Brad Harris of Team Viking NZBlokes, shares with us his lead up routine to a mothertrip kayak fishing adventure this weekend. Brad is joined by fellow team member Andrew Fletcher, Stephen Tapp of Team Viking Raiders and a few other members of the KFNZ forum community where they are heading offshore to a remote location.
For those who are yet to head out on a mothership trip, I highly recommend you do. The chance to get to somewhere normally unreachable to kayak fishos, fish for new and exciting species that do not see the same pressures from recreational fishing, and learn from a great bunch of like-minded people who are all so happy to be out there and always willing to share their expertise. Target species for this adventure are XO sized Kingfish, Snapper & Hapuku/Groper.
The preparation for such a trip can seem a bit daunting, and I like to try and break it up over a week to try and ease the stress (never quite works out so easy). With an upcoming trip I thought I'd share my (somewhat disjointed) ritual leading up to this weekend.
This is what Grant found Stephen Tapp doing last weekend on a Sunday afternoon when all else was quiet in Matamata, the kayak manufacturing factory appeared to be overrun by tackle with very happy Stephen sorting his options for the upcoming trip.
Day 1: Servicing of reels to ensure everything is up to the challenge ahead and set up the rods/reels I plan to use for the species we hope to encounter (this is done early to leave plenty of time for ordering any necessary replacement parts).
Day 2: Research - If I haven't already fished the area, I like to talk to anyone who has and look at the charts to know what depths and terrain we are likely to encounter. This is usually followed by watching a few online videos of catches in the area, which of course leads to daydreaming of landing one of those monsters for myself.
Day 3: Shopping - Normally not my favorite pastime, but when it involves my favorite tackle shop I'm only too happy to go.
Day 4: After failing to hide the previous days purchases, I'm usually in a scramble to earn brownie points at this stage, so take a day out from any mention of fishing, making a beautiful dinner and keeping the children entertained.
Day 5: Tackle boxes organized, knots checked and re-tied, all fishing rods and tackle are checked off as ready. Kayak gets checked over to make sure all hatches and seals are in good condition, any mods needed are done and all my necessary clothing is checked and cleaned ready for use.
Day 6: Batteries all get checked and charged. No point having fish finders, waterproof cameras, radios etc if they can't be used due to lack of prep. Plus we all want to capture the moment that fish we have been dreaming of finally comes aboard.
Day 7: Pack the car, everything has been checked and should be ready for anything at this stage. This is normally followed by panic as I remember things I have not organized properly, write a list of food/drink to pick up on the way and try to get some sleep (the excitement of the coming trip never lets this happen)
If all has gone to plan (or close enough) it's going to be a blast. Get out and enjoy the fishing, and with any luck you'll learn something along the way. Brad Harris, Team Viking NZBlokes. Expect a full report of this weekend’s mothership trip sometime next week and if you’re interested in heading out on a mothership trip drop us an email and we can point you in the right direction.