Barracuda Tips

[Michael Guerrero]

Anyone have any tips, best practices, or lessons learned for spearfishing Barracuda (other than to watch out for the teeth)?

 

[dumpsterDiver]

[video=youtube;2uDQvlNsXTI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uDQvlNsXTI[/video]

[video=youtube;Iy9Uvf_UAUc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy9Uvf_UAUc[/video]


last one shows my 14 yr old takin a large one. I'm not so sure it was smart. They are dangerous.

[video=youtube;MvBdEb21UjU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvBdEb21UjU[/video]

If you are just learning to spearfish, cuda would not be a smart fish to learn on. First, i would want kevlar gloves which MIGHT help. Second, you want to let them run and get tired out before you grab them. We often put a second shaft into them. You have to make a quick grab for their throat and get your hands in the gills under the throat. If you miss, on this snatch- you may be really hurt. Their teeth are exactly like a stilletto knife blade - they open their mouth and swim through a fish cutting it in half. You are not worried about simple puncture woulds from a cuda.

Once you grad them, you need to control with one hand and then get your knife and stab them in the brain. in the soft V-sheped area behind the eyes along the centerline.. from top down. You need a sharp knife, one that can be deployed with one hand and you need to know how to do it, so you do not cut your hand. it is better to watch and learn and also practice on dead fish on the boat first.

Also, cuda are about the most favorite food for sharks.. Shoot one near a shark and the cuda may try to hide between your legs... lotsa moving parts - with cuda.

 

[Michael Guerrero]

I will be wearing Kevlar gloves and HexArmor 9014s underneath, so hopefully that will help keep me safe. About all I can do at this point is watch videos as I don't have any regular dive/spearfishing buddies here in AL. I'll stick to the small ones and work my way up .

And thanks for the info and videos, very helpful.

 

[tomfcrist]

Question....why?

 

[diversteve]

That was my question also. From what I've been told on boats they don't taste particularly good.

And then there's:

Fish that are most likely to cause ciguatera poisoning are carnivorous reef fish, including barracuda

Food Poisoning from Marine Toxins - Chapter 2 - 2016 Yellow Book | Travelers' Health | CDC

 

[dumpsterDiver]

That was my question also. From what I've been told on boats they don't taste particularly good.

And then there's:
Food Poisoning from Marine Toxins - Chapter 2 - 2016 Yellow Book | Travelers' Health | CDC

they are very good to eat. Although they may be poisonous..Snappers , groupers, tuna, mackerel - are all carnivorous.

 

[tomfcrist]

I had a Cuban buddy long ago who's mother ate barracuda. She would only eat the small ones.

If people are eating them I'm cool with fishing them.

 

[Michael Guerrero]

The Barracuda was good! I did notice though that the belly area and the dark line underneath the spin was fishy. We cook our fish whole for the most part. Just scale, gut, rinse, chop off head and tale, and fry in a pan--skin on. Not sure if we just missed some meat with some blood in it or what. But the rest of the meat was great.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I fillet my fish and carefully remove any and all dark meat. It is full of oil and will drastically alter the taste of the fish.

 

[Michael Guerrero]

I think we're going to start doing that. The cross sections of the cuda are so thick it makes it hard to cook whole and it seems like you really have to break the fish down to get rid of all the fishy parts.