Mid Winter Escape

Earlier in the year a couple of friends and I had decided to do a casual tropics trip somewhere cheap and escape NZ’s mid-winter blues with some clarity and warmth. We figured that we could watch the specials at the travel agents and just head somewhere cheap and easy. At worst we could bowl up somewhere, swim off the shore and find some parrots to slay, but who knows, we may even be able to hook up with a local fisherman who could take us out to chase some more exciting stuff. Anyway, even if all else fails we could sit under a coconut tree, drink pina coladas and think about not being at work. There must be worse ways to spend a week or two.

After talking to a few people and checking out airfares around the South Pacific we decided on Tonga. Through the course of our pre-trip research we were given the contact details of a young American guy who lives in Tonga. We hoped he may be able to help us out with lead, a few dive sites and maybe a boat dive. Well our new pal Ben turned out to be a fanatically keen diver who just happened to have recently put the finishing touches on a boat that needed some sea trials. We were more than happy to help him out.

The main island of the Kingdom of Tonga, Tongatapu, now consists of a large, half moon island that must once have been full. The northern side of the island seems to have slipped below the waves leaving a sprinkling of atolls and reefs, some breaking and some submerged, with waters around 60m deep joining them before plunging down to the ocean floor. It was on these reefs that we spent most of our time.

Due to the relatively sheltered aspect of many of these reefs a lot of the structure we dived around was truly amazing with all sorts of stag-horn, brain, lettuce corals and even the odd gorgonian. These bombies were home to virtually all the reef fish species divers target and best of all no ciguatera so they’re all on the list.

When most temperate divers think of the tropics they think of warm blue waters teeming with an abundance of tame fish that a spearo may shoot at will. This is only half accurate: Yes the waters are blue and teem with an abundance of fish but the idea that these fish are going to be easy to shoot couldn’t be further from the truth. The fact of the matter is that all tropical target species are a lot harder to spear than the ones we are used to here. To a large extent this is due to the clear water – it allows the fish to see you from a lot further away and in this highly predatory environment they are much less tolerant of threatening behaviour. This means that the underwater hunter must be aware of every movement he makes and rely on fooling the fish into underestimating the threat or pique its predatory instinct. This can involve such counterintuitive measures as swimming away from the fish you want to shoot.

Over our eight days in the kingdom we dived a variety of different areas hunting dog-tooth tuna, jobfish, steepheaded parrots, basu, coral trout, peacock trout, coronation trout, black trevally, emporers, red bass, midnight snapper, sweetlips, mangrove jacks…. Much of the enjoyment in diving new areas is targeting new species and learning each of their habits; which fish will hole up the moment they see you and which will freeze, which will approach if you throw up handfuls of sand and which will spook.

The fish we probably shot the most of were the trout. These are an exquisite eating fish and are very enjoyable to hunt. In Tonga we encountered three species of trout; the blue-spot coral trout, peacock trout and the coronation trout. By far the most common is the blue-spot. They are relatively easy to spear by tropical standards and are the largest of the three. They’re a red colour with fluorescent-blue spots. The most effective way to hunt them was to try and cover as much ground as possible spotting them from the surface. They lie on the sand or over rock not far from their holes which is exactly where they head for at 100 miles per hour when you stick a spear in them. If you get directly above them you can usually get within range by drifting down in their blind spot or by using cover to approach them. As always a successful eye level approach is all but impossible. Like a lot of coral species the first thing they do when speared is try and hole up. This initial rush can be incredibly powerful and it takes some determination from the diver to prevent them from getting back into their caves. If you don’t stop them from doing this you’re likely to have your spear bent and/or mono cut. Even if they don’t bust you off somehow you’re in for a long struggle - usually in deep water - to get them out. Your best bet is to stone them or at least hurt them with your first shot. When you do get your spear in you need to take up as much slack as you can and really put the brakes on them. The power of coral fish really has to be felt to be believed.

The other fish we shot a lot of where the various parrotfish species. Parrots are often the safest fish to eat off the reef as they are normally free of ciguatera. Ciguatera is a biotoxin found in the coral that accumulates in the flesh of fish and is passed up the food chain as they are eaten by larger predators. Parrots feed off the algae that live on the coral so they are usually safe. The most sought after parrot species is the steep-headed parrot as they are one of the largest and best to eat. The behaviour of the parrot fishes are often one of the best indicators of how much pressure a reef gets from spearing. Because the parrots feed on algae they prefer the shallows where the plants grow best. This brings them in contact with any local spearos and flighty parrots can indicate a lot of pressure. This was certainly the case in Tonga and the large (4kg+) steep-heads were few and far between and were virtually impossible to approach in the shallows. They are however naturally curious and by getting out into deeper water, avoiding eye-contact completely and scratching around on the bottom and throwing up handfuls of sand etc we could get them within range. It is imperative not to take too longer shots on the parrots as their scales are like armour plates and it is not uncommon for one to jam your flopper closed. They are certainly one of the most attractive fish on the reef and the way they swoop and dive, more like their avian namesakes than other fish, make them a real pleasure to interact with.

One of the most infuriating fish to hunt is the basu (big-eye bream/mu). These little buggers really test the patience and breath-hold. They are usually found in relatively deep water milling around in the sandy gutters. As you approach them they will not bolt but just drift off maintaining their safe distance tantalizingly out of range with big eyes staring. It can be as though there is an invisible rod between them and your forehead and no matter what you do you cannot close the gap. They do however sometimes display a bit of indecision when in an enclosed area and a reluctance to leave the gutter they are parked up in. By finding fish in gutters and drifting straight down on them you may get a shot off before they realize the danger. They can be inquisitive at times as well so divers with a bit of breath hold can wait them out. The trick is to lie hard up against a bit of structure and avoid eye-contact at all costs. Scratching around in the rubble and throwing handfuls of sand up can be a big help too. Because they will not bolt unless you do something to really spook them – like swimming at them or shooting – it is usually possible to have several dives on the same fish/school.

Of all the tropical reefies the green jobfish is probably the most sought after. This is because of their wary nature and the depths they are found. Unlike the other fish mentioned already it is nearly impossible to spot these fish from the surface as they simply will not let you approach them. They are however a predatory fish and are curious by nature so they will approach you on the bottom if you lie still enough. They are usually found patrolling up and down the edges of the coral reefs where they meet the sand. We were able to ambush them by lying on the bottom and waiting motionless hoping that one would swim past. This takes good breath hold and patience to fight the urge to swim out to the fish and wait for it to come to you. The only way to even up the odds a bit is through the use of burley. Voracious feeders, the jobbies would hang around as long as the food was there and the larger specimens were reluctant to leave the trail in deference to the diver – a mistake few fish get to make twice.

Before we left we had heard mention of a Duff Reef that was supposedly THE game fishing spot around the Island. A quick look on google earth and we had located a pinnacle that rose to break the surface from maybe 1000m only four kilometres straight out from our resort. At the end of each day we would stare out at the mass of white water breaking and wonder if we would get a chance to dive there. Our day came towards the end of our trip. It was about an hour’s steam around from the northern harbour and somewhat inexplicably there was still a couple of metres of confused sea and a honking current running – perfect conditions for dog-tooth tuna. Doggies are the street fighters of the fish world. They break gear, tow floats away and beat you up. They are a deep water fish and it usually takes something to get them up to diveable depths. This could be as simple as your flopper glinting in the sun or your buddy’s speared fish but if you want to really maximize your chances you need to use burley and flashers. Everything was perfect for us: plenty of current, deep blue water and lots of baitfish. We drifted along in the current in teams of three with one man burleying, one man driving the flasher and one man riding shotgun. Everything was perfect except for the doggies – there were none. That’s fishing, sometimes everything seems right but still you don’t see any fish.

On our last day we decided to head out for a shore dive straight out in front of our resort. There were fish everywhere – including doggies - and it turned out to be probably the most productive place we dived the whole week. That’s fishing too: Dive your feet first.

The trip turned out to be a great success. We even got the cheap part right (although an inspection of our feet after dive day eight suggested that it hadn't been all that casual). So if you’re looking for a new challenge and really want to put your dive skills to the test, tropics diving is for you. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you’ll need to completely re-rig yourself - you don’t. As long as you’ve got a long railgun a big float and have added an extra 10m to your floatline you’re ready to go. Go with knowledgeable divers the first time as it is different to diving here but after that spin your globe and throw your dart: you’ll be surprised what you find.

Matt Lind