9 March 2008
I was keen to get a kingy to try out a new pole spear. On arriving, there were KY all around the eastern point which were all chewed up - the most chewed up I've ever seen. One reasonable kingy was hanging with them in the shallows but he bolted as I dived. In 20m vis (and 21 degrees) I swam to the nearby point where a kingy suddenly appeared in front of me. I was using a locally made long pole spear (about 9'4", fibregalss stock, with a stainless tip section and one of his slip tips). I loaded up and dived, with the fish coming in close enough for a good shot in the middle. The sliptip toggled beautifully, but did not slow the fish down any as he charged off into the depths. I yelled for Darren to come and shoot one of the larger ones (25kg+) that was nosing around the speared fish, but he only had a smaller one swim in to him so he shot that.
After five minutes of hard work, I had my 12.5 kg kingy at hand and subdued. The spear was toast, however . It was bent at a 60 degree angle in the middle of the stainless tip section. The slip-tip was fine, but the stainless section is not up to scratch. I can bend it back OK, but it's a bit noodle like. Here's the fish (after straightening the spear):
