Crayfish hunt |
February 22, 2020 |
It was a windy day in Wellington but we were still able to take get the boat out to Sinclair's Rock. This was my third time out on a hunt for crayfish and I was particularly happy with this dive. Last time around I grabbed whatever I could get my hands on and had to throw a number of crays back because they were too small. This time I was determined to grab only keepers.
I found a few nests but some only had juvenile crayfish so I passed on them. But it wasn't long before I found what I was looking for. Over the course of the dive I made 6 real grabs and came away with 4 crays, all of which were keepers.
The first and biggest one I caught was a handful. I got it halfway into my bag which I thought was as far as I needed to give me enough time to release the cray, get my hand out of the bag, and close it up. However, as soon as I released the cray, it scrambled out. I had to block it with my body to prevent it from escaping. I finally managed to get both hands on it and wrestle it back into the bag. This time I got the cray all the into my bag but still made sure it didn't have an escape route as I withdrew my hand.
The rest of the catches weren't as memorable but I think my technique is getting better as my catch rate is improving. I also started using two hands to catch when possible. Normally I'd have one hand holding my bag and only one hand for catching. At least a couple of times I held my bag in place with my body and used two hands to catch which made those possible, otherwise they probably would have gotten away.
The waters were very choppy when we surfaced. It was so bad I had my regulator in on the surface because we kept getting hit by wave after wave. Getting back into the boat was a bit rough but we managed.
Sinclair's Rock
| Location: Wellington, Karori, New Zealand |
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