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I have wondered this myself! I have had some success on the upper west coast of coromandel but the visibility is generally worse than the Whiti (east) side of the peninsular. Probably has its days, but I imagine fewer than on the east coast. further north generally means better vis, more current. Right near the firth of thames is awful

Thanks for reply bro, I like the commentary bro you got to be one of the wisest divers out there.

Nope, not turkey island. Was off the NZ north island haha

Visibility is the often biggest thing you have to plan around when diving the northshore. Unless one prefers diving in extremely silty and murky water. Typically high/incoming tide yields better vis so that’s when I’d recommend. As far as the specifics, I wouldn’t post them here to protect the spot and it’s fish

@@BlueNeoprene thanks mate 👍

Dive where you can, as long as its safe. Start where is most convenient, I cant say exactly where that is for you. Knowing where to go is an art in of itself and finding your own spots you will develop a much deeper understanding. Find some coast line and swim, part of the beauty of diving is the exploration. When you find some special places, you will hopefully want to protect them, I don't like to give out spots. Best of luck, happy to answer other questions. I have thought about making a video regarding how to find spots and read conditions, though this may not be in the best interests of the fish. Thanks for the question, don't forget the full stops.

@BlueNeoprene thanks for the reply! Just got access to great barrier island, so thats very exciting, but I'll take your advice.

Interesting, why is that?

I try and be an underwater ninja, works out sometimes

Spear width is 6.6mm and length is like 59cm. Short shaft doesn't need to be 7mm as it is very unlikely to bend at that length. 14mm bands from memory or maybe 16mm, 14mm is my preference nowadays.

Yeah its a cool spot but if I'm up those ways I would more likely dive somewhere else. Gotta make the most of it while you can, I regret not doing more northland missions while it was convenient. Maybe one day, but don't hold your breath haha

Perfectly legal as far as I am aware! Cop’s have tried to stop me diving before but not this time 🛑 ✋

Thanks Cammo, I always appreciate when people find the chatter worth while. Plenty of diving videos exist with music blaring, but I try and offer something truly authentic to myself. Though it would be a lot quicker and easier going down the music compilation route, knowing what I say makes a difference keeps me inspired to speak my mind. Blue Neoprene is a vessel for messages, not a celebration of my own achievements. The channel will not be everybody's cup of tea, but its the type of content I wished there was more of personally.

@@BlueNeoprene I can’t stand the terrible music. Jackson Shields also does explanatory narration, like you 👍

Thanks Cammo, looking back on this video it is definitely one of my favorites. Its a reminder of what is at stake, what we are fighting to protect!

Thanks Mr.T, it did take at least a couple. Imagine doing this at a crazy offshore spot like 3 kings, id be fritting for sure.

Squid at night really adds to the ethereal atmosphere, hits different to fish. Around here I'm not sure what else would be worth targeting, besides sleeping snapper (very, very unsporting) and crayfish. Have thought about going on a night dive for flounder.

Id be happy to tell you but sharing it here may be detrimental to the spot, don't want everybody to know. If your in the Coromandel, you are set. Get familiar with the local and work from there. Plenty of places to dive in Coromandel, I'm a lil jealous tbh.

@@BlueNeoprene Hey man thanks for getting back to me, I just moved up here and have been doing some chef work and love it here, moved to whiti and just trying to learn some mean spots to go out, got a small 5hp boat but I also love the shore dives. if you are ever free would love to have someone show me around 😉 love ur stuff brothda 100% influenced me to move here haha

Not yet, just a passionate dude

Thanks for the input Roy

Please do be that guy! I appreciate the feedback, and I hear you. Constructive criticism is very useful to me. I wish there were more people saying what they didn't like about the videos, its more helpful than praise. Keep me humble and let me know what doesn't work so I can make better videos. Cheers

Cheers m80, that is interesting to know. Hopefully ill get to see them myself someday, so far the furthest south iv got for a dive has been wellington. In the past I came across dolphins fairly often but it is less so nowadays. They have a tough live epically in recent times with so much noise pollution. I always imagined dolphins to be perfectly smooth creatures, when I first saw them underwater I was astonished to see scars and scrapes. Life is evidently no walk in the park for our flipperly friends

Life gets pretty trippy when you think about the big picture, which can be uncomfortable. I commend you for changing your ways Dylan, time gives perspective on many things. Hopefully the realizations that we have at an individual level can be extrapolated to the collective conscious of humanity. The goal is to inspire more people, we know the right vibration, but we don't have the amplitude... Yet! A huge wave of change is imminent, I'm grateful to be in this day and age to see it happen. Born too late to explore earth, born too early to explore space... born just in time to save the planet

@@BlueNeoprene Thanks man! Well said as always. This and many other problems is the burden our generation must unfortunately bear, but hopefully there is a brighter tomorrow.

Cheers Vaughn you legend, nice shark in your latest video. BTW your video is set as a "TH-cam kids" video which is likely limiting how many people see it.

@@BlueNeoprene Oh, thanks bud...I am still a bit challenge with you tube setting ill see how to change it. Many thanks

Ya, vote for me

Someone's got to do it, thanks to people like yourself it is not a thankless endeavor. Glad you enjoyed, while people are finding value in the vids ill try stay motivated in bringing message that I feel are important. In regards to this issue specifically "Starving Snapper" I have thought a lot more about and believe it to be the result more sinister causes than typically prescribed. Though the issue is very multifaceted and what we observe in snapper is likely the culmination of numerous environmental factors. I may make another video on this in the future, thanks.

Hey Strick, thanks for letting me know! I pay a lot of attention to forecasting, usually cross referencing multiple sources. Not so much targeting kingfish specifically but finding areas that look generally productive and dive able. I believe that a successful dive starts long before you enter the water, there are many factors outside of your control but you get to pick the battles. Like reading fish it takes time to build up your literacy but the benefits of becoming familiar with the amazing crystal-ball-esc tech we have access to. I try and dive many different conditions to get a better representation of particular areas. Beyond the obvious factors like tide, wind, time of day, and swell there are additional potential considerations like the moons position and phase. Some tools I use are windy.com, windsurf.co.nz, swellmap.co.nz, navionics.com, google satellite maps and social media location tags. Even with a good understanding of above mentioned there is still incredible variation in distribution patterns of fish and weather is inherently unpredictable. An entire life time wouldn't be long enough to truly understand the ocean but we can guess some things correctly.

Rewarding for sure, gotta be on best behaviour or say bye bye to the big dogs. I found your comment interesting, would love if you could elaborate further regarding behaviour relative to environment. My experience is somewhat similar as I find fish sticking around longer in shallow rather than deep water 🦷 🐠

@@BlueNeoprene Sure I can. I find mainly from personal experience and from watching over people videos, such as yours and north coast adventure, that snapper seem way more inquisitive and less flighty in harbour settings. In comparison snapper elsewhere tend to be much less willing to stick around, although there are of course exceptions. To why this could be is up for debate. Perhaps it could be they are accustomed to dirty water and feel safer because of this? Or maybe these populations of snapper are just less accustomed to divers then others.

Cheers Fishy, I find recording to be a great way of improving technique! You get to see how you dive and relive mistakes over and over. Uploading makes one significantly more conscientious due to possibility of getting roasted. Still figuring things out but I’m finding a style that works for me 🐟 🦈

Cheers Vaughn, I believe we are not as far removed from animals as we often assume!

@@BlueNeoprene You are right, "We're often quick to overlook our similarities with animals, but research consistently reveals shared traits like emotions, social structures, and instincts, will to live etc, Recognising these parallels highlights our interconnectedness with the natural world, despite each different kind being unique we still need to be reminded we are part of it not apart from it

@@Titannz213 well said, couldn’t agree more really. Hippies are long time proponents of “we are all one” but I think more skeptic folk may feel the same in light of scientific evidence. At the end of the day (or start of it) we share common ancestry with most other animals. Despite being millions of years removed there is enough there that we can understand other animals. Many hormones and neurotransmitters are found in humans and various others, example the high testosterone level of bull sharks. How could we share anything in common with such a beast? Forged though the fires of evolution and adaptation we walk the earth as it’s premiere specie, but not so different from others.

Thanks Clayton, no signs of Cig for me! Was sharing the fish with my fam and the village so only really ate a portion of what I caught. The dose makes the poision but I hadn't heard much talk of ciguatera there. There are red bass that are apparently really bad for it tho so I left em alone

Thanks, its nice to be able to have cool encounters like this with marine life

Maybe next time haha. Wasn’t sure about it but have since heard they are good eating!

That makes more sense than the white and blue on to be honest, hard to see out on the water

Thank you, I want the videos to be more than simply entertainment if possible!

Thanks hoptic ockey, nothing beats catching your own food!

They Juwon, I have no idea what that means. Hope you enjoyed 🙏

Love is a powerful thing indeed, hope it works out for y’all!

One of the tastiest fish around, best day zero fresh sashimi in my opinion! 👨‍🍳

@@BlueNeoprene Agreed - i strugle to find around auckland tho

@@MilanPotterSmith yeah they seem pretty sparse around these ways. Have seen good numbers out tiri and some of the other island but very seldom from the shore. Jack macs just ain’t the same 😞

@@BlueNeoprene I got my last few at tiri

Cheers Gia! I am honoured to have provided value for you. Much appreciation for letting me know that the words found you 🥷

😎 🦈

Hey Ash, that is a great suggestion. I have been meaning to create more, made some back in the day but they never did particularly well. No promises regarding that however, most the shorts you will see here for a while are backlogged. Lots more short form content on my instagram if that’s of interest. Cheers

❄️🐟 🧊

A little humor goes a long way as far as I am concerned, same for respect. Thanks for the comment TDoDaDa

Shot Bug, good to hear from ya. No kingies there but y’all get mantas, whale sharks and hammerheads (from what I have seen). Okinawa is certainly up there with places I would most like to dive. The advice I try and keep generalised and not just applicable to kingfish. Landing a fish is pretty similar across species. I didn’t think “how to stop losing medium-large size pelagic fish” was a good title ha

We also get Mahi Mahi and big Doggies here as well! Im going to use your video as inspiration for my next Hunt!

@@ExploringwithBug Best of luck! If you get a doggie be sure to let us know

Thanks gcombar! If the video saves a few fish I will be very happy. Hopefully we can all do better 🙏

The pathos was honestly pretty terrible off the shelf, but after adjustments/re-rig it seems to be very accurate and reliable. The stock twin 16mm rubbers were not right for it, wonky shots and poor buoyancy. Mono filament shooting line is no good either. Put on some twin 14mm rubbers(blue ofc) and dyneema shooting line. Now it’s much more useable and “lazer” like. Reloading it is kinda difficult, fiddly line release and open muzzle. Muzzle design is beautiful however, big fan of the flopper catch. Shark fins tabs on shaft are less familiar to me but seem to do well. Would recommend it for sure but not as a first spearflinger. I think that roller guns are superior in most aspects except for reliability and ease of maintenance. When choosing a tool with the intent of killing it must be something that you can use effectively. There is a right tool for every job and while not perfect, the lazer ticks many boxes for me and it what I have been exclusively using for months! Hasn’t let me down since getting rid of the 16s and monofilament. I don’t consider reload time to be much of a factor in spear preference. I try take few shots and make them count. I like 👍

Thanks for the full breakdown, I will keep that all In mind! Was asking cause I was thinking of picking up the roller version so this really good intel. Also, are you based in Whangarei?

@@dylannewman5569 I was for a while, but no longer. Decent place, great diving but wasn’t ment to be. I’m in Auckland nowadays for various reasons. Much more challenging diving in terms of fish, but I love the challenge!

@@BlueNeoprene Ah thats a shame, would loved to go for a dive with ya.

@@dylannewman5569 Its possible, they let me out of the city occasionally!