Banks Peninsula 28/09
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Diving
Forum Name: Spearo's Corner
Forum Description: Free-divers & spearos chat about their sport
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=45514
Printed Date: 03 Nov 2026 at 8:17pm
Topic: Banks Peninsula 28/09
Posted By: Teezer
Subject: Banks Peninsula 28/09
Date Posted: 28 Sep 2009 at 9:20pm
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By all accounts Kaikoura was a wash out following several days of Easterly swell turning the vis to crud. So, a change of plan saw me and a mate put in the first of what will be a number of forays out to the many bays on Banks Peninsula. We headed over to the Birdling Flat side, and I jumped in for a look around. When I hopped in the vis was a surprising 3m, but as the tide started to flood this soon dropped to 1m. Not good. I had the spear tip held pretty much in front of my face with the trigger tucked in to my chest but no fish were suicidal enough to get within range. Or if they were, I couldn't see them!
I saw a few small Moki which I never found again, and a larger unidentifiable number which I saw as it was already on it's way into the gloom.
No crays - I reckon the outer points might reveal a few though - and about a billion paua, all of which were about 1cm undersize. Either this place gets picked clean regularly, or they are just pretty small around here.
In summary, not a patch on Kaiks where I went, but if we can get a bit further off the points in calm weather then it has some potential. The time needs to be put in to get any sort of local knowledge of the place, and with Kaiks a near sure thing and only 2 hours away, I know where I'll be in anything other than an Easterly.
A good way to spend a day anyway
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Replies:
Posted By: Besty.
Date Posted: 28 Sep 2009 at 9:37pm
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Teezer be a little cautious around the flats, I hear the under tow is a hard out. You might also want to try out magnet bay a little further along and swim west into the next bay, viz might open up a little in an easterly. Given that its often dirty with a bit of swell you should bump into some decent paua. |
Posted By: felixx
Date Posted: 28 Sep 2009 at 10:03pm
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The flats are one place I will never swim.
------------- Originally posted by TG LMAO felixx, you a sick puppy! hehe |
Posted By: TheSnapperWhisperer
Date Posted: 28 Sep 2009 at 10:22pm
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good on ya for getting out. have you mastered the art of silhouette spearing? (dive deep first, and work our way up the reef using the sunlight to silhouettte fish) ------------- http://www.facebook.com/TheSnapperWhisperer |
Posted By: Besty.
Date Posted: 28 Sep 2009 at 10:25pm
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hunting with silhouettes is predominately what spearing on banks is about, at least if you intend to get out regularly. Also give hickory a go for a shore dive. I've only been in a few time and shot butters on the west side. There are also big moki if you want them. I have seen blokes picking up paua from the rocks by wading out and just feeling around under the rocks. Issue is its a surf beach a lot of the time. |
Posted By: vip_yo
Date Posted: 29 Sep 2009 at 7:01am
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Te Oka Bay and Tumbledown Bay are good places to try. Walk out to the far points and jump in. I've seen some nice moki and butters around but didnt have a spear gun at that stage. |
Posted By: TG
Date Posted: 29 Sep 2009 at 8:34am
Very interesting. Going to give this a go on the next weedline ------------- TG http://mondoedge.com http://twitter.com/mondoedge http://facebook.com/309681785793 "Of all the things I lost, I miss my mind the most" |
TheSnapperWhisperer wrote:Posted By: Teezer
Date Posted: 29 Sep 2009 at 8:42am
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Cheers for the pointers guys. To be a little clearer, we went to the Birdlings Flat side of Akaroa, so visited Magnet Bay which looked rather fishy but with restricted entry/ exit points in anything other than a small swell, and then the next 2 bays around from there which is where I went for a splash.
I've tried the silhouette thing in Kaiks just to see what the fish look like and it does work - have yet to spear anything though. This weekend I found the lack of vis really disorientating and couldn't easily tell how deep I was which kinda freaked me out and so I was only doing short dives to be on the safe side.
I'll certainly be back in calmer, clearer conditions as the potential is certainly there and I reckon it'll get a lot less pressure in than Kaiks in some places due to the difficult access.
Something to try out as it warms up anyway.
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Posted By: Teezer
Date Posted: 03 Oct 2009 at 7:58pm
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Seeing as it was a suuny day, and we didn't have much on, the missus and I headed back out to Magnet Bay to see if it still looked decent for a swim. Unfortunately not, as it turned out. The Westerley had blown it out.
Still, a scoot around the corner gave me the opportunity to scope out a couple of other likely looking points, with the result that I hiked down to a bay with what lookedlike decent vis and hopped in for a swim.
As soon as I was in I learnt lesson 1 of spearfishing. That is: Don't leave your weighbelt in the boot of the car, when the walk back to get it is 300 feet up a bloody big hill.
I thought f*ck it, and splashed around for a bit, seeing 1 decent butter which bodes well for the future. With the belt I would have had a chance to try that silhouette fishing style, but without it I was keeping depth by holding on to kelp stems and doing that pretty unsuccessfully.
Still, a decent afternoon out and as summer comes on stronger it's good to have somewhere with potential less than an hour away.
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Posted By: felixx
Date Posted: 03 Oct 2009 at 8:37pm
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well done fella, you home tomorrow early afternoon?
Weather looks poo for the week! ------------- Originally posted by TG LMAO felixx, you a sick puppy! hehe |
Posted By: Teezer
Date Posted: 03 Oct 2009 at 10:34pm
| Yeah, gardening and chores tomorrow to make up for today. About all avo. Feel free to pop over. |