190306mokes

I took Julian, his mate James, and Mike Cadisch to the Mokes.

We dived the old monster-kingy rock, which was worth it because I found out there are several pinnacles there, not just the one I knew. I actually lowered myself to taking my big Rob Allen 140 with the 8mm stainless shaft, just in case I saw a really big kingy. Vis was a dirty 8 m or so and the current was ailing. I decided I would only shoot a kingy if it was really big, like over 40 kg.

A few kings cruised around under the school fish, but they were only about 15 kg. Finally, during a nice slow dive on the front of the pinnacle, a big fat kingy swam up to me. I lined it up whilst trying to get a handle on its size, then decided it was about 60 pounds. So, I let it swim right up to the spear tip and watched as it waddled off into the depths. All day long I cursed that I should have had my pole spear, because this would have been a perfect opportunity to land a reasonable kingy with it.

After that we headed for Navire reef, where we dived with some dolphins and Mike shot a kingy of about 16 kg from out of a tightly packed KY school. His kingy was unusually dark green, and its belly quite dark. Definitely a kingy, but just dark. Funny that. The KY had lots of bite marks and were packed up into almost a meatball - makes you wonder why... .

There were no goldfish on the shallow wall where the Crayman gets them. Maybe they were deeper, I couldn't be bothered going further down the cliff past 16 metres as I am too unfit!

We checked out Groper rock. The water was bluer there, but still with lots of salps. Vis maybe 12-15m. I burleyed up a free-swimming snapper and very nearly got close enough for a shot with the knitting needle, but it shot off. I only saw a couple of small kingies there.

I swam through a small gap, and noticed something big thrashing around on the wall beneath me. It turned into a 2.5m bronzie, trying to eat a small snapper that had tied its fishing line around some kelp and died. Then, I looked up ... to see.... about 50 or more big snapper schooling midwater, from a depth of about 20 feet to 40 feet, just drifting in the current and circling.

The bronzie swam up to check me out and then bolted when I threatened him with my pole spear. So, with him gone, I tried to whisper in the bigger snapper, some about 8 - 9 kg. They just circled safely 20 feet away. I talked myself out of burleying them in with some blue maomao, due to Mr Bronze probably still being below me, somewhere down the 80 metre vertical wall. James shot some pinkies, and Mike got some KY.

Mokohinau Islands
19 March 2006

Finally, we headed to the Lagoon. Mike whacked a nice boarie, one of several he saw on the sand there. Julian swam around spooking as many snapper as he could. I paddled forlornly through a fishless desert, seeing the occasional resting snapper of no great size, which I would proceed to spook at the end of my approach from directly above, as I had no cover and you have to be really close with a pole spear.

After some serious questioning of whether or not I had made wise use of the day, and more 'could'a should'a would'a' about the big kingy earlier, I noticed a nice fat snapper hanging beside a low reef structure. I dropped down quietly and thankfully this time I had some rock cover, so when I poked my face around the top of the rock, there it was, just a metre or so away. The big 10 foot spear takes some time to swing, but I got it on target and let rip at the last possible moment, and the big fish took off, towing the pole spear, attached to my float line, into a cave. I dived on it and saw the sliptip cable was caught on a rock and the tip had worked its way half way out. The fish was very close to being lost.

I went to grab its tail, and it disappeared in a cloud of blood and kicking. I couldn't see it anymore. This was not looking very promising.

But, then I realised that it hadn't swum out the entrance past me. On my next breathhold, I went to the other side of the rock and could see the face of my snapper, looking out at me. I frantically loaded the pole spear and gave him one point blank into the face. I eased the fish out of the cave; it was farked now. A quick bear hug and iki, and the fish was drifting on my floatline.

Fortunately, Julian was just approaching me, so I could swim nonchalantly by him to show off my fish! It weighed 6.3 kg (14 pounds), so that's not so bad, I reckon. A small JD was added to my float line soon after.

The day finished on a high note, with Julian, obviously inspired by seeing my big snapper, as he went on to surprise a monster on the way back to the boat. His fish weighed 8.75 kg (19.5 pounds) and is nearly double his previous personal best. Well done, matey, you should be stoked.

In Julian's own words:

Julian O'Neal - 19.5 lb snapper

In the first 30 minutes I spooked 3 good snapper, through average luck and lousy bottom time. After an hour I was getting quite frustrated, thought it might be about time to get out, Reid passed by on his way out and he had scored a nice fish, adding to my dismay it over ground I thought I had covered just before.

I started snooping the long way back to the boat, I had the sun behind me as I approached a rock about the size of two cars side by side.

While I was making the decision of which side I was going to look over first, I saw a big head slowly cruising out from behind some weed, SH!T, it was a little further out than I was expecting, so I was in view. I dog paddled myself back as fast as I could with one hand until I was out of sight, very glad to have the sun behind me.

I tried to calm myself down and breath up, I had already stuffed up one oppurtunity by taking too much time, so I hurried my ass up and dived, no bubbles, no splashing. I was a bit worried I wouldn't make it to the ledge on the one breath, heart beating too fast, got there and looked over the ledge at the biggest snapper I have been this close too, presenting an easy shot - Wham!

The shaft went in just above the spine behind the head and out through the cheek, the shaft was right through with 2/3 of it out the other side, all I needed was the flopper to engage and this would be a piece of p!ss, but it was not to be. It took off into the weed and when I next saw it the spear was paralell with the fish, ****!

I waited for it to hold up while I tried to breath up, it paused in some weed between two rocks, this was it, if I get it wrong I was sure I'd loose it, I dived down and bear hugged it, trying to do everything as calmly as possible so I didnt stuff it up, I shortly had it secured.As it turned out, the flooper had a good hold after all. Back at the surface I was just stunned at how big these fish are, seeing ones other people have shot was very different to holding my one in the water.

That was it, I had what I came for so I started back to the boat keeping my fish close, no way I was paying tax on this!