WinterWonderland by John Featherstone

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It really is a great time of year and one I have missed terribly in the last couple of years. Torrential rains, unstable weather, swell, all evils that for ‘08, ‘09 made Winter diving nearly impossible here on the North Coast of NSW. Finally, however, the Winters that I remember have returned.

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by John Featherstone

MULLOWAY Leon Gray

Kris Banks

John Featherstone

WINTER 2010

“Lurch” Adams with a nice Winter Mulloway

he crisp chill of the Winter morn, the fog that sits motionless in the valley below our house, the steam rising vertically from your morning whizz. All signs of a glass flat day ahead. I crunch across the gravel to hitch up the Zodiac Pro 9 Man. As the dimmed headlights make their way down the driveway, the boys are on time, I like that. My cappuccino warms my hand and the coffee perks up the insides as I try to load the boat one handed. You just can’t rush that morning coffee. The prep is second nature, but I still tick off the mental checklist. We creep out the driveway so as not to rouse the sleeping family and my young son still half asleep moves closer and turns up the heater. A thin band of crimson peaks over the Eastern horizon as we make our way to the ramp. One of the things I really love about this part of the world is the lack of traffic and how close everything is. A relaxed 10 minute drive and we’re there. The flags atop the beachside houses are listless and the fog stretches down to the ocean, where it spirals as it meets the warmer air off the Pacific Ocean. It is shaping up to be a beautiful day. Suiting up is never pleasant in Winter, as I pull off the Winter woollies and replace it with a cold, but fortunately dry wetsuit. Ok, it’s not that cold by Victorian standards, but as I have said before, life is

relative! The Zodiac slides effortlessly off the trailer and sits motionless on the morning glass that is the bay, the ripples, the only disturbance. A flick of the key and the little 50 horse E-Tec comes to life even on this cold morning. A wry smile crosses my face as I flash back to some of the outboard engines I have owned over the years. One in particular that wouldn’t start unless you were standing on one leg humming a tune with one eye closed....well you get the idea. With the jacket zipped up and the beanie pulled down, the chatter under the hull and the wisps of spray off the bow breathe a wonderful calm into the soul. A quick check of the plotter tells me we are moving at 50km/h, not bad. Destination this morning is the coast and hopefully some nice Mulloway. Another great thing about Winter is the short runs that are required most mornings to get where you want to be. 10 minutes and I throttle back to see less than half a metre of swell lapping the rocky foreshore and a respectable 10-12m visibility - sensational! I drop the guys off at about 200m intervals and Sam and I go up to anchor the boat for a bit of leapfrog. That is, we swim North and the guys we dropped off make their way up to the boat, pick up the boat and move it another couple of hundred metres North of us. This way we can cover

LOBSTER

Sam Featherstone - ok, with a little assistance, but didn’t need any help eating them!

lots of country and not be swimming on top of each other into Jewie holes. Of course, if you were a QLD’er like some of the ones I know, you’d drop the other divers a kilometre down the beach and tell them how good those sand gutters looked. The conditions are perfect and I direct Sam towards the first Mulloway hole. Some quick pointers and he is off. Perhaps some refinement is in order as I see a school of 6-8kg Mulloway come shooting past me - I have no gun. I have a little chuckle and his look of frustration says it all. He cuts his teeth on some Bream and Blackfish (the Phantom would be proud) before we make our way back to see the other lads have picked up some nice eating size Mulloway. On that point, BIG Mulloway are a fish most spearos dream about and of course I have no problem with anyone taking a big fish every once in a while. BUT, giving the same holes a caning over and over eventually drives the fish away, and often they will not return for many years. Make sure you spread your efforts over many different locations. Not only will you ensure there are plenty of fish in your favourite holes when you are struggling to find fish, but you’ll be amazed at what else will show up on some headlands, e.g. big Snapper especially in the cooler months. All good! With the Mulloway itch scratched, we headed out a little wider to a haunt that has produced some nice Eastern Rock Lobster and today was no exception. In fact, we found a couple of holes where I didn’t even bother because they were all obviously oversized. For those that are unaware, there is an upper limit in NSW on Eastern Rock Lobster of carapace length of 180mm, which is approximately 2.0kg, so still a nice lobster. The larger ones are left for breeding stock and actually aren’t that great to eat when they get big anyway, BUT, it is very cool to see monster lobster piled up on top of each other. The diving is a little deeper than usual for lobster and can be hard work if they are scarce, but fortunately today, we get our bag limit of two each pretty easily and move on.

Another prime target in Northern NSW at this time of the year is Pearl Perch. They seem to move in a little closer to the coast and can be found in surprisingly shallow water during the Winter months. They are nowhere near as prolific as in the deep (+50m), but that is strictly the domain of fishermen. The trick is finding them, shooting them isn’t all that difficult MOST of the time, although the bigger they get the more wary they seem to be. I cannot say that I have, after many years and much hypothesis, worked out too much about them, other than to say they come and go intermittently and sometimes it can take a couple of different spots before you come up trumps. Also, I think it takes time to be able to “spot” Pearl Perch in amongst the bait. They can be very well camouflaged as they sit motionless in the bait and I have seen many a greenhorn and experienced spearo alike swim straight past them. It actually makes it even sweeter to shoot one once your buddy has swum straight past it. Keep your eyes peeled! The signs that I look for include Bulleye’s, tight against the bottom, with a school of Surgeon above and I also rate Silver trevally as a great indicator. This seems to be the perfect setup for your Pearlies. Also, kelp is a good sign. They will often sit under the kelp and ambush the bait from below. You only need to look at their physical characteristics to realise they aren’t built for running down their prey. Short stocky tail and a great big mouth, perfect adaptations for an ambush predator. Dive down and have a look under the kelp canopy where you can get a clearer view. Often you will see them sitting in amongst the kelp stalks. They can be tricky to shoot here! As you extend your gun through the Kelp they may move a few feet and you have to pull your gun back and retarget since you can’t swing through the kelp stalks. I have occasionally done this three or four times before pulling the trigger. Finally, be patient! Pearlies can be very twitchy and often flinch just as you pull the trigger. The calmer you are, the more likely you will be able to bridge the gap and place a good head shot! They are just too good to eat to waste any of the flesh with a poor shot. I endeavour shoot all of my Pearlies in the head, but no one’s perfect, especially me! Ok that’s the facts as I know them, back to the story. We pull up on one of my favourite Pearl Perch haunts. I found this ground after a lot of tedious random driving around with the sounder on. I look at my plotter these days and the myriad of marks is an indication of the many hundreds of hours I have spent trying to find new ground. Sure, some of the marks I have been given, but 95% of them can be attributed to just plain old time on the water and commitment. The reward is often that the marks you find probably haven’t been fished or dived all that much. As a side note to those who like to boat past other fishermen and spearos and mark their positions for later inspection. Not a fan! Do your own homework. It is painfully obvious what you are doing, a little common courteous goes a long way...enough said on that point. I got side-tracked again didn’t I, back to the story! The reef is a beautiful little pinnacle that rises out of 22m to about 15m and holds a tremendous amount of bait including Yakka’s, Bullseyes, Surgeon, Tarwhine and Bream and of course often Pearlies. Over this Winter I have also found some monster Goldspot wrasse on this spot, a beautiful and very

PEARLIES

The Beautiful eating Pearl perch, Above Author, Left Kris Banks. Opposite: Stonking Goldspot wrasse of 4.96kg, the World’s Dumbest Snapper and one tuckered out little spearo!

GOLDSPOT welcome bycatch, but today, really looking to find a couple of nice Pearl perch. First dive reveals a perfect setup with some solid bait and Bullseyes packed down on the bottom with Surgeon swirling above and plenty of Sliver trevally. Sure enough, I see half a dozen Pearl perch with one standout fish. I creep cautiously through the bait and make sure that the shot ended up right on target after a little prey/ predator ballet. Leon picks up a nice one and Kris gets his first Pearl perch, he is rapt. Other Winter goodies? This Winter, the water out wider is a little dirty, but an offshore lump produces a nice Samsonfish around the 10kg mark. I also find the World’s stupidest Snapper, tipping the scales at just under 4kg. Folks, I could tell you a grand tale of hunting but I see the Snapper coming from about 15m away and he just keeps swimming right up to me and turns sidewards about 2m from the end of my gun. I recall thinking, STUPID fish just before I pull the trigger. Perhaps I should have let him go forth and multiply, but if Snapper were that easy to shoot all the time they wouldn’t, rightly, hold their place as one of the pinnacles for spearfishing like they do. I have worked hard for most of the Snapper I have shot so I’ll take a gimme if it comes along. Regardless, happy

spearo! But today the day draws on and the midday Winter sun on your back wards off the slight chill from the offshore winds. The little fella is looking like he has had enough and again it is only a quick 10 minutes back the beach. This Winter has been such a refreshing change from the previous two seasons and it just goes to show that if you can handle a little chill and get out there, Winter can be not only great weatherwise in certain parts, but also produce some terrific fish and lobster.

SNAPPER