Ladies Only Fishing Event
Hosted by the Warkworth Gamefish Club and enjoyed by discerning ladies who enjoy the “all pampered package” fishing trip.
OK, so Dave Adams was right, and I was wrong, holding a ladies fishing competition is a GREAT idea. We all like to go out together, have coffee and socialize, but this is a girls coffee morning with a difference…woohoo!!
Well we have proved it…ladies can have fun what ever the weather. The forecast for Saturday was pretty foul really, but the same number of women as last year went out and had a ball.
As we were leaving to go out fishing, we heard that Nicola Hoverd, put her first bait in the water at 6am and promptly caught a 10.3KG snapper, she was going home because the fish couldn’t fit into the chilly bin. So before we left the wharf, the bar was raised for us to top a monster fish. We got out into Kawau Bay to find a huge flock of gannets diving on bait fish, lots and lots of kahawhai, and snapper below them. It was frantic fishing, with the man slaves running around like headless chooks trying to keep up with fishing ladies. On our boat two ladies put their lines into the water and were both hooked up, before the third had managed to get her line wet.
The weather at that time of the morning was quite good, but it ended up being a mixed day of squalls, overcaste gray, and at times sunshine.
Some ladies, did their frantic fishing while the weather was fine, then retired to a shel-tered bay to have morning tea served by the man slaves, and some of us fished all day.
Everyone came back to the prizegiving having thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The caterers had decorated the room in the Hawaiian theme, and it looked great. Tina Ingham mentioned that she really appreciated the focus being on her while fishing, she picked up some good tips on technique, and answered a few questions she had wondered about for some years, all of which she will need next year, because probably, we all improved our fishing skills.
The new format of measuring the fish rather than weighing, is aimed at being able to re-turn your catch to sea to live another day and only keeping the amount fish you want to eat. It is a small step in maintaining our fish stocks for future generations.
Aaaannnd the prizes went to:
LONGEST SNAPPER
5th place Dominee Williams 49cm
4th Monique Vujcich 52cm
3rd Tina ingham 54cm
2nd Jessica ingham 55cm
1st Nicola Hoverd 82.5cm 10.3kilograms
AVERAGE LENGTH SNAPPER
The average length was 40.375 winning the mystery weekend for two, Sponsored by World Travellers & Southeys Group was won by Louise O’Sullivan with the closest length 40cm
KAHAWAI
3rd Claudia 57cm
2nd Dominee Williams 59cm
1st Jessica ingham 59.5cm
The lucky draw for the Tristram European weekend was won by Shailenne Parkes
Best dressed team was won by the crew on Steve Hunt’s boat . They definitely had more Razzle dazzle than the rest of us .
Lucky skipper draw was won by Cam Rathe in the littlest boat only 3.1metres (which carried the biggest snapper home).
We are thrilled to have great sponsors in World Travellers and Southey’s Group who put together the Mystery Weekend for the average snapper prize. Tristram European sponsors of the use of a Volkswagen for the weekend , Hunting and Fishing for great deals on product and outright donations also. Ruby’s and Scott Macindoe for the Ruby vouchers, Tumbleweed for the discounted vouchers and donation of the orchid.
We would like to thank Matakana marine, Hunting & Fishing and ECM Signs for sponsoring the measures, thanks to the staff on the bar
And finally I think we have to thank our man slaves, you did a great job, with baiting, unhooking, photographing, fetching tea and scones, tuition on how to hook’em and how to caste and how to catch bigger fish than them thar women on that other boat
…see you next year everyone!!