Kamogawa, Chiba, Japan
Yesterday, the weather was fine. I checked the wave report and it said that the waves would be between 0-50 cm! Pity I had to work. So I checked for today’s weather/waves and it was the same, so I thought, OK, I will go to work get all the stuff finished up and go for a spear tomorrow morning.
Before, going to bed checked the weather before bed, chance of rain in the afternoon, no waves. Yes, I am going.
Got up and left the house at 06:30, sky looked overcast, ach, should be fine. Get in the car and I am off.
About an hour into the drive the heavens open up and it is raining cats and dogs! Bummer, but I will get wet anyway, I just hope that the viz is ok!! Next thing I am stuck in rush-hour traffic. This is Japan and traffic is not the smoothest you can imagine. Anyway, after talking myself into going, then turning back, no keep going it WILL be fine, I arrived at the point.
I had been there once before in the summer and noticed Kurodai (sea bream) there so I wanted to try spearing. It is not very interesting, a row of tetrapods about 50 m off the coast, about 100 m long. I get out the car and have a look, WAVES! The surfers were out, so now I have waves, rain, and more than likely crap viz! Well I drove 3 hours to get here I am going in!
I get my gear sorted and am in the water in 15 mins flat. The viz is terrible. I hold my hand out stretched and I can’t see the end of the gun! The bottom is sandy, but I can’t see this either. It is not deep, at the tetras max depth is about 2 – 3 m. The waves are crashing through the tetras and the bubbles make it impossible to see, so you have to dive down and swim along the bottom parallel to the tetrapods.
I notice big shadows but am always just to slow in getting the gun round in time. This is mega frustrating! Halfway along I see a big shadow and am able to get the gun round and fire. YES, good shot, I see it penetrate the fish just behind the head and then the spear and fish disappear into the murk. I pull the spear line and no tension. I keep pulling and eventually get to the empty spear. Can’t believe it, it was a good shot! This is an unlucky day. I should have turned and went home.
About, 10 mins later, I see another shadow and shoot, again a good shot. This time I pull and there is a tug. Yes, it is on. I keep pulling and see the size of the fish, a good 2.5 kg, as I pull the spear slips out and it is gone! AAAAAAAh! The flopper is not engaging!
I decide I can’t go home empty handed, but at this rate, it is looking like a possibility. I get to the end of the tetrapods and turn round to go back along them, take a breath and dive, just at the periphery of my vision I see a fish moving slowly, Strange for kurodai as they are very flighty, I manage to get close and realize it is the second fish that got away, I shoot and dive down and grab the spear at both ends and flip out the flopper, and dispatch the fish with my knife in the brain. At least I got one and a nice one at that!
I keep this up for an hour and manage to lose one fish about 2 kg, was really nice silver colour, because the flopper did not engage and I could not get to the fish in time. After another 15 mins I land the biggest of the day. Same technique, dive down under the bubbles and follow the tetras. This one was a good 3 kg. So what started off as a day of bad omens, ended up being a day that I landed two of the biggest kurodai that I have ever speared and I managed it in an hour and a half.
So I suppose the moral of the story is once you decide to do something do not get disheartened until you have achieved your goal. Or it could just be that I couldn’t handle another slagging from the wife about going out spearing and coming back empty handed!
My son was well pleased with the catch!
Yesterday, the weather was fine. I checked the wave report and it said that the waves would be between 0-50 cm! Pity I had to work. So I checked for today’s weather/waves and it was the same, so I thought, OK, I will go to work get all the stuff finished up and go for a spear tomorrow morning.
Before, going to bed checked the weather before bed, chance of rain in the afternoon, no waves. Yes, I am going.
Got up and left the house at 06:30, sky looked overcast, ach, should be fine. Get in the car and I am off.
About an hour into the drive the heavens open up and it is raining cats and dogs! Bummer, but I will get wet anyway, I just hope that the viz is ok!! Next thing I am stuck in rush-hour traffic. This is Japan and traffic is not the smoothest you can imagine. Anyway, after talking myself into going, then turning back, no keep going it WILL be fine, I arrived at the point.
I had been there once before in the summer and noticed Kurodai (sea bream) there so I wanted to try spearing. It is not very interesting, a row of tetrapods about 50 m off the coast, about 100 m long. I get out the car and have a look, WAVES! The surfers were out, so now I have waves, rain, and more than likely crap viz! Well I drove 3 hours to get here I am going in!
I get my gear sorted and am in the water in 15 mins flat. The viz is terrible. I hold my hand out stretched and I can’t see the end of the gun! The bottom is sandy, but I can’t see this either. It is not deep, at the tetras max depth is about 2 – 3 m. The waves are crashing through the tetras and the bubbles make it impossible to see, so you have to dive down and swim along the bottom parallel to the tetrapods.
I notice big shadows but am always just to slow in getting the gun round in time. This is mega frustrating! Halfway along I see a big shadow and am able to get the gun round and fire. YES, good shot, I see it penetrate the fish just behind the head and then the spear and fish disappear into the murk. I pull the spear line and no tension. I keep pulling and eventually get to the empty spear. Can’t believe it, it was a good shot! This is an unlucky day. I should have turned and went home.
About, 10 mins later, I see another shadow and shoot, again a good shot. This time I pull and there is a tug. Yes, it is on. I keep pulling and see the size of the fish, a good 2.5 kg, as I pull the spear slips out and it is gone! AAAAAAAh! The flopper is not engaging!
I decide I can’t go home empty handed, but at this rate, it is looking like a possibility. I get to the end of the tetrapods and turn round to go back along them, take a breath and dive, just at the periphery of my vision I see a fish moving slowly, Strange for kurodai as they are very flighty, I manage to get close and realize it is the second fish that got away, I shoot and dive down and grab the spear at both ends and flip out the flopper, and dispatch the fish with my knife in the brain. At least I got one and a nice one at that!
I keep this up for an hour and manage to lose one fish about 2 kg, was really nice silver colour, because the flopper did not engage and I could not get to the fish in time. After another 15 mins I land the biggest of the day. Same technique, dive down under the bubbles and follow the tetras. This one was a good 3 kg. So what started off as a day of bad omens, ended up being a day that I landed two of the biggest kurodai that I have ever speared and I managed it in an hour and a half.
So I suppose the moral of the story is once you decide to do something do not get disheartened until you have achieved your goal. Or it could just be that I couldn’t handle another slagging from the wife about going out spearing and coming back empty handed!
My son was well pleased with the catch!