Pickersgill June 2025

Countering another adverse forecast was challenging but after deferring departure by one day we crossed the strait in reasonably good conditions on Friday morning (6^th June 25). Stopping for a few cod on the way in we got to Burneys beach mooring about 11.30am. After getting the dinghy’s sorted and the bait and gas organized, we had a bit of lunch and went across to Pickersgill on LEO towing both dinghies’ so that we could get back to Burneys on Leo when the southerly strengthened in the late afternoon. We decided to try and get the bulk of the south face of the Island baited and gassed before the forecast southerly arrived. It makes that face particularly unpleasant. By splitting up into 4 groups and starting at opposite ends of south line 1 and 2 we managed to get those lines done by about 4pm. The wind was on the rise, getting off weka beach in the dingy was carefully choreographed but successful and we were all pleased to be back at Burneys beach mooring, in comparative clam with a hot shower and dinner on.

Saturday was a blow out as expected with a consistent 55 knots at the Brothers Islands and heavy rain squalls for most of the day. So a late rise followed by bit of a tidy up, and some scones with jam and cream for lunch. Thanks Derek. The weather wasn’t showing any sign of easing up for the afternoon, so Island activity was cancelled for the day. Sunday Monday and Tuesday all had a good forecast and that is what transpired.

We took both boats over to the Pickersgill moorings on Sunday morning and spent the whole day on the Island getting the rest of the traps serviced. It was a bit easier on Sunday than Friday and certainly nicer on the sunny side of the Island. That evening it was very calm on the Pickersgill mooring, but the southerly was forecast to come back a bit overnight, so we returned to Burneys beach mooring about 6.30pm for a very quiet night.

Monday’s objective was to improve the tracks a bit and to finish servicing a small number of traps that hadn’t been completed or didn’t have the right gear when we went past them the first time. It is always hard to cover every eventuality as the traps all need bait and gas, but some need new trap bodies or new chirp caps or perhaps a new chirp cap battery to ensure they are working properly. Touch screens on the phones don’t work if they get wet which makes synching with the chirp caps unlikely to.

It is always surprising to see how much wind fall occurs on the Island and some of the tracks had been blocked by obstructions that were difficult to traverse. Armed with a saw and some pink triangles we set off to renew the worst areas of the tracks and hoped to join a few of our traps that are on down and up spurs together horizontally to minimize the number of meters climbed during a service trip. This is a significant improvement, however there is still one line that needs more work to achieve the desired result. Unusually dense growth and a very steep headland that make this challenging to achieve. Always nice to get back to the dingy on a day like this.

Finished off with a couple of last minute jobs on Tuesday morning before returning after lunch in light southerly conditions which made both crossings better than I was thinking they might be.

The recorded A24 trap activations were approximately 100 down from June 24 but there were still rats around. Have a look at the bottom of the tree.

Next trip October 2025 and then stock assessment trip in November 2025. Hope that is an improvement on last year.