Will Johnston: The one that got away...

This is not your usual fishing story where someone hooks a massive snapper and plays it for hours. There was no grunting and swearing and calling the fish names. Though to be fair, its parents probably weren't married, so that nasty name you're calling it while struggling to bring it in is actually accurate.

This is about all those weekends over summer I let get away by missing the opportunity to get out on our amazing inner-harbour. I have a boat that I can use any time. It's in my garage, less than 20m from where I sleep. All I have to do is tow it out (once I've got the junk off it that in variably builds up on any stationary large item in a garage). Sometimes I'm amazed at my own laziness.

I went last weekend-and loved it so much I went twice! Launched at Sulphur Point, we don't know how lucky we are to have the free and decent access ways we have here. I'm getting better at backing a boat trailer. I imagine you could get a fair few laughs sitting at a boat ramp for a day watching how bad (and awesome) some are. It's like real-life MySky; if you want to see that stuff-up again you don't need to rewind, there'll be another along shortly.

In the beautiful sunshine and flat water we floated past the massive container ships at the port, watched people ski past us just off Matakana Island and did that kind of awkward wave people do as boats pass. I felt like a proper boatie. Except I let my excitement show!

I suck at fishing. I've accepted that, but I like it nonetheless. Out of the three of us we landed four fish-in two days! Two kahawai and two small kingfish (undersize, thrown back).

Fisherman are like sheep. They see one going to, or stopped at, a particular spot and they'll anchor up next door and have a go there too. Then another one sees those two. Then another. For all we know, the first dude there could have just decided to fish there because his kids were feeling sick, or his wife was over getting the sea in her face because he was going too fast. I know this because we stopped for lunch and to look at the view of the Mount, and because we were stopped we dropped a line. Then another boat turns up. Before we know it there were nine boats all fishing the same 100m. None of us catching a thing, I wonder why?

(Will Johnston is co-host of Will and Bridget in the Morning-Classic Hits 95FM Breakfast Show in the Bay of Plenty. Listen every weekday from 6-9am.)