With my daughter turning 10, she has been able to attend the MAAC Juniors on Sunday mornings.  This is an awesome morning for the kids with a great venue and equipment for swimming, diving, boating, pool, table tennis, beach volleyball and other ball sports, and the list of things to do goes on and on.  Backed up with a Committee and volunteers that do a wonderful job, it is really a good well managed experience for the kids.  The method that I particularly like is where the groups of kids get to choose, from the large range of activities, what they do for a few hours under supervision.

On the first day of MAAC Juniors a few weeks ago, I was asked by a parent if I could take her daughter for a fish on the beach (where they came and watched of course).  Weedy, swelly, and with “beach worn” gear, it was a challenge.  Lots of pickers but the young lady did manage to catch a fish, although very undesirable, and it was her first ever.  Kids don’t care, it was a fish that she caught and that was the best thing – never seen that much happiness over a blowie.

I found out a bit later that the person that used to help the kids with their shore fishing had recently died.  Apparently the Club lost a real character that will be missed by many.  What could I do, “yeah ok I’ll help the kids with the fishing this season” when it was explained and I was asked.

I haven’t had the hornet out for a couple of months so it was in need of a run.  I watched the Juniors dingy navigate a path through the inshore reef to the Club so knew there was a way in and out (very swell dependent though).  The Sunday weather forecast was for fresh easterly winds dropping off throughout the day, with 0.5m swell.  OK, let’s see if some kids want to go out and give it a crack.

Instead of fishing the inaugural MAAC Rock & Beach comp on Saturday, YPM’s (although he is 16 and doesn’t fish anymore!!) footy team kids and dads end of season trip to Rotto was on (booked months in advance).  One of the dads has a 6 month old 52 foot Riviera that has to be seen to be believed. My schoolboy error was to plan to get up the next morning bright and early to do all the things I had committed to.  It was a quality day for  the “boys” though.

I must say that I was very disorganised.  I had none of my burley, nothing rigged up and the boat hadn’t been used for a while (and it was the first time I had taken it out of the garage at our new place).  Get it out, start the engine, check everything, hook it all up, go to the shops, go to the MAAC to pick up anything helpful I could find, and launch at a busy ramp.  The highlight, in hind sight, was that I could scab out 4 stale bread rolls from the bin at the shop for burley – my wife was embarrassed for me when I told her I did this.

The daughter was not happy that I asked her to come to the ramp and hold the boat as I knew it would be busy (potentially missing time with her friends, and dad was going off fishing when she didn’t want to) but we did get to the Club on time.  What do you know, 4 young fellas came down the beach and hopped in.  A quick safety briefing and off we go.  We stayed close first up and the highlight for the boys was undoubtedly their first experience in seeing what the Minn does on spot lock (no anchor?, how does it hold us?, I want my dad to get one of these!).

Unfortunately, my disorganisation meant we had to waste time rigging up but while I was showing them knots and rigs the conversation was really good with the young fellas being very knowledgeable for their tender years, and their fishing stories were great.  I must say I missed my burley as the spot we went to had never failed me in the past, but it did.  After trying for a while we had no choice but to go out a bit wider to Terry’s Pike Spot, which is a noted performer.  Although I have the mark, it can be located by lining up landmarks and it was good to explain to the boys about this – the old pre-GPS tried and tested method.  I dare say they will be able to fish this productive area for many years to come.

I then remembered the rolls.  These were the only form of burly that actually worked and after a while we had a heap of herring boiling at the back of the boat – happy days.  The boys were all over it and everyone ended up with fish – I told them we would only keep a dozen (3 each).  Lots of bites and lots of action with hook-ups, drops, leaping herring and the skill needed to get them on the boat without a net (no need to net the herring).  The double and triple hook-ups were an absolute classic.

The only downer was that while one boy who was standing on the back raised deck was asked to move so a recently caught herring could be put in the live bait tank.  He stumbled and dropped the rod into the drink (lucky it was a “beach worn” model and not one of my combos – I would have been swimming for them).  That’s the second rod to go over the side recently (sarcasmo – I hope the new one works well), and I hope this is not the sign of a trend.

Time was moving on so we relocated and gave a sand whiting spot a quick go.  No luck but no matter as it was time to go in.  Dropped the boys back at the beach safely and then had to get out through the reef with not much prop in the water, not much keel on the hornet, 15+kn winds trying to blow me onto the reef and all the legend MAAC fisherman watching on from the weigh in for the Rock and Beach.  Anyway, it was close but I learned more about the reef passage that will be useful for the future – my method was critiqued back at the presentation.

What a great day.  It wasn’t about getting a big bag of fish, it was about taking kids out and trying to teach them a few things.  The smiles on their faces as they showed off their fish and walked out with the fillets made all the effort worthwhile.  I certainly look forward to doing it again when conditions allow – and being a bit more organised.