Shallow Rigs 7/5/09

  • Not the biggest fish on the boat, or even particularly big as cobia go, but it was my first. First decent freediving fish of any species, now that I think of it. 36 lbs back at the camp.


    We dove a dozen or so shallow rigs in seas that started aobut 3' and built as the day went on. Chad (Griswold) and Bill were steadily shooting red snapper, mangrove snapper, and cobia. Me, I'd dive for a little while, go back to the boat to throw up, then try again. Another new lesson for me in the differencees between scuba and freediving. Even if you're seasick, you can get come relief at depth when scuba diving. But trying to relax and breathup while bobbing in those seas affords little little opportunity to settle. Still, there were a few brief periods in between, when I could find a rhythm and get comfortable. Each trip I am comfortable a little deeper, and with things a little less perfect.


    As much as I enjoyed my previous trip in bluewater, I think this was even more fun. The inshore rigs are simply loaded with life of every sort. In this case, there was some scuzzy surface water for the first 20' or so, and murk down deeper, but in between was a layer of nice clear water. This may seem odd to those who almost always dive in good visibility, but I was having trouble adapting after so many years of diving muck. I consistently misjudged the distance and took shots that were too long, and either missed or failed to toggle on fish. I also learned that my big ole double flopper slip tip may be just the ticket for close shots, but it was absolutely the wrong approach here. I'll have a couple of flopper shafts next time.


    Too bad nobody was around with a video camera while I was trying to deal with this fish back at the boat. As it turned out, my mid body shot from above was a very solid holding one, but it didn't hit anything that would take the fight out of him. Remember now that catamarans are generally tall, and I am not. So there's me, down in the motor well, trying to get a hold of this thing, and puking every now and then. It truly would have been a YouTube sensation.

  • Congrats, good story. I have trouble too getting seasick. Sometimes getting in the water helps, it's definitely worse on the boat. In the end it usually goes away after puking all the bile out but it can make for a miserable dive day. I've given up on ever getting immune to seasickness.


    The best way to increase depth freediving is with beach dives. It happens gradually and before you know it you're diving deep. Provided of course you're diving in an area that has that kind of change in depth, like a dropoff near shore. Starting deep from a boat is a steeper learning curve but I suppose that's how most people here do it.


    Which gun were you using?

  • I was shooting my little 46" bay gun with a borrowed reel.


    I can see how the beach dives would be nice. But West of Destin or so, you would generally have to be out several miles to be deeper than 50'.


    As for the seasickness, Dramamine usually works for me. Before this trip, I think I actually said it "always" works for me . . .

  • Being my first time on these rigs, I really didn't expect the visibility to be as good as it was in the clear layer. And I really hadn't thought about shooting anything other than red and mangrove snapper prior to the trip.


    I really think that the big JBL slip tip was the lion's share of my problem with lack of penetration. It's got one of those rings that hold the floppers closed. That ring is probably about 7/16" in diameter, and not at all streamlined. It went through the cobia just fine, travelling some 7" or so from top to bottom of the fish, but it didn't have to penetrate any bone to do that and the shot was at closer range. Maybe the big tip causes the shaft to loose velocity much faster than a comparable flopper shaft. I just never noticed before because I seldom shoot very far.

  • :thumbsup2:
    Jeff, if you're gonna do the Dramamine, pop 2 the night before and go to sleep. The next morning drink what you normally do.

  • Being my first time on these rigs, I really didn't expect the visibility to be as good as it was in the clear layer. And I really hadn't thought about shooting anything other than red and mangrove snapper prior to the trip.


    I really think that the big JBL slip tip was the lion's share of my problem with lack of penetration. It's got one of those rings that hold the floppers closed. That ring is probably about 7/16" in diameter, and not at all streamlined. It went through the cobia just fine, travelling some 7" or so from top to bottom of the fish, but it didn't have to penetrate any bone to do that and the shot was at closer range. Maybe the big tip causes the shaft to loose velocity much faster than a comparable flopper shaft. I just never noticed before because I seldom shoot very far.


    you are absolutly correct. my first gun was a 24 inch little badass and i tried to use a rotating double flopper on it. I tried shooting 4 or 5 snappers at some very close range (2-4ft) and i would see the shaft hit the fish, but then no fish. I switched to a single barb tip, super simple and was able to quickly get dinner. the same shots that were too slow before now had enough enertia to penetrate and hold.


    i blame the retaining collar. it is designed to hold the barbs and when viewed alone, it is a little concave that faces forward. it had to act like a little metal sail slowing the spear

    i like to spear fish

  • I had a couple of JBL tips over the years and I used to remove that metal ring and the rubber strip that's supposed to pop the barbs open. Why do you think everyone's using single flopper shafts or streamlined slip tips? One has to just aim a little better and the shot will be secure.

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