Out of Curiosity

[Coll]

Thanks for all the great replies! I guess it is kind of hard to explain why you enjoy something to someone who has never done it. I think Wayward Son said it best
"If you're not a hunter, likely no explanation will do. If you are a hunter, no explanation is necessary.
I'm a hunter. Always have been."

I wouldn't be opposed to u/w or above ground hunting if the opportunity was offered to me but on the other hand I wouldn't actively pursue trying it. I guess there's no real way to know until you're looking down the sight on your gun at dinner. By the way, if you guys keep talking about fresh lobster I'm going to go out now and start crawling along the ocean floor!

 

[CBulla]

Hunting feeds my family in a way that the stores cannot - fresh, clean fish (or meat if on land) that I chose and not something stuck with antibiotics and sterroids.

Lobster is good - this past summer we had Key Largo lobster and UP Venison for our August dive gathering dinner.. excellent surf and turf

 

[Fatboy rider]

Why do we hunt? Simply because we like it.... The Killing, cleaning, processing, cooking and eating of game, its all good. We had my daughter's first wild turkey Christmas day. It was wonderful!
Spear fishing, for me is just another form of hunting or gathering. It's fun and challenging and leads to more diving, more dive training and more fun.

thanks Walt

 

[Ana]

.... The Killing, cleaning, processing, cooking and eating of game, its all good.

Completely agree. It beats unloading the grocery-bags from the car and storing the packaged food in the pantry.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Spearfishing presents a challenge when the fun of breathing underwater or just freediving has worn off. I don't enjoy killing fish at all. I do like hunting them though; for me the killing of the fish is a little sad and it is something that is completed as quickly and painlessly as possible. Stabing a fish in the brain with a knife and then spinning it around may sound barbaric, but it is probably a more mercifull death then one they will find in nature or at the hands of a hook and line fisherman.

I am still unable to control my heart rate when I am stalking a good fish, Spearfishing is a very weird sport because you must ACT like it is not fun or exciting. You have to pretend to be super calm, move gracefully, never stare at your fish, never move your head fast and a whole lot of other details that must be followed to make yourself seem entirely uninterested in the thing you are trying to spear. All fish can swim faster than divers and they CAN almost always just swim away, if they really want to.

It is as entirely different sport than diving. Most good scuba hunters are not even thinking much about their diving. It is entirely second nature to them. They know their depth, their time constraints, their gas supply and things like controlling their bouyancy are not even on the radar.

Spearfishing has allowed me to be a seafood snob. I can not eat seafood at a restaurant that compares to what I can get at home. The cost of recreationaly speared fish is still high, when you factor in all the costs of diving, fuel etc, but it is a very ethical means to feed the family. Due to a hunter being able to select exactly which fish he wants to take, this sport provides a very environmentally friendly way to harvest fish. Little waste, little by-catch, no lost fishing lines or lead weights to be left on the bottom.

 

[captain]

It is as entirely different sport than diving. Most good scuba hunters are not even thinking much about their diving. It is entirely second nature to them. They know their depth, their time constraints, their gas supply and things like controlling their bouyancy are not even on the radar.

I never gave it much thought but you are right, it becomes automatic and subconscious

 

[james croft]

Little bit off track but I saw a bumper sticker the other day on the back of a waterman's truck that said "Jesus was a gill netter".

 

[Bob3]

My kids cut their teeth on venison jerky.

 

[Ironhed]

I myself have a love for being underwater, I also love to eat fresh fish and lobster. Combining the 2 loves for me has become more cost effective and adds alot more excitement on a dive. I eat everything I shoot or I share it with friends and family. I have become more selective these days many times not pulling the trigger unless it is a worthy fish to filet. Once I added a gun to my dive gear I never dive without it.

 

[Vin]

People often ask me why I dive. My standard answer has a few layers:

The Zen of it- Some folks go to church on Sunday or play golf. I do neither There is nothing more peaceful and relaxing than neutral buoyancy and the crackling all around... its like taking a walk in the woods.

That said, I enjoy the thrill diving can offer - Be it under the ice, exploring a new wreck or site, at night, diving deep AND spear fishing. Always eat what you kill and stay informed re: local rules and regulations.

I am no longer in the food business, yet the fundamental question is always on my mind "How many times has it changed hands before it hits my plate?"

There is nothing better that eating fish off the grill minutes after it was in the water.

That is good living