A good bad day

  • No pics but I had to share this.


    Went out yesterday with Jake, Mo and Tino. As we get to the cut, Jake says, "dad, you do a couple drifts, I'll drive". Cool. Respect for the old man.
    So as I'm gearing up, I put on my Spetton pants (I wear different combos depending on temp and how much I anticipate swimming) and then lubed my arms for my Yazbeck top. As I reached in my basket to get it, I pull up the Yazbeck pants. I loaded two pairs of pants and no top. What a dumbshit.
    But Jake had his Speardiver vest so I put that on. But, no top or hood so I was going to get fried and likely beat up by fire coral hiding on the bottom. In the water I went anyway.
    Mo was with me and he shoots a barracuda. I could see his tip was about to slip out so I dive down to shoot it again. I missed....from like....2 feet. :@ I quick loaded the gun to go back down. As I looked, it HAD slipped off Mo's tip. But this time, I got lucky and hit it, saving the fish. :)
    We then headed south to another cut after Jake and Tino tried unsuccessfully to find more fish. I anchored in a spot we frequent and the boys jumped in. Then, a sailboat loaded with tourists comes up and anchors like...20 feet away from me. The wind was blowing his boat back but he didn't realize the current was bringing his 40 foot sailboat right into my boat. I quickly started my engines and hear a Jamaican accent telling me, "no problem my bruddah...everything alright"? I was friendly and all but....come on....20 feet away? I called the boys in and we headed out to "the deep spot" at that place.
    It was on. Fish everywhere. I dive down to the slope, wait a while, but all the fish moved off into the deep.
    jake dives down....pretty deep.....I watch from the surface and hear THWAP....and then he comes up. He had a big black on....but then about 5 sharks show up and "poof". no more fish or shaft. Pretty big sharks.
    So, we headed back north because the tide had changed and the cuts change dramatically with incoming or outgoing water.
    Sure enough, Tino nails a nice black. But it holed up deep...not water depth but deep inside a hole. Jake dove down in his Speedo (wish I had a picture of that) and mask and fins. All the "If I had done this.....I shoulda done that"....no fish. It got off and went deep into the hole.


    We did get some fish but it was a weird day. My wife hasn't stopped laughing at me for the wetsuit thing.
    "This a happen when people get old...." she says. Thanks Chela. :thumbsup2: hah.


    I had to write this down so I don't forget.

    Edited once, last by hank ().

  • hahahaahah :laughing3: what a truly entertaining and great report Hank!!
    I hate retards who anchor on top of me and are so stupid they dont take into account where they would be if the wind shifted

    A bad day at sea is better than a good day in the boatyard
    George Steele

  • Another one of those days.
    Started out good. We found a nice school of dogs down south where we hadn't been for a while. I watched Jake drop down to a sandy spot about 75 feet deep. He was laying on the bottom and tossed up a handful of sand. The whole school which was about 50 feet away came streaking into him. He had his pick of the bunch and got the big one.


    He went down and got another one, then I got one.
    We went farther south but nothing to shoot so we went to another cut a bit farther north.
    Found a few fish there. Got the big hogfish. Jake and the boys saw a 40 lb or so cubera. But it wasn't too be.
    So I shot this small cero mackerel and cut it up for chum. It was getting late, the sun was dropping and there were a lot of baitfish in the water. Soon this lazy looking barracuda comes in and starts munching all the chum. So I drop down and shot it around the head and gills. It was a good shot and it was bleeding really bad. But, it would turn and face me and made three passes. Once it jumped clean out of the water. The last pass it grazed me with a tooth on my left knee. Right through my wetsuit. You couldn't have cut it cleaner with a surgeon's scalpel. About 1/4 inch deep in my knee. Man, it bled a LOT. More than a cup before I got it stopped. Asshole ....haha. Sometimes they get even I guess......I'm going down to see Doc my buddy the dentist. He says he can sew it up.


    Edited 3 times, last by hank ().

  • Dang hank. he was goin for the femoral!. Glad he didnt get you too badly. It the wetsuit repairable? If not now I guess you have a shorty summer suit lol.


    And as always a beautiful box full of fish. Lovely dogs. Thanks for posting.

  • Thanks gentlemen. It'll heal fast.
    I'm still trying to figure it out though. I've shot quite a few barracuda....????....40 or 50?
    I've seen them swim around afterwards in a confused state where they would lurch forward in their death throes. Nothing intentional.
    It was hit well, indicated, aside from the blood pouring out, by the fact that he cut my shooting line just as Jake was pulling it into the boat and Jake found it laying dead on the bottom, under the boat next to my shaft.
    But, I swear, he would swim off, turn and look right at me.....and charge. Three times I had to move. Once he went straight up and out of the water.
    Jake said one made a lunge at him two weeks ago, just missing his neck.

  • Hank. Not that it would have made a difference but I always shoot a cuda from behind so I can use the shaft to steer the head away from me.


    Clearly you are describing a situation here where you did not yet have your hands on the shaft. I just wanted to share my experience in hopes that it will help others.

    i like to spear fish

  • Dan, speaking of wetsuits....what's the best way to repair a razor cut about 2 inches long?

    To repair an open cell suit use Seal Cement Black 2oz to glue the neoprene. It's easy to apply and makes a very strong flexible bond, you won't feel the repaired area against your skin.



    If the tear went right through the suit use this Iron On Wetsuit Repair Patch - Freedive Store to patch the outside after gluing the neoprene with seal cement.


  • I have shot hundreds Hank, they are fav eating in Southern Caribbean and never had one turn and attack, even the 40-50 ponders just towed us around until we could grab them in the gills... I know Dan was kidding but I wonder if there is not a grain of truth in what he said?
    Ouch and as always you and Jake make me ill with envy :D

    A bad day at sea is better than a good day in the boatyard
    George Steele

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