Fear of spearfishing Barracuda

    I just Hate it when I shoot a nice FAT HOG and just as I swim to retrieve it a Cuda eats the bottom half of the Hog, freeing the shaft and the Hog swims into a deep cave never to be seen again.

    Easy solution = shoot it in the head :)


    I hate how the big ones follow you around the reef. When I finish building my gun and attach the reel barracudas beware.

    MY wife has shot several from 25 to 40lbs under the rigs but pretty much stoned them. One she fought till very tired out away from her and then handed me shooting line to gaff it. Respect the teeth of any preditor. Can you eat them in Antgua? Used to stay at Crabs on north end at Parham sound and Barbuda for two years miss the place.


    Have you tried a reel? You are right sometimes float line is a mess when swells sweep line on to breaking reef. We use reel clamped down tight in shallow reef areas and can still back off drag if need be.Cuda freezes better than redsnapper and is one of our favorites..

    Great advice here. I've shot hundreds and they always try to move away from you. Once you have them by the gills, a quick and easy way to dispatch them is to pull the spear through the fish and brain him with it. Once he's finished you can take your time to remove the spear and get him in the cooler or on the stringer.


    One thing I haven't seen mentioned - do not shoot them in the eye, they go berserk. The cuda will jump out of the water (with spear) and swim erratically around you.

    I think I posted these in another thread. I've shot a fair amount of barracuda and was always wary if they swam around wildly after being hit. But I never thought they intentionally came after me.....until I shot this one. He made three passes right at me. He would turn, look at me and charge. The third pass he clipped my knee.
    Lot of blood. I made some butterfly bandages and got on antibiotics that night. It closed up nicely. I'll be honest....I've shot a couple nice ones since then but I am much more careful. I swam away and put my gun on the boat, pulling them in from there. They are good eating...



    I was at Xel-Há Park | Cancun activities snorkeling on my honeymoon. A Cuda' as big as they come came swimming by in waist deep water weaving through 3 dozen children and tourists wading in the water. I was just standing there putting my mask on and this dark figure cruises by 2 feet away from my legs and no one in he water saw it even once. Amazing a creature that large could slide right on my without bumping a single splashing tourist.

    Dustan Baker

    Jake and I have pretty much agreed to leave the sneaky bastards alone after seeing this. It really is just not worth it.
    After the one hit my leg it really struck home. "what if he caught your wrist? You could fricken' die".


    I really hope this guy pulls through. Amazingly sharp teeth and they're quick.

    Quote from hank

    Jake and I have pretty much agreed to leave the sneaky bastards alone after seeing this. It really is just not worth it.
    After the one hit my leg it really struck home. "what if he caught your wrist? You could fricken' die".


    I really hope this guy pulls through. Amazingly sharp teeth and they're quick.


    Hank. do the big one in Belize have cig, in French Poly only ones under a meter can be in the market.


    Cheers, Don

    "Great mother ocean brought forth all life, it is my eternal home'' Don Berry from Blue Water Hunters.


    Spearfishing Store the freediving and spearfishing equipment specialists.

    It's just a question of what's stronger, your killer instinct or fear of shit that could possibly happen. Even if a cuda were to do that to me I wouldn't stop hunting them. I suspect that like with sharks, it's your attitude that affects them. If you feel like the predator, they will feel like prey and will try to get away from you rather than attack you. My only concern is that on an escape run a cuda will by chance take a direction that will end up in a collision. But even that you can control with shot angle and line handling.


    Another factor to consider is when there are a few divers in the water. If I'm alone I'm sure the fish will run away from me. If there are other divers there's a bigger chance the fish may perceive its way blocked and change direction in the last moment.


    These were all taken going out of Haulover, Miami. Sometimes we see them so we take them. Up north in Port St. Lucie barracuda are so plentiful they're like a plague. You'd lose interest in shooting them pretty quick, because there's nothing to do with all that meat. Barracuda is not a sought after fish in the US. Too bad really because it's a fun fish to shoot, often a speardiver's first big fish, tastes alright, and targeting barracuda takes hunting pressure off other fish.










    Ive only shot a few Cudas and the ones I did shoot didn't put up much of a fight. I stoned one of them. As mentioned previously, follow your hand up the shaft to the fish and get your hands in the gills. Just don't cut the gills out to bleed them unless you want to be circled by Bull sharks as Mark and I found out.

    Quote from Don Paul

    Hank. do the big one in Belize have cig, in French Poly only ones under a meter can be in the market.


    Cheers, Don


    Don, if there is cig here, it's rare. I see barracuda in the markets here a lot. The locals love them. They are really good.


    I have no fear of barracuda when they're all around me. It's the unpredictability after they're shot. I probably won't shoot many....or any more. There are a lot of fish I don't shoot for varying reasons.


    The best way I've found to stone them is about 6-8 inches behind the gills. I've hit right behind them a lot of times but it doens't seem to slow them down much. And shooting them as they go away is best...if the shaft doesn't pass all the way though. That's they key. If it does, and they're not hurt bad it's like walking into a room and someone throwing scissors at you.

    1000's of them great you when you jump in on deep wrecks in NC. The only time I've had trouble with them is when shooting rainbow runners. If you don't stone them the cudas frenzy like reef sharks. Sketchy to say the least. I leave them alone for sure. Not worth getting bit. That being said, S. Florida is pretty overfished so I can understand why you guys take them.

    We found the safest way to get them is to stab them with a kitchen knife. :thumbsup2:
    This one must have lunged for a fish in our canal and stranded itself in about 4 inches of water. Jake swam out and stabbed it in the head. This is probably the biggest one we ever got.


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