Where's the best place to spear in the USA?

[100days-a-year]

I'd have to second the NE Fla ,but add all the way to The NC/SC border.As much as the rigs have to offer the SE US coast adds Hogs to 27#, bugs to 16#,Muttons to 20#+,a big variety of little snapper YTs, Lane etc.I dove a wreck(within 100 miles of Jax)that had 50 grouper shot off it in a day and had at least 100 left on it all nice 10#+scamp and gags to over 30#.Here's a list of a few fish shot in the last year by friends locally.

Several 30#+ Red snapper
Gags over 50#
Black grouper to 70#
Scamp to 28#
Red grouper to 20#
Mangos to 14#
Sheephead to 14#
Several Cobia 90# to 103#
Muttons to 22#
Wahoo to 78#...gutted
Warsaw to 70#
Cuberas to 78#
Hogfish in the mid 20#s
Mahi up to 30#
Bugs to 12#
Not to mention the various jacks,triggers etc..

Fishing here can be spotty, but when it's on Woohoo!

 

[Florabama]

This is a very interesting thread, and it makes me wonder why Florida is fighting drilling off its shores. Florida has the most shoreline of any state in the Confederacy (or Union depending on where you were born) but they are fighting drilling like there's no tomorrow. Have the rigs off LA caused ecological damage to the LA shoreline? I know Florida's white sandy beaches are different, but if rigs have been down in LA waters since 1947 and there's been no damage, what are Florida politicians thinking? I understand they're an eyesore for tourists laying on the beach, so why not put them out about 50 miles where no one can see them?

 

[100days-a-year]

While I am not opposed to drilling I remember what the beaches on South Padre Island looked like 35 years ago.They are quite a bit nastier now thanks in part to junk and trash from rigs.If we had rigs in the Gulf they would probably be out of sight in any case.

 

[Landsharkscuba]

South Dakota Walleye are what we go after! SD is one of very few states that allows you to shoot game fish with the same restrictions as hook & line. Then nice thing about spearing in SD is that you are the biggest fish in the river, you don't have any worries about something taking your catch!!

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Welcome to ScubaBoard Landsharkscuba

It'd be nice if more states followed South Dakota's spearfishing laws

 

[Krusty]

Cobia (ling or lemonfish in Louisiana lingo) in the 20-80 pound range; amberjack to over 100 pounds but more commonly in the 30-50 pound range; red snapper to 30+ pounds but more commonly in the 10-20 pound range (my favorite fish to hunt and eat; see http://claycoleman.tripod.com/id21.htm); gags and groupers of all sizes. The big Warsaw groupers that were common in the 1970s (and who killed their share of divers) are rare today, especially at reasonable diving depths, as are Goliath groupers (can't get used to calling them that). You can also bag mangrove snappers in the 8-15 pound range on snorkel between tank dives. Big triggerfish can also be taken on tank or snorkel. That's not counting the no-eaters like jack crevalle (at least not many people eat them around here), barracuda, tarpon, etc. The rigs can be a cool dive even without the spearing (see http://claycoleman.tripod.com/id118.htm) when the water is clear. -Clay

Why not eat cudas? I have heard and read many a article that they are very tasty, but being up here in seattle wash we dont get to many in the waters here ol.

 

[Krusty]

I have speared in hawaii befor and i must say that the abundance of fish is great. And the slipper lobsters are damn yummy. I always went off the seven graves area on Mauis keihei side. Lots of fish to take and the night dives are very cool. Just watch out not to spear the state fish it a big no no but it taste pretty damn good lol.

 

[Krusty]

I just read a book written by some guys living in Louisianna who dive the rigs and most of all the fishing rodeos records are comming from fish taken from the rigs. 200lb amberjacks and 80+ groupers. And they were talking about 200 plus jewfish in the late 70,s early 80's. Was a pretty interesting book. It seems that a lot of the record fish are still coming out of the area but at depths of 200 plus.

 

[Tennessee]

I just read a book written by some guys living in Louisianna who dive the rigs and most of all the fishing rodeos records are comming from fish taken from the rigs. 200lb amberjacks and 80+ groupers. And they were talking about 200 plus jewfish in the late 70,s early 80's. Was a pretty interesting book. It seems that a lot of the record fish are still coming out of the area but at depths of 200 plus.

Was that the Helldivers book?

 

[Krusty]

Helldivers rodeo