Me and Eric got out for a dive yesterday around the west coast.

Beutifull day, cold dirty water.

12 Cray fish came home with us as did a couple of butter fish. Crayfish were in good numbers and I suspect we only scratched the surface. Also plenty of paua around, although we didn't bother getting any this trip.

Eric pulled 6 over the 2#-3# mark out of one crack at Boom Rock that will be known as Erics crack from now on. I didn't actually see it but if its anything like the original (Not that I really know) it will be dirty, dark,  loose and full of bugs and crabs.

Took some underwater photos wich I will try and post up tonight.

Had a brief burly up for snapper but conditions were not ideal with a bit of swell and only 3-4 meters milky vis. Found some good potential spots for when the warmer water shows up. The news of the 7-8kg fish from boom inspired us to have a go.

MAF Officers were at the Mana ramp doing a great job and if anything were too polite and maybe not nosey enough.

Photo 1 - very small crays in your crack (crab to scale?)

Photo 2 - Nice crays in fish bin

Photo 3 - Blue moki free swimming?

Nice photos Paul.

Red,

     The significance of the fish photo is at that stage it was still alive  Bet your trigger finger was twitching aye Paul

Paul,

Crays are very very bad for you. Box them up and send them to me to be disposed of.

They are on the way bushie, I sent them slow boat to save cash, should arrive next week sometime no extra charge for the flies.

The moki I am happy to say swam away from the encounter with his little mates unscathed. He actually looks bigger in this picture than he was. We normally see plenty of moki every dive but seldom take one. These guys were in the shallows just when I broke out the camera.

The crays are indeed little buggers, they were what was left after I took their old man (3-4#) and his three bitch's (2# odd) from the same hole.

The crab was a big bugger.

Russ, do you guys find many cracks full of juveniles, on the south coast its pretty common to find cracks with 20-40 tiny crays filling it to the brim. Sometimes their will be a monster hiding down the back who will push the little crays out of the whole to protect himself. Hard life being a cray I reckon.

YES , Paul ,particularly Mercury Bay where nests of prawn sized crays are abundant.

Very kind of Bushie to make that offer don't you think.

How about some Tarakihi photos Paul. Have you killed them all you murdering bastard!

HI PAUL,

Good to see that some rec's are getting there quota.

Your pics of the BLUE MOKI have got me puzzled, are they  juvenille fish in the          pic?as the dorsal fins do not match up and maybe these are /BLUE MAUMAU.

MOKI (dorsal fins usually 14-24 spines) see

http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=57053">http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=57053

Gidday Dave,

The fish was really tiny, looks bigger in the pic. While diving I was convinced they were moki but after looking at the photo, they could also be Telescope fish maybe ??? they are found occasionally on that coast.

Cheers

Russ, was too dirty and too much current to be diving past 15 m in my current state of fitness. Ill get into them shortly, there is a great spot for them at boom rock that I found last year.

Let me know if you want to come down one weekend for a turkey shoot, weather is pretty unpredictable up till Jan tho.

Cheers

Paul were these pictures taken with a sony cybershot digital 3.2 Mpixel with housing accessory ?

I have one and are thinking about getting a housing I tink you mentioned something about this in an earlier thread.

Paul,

Great photos mate!  Have you got anymore good ones?? 

How deep were the crays??

Gidday Hanson, yep thats the new toy, I told my partner we needed it for the new babys arrival. Don't know what she thought when I showed here the underwater housing.

Eric, that fish would be lucky to go 10cm, it was tiny. The pic makes it look far bigger than it was. I think Ill apply the technique to some of your dodgy little catch's this summer, see if we can get you some respeck!!

Hey Trent, those crays were in less than 4 meters. Ive got more photos on my website in the gallery section. Ill be taking a lot more now Ive got a digital camera.

http://speartime.tripod.com">http://speartime.tripod.com

Cheers

Hi I'm back.  Funny fish you photographed. Doesn't look like a mao mao or moki to me.  Should have shot it to find out (might taste as good as the picot I shot this year?).

Anyways, nice to see some bugs around. We got a haul down at Whitianga last week on that big rock - Sous marine will know it, the one that has big  cracks down the eastern side facing the reserve and looks like it could hold the odd kingy in summer time in a current.  $25 worth of petrol just to get there with a 225 hp mercury on Sarah's old man's 17ft haines.  I think I'll be trailoring it to Tairua in the summertime not leaving for the aldermans from Whiti!

Aside from a few paua and plentiful scallops and a couple of fish I didn't do much diving , just laxed out with a book for a change.  Vis has dropped to about 6m at best there.  Caught up with Pat while down there.

Reidfish

Whats the bar conditions like at Tairua now days. I havent been there for a few years. Just wondering if its sanded up or cleaned out ?

Sorry Bushie, not sure.  Always seems fine when I go over it, which is not often, and I have not dived out of there much in the past to compare it to.

Hi guys,

Bar conditions at Tairua are pretty good. Not worth going out for a dive or fish anywhere exposed if its too rough to get out anyway. Went for a dive up the coast weekend before last and got some crays. Found plenty of just legal paua also. Vis was closing down though.

Over in Oz now, waiting for wind to die under 30 knots and swell to die under 4m so I can get some decent crays. Will let you know when I do.

Dan

Ya know now I think about it they do kind of fit the sweep description, and I have seen them in that area before.  Thinking further, these fish aren't showing the terakihi type black mark behind the head that warehou have, and don't seem to have long enough pectorals to be warehou.

Bugger it.  I'll put a dollar on each of them.

But a hundred bucks says they aren't blue moki!

i think it may be a broad squid case......... don't very often see arrow squid in close unless up in the far north........

Heres a pic of one i caught.........

broad squid