Spearfishing with Scuba

[CMOST]

Scuba for me. Who wants to be on the surface!!!

 

[White Knight]

SCUBA---Freediving once and again. But almost always SCUBA. I am told by freedivers that my bubbles scare the fish away...consequently, spearfishing "while on SCUBA" is more sporting! Actually, I love to SCUBA dive and I love to spearfish. Why not combine the two activities?

 

[diverdoug1]

Most of my spearfishing is for bottom dwelling fish, in 50 to 170 FSW. So I use SCUBA.

 

[ericbkendrick]

I do scuba also, I've heard the arguments about scuba not giving the fish a chance, but to me, I guess I compare scuba/spearfishing to regular fishing. If you are fishing, you absolutely do not give a small fish a chance if he is gut hooked. I know that circle hooks are best to keep that from happening, but I hardly know any fisherman that really uses them.
I don't see anything wrong with using scuba if someone wants to, I still have to obey the law and shoot/keep fish that are of legal size anyway, that is if people obey the law.

 

[mudhole]

In my area of fresh water, Catfish are our good eating fish. . . If you are on Scuba you can spear, no scuba gear, no speargun, you must noodle. Dive death rate while spearfishing. . . 0, death rate for "noodlers" at least one per year. True there are more noodlers than spearfishermen in Oklahoma, but holding your breath while sticking your hand into a 30 to 50 pound catfish mouth is not a good long life choice.

 

[Spear N Fool]

Scuba for me. Free divers think scuba is cheating but i say different.We dive the rigs off the coast of Louisiana, and when you shoot a 100# AJ with 15 ft. of stainless steel cable attached to your gun and wrestle him under water is not as easy as one would think. Just my 2 cents

 

[suprasteve]

if he is gut hooked. I know that circle hooks are best to keep that from happening, but I hardly know any fisherman that really uses them.

I use them exclusively when bottom fishing and STILL probably 1 in 4 come up gut hooked! So spearing is more eco-friendly

 

[PatMyGreen]

In my area of Florida (upper Gulf Coast) there is no decent spearing in less than 80' of water. We free dive for pelagics on occasion but mostly scuba for bottom fish in water 100-150' when its me and my friends. Also, it worth knowing what everyone else in the world does and believes, but aren't the Med and Caribbean (freedive hunting only) both seriously overfished (collapsed is the word I am used to hearing)? By comparison the Gulf of Mexico seems to be doing fine (except of course the endangered red snapper) since fishing regs were originally put into place.

 

[Spearo]

I do both but at my age it has to be under 30ft. to freedive it. I have to say...getting close to and shooting a lg. fish when you sound like a train UW with scuba is more of a challange but don't try to tell that to a freediver.

 

[Hank49]

In my area of Florida (upper Gulf Coast) there is no decent spearing in less than 80' of water. We free dive for pelagics on occasion but mostly scuba for bottom fish in water 100-150' when its me and my friends. Also, it worth knowing what everyone else in the world does and believes, but aren't the Med and Caribbean (freedive hunting only) both seriously overfished (collapsed is the word I am used to hearing)? By comparison the Gulf of Mexico seems to be doing fine (except of course the endangered red snapper) since fishing regs were originally put into place.

yep, ENFORCED regulation is the key. The US has the resources to enforce the laws. Belize, as an example here in the Caribbean, has the laws but no effective system in place to regulate catch, quota, species etc.