Thirteen people, three boats, two batches, and lots of fish! On a weekend in November, a bunch of us headed up to Rangiputa for another great spearfishing trip. Serena wrote a little account of the adventures of one of the two groups.
"While the boat was named after a distilled spirit - Absolut - finding such still waters initially posed a wee challenge. After a good 45min to an hour steam, we managed to find some sheltered waters from the ripping south-westerly winds beneath a bluff south of Matai Bay. Anchored up, smiles quickly became contagious as the visibility was turning it up for a good 15 plus metres! The bay was scattered with large boulders, pinnacles and bommies. A feature cave penetrated the cliff some 30 metres in, where the sponges and anemones grew abundant.
In the water, one-by-one hopped Serena, Holley, Matt, Alex and Lorenzo, followed by Captain Don. Three spearguns, one pole-spear, a trigger-happy, camera-ready Lorenzo and a gloved up Don on the hunt with some omega-3 in mind. The reef was gorgeous, healthy and unique. Large brown kelps swayed in the water, exposing the well-hidden Butterfish we all crave. Red algae was guarded by Black Angelfish - supposedly a couple of expectant parents. Schools of blue maomao, sweep and two-spot demoiselles filled the gutters and openings around every corner. Sandagger's wrasse, pigfish, red moki and marblefish cruised, meanwhile big clusters of parore and the occasional silver drummer stormed through the reef as if it were a race.
Many firsts were had on Absolut. Holley, Matt and Alex all shot their very first fish, while Serena secured her first Kingfish. Lorenzo documented it all being very handy on the camera. Momentarily we thought the wind had died down however, turning the point of Cape Karikari we were back into the waves catching plenty of air - peak to peak. The day was a success, home safe, and Absolut came home with more POB's (fish count!) than which we had departed. "
Kelly also got her first kingfish and what a whopper it was! Adrian's first-ever fish was a butterfish on Saturday, followed by a kingfish on Sunday!
Get a taste of the action with these two videos, edited by Adrian.
Let's do it again next year!