Poor man's spearfishing FAD Fish Aggregation Device

    Well, there is not a "Other gear" Department on this Forum, so I think that this is the closest place to post it.


    Dan: Feel free to move it


    I got some questions on how to make really cheap FAD's that work well and last for a while.


    Materials:


    Polypro rope sold by the pound or in large coils
    Large trash plastic bags
    2 liter soda bottles o 5 liter water bottles
    1 mm Nylon mono
    Polypro bags (here we use them to throw construction debris)
    Beach sand


    First of all, you must choose the area where to throw them. Pick a sandy bottom with at least 120 feet dept and no structure close to it. You want the FAD to be the only place for the fish to gather...


    Cut the rope 10 feet shorter than the deep you will throw the FAD and make a loop on one end, then, fill a poly bag with sand and tie it very well with the other end.


    Tie the bottles by a pair with the nylon and pass it thorugh the loop. Four soda bottles are enough or two large water bottles and two sodas.


    Cut the trash bags by the long side, open them (so the lengt is double) and pass one end throught the rope strands (do not tie them, so they don't rip off). Place them in 3-4 feet intervals up to the loop. You can also tie some other things such as palm leaves or "do not trespass" construction fence. Everything that makes some shade and shelter works.


    You're done!


    Now go to the selected place and throw bottles first to the water with your motor forward in minimum. Deploy the whole thing and when it is all nice and untangled, throw the sand bag.


    One diver must be ready to jump in the water as soon as it is deployed. You can attach a floatline to the loop to help to find it if it goes too deep.


    Then, the diver has to inflate the bottles, since they will collapse when submerged. Two divers is better since you will have to ascend with empty lungs...


    Mark well on your GPS and go back in two weeks. Bring chum. Happy hunting! :thumbsup2:


    Pics:

    Quote from khalel

    Looks great and should work but what if the plastic bags, bottles etc. detach?....thats just more trash in the sea. We usually use bamboo and coconut branches.


    Agree with you Khalel. But never happened. We've used natural materials before and they don't last more than a couple months.


    Juddah: take a look to my latest videos in youtube (marco 15499). Better than a picture. ;)

    Marco Melis

    A bad day fishing is ALWAYS better than a good day at work.

    Quote

    don't last more than a couple months.


    main problem is the life expectancy and how to connect the device to the bottom++


    Quote

    used natural materials


    in Africa they use sometimes palm+bambou...but connect the device to an old truck motor...


    pics of an home made FAD by my colleague Philippe in Togo: it has been connected to a mooring post offshore
    it took only 1 month to destroy the FAD because of the current: a bad surprise at the time we did hunting there...

    Durability and theft seem to be limiting factors here.
    Other than a very expensive setup with a huge anchor set by a much bigger boat than I have, a hurricane or tropical storm will take care of pretty much any cheap model. That's why I do it cheap. :D


    Venezuela doesn't get hurricanes, no?

    Marco I think I will try the poor mans F.A.D :D ...me likey big time, but I wont use plastic bags though.

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

    Quote from Wishihadgills

    Would be cool to fish on these. I can imagine how abused this technique would get if it was legal here in the states.


    There is a movement to ban them worldwide. But not the type that Marco makes.....or the one I put.
    High tech fleets plant these in the open Pacific and set biomass monitors. When they show huge schools of tuna or whatever, they come in and surround them with a corral type net and bring everything on board. Tons of fish. Dolphins, sharks whatever. And they dump the bycatch, dead, a lot like the shrimp trawlers.
    At least that's what I've read.
    The one I know of here that works for a few people is like what Marco and I are talking about. A few guys troll past them. No one I know of here spear fishes off them. I just hope to get a wahoo, mahi or maybe a blackfin tuna?

    I give up.
    I spent about US$300 on rope, anchor.....put in two fads over a 3 week period. Both were stolen.
    Jake and I dropped the second one last week Sunday. We came back 8 hours later and it was there in a ripping current all day so it was legit.


    Went out Sunday and it was gone. So we dove a spot near there on the reef. Then a guy comes by on a boat like mine acting kind of pissed off that we were there. He passed right by DuQuesnay in the water. Andre thinks maybe he's the one and maybe he thinks it's his place. Assholes. One wahoo is worth more than the materials in the fads.


    Anyway.....GEORGE !! Can I come to Antigua and shoot a wahoo? :thumbsup2:

    I can guarantee you a wahoo whenever you come and a bed as well :thumbsup2: ... wait a couple of months more and the big boys will be here... Or come now and enjoy a 40 pounder or 5 :D

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

    How would you keep a FAD like that in position? In shallow water an anchor or heavy weight would work but for deeper water that doesnt seem practical or effective.

    I picked up some Dorados 2 weeks ago from a FAD that was in about 100 feet off the mainland north of La Paz. Not sure who put them in the water but they were clearly marked with white foam buoys on the surface. They certainly seem to work. Curious about them being illegal in the U.S. - is this because of a law preventing building structures in the water or perhaps something else? I think it is illegal to "build" lobster attracting structures in Florida. MayBe Dan can jump in and give us some insight on the legality of FADs in the U.S. or at least in Florida. Dan?

    Marco any close up pictures of the knots used to tie the sand bags and the trash bags? And of course advice ;)

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

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