Author: Pam
We had no idea that our trip to Great Barrier Island would be a Fishing 101 trip. Our new fishing guru, Aaron on Mawingo was hot to go to Whangaparapara, he had heard there were Kingfish there and he was keen on spearing one. With that said, we decided last night that Michelle and Aaron would host a fishing trip and we would all head out on Mawingo at 0830. We were up early packing the fishing gear and cooking tortellini’s with pesto for lunch. Jeff picked us up in his dinghy since his was designated as the biggest for fishing and for chasing after Aaron and his catch if he should be lucky.
No sails raised, we motored the two hours to Whangaparapara after going out through the VERY narrow Man of War pass and along the coast of Great Barrier Island. It is amazing how many rocks jut out of the sea near islands, I never really thought about it before negotiating them in a boat. In our path were some very large rock formations creating two options for getting to the other side, one very narrow and one with plenty of sea room. Of course the narrow option was the more direct and given the lack of wind and surf, Aaron chose that route. Scott and I took one look, looked at each other and said we would never go through that. As we approached Aaron said we will catch something as we pass through the center and he barely finished the sentence when there was a strike on Scott’s, yes I did say Scott’s line. After making sure we were safely through the gap, it became all about the fish. Scott reeled him in with a struggle, photos were being snapped as the 5 pound Kawhai (kawhy) was pulled on board. The fish was immediately taken to the bow and bled (I decided to skip this part of today’s lesson). Step two was to tie a rope in the fish’s mouth and drag it behind the boat for five to ten minutes to finish the bleeding process. I knew the killing and cleaning part of fishing was going to be difficult for me, it is now confirmed.
There were no more bites on the way to Whangaparapara, but no worries mate there was plenty of fishing goings on once we arrived. Scott and Jeff were busy trying to catch something big enough to keep. Unfortunately, they were not lucky, but I guess you could say the fish were that ate all of their bait. While they were feeding the fish Aaron suited up in his dive gear and with spear gun and his locater buoy he and Michelle dove in for a look for the infamous Kingfish, or Kingy as they are affectionately referred to. Aaron of course out lasted Michelle, so she came back to the boat while he continued to look under and behind every rock and crevasse. After nearly an hour Aaron clambered back on the boat and from down below I hear Michelle call out, Pam wait to you see what Aaron has gotten for you. Now being a girl from Maine, it was difficult to hide my enthusiasm for seafood, especially around an expert hunter and gatherer. When I reached the cockpit there was Aaron proudly displaying the three crayfish he had caught. He had given up on the Kingy since he hadn’t seen one and started looking for crays. Crayfish would be equivalent to lobster, except they have no claws and they have horns and spiny backs. They look like an alien creature, but that did not stop my excitement if they taste good. Crays are caught by either diving for them (which is Aaron’s technique) or in a cray pot, which is a small plastic trap set with a buoy. Aaron was so excited about his catch, even though he broke his cray hook (used to pull them out of there dark hiding places), he was jazzed to go down again and try to get three more so there would be one each. He was enthusiastically encouraged by all on board. He was gone another 40 minutes and came back with five more. He measured them, they have to be a certain length across their tail in order to keep them, there were two keepers making the total for dinner five.
It was time to head back, so after a hot day in the sun with a fish and crays on board we motored back with anticipation of our planned feast. On the way Michelle cooked the crays. After they were cooked she hung them by their tails upside down in a bucket to let the water drain out. This is not a technique I have witnessed before, but I wonder if it would work with Maine lobsters, it seemed like a very logical thing to do. As we were passing a small beach on the coastline Michelle spotted some driftwood and suggested going to shore to collect some. No problem, Aaron stopped the boat, Jeff, Scott and Michelle jumped in the dinghy and went ashore and came back with the dinghy half full of wood. What for you may ask? Well, Scott’s prize fish is best eaten smoked, so the plan was to give the smoke house at Smoke House Bay a workout.
We arrived back at our boats and after getting all of our gear back on board pulled up the hook and we all headed around the corned to Smoke House Bay to anchor for our last night. After anchoring we scurried around the boat and gathered our gear and food for a BBQ on shore. It could not have been a more perfect end to our time at Great Barrier Island and spending time with our new friends. We had a Kaimoana (a seafood feast). The fire in the smoke house was stoked and the Kawhai was set to smoking. The BBQ was lit and the snapper Jeff and Raewin had been given the day before and portabella mushrooms were cooked to perfection. When we sat down everyone began their meal with their half of crayfish generously provided by Mawingo. They had cut them down the middle, making it very easy to see how much meat they have up into their bodies. The tail of course offers the most generous portion. The meat was very tender, but there was a distinct difference from Maine lobster for me. I didn’t find it quite as sweet, but they were really good and I would never turn one down. After we had eaten the crays, snapper, mushrooms, cole slaw and bean salad, it was time for dessert. The Kawhai was finished smoking. We all sat around the table with forks in hand and with the fish in the middle. The brown sugar coating (Aaron rubbed it with brown sugar and salt) and smoky flavor combined with the tender fish was delicious. Scott even liked it and he isn’t usually keen on anything smoked. Maybe it had something to do with finally catching a fish. This trip to Great Barrier truly has been special and hanging out with our Kiwi friends was educational in more ways than I could begin to describe. I can say we learned more about New Zealand in the past few days than we have the entire time we have been here. Thank you Raewin, Jeff, Michelle and Aaron for making our first trip on Starship unbelievably special.
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