Dive Pacific 175 Dec2020 Jan 2021
Dive Pacific, New Zealand's Dive Magazine , captures the best of diving in New Zealand and the Pacific. with adventures, top photos and expert technical advice
Dive Pacific, New Zealand's Dive Magazine , captures the best of diving in New Zealand and the Pacific. with adventures, top photos and expert technical advice
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Dwane and John’s Day 1 catch<br />
Paul and Jackson’s Day 2 catch<br />
managed to get very lucky<br />
straight off the bat spearing two<br />
nice snapper milling high in the<br />
water column in deep water.<br />
…Half way to the desired spot a pod of big dolphins swam<br />
right up amongst us all - very cool! …<br />
Big snapper<br />
Soon after we were amongst<br />
plenty of school fish, nailing our<br />
trevally, koheru and kingfish. We<br />
had made the call to try and get<br />
our snapper early before they got<br />
spooked, but we still needed two<br />
more to fill our quota. Hunting<br />
along a nice ledge I tucked myself<br />
in the kelp and lay still in hope<br />
of spotting a snapper resting<br />
deep down. To my surprise a big<br />
snapper glided in to inspect me,<br />
I waited very still until in range<br />
then made my lunge from the<br />
kelp cover. But it spooked just<br />
as I pulled the trigger and I hit<br />
it very high. The terrible sight of<br />
it spinning and tearing off was a<br />
hard pill to swallow on the way<br />
to the surface. Fortunately for the<br />
fish it had more of a fright than<br />
any real damage.<br />
But I was disappointed in myself<br />
letting such a good opportunity<br />
get away.<br />
While reloading I looked down<br />
deep at another big snapper<br />
cruising along the bottom, I was<br />
still on the long line so made a<br />
quick dive in the hope of getting<br />
close. By trying to anticipate its<br />
movements I took a long shot<br />
that connected well. Then, not<br />
long after hiding in the kelp<br />
again, I picked up another good<br />
size snapper, and with that we<br />
were done with snapper early in<br />
the competition.<br />
Tiring out at 30m<br />
We picked up the odd other small<br />
species and after two and half<br />
hours had most of our species.<br />
We then spent the time diving<br />
deep hoping for a lucky blue<br />
moki, boarfish or tarakihi. But<br />
as the day goes by making dives<br />
between 30-35m becomes just<br />
too taxing.<br />
Weighing in<br />
Back at the weigh in were lucky<br />
to have all the basic species in<br />
the area and at good weight.<br />
We weighed in 14 fish, Dwane<br />
and John 12, Dave and Chris 11.<br />
It was enough for us to sneak<br />
above Dave and Chris, but Dwane<br />
and John were too good and too<br />
consistent, taking out a well-deserved<br />
win!<br />
A big thank you to Spearfishing<br />
New Zealand for organizing the<br />
competition and all the competitors!<br />
Anyone interested in<br />
competing in the Nationals, I<br />
would highly recommend as<br />
it’s a great way to meet other<br />
spearos, sharpen your skills<br />
and get to dive areas that you<br />
may not normally dive. The<br />
next one is to be based out of<br />
Whitianga in Easter. Look out<br />
for upcoming competitions on<br />
www.spearfishingnz.co.nz<br />
30 <strong>Dive</strong> New Zealand | <strong>Dive</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong>