7 December 2009

I have struggled with my spearfishing this year purely as a result of the horrid conditions. However, there has been a sudden spark which has rekindled my enthusiasm. I have been on leave for a week, hoping to get some good water and do some diving. The conditions remained poor but a gap in the weather did shine through on the 3 December. Michael, Justin and I headed out to see if we could find anything. We launched at 17:45 considering NSW has daylight saving, that is an hour earlier than it looks and headed off to see what we could find. The sea was not as clean as it had appeared, it was also quite cold. There was a current coming from the NE. We travelled to several different spots looking for a sign of any fish activity. After dropping in on 3 different areas and not finding anything, we decided to head back.

Justin wanted a quick look in the cave at NW Island and I was not too excited. There seemed to be nothing going on. Michael and Justin quickly swam over to the cave and Michael showed Justin a couple of Jewfish lying in a gutter. Justin was looking elsewhere and the sound of his Riffe discharging alerted Michael to his attempt. He turned and saw a Samsonfish struggling on the spear. I arrived to see Justin subduing his Samson and heard Michael saying that he had seen Jew. I swam to the gutter leading into the cave and saw a massive amount of Bulls-eyes hanging inside of the gutter and obviously disturbed. 2 large jew then swam out of the gutter. Michael was saying there were more fish in the cave and I ducked into the gutter, swimming into the lower opening of the cave.

The opening from the gutter resembles a crack leading into the main structure then up towards some sand and a smaller opening. I lay inside the cave behind a fairly large rock and looked intently at the light on the other side. I saw the silhouette of the jew as it moved from the right to the left. It was obviously looking into the dark and was not aware of my presence. I lined up my speargun where I imagined the fish would appear. Its eye appeared and I fired instinctively. It rolled onto its side incapacitated.

The light on the other side beckoned and I swam out into the twilight of the early evening, stopping to pull the fish free. I knew it was big but the dark of the cave can be deceptive. Michael's eyes and excitement told me what I already expected. This was a big fish. Puffing and struggling to drag the fish to the boat then haul it aboard and pose for photos. I was bushed. Its tail stuck out of the esky. The relief of having been able to land it successfully was overwhelming. We weighed it at one of the club's scales and it weighed 31.7kg. Probably a new 'Best-of-the-Best' and a significant milestone in my diving, one that will forever remain in a memory.

26 November 2009

A little more than a month has elapsed since I last posted anything on this blog. That is not for lack of wanting to post something but because there has been little or nothing to talk about. The weather settled for a time, then flooded again (5th flood event this year) turned the ocean to crap. Looked like we were going to see some improved conditions and wham, massive northerlies bring in the cold winter water. Viz went from looking reasonable at 8-15m to a little better than 1m and the sea temperature dropped about 5 degrees too.

There are a few die-hards who can find their secret little cray holes blindfolded, YIPPY KAI YAY! They have taken some crays, also some abalone about. From a fish point of view, there is lots of promise with the first cobia and mackerel of the season having been landed. Kingfish still abound and there is a healthy mix of numbers and some real size fish. In the moments when conditions have allowed, samsonfish are at the recognized pinnacles too. I have heard of a really good jew being taken but the diver in question has kept it under wraps? There are lots of snapper and bluebar parrot but conditions just do not allow you to hang around waiting for them to come to you. The current just pushes you off. Justin did get a good 7kg parrot recently.

Probably time to look at getting my fitness in order because when conditions allow, I am going to be making a pig of myself. Anyone who believes spearfishing is easy, is fooling themselves!

22 October 2009

It has been utterly dismal. The sea has been atrocious and the weather just seems to stack the odds against getting back into the ocean ever again. There has been so little diving since the Classic was held, I think I can honestly count the number of dive days on one hand. Great days? Maybe 1 this year! My patience is being sorely tested and I don't know how long I will remain sane at this rate. I really need to start diving again or accept that diving in mud will be my lot in life.

17 October:


I apologise to those readers following the spearfishing column. Unfortunately I have to put in some time at work and with the sudden increase in ticks; I have been kept very busy saving pets’ lives and the column suffered as a result. Things have quietened down just a little to allow me writing this article. The past few weeks have been dismal on the spearfishing front. The last club competition was rescheduled because of poor conditions then cancelled because conditions stayed bad. I don’t know of any divers who have taken fish recently.
At the recent club meeting, we were reflecting on the number of really good days we have seen this season and unanimously agreed that we have only seen one great day. The fisho’s seem to be cracking it with some good catches of pearlies, jew and snapper coming in over the grapevine. The good news is that divers out wide have seen some big dolphinfish and the clear water is lying just off the shelf.
The death of Jacob Lollback, a fit competent spearo came as a shock to all spearos. It has heightened awareness of the danger associated with this sport. In an effort to promote safe diving, the club will be running some safety programs in the near future. These promise to be extremely informative and useful. At this stage Mike Wells the diver who swam through the cave at Fish Rock is touted as presenting this course. There will be some training sessions scheduled to take place in the pool at Woolgoolga. John Featherstone is on top of this initiative and there should be some information made available shortly. We are also looking at holding a freediving course presented by the world-renowned freediver, Erez Beatus. Members are encouraged to forward their email addresses to the committee to be included on our mailings with regard to these important events.
Underwater hockey is doing well on Monday evenings 6pm-7pm at the Memorial Pool. This is great training for spearfishing and anyone is welcome to come along to see what all the fuss is about. Scuba divers would benefit greatly from the training as your dive times will improve significantly.
The next club meeting will be at the Woolgoolga RSL on Wednesday 21 October at 7:30pm with the next club competition scheduled for Sunday 25 October.

24 October:


The freedive course has been scheduled for the first weekend in December, unfortunately all the places were filled within an hour of the details being finalised. As a result of the high level of interest, I am sure we will be able to present another course early in the new year. John Featherstone has arranged a session at the Woolgoolga pool for any interested spearos who want to test their guns at submerged targets. It also gives you the ability of making sure your gun is still in adequate working order after all the time it has been neglected this season. Wednesday 11 November is the scheduled date for this pool session and there will be some Riffe spearguns available to test too. Rob Mutton is busy with the safety course and the dates will be forwarded as soon as they become available.
Unfortunately there is little to report on the spearfishing front. Some fish have been landed for the plate but there have been no particularly noteworthy catches made. Very few crayfish have been seen, let alone landed. The odd painted crayfish have been collected and, interestingly enough, some purple crayfish, which are unusal visitors to our area. The weather conditions this Spring have been exceptionally poor and we are all keen for some good conditions. Divers who have been rock-hopping, when conditions allow, also report few jewfish around. Anyone who still believes that spearfishing is an easy sport is massively ill-informed.
Patience is a virtue and at this stage the best advice I can offer is to look after your fitness, in the hope that we get some better conditions in the future. Research is being conducted on wahoo and an appeal has been made for spearos or fishos to send wahoo frames to the researcher. Last season 100 frames were used in the study and the hopes are for 300 specimens to be examined this season. Anyone wishing to make a frame available should contact Mitchell.Zischke@csiro.au.
The next club competition is scheduled for this Sunday 15 October, from Arrawarra. Please contact Flange on Saturday evening to confirm participation in the event. If you are not keen to compete, you are welcome to come along for a social dive as there are usually spaces available on the boats for additional divers.

3 September 2009

The weather improved very nicely over the weekend. Started off diving on Saturday morning. Conditions weren't too spectacular. We were diving over the low tide period and in spite of really applying ourselves to the task at hand, we came away with nothing for our troubles. From my point of view, a day diving is never a complete loss. You always learn about new points and detail about approaching areas you may have ignored before. Sometimes you think that you know an area until some-one tells you exactly how to approach the area and you discover a new hotspot. We did our best to find kingfish, jewfish and crays but were unsuccessful. We all managed to get a snapper while bait fishing, so the morning was not wasted.

Sunday was not pegged as a dive day as conditions had been quite marginal on Saturday. By midday the picture was changing. I got a call from Justin to get me in the mood for diving and Kurt was coming along too. We headed straight to the lighthouse and started off being quite disappointed with the conditions. When we arrived at the N end of the light, the sea had improved tremendously. Mozambique water, 25-30m viz with a temperature around 21C. I hopped in to find a school of Australian Salmon circling the boat. Thinking they were tailor, I knocked one over, as my wife loves tailor. Salmon have a reputation for being very ordinary and I chose to burley it up. For me this proved to be the ticket as I quickly picked up 4 reasonable kingfish. The pushing tide seemed to be pushing in better water all the time. I saw schools of bluebar parrotfish and a big school of jewfish all safely inside the sanctuary. Justin and Kurt lay on the bottom watching a school of Mangrove Jacks at their cave, these also safe in the sanctuary. On the edge of the reef toward the NE in about 22m of water, I followed a bluebar for a long time. The fish seemed flighty and the presence of 3 large Grey Nurse Sharks probably added to his shyness. A large shape resembling a small whaler approached and only when it got close to me did I realise it was a massive kingfish. This fish proved to be too smart for me too. As did a nice Amberjack a little later.

As the sun was dropping we stopped at a shelf to see if we could dupe some Mangove Jacks. The surge was a little intense to get too close to the hotspot but Justin found and speared a 17kg kingfish. A really big strong fish. One can only imagine how hard the really big ones fight! I am just happy to have some fresh kingfish to smoke over the weekend.

On Wednesday we decided to try our luck with the snapper again. True to form I ended up catching a little red rockcod on nearly every cast. These are small scorpion-fish like critters and look quite nasty. Michael got a reasonable snapper. We stopped at the wash to do a little diving as the water seemed to be improving. Michael quickly subdued a 15kg Samsonfish, but paid for his catch with a badly bent spear. We moved to the S side of NW and Luke found another Jewfish, this time 19kg, slightly smaller than his previous 22kg fish. My diving was shot. In my haste to pack, I did not load my mask & snorkel in, which really put a damper on my diving.

This weekend I hope to explore one or two of the new spots I have been shown and perhaps get some diving in off my sea-kayak.

27 August 2009

Took a rock-hop yesterday at Look-at-me-now Headland. Swam in along the N end looking for crays. Lots of good structure but the huge numbers of small crays were nowhere to be found. Found 3 smallies under a rock with a small Wobby and a tiny Abalone. Water was weird, very patchy. Areas almost milky with really poor viz and then patches with murky 9m viz. Unfortunately it looks like the weekend might be a blow-out if the weather prediction is anything to go by. However, I often find that just before a dramatic weather change you could get lucky. A friend of mine went in around The Lighthouse and there were lots of kingfish. I think he may have used the word THOUSANDS. I certainly hope they are around on the weekend. There are several areas which afford a safe anchorage and make for pleasant diving even if there is serious chop/surge.

I read an article regarding an acquaintance of mine who was badly shook up by a White off Perth. The shark sounds like it may well have been over 6m long. Gyula does not spook easily and when I last spoke to him, he recounted as many as 4 previous encounters, so it is not as if he is unfamiliar with the beasts. Seems the shark pursued an active interest in him and the boat for quite some time. Easy to joke about it after the fact but at the time it would be extremely frightening.

24 August 2009

Last weekend turned out to be a goodie. Took a quick trip out to Northwest Island and bumped into a small school of large jewies. The first I hammered but it got off after 2 additional shots being made. Then Luke got one of 22kg with some assistance and finally I found another which after being shot, bolted over the reef. I got hold of it and brought it to the surface. As I slid my hand forward to hold onto the fish it struggled, throwing the spear and disappearing into the gloom. Then to add insult to injury, I found a bunch of large Blue Groper and as I lay there watching them I switched off. Only after the parrotfish had been alerted to my presence did I cotton on to it being there amongst the groper. It beat a hasty retreat safely away from the sleeping spearo. It had easily been in range and I had been lulled by all the groper. I would dearly like to explore the cave that the jewfish were in but unfortunately no torches allowed when spearfishing in NSW. I hope the petitioning, to have this silly law revoked, is successful. It is really frustrating to dive in a cave without a reel-gun too. A long piece of line trailing behind irritates me as it gets in the way and makes it difficult to work inside of a confined space.


Dived this weekend in the club's comp but could have spent the time doing other more productive things if the results are anything to go by. Everyone seemed to have a hard time of it. Pete took 2 reasonable kingfish but did not weigh them. Flange got a nice kingie and ended up weighing that and a bream. Fish of the comp was his kingfish which is probably a reflection of how difficult the diving was. Kurt and co. got a painted crayfish and several abalone, so their day was not a complete waste of time. Ben, one of our new members, took a painted home to try, in spite of everyone saying that it was not worth eating. Best I saw, was a school of Kingfish at Northwest but they stayed out of range and 2 Bonito which came in from behind me at Dougherty's after a LONG bottom-time. Unfortunately as I moved the fish ducked and I went home without sushi.


These are some of my recent articles which have appeared in the local Advocate in the fishing pages:
8 August
While the weather remains calm, the sea has not really cleared sufficiently to make spearfishing a worthwhile proposition. That is unless you manage to find one of the small pockets of clear water that seem to make their appearance every now and again. Perhaps after 2 years of marginal diving conditions we may be in for a run of better conditions. The temperature remains around the 20 C mark and if you look at one of the many sea surface temperature maps, you will have noticed the tell-tale finger of warm water moving down from the north which heralds the start of the new diving season. The weekend holds some promise with Kingfish around the lighthouse and the wash being at a sure bet. Having said that, a rock-hop will provide a good feed of bream or luderick, they may not have all the glamour of the big pelagics but they do taste good.

On an interesting note, there are still many people who do not realize that spearfishing is a sport performed on a single breath-hold and then diving down to find, stalk and subdue the intended quarry. Contrary to popular belief, no scuba gear is employed. This is a remarkable feat when one considers that some spearos have the capability of diving to 30m. That is the equivalent of diving the depth of a 10 storey building. Recently a South African diver broke the world-record for spearing a fish at depth. Trevor Hutton went down to 60m where he speared a fish before returning to the surface. Total dive time almost 3 minutes, a monumental feat indeed.
The club meeting will take place on Wednesday 19 August and all members are strongly encouraged to attend, as some extremely important decisions need to be made. I will endeavour to inform as many people as possible with the details closer to the time. Next weekend should provide reasonable conditions and members are further reminded to come along to the club competition on Sunday 23 August. The improving conditions should at least get some fresh fish on the dinner plate. The Memorial Pool will be opening in September and the Underwater Hockey players are invited to get back into training, more details toward the end of the month.

22 August
Some-one once said to me of fishing: “If you don’t have a line in the water, I’ll guarantee in you won’t catch anything.” There is no lack of effort on the part of some of our club members who make the brave effort to swim out off the headlands in pursuit of crayfish and jewies. The viz has been cloudy and I heard a report of one diver getting a look-over by a Great Fright (white pointer) off one of the headlands near Woolgoolga. Everyone I speak to repeats the mantra: “we need a southerly blow to clean the sea.” While we all hold our breath and hope for the best there are still fish to be had.

Saturday last weekend we took a quick trip out off Arrawarra and found a small school of large Jewfish in a cave. The first fish targeted took 3 shots to slow. The fish returned to the cave and appears to have been wolfed by a large Wobby. The next fish was almost lost at the cave mouth but with a quick back-up shot made, the fish was successfully captured. It weighed an astonishing 22kg, a notable specimen indeed. When fish are in an easily targeted position, the onus is on the diver to remain conservative and control the urge to take too many fish. It is a question of limiting your kill, not killing your limit. Club members are reminded of the club competition on Sunday.

13 August 2009

Conditions seem to be improving but then when I get a day to dive, weather turns nasty. Last Wednesday I took my sea-kayak out for its first diving duty. Paddled to the NE side of Little Muttonbird Island and anchored up. Swam in to check the gutters for Jewfish and Crays. There were lots of fish around but mostly Bream, Blackfish, Luderick and Tailor. The water appeared clean when looking from the beach but once in, it had a milky/murky character. Just the water you expect to be hassled by a shark in. I have had so many jonnies snapping at my ankles that I now dive with a SharkShield.

My wife is pretty desperate for some fresh fish and with all the pan-sized fish around the rocks, I took a nice Bream which went down very well in beer-batter on Wednesday evening. Have been trying for Jews and Crays but nothing yet. Reports get to me of lots of small Crays and schools of Jewies but I must be diving in all the wrong places.

While weather conditions have settled, the tongue of warm water coming from N is staying away and the discoloured milky water seems to have become a permanent feature for the time being. Water temperatures hover around 20 C. With any luck, we will get some reasonably clean water to dive in soon, here's hoping.

4 August 2009

Took a trip out to the Big Island on Sunday. Was hoping the sea would be cleaner than it appeared inshore. Unfortunately it was not to be. Dived on the E side of the island and there was lots in the way of trash fish but nothing worthwhile, not even the usual ubiquitous Kingfish. Kris picked up a small Samsonfish but I came away with nothing. We moved around to a few spots but the viz was poor inside of The Big Island.

I learned an important lesson about time off. You need to dive inside of your limits and your max in shape may not be your max at the start of the season. I really need to spend more time getting fit. Been a long winter which has taken its toll on my fitness. Guys have been chatting about the prevalence of the Jewfish around the headlands and I am hoping find some myself if the viz allows.

31 July 2009

Went out looking for Yellowfin on Wednesday. Conditions were very good out on the shelf and we found a flock of working birds immediately on reaching the shelf. We tried pulling lures to encourage a strike but nothing happened. In retrospect, should probably have started a burley trail, heaven knows we had enough berley. Travelled from Arrawarra to the shelf then South toward the area off Coffs proper. We got 1 small Mack Tuna for our trouble.

I am sure the Yellowfin are there, it is just a question of being out there when they make a show. We are contemplating hitting the shelf again this weekend. Probably head out from Arrawarra, burley if we find birds working or an active collection of bait. Our idea is to come back via the Big Island and see if we can find some Mangrove Jack, Blue-Bar or Kingfish. Let's see what happens.

28 July 2009

The weather is really holding off at the moment. We have had gloriously calm seas but the viz inshore has not been spectacular. Lots of divers rock-hopping but at the moment little coming my way of crayfish or Jewfish. The deepsea boys are getting into some seriously good fish. This just screams adventure and I am busily organizing a group of intrepid divers to go out and get some Marlin and Tuna.

The principle is to get an idea of where the bait balls are. In this case from 70m and deeper. Birds tend to give the baits' position away. If a bait-ball is found, one need only slide in amongst them and be patient. If the bait is not co-operating, drag some lures behind the boat (Rapalas, Halcos and Tuna feathers). When a strike is obtained start a burley trail. Ideally you want to use a drogue and mermaid line to slow the drift down and provide your divers with a point to comfortably rest. This is big gun territory. Break-away rigs with several floats are the order of the day. To encourage competition between fish on the burley trail, do not overfeed the fish. Ideally drop in a piece of burley and only follow it up when you lose sight of that piece. This will encourage the fish in close to the boat, hopefully ignoring the divers. A piece of information that I picked up was not to track the fish through the water but aim at a piece of burley, shooting when a fish comes into view. Perhaps by tomorrow I will have something to report on this. My telephone is going to be red-hot with all the calls made today!

For the sake of completeness I have included the article in the Advocate from Saturday:

25 July 2009

The Ocean is a fickle mistress. Tumultuous and unpredictable at the very least, she showed her calm and placid demeanour over the last weekend. The club competition went ahead, unexpectedly, I might add. The viz on the near-shore reefs was poor but out wide, it improved dramatically. We started at Northwest, then moving to The Wash. Although both of these venues appeared fishy, nothing worthwhile was encountered. The situation changed around The Big Island though. The viz went to 20m+ and it made a pleasant change lying on the surface watching the fish below. A charter boat at the pinnacles had created an extensive burley trail which attracted a cloud of fish. Without too much effort several Kingfish found there way into our esky.

We moved on to a patch of reef west of Hitler’s. Again several kingfish were found and we added 2 small Samsonfish to our tally. Last move was to a drift known as Bluebar Alley. I should have been paying closer attention because Kurt took an excellent fish on this drift. Unfortunately I would never be able to find the spot again. The Parrotfish was not a Bluebar. Some guest divers from Sydney confirmed that it was not a Bluebar and photos were taken to get it identified. My money is on an Ember Parrotfish and this is likely to be a new NSW state record. At the weigh-in, several Kingfish and Samsonfish came to the scales. The Parrotfish was most certainly the highlight of the weigh-in but there were Pearl perch and Mangrove jack in the mix too.

The weather is quite spectacular at the moment. Bright sunny days and the nights have lost that icy winter chill. The diving has been inspiring and it has motivated me to get fit in preparation for the new diving season.

23 July 2009

And then the Ocean started co-operating. We had our club comp on the weekend and in spite of mucky viz on the nearshores, the viz out at the Big Island was quite phenomenal 20m+. So the water temperature was not brilliant and certainly no summer visitors would be around for the taking. There were lots of other fish on offer. My single greatest concern was that I was unfit and out of practice. I did not harbour any notions of doing well but got out and enjoyed the diving without any competitive drive. We started at Northwest and swam through the channel on the look-out for Jewfish. Then on to the Wash but the current kept us off the hotspot although there was lots of bait around. Finally, found a charter boat that was burleying up a storm at the pinnacles and I just waited far off their stern for any stragglers to come my way. 5 Yellowtail Kingfish was more than enough. I have already weighed my 2 Kingfish for the year, so these fish were taken purely to have some fish on the plate again. We moved from here to between The Mouse and The Big Island. More Kingfish for my dive buddies and I picked up a small Samsonfish. Finally to a spot known as Bluebar Alley. Please don't think I am being evasive about the spot but I don't think I could find it again. I saw no Parrotfish but Kurt did get a whopper of over 5.5kg. Turned out it was not a Bluebar. Photo's have been taken to allow identification and my money is on an Ember Parrotfish. It is very likely that this will be a new NSW state record. Some Pearl Perch and Mangrove Jacks were taken too.

It also seems as though the sea has calmed down and if one takes a moment to look outside, conditions are glorious. Even the icy bite of the cold air at night seems to have abated. All things considered there isn't another place I would rather be at the moment.

9 July 2009

We are still seeing a massive amount of inclement weather. Yesterday I was treated to my first tornado. In 10 minutes I saw 4 develop a short distance off-shore. Certainly never want to be at sea when one of those comes along. I have included the bulk of my recent newspaper articles as an indication of what has been happening in Coffs. All that remains to be said is that spearfishing is becoming something of a dim and distant memory:



27 June 2009
As the lost opportunities for club competitions start to mount, I wonder if some of the divers who decided not to weigh fish in the earlier competitions are kicking themselves. A case in point: You will hear about the good size of Kingfish that are found around Coffs. On any reasonable day you could expect to bump into several fish in the 20kg region. When it comes to the day of competition, do you weigh a small fish because you have guaranteed points or do you hold off and wait for a larger specimen for more points and risk not seeing another one all year? Considering that you will only be permitted to weigh 2 kingfish in the year. Species points are relatively more heavily weighted than the weight of the fish which adds an additional angle to the conundrum. My approach is to weigh what you have: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, in a manner of speaking. Having said that, suffice to say that last Sunday’s competition was postponed to this coming Sunday, please remember to call Flange to determine if the comp is on.

How do you improve your odds of getting a fish to hand? The first and most important thing to do is not to over-think it. You need to relax and trust that your preparation has been adequate. It is obviously easier to shoot a fish at close range and then easier to subdue it if the shot is a good one. This will require stalking fish and your body language is paramount in maintaining complacency in your target. Keep your eyes away from the intended quarry, don’t swim at it, allow its curiosity to trick it into coming in close. When you squeeze the trigger, the release of the spear should come as a bit of a surprise to you. I find that my best spearfishing is when I am in an almost dissociated state because my body language and intention is not conveyed to the target. Zen and the Art of Spearfishing, if you will. If you can kill the fish immediately, you are spared the often long and protracted struggle which inevitably leads to sharks arriving and relieving you of your prey. Practice shooting and become proficient at hitting small targets. Ideally you want to hit the fish in the brain or spinal chord. To quote Mel Gibson: Aim small, miss small.

Remember that you are only allowed 2 crayfish and 2 abalone. The crays must be caught by hand, no spearing and must be kept whole. You are not permitted to clean your abalone in the sea.

So until we get another opportunity to get into the sea, enjoy gardening or the host of other household chores you neglected when conditions were good.



4 July 2009
Last weekend had some dramatically improved conditions. The competition was rescheduled for Sunday but lack of divers meant it was cancelled again. Reports from some commercials had indicated that blue water was moving in from the deep. Some boats did venture out and found good water around The Lighthouse.

Apparently there were some Mangrove Jacks about but they needed a healthy dose of finesse to be duped, something which Sunday’s divers were lacking. They did find some Kingfish and these made a welcome addition to their meager takings. They also added several good Tailor to their bag.

Weather predictions for the coming weekend seem dismal once again. The weatherman was talking of winds ranging between 50 and 90kmh. The swell will push up and make for really unpleasant conditions out at sea. With the amount of time we have free, now that the diving is trashed regularly, perhaps one could start planning some major projects at home. Heaven knows you will score some serious brownie points.

On a separate point, it seems the cold is keeping the underwater hockey players at home too. Texts are sent through to players and we really only need 6 players to have an effective training session. On a positive note, nights are shortening and days becoming longer and we are on the way to Spring. The Yellowfin Tuna are expected in the deep off Coffs fairly soon and the challenge of hunting these leviathans has seen little investigation by local Spearos. There is an enormous challenge in landing these superb fish and Coffs has the potential to deliver the goods.



11 July 2009
Some fascinating weather phenomena this week. I have never seen a water-spout and managed to see 4 in the space of 10 minutes between Macaulay’s Headland and Split Solitary Island. They were truly impressive and served to reiterate the poor diving conditions we continue to experience.

The subject of conservation was vociferously raised on a TV news broadcast last weekend. Apparently there are 30 Blue Groper which have reached cult status off Sydney and require an extension of the no-fishing zone, according to environmentalists. Now don’t get me wrong, conservation based on sensible research is a necessity. However, fishing bans based on ‘pet’ fish, smacks of utter stupidity. Blue Groper are legally protected in any case. In addition, they are probably the most prevalent demersal fish species encountered off our coast; their numbers clearly indicate that they are not a threatened species. Additional measures to avoid these ‘pets’ falling foul of a hook seem extreme. The fish may not be speared at all and more measures affecting spearos are completely unfounded.

The area in which the no-fishing zone is envisaged, is certainly not pristine. Sydney is subject to high levels of noise, light, air and water pollution and cannot, realistically, be considered an ecologically sensitive or endangered habitat. Perhaps if these ‘pet’ Blue Groper must be protected, above all else, they should be moved to the Sydney Aquarium and then we could stop turning the Ocean into a petting zoo! This form of conservation is tantamount to banning cars because a kangaroo was knocked over once.

The Ocean is a wondrously wild and exciting place. Let’s keep it that way and where protection is justifiable, protecting the habitat and not individual hand-fed fish.

The club meeting will be held at Michael Featherstone’s house on Wednesday evening and will involve an extensive Freediving safety briefing. All club members should attend.

19 June 2009

I have been publishing a weekly update on spearfishing in Coffs Harbour in 'The Advocate' one of the local newspapers. I thought it might be worthwhile including these articles too:

The next Southerly front is here, along with the ubiquitous rain. Face it, when you are diving, you are wet already, as long as the Southerly clears the sea, we may be in for some diving this weekend. Club members are reminded that the monthly club competition will take place this Sunday, weather permitting. All skippers are to contact the Sports Officer on Saturday evening to confirm their participation. We have a very limited list of target species on our club list and each diver may only weigh 2 of each species per year. Very much a question of: ‘Limiting your kill, not killing your limit.’

It has not been all bad news since last weekend. I have a report of some-one swimming in from Sandy Beach headland. He found the surrounding area scoured clean of sand, with lots of newly exposed crayfish habitat. He said that the sea was cool but relatively clean, with suspended sand limiting viz. Diving in these shallow water conditions does take some getting used to. The effect of waves breaking and pushing you against structure requires that you use gear which you don’t mind getting scuffed and scraped. These conditions require the use of shortened buoy-lines, 10m at the longest, shorter more maneuverable guns and a slightly heavier weight belt to avoid continually floating to the surface. The buoy provides a handy place to hang a stringer line, a bag to keep your catch and a measuring instrument. My contact assures me that there were lots of crayfish but most were undersize. He could find no Abalone and although he heard drumming, he struggled to find Jewfish. The drumming is always a good indication that Jewfish are in attendance. A large kingfish ended up bending his spear and making his speargun useless which is when he did see a reasonable Jew. It is a funny coincidence, how that sort of thing always seems to happen.

There are some really good crayfish holes around Coffs, most of which are closely kept secrets but with some perseverance you may very well be handsomely rewarded for your efforts. Expect limited viz but be on the lookout for abalone and Jewfish too.

12 June 2009

For those who have been following my blog, the lack of entries is more a reflection of the conditions in Coffs recently, than that I am too busy diving, I don't have time to write. Unfortunately after the last lot of rain turned the sea brown, we endured several strong S fronts which made the situation even worse. Recently, the systems have settled but we have been left with extremely poor viz. You would struggle to see passed the end of an 800mm gun. I have dived only once since returning from South Africa. A S front without rain is expected in the next few days and this may actually clear the sea up enough to make diving a possibility again. Winter has crept up on us too. The mornings are cold, not icy cold like Johannesburg, but cold enough to make you think twice before climbing out from under the delightfully warm covers. The thought of slipping into a cold damp wetsuit is frightening to say the least. Since I do not just limit myself to underwater hunting but also spend some time hunting game, I find my motivation tends to be toward keeping dry and warm, electing to use a rifle to take down my quarry.

On a more disappointing note, the representative body for spearfishing in NSW is considering breaking away from the National body. It is a real pity when internal politics leads to divisions which are likely to impact dramatically on the sport. I sincerely hope that this matter is resolved amicably.

19 May 2009

In the long slow life of a great Rhodesian Teak (Baikiaea plurijuga) it had served as a shaded vantage point to a pride of lions, eager on subduing buffalo. Later its great branches gave a leopard a reclusive hideaway while rhino and elephant rubbed their rough thick hides against its enormous trunk. With the advent of the early explorers, the tree was cut and used as railway sleepers, providing the life-blood of an early African economy. The voracious appetite of industry knew no bounds and soon the majestic trees were decimated. Time moves on and the once trusty sleepers lay unclaimed in the hot dry African Savannah, almost forgotten. But in the heart of the lowly sleeper beat the proud, unrelenting heart of Africa.



With loving care the heart of the sleeper was awakened in the gentle hands of a craftsman called Andrew. He carefully constructs unique spearguns which awaken the Mythical Hunter's Spirit and embodies the courage of the African hunter. Each gun is uniquely patterned and crafted to suit the individuals' preferences. They are extremely robust and designed to give the spearfisher a significant advantage, whether pursuing dermersals on a reef or lying out in the deep blue in search of giant pelagics. A unique almost magical property of the wood is its impervious nature, giving it a rare gift of withstanding the effect of decay and the ravages of saltwater. The guns are priced favourably when compared to standard Euro-type guns and are significantly more affordable than comparable wooden guns.



I have been asked to put a 1.3m Euro-style gun through its paces. At this stage it is remarkable how resilient the gun is proving. It is quiet but above all uncannily accurate. I am sure I will have a lot more to say about this gun in the future.

18 May 2009

Eventually there was a break in the weather. Friday looked like it would be a good day out but several telephone calls seemed to suggest that conditions were still poor. We should have gone to look in any case because their were some good fish at the North Island. I got reports of both Wahoo and Spanish being landed.

On Saturday we elected to do some fishing. Loaded the dive gear just in case we found good water. We trolled around The Wash and chatted to one of the local Fishos who told us the viz at the pinnacles was 25m. Lines up and we charged off to have a look. Conditions were very good. Clear water, perhaps not as warm as it has been, but still good. I jumped in with Duan who was freediving for the first time ever. A quick scan of the area and I saw what looked like a Spanish down deep. I sucked in a full lungful of air and headed down. At approx 15m a school of nice Yellowtail Kingfish approached and the fish I had been pursuing seemed to have disappeared. I selected a good specimen and put a spear through it. My gun was one of the wooden guns my brother put together and it shoots like a demon. The spear went exactly where I was aiming.

Back on the boat we were treated to a sight of absolute chaos and bedlam as large pelagics screamed into a school of Mack Tuna that had been feeding on the surface only moments before. We dropped some lures back hoping to pick up one of these monsters. After quickly picking up 3 Mack Tuna and seeing repeated attacks on the school, the decision was made to burley aggressively to attract these attackers. Michael and Duan jumped over to find Rainbow Runners, Mack Tuna and Yellowfin feeding on the burley. Unfortunately the Yellowfin just did not give anyone a shot. The secret here is not to track the fish in the water with your gun but aim at a piece of chum, shooting when the fish comes into view.

Michael and I ended with a drift along the E side of NW Rocks. A big Amberjack played hide-and-seek with me amongst a school of Kingfish and I eventually gave up, not wanting to clobber another King. Michael unloaded his gun and was just about to climb into the boat when several Spanish drifted into range. He quickly loaded but as he singled out a fish, it seemed to drift out of range. It was an extremely frustrated diver that clambered back into the boat.

Predictions are for more Southerly fronts. Looks like the break will be short-lived.

12 May 2009

I just cannot believe how poor conditions have been here lately. Even the real die-hards are doing home maintenance! The line fishermen, both commercial and recreational, are getting poor results too. Everything seemed to be on track at the start of this season but it sure looks like the wheels have come off. Apparently out wide of the continental shelf, there is warm blue water which is giving up the odd Blue or Striped Marlin. I will be arranging my teaser gear and looking at heading out to try my luck at landing one of these behemoths.



John Featherstone and Tim MacDonald have recently returned from an adventurous trip to Exmouth. They went out on a commercial boat to an area that receives little if any fishing pressure. The fish they landed were very respectable. John tells me he took a Spanish of 34kg out of a school that had other fish which made his seem tiny by comparison. The Australian record for Spanish apparently comes from this area and I look forward to hearing more about the possibility of a trip out to this area. In the meantime I will be day-dreaming about the possibility of going to Bassas da India with my brother-in-law. Bassas, as it is lovingly called, is an extinct volcano in the Mozambique Channel. It is only visible at low-tide. It is in an extremely remote area and can only be reached by boat. Several sailing charters are offering this as a destination from Mozambique, with the promise of legendary Dog-tooth Tuna and Giant Trevally. I will have to be patient and see how events progress.

30 April 2009

I have just returned from a holiday back in South Africa. When I left, I endured a great deal of derision because my holiday happened to coincide with what traditionally is the best Wahoo season. This season started with a great deal of promise, lots of baitfish and some awesome water. The weather gods had differing opinions though. Looks like they are making every attempt to keep the likes of Spearos out of the Ocean. Massive amounts of rain and strong fronts have kept the sea rough and dirty. I don't know about you, but I prefer not to dive in chocolate milkshake.

There was a moment of respite during this meteorological assault and for 2 or 3 days everything calmed and the viz was the best it has been. Apparently, out at the pinnacles, the ripples on the sand at 35m could be clearly seen from the surface. There were some Wahoo and Spanish around and the lucky few that managed to get out, were rewarded.

I am now back in Australia with a new speargun to boot. My brother, Andrew, is putting a beautiful wooden gun together made from Rhodesian Teak. For those who don't know what Rhodesian Teak is, it is what the old railway sleepers were made from. This wood is extremely durable and becoming very rare. All live trees enjoy protection today and the only wood available, comes from recovered sleepers. I am looking forward to putting this gun through its paces.

2 April 2009

What a disastrous turn of events. The strong S system that made its way up the coast just prior to the Classic eventually arrived in force on Tuesday, 31 March. The heavens literally opened and Coffs received nearly a metre of rain in a 24hr period. The ground had absorbed all the water it was going to and the first indication I got that something was up, was when I noticed a small river flowing down what used to be the Pacific Highway. The area has been declared a disaster area and there is unlikely to be much spearfishing taking place in the next few days or weeks.

The weather prediction for the next few days continues to indicate rain. Looks like the big fish out on the various pinnacles will remain safe for the time being. A photo was published in the newspaper recently of a 'marlin' caught off the S harbour breakwall. Apparently the angler caught several but this one was badly hooked and died. The fish was quite obviously a Sailfish. Sailies are encountered infrequently around Coffs Harbour, so it was very interesting to read that he had caught several during this fishing outing.

30 March 2009

This weekend was the culmination of all the excitement: 15th Australian Bluewater Freediving Classic: Woolgoolga 2009. Saturday saw the intended start of the competition. A serious S system had moved in on Friday and was threatening a cancellation. After some deliberation, the Safety Committee gave the divers the green light and the boats were launched. They collected behind the backline waiting for the official start. The flare was lit by the Woolgoolga Sea Rescue and off the fleet charged out toward their preferred destinations. The Big Island had been red-hot during the week but that left the crew with the arduous task of returning into the wind. The prediction was for the wind to drop later in the morning. We played it safe and headed into the wind prefering a return with the wind, our intended hotspot: The Lighthouse. This turned out to be a fortuitous decision because the wind did not follow the predictions and we returned with the S that was blowing way more than 20knots.



Pelagic fish can be very elusive and they lived up to their unpredictability. Some fish were seen and chased or shot at because as the day progressed, the fish became more flighty. I saw several species but they were too harassed to allow any bold approach. My first breakthrough came while investigating a gulley for Jewfish. Some yellowtail schooled above me and I was able to take one with little effort. Soon after a large Silver Trevally was also taken but as it turned out, I should have measured it, because it was undersize. We persevered in various known hotspots and on a dive to search for a large Cobia I bumped into a school of Amberjack. One was quickly collected and loaded into the esky.



At the close, all the divers on our boat had taken 2 species. There were some really large fish taken by some of the luckier divers with Adam Smith getting a 24kg Spanish.



The wind had strengthened all day and Sunday looked like being worse. After a long deliberation, the divers headed out once more. The previous day of chasing had heightened the awareness of many fish in the over-used areas and it was necessary to widen our search. Another important element was concentrating on being stealthy. My first fish for the day was a small Spanish that was in an area obviously ignored by other divers because the fish was quite bold about coming to look at me. The next fish, a Yellowtail came up a burley trail that I started when the area I was in looked fishy but no pelagics were showing themselves. We stopped at several spots that should have held something but just did not produce. I saw some tremendous fish like big Bluebar Parrots and a monster Gold-spot Wrasse but they weren't part of the days agenda. Finally we battled the S wind and headed out to the wave-recorder. In all the areas we had dived, the current was heading S-N but at the recorder a cracking N-S current was in play. I struggled to swim against it and when it dawned that I was making no headway a school of small Dorado circled me. A third fish was added to my total.

It was a long trip back but we were running with the wind which made for easier going, compared to the competitors that struggled for an hour, to cover distances that normally take 10 minutes. Several good fish came to the scales in particular 2 good Cobia both over 20kg.

The competition went down well with lots of prizes awarded by generous sponsors. I am looking forward to this competition next year.

26 March 2009

We managed to get our team together for a training session yesterday out at sea. Michael, Dave Welch and myself headed out to the Big Island and specifically the pinnacles N of the Island. The ocean was beautiful. Flat and calm with spectacular viz. I floated just outside of the bait and watched as a school of Mack Tuna started hammering the bait from below. I did some dives to the edges of the pinnacles in 15-22m of water and saw some Cobia near a Black Ray but my full attention was focused on shooting a Wahoo. The Wahoo did not disappoint. They were present in abundance. My ability to land one was sadly lacking however. Dave got the first at approx 15kg, I fired at one of the fish in that school falling horribly short. The next school I lay still and allowed them to approach closely. I thought the shot was good and my gear got dragged around the Ocean with my float being dragged down repeatedly. Eventually found the float after about a half hour of swimming. Retrieved the gun and the fish was gone....


Later I watched Michael fighting a huge Wahoo which weighed 25kg. A remarkable fish that many spearos would aspire to. I dropped down on a school of tuna that turned to look at me and placed a nice holding shot in one of the fish. I was quick to pull the fish in and hold it against my body to stop any struggling which may have given the fish a chance to escape. We are still a little unsure of the species because it resembled a Mack Tuna but without the pectoral spots: possible a Frigate Tuna. Dave took a Rainbow Runner while drifting over some deep structure.


We moved S and drifted along the channel between NW Rocks and the Big Island for Mackerel but nothing came knocking. With the Classic around the corner, Michael and I still had some things to attend to and we decided to make a move in. Dave saw a log floating in the middle of nowhere and that is always good for a quick look. Took some Leatherjackets and I picked up a small Dorado.


Last stop: The Wash. This is a pinnacle that comes to the surface and drops off to some significant depths around its steep sides. With the current from the N we drifted in along the NE edge of The Wash. The bait seemed quite nervous and were packed close together. On closer inspection an array of predators were in tow. It wasn't long before I had 2 Amberjacks, a Rainbow Runner and a Yellowtail loaded in the esky. It seemed like I had started the Classic early. There were several other species also in the vicinity and at least 3 others could reasonably have been taken around this spot. I have heard that around the deeper structure there are always some Jewfish present and that will be a definite plan come competition day.


Michael chatted to me at some length about taking Wahoo. He turns away from the fish not directing any swimming attempt at them. He sometimes even balls himself up to arouse their natural curiosity. Judging by his success with Wahoo his technique pays dividends.


I was glad to see a number of species that allowed close approach. Apart from the fish taken, I also saw Silver Trevally, Mack Tuna and Cobia. Last year any diver with 4 species would have made it into the top 10 and a diver weighing 5 species each day would have to be in contention to win.

21 March 2009

I was reading Gletwyn's blog about servicing or attending to a carburettor at sea and I thought it might be worthwhile to run through some of the problems encounterd with my motors when I owned a boat. By the way, BOAT is an acronym for 'Bring Out Another Thousand'. Anyone interested in buying a boat would do well to bear this in mind before rushing out and splurging.

My boats, 2 in the end, were RIBs (rigid inflatable boats) with a pair of Yamaha 30hp, 2 stroke, 3 cylinder motors (same motors used on the 2 boats). Those motors saw lots of action and came up trumps in spite of some major problems along the way. Let me relate some of those stories as examples:

1. There is a shop in Johannesburg called 'Motor Books'. Either go there or find a similar retailer who can provide you with a service guide for your motors. The book I bought was a teaching manual for outboard mechanics, learning to service a range of Yamamha motors, and was extremely useful. Good simple text, lots of pictures and helpful hints. It was always carried on the boat as part of the normal emergency gear.

2. When the motors were bought, a magnet in one of the starter motors was fractured. It needed to be replaced. I learned a valuable lesson. If you buy the parts via the dealer, they WILL take their pound of flesh. You should look around, consider ebay, pirate parts or chat to local motorboat dealers who may have secondhand spares.

3. Check your sparkplugs. The manual clearly described what a healthy plug would look like. Make sure that the correct plugs are being used and that the gap is correct (usually the case if you buy new ones but it is always worth a check). My motors were serviced by a professional and he put the wrong plugs in (that is what happens when you don't check the manual) .

4. Don't be intimidated by the motors. The more you work on them, the more confident you become about sorting out problems. I was plagued by a motor that suddenly would not start. With 2 motors it was easy to swop items between the motors until I figured out the 'start-in-gear' switch was broken. Since all my launches were through the heavy Natal surf, the switch represented an unnecessary hassle and was bypassed (cut them off!). The motors would start in gear which was really useful with some of the nasty launches we encountered. If you only had 1 motor, use a digital camera to photograph the dismantling process, then you have a record of how to put everything back together without ending up with a handful of 'spare' parts.

5. My boat almost went up in flames when a short caused a small fire. After that the batteriers were always disconnected after use. There was a set of jumper-cables in the usual gear stowed on the boat. Since there were 2 motors, there were 2 separate batteries. This was useful if a battery was flat. Once the one motor was running it was a simple affair to start the other motor (this is not something you want to do in the waves so make sure you keep your batteries charged and properly serviced).

6. Don't sweat it if your motor fails at sea. Be logical. Secure your boat with an anchor if necessary and if possible to prevent you drifting too far or into trouble. Now go through the following sequence:
a. Check that the emergency cut-off clips are secured and in place.
b. Ensure that the battery terminals are clean and correctly attached to the battery.
c. Check the fuel line is connected, bulb pumped and sufficient fuel in tanks.
d. Ensure controls are in neutral if you have a functional 'start-in-gear' switch.

In the majority of cases that sequence would give you a running motor.

7. Carry some spare parts e.g. set of new sparkplugs for each motor, prop-lock nut and spare split pin. It is also worthwhile carrying a reasonable set of tools including spanners, screwdrivers and plug spanner. A couple of multi-tools and some shifting spanners are indispensable. Additional pieces of equipment that were useful: feeler guage (measure the gaps of sparkplugs), piece of emery paper, small wire brushes and silicone spray (WD40/Q20). It is worthwhile carrying a spare impeller for each motor, chances are you will probably need to replace one at 6pm on a Saturday night and that is when a spare is useful.

8. Take time to frequently inspect your engine. Changing plugs, checking wiring harnesses, removing props and cleaning, dropping the lower unit to change impellers and ensuring the crank has adequate oil, are essential and easy tasks. Regularly conducted, they build confidence to work with your motor and troubleshoot if necessary.

9. Always run your motors with the muffs on after taking it out on a trip. Listen for anything loose or different. Ensure that water is flowing freely through the cooling system (this sometimes does need to be flushed: pieces of rusted metal and sand do make their way through the cooling system and usually block the outlet). Part of the preparation before a trip should be to run the motors for some time on several occasions before the trip, to highlight any possible malfunctions. The muffs are intended for motors running at low revs, they are INADEQUATE when running a motor at high revs. NEVER dry start your motor, only 3 seconds of dry running irreversibly damages the impeller!

10. Finally, if you intend launching through surf take a good time to warm up both motors adequately. Low revs are fine and a good 5-10 minutes should provide you with a trouble free launch.

19 March 2009

I was not expecting to be out diving yesterday but it was a welcome phone call that had me loading my gear into the car and making my way to Michael's house before first light. Joining us for the day of diving was Kurt one of our dive mates. We launched from Arrawarra onto an absolutely flat sea and headed out toward NW Solitary Island. Recently the current has been shunting from the N, always a welcome set of circumstances. As we cleared the headland at Arrawarra the predicted S hit us with avengence. Fortunately we were moving with the direction of the swell and we quickly pulled up to NW Solitary. I jumped in to the delightfully warm and crystal clear water. Unfortunately the area we were hoping to find fish in, was empty. There was also hardly any current.

On to the Pinnacles at the Big Island. We motored around looking for showings of baitfish and eventually found them hanging on the seaward side of the pinnacle. Over went the anchor and we started swimming upcurrent looking for our quarry. Today expectations were high for Wahoo. There was hardly any current, a trickle from the S. The pinnacle had bait and pelagics gathered up together. I saw Mack Tuna both big slow swimmers and the little speedsters, following these were considerable schools of flighty Yellowfin Tuna. The big Mack Tuna make relatively easy targets but the Yellowfin obviously know they are an intended target and don't hang around when you dive. There was a huge school of Yellowtail Kingfish probably numbering in the thousands and in between these I saw Trevally too. I am sure if one had spent more time observing the school, there would have been other pelagics mixed in with the Yellowtail. Kurt got a Cobia out of a group of approximately 10 that he saw following a Black Ray.

We moved to the N end of the Big Island and started diving the seaward drop-off on the edge of the reserve. I encountered some Rainbow Runner but I was not going to shoot at a lesser target when big game was on the cards. This was a good call because as I turned the massive shape of a Queensland Grouper loomed up next to me. The fish could easily have gone over 100kg. Better known as Brindle Bass where I come from I have rarely seen specimens this size unless scuba diving on wrecks. I am sure I would have had a major tussle with this fish had I shot a small Rainbow Runner. I made my way back to the boat only to have Kurt join me with a Spanish Mackerel. Kudos to him. Michael and I were eating humble pie.

Next stop the S end of the Big Island. This is a good spot for Bluebar Parrotfish and Pelagics. I dived and encountered a small Samsonfish. The shot should have been good but a Black Cod gave the fish so much grief that the spear came unstuck. I noticed lots of Black Rays around and took to checking for Cobia. I did not realise Michael had already seen some Cobia which would not offer a shot. After a good breath-up and surface preparation, I dropped to about 22m and watched as 2 large Black Rays came over to investigate me. I hung still in the water, following them was a reasonable Cobia. The fish followed the rays coming over to look at me then angling away. My plan is to improve my technique, so I concentrated on making a good shot. The spear hit the fish high on the left shoulder angling down to the right pectoral fin, in the process smashing the spine. The fish rolled over without so much as a twitch. By this time the sea was getting very rough and we elected to move to a shallower spot: Spooky.

Spooky gets its name from an encounter Michael had on this shallow reef with a White Pointer. On my first dive I swam into a school of Bonito but left them as I was looking for better quarry, that will not be happening next weekend. I drifted to the bottom several times, not finding anything. This was likely considering the bait in the area was swimming around completely relaxed. I eventually dived on the edge of the reef arriving on the sand and lay still with my eyes closed. When I opened them a small Venus Tuskfish was in front of my spear. I took the small fish and saw several more on subsequent dives. Michael surprized us by rustling up a Mangrove Jack from directly under the anchored boat. Will his luck ever run out?

I will probably get into the water one more time before the Classic just to check conditions and have a quick look at the available species. After the Classic it is back to South Africa on holiday and my site will be a little quiet until I get back to Coffs Harbour.

16 March 2009

The weather was quite forgiving over the weekend and I managed to get out both Saturday and Sunday. Expectations were high on Saturday because I had heard that John Featherstone and some friends had found a school of big Samsonfish at a recently discovered pinnacle. The smallest fish was 15kg and the largest a whopping 22.5kg. Great fish and a great effort.

We launched from Coffs and headed to the Lighthouse where I freedived and just looked around as we were in the reserve. Then moved off to Black Rock and around the Wash. I was just not making the shots count or turning seen fish into landed fish. Yellowtail Kingfish were around as were Amberjack. I dived on Cobia and should have made a good shot but didn't. We did see some Tailor and Silver Trevally but these are really not worthwhile pursuing unless in a competition.

We ventured out wide and the viz was spectatcular. Gin clear, warm water that just screams pelagics. I saw huge numbers of Dorado and took 2 smallish fish that just went size. Every trap we stopped at out wide had a contingent of Dorado.

We travelled back to Coffs in the late morning, stopping at the Wave Recorder for a quick look. The sea was putrid. Poor viz but interestingly lots of fish working. The downside was that every time I saw a fish I was hesitant to take the shot, knowing that Kris was in that direction. There were Rainbow Runner, Mack Tuna and Dorado but the best was seeing a Wahoo, it was very flighty and I am not sure if it came back to look at me the viz was that bad.

I heard that evening that divers out at the Big Island had successfully landed some Wahoo and seen several schools of various sizes which bodes well for the Classic.

Justin struggled to find crew for Sunday which was surprizing but the 2 of us again launched from Coffs. We had intended going from Arrawarra which may have been difficult with only 2 divers. We looked around for some clean water to dive, hoping to get in some good deep diving practice but the current had not pushed the clean water in yet. The current was pushing strongly from the N and should move that clean water right in if the rivers don't spill mud out again. We eventually went and checked out the FAD and some fish traps but there wasn't anything really worthwhile and we called it a day quite early.

Michael and I are avidly putting our plan together for the Classic and trying to work out the best route to follow to cover as much ground as possible. Obviously one wants to hit areas that other divers pass as the increased boat traffic and diver presence does put the fish off.

13 March 2009

Unlucky Friday the 13th. Only unlucky thing are the poor buggers working in this great weather. Clear blue skies, great clean, warm sea that just screams FISH! I am at work but preparing for a good weekend of spearfishing.

Just recently, a good Blue and Black Marlin have been tagged and released off Coffs, with reports of some small Black Marlin being seen from the Southern harbour breakwater. A little S of our normal hunting grounds, fishermen have had a field day with Spotted Mackerel (very similar to Natal Snoek) and Spanish. The first big mackerel that I have heard of, this season, has been taken, a fish of 28kg. What an awesome fish and I can easily imagine getting a fish like that on spear. Having said that, I am looking at the photo of a 40kg Spanish taken by Michael several years ago. The head is in his freezer at home and looks quite formidable. There have also been some very good Snapper weighed recently but when it comes to hunting these, you really need a long breath and a great deal of patience or just some real good luck.

Thursday 12 March 2009

Saturday 7 March was the last club competition. Coffs Harbour Bluewater Freedivers arrange an annual trip to a spearfishing venue as a club holiday. Lots of frivolity and good times but some diving thrown in.

Conditions had been reasonable. The chocolate had cleared a lot and earlier in the week, divers had reported great sightings around the Big Island. We were at Wooli about 2 hrs N of Coffs and considerably closer to the Big Island. For a change there was a great attendance with almost all the club members competing. We even had some visitors from Nambucca join us.

Michael and I decided to look at the Big Island, while some divers headed further N. We found hardly any current which tends to throw a spanner in the works. A number of boats had already stationed themselves over the pinnacles N of the Big Island and we moved to the gutters in front of NW rocks. I don't know if there is anything as disappointing as lying on the bottom in clean, warm water and seeing nothing. I dived for a 1/2 hour and found I had hardly drifted away from the anchored boat at all.

Next move to the S end of the island. On the first dive I mess up with a Bluebar and that seemed to set the mood for the day. I soon missed another Bluebar. I was not very comfortable with my recent gun setup. Changed the Freedivers spear to something else, after it was bent and the new spear was affecting my aim. I found some Scads being harassed by monster Mack Tuna (Kawakawa) around the 7kg mark. They did not behave like the smaller speedsters of their species do. They hung around looking at me. Oh well at least I would weigh something. Forget it. My aim was way off and I missed on both chances I had. I was sore about that because both fish were sitters and should have been a sure thing.

Kept at it, pounding away at the deep dives and encountered some Tailor on my way up. Over-excitement chased them before I could take a shot and then to make matters worse I found a Bluebar at about 22m and it was quite calm. I lay still paying it no attention and the longer I lay the more excited it became, until it shot off farting out bits of coral. I climbed into the boat nursing a severely bruised ego.

Michael took one shot all day, nailing 2 Bludger at the same time. Back at the weigh in, some nice fish were put onto the scales. John had a nice bag of Moses Perch, Mangrove Jack, Bluebar and Maori Cod but Kurt's 5.5kg Bluebar was voted the best fish of the day. Fortunately the guys from Nambucca were only over for a friendly. Between 2 of their divers, they got a lovely Samsonfish and 3 Spanish, so the fish are around.

Being quiet is important. It starts when working at the surface, not banging on the hull of the boat to when you dive, gliding in to the bottom. Try not to bash your gear around on the bottom or scrape your fins over the bottom. Some divers have a clever technique of pulling themselves along the bottom with their free arm thus limiting the racket they create. Your eyes seem to give your intentions away. Try to avoid looking directly at your quarry. Keep your eyes slightly closed or away from the fish.

At the moment Cyclone Hamish is stuffing the conditions up completely and the weather predictions are for a clearing this weekend. Let's hope.

5 March 2009

Dived on Sunday 1st March in the club competition. Conditions looked good but as it panned out, the situation was still a little mucky and you had to move around to find suitable conditions. We started at the wave recorder and the Coffs FAD. The conditions at the wave recorder were poor but the FAD was quite spectacular, unfortunately there were very few fish around. Met up with some other divers at the FAD who were going to call it a day because the water was so putrid. We persevered and actually went back to where these divers had just come from. The conditions were still mucky and I still had no fish.

We moved inshore about 500m from the Lighthouse and the situation improved quite dramatically. Viz was better and there were many more fish around. In the end I got an Amberjack, Samsonfish, Rainbow Runner and a Fusilier. That closes my account for Rainbow Runners and Fusiliers. Michael whacked me again. He weighed Samsonfish, Yellowtail, Amberjack, Rainbow Runner and a nice Mangrove Jack. The Jack came from a school of 4 good fish found in really shallow water. I almost lost my Amberjack to a Whaler that gave me a really hard time.

Since the weekend, I have had reports of some good fish seen at the Big Island. During a dive, several large Wahoo attacked a school of smallish Yellowfin Tuna. The Yellowfin were in a school with some very big Mack Tuna. Some time into the dive, 2 small Black Marlin were also encountered. Yesterday John took some divers back to the Big Island and they got some smallish Spanish, again the Yellowfin and Mack Tuna were around. On one of the shallower reefs, Mantas were found and following them a school of big Cobia. A Cobia of 22.5kg was landed from the school, the diver in question spearing it 3 times before managing to subdue it.

This weekend is the March club competition coinciding with the club annual trip. We are going about 2 hours N to Wooli. All things point to a good weekend of diving. So lots of Sushi and fresh fish for supper this weekend.

26 February 2009

Went for a quick dive yesterday. The S has brought in warm water but the sea still looks dirty. We decided to go out wide. Left at Sparrow's fart or half past stupid as a friend describes the crack of dawn. Headed out to the wave-recorder. Recently there has been some clean warm water out near the continental shelf and we were hoping for some of that. Some divers have managed the odd Dorado, one even jumping in just outside the harbour to check out conditions, finding a school of huge Cobia. He did not have a gun but one was quickly provided and a good Cobia shot. The rest of the day they scratched.

We jumped in but the water at the surface was dirty, down to about 3 metres. Not cold but not warm like we expected. I took a dive through the muck and found clean blue water below that felt considerably warmer. The fish were hanging in this warmer water. My nerve was shot because I kept expecting to see something big with lots of teeth come up to me. The conditions were just not to my liking. A White took a chunk out of a surfboard about 40km S of Coffs 2 days ago and that picture is still fresh in my mind. We looked at some fish traps in the area but only small Dorado were seen. A fresh NW was starting up making the boating unpleasant so we decided to head back for an early breakfast and try some deer-hunting with bows instead.

This Sunday is the next club competition and I really hope the situation improves. Although in shallower water, one is really not too fussed over being able to see from the surface unless you are trying to orientate yourself on the reef. It would be great to have some decent viz for a change.

19 February 2009

What a strange set of circumstances. The worst natural disaster in Australian history befell Victoria with the state ravaged by bush-fires. At the same time a series of tropical storms brought masses of rain into Queensland, resulting in many small towns becoming isolated because of flooding.

Recently Coffs Harbour has been exposed to massive Southerlies, great for flushing out the left-over cold dirty winter water but with the S came a torrential downpour. In one 24hr period 0.25m of water was recorded. When people start expressing rainfall in metres things are serious. Some of the areas around Coffs have been declared disaster areas too. What of the ocean. The rivers have pumped tons of silt-laden water into the sea but on a more positive note, it appears that the warm EAC water may be here. Just a question of being patient and allowing the sea to clear.

13 February 2009

One might be inclined to think unlucky Friday 13th but in the previous 2 days I have heard of 3 separate shark attacks. A Navy diver was attacked in Sydney Harbour in the early morning. In typical Navy diver fashion he climbed into the shark punching and fighting it off. The following day a surfer N of us was attacked on his board. The shark missed him but left an impressive bite mark in his board. Yesterday evening, a surfer lost his arm to a shark at Bondi. These are all believed to be Bull Shark encounters. The general consensus amongst divers is that the level of aggression in sharks appears to be elevated. This is more than likely the result of breeding, increased numbers of prey species and increased water temperatures.

The S has been consistant for the previous 3 days and is predicted to continue for another 3 days at least, which means the warm water should be on the beach by Wednesday next week. While this is welcome it is sensible to exercise some caution as sharks are likely to be far more inquisitive and unpredictable.

12 February 2009

The EAC has been running strongly out deep but it is diverted from Byron Bay, some km's N of us and only swings into the coast near SW Rocks, S of us. When looking at the sea surface temperatures and currents it remains obvious that some cold unpleasant winter water has been trapped off the Coffs Coast and will not be replaced until a strong S weather system forces fresh water in. The cold winter water is nutrient rich and mixed with the warmer water resulted in a tremendous algal bloom. This cut viz right down and since the conditions have been settled, the thermocline is back.

I managed to get in on Friday just before the weekend rush. We dived hard and travelled a massive distance but had little to show for it. A small Dorado, Yellowtail Kingfish and a small unlucky Spanish were the only fish of note. There were no sharks around and I am confident that if there are no sharks, there are no fish. When we got back to Coffs Harbour, the tide was low and the recent swell had deposited a large quantity of sand at the approach to the small craft ramp. Made for an interesting approach on the back of a wave just to have enough water under the boat. Apparently later that day and on Saturday, several boats were unable to get in until high tide. The dredge has been roped in to open the approach.

Sunday, we had some time to get out and do some diving. On Saturday, several Mantas had been seen with a huge entourage of large Cobia. We were after some Cobia and took a good look at Chopper and NW Solitary Island. Unfortunately there was nothing worthwhile and the conditions were foul. An early halt to proceedings ensued with an early breakfast in the offing.

At the moment a strong S system is active off our coast and this should eventually herald the start of some great conditions.

2 February 2009

Yesterday saw the commencement of the first club competition for the year following on the cancellation last weekend. We launched from Arrawarra N of Woolgoolga. This gave us access to the N Islands, pinnacles and reefs. We headed out to the Big Island (North Solitary) and from there to the Wooli FAD. The sea was literally full of Dorado, hundreds and hundreds of them but nothing worth having a go at. Even the Yellowtail directly under the FAD were too small to warrant taking anything. Michael and I ended up with a Rainbow Runner each, for our efforts. The rules for the club comp is that you may only weigh 2 of each species for the year. The score for the species being higher than the weight but the weight is also ranked according to the expected maximum weight of the species for this area based on previous club records.

We moved to the pinnacles N of the Big Island but only managed some Fusiliers. The drift from the E of NW Rocks towards the Big Island produced 2 Goldspot Wrasse for me and a small Spanish for Michael. We continued scratching at various reefs, caves and supposed hotspots and Michael managed to rustle up some meagre reward in the form of a Goatfish and some Frigate Tuna, while I managed a small Yellowtail. In the end only Michael, Asher and myself weighed fish. Part of the challenge is knowing what to weigh and when. Last year half of the club competitions were cancelled because of poor conditions. This means you could realistically be shooting great quality fish but when it comes to a competition you may be scratching around for points through no fault of your own.

I took my first Samsonfish and it really is a handsome looking fish. Perhaps a little darker than Amberjack with a forehead reminiscent of a Giant Trevally. The smaller ones, which mine was, flash a dark barred pattern similar to a Bludger. Other fish weighed included Silver Trevally and Blue Morwong, for all intents and purposes think along the lines of a small Cape Bankie. There were none of the fish of legendary size like 30kg yellowtail, 20kg mackerel or 30kg+ Wahoo, never mind the big Dorado which have been seen and taken recently.

29 January 2009

A day away from the hectic life of being a veterinarian to the hectic life of being a SPEARO. The Ocean has been spectacular for the passed few days. Buoyweather predicted light S winds and all the reports we had were of great diving conditions. Michael, John and I got together at Coffs Harbour launch ramp before the sun was anywhere near the horizon. The sun crept over the horizon as we approached the wave recording buoy. Fish were leaping to escape submerged predators which is always a good sign. It did not take long to kit up and jump in. John spotted the school of Dorado first and started looking for a good specimen. He picked up on it too late because my spear hit it squarely near the pectoral fin. First drift and a good fish in the esky already.



We had co-ords for some fish traps and we were soon on our way to these, John being convinced he was going to get something big. First stop yielded nothing, second stop nothing, then the rest of the co-ords proved useless, the traps having been moved. Moved on to the FAD. Michael picked up another good Dorado but John was having one of those days, dropping 2 nice fish. Just as expected, the fish became shy after the first few drifts. This can be especially frustrating when you can see an ocean full of Dorado but you cannot get near them.



The next move was to water with a bottom. We stopped in the bay at South Solitary Island looking for Spanish. There was a distinct fishy smell, something I have noticed when fish have been feeding heavily on oily bait. There were no Spanish but as I lay on the bottom, a school of large Tailor(Bluefish in the USA, Shad/Elf in SA) swam into range. True to form the fish seemed unaware of me on the bottom. I selected a good fish and whacked it through the head, from below. These fish are very difficult to shoot from above because they zoom through the water as if everything wants to eat them. Just another species which supports my idea that it is much easier to get to a fish from below than above.

We then moved into deeper water, looking for Sambos and Wahoo. We found lots of Crocodile Gar which can only mean the Wahoo are going to be around in numbers soon. Michael dropped a large Jewfish and then landed a nice Samsonfish. I lost a Sambo too but then found a big Yellowtail King. I was on my way to get a Jew when the King swam in under me. I lined up for a head shot but the spear went through the shoulder and missed the spine. The fish dragged me along at some speed and I think the struggling fish enticed a shark which started following me. This is all conjecture because the fish broke free and I suddenly came to a stop in the sea. That was when I felt a massive strike on my right fin. The shark must have come out of the water at that stage, I rolled to see the shark pass next to me and then down, not to be seen again. Everything happened so quickly I can only guess at the species but I think it was probably a Bronze Whaler. I headed back to the boat to check my fins, nothing, not a mark. I can only surmise the shark was coming up at me then realised after it had committed that I was not worth eating. I think the impact on the fin was the shark's unchecked approach after it had committed itself.

We moved again, to N of Groper Island. This is out of the extensive reserve around Groper and is a small highly prized spot. John picked up a Striped Tuna but it did little to appease his agony at not being able to land anything worthwhile. Michael soon loaded a Gold-spot Wrasse, then a Mangrove Jack. I was disappointed because I had just come away from the school of Bulls-eye hanging close together, apparently a prime indicator for Pearl Perch when Michael dropped in and smacked the Jack. I dropped down again intent on a Jack. The bait closed around me but I moved deeper. There was colour and movement, 2 Bluebar Parrots. I tracked the larger of the 2 and successfully took it. These fish are always skittish but amongst the bait they were very approachable.

A while later, I made a deep dive and spotted what looked like a Jack. As it came closer I noticed the black mark on its saddle. This was a species of snapper I had never encountered. I lay very still allowing its approach. I lined up well before the fish turned to offer a shot and the spear went through its gill plate coming out above the jaw on the other side. Identified as a Moses Perch and is good eating. Michael's gun started playing up and he was fretting on the boat. I shouted to him to get his back-up and get back in. He did just that, only to drop in on a school of Spanish and another into the esky.

Between the 3 of us the bag was 2 Dorado, Striped Tuna, Gold-spot Wrasse, Samsonfish, Mangrove Jack, Bluebar Parrot, Moses Perch, Tailor and a Spanish. Not a bad haul for what seemed a quiet day of spearfishing. The bag of fish looked quite amazing with the range of colours. John endured a great deal of ragging and I have no doubt when the tables are turned, I will be in for a fair share myself.

Michael kindly prepared a few different species last night, in beer-batter, and these tasty morsels were scoffed with some really good home-brewed beer. I wonder if I could be more content than I am right now.

Several points worth remembering were the presence of several good fish amongst the dense school of Bulls-eye, the enormous numbers of Garfish, always a good indicator of surface predators and try to get your big Dorado quickly because the longer you wait the less chance you are going to get. Lastly, we stopped off in a reserve area to practice some breath-holds. On descent there would be no fish, but as you lay on the bottom, the numbers stacked up around you. I noticed on a dive with a bottom time of 2.5 minutes that there were fish coming to see what was happening from a long way away, beyond the edge of viz. Obviously the diver is new and worth investigating and as the fish move into the area they produce low intensity vibrations which arouse the curiosity of others, the more fish hanging around, the more attention the diver will attract.

27 January 2009

Sunday was to be the club comp day. A NE had been blowing moderately, turning the shallows into milky muck. Then a strong S was expected, dropping off to a light S by Sunday morning. Perfect conditions: warm, clear water, perhaps a little choppy on the surface but that always seems to turn the fish on. Arrived at the launch at Arrawarra with the trees straining in a hefty S. The sea was on its head. Comp postponed to next Sunday.

Disappointment was clear on everyones' faces. I was keen to give my new DiveR carbon fins a go. Took them to the pool instead this morning. There have been the odd good fish coming out. Late Sunday afternoon and Monday (Australia Day i.e beer & braai) had great promise. Several Dorado were taken off the buoys and fish traps in the area over the 2 days. I heard of a Mangrove Jack, Purple Cod and Gold-spotted Wrasse taken yesterday.

Conditions over the next few days are great. Light S, the sea is absolutely beautiful. It is clean and warm, reminiscent of that Mozambique water you hope for in Sodwana or off Aliwal. The viz is around 30m+. Offshore the fisherlmen have had a hard time with little to show for their effort. Tomorrow should be a perla day and I have a long diving session planned.

Club Competition has an interesting format. There is a very limited list of really good fish on the list and each diver may only weigh 2 of each species for the year. You need to be a consistant diver throughout the year to have a shot at being club champion.

22 January 2009

The ocean appears to be settling down very nicely and has looked extremely inviting over the last week or so. I was fortunate enough to get out for a quick dive on Sunday. Conditions were still unsettled after the S blow but the sea was warm, with reasonable viz. There was a considerable current pushing S-N which had us starting just S of NW Solitary Island. The area was very fishy, lots of bait and indicators hanging around. On the first dive I saw a large school of good Yellowtail but they were reluctant to allow any approach. Headed upcurrent to prepare for another drift when a good 'Tail swam under me. It was an easy dive but the fish seemed quite flighty. I stopped to allow it to settle and started flicking my fingers at it. A small school of Yellowtail came in for a look, I selected a good fish and shot, hoping for an immediate kill. It was a good shot but slightly further back than I would have hoped. The fish bolted N dragging me along.

Getting the fish under control took considerable effort but once it was on its back I was able to dispatch it easily. I reloaded my gun and popped up for a look at where the boat was. It was a good 1.5km away. What ensued was a 1/2 hr swim back to the boat to load the 'Tail. All the divers got fish with Michael taking a nice 16kg specimen. Justin had a school of Cobia swim up to look at the second Yellowtail he shot, unfortunately the rest of us weren't close enough to get in on the Cobia action. Saw a few small Spanish but they were very shy. Some Bonnies came through, Sarda sp, and Michael took one, which made excellent sushi. Michael prepared some of the 'Tail yesterday by marinading it in Green Thai Curry and lime then onto the barbecue with a basting of coconut milk, mint and coriander. The fish was served in a wrap with Basil and tomato...spectacular.

Passed John on Sunday, he was on his way out to N Solitary. They got some good Mangrove Jacks in very deep water which bodes well for the future. There is still stacks of bait around and there are reports of fishermen getting some Spotted Mackerel (very similar to Natal Snoek) just S of us. Got my new rigid DiveR blades which I am very keen to fit to my fins. Sincerely hope that the effort required to do the deep dives will be markedly reduced.

Sunday is the club competition and I have decided to be more active in participating this year, now that I am settled in. I also want to get a better look at some of the spots before the Bluewater Classic at the end of March.

15 January 2009

My lack of diving continues unabated. I am almost depressed by the prospects of working while the spectacle of a calm ocean haunts my dreams. A strong S did push in over the weekend but it blew itself out way too quickly. Predictions are for another extended S blow this weekend.

It appears that sharks are thick all around Australia. A youngster was investigated twice by a 5m White off Tasmania and fortunately her cousin came to her aid and it is very likely his brave action saved her life. In my neck of the woods there have been 2 incidents involving Bull Sharks attacking surfers in shallow water. Some friends were diving recently when a Grey Nurse came up to the surface and investigated the one diver's flashers before turning and making some threatening moves at the diver on the surface, this in approx 20m water!

From a fish point of view, the diving has been hard but the glory goes to those who persevere. I heard of several Cobia, Wahoo and Amberjack being landed. Interestingly the Amberjack and Cobia appear to have come from particularly deep dives 30m+. One Wahoo was shot at by a diver on the surface when he estimated the fish to be 4kg. The fish was taken by a dive buddy and turned out to be over 10kg. Clean blue water can play havoc on your ability to judge fish size. When you believe you are close enough GET CLOSER.

2 January 2009

My diving has been shelved over the last few weeks. When the Ocean looked good, I was at work and when I was available, the conditions turned to crap. The first half of the month was quite good but the second half has been really shoddy. Now that the excuses are out of the way, there have been some fish landed.

In the last week there have been some Dorado taken, as well as a Jewfish. My grapevine informs me that several Marlin have been seen around North Solitary Island (Big Island). I even heard of a Wahoo that was dropped at the FAD off Coffs. The guys also saw a Mako jumping around at the FAD, no surprise that the Dorado were so flighty then! The reason for the poor results has been the light NE which has kept a cold, dirty thermocline at the 15-20m level.

All predictions are for a hefty S blow over the next week which should finally push the good water in against the shore. It would be great to have some consistent conditions to dive in again. I am looking forward to a great year of diving. I hope to bump into one of the big Spanish around Pig Island this year. Last year a fish of over 40kg was taken on rod-and-line.