Why Spearfishing is an advanced Activity

[dumpsterDiver]

Dumpster has already posted videos testifying to his skill for killing Flounder with no more than his dive knife...might have been nicer of him to post this to the hunting forum( rather than posting it to the BHB Thread, where all the divers commune with the petting zoo creatures, and spearing or killing is quite horrifying to them)....but in any event, Flounders are easy prey for a good spearo, compared to cobia or even Gag Groupers.

My personal favorite would be large hog snappers, but there are so few left I feel to guilty to go after them anymore---in the 80's and 90's, I couldn't get enough of them

Cobia... I did so much diving lately, I got swimmer's ear. Not the best video, but I got one snorkeling last week.

As for Tomcrist.. he is on my ignore list, but I was curious to see what kind of wisdom he had to offer....."Don't spear flounder off rocks with a gun" :shocked2:


[video=youtube_share;2sT8Vwyw0ew]http://youtu.be/2sT8Vwyw0ew?list=UU1utDku8vJRJYgBZImLyLJQ[/video]

 

[tomfcrist]

Hey man, flounder are much easier to snag with a gig...if you feel the need to pop them with a gun..go for it. It's like bringing a cannon to a toothpick fight. But hey, you are the best, and I love watching your videos. Ignore away.

 

[lowviz]

Gig or gun, no big whoop. I just try to keep a humane aspect to my hunting/collecting. Kind of like this:Certified Humane | A Project of Humane Farm Animal Care

Chicken nuggets or hamburger certainly don't pass muster so tread carefully if you are an omnivore. My standards, my sensitivities, certainly not PETA's. My 'truth' can usually be found nearest the middle. Not saying I'm "right" either...

 

[100days-a-year]

A short polespear will be better than any gun for flounder and holes.

As far I know of not one single full time commercial spearfisherman on the East Coast,Keys or Gulf(having worked with a few dozen) uses a Euro for bottom fish,every last one uses a conventional gun 90% Biller/JBL/SS Sea Hornet with 1 or 2 using a Riffe.Gotta wonder why guys whose livelihood depends on accuracy,durabilty,versatility and speed use such inferior weapons.Never seen a custom gun,a euro or a pneumatic I would consider spending my money on.

Look at my pix and youtube videos,they speak for themselves.

 

[waterpirate]

Dumpster was spot on in his explanation, however. To try and buy a speargun once??? That one really made me chuckle. No such thing. If I were you I would buy a inexpensive jbl shorty and see what develops. I killed alot of fish with what I now refer too as a " clam gun ". When you find yourself wanting more out of a gun, you will have a better handle on what you want and need. Guns are also really easy to lose up here, for the beginning shooter. Low vis prevents recovery most days. Pun intended.

Underwater hunting is also like ground hunting in that the gun does make the hunt, the hunter does. So you really do not need a pricey tool if the hunter is dialed in.

I am attaching a pic of a rockfish I nailed some years ago on one of my few free dive forays into the inlet. I shot it with a home made pole spear. Warning my beer gut was quite large, and white in those days! lol

YMMV
Eric

 

[Allison Finch]

Since amberjack are common carriers of ciguatera, I'll pass on killing them just for the fight.

Ciguatera Fish Poisoning: Get Facts on Ciguatera Toxin

Ciguatera Fish Poisoning -- Florida, 1991

I had a good friend almost die from an AJ in Florida. Last time I ever considered eating one again.

---------- Post added December 25th, 2014 at 08:20 PM ----------

Dumpster has already posted videos testifying to his skill for killing Flounder with no more than his dive knife...might have been nicer of him to post this to the hunting forum( rather than posting it to the BHB Thread, where all the divers commune with the petting zoo creatures, and spearing or killing is quite horrifying to them)....but in any event, Flounders are easy prey for a good spearo, compared to cobia or even Gag Groupers.

Well said! I'm looking for the videos of DD spearing the sharptail eels and frogfish. He harasses them unmercifully, so it is simply the next step. I have only used short pole spears for flounders. Anything else is dramatic overkill.

My personal favorite would be large hog snappers, but there are so few left I feel to guilty to go after them anymore---in the 80's and 90's, I couldn't get enough of them

OMG! I remember when they were EVERYWHERE! I only used pole spears and never came up empty handed. Now, I am with you. I won't spear them anymore. They have become so uncommon is so many places that they may go beyond the ability to recover.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Around here a euro gun works really well for some things. We have these bluish speckled fish we conveniently call blues. They typoically sit in the water column in about 15 to 20 feet, sometimes above pinnacles and sometimes in kelp beds. They are mid water feeders and will sit in schools waiting for stuff to float by. I've had them thick a peanut butter hovering all around me on deco stops. I have been known to bag up a limit while doing my 15' stop. They're great target practice and a good all around eating fish. They make great fish and chips, firm flaky white meat, clean tasting fish. Also great for fish tacos.

The other thing we get are big lingcod. I wish I could post a picture of a 40 pounder I got once. For those I use a shortish 32" (I think) JBL "Northwest" model. It's an aluminum bodied gun with a 3/8" heavy shaft and three 9/16" bands. It's like shooting something with a .45, lots of incredible short range stopping power but no accuracy past 4 or 5 feet. It's specifically designed for big fish at close range such as lings or maybe big halibut.
The other gun I have is a Riffe 36" 2 or three band (depending how you have it set up). This gun is a lot more accurate than the JBL but the shaft is daintier. It's excellent for shooting vermillion rockfish (reds) from about 8 -10 feet away. They are skitish and will scram if you look at them to long or get too close. So in that case you need accuracy and range which the Riffe provides. There is really no such thing as a one-gun solution to all types of hunting.

The other thing I forgot to mention was a pole spear. I use a pole spear actually quite a bit. They are good for shooting smaller China and Gopher rock fish in the 2-3 lb range which tend to hang out down in the rocks in cracks and underhangs. A band gun is sometimes overkill and takes to long to reload just to pop small rackfish, and the tip always gets mushroomed after it goes through the fish and slams into the rock behind it. When using a pole spear I have a game bag handy, and after I pop them I just put the fish into the bag while still on the end of the pole spear and slide it off into the bag, very quick and easy. I use a tri paralyzer tip with no barbs.

I'm with Dumpster on the slip tip or slip ring style shafts. Even around here fish can bolt way into cracks where it's impossible to get to them. I had a buddy that had to go get another tank and come back to get a fish out that wedged itself into a crack with a spear in it.
All my shafts are rear attached shooting lines. Slip tips are something used for blue open water and sometimes used with a bouy or float, (but not always).

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Since amberjack are common carriers of ciguatera, I'll pass on killing them just for the fight.

Ciguatera Fish Poisoning: Get Facts on Ciguatera Toxin

Ciguatera Fish Poisoning -- Florida, 1991

I had a good friend almost die from an AJ in Florida. Last time I ever considered eating one again.

---------- Post added December 25th, 2014 at 08:20 PM ----------



Well said! I'm looking for the videos of DD spearing the sharptail eels and frogfish. He harasses them unmercifully, so it is simply the next step. I have only used short pole spears for flounders. Anything else is dramatic overkill.




OMG! I remember when they were EVERYWHERE! I only used pole spears and never came up empty handed. Now, I am with you. I won't spear them anymore. They have become so uncommon is so many places that they may go beyond the ability to recover.

We eat the Amberjack that I shoot. We had some fried for dinner last night, it was OK. Normally I have a friend smoke it and also make fish dip. I give him the fillets and he gives me half back as smoked fish. It comes out great!

I've used a pole spear myself "a few times"..

 

[Allison Finch]

We eat the Amberjack that I shoot. We had some fried for dinner last night, it was OK. Normally I have a friend smoke it and also make fish dip. I give him the fillets and he gives me half back as smoked fish. It comes out great!

I've used a pole spear myself "a few times"..

No problem. Your risk, and those you also feed, though.

From the link I posted;

On August 9, the Florida HRS was notified of eight persons who developed one or more of the following symptoms: cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and chills and sweats within 3-9 hours (mean: 5 hours) after eating amberjack at a restaurant on August 7 or August 8; duration of symptoms was 12-24 hours. Three persons were hospitalized. By August 12, patients began to report pruritus of the hands and feet, paresthesia, dysesthesia, and muscle weakness. Based on initial food histories, the Florida HRS suspected consumption of amberjack as the source of illness. On August 14, three additional persons with similar symptoms who also had eaten amberjack at the restaurant on August 8 were reported.
Results of cultures of stool and vomitus samples from the hospitalized persons were negative for Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, and Yersinia. No cooked amberjack was available from the same lot from the restaurant for further testing. Although minor sanitation and safety violations were observed at the restaurant, they did not appear related to the outbreak. Because of the unique symptomology and common denominator of amberjack, investigators suspected either scombroid or ciguatera poisoning.
The shipment of amberjack was traced to a seafood dealer in Key West, Florida, who had distributed the fish through a dealer in north Florida. The second dealer subsequently had sold the fish to the restaurant, another restaurant in Alabama, and a third dealer who sold the fish to two grocery stores in Alabama and north Florida. On August 20 and on September 20, the Florida HRS received reports of additional suspected cases among persons who had bought amberjack at the Alabama grocery store (six persons) and at the grocery store in north Florida (three), respectively.

 

[100days-a-year]

If AJ were a common carrier, there would be an epidemic.Close to a million pounds a year are sold in the US.Hogfish are fine,just not south of Daytona on the EC.The NMFS.. will likely divide them into two groups soon.Ga,SC and NC population is still very healthy.