Liquids Dive Reports

  • Hey family,


    I figured it was about time to actually post some stuff. This report is from 6/9/14


    Last Monday I had my mind set on diving. After all the setup and grabbing my brother from deerfield, the kayak hit the water at about 12:30. the current was strong, but the waves were negligable. 0-1 ft avg. We paddled out to the second reef where an angler was attached to one of the mooring buoys. What I didn't know at the time was the reef/ledge is right below the buoys, and after speaking with the angler he directed us back in, saying the reef was inside the buoys. :nono: This turned out to not be the case haha. I now know for future reference. Needless to say, we ended up back around the first reef sections and began diving. The vis was pretty good, at about 30-40. I kept seeing smaller spanish hogs so I was pretty certain a big guy was around. After quite a bit of stalking I followed this spanish hog back to an overhanging ledge where the last thing I see on my way back up to the surface is a glance at a large tail. I didn't know what it was, only by the size of the tail could I tell it looked pretty darn big.


    I rest at the surface for a couple minutes, my eyes honed in on this ledge. I take my last couple breaths and head down the 25-30' to the bottom. Pretty much as soon as i get within about 5 feet of the ledge the image of this fish starts appearing and it is what I consider a flipping large hog, probably the second largest I've ever actually seen. Pole spear already nocked and ready to go I align and place a decent shot.





    The rest of the day was good diving, but not very eventful. I saw a nice size triggerfish and missed :( I also found a nice coral head with 4 nice size bugs under it :(


    I know the seond pic is blurry, but he came out to 20.5" at the fork.

    Edited once, last by Liquid: Pics ().

  • Dude that is a great hog for any accounts but with a pole spear you should be doubly proud.


    Remember we can not shoot Spanish hogs here in fla. Just a reminder
    Thanks for the report

    i like to spear fish

    Edited once, last by LunkerBuster ().

  • yes he means cant. You cant. They fall under the "ornamental reef fish" umbrella.That is a nice piggie right there! Awesome work with the polespear.

  • Stud fish, respect with the polespear! We have lots of big Spanish hogs here and no restrictions on taking them, but I have never seen anyone eat one, anyone know what they taste like?

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

  • Supposedly they taste just like regular hogs. I've been tempted to pop a couple big ones as I've heard fwc really doesn't know the difference. Frankly I'm not willing to take that chance, and it's just wrong. If they were legal to take, I'd definitely grab them.

  • Stud fish, respect with the polespear! We have lots of big Spanish hogs here and no restrictions on taking them, but I have never seen anyone eat one, anyone know what they taste like?


    I have been told they are very tasty. they are just a slight variation from the traditional hog

    i like to spear fish

  • Supposedly they taste just like regular hogs. I've been tempted to pop a couple big ones as I've heard fwc really doesn't know the difference. Frankly I'm not willing to take that chance, and it's just wrong. If they were legal to take, I'd definitely grab them.


    Save yourself the ticket. Every FWC officer knows the difference between these two fish.


    Scupper Pro Gives You Wings!

  • I recently purchased a SEAC Asso 75 and finally got to use it. what a great day Sunday was. Current was just a slight push north, water like glass. Heres the story...


    We started out the day early. My roommate Nick prepared the boat, I ran down the street to pick up my friend. We hit the boat ramp at about 8:30 and by 9:30 we had arrived at the first spot. It was his first time snorkeling, so we stuck him with the float+dive flag ;P . It's one of our favorite spots, lots of small coral heads surrounding a gigantic coral head in about 30' of water. For the first thirty minutes we cruise around, see a few chub, bunch of porkfish, the usual suspects. I don't see much in the way of hogs or anything else at this point so I say screw it and head to the monster coral head. I take a few dives and can't see anything but some black margate hiding under there. I ask Nick if he wants to go hit up the next spot, and he replies no, that he just saw a hog in his peripherals and wants to see if he can get it. So we stay, a few minutes later he dives the coral head and comes up, saying he saw a nice grouper look at him straight in the face before holing up. I take a few more dives but it's dark, and very tight under there with a huge internal space(coral head looks like a mushroom). I don't see anything and question his judgement. He says he's positive so I take a few more minutes to breath up and really get myself in there. As I do, I finally see the tail. Looks like a nice size, but it was dark. I head back up to the surface and let him know I saw it. I take another breath up and head down once more, gun loaded and prepared. I hit the bottom and crawl in as far as i can get, just enough to see the tail + 6 or so inches. I bring the gun up, aim at the thickest part I can, and let her rip. Immediately she starts to try and hole up more and at this point i've been a the bottom for about 40 seconds. I struggle to retrieve the fish and cannot. I float the gun and head up to catch my breath. The next few dives Nick and I both try and retrieve the fish from the hole. She's in there pretty good alright. After letting the fish(and silt) settle a bit I head back down, grab the shaft, jam my arm as far into the hole as possible and get a firm grip around the caudal fin and pull her out. A nice red grouper emerges and I head to the surface, then the boat with it.


    I brain the fish as I'm heading to the boat, and leave the knife in. As I approach the rear of the boat, the fish comes alive and the knife comes up, spiraling down the 35' or so to the bottom(Doh!). On it's way down though I see 3 slender fish attack the knife! Not sure what they were, but there were quick. Nick and my friend Tim reboard the boat and I dive to the bottom for the knife. I retrieve it, and had the bright idea to use it as a flasher. I told him to drop the knife in about 5 seconds after entry, as I should be on the bottom by then. I take a dive and wait at the bottom . and wait. and wait. and after about 30 seconds I realize no knife is coming haha. So I start to look around and I see a little hogfish, so I figure, eh, why not. Line up a shot and hit her from about 5 feet away. When I come up Nick is having a discussion with a Kayaker, hence no knife... but i got a small hog so I didn't care :)



    We head to the second spot and dive for about an hour before I spot a nice sized grouper hanging low in the open. I try an get the top on him but it's a no go. He spooks and keeps an eye on me for the next 5 minutes, while I shuffle perpendicular towards him. I make a dive and he swms quick and holes up underneath this large slab. I look but can't see him. Nick heads over, and I inform him about where the groupers holed up. We spend the next 10 minutes trying to find this grouper which evades us. We give up and keep heading on when Nick sees a grouper lying on the bottom. It looked awfully white and we had trouble identifying the fish from our position. We lose sight of the fish once more and about another five minutes later I spot the fish again. I wave Nick over and he takes a nice shot at it and after a short fight, and bending his shaft a little, we retrieve a large black grouper. We were stoked and headed in since our cooler was now filled :)


    All in all. Red Grouper - 23" Black Grouper - 28" Hog - 13.5" and 7.5lbs of lean meat :D

  • So Evil and I got out this morning. At first site water was beautifully clear and flat. Getting out there though was like crossing through a mine field. thousands of foot plus size jellies were all over the place. Finally the wall of jellies broke and we hit the ledge. Drifting south with the current I saw a nice size yellowtail lounging near the bottom. Took a dive and snuck up on him. first fish in the bucket :)


    As I was gutting/bleeding the yellowtail an graysby came out of the rocks and started nibbling. Evil and I just found out there is no size limit on them, and they don't get much bigger than a foot. So Nick and I talked and we decided to get one. Just to try it out. We see plenty of them but this is the first time grabbing one.


    As we continued drifting I saw a nice black out in the open. I dove to get a decent shot but he spotted me and holed up. Nick and I spent the next 20 minutes trying to find him among the underwater tunnels but to no avail.


    Further on down the ledge Nick saw another grouper out of range. It swam by him and then by me. I tried to keep up with it but it got away :(


    Next thing I know I hear a thunk, and look up to see a bar jack being hoisted up by Nick.


    A small hog followed shortly....


    It was beginning to be that time,


    SO this is where things get a little interesting...


    I shoot a chub. partially to fill the cooler, partially to bleed and gut to see if anything bigger wants to take a nibble.


    Before I can even get the chub off my line a strange feeling comes over me. Next thing I know, there I am, fish in hand(s), and I look up to see myself getting bum rushed by a shark. NOT COOL. I drop the fish (which I probably shouldn't have done, but he was coming right at me) and go tag Nick to tell him whats up. He's in the middle of reloading, so neither one of us are actually in a decent position to defend ourselves. The shark circles and I can see his size for the first time. about 6'. The next thing I see is the dotted camo pattern on his sides, and what appears to be a huge hook scar. Tiger sharks are fun


    So at this point Nick has his shaft locked into his gun, and I'm holding a knife:crazy: .


    Toothy(as he will now sentimentally be referred to as) starts butting our float with the fish. Then he comes at Nick. Nick pokes him. This cycle repeats two or three times and it's clear toothy doesn't want to leave. He seems more interested in the float, so I dive down, cut the chub loose, and grab my gun. Just as I'm heading up I see Nick jab the heck out of him, and Toothy scurries away with a trail of blood. The next few minutes we were both a little weary, but we were safe, and best of all we got to keep our fish :D


    so, It was that time, and minus the minefield of big arse jellies on the way back in, we made land and headed back home.


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