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.