Workday diving - Kapiti Island, NZ

[kjflyfish]

I got a text invitation to hit Kapiti yesterday. Olivier and I both felt a little under the weather and figured a dive trip would be the perfect cure. The forecast was 5 knots out of the east, building to 20 by the afternoon – not the best but do-able.

We were the only boat at the beach as the sun was rising and got into our suits as fast as we could, trying to warm up the cold rubber. A quick beach launch and we were off.

The first spot was a shallow inconspicuous weedline and we proceeded to pick off some red mullet (goatfish). I ended up with four really nice fish. Things were a bit slow and we had our lungs stretched, so we went off to another spot after some tarakihi. That spot only had a few small fish, so after getting a couple, we went in search of some bigger ones.

Our next spot was an old favorite and it didn’t let us down. There was a good strong current, so the 15 meter drops were a slight workout, but great fun. The bottom was alive and we quickly had a mess of tasty tarakihi. I also got the biggest red mullet of the day.

The last stop was a cray/paua dive, but I couldn’t help it and went after fish anyway. I wanted to get a nice butterfish and it only took me about 5 minutes. I had my head way in a crack looking for crays and decided to make a slow exit. As soon as I righted myself, I saw two big male butterfish. They were really wary and didn’t trust me, so I had to make a really slow approach through the kelp and finally got off a good shot.

Moving around, I noticed a huge school of jack mackerel. I was having a hard time closing the gap and took a long shot and missed. As I was heading up I saw a big squid staring at me just off to the side. I was mad that I had focused so much on the mackerel that I never noticed the squid (these guys are fairly rare and a prize catch). I reloaded and dove strait back down and sat in the kelp. I waited and waited and then all the sudden, like a fleet of alien ships, a huge school of squid materialized and started hovering closer. I adjusted my gun just an inch and they stopped. I held everything as still as I could and they restarted their approach. I held on a little longer and was able to move the gun painfully slow until it was aimed at the biggest one. A few more moments and he inched closer and closer and BANG! I hit him dead center and he went nuts, spraying ink everywhere. That got the mackerel excited and I was able to get a prime specimen. I was able to get one more squid by hiding deep in the kelp and waited until they moved directly overhead and made a sneak attack shot.

Olivier also got a squid and as we were heading back to the boat, he started yelling, “Hey, something is attacking my float!.” I rushed over and found a massive stingray chomping the catch bag! He had a wingspan of about 6 feet, and was pulling the float completely under. As I approached, he let go and started heading right at me. I gave him a smart poke in the face and he swam to the bottom. Two seconds later he came right back at me and I let him have it again. That finally did the trick and we were able to get everything back to the boat, but not before he was able to mangle my smaller squid.

That night we had squid, tarakihi, jack mackerel sashimi, and smoked pigeon for dinner. Not bad for a work day.

[Crazys13]

What a great day! I really want to get out at sunrise one of these mornings and see what we can find. Must have been quite a feast! Funny about the stingray! tell him to get his own food! Glad you guys had fun!

-John

[Ron Bakker]

The good old stingrays. I was hand feeding one of these guys about a month ago. I find them quite cute. I guess the Kingys will be few and far between this late in the season. Water getting chilly?

[Ron Bakker]

Hey how is that float workin out?

[irtrogdor]

Originally Posted by Ron Bakker

The good old stingrays. I was hand feeding one of these guys about a month ago. I find them quite cute. I guess the Kingys will be few and far between this late in the season. Water getting chilly?

isn't that dangerous? sounds kinda fun though.

[Ron Bakker]

I my experience most sealife is only dangerous when one makes it angry. This one was happy. Somewhere in my video archives I have a shot of one of my dive mates grabbing hold of a stingray's tail and getting taken for a ride in a big hurry.!Not that I recommend it!

[kjflyfish]

Hey Ron, I didn't take the RSC float on that trip, just a little inflatable, but I have taken it on several others and it tows just fine. I have yet to put it to work, but I'm sure it will perform great.

I think the water is getting around 15 degrees now. It's not bad, but certainly not bathwater.

[ReefTroll]

Nice work, looks likea good day