Great Barrier & Whangaparaoa 29 December 2005
	Redfinger and Long John couldn’t talk me out of it.  It was a mission to Broken Islands I was set on.  I had it all thought out – a 1.5 hour trip from Army Bay in my 5m tinny, I bought 2 extra fuel tanks, the weather was settling, and snapper had come into the Hauraki Gulf.  Off we went, and 1.5 hours later arrived after a fairly easy trip.  My first dive in the limited visibility of 5 metres showed a few small snapper and one about 4 kg or so, which drifted out of range as I waited for the shot.  LJ & Redfinger missed or saw a few average fish and pannies, and we moved on.  Red speared one pannie.  Dropping Redfinger on a bit of coast we ran out of the fist underfloor tankfull.  Bugger, hoped it would last more than that, I better get the motor tuned and replace the chipped prop.  The place was starting to look like the Northern Motorway as every launch and yacht in the North Island was cruised down or up the west side of the Barrier.  After a quick trip into Fitzroy to get more fuel as a safety margin, we moved on to a fishless desert.  And then another.  Somewhat despondent, we turned for home. We only had one pannier.  Worse still, it was Redfinger’s! A pretty subdued journey back for 1.5 hours followed. Half way back, the water was looking mighty nice, definitely a blue tinge there.  It persisted, and as we waited for the colour to change getting close to Whangaparaoa, it just never did, so I had to check out one of my rocks at the end of the peninsular.  I live on Whangaparaoa Peninsular, and have taken my kayak out to this spot, just a couple of miles from the boat ramp.  Often the water is very dirty, so clear-ish water is a must-dive opportunity. LJ & I jumped into water that was clearer than Great Barrier, up to 7 or 8 metres’ visibility as the coastal water mixed with the clear stuff.  Jack Mackerel raced around, and two kingies chased after them. A small John Dory floated out and got himself burleyed.  It was looking very fishy, and now it was getting time to go. I drifted back in the current until I saw a school of drummer on a smaller reef, and beneath them, two large snapper, about 6 or 7 kg, just drifting and circling in the current.  As I prepared to dive, a school of kingies came in to me.  What to do? Chase the snapper or the kingies?  What a dilemma.  And, this was at the end of Whangaparaoa! Redfinger was coming to pick me up in the boat, so I didn’t have time to burley in the snappers.  Maybe I could whisper them in?  I dropped to the reef and looked up, they were circling 10 feet away in the current in front of me.  Wait, wait, let them come in.  They weren’t scared, but they weren’t excited enough to come close.  I gave up on them, and since the boys were waiting for me by now, I decided a kingy would be OK.   LJ had already succumbed to some Paulmattthewsitis and speared one, so I may as well also! The school came in a few times before I could get a close shot on one with the pole spear, and then I whacked one of about 10kg from straight above, a really good shot.  The sliptip toggled, and I clipped on my float line.  The fish took off and a five minute fight brought the fish into the boat, so we could head home. A classic example of fish ya’ feet first!