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.

great report, the redfish is pretty cool looking. What kind is it and do you have any close up pics?
Chris

The red colored fish is the red mullet, which is a species of goatfish. They look a lot like their Hawaiian cousins, but aren't nearly as skitish.

Here is the closest shot I have of that fish. Notice the barbels and the yellow rim around the second dorsal. They also have some really cool blue striping on the head and purple-blue dashed lines on the body, but this guy was dead for a little too long for that to show up.

Cool looking fish. The diamond shaped scales are unique.

How do they taste?

They taste great, in fact I had some last night. The diamond is just the colored part - the scales are much bigger and overlap with only the colored diamond showing. They really are amazing looking with all their colors.

Excellent report

Which gun Kolt? Which gun? I need to know how the Iroko slayer performs.:beer:

The Iroko Slayer hasn't been out yet - still awaiting an epoxy seal on the handle, which i'm doing tonight. It's the next gun to get wet, fo sho!

awesome report kolt. how much longer are you in nz.

As long as I want to be, mate! But seriously, I have a permanant staff position and I'm just now starting to really get into the meat and potatos of the job. I'd like to really make an impact before I move on to bigger and better things. Plus, there's so much more to do that's on my NZ list!

so your work visa is longer than a year? have you got to play some local club rugby yet?

Cool report!

That's sounds like an interesting dinner. How was the squid prepared? Did you shoot the pigeon? Buy it? Are they any different from the pigeons we have here in the US?

Jeep, my visa is good for 2.5 yrs. I've played a little touch, but if I have to resort to rugby, that means the ocean is upset and I'm settling for a distant second.

Marcus, we cut the squid into squares, floured and pan seared in olive oil. My dive buddy Olivier shot the pigeons in a corn field. I'm pretty sure they are the same. He plucked the birds, then marinaded and smoked them, then put them in the oven before dinner to give the skin a little crisp. They were great!