Shallow water hunting techniques

Holding a gun by the handle looks pretty slick, but it doesn't work for me. I'm always using a float line and must have a solid grip on the gun, so I hold it in the middle. When I dive I bend at the hips and throw forward/down both my arms. I stroke with my left arm to get some depth, at the same time the right arm extended forward with the gun provides resistance against the water to maintain the downward direction. The I tuck the gun to my side for the rest of the way.

Hunting the reef, in general I never swim against the current, unless I have a target. Normally I drift and fin gently, just enough to stay afloat, I'm afraid I'm not completely positively buoyant.

I don't have many considerations other than to keep my float line coiled and ready for a resistance free dive. I follow the bottom trying to figure out which part of it will most likely hold fish. Basically looking for live areas.

I take my snorkel out when I dive, and try to streamline my descent so as not to spook fish. If I'm diving strong I'll dive a little away from where I saw a fish and make my way along the bottom rather than drop straight on top of it. Sometimes there's no time or breath for that so I dive straight on it.

Covering distance is important, but so is not getting tired. I prefer not repeat areas so I don't exit the water at the same point I entered. It's good to have someone pick you up or if you're with a buddy, have him stay with the gear as you take a cab back to your car.

Dan , when you say take of snorkel, do you mean spit it out or take it off the snorkel keeper and tuck into your weight welt

Spit it out.

My advice is coming from just an average hunter. I try to learn myself from Pantoja, and follow him around. Not so much for his diving or stalking technique, rather to see how he decides where to go, I believe that's the key. But I always get bored and go my own way. Then Pantoja shows up with a bunch of fish that he invented, and I have nothing

Thats the hardest part of spearfishing...deciding which way to swim!!

Also as far as shallow hunting goes...sometimes I feel like its better to hang around and work one area and other times I drift up and down the reef. Depends on what I'm seeing. I also tend to have better luck in the mornings and afternoons vs mid-day.

Others here before me have given GREAT advice. So I'll add my 2cents.
I'll try to help with some shallow water answers, as I'm too old and crippled to dive deep now.
1. Be QUIET in the water, meaning don't beat the surface water with your fins, don't bump your gun and gear on the boat or bottom, do your duck dive quietly and weigh yourself correctly so that you can drift down the last 25% or so to the bottom without finning.
2. Begin your hunt UP-CURRENT. That way you can drift or at least swim easier through your hunting zone.
3. Look way ahead of you, so that you can spot fish before they know you are there.
4. Try NOT to approach a fish when the fish is broadside to you. Remember that many fish "HEAR" with their lateral line on their body.
5. Aim your gun at your target as soon as possible. That way the only part of the gun the fish sees is the end of the muzzle. I have a "hog fin" on most of my reef gun spears so that when I UNLOAD my second band to shoot a hog on the rocks or at close range, the unloaded band is not waving around loose on the muzzle end of my reef gun. The "hog fin" is just far enough back from the muzzle end of the spear so that the UNLOADED band will stay hooked onto the spear.
6. K, enough. Any more intel and I would have to charge ya a beer or 2 :laughing:
hope this helps

I like hunting in shallow water. Although I don't really consider 40 feet shallow. :@

I have spots where I know we find fish and go there. Most are the cuts in the reef. Some are very obvious and some aren't but the fish know and they're there.

The fish, like dog snapper, muttons and black grouper live there. And when I get in the water I think they pretty much know I'm there. I just hope no one else was there in the last week or two because as mentioned, how well the fish are "educated" is a big factor.

But let's say they aren't educated and you get a few snappers and a grouper. After that, they know and it will be hard to get close again, so I generally will move to another spot. We normally will hit at least 3-4 spots in a day.

When I dive I always try to hide my gun as much as possible. If I see some dogs off in the distance I try to get to the bottom quickly and hide. Then just wait.

Man, this thread could get really good. Where's Marco?

In shallow water in particular, when you get a significantly longer period of bottom time, I like to drop straight to the deck and then "aspetto" the reef, lying either completely still or slowly creeping across the structure with one hand while remaining as flush as possible with the bottom.

One of my favorite techniques for wary fish is to conceal behind a blind piece of structure after they've spotted you, like a rise or corner, and then toss a handful of sand or debris up above or next to you, into their line of sight. After doing this once or twice, lots of fish will actually come investigate what you're getting into. The ones that don't come closer at least tend to relax a little, thinking you're just going about your business, and will present a decent shot when you creep back into view.

Quote from Hardline

Thats the hardest part of spearfishing...deciding which way to swim!!

Also as far as shallow hunting goes...sometimes I feel like its better to hang around and work one area and other times I drift up and down the reef. Depends on what I'm seeing. I also tend to have better luck in the mornings and afternoons vs mid-day.

I have noticed the same thing, I shoot more fish early or late in the day, however the bigger fish I have shot have been mid day and shallower. The trick of sifting some sand up works, when wrestling lobster out of holes I always get a curious grouper or mutton come to investigate and present a good shot.

Quote from japsw

I have noticed the same thing, I shoot more fish early or late in the day, however the bigger fish I have shot have been mid day and shallower. The trick of sifting some sand up works, when wrestling lobster out of holes I always get a curious grouper or mutton come to investigate and present a good shot.

It sure does. Ive noticed that lobstering brings in the fish almost as much as anything else I try including throwing sand.

A very important aspect of hunting shallow is a silent sneaky and nonchalant approach to fish you see from the surface. For the most part at that depth they see you just as clearly as you see them if not much better. Getting within shooting range without scaring them off takes a lot of practice and skill. This isnt true of all fish (hogs triggers etc). But for snapper and grouper its vital. Ive foolishly chased and scared too many big fish away before learning my lesson. Its amazing how keen a fish's sense can be to where you are focused. Not to mention once you have a fishes attention they are on red alert ready to bolt at any sudden sound or movement. Last weekend I scared away a nice tame grouper with a simple bang of my flashlight against my gun. Until that point he thought I was cool.

Another good example is a few weeks ago a black grouper frank saw while dealing with a shot cuda. The grouper sat there watching the action right out in the open without a care in the world for atleast a few minutes. Frank called me over and pointed him out. As soon as my focus turned to him (even trying to look from the corner of my mask etc) he began to spook. By the time I was diving on him he was out of there, I took a hail mary at him that had no chance due to my gun being loaded for a hole. I found him later but I was lucky he stuck close by.

Another good technique of concealment in shallow water is like niceshoot said use the reef structure to hide from the fish and get them to accidentally come in close. Thats how I landed the black from a few weeks ago after he was already onto my game. I saw him swim into a coral head. So rather than dropping right on the front I dropped around the backside and swam around with my gun ready. He bolted as he saw me but at that point I was close enough to draw a bead on him for a long time as he tried to get away and get a shot.

With wary snappers I tend to drop away from them and attempt to sneak up using structure as cover. I try not to chase a fish unless its a last resort as it seldom works.

Truly shallow water…….15-20 feet or even less does change the game a bit. It makes being sneaky somewhat easier because you can see fish two coral spurs (ridges) away, dive to the bottom and crawl in between or around where they can't really see you. I've had a lot of fun working dog snappers in shallow water like that. We have one spot where we know they come in to roost in the holes towards evening. You can see them in the distance and they want to come in…..then it gets fun.

For my area, shallow water diving would be shorediving... Going against the current is a non-starter for me. I'm lucky to be able to walk down the island from my house and hunt my way home with the current. I can cover 1.5 miles in a leisurely two hours, drifting through fishy areas and swimming with the current in areas that haven't shown many fish. I use a reel on my gun (no float) and attach about a 30" piece of wire at the butt to use as a stringer. I swim with the fish I shoot under my belly. If I have more than about 20 lbs I swim to shore and walk home. For us, it's fishiest where the reef meets the sandy bottom. Snappers out over the sand, groupers under the ledges and in depressions, mackerel, barracuda and triggers mid-water, and we even get the occasional African pompano, cobia, permit and jacks. Slapping the water actually works good for me, attracting curious fish. I don't do it near any of my honey holes, but it does attract both reef fish and game fish. Shooting fish often attracts other fish, and dropping one to the bottom that you've just dispatched can keep nearby fish interested. Being properly weighted is paramount and I always make sure that I have enough weight to lie on the bottom without struggling against the surge, so maybe I'm a little heavier than boat/deeper diving. Lastly, I'll bang the pistol grip of my gun on the bottom a few times to make noise and this will bring fish in. So, I'm finding that making noise works to help the fish find me even though my area gets a fair amount of pressure.

Quote from hank

Man, this thread could get really good. Where's Marco?

I rarely dive shallow. Only when I take my kids so they can spear some pan sized fish. BUT, as most people already said, being quite and look "undangerous" is the most important thing. If you're doing an aspetto, try to do it with the sun at your back, keep your fins attached to the bottom (you don't want to be laying on the bottom with two flags telling everybody you're there). Take your snorkel out of your mouth before diving, weight yourself properly so you can stop swimming at 1/3 of the bottom but you can breath up effortless, predators often swim against the current, keep that in mind.

If you find a spot with many dog snappers, avoid shooting them inside the holes. Lay iin the bottom 6-8 feet appart and one of them will show up. Doing this, you'll be able to take more than one. Otherwise, they will all stay holed for the rest of the day.

In those opportunities, I always swim against the current so when I'm tired, I can just let myself drift to the boat.

This is enough for free. Any more info will cost you $$$

to me the fish in the shallows are preeetty spooky and more of a hunt compared to the deeep... and we have a lot a commercial hunters here mostly see them in the shallows inside and a little outside the reef here to about 45 foot of water. I'm all about finding a good spot to blend in on the bottom... in the shallows when i see fish in the distance, i do a nice breath up and a nice, easy, quiet tuck and some easy kicks and sink motionless like I'm dead to the bottom (im weighted pretty good).. blend in behind a rock or fan coral or something.. i try to keep my head down as much as possible trying to hide my eyes, try to avoid eye contact. fins down like Marco said.. they always come in after a while.. anything comes in after a loong dive. sometimes dives are up to 1:50 to 2 minutes. usually around 1:30 to get the fish. often when I'm on the bottom, i put my head down and close my eyes and ''sleep" a while then look up really slowly and they're all around right in front of my face.. they get really curious specially when they think you're dead. be smarter then the fish, baddeh.. haha:cool2:..
happy hunting and safe diving.:thumbsup2:

Quote from Marco

I rarely dive shallow. Only when I take my kids so they can spear some pan sized fish. BUT, as most people already said, being quite and look "undangerous" is the most important thing. If you're doing an aspetto, try to do it with the sun at your back, keep your fins attached to the bottom (you don't want to be laying on the bottom with two flags telling everybody you're there). Take your snorkel out of your mouth before diving, weight yourself properly so you can stop swimming at 1/3 of the bottom but you can breath up effortless, predators often swim against the current, keep that in mind.

If you find a spot with many dog snappers, avoid shooting them inside the holes. Lay iin the bottom 6-8 feet appart and one of them will show up. Doing this, you'll be able to take more than one. Otherwise, they will all stay holed for the rest of the day.

In those opportunities, I always swim against the current so when I'm tired, I can just let myself drift to the boat.

This is enough for free. Any more info will cost you $$$

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Good stuff Marco.
Instead of swimming against current it's really good if you can get one guy to stay in the boat while others drift, pick up, go back and do it again in our cuts.
Good luck with that if you find fish. :laughing: "No, it's YOUR turn to drive the boat"...."Yeah, well it's my damn boat..."....haha Yep.

No one of my partners wants to stay in the boat... :rolleyes1: