"Why did you stop there?" Bennett asked. The skipper pointed at the screen of the fish finder, which showed a big yellow and red layer in midwater. "Those are bait fish," he explained.
Arriving at Flat Rock, he said he liked to fish a rock on the south of the main reef which he circled slowly as he studied the screen. When he was satisfied the boat was above a school of kingfish he ordered the livies dropped, and one rod took off immediately.
Sheila Prince struggled to hold the powerful fish, but eventually the green and silver torpedo lay wallowing beside the boat. Three more were boated and some released, before Allan put the throttle down and Great Barrier Island slowly grew ahead.
"We found some good snapper here yesterday," he said, and soon the Kabura jigs were sinking.
These guys specialise in strange looking slow jigs and other metal jigs called Flutter Bugs. The bugs are dropped and worked up and down on the bottom, while the Kaburas are dropped to the sea bed then retrieved very slowly, with one turn of the reel's handle each second.
"You will feel the snapper nibbling at the skirt," said Allan, "but it is imperative you don't strike. Just wind slowly and when the line goes tight start winding and you are on."
It took the team a few missed fish before they mastered the technique, and Bennett was shaking her head.
"I keep trying to strike," she said. "It is hard to resist it because that is what I have always done."
But the snapper soon started covering the salt ice in the large fish bin, and a respectable trevally was followed by a bright red gurnard, and then a barracouda.
These lures will catch a wide variety of fish, but snapper were the main target and the fish box steadily filled with good eating fish of 2kg to 3kg.
Then somebody yelled: "Look at the shark!" as a fin sliced the water and a great brown shape materialised. "Looks like a bronzie," was the first suggestion, as bronze whaler sharks are common in the Hauraki Gulf.
After the shark had circled the boat several times and swam within touching distance, Allan called, "No, it's a whitey".
Although they are frequent visitors to the Manukau and Kaipara Harbours, white sharks are rarely seen in the gulf. This one circled the boat, had a close look at the blue canvas drogue which trailed 5m away and ignored a bunch of snapper guts.
It dived under the boat, surfacing a few centimetres from the hull and continued its circular beat.
The shark remained for 45 minutes and finally swallowed the head and guts of a snapper that Allan dropped on its nose, then turned and started savaging the drogue.
Sharks are attracted by the electro-magnetic field which emanates from all boats, which is why they are reported to "attack" the lower unit of an outboard motor. This happens commonly, but it is the sacrificial zinc node that is attracting them
Perhaps the sea drogue had a similar effect, or perhaps it just looked appetising to a 3m great white shark. But it was a memorable experience for all on the boat that day.
Bite times
Bite times are 10.20am and 10.50pm tomorrow, and 11.15am and 11.45pm on Sunday.
Tip of the week
Don't go for a swim when a great white shark is circling the boat.
Fresh Water
People visiting the Boat Show at the ASB Showgrounds this weekend will be able to learn about trout fishing in the Rotorua district. Fish & Game will have a stand with an aquarium showcasing the different species of trout, with tackle used and information on how to fish for trout.
