Thread: Teaching the old man some new tricks...

Riteo wethear going to the pack so here a brief write up of the last few days...

It all started with a day trip to the coast with some of the younger lads with me doing the houners of taking the truck and dragging thier arses out of the fart sack at 4.30 in the morning and since I was driving they choose the sounds which consisted of alot of omp omp music with lyrics that I couldn't understand and I have a feeling that it's better i didn't ask...so on with trip... we by passed our normal spots as we were hunting crays more so than paua and having giving the normal place quite a work out we were looking for fresh grounds (there is still a shit load of crays where we have being going but weve taken out the bigger ones recently so not point in spending all day measureing small stuff).. right so we found a likely looking spot and geared up. Well the first thing is a bloody large and tereatorial seal comes over and buzz's us in your face teeth out sort of stuff ..kind of gives you the shits big time. righto out of here and walk round the coast 300meters bak in and into the weed beauty crays butters (dumb butters) and moki. Out with curly's harpoon and me with the gloves on and into em... shit bugger blast crays missed shit shit more crays missed but old curly comes through with 5 big head shot butters.We left the moki as they were marginal size and throwing away undersize dead fish is a crimainal waste.

We ended the day with a dozen new cray holes some intersting recpies for occy from an Isralie dude that had grabbed one (they grow em big in these parts).goes something like this boil it freeze it boil it cool chop it up and eat it (yum??)

Right so home refuel grab the family that was with me for xmas and away we went again back to the coast stopping bout 8pm for a quick paua dive for tea met a truckie heading up north for xmas so back in and grabbed 5 more to fill my quota and sent 5 of em north with him he was wrapt (felt great bit like santa eh).got to the camp set up cooked up had a brew and into my scratcher.

Xmas day.. up lateish caught up with the relies and did the big breakfast scoff.. sat around spinning yarns and telling lies for an hour or two when i got itchy feet going for a swim I say nek minete Im stuffed in a van full of dive gear and people .. "where ya reckon we should go Joe?? is their battle cry (should have shut my yap eh) took them down the coast to a good spot out of the van and geared up. They were watch me like a pack of vulturs curcilng and waiting took em out into the surge and bull kelp (where the bigs one reside) not the best result so after abit of ribbing about me being as cunning as an outhouse rat I took em over to where their were more but smaller paua we all grabed a feed and back in the van and back to their pad.

Cleaned the paua and I took the wee folk down to the river with some gut and entertained them by feeding the eels ducks and trout paua guts (best berly in the world).Had xmas tea with the reilies and wandedred back to camp couple more brews and it didn't take any rocking to start the snoreing.

Boxing day I was up and at em snuck past the reilies house and away down the coast for a cray dive.. tried a coule of faviortie holes but they were pretty lean pickings so after scratching me head away i went to a new reef. The vis was fantastic but I wasn't my breath holds were shit and I was feeling generally uncomfortable so diving was abadoned and out with a hot hermos and a couple of rolls shoved down me neck.

By then it had started to rain and blow so the day was a bust so into the truck and back up the coast to break camp and head for home ...so were rollong up the coast just past Kowhai bridge when something caught my eye ..thought it was dolphins in close jumpin etc found a turn off down the gravel track and ...(you wont belive this) up comes a bloody great tail about 100 meters from shore then there fin/fluke?? slaps as a juvie spearm whale plays in the shallow bay (got video trying to up load it need a teenager to help) wicked as sat thier for half an hour watching thinking it could have being going to ground itself or tail wrapt on a cray pot or something ..just seem to be happy as slapping the water and eventally it cruised out futher off the coast.

broke camp and headed off to catch up with my folks at okiwi, arrived to find a painting project was on the go..so I cooked tea..fresh paua salad and new spuds!! shared the vid with them spun some yarns and off the bed (perfect).

Lost track of the days so buggered if I know what day was the other day but up and out in the stabi (took a tank for scallops) out and heading for durville got half way down when we started hitting wind squalls..wasn't looking good so headed in to the mainland to Taiparie, well bugger me the cod were on the bite and insanely strong even the small cod were fighting like 10lbers.They were smashing everything but frustratingly bitting the tails off the soft baits so we slayed a baracouta and turned it into cut baits and went up two 8/0 hooks and still the smaller cod were slamming the baits we went from 60 to 110 feet and in the end we quit with 5 takers becuse we were handling to many small cod (yip moved moved moved still the same problem ..even in the sand they still found your baits after a while).so back to chrosilles and down for a scallop the vis was amazing and the water temp is up to 18 degrees (took the gps this time cunning eh) grabbed a quota and back in the boat gutted the cod and sorted the, scallops had a cuppa and a bite.

What to do now?? How bout a cray dive ..over to an old haunt and out with the snorkle it's clear and shallow beauty!!.Into the water and into a school of huge Kaiwhai the hold on what are those??KINGIS the rat kingis were hanging with the kawhai and out about 15foot on the edge of my vis you could see the big boys lurking not huge prob 30lb at the most but F#*king wicked all the same.. swam with them in about 30ft of water for 10mins was wicked then sorted my shit and went cray hunting finned over the outer reef and into the caves and cracks that i could rember dived down into a favourite crack and as I got near the bottom FARK there lying in the sandis a bloddy great big black ray with it's tail up (a warning pose) now as I've said i've being tagged once before but for this to be in the same spot in the same crack I reckon bloody stiches was waiting for me .. well that was a heart stopper!! back to the surface and had a float trying to calm down and slow my heart rate.. got my shit together and off to other rocks saw heaps of small crays some 3 inches long but all the takers I grabbed were soft so I just spent the next half hour memourisng cracks and rocks for winter when the big bucks come in shallow.

well thats about it...packing again now for new years at okiwi wether looking like shit so packing some posso traps and a shooter will see you all in the New Year keep safe and enjoy everyone.
Joe.