Spearfishing New Zealand weighmaster Brian Dalley sorts the catfish caught at the annual cull. Photo / Darren Shields
Spear fishers from around New Zealand assembled in Motuoapa on Saturday for the annual catfish cull.
The rules are simple, two people free dive together and spear as many catfish as they can, using a pole spear also known as a Hawaiian sling.
A total of 91 competitors caught 314 catfish, well down from the 2021 catch tally of 1317 where 205 people took part, with Spearfishing New Zealand secretary Reid Quinlan saying entries were affected by the spread of Covid-19.
In 2019, two spearfishing competitions in quick succession saw almost 4000 catfish culled from the lake. The 2019 annual cull netted 2605 catfish and Spearfishing New Zealand hosted the World Freshwater Spearfishing Championships where 62 spearfishing enthusiasts from seven countries speared a further 1200 catfish.
A few days before the 2022 event, a depth sounder captured a school of catfish clustered at a depth of 6m, with Reid saying at other times the catfish tend to rest on the bottom of the lake where they like to cruise around among the weed.
Reid says the event is a good day out for people who are new to spearfishing, as those taking part can wade out to the catfish, and then free dive to depths of two to three metres, or as deep as 15 to 20 metres.
It's also a good chance for beginners to try out the Hawaiian slingshot, classified as an introductory spearfishing weapon.
Reid says there is good local support for the event, with the Lake Taupō Harbourmaster closing off that part of the lake for the competition and the Department of Conservation taking away the catfish which get dug into a field as fertiliser.
"A few people ask if they can take some away to eat. I think they're a bit average on the tastebuds," Reid says.
Divers see plenty of trout when they are free diving, but Reid says the trout are off-limits, and they are only allowed to spear the catfish.
"You can also see koura all over the bottom of the lake, it's quite cool to see them."
He said the cull also netted a few dropped fishing rods.
The winning pair of free divers were Darren Sheilds and Ian Warnock who speared 54 fish.
The largest catfish at 613g was caught by Rowan Virbickas and the smallest catfish at 66g was caught by Chris Moore.
'It is a much more efficient way of getting twice as many apples using a lot less water.'