Pensacola Fishing Forum / Scuba Forums / Spearfishing

pete tide/rubble pile w/ claydoh and brandy

seanmclemore — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 20:56:46 GMT

first off, i know how claydoh is about telling where he goes diving, but this one i don't think he'll mind. maybe it'll help everyone get out there and KILL THOSE F-ING SHARKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

we got out today at about noon to the pete tide where we were greeted with 2 average sized bull sharks and 1 larger than average reef shark. there weren't very aggressive until they smelled the grouper i had on my stringer, so, powerhead was engaged......DUD.....no fire, which if anyone is wondering wheather the sharks like that or not...we'll go with not.

we bailed on that dive, got to the boat, drank a beer and decided to go to the rubble pile nearby. not sure if it was csx or blackwater??? dont matter much. it was only about a mile ride and guess who followed us. i shot a decent grouper 12-15 ish pounds, brandy got a decent jack, the sharks came to us very agressive, getting too close to our comfort zone. brandy poked them very hard a couple times and aborted the dive. i stayed down putting the lift bag on the anchor so that we could get out of dodge when one of them got my stringer which i keep hooked to my gun with a 20' 3/8 nylon rope. after they ate 1/2 of the grouper i snatched my stringer from them which really pissed them off causing them to charge at me. i poked one directly in the eye, which he didn't like too much, so he circled back around at me. i turned my gun around to hit it with the blunt end. he got ahold of the nylon cut it off and took off with 2 stainless clips, and my stringer with grouper. i blew the lift bag and got the F#** out of there.

everyone is safe, and slightly pissed off and the lack of fish brought back.

i will be devoting my time over the coming months to thinning out these sharks. any diver that is using the powerhead as self defense can fire away and you can have 2 sharks per vessel i am told.

LETS GO DEFEND OURSELVES LADIES AND GENTS!!!!

OH........AND.......CLAY HAS SOMETHING TO ADD TO THIS POST THAT HE DIDN'T WANT MY VERSION OF IT POSTED.

CHEERS GUYS ....SAFE DIVING

Spearfishing trip On sunday (need shooters)

craasch210 — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:32:01 GMT

Going out this Sunday and have some room. Will be leaving from Mac's Marina at 3:30 am. We will be doind 3-4 tanks.

Let me know if interested.

Chris

850-313-0147

Snapper Trapper Thanksgiving Day Eve Trip

spearfisher — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:10:38 GMT

The Snapper Trapper loaded up Wednesday afternoon with Captain Paul at the helm, Tim on the fishing pole, Little Zack as the Deckhand, and six refuges (Jerry, Little Paul, Kevin, Brandon, Clay, and myself) that should have been at work but instead were all searching for the all illusive Leviathan. Apparently, for those who have not already heard the story, there was a monsterous Cobia lurking the depths of the Gulf that Clay, Craasch, and company had seen on Sunday. By the time we departed the dock (at 10:00am thanks to Clay) this Cobia had reached mythic proportions. Needless to say we were all amped to get a shot on this beast which was sure to be a world record. There was a sense of destiny on board, but of course we had to have a little fun while we were at it.

Clay had apparently had a little too much fun the night before. As such, he was passed out on the couch in the Snapper Trapper as we approached the site. With stealth a Navy Seal would have been proud of, the rest of the crew donned our wetsuits in the cabin in utter silence so as not to disturb sleeping beauty. We could think of nothing better than Clay waking up to find this huge Cobia that he was dying to shoot already laying on the deck, but alas, he awoke and caught us in our devious plan. He rushed to get dressed as we neared our first drop.

We pulled up to the first spot, and the engines had literally just been pulled into neutral when the crew of misfits abandoned ship like cubans with the coast guard approaching. We all kicked like madmen to the bottom not wanting the other to beat him down. Kevin and I were the first ones down. Immediately I spot a huge fish off in the distance swimming along the sand. All I can think about is this monolithic cobia. I start swimming like hell. Kevin sees me and starts kicking too. We both push our guns forward as we approach and then the thing turns and we realize that its not a Cobia, but a shark (grey reef.) This thing see Kevin and I swimming at it like madmen and turns tail and runs. Never in my life have I seen a shark run scared from divers, but this one sure did. We swim the wreck a couple of times to no avail so we surface and move to another wreck in the immediate vacinity hoping the cobia had moved off to the other wreck. We dropped down on this spot only to find that the smaller shark had gone and gotten his big brother and they were both cruising the wreck. The bigger of the two had two nice AJ's on it, and Kevin decided why not? He shot an AJ literally right off the nose of the bigger shark and it never even flinched. It just kept swimming as Kevin strung the fish. I shot one scamp on this wreck and we all headed up. Snapper were literally everywhere, and they all had their calendar out taunting us.

With very few fish in the boat we decided it was time to move on to some more promising spots. With Snapper out of season we focused our efforts on trigger primarily. Capt. Paul dropped us on honey hole after honey hole where we shot the daylights out of trigger fish, Amberjacks, Grouper, and Mangrove Snapper. After all the dives I have made with Paul it still amazing me that anyone can doubt the productivity of private reefs. It just blows my mind the number of fish of every species that are on these things.

Anyway, with daylight fading we had time for one more drop. We dropped Brandon, Clay, Jerry, and Little Paul on this last spot. Brandon had the least amount of air to start the dive with so he was the first up with a really nice trigger. As soon as he got on board he started telling us about this huge hammerhead that was swimming with them down there. About 5 minutes later Clay surfaced with 3 huge triggers one of which was 6.8lbs. Then Jerry and Little Paul surface, and Jerry is laughing so hard he can't even talk. I think he shot salt water out of his nose he was laughing so hard. You all know how Clay is around sharks. Apparently when the hammerhead cruised by, Jerry looked over and saw Clay perched on top of the pyramid, as Jerry described it, "like he was up in a tree like a dog was chasing him through the projects!" As Clay tells it he was ruthlessly defending his fish from the fearsom shark. Either way it was a great story. I'll let Jerry tell his version and Clay tell his and you all can decide.

Bottom line, we didn't get this mythical cobia, but we had a great day with some great friends and the Snapper Trapper brought home a pile of fish again. Anybody that wants to catch fish whether it is with a pole or a speargun simply has to set foot on the Snapper Trapper. Capt. Paul knows where to find find the fish even when Snapper was out of seaon.

Final Count:

30 Trigger Fish

3 Amber Jack

1 Grouper

1 Scamp

1 Mangrove Snapper

Targeted flounder Wednesday before Thanksgiving

Rich Lacour — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:37:02 GMT

We made one dive on the barges and it was absolutely loaded up with flounder. We came up with 19 (2 of us diving). The flounder were literally on top of one another.

The vis was around 60ft and we practically saw the anchor hit the bottom. My computer was showing the temp on the bottom at 64.

Few Speargun Facts

Clay-Doh — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:51:46 GMT

Well, I have done a few things to my Riffe, and thought I would share em.

OK, first thing I did to my gun that I love.........Riding Rig. JoshH had posted a youtube video a while back about this, and I finally got around to doing it. Not everybody may like this idea, but for me, I have about doubled the amount of fish I shoot, just because this thing makes it so easy to get the fish on the stringer, and reload, that I take a lot more shots.

Also, you never have to worry about losing your gun if a monster fish starts yanking you to the bottom, or worse, to the surface to fast. Or if a 7 foot bullshark grabs your snapper that you just shot and your shaft along with it, and starts dragging you all over the place, you dont have to be an idiot and hold because you dont want to lose your gun, instead all you risk losing is a shaft. In case you havent seen the helmet cam video of that happening to me...heres the you tube link.... (click on "watch in high quality" below the screen when it opens)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCLMAUUR6JY

OK, heres the pics of the riding rig set up...

And heres a close up of the connection...

I think it was the Hell Divers who invented this, for spearfishing in 3000 feet of water on the oil rigs. They didnt want to risk losing there gun if a monster gave em more fight than they had in em, plus, they could use the rope for leverage by using one of the cross members of the rig as a "pulley so to speak.

Basically, were your shock cord connects to your gun, the lil yellow loop at the top that is usually tied on or looped thru, you undo it, and just hook it on up there. A simple little stainless D-ring like in the picture, and a length of rope long enough to reach back so you can hold it in your left hand, and your done!

The other important part of it is to have a way to clip the gun to you after you shoot. When you shoot this, the shaft leaves the gun, and the shock cord comes right off the "hook" at the end of your gun that it was simply looped onto, and your shaft is now completely disingaged from your gun. I personally have the rope and clip at the butt end of my gun long enough to keep it constantly clipped to a shoulder D_ring on my BC, and still have my gun-arm outstretched and be able to swing my gun around to aim. That way, as soon as I shoot, I can instantly let go of my gun with my right hand, let it float up above my head, and use both hands to pull in my fish!

Why do I like this? Several reasons. NO MORE LINES TANGLED IN YOUR BANDS OR AROUND THE END OF YOUR GUN! Your gun is right above your right shoulder, out of the way! Its great! Also, you have a rope and line to pull your fish in, instead of an akward gun gettin yanked around by the shockcord at the end.

Also, if you really got a monster on, (or a shark), and you are getting dragged to the bottom of the Oriskany, or up to the surface, and you just cannot get the fish under control, you will not have to quickly deside in your head if you are willing to risk your life to save your gun. The only thing you will lose if all hell breaks lose and its beyond you to salvage the situation, is a shaft.

ALso, as in DK's story bout his sweet cobia on the "O", had he had a rig like this, he could wrapped that rope around a railing, tower, or something to give him leverage, an slow that fish down.

Also, you just shot a fish, your pulling it in, and in comes a shark for your fish. Normally you got a hand full of line, and if you do it like most people, your gun is either floating up above you 10 feet, or you are still holding the gun and havent grabbed the line yet, so your gun is worthless to use as a weapon to jab with, because the end of it is gertting yanked all over by theat sweet fish you got on. But with this, your gun is free and clear, with the handle straight abouve your right shoulder to reach up and bring down to jab a cuda or shark, without a fish yanking your gun in different directions.

But I still gotta say, the absolute best reason I love it, is because NO MORE TANGLED UP LINE IN YOUR BANDS AND AROUND THE END OF YOUR GUN!! Sweeeeeet.

OK, next thing...It's time for me to buy new bands, its been bout 6 months, and I did a little math...:withstupid

Follow me here...you will definately feel like you slept at a holiday inn.

standard 9/16th bands that nmost guns, even Riffes come stock with, are 14.2875 mm thick.

5/8th bands, wich I always recomend people to upgrade too, are 15.875 mm thick

3/4 inch bands, wich are just plain STUPID are 19.05 mm thick.

SO, Pie R sqaured to figure out the actual amount of rubber you are pulling in square mm is

Three 9/16" bands = 480.72 mm2

Three 5/8" bands = 593.49 mm2

THATS OVER 23% MORE POWER. Pretty sweet. So now I'm thinkin..what about 3/4" bands???

dig this here.........

Two 3/4" bands = 569.76 mm2 !!!!!

Almost the same exact power out of only TWO 3/4 inch bands as compared to THREE 5/8th! AND....that is still almost 19% more power STILL than the three stock 9/16th"!

So...I habve ordered two 3/4" bands, and if I don't blow one of my cohones out to the size of a grapfruit while loading the gun, then I will be happy. Most fish can be takem with only one band, and for longer shots, or a bigger fish, I can load just one more band, and basically have almost the same power I have now with my already upgraded bands!! I'll keep you posted....and if one of the jewels does blow up like a grapefruit...I promise NOT to post pictures of the atrocity.

OK...another thing.....if your losing fish off your tip...go to MBT and buy one of the Spearfishing Speciaties tips....its almost an entire extra 1 inch wide wingspan when it opens up...and has been 100% better! It really makes a difference.

And speakin of tips...heres a tip for your tip...feel free to take them bad boys to a bench grinder once in a while. Some of you guys have such dull and bent over blunt, mangled tips, I wonder if your tryin to knock the fish out with the impact instead of penetrate it! And you guys know who you are! :moon I personally resharpen mine every time before I go diving.

Next thing..and these are for sale... is an addition of a kill spike.

I have got to say this is awsome. IT serves several great purposes.

1. When you got the fish close in, and he is goin apeshit on you, and trying to fin you, or you just need to get him pinned againts something to get him on a stringer, instead of reachin down for your knife, and risking the finning, you can just jam him in the head with this, pin him againts something, and make much easier work out of him!

2. If you have a fish on, a lot here have had sharks decide to come in THEN, and all you have to jab em with is the blunt wooden end of your gun. Which usually doesnt do that effective of a job (at least for me it hasnt), and they keep comming back for more, However, a jab with something sharp usually does the trick! And when your gun is empty, the kill spike is perfect for convincing them to permanantly leave! (Cudas too).

3. If it gets ever gets REALLY crazy with an agressive shark, yet your gun is empty from just having shot a fish, the BECO pwerheads will slip right onto a kill spike, and you can ram it into the shark to permanantly ruin his day!

4. You have just shot a fish, pull him in, and then there in the sand below you is a doormat flounder, or a big dinner size plate trigger comes up to check out your struggling fish, but your gun is empty...:doh Haa haa..not with the kill spike its not! You can still nab that second fish who gets too close and is just too dumb to know better.

5. Your dive buddy is being a total ass, and shootin every fish that you are takin aim at, over your shoulder, between your legs..ect. With the kill spike...a quick jab into his BC bladder...and by the time he realizes something is wrong, and ditches some weight and gets his bouyancy under control...you can have 3 fish on the stringer!! :moon

Ok...heres the pics. They are 100% stainless steel, TIG welded. $35 normal, or $40 highly polished to a mirror finnish on my buffing wheel. Includes 3 stainless steel screws, ready to mount.

And heres with a BECO .223 powerhead slipped onto it if your gun is empty and you cant put the powerhead over the tip of your spear.

I dont shoot a whole lot of fish, or big trophy fish when I go diving, but these things have helped me get the ones I have got!

I got one more trick up my sleeve for the ol Riffe that I havent got around too. Ill post pics when I do. Will make a Riffe as easy and fast to reload as a Biller or JBL, or no need to restring at all!

Anybody who wants a Kill Spike same as in the pic let me know!

Spearfishing Trip Sunday 11/23

craasch210 — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:14:20 GMT

Hello all,

We will be heading out for an offshore deep trip on Sunday. We are going to be leaving extremely early, so I know this will limit how many people can go. If it makes any difference, you guys are welcome to crash at my place the night before ( I live right by the boat).

We will be leaving from Macs Marina at 3:30 am (sorry, we have a long way to go and you can sleep on the way out if you want). We will do 3-4 dives (your choice). I recommend a 26% mix and 2 30% mixes. We will be splitting fuel and the cost will be no more than $80 per person (i pay the rest it it comes up to more than that... and it always does.)

We have a heated enclosed cabin so feel free to bring yourself some coffee and breakfast or whatever.

Give me a call if you are interested.

Chris

850-313-0147

The trip 11/23

Sniper Spear-It — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:13:03 GMT

I posted this seperately but was on the same trip with Crasch and co. I won't mention the locations but everyone has dove them before. Myself,Crasch,Chris,Clay,Askuropat, and Brian. We had great visibility inshore,and decent vis deeper.

Nice to meet you Brian and Chris. Werent a whole lot of fish shot. Bmoore showed us all up early with four or five flounder and a grouper. A few dives, later I took a nice eating size AJ and crasch shot one that was folling me up. We didnt exactly fill all the coolers but im sure from the others aboard, you have heard about the one that got away.Unfortunately i was the last one in the water on that dive and didn't even see what all the comotion was about.

This is the only pic of the day that i got. dont know if there were any others.

SSI

Cooler is a 36" Igloo

OFF TOPIC new Auto Body Shop

TONER — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:19:21 GMT

I now this is off topic but mabey you fellow divers / speargunners could help me out and I could save you some money !

I just lost my job of 15 years so me and a friend are opening a auto body shop in Gulf Breeze were at 4373 Gulf Breeze Pkwy right beside the NAPA store our grand opening is on December 1 we are giving 10% off any written estimate from another shop for the first month I will give anyone off this forum an additional 5% off just stop in we also have a full warranty on all our work the shop name is SKYE IMPORT AUTO BODY we work on all makes and models but specialize on imports Thanks Chad 777-6722

Wall Mount Speargun Rack???

Telum Piscis — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:03:30 GMT

I am looking for a wall mount speargun rack. Turning one of our rooms into my spearfishing/fishing/computer room. Is there a premade rack or hangers out there. I have three guns.

Any ideas??? Will a normal rifle gun wall rack work???

Thanks

TRIP TO THE MASS" ON FRIDAY THE 14TH

dkdiver — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 11:30:11 GMT

Well, we finally got one trip in this week and the vis and the "Mass" was awesome. 80-100' vis up high and a little less as you got deeper in the water column. I had two rec divers, John from Clearwater and Brett from Indiana, and a tech diver Kip, from Largo. The dive plan was to put John and Brett in, then Kip since his dive plans were either 85 or 94 minutes. Here are some pics from the first dive.

This is John, our photographer. Clay-doh, at least he kept his reg in his mouth.

Kip on his way up from the deep depths.

Wally diving with John and Brett

When the first dive was over, I headed down to check on Kip, timing the drop to get to the flightdeck (did I say Mass?) when Kip was coming up from the hangar catwalk. As I am leaving the boat I think, "there are no other divers here, I will take a gun, I might as well use the permits." I grab a gun and drop over. Kip is already up at a 130' and doing well. I look under the aft radar platform and see a jack tail heading for the starboard side of the island. I go after him and find four bar jacks at about 130'. As I take aim, this guy swims over the edge of the flght deck rail.

I took the shot and immediately thought (what the %$##^% did I just do)? More on that in the lessons learned a little later. The shot was a little low of where I had aimed so I only nicked his spinal cord. He was stunned initially but that didn't last long. After putting on a really good show for Kip, who got to see another "Kung Fu Fish Fighting" episode live, I got the fish under (somewhat) control and started back to the boat. He said he had never seen anything quite like that, especially when the cobia started heading back to the sand. I will add the lessons learned later in the post but I wanted to get this up before the games started. It was a great, fun day,a lot calmer than I figured it was going to be and the water was beautiful. Thanks guys!

SPEAR FISHING TRIP!

CAPT. PAUL REDMAN — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:35:34 GMT

Off-shore spearfishing trip aboard the SNAPPER TRAPPER saturday the 22nd or sunday the 23rd WEATHER PERMITTING.The cost will be $ 200.00 per person . Anyone interested please pm me to set up a reservation.Pay at the boat before departure.

Also the following weekend I will be doing an airplane trip if anyone is interested in doing one of these type trips. You can also spearfish on these trips. The air plane trips are probably only appealing to a select few , so let me know if your interested the price for this trip will be $ 180.00.

Oh yeah the visibility has been unbeleaveable and the water temp is still very comfortable.

AND WHEN YOU GET OUT OF THE WATER YOU CAN WARM UP IN THE HEATED CABIN!!!

spearfishing with billybob

ruger270 — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 12:14:25 GMT

Went out about a week ago with billybob. I haven't ever killed a big grouper so I asked billybob if he could help me fix that. Made a few dives in the 140' to 160' range. The vis was the best I've ever seen it out there. It was easily 100 feet and the water was a beautiful cobalt blue. The first dive we made was on a tire pyramid where i killed a couple small triggerfish and billybob killed a 6 or 7 pound scamp and grabbed 8 good sized shovelnose lobster. The next dive was about 155 feet on a steel pyramid. As we're heading down the anchor rope about 60 feet above the wreck I heard billybob screaming and he points out over the sand at a big grouper swimming right towards us. I eased towards him slowly, got within range and popped him right between the eyes. I couldn't believe how easy he was to kill. I guess he had never seen divers before. We spent the rest of the day diving shallower spots on our way in and killed a few more triggerfish. All in all it was a great day. I finally killed a respectable grouper and I hope there will be many more to follow.

Increasing band lifespan

IanR — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:45:42 GMT

Yesterday I bought a used 48 Biller. The guy said there was plenty of life left in the bands. How can this be determined? Im sure if they broke it do some damage...

Is there any special way to increase the band lifespan? Is there some type of oil that would help preserve the strength and quality of the band? I was thinking olive oil. But i was cautioned because some oils actually deteriorate rubber more rapidly. Any thoughts?

Heres some pics of the bands. How much life you think they have in them?

Much appreciated!

Spearfishing 11/08 Go Long, Go Deep

bmoore — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 16:19:50 GMT

Finally after 7 months of deliberation, set backs and planning, "He Whose Names Shall Not Be Spoken", Matt and I finally made it to the Top Secret Clearance Only, super duper secret, honey spot.

Seas were not bad going out..a bumpy 2-3.

This wreck is was reported in 214-220 feet of water..as we pulled up the bottom machine was reading 214. I threw the anchor and watched it go down at least 100ft. We were in as close to "blue water" as I had ever seen.

The plan was as follows. I would suit up with dual 112 lp tanks on my back, filled to 3000 psi, have a 40 cubic foot, ean 50/50 bottle and a 19 cubic foot 100% 02 bottle. Would breathe the 50/50 down to 70ft switch to the back gas, 20 minutes later head to the service and reverse the procedure. Then finish off decompressing with 100 % at 20-10 feet. A safety diver would splash 15 minutes after I signaled I was ok and on the way down. He would meet me coming back up the anchor around 120-150 feet, check on me and take any fish/gear I did not need and shoot a little video.

Well I splash with 200+lbs of gear on, hit the anchor line and double check that all is green and go. This is the big one! I signal to my buddies I am ok and on the way down I head. The clock is ticking. All goes perfect until, while breathing off the 50/50 at about 50 feet I gulp sea water! WTF! A few seconds of confusion ensue. What is going on? I glance down and see the second stage hanging with the mouth piece still in my mouth. FUD! I look to the surface...should I just go up? Wait I have three other regs on me. By now I am just about to REALLY NEED TO BREATHE! I grab a regulator on my back gas system a little early...oh well, switch the mix on the computer and head down, huffing and puffing hard.

I hit the 200ft mark and was thankful for the narcosis that begins to hit and calms me down a bit. My breathing returns to normal. Narcosis makes me a bit euphoric, gives me a little tunnel vision but has never really wierded me out too terribly. This was definitely the deepest I have ever dove. I am pegging out at 217 in the sand. I was expecting it to be much darker however, due to the "Caribbean clear water" it was quite bright. Now calm and slightly buzzed I concentrate on the mission at hand. Big AJ's are every where and 20+ lb snapper is following me around saying " Ha ha you can't shoot me!" (Dont bet on it..I tell him.) But I am after a monster Warsaw. I circum navigate the wreck and find the wheel house..and there he is..big grey head, beady glowing, yellow eyes.. a 50-60lb warsaw. I line up and he bolts as if there are divers there trying to kill him every day. NUTS! I spend a couple minutes looking for him or another and there is no love. Oh well, my time is almost up so I start to head for the anchor line,...or what I thought was OUR anchor..until i notice it is not an anchor at all but some piece of cage like debris...(narcosis knocking a bit now). Do I free ascend for a 40+ minute deco? NO, go back and FIND THE ANCHOR MORON. I return to the wreck and re-orient myself. I came from the left. I head a back the way I came and successfully find the anchor line. The big Aj's are still around so I pop one. Up I head. Leaving the bottom two minutes later than planned. 22 minutes. Not too bad. I meet my safety diver at 120 feet and he takes the fish and some video, then bags himself an Aj. The school was following me up.

40 minutes later I am back, sitting on the boat. I spent an extra two minutes at 10 decoing on the pure 02 and hit the surface 62 minutes after splashing.

AWSOME DIVE!

I did not dive again that day but the rest of the crew bagged three scamp, another AJ, a mess of triggers and one shovel nose.

Thanks to my support team and the skipper for geting us there and back in one piece! (The ride home was a bit nerve racking. Seas hitting the 5-7 foot mark but we made it safely.)

Will have a link to a little video clip up shortly.......

Some pics so you can see how clear the water was...the video was shot at 120-150 feet.

Spearfishing Report 11/9/08

craasch210 — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:02:10 GMT

Gonna have to make this quick. Headed out with Claydo, Alex (Askuropat), Chris (tightsnatch), Josh (Fender), and three others.

We made it out yesterday and were met with calm seas and 50-90 ft visibility. Water temp was 68 degrees at 168 ft, and 71 degrees at 89 ft.

We headed out deep to some well known public spots. Rolled two divers down deep and saw absolutely nothing, with exception to some undersized AJ's.

We picked up anchor (not an easy task on my boat) and moved to another spot that was just a few miles away. Huge difference, found some nice aj's, and grouper.

We moved closer in (13 miles out, 89 ft of water) and picked up some additional aj's lots of trigger, black snapper, and some grouper.

Did a total of 4 dives, and everyone had a good time. Had two guys on the top fishing with hook and line who caught some trigger and endangered red snapper.

Half way through the dive, one of our divers got tangled in the marker line that had been dropped by the fisherman and had to cut it. It was a very thin line that was virtualy invisible in the water. Lesson learned. In the future, we will use a thick braded line for our marker.

Thanks to the Chris (tightsnatch) for all the help on the boat.

On just about every dive, we had sharks show up after about five minutes. None of them were agressive and only required some gentle nudging to back off.

I think we might be a little early for the grouper as of yet. We did see several very large grouper out past the 25 mile mark. We also saw some small grouper in toward the 13 mile mark. They were still very skiddish and not many of them yet. Cant wait for the water to cool down. We did notice that the trigger were holding on bridge rubble. I mean as many trigger as you cared to shoot. I didnt clean up on them because I hate to shoot them, and Clay and his group got ran off by the sharks.

Shark Questions

Jarhead — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 14:10:23 GMT

I have a feeling this is going to be a long one cause I have a lot of questions so bare with me. I want to start by saying I've fished for sharks since I was a kid. A lot of people don't eat shark and many don't think you can.. If you've never eaten one, they're far better than AJ but not quite as good a snapper. They're white meat and taste great on the grill or fried... This coming from a guy who hates fishy tasting fish is really saying something.. I won't touch a King, Spanish, and AJ are too fishy for me unless cooked just right.. So, sharks are very good to eat.

I've been a diver for a few years but rarely got to go and recently started spearfishing and going a lot. Almost every weekend and some weekdays. The normal concern for most new and inexperienced divers is Sharks.. I've talked to many guys about this and all have told me that you rarely see them and if so they are small reef sharks.. They've also told me that on the rare occasion that you run across a large one it's only for a second and they leave you alone. I'm hear to tell you for a fact that that's all bullsh#$..

Like I said, I've been going a lot lately. In the last month I've logged probably 20 dives and at least 15 of those dives there were sharks near me. Not cute little reef sharks or one nice sized one that swam through but big ones that stayed there and circled the entire dive. 2 of the three dives Friday and all three dives Saturday we were circled by big sharks the entire time. Friday one got pretty serious about me and my fish and (I believe) may have took a chunk of my ass if I'd given him the chance.

After the first BIG Bull encounter I started asking questions about protection.. Things like do you shoot them with your speargun, or how do you deal with them when they get too close? Crap like that. I kept getting the same speech about sharks are beautiful creatures, they only want your fish, they won't bother you, and all that jazz followed by "BUT GET A POWERHEAD JUST INCASE.. "

This leads me to the meat and potatoes.. Like I said I've been diving a lot and with a lot of different guys and seen a lot of sharks.. Well, I get different vibes from everyone I dive with. Some guys are like "you should have busted that shark with your powerhead" and some raise an eyebrow at the idea of killing a shark and start the normal beautiful animal speech.. If I catch a nice shark with a hook and pull him on the boat, it's all good... But if I feel like he might eat me and want to protect myself some guys act like I would be an animal for killing it because I'm in his domain and all that.. What's the deal? What's the difference in a hook and line and shooting one.

This one Friday one was so intent on getting close and personal he came within a foot of chewing on my fin. I kicked at him and swam away to look back at him thrashing around in the suit I kicked up like he was looking to take a bite. By the time I got my Powerhead on my spear I was out of air and going up knowing any minute this thing was going to be chewing on my leg.. When I got on the boat everyone was wondering why I didn't bust him..

Saturday, Same thing but 2 big sharks circling. I thought it was only one and was wondering how he was getting behind me so fast but my dive buddy told me that there were actually two circling and I was only seeing one at a time. This time I didn't wait for him to start chomping. I loaded the powerhead, watched him for a minute and on about the 5th pass as he started getting too close I went after him.. I fired but the round was a dud.. Damn.. Once on the boat (completely different group of guys from Friday) some of the guys were acting all judgmental like I was a bad person for shooting at it..????!!!!!!..

What's your take on this topic? What would you do or what do you do? Have you ever shot a shark? Been threatened by one? I hear of sharks taking your fish and I've heard of a video Chunky love has where this guy is trying to wrestle his catch from a shark.. I'm going to check that out but I'll tell you now, I'll never let one take it that far. If he gets within 10 feet of me he's going to shark heaven and that's that.. I try to be PC, I try not to piss anyone off.. and I know that most of the time sharks are going to leave you alone.. I know it's not as much of a threat as most people think and I can dive with them just fine as long as they keep their distance.. BUT, if I feel even the slightest bit threatened, my green peace dive buddies can just go home mad and I'll go home and grill some shark ass for dinner..

spearfishing report 11-8 barge and Russian freighter

diverdwn — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:47:10 GMT

martin and I went out today looking for the tug sylvia, couldn't find it. Wound up diving the soul barge, 40' viz 71 degrees. Picked off a flounder and a trigger. Saw some aj's - all short. We headed to the freighter and found 60' vis no thermocline with 73degree temps. It was nice and bright down on the bottom. Lots of small fish around. Seas were sloppy the way in.
Lane

Need 1-2 Shooters Sunday 11/9

Telum Piscis — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:45:40 GMT

If the weather holds, I may give it a go for Sunday. 3 tanks. Probably 100' and less on all dives. Split cost (around $30-40 depending) Give me a call on my cell if you want to get out.

529-9349

crying in my bier

freespool50 — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 06:34:49 GMT

:reallycrying:reallycrying:reallycrying:reallycrying:reallycrying:reallycrying:reallycrying:reallycrying:reallycrying:reallycrying:reallycrying:reallycrying

my first spearfishing trip cancelled.aaaaarrrrrrggggghhhhhhh. hopefully the seas will be calmer for next time. oh well, gives me more time to learn the new dive computer. thanks josh!!

Need shooters for Sunday (11/9/08)

craasch210 — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 17:23:35 GMT

We are going out on Sunday 11/9/08 for a 3-4 tank dive. We will be leaving from Mac's Marina at 5:30am and will return around 6:00 pm.

Depths will range from 92ft to 150 ft.

If you are interested in going, give me a call.

Chris

850-313-0147

spearfishing 11-2; three barges

diverdwn — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 17:30:57 GMT

Rich, John, Elliot and I headed out to the three barges this morning. We found no current, 70degrees temps top to bottom and the vis was about 25'. Not too many big fish around, some short groupers and some small triggers. I did see one big snapper that somehow knew it was Nov.2nd. My last shot impaled a trigger and my freshly sharpened spear went thru a tire wedged under the wreck. I spent about ten minutes trying to free it, gave up. No big loss, that spear hasn't been true since I bagged a big AJ earlier this year.

Lane

MAD MONKEY AND CHUNKY LOVE TOGETHER AGAIN!

Clay-Doh — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:27:17 GMT

It's been a while since I been out with the "Mad Monkey", DKdiver (Dalton) on here, since hes been so busy runnin charters this summer, but he was takin a fun trip tuesday, and I couldnt resist the urge to play hookie. Man, sure glad I did!

Mark, a crazy cat from Jacksonville was visiting Dalton, and Walley , and Mike from MBT went.

Well, we got the hell beat out of us on the way out to the Massacheusettes. We had decided to go there since MArk hadnt got to dive over hthis way, and well...the Mass always produces!

When we finally got there, Mark and I were goin for the first drop. Well viz was great, with a lil particulate in the water, but no cloudiness, instead colbalt blue waters. When we got to about 60 feet, it actually got brighter from the reflection of the sand, and fish were everywhere again!!! Woohoo!

I quicly line up a nice Black snapper and bust em one, and start puttinhim on the stringer, while I am, I had heard Mark shoot (there is a LOT more to that story, but ya just shoulda been there), and this dill weed (you have got to meet mark, you thought I was a longhaired scraggly roughneck before I cut my hair...) pushes ME outta the way, to get to MY stringer I had just hung back on the side a the wreck since he dint bring one down! By the way...Mark is a commercial fisherman, and ocasionally commercial spearfishes, and this guy is good, and ended up pushing me outta the way a LOT during that dive. :moon

I ended up gettin 1 AJ, and 3 black snapper on the stringer. On the way up, mark was already in the boat, at about 30 feet, a school of AJ came up to say goodby....well......one of em was of size, (I made mark cary my stringer up since he was so rude and loaded all them fish on it :grouphug ) so I popped him straight down thru the top of the head. He sat there at the end of my shaft and waited patiently while I did my safety stop! :clap SO when I got to the boat, I kust handed up my rope with the shaft on the end, and let them pull in the second AJ

So good dive...I got 5 nice fish to start! (Before anyone hence sayeth any meaneth thangs that deserveth them an ath woopin, Mike forgot his meds and said he wouldn't be able to dive, so bring him up some fish) Man! Lets see what the rest of the day brings!

DK and Wally took there dive, and Dalton came up with some fish too, although I lost count of all what everybody got and when.

We went then drove to 2 other parts of the Mass, and gto in to more dives. On dive 2 I got 2 nice red snapper, and mark was tearin up fish too.

On dive 3, I didnt see any fish I really wanted to shoot, other than one 15 to 20 pound snapper that just would NOT come into range! I aptiently waited, picked up sand dollars, and just tried top be as inocent lookin as possible, but it wasnt happinin. He would show himself every now and then and thats it. :doh

At one point during the dive, Dalton and I are both laying in the sand, eyeballin some black snapper, both of us about to make a shot on em. Well, I am being polite, and waitin for the Mad Monkey to shoot first. 20 seconds pass of him with one eye shut squintin down the barrel and I'm like WTF??? Finally he shoots and pops one in the noggin. Well on the boat I asked him what was up? HE was tryin to line 2 up at once to get em both in one shot!!!:letsdrink Now that woulda been sweet!

well........headed up slowly on that last dive, hatin to get outta the water. Got to about 25 feet, and up comes a school of respectable snapper...again to say goodby!

Well I look down, see the biggest one, line up, and BAM! thru the top of the head straight down again! He also, like the AJ, sat patiently at the end of my shaft while I made the rest of my accent. I handed my rope and shaft up to the boat, and they hauled it in!

SO total for the boat was I think 26 fish mixed bag, and Dalton grabbed on one of his dives the HUGEst shovelnose lobster I have EVER seen!

I gotta say I love that ridin rig I hooked my gun up with like the Hell Divers use. JoshH had posted a youtube link to it a while back on how to make one. Man it makes reloadin and stringin fish a breeze! No tangles ot nothin! Just make sure your gun is clipped to you when you shoot. :doh That, is again one of them stories ya had to been there. And another mark in the classic things of stupid things Ive done!:banghead (thanx for the save Mike!)

I personally shot 8 fish this trip, and what a great day! Had a good time Mad Monkey!

Heres the pics of mine...dont know if the other guys took any pics.

Spearfishing Report (From the Mass)

craasch210 — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:19:42 GMT

We made it out at sunrise yesterday and headed to the Russian Freighter/Mass. We had some difficulty anchoring (which is weird, because I have the heaviest anchor in the history of all anchors with 20 ft of 3/8 chain). Jerry and I suited up and quickly found out why we had trouble anchoring. The current was like none I have ever seen. It took everything I had to hang on to the anchor rope. If you turned your head sideways, the current would pull the mask off your face. We continued down, hping that the current would dicipate... It did not. We wound up having to give up that dive due to the terrible current.

We picked up anchor and moved to my second favorite spot (mass). The current was much better there and we immediately hit big schools of respectable Aj's (hundreds of them). I kept waiting for the big ones, but just didnt see any. So We shot our two 37 inches and 34 inches. Also brought back several nice snapper, one of which was in the 15 lb range.

Moved to the next spot and finished out our limit of snapper and Aj's (there was five of us on the boat). Took some small scamps's that were just legal. I was just sitting there when I saw this HUGE (and I mean Huge) stingray circling the bottom of the wreck. I saw what I thought was ramoras, so I swam up to get a better look. Turned out to be three cobias swimming around with the Stingray. I was able to get close enough to get one of them which turned out to be 33 inches on the money. Definately did not expect to see cobia this time of year.

Anyway that wrapped it up. We came back home and spent an hour cleaning fish. I got a few concerned pm's about running out yesterday when it was forecast 2-4's and 3'5's offshore. I took a few pics of the water just to give yall an idea of what the seas were like.

Sunrise out of the pass.

New Orleans boys were pretty chipper considered they drove all night to get here.

Jerry, before he got his ass whiped by the current.

Seas were copmpletely flat by 10 am.

Chris came along to bubble watch/fish while we were dove. Chris was an awesome guy to have along. He was a lot of help.

It was getting pretty rough on the way home.

Spearfishing Report from Snapper Trapper on Oct 30th

Pierce07 — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:29:21 GMT

Well we left the docks around 830 and headed to some of Paul's Spots. We cruise out there comfortably, his boat is enclosed with heat, and then we get to the first spot and everyone gears up. We drop over and hit the bottom at around 90' to see nothing but a mess of fish. We start shooting and come back up with not a bad catch for the first dive. The vis started at about 15-20 then dropped once some of the people hit the bottom. We surface get on the boat and head to the next spot. We decided to only drop two at a time to help with keeping vis decent and so everyone isn't on top of each other. So the next dive me and my buddy drop down to see about 40 tiggers and some snapper sitting on the wreck. I shoot a couple, mine weighed in around 6.4, and my buddy also shot two. We surface get on the boat and then head to another spot. Here Rich, Nicky, and John drop over. Rich comes back up with a stringer full of trigger (around 6). Once again we moved to another spot. Me and Tad drop over and get down and see a bunch more trigger and a few snapper so we just start shooting. Next dive was Rich, Nicky, and John again and they drop down and come back up with a few snapper. My last dive we dropped over and i get to the bottom and see two massive snapper so i load up and shoot and got one. He drug me over to the other structure and went inside it, almost bent my shaft :banghead. So i finally pull him out and throw him on the stringer and then shot another trigger and had to surface. He weighed out to 20.2 pounds. The boat ride out there was really nice it was 2-3 out there and you couldn't feel a thing.

I know they're going out the 8th and for anyone wanting to get some fish should really hop on it. I'm probably going out with them and another one of the guys from the trip might be.

Snapper Trapper Spearfishing Trip 3 spots left

spearfisher — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 07:58:13 GMT

On November 8, 2008 I've got a few folks going out on Capt. Paul Redman's boat the Snapper Trapper for a spearfishing trip. The cost per person is $200.00. This will be a 3 tank off shore trip on private numbers so bring your cooler, you'll be going home with a pile of fish! To book your spot call MBT Divers at 455-7702.

Did my first night dive last night

naclh2oDave — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:09:19 GMT

I went with "he who's name shall not be spoken" last night. We did 1 tank near destin looking for some flounder. We did ok with about 5 or 6 a piece for 3 of us. It got cold quick and though we planned for 2 tanks we just couldn't grow the cajones to get wet again. The viz was kinda short, I guess it's hard to tell when you use a flashlight. There was no current to speak of. Once you hit bottom and stirred the sand it hung around a while. It was easy to get confused there. I neglected to strap on my compass and I have never been to this particular berge before so I was a little uneasy about navigation on bottom but made it back to the boat. The flounder were easy to spot with lights, they didn't blend in as much as in the day.

The hot water jug idea that I heard T-piscis mention once really saved us. That was awesome, thanks Jon.

Sorry no pictures.

I had a good time, thanks for the call.

(For everyone I told I was shipping out, it got postponed so I'll be available for some action if the opportunity comes up)

Killer spearfishing tip on Fishing and Boating Tips Forum.

captken — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:23:49 GMT

Tip #717 on the Fishing and Boating Tips forum has a few good spear fishing applications.

I added a spear fishing application today. It has been a long time since I had a tank on my back.

Free trip

craasch210 — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 05:10:50 GMT

No takers on my post for the trip this Wednesday so far.

I really want to get out this week, but dont really like going out alone and having the boat empty while I'm diving.

So if anyone is interested in bubble watching/fishing while I dive, this is a free trip to you. Just need to Bring your own food and ice.

If you are a fisherman and are willing to bring your own marker buoy (I lost mine at the Tenneco a few weeks ago), I will anchor away from the wrecks and drift back to your marker. Then you are free to fish while I dive, just remeber that we will be hitting several different spots. I dont have rod holders, so you'll have to figure out how to get all that worked out.

If you are a diver/spearer then just bring your gear and lets go kill some fish.

I plan on hitting the Tenneco and some other locations in that area. We will leave from Mac's Marina at 5:00 am.

If interested, give me a call.

Chris

850-313-0147

New Body Glove Wetsuits are here

Evensplit — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:56:54 GMT

For those that have been waiting, we finally got the new Body Glove Camo wetsuits in. We've got them in 3mm and 5mm. These suits are made from a new super stretch material that sheds water and sets the new standard in dive wetsuit technology!

Jim

MBT Divers - 3920 Barancas Ave - Pensacola - (850) 455-7702

Need Shooters for Wednesday 10/29

craasch210 — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 06:21:39 GMT

Hello,

We will be going out for 3-4 tanks on Wednesday 10-29. We will be leaving from Mac's Marina at 5:30 am and will return around sunset.

We will be hitting depths from 90-178, depending on how the seas are. Have room for 2-3.

If interested, give me a call.

Chris

850-313-0147

Beginners speargun

IanR — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:00:07 GMT

Ive been doing quite a bit of spearing lately and I'm totally hooked. So far, all I've been doing is free diving and using a poke pole.

I'm gonna try and get scuba certified within the next month or so and was wondering what kind of gun I should keep my eyes out on. I have no idea about guns. I dont really want a pneumatic one tho. seems like it be to easy to break.

Is there any special brand i should look for? Length? Number of bands?

Im just starting out so i dont need anything crazy, but I'd like it to be pretty versatile.
And are there any places around here to look for a decent used gun?

Any info is greatly appreciated!

Ian

Goiong out tomorrow.

craasch210 — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:33:22 GMT

Sorry, Dont have much time here.

Going out tomorrow for a 4 tank dive spearfishing. Anyone interested in coming along, give me a call. Dont reply here, because I will not be back in until after the trip.

Leaving from Mac's Marina extremely early.

Chris

850-313-0147

cheap powerhead holder

jesse22r — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:19:16 GMT

Couldnt figure out how to mount my powerhead so this is what i came up with. Didnt want the extra weight at the tip of the gun so mounted towards the back. Used 3/4" pvc and two stainless screws. Got about a buck invested. Any feedback or other tips or suggestions are always useful.

The LOst Chunkylove Member

H2OArman — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:49:40 GMT

Hey Guys Its been along while since I've been on here but here is the reports I have stayed in touch with Clay, Dalton and Brandy things are Great down Here its summer all the time wave action is a little more active around Ft. Lauderdale BUt its sure nice to live down here florida keys is only 1.5 Hrs away weekend dinners are caught by us Here are some PIctures for Clay and the Others, Anyone is welcome to come down and I'll take you out to some of my new honey holes here is some of the things you will find.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST

MY NEW GIRLFRIEND ANNA IS A DIVER AND A GREAT SPEARFISHER WOMEN LOL

ARE DAILY CATCH EASY DAY 1 TANK DIVE HOME BY 2:00PM

TAKE CARE UNTIL THE NEXT TIME

ARMANDO

Diving With The DOCTOR

FLYBOY — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 23:04:15 GMT

WOW, what a day...even though the weatherman was calling for 4-6's and the wind was howling and it was pretty cold this morning, I wasn't about to miss this trip. For those of you who know "Doc" you know why. Rich, Sean, Doc, Doc's buddy, and I left Docs AMAZING house around 9:30 and after the most comfortable ride ever at almost 60 MPH we get to our spot which I swear to god was less than a mile off the beach and instantly Rich and Sean are over the side...I have to scramble to keep up and when I hit the water they are both already halfway to the bottom...so I start kickin and make it to the bottom in time to see Sean shoot a nice grouper. I hear Rich shoot as well and we have been in the water less than 30 seconds...UNREAL. After shooting the boats limit of snapper, trigger and grouper in less time than it took me to type this all I can say is I was in the prescence of greatness today. The only analogy I can compare it to is football. As a spearfisherman I would be on a highschool team, Clay-doh, Craash, Sniper, etc. would be Div 1 college players and Rich and Sean would be NFL probowlers...they are truly that good. Anyway thanks Doc for a great time, can't wait to get back and do it again!

Navarre Pier and Ft Walton area spearing

IanR — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 23:50:15 GMT

Had a real late start today.

Left about 10am, got into gulf breeze and my buddy realized that he didnt pack his fins and snorkel so had to turn around and get them. Got to Navarre around noonish. Not much of anything to shoot at. A few small black snapper shook off. They are crazy, I shot them in the gills and they still have enough power to shake away. Got a small ray for shark bait. 4 whiting (are they legal to spear?)

Decided to go to Ft Walton and try the bay. Hit up a few artificial reefs. Tons of mullet and black snapper. Only managed to stick one 11" snapper, this mongoloid sheephead! And the biggest stone crab I have ever seen. Ill try and get a picture of it, but his one claw was the size of my hand and probably on the good end of 2 pounds.

My other buddy caught the red off a dock.

Have a cooler full of crabs and fish that I cant wait to cook up.

The last pic was from a few weeks ago. Hit that 22" black snapper at navarre peir as well. Was around the 7th piling or so. Had another 12" and 3 rays
Hope the pics loaded alright

4 Drops with Craasch on 16 Oct.

flyingfishr — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:48:43 GMT

Had a week off from training and was able to make it out with Craasch210, Telum Pisces, and Chuck for some spearfishing adventure. We met up at 0500, loaded our gear and made the trek out to some natural bottom locations, seas were about 3 foot rollers with a pretty easy interval so the ride was nice. We decided to do 2 up and 2 down for safety sake. Chris and John made the first drop and each came up with some fish, they'll chime in with exactly what. Chuck and I were next, there was no abundance of fish, but what was there was quality. I shot an average mangrove, and two that went about 8-9 lbs. Chuck stuck a couple of mangroves I think. On that dive we had a little Bull come in on us, but a quick poke from Chuck and he bugged out and left us alone.

We moved to the next location and down John and Chris went, they came up with their fish and a report of decent viz and some nice fish down there. Over Chuck and I went, viz was about 25 feet on this drop and water was comfortable. We shot a couple fish a piece, mangroves and sheephead for me, mangroves for Chuck. As I was messing around with something underwater, I had a Lemon shark come in on me, he was a bit more persistent than our first Bull. I poked him and off he swam, only to show up later in our dive.... Because of our location we had a hard time finding the anchor line so decided to make a free ascent, about about 50 feet the Lemon showed up again, I know it was the same shark because it had a hole over his right eye that looked a lot like someone poked him HARD with a spear shaft. Anyway, he brought one of his Lemon shark friends with him and together they worked us over pretty good. The stayed with us from 50 feet to the surface, which happened to be 100 yards behind the boat! These two sharks came in on us numerous times, circling and darting the entire 7 mile swim back to the boat. This was my first encounter with aggressive sharks and I have to say, I'd rather they didn't do that! Chuck and I DID NOT give up our fish to those mongrals so we were proud of ourselves for that.

Dive three was more of the same, minus the shark encounter, John came up with reports of big grouper on this location so Chuck and I set out to do them in. We passed up some average mangroves early in the dive because we were certain we were going to load our stringers with grouper, big mistake. I was one grouper, he didn't want much to do with me though, I ran into a big Bull shark, but she didn't want anything to do with me, thankfully. In the end we stuck a couple more mangroves. 25 foot viz and good temps all the way down.

Chuck and I ended the day looking for a spot, but couldn't come up with any structure so we aborted the dive. All in all it was a great day of diving, Chris put us on the spot for all of our dives and they produced quality fish and good experiences. Thanks Chris for a good day and Chuck and John for some fun dives. Total for the day was 15 ish Mangroves (3 over 9 lbs), 4 AJ's, 2 Sheephead, and 1 Red Snapper (20 or so pounds). Pics to follow.

So how do you pick crab claws

ReelDuel — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 22:32:20 GMT

Stone crab is in season, How do you hunt for these fine eating claws. When and how deep do you persue them?? Night, Day? I think tide is most important. What do you think?? Any help will get you a spot on my boat to search for them. Flounder must be included!! Lets go and have fun

Fred

Late Report from Friday

Jarhead — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 18:39:55 GMT

Dove several tanks, Awesome dives!! Vis was the best I've seen all year. Water was blue and no debris/particles floating in the water like usual. I don't know what that stuff is but even when the vis is good there will be crap floating around.. Water was so good, it looked like one of those Discover channel shows.. lol.

Shot a very nice Trigger on first dive... Around 6 and a half pounds.. 6.3 I think was the official weight.. Tons of AJs swimming around. I didn't see any huge ones but one of my dive buddies was diving Nitrox. We came on up and when he finally came up he had a 33lb AJ with him.. He said after we surfaced, a school of monsters swam through.. He shot into the school and hit one. The one he got was one of the small ones he said.. This may be a fisherman's tale but sounded good.. I didn't know big AJs were that close in but he got the fish to prove it.

I got two nice Black Snapper and so did my dive buddies.. All in all we had a blast. Shot lots of fish. Cooler was so full we couldn't close it to get to the weigh in.. had to stomp on the fish box to get it to close for the ride in.. Very nice day.

And the pole spear worked fantastic on those tanks.. Those damn Mangrove are determined to stay inside those tanks.. So... I bust em' with the ole' pole spear and drag their asses out.. Very nice..

No pics, sorry.. was running late and as soon as I got back, cleaned them and threw them straight on the grill.. I can post some pics of them when I finish processing them.. LOL bad joke, sorry.

Diving the jetties at Midnight tonight for flounder... Will report back.

Exhausting 2 Days of Diving

Telum Piscis — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:58:50 GMT

Nothing but two great days of diving. I am very tired and don't feel like typing a whole lot.

But I got out yesterday with Chris (craasch210) and had a great day of diving. Got out today on my boat with Dave (naclh2odave) and didn't do as good on the fish, but we only did two dives. But I still was able to get a decent Mangrove and some other fish. Dave took home some triggers, a flounder, and more mangroves. Viz was great today out at 17 miles out. About 50 feet or better on the first dive and about 40 on the second. We had a reef shark keep us company on both dive spots. Niether was agressive. But the first one would come a little close. I became the aggressor and started chasing him around and poked him. He kept his distance after that.

I'll let the picture do most of the talking.

The three pomps are from my surf fishing adventure the other day.