A memory that will last a lifetime

[The Reibz]

I was out spearfishing in the Mokohinaus yesterday with a mate,

We were working a steady school of Koheru and Blue MauMau trying to bring up a large kingfish from below. There were thousands of fish in the water, which isn't uncommon for this spot but there was a distinct lack of large predators apart from ourselves. All of a sudden the fish all turned in one direction and quickly darted away, we had reports of large makos in the area so I instantly turned my body in the direction to which the fish were fleeing. Pretty much expecting a shark. What I saw blew me away...



A big stripped marlin came tearing into view, stopped, then slowly made its way over to me. My instinct told me to take him, but I was so amazed to see one so close to land and in only 30m of water that I just sat there and looked at him. Been getting alot of flack for not taking the fish, marlin spearing is a relatively new sport here and not alot have been landed outside of the west coast. I'm glad I let the fish live, the brief 10 second encounter I had with it will be something I will never forget. I never thought I would ever get this close to one without paying lots of money for a overseas trip



The gopro 1 seems to be shit when it comes to blue water focus, unfortunately I dont have a hero 3 black...

[R650R]

Cool stuff

[EJK]

Good thing you didn't shoot the marlin. Looks like it just wanted to say "hi" to you.

[The Reibz]

Good thing you didn't shoot the marlin. Looks like it just wanted to say "hi" to you.

That's exactly how I see it. Shooting it would have been a waste of a beautiful thing.
I don't know enough about the species to shoot one, the gun I had on me breaks kingi spines like twigs and would have easily stoned this fish if I hit it on the off button. Apparently they run horizontal and close to the surface so my float probably would have been ok but I would have been dragged for hours over many KM's before the fish died.

Still an unforgetable experience to witness one of the seas top predators up close

[Crasherfromwayback]

The gopro 1 seems to be shit when it comes to blue water focus, unfortunately I dont have a hero 3 black...

Good on ya for not spearing it mate!

[skippa1]

Glad you left it. Better to see it swimming than dead

[ellipsis]

...wow, how cool is that...not taking it was a big decision, but very understandable...after years of chasing them and so much wanting one for my fishing trophy dreams, when I finally hooked up on one and it was tearing me to pieces, it took only five minutes of pain to make me realise I could not kill the one thing that drove me to spend a fortune in coin and time...I have a small plastic fish and a tagging certificate, but the thought of that moment of release makes the plastic thing seem like reward enough...

[george formby]

That's exactly how I see it. Shooting it would have been a waste of a beautiful thing.
I don't know enough about the species to shoot one, the gun I had on me breaks kingi spines like twigs and would have easily stoned this fish if I hit it on the off button. Apparently they run horizontal and close to the surface so my float probably would have been ok but I would have been dragged for hours over many KM's before the fish died.

Still an unforgetable experience to witness one of the seas top predators up close

On ya for keeping your finger off the trigger. A few years ago I decided not to shoot anything too big for the BBQ.
Been lucky enough to be buzzed by a Stripie during a deco stop on the Matai Pinnacle. A school of Mackerel balled up around me for cover which was amazing enough, me in the middle of a swirling silver barrel, then the reason for it came hammering through a few feet away, marlin all lit up like a Christmas tree. Incredible.
Same week we dived into a huge school of Yellowfin Tuna, bloody scary. Big & very fast!

The longer I've spear fished the less I shoot. Was lucky enough to have a Manta Ray rolling around our boat a few weeks ago doing backward somersaults in the water. Probably trying to get rid of parasites.

The ocean is amazing!

Oh, see if you can dredge up the account of the NZ record Stripie speared at the 3 Kings a few years ago. Sobering reading. Same deal, out for a Kingie & hello!

[Blackbird]

I was out spearfishing in the Mokohinaus yesterday with a mate,

Ah....... one of my riding partners mentioned that great fishing experience yesterday - you must be the mate Andy L was talking about!! Nice going

[Katman]

Good on ya for not spearing it mate!

One could even say good on him for sparing it.

[BuzzardNZ]

You probably should have taken a shot at it as it's more than likely in the chiller of some Japanese fishing trawler by now.

Rather you have it than them!

[The Reibz]

Ah....... one of my riding partners mentioned that great fishing experience yesterday - you must be the mate Andy L was talking about!! Nice going

Yeah Andy was a good guy, I got told he was a novice and new to spearing but he did bloody well considering the slow day we had.
He got talking to me about bikes on the way back, choice bloke.

The ocean is amazing!

Damn right it is, we might have a distinct lack of interesting animals on the mainland but the sea is full of interesting life. Was getting Kina one time and the rock behind it moved and a eyeball appeared. Hello massive scorpion fish.
Been buzzed by sharks, dolphins and now a Marlin. Doesn't get any better

[Banditbandit]

Cool .. that would be an awesome experience

[HenryDorsetCase]

You know those fishing shows and big game fishing and stuff? Do the people who catch those big fish eat them? Or give them to other people to eat?

Or are they just sickos thrill-killing something for its own sake?

One I approve of, and one I do not. I have never understood fishing in any of its forms though. I do like to eat fish. nom nom.

[george formby]

You know those fishing shows and big game fishing and stuff? Do the people who catch those big fish eat them? Or give them to other people to eat?

Or are they just sickos thrill-killing something for its own sake?

One I approve of, and one I do not. I have never understood fishing in any of its forms though. I do like to eat fish. nom nom.

Well fishing with a hook is like hunting blind. Spearfishing is proper hunting with the added bonus that in the ocean we're not at the top of the food chain. Exciting stuff.

Unless a fish is going to be mounted as a trophy on somebody's wall most of it gets eaten or released round here. Game fish like Marlin are usually smoked, vac packed & handed out amongst mates, family & neighbours. You get a shit load of fish! More & more I'm seeing catch & release which I have mixed feelings about. Snapper, Terakihi, Puka & the like is normally shared out fresh.
Still a few fuckwits around who will carry on catching fish well past what they need & can share.

Spearfishing is very discriminate. If you don't want it, you don't shoot. No by catch, no under or oversize fish, no fish swimming around dragging line & hooks. Level playing field, too. If you can't hold your breath you ain't gonna get much.