Gosh darnit, dem' dare' lionfishes!

So I've done about 18 shore dives in south florida, LBTS area, and have only once seen lionfish. The time I saw the lionfishes was when I was with an instructor, DM, and 2 other divers. The dm pointed both of them out. Out of nowhere, he pulls out what must've been a 6 ft pole spear, and spears one of the lionfish. After witnessing this, I thought to myself, "dang, if he wasn't here, we would have had to let it live."

So I promptly bought a lion-tamer spear.
about 8 ish dives later, I have yet to spot any lionfish on my own.

What I am wondering, is do you need an eye for them, or just know where to look?
Or are they uncommon in such shallow waters?
Almost like with lobster, you will have trouble finding them unless you know where to look, and what to look for.


Any tips for a unsuccessful lion-hunter?
(Its a great thing to not be seeing them everywhere, but I really want to spear some!)

If a person cannot see an adult lionfish one should assuredly see about some prescription lenses. On the other hand, the juveniles are hard to make out. It DOES take an eye for them. Hopefully, in your area, maybe all the adults have been killed and you are looking at juveniles.

blackvans1234:

Any tips for a unsuccessful lion-hunter?

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Garrobo:

If a person cannot see an adult lionfish one should assuredly see about some prescription lenses. On the other hand, the juveniles are hard to make out. It DOES take an eye for them. Hopefully, in your area, maybe all the adults have been killed and you are looking at juveniles.

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any TIPS for me?

I havn't seen many at LBTS. Came across a few really small ones there on one dive but for the most part I tend to see most lionfish on deeper reef's. They tend to hide out around ledges and such, I usually notice them by their spines that stick out and all, its hard to miss when u come across them. But search ledges and sides of reef's they'll turn up, kinda like lobster hunting but they are much easier to find than lobster imo. Recently I have not seen as many (which is a good thing) last time I saw a bunch on a 85' reef off ft lauderdale and I didnt have my spear.... but they are def out there.

I see them every dive, no matter how deep or shallow. I think the answer to your question was written in your own post... you develop an eye for them over time.

My first 18 dives here, I could not tell you what I saw...

They do hang out in craks, crevices, ledges, etc. If a lobster or eel would hang out in a spot, a lion fish will hang out there too. Keep looking/diving, you will develop the eye.

Hi blackvans1234,

Unfortunately, I have no tips for you, but I am in the same boat. I've done about 8 dives at LBTS this summer and have yet to see a lion fish. Actually, I have yet to see one anywhere, even out on the 60' reef, but Ive only done a few dives there this summer. I am always on the lookout, and like you, I've wondered if I am looking in the wrong places... But basically I am looking everywhere I see any fish.

To anyone, are they usually off the reef a few feet or hiding under ledges, in holes, close to the bottom or hovering above?

I am not the expert on their behavior and distribution, but I have killed enough to offer some personal/empirical observations.

They are harder to find the shallower you are.
My record inside 30' on a dive is 3 kills in 3 hours submerged.
The deeper I go, the more I see.
They do not like current
They are generally motionless when you find them.
They just sort of "Pop Out"
They like ledges, the back side of sponges, and holes.
They do not like current.They hunt Banded Coral Shrimp like demons.
They are incredibly stupid but have great survival instincts.
When you find one, look away, avoid direct eye contact until you are moving in to kill them.
They will hold stock still if you approach them slowly.
I shot 5 in a row yesterday with my Lion Tamer on the same sponge.
Approach them SLOWER THAN SLOW.....I MEAN SLOWWWWW........
Be exceedingly careful in any attempt to handle them once you have them on a spear or whatever.
I "nose them" as I was taught by Randy Jordan, developer of the "Lion Tamer".
Handle/scrape/deal with them, one at a time even if there are 30 in front of you.
My regular dive buddy whacked a 12 1/2" Bastage and got a little ahead of himself looking at 4 more in a hole, and got a zap.
Seriously.....be careful.
These things are like grenades!
Safely handled, they are easy to kill and handle.
Until you get proper training...you could seriously hurt yourself.

Chug
Has not taken a hit yet, but listens like a bat to those who have.

I was informed that they're out deeper, unfortunately I can't swim out that far!

Do they hide real deep in the reef (meaning unable to see unless you get real low)
sort of like lobsters do during the day, or do they like to be able to look around?

From the asumption I had made, they don't require as tight of an overhead as lobster


Its ironic because I do not eat any seafood, and always spot a few lobster for my buddy, but as a hunter for lionfish, I CANNOT find them! >:O

Got a twilight dive tommorow so I'll keep my eye open and my light on!

We've killed plenty at LBTS over the past couple of years, so they're a bit thinner there and of course they hide well in the structure. A couple weeks ago we ran up on 4 together in 15 feet of water, but were further south than Datura Ave...almost straight out from the beach club.

I can relate to having a new shiny weapon with nothing to kill. I bought a foldspear and didn't see a lionfish for the next 10 dives....I called it my "lionfish repellent" for two weeks.

The cold spell broke and I'm seeing them them regularly and killing a few (my regular buddy is faster on the draw than I am). Relax. If you dive down here enough you'll have plenty of opportunities to slaughter the beasties...

Like Chug said, be careful of them though...and kill and dispose of them one at a time. If you're deep, watch where you drop them...I once had to make a beeline to intercept a dead one my buddy killed before it smacked another diver downcurrent, below us, and looking the other way. The dead ones sting too.

Just curious,
is there an accepted standard hand signal for lionfish yet?