS:
This inaugural tournament will take place over the whole of the school holidays and is a great way to get your kids out on the water competing on a national scale. All details of the competition are on the NZSFC website here: https://www.nzsportfishing.co.nz/
CRC TRAILER BOAT TOURNAMENT:
This tournament was run very well considering the very trying circumstances with limited numbers allowed at prizegiving, and briefing being live-streamed. The first couple of days were bit testing but most boats were able to get out on the third day and quite a few fished all three days. Congratulations to all the winners and a big thanks to our organiser – John Booker from Pacific Coast Marine & Diesel. Thanks also to the main sponsors – CRC, Raymarine and Okuma
KUBOTA BILLFISH CLASSIC:
What a fantastic event last week with 71 billfish either weighed or tagged over 3 days and a tagging percentage over 90%. Prize money given out was over $236,000 cash (no, that’s not a misprint!) and when you include the other prizes, the total prize value was over $300,000. Tom Maxwell from Mad Max Sportfishing did a fantastic job organising the event then running the whole thing including operating the VHF for gamebase. A big thanks to Tom for doing such a good job putting the whole thing together and congratulations to the winning teams. Once again, a big thanks to our sponsors: Kubota NZ, JC Walker Transport, Walker Barrier Hire, Jimmy Buffit Yacht Management, High Flier Sportfishing Kona, Hakula Lodge, Central Motors 2001 Ltd, R&R Tractors Ltd and Agrilife who helped put together such a great prize pool.
STAFF:
Most of you will know by now that we’ve been struggling with staff to keep everything going as we usually do. Our problems in the kitchen have been mostly covid-related and we are optimistic we will be over the worst of this early next week. However, we are still short of bar staff and are looking to employ one or two people in this area. If you, or anybody you know, are interested in a part time position in our bar, please contact the office asap. Experience would be good, but training can be given to the right applicant.
WEIGHMASTER:
There is no doubt that the Mercury Bay Game Fishing Club has one of the largest assemblies of weighmasters in the county. They are all passionate about fishing which sometimes creates an issue – they all want to go fishing when there’s a tournament on! We are on the hunt for more people who are interested in either becoming a weighmaster or simply assisting our current weighmasters, especially during our tournaments. It won’t be a difficult role and is almost always a lot of fun with excited people bringing their fish in. Nobody will be put outside their comfort zone, but it is an important part of all our tournaments. If you think this is something you might be interested in, please let us know in the office.
CLUB NIGHT RESUME:
Due to the relaxation of restrictions in the current red traffic light setting, club night will resume with draws etc from next Thursday 31st March. We look forward to seeing you all back.
Tight Lines
Alan
