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s I type this, I’m still buzzing, it’s late, I’m tired and I have to work in the morning. But who cares, I have spearfishing on my mind. We have just returned from a trip with a twist, combining both inshore and offshore grounds, a lot of spearing footage and great mates. Research and time in the water was the main key for success with this trip as Roy, G, Tim and I all landed personal bests in a few species. Our first day of diving was planned to be our longest, as it included driving through the night after a full day at work. We arrived at the ramp half an hour before sunrise and opened the car doors to feel the pain of a wind-chill that not even a 5mm wettie could warm. After a bit of a ride to our fishing grounds, we slowed the boat a fair distance off the GPS mark and glued our eyes to the sounder, searching for any anomalies and after a couple of hundred metres a tiny speck of bait appeared on the screen, encouraging enough to get us in. First visual inspection of the ground wasn’t overly exciting. All I noticed were some small Redthroats and juvenile Red emperor’s so I moved along the sand edge and by the end of the drift I hadn’t really seen much. I got into the boat and gazed at Tim’s Red door (10+kg Red emperor) laying at his feet, his face grinning of course… Turns out he had cut an old fish frame into a few pieces and as they began to sink, an Estuary cod taking the free meal caught his attention. The action brought on by the Cod also sparked the interest of the Red emperor as he was also keen on some of the burley and soon decided to compete with the Cod, hence ignoring Tim. Lining the shot up from above, Tim was able to place the shot through the gill plate with the spear exiting out the jaw of the 10kg Red. A great first fish for the trip. We sounded a little further and found some even more promising signs on the sounder and the next thing I know, I’m in the boat listening to cries coming through snorkels. “Purple cod, Maori cod, Red emps, Jobfish”. I can see from the boat that Tim is working the video camera strapped to his wrist on each of his dives. I know it won’t be long till he shoots something, but hopefully he isn’t aiming the video too high again. Some nice Maori cod and Red emperor’s are passed over to me, I clip their pectoral fins off before they’re put in the esky. All the boys are all psyched
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Lobster This winter was one of the best yet for crays in Coffs Harbour. Knowing where to find them at certain times can be the trick, but once you’ve got a few good holes or a good patch of reef, you are in for a treat. We had a few days where it was hard work finding a cray that wasn’t too big! These two pictured were just legal size and got a royal treatment on the BBQ. Remeber to dispatch your crays humainly in the freezer for a short stint.
Spangled Emperor We were lucky to bump into a few unusual northern visitors this winter. Spangled emperor are found down the NSW coast as far as sydney but are still a rare and tasty capture here in Coffs Harbour. The fish pictured was around 3kg and was speared just on dusk in 12mtrs of water. They can be found schooling with other species such as snapper, jewfish and bream. A beautiful fish and great to eat.
Mangrove Jack A strong and bold fish, Mangrove jacks are prized for their tasty white flesh as well as their wary nature. This fish was captured swiming in amongst a school of surgeonfish for protection. It’s important to keep a keen eye out when you are swimming with surgeon fish to make sure that there isn’t another species hiding in amongst them. This fish weighed just over 3kg and was speared in the heart of winter.