Amberjack almost kills me! Sharks and Barracuda too

[drrich2]

You pointing out every mistake may be helpful, I'm not saying it's not.

Keep in mind these threads are read by others of us in a position to learn, too. I've never spear-fished. From the criticism given in this thread, I've learned:

1.) Some of these fish are much more powerful than they look.
2.) Dead-looking fish may have a lot of fight left.
3.) If you hold a fish facing you, as is commonly done with freshwater rod & reel fishing on land (e.g.: posing with a large mouth bass, getting the hook out), the fish may ram you in the face, chip your teeth, knock out your reg., etc…
4.) A fish trailing a spear shaft line can entangle you more readily than you may think.
5.) The fish may drag you much deeper than you planned to go.

On a recent live-aboard trip, 2 reef sharks took a strong interest in a guide carrying a speargun with a lion fish on it, and from that, I learned watch out, you might get company...

In another thread, there was discussion over a situation where Randy Jordan was spear fishing, and a bull shark darted in and grabbed his prey. Unfortunately, the line was around the ends of a couple of Randy's fingers. Even though he was wearing gloves, it led to a pretty gory injury. And this wasn't a shark feeding dive, either, from what I understand. Here's a link to a thread elsewhere on the Internet, since a quick Search on ScubaBoard didn't pull up the thread I wanted. Warning: severed finger tip shot pretty gross.

My point is, sometimes discussion highlights issues that others may benefit from, too. I continue to be surprised at how dangerous spear fishing can be.

Richard.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

 

[Johnoly]

2.) Dead-looking fish may have a lot of fight left.

I wish all new spearo's would read what you wrote above.

All of us have so many stories from what you said.

 

[BoltSnap]

I usually make several dives with new critical gear (regs, mask, bc) before I go on a "high adventure" or "training with students" dives just to make sure that I am 100% familiar with them and know exactly how to use them and that they are properly adjusted. When the crud hits to fan, I want to be in complete familiarity with the equipment I am using and not learn it in these circumstances.

100ft depth may have also caused narcosis that affected your responses in the mess you described. I suggested that you drop your ego and learn from all of the responses here. The responses in this post are some of the most educational I have seen here. Don't let your embarrassment get in the way of you soaking these genuinely helpful responses please. Take it with a smile and learn from it. The fish in the video caused a lot more injury to your ego than the comments in this thread actually

 

[Dauntless]

I use a 2nd freeshaft without a barb to end the struggle. 1 band gives the right penetration. Also as said before by DD, don't swim to the fish immediately, if you swim away, sometimes an AJ will just follow you.

[video]https://youtu.be/sbXRTBEhYDA[/video]

Jump to 2:25

 

[Sumper]

To the original poster of the thread: Aquatic Argobull. Thanks for posting the vid! Don't get offended so quick. At least you are out there doing it! We all learn something from it including you! Get back on here and discuss! There are a few things you can tweak and become a better diver each time you get in the water! I look back at my early diving days and can't even believe at some of the mistakes I made! including more than a couple of REAL near death experiences underwater! And I am still making a few today!

 

[gkrane]

If you are going to be spearing large fish at the rigs take a look at and research a "riding rig." Hand to hand combat with an AJ is ill advised all the time. The OP was trying to prevent you from repeating mistakes that easily could have gotten you killed an any given day. Putting an air2 in your mouth while a green AJ is on a stampede could have resulted in both you and your buddy having a bad day.