What a day, in fact firstly let me say, i have been fishing since I was 4 and i’m 38 and in all that time today ranks in achievement 1st ! and the thing i caught wasn’t even a fish ! . But let me start at the beginning..

My day was dedicated to improving the worldwide fishing club today as it is most days and i was deep in it when Steve arrives and mentions he would like to go and buy a new fishing rod and would I like to come for the drive and help him out.. Sure i will i say as he’s the best mate a bloke could have and i want him to get something that works for him so off we go tackle hunting..

One hour later after trying every reel almost in FCO and hunting and fishing on every rod I feel we have found the winning set , Steve forks out the $200 odd dollars we have a quick chat with the boys there and we are off.. Well with new rod in hand its only fair we take it out to give it a go right ? , and so we do...

We arrive and its every cent the money , Steve loves it and about an hour later some fish arrive but im keen to get home and get my gear, so Steve drops me home i grab my gear and im off down to catch a live bait and go for a kingfish ..

I arrive back to see a few good fishing mates and One of them is a really nice guy called Ra , hes as keen as you get and puts in the hours but still hasnt been able to land a kingy in over 3 years of trying !  tonight hes brought his brother who’s new to fishing but also keen , ra runs off in his car on a mission to get a live bait brother stays put yet gets one where he is and throws it out .. Ra comes back with no live bait about 30 minutes later , when just as he arrives his Brothers rod starts screaming !!  Next thing he hooked up ! Isnt it always the way , beginners luck wins every time..  Anyway credit given when credits due , after a pretty good fight the 10.4kg kingfish is landed MUCH to the dancing delight of the angler and about a 40 strong crowd that has gathered to watch the big fish being caught in the middle of our city waters , we really do live in a fantastic city.

Then a strange thing happens must have been just 10 minutes later as the suns going down , when the fishing should be the best ! everyone just packs up and leaves ! Knowing the fishing is only gonna get better i think whats going on anyway 3 of us stay behind ..  Dion a friend of mine who i havent seen for at least 18 years myself and one other that i could see anyway ..  Well the fishing was hot I started with a good screamer thinking great, its a big snapper as they tend to come out about now , get the fish in and its about a 4k elephant fish not bad fish at all get a picture and release it .... 

Then next cast ...  I look over Dions into something good looks like a ,, hang on ...  Yip im in as well ... Yahoooo .. Mine was a good gurnard (yum that will be breakfast)..  But Dions on something bigger its clear to see ... could it be another Kingy ! After a good fight he gets it to the wall , yip its about 4kg Kingfish we call them rat kingys and they are undersize here as the legal size is 75cm so its release time , still a kingy is a kingy here and a great fish he is grinning ear to ear as he only gets to come up to wellington for kingfish once a year for a few days .. ... 

Fishing stayed great for a while I got another much bigger elephant fish but then all of a sudden .. I cast out ..  AND BANG   sinker snaps off ,, i think bugger got to re-tie my hooks etc .. i look up and think thats weird the top half section of my Custom Made surf caster that i have had for 22 years ! my absolute most prized Possession period, we are taking GOD like status is gone !!! Half my rod is missing!   By now its about 11pm and there is only one place that tip section has gone :( thats into the water and i have no idea where but i know its not close and its in deep water well well above my head and its pitch black ..... 

Ok so my first thought is this cant be happening it must be behind me this has never happened before and tonight has been an amazing nights fishing, this just couldn’t happen  .. But it had happened and then i thought ok well, im swimming but wow its gonna be cold its pitch black out there and i dont have any idea where to look ...  I say to my mate hold my gear i have no option i have to try , and im gonna go home get my wet suit and jump in and have a look ..

Clearly by now everyone thought i was nuts, yet a strange sense of calm came over me and although i  knew i was up against it big time i was gonna do it , there was no option for fail im not giving up on that rod , honestly if anything happened to that rod id have a funeral for it.. wake and all ! I think to myself ill swim all night if i have to!  So i jump in my car I RACE home with a million thoughts going thru my head, like would it sink or float i couldn’t see it on top, maybe its drifting.. will the tide take it out or bring it in ? what ways the current going, where would it be if it drifted in the morning.. How will i know if it sunk or floated .. I get home get my wet suit on see a Tupperware container for juice think that must be water proof if it holds juice and theres a guy down there with a LED light maybe i could put that in here use it for a light underwater  :)  far fetched but ill try anything.. i get back already in wet suit now ..  My first hurdle is getting in the water as i  think thats a pretty big jump into the water .. but i dont think to much and next thing i know im jumping  in .. ..

Well that worked im in I swim around a bit then soon realise theres no show without my weight belt because i cant get even a meter down and cant see a thing from the top this light is nowhere near strong enough ... BOys ! pass down my weight belt will you,  i call out just throw it ill get it .. Sweet ...  OK now i can dive .. I swim out , figure ill just swim straight at first and work around from there .. I take a big breath ( lucky i have been practising holding my breath from youtube videos recently )  and down i go with juice container in hand to the bottom .. Feels like i been swimming around down there about a minute  just being able to see a meter around me at any point was pretty creepy, knowing very well there are a load of massive sting rays around me everywhere i go , im happy to just see Jelly fish and a bunch of sea weed ..  Then there it is on my first attempt at a million to one odds the tip of my rod is right in front of me ..  No shit I still cant believe it right now as im writing this .. At that point in time I feel the happiest person in the world, of all the fish ive caught im my life the happiest moment in my life as a fisherman was finding that rod tip hahahaha ..   as i still have to swim to the surface but im in no need of air thats second to the feeling i have going on at this moment ,  i have a very cool moment to myself as literally sit down there that will never be forgotten ..

Then knowing very well everyone up top watching and waiting while im crazy enough to be even in this water, maybe hoping for the best are pretty much sure there is no way ever i could find my rod and probably would never have even tried to go diving at nearly midnight to retrieve there gear , are all up there waiting, I swim up to the surface slowly holding the rod above my head eventually holding the rod out of the water and as i scream .. " I FKEN FOUND IT ! "   the cheer goes up !   and may the rest be history :)  

Honestly the best nights fishing i can remember period ~!   Had i remembered to take my clothes back down with me i probably would have stayed there all night .. But as i had no clothes was wet in a wet suit i packed up came home .. am writing this and ready to go to bed a very happy man with my rod ready for tomorrow ....

Hope you all are well and enjoyed my little blog .. Tight lines to you all ..

And may you all have as good-a-luck as i have had tonight

Cheers Rob