Posts by Dan

It is a balancing act between seeing where you're going/ending up where you want to be and being hydrodynamic. Most of the time I somewhat sacrifice being hydrodynamic as my goal is not to simply reach the bottom. I prefer to spot a fish and angle my approach as soon as possible.

I removed one more weight today so I'm down to five 1.25lb weights total 6.25lb. I have to say I really like it all around. Less weight to carry from the car to the boat. Less weight to carry in the water is easier on the back, I barely feel the belt and weights now. There was no perceptible change in ease of getting down. I did pay more attention to the buoyancy. I believe with lungs full of air I'm neutral at around 15ft. It seems perfect now but if I can get away with removing one more weight even better. I'll try to remove another weight on the next dive.

I read the first few pages, it is good, I'm ordering it.

I'm willing to try to take one once and see what the yield is. I just don't like killing a big animal that has little yield. I know you told me it has great yield but I just have to see it. I shot those little rays in Cuba (do you know the species?) a couple of times and it wasn't worth it. They also had babies inside them both times. What I would like to shoot is shark

Thanks for that, I'd be interested in reading it. Here's the book on Amazong if anyone else is interested, you can get a used one for $4 shipped http://www.amazon.com/Waiting-…sions-Cuban/dp/0743246411

It seems the title is saying that he was waiting for something that was never going to happen. Good title.

How the hell did you break that thing? Waterway blades ain't easy to break. As a matter of fact short of slamming the blade against something I wager anyone would have a hard time breaking that blade between their two hands. Of course a flaw in the manufacturing process can produce a weak spot, which the manufacturer should be responsible for.

Well, you told me this before. I think that it's daring and risky to grab the very part of the fish that can hurt you, but that is the part you need to bring under control. I wouldn't want you to end up like Steve Irwin. Is it feasible to shoot it again in the tail and try to break it? Or at least stretch the tail by pulling on the line so it has less maneuverability?

I don't know, it seems like I'm neutral at 40. At least when I extend my body horizontally, I haven't seen myself do this but it's a position my body adapts when I sort of will myself to hang at a particular depth and scan, it takes a long time before I start sinking perceptibly. When I said I would sink at 10' I was vertical in the water.

Thanks John.

On the last dive I took some time to test how I'm weighted. I was wearing 1mm neoprene pants and a lycra top. I had six 1.25lb weights on my belt which totals 7.5lb. I'm fat right now, have quite a bit of blubber which I think adds buoyancy.

On the surface holding my breath after an inhale I had to kick somewhat continuously to stay horizontal. If I'd stop kicking my legs go down first and I end up floating with just the top of my head breaching the surface. When I blow out %50 of the air in my lungs I start to sink.

Holding my breath after an inhale at 10ft from the surface I sink. Yet it seems that I'm neutral at 40ft. I had to kick all the way to 45ft to start a perceivable glide.

I really don't think there are hard rules when it comes to this. Considering that the moment you blow out your air the whole buoyancy issue becomes moot since you sink anyways. Overall I was feeling pretty good. Towards the end of the day though diving 60ft I started to feel the weight on the way up. I may try taking off one weight next time.

Here's some good info I pulled from SB a while back about the use of a tourniquet.

Quote

Alright guys, I'll bite on this topic.
In case of massive bleeding this is what you need to do:
1. Leave the wetsuit on if the bite in in the torso region. Most open cell wetsuits provide mild pressure and act as a second skin. The only time you should cut the wetsuit off is to identify the source of the bleeding, and this should only be done when you have blood control materials readily available.
2. Once you identify the source of bleeding apply direct pressure as the initial treatment. This pressure should be extremely heavy...to the point that it hurts the casualty.
3. Begin to contact EMS and keep casualty as calm as possible. Elevated heart rates = increased blood loss.
4. If the bleeding is from torso- Continue with direct pressure. If the bleeding is from a limb- Apply tourniquet as high as possible on the limb.(and no, having a tourniquet placed on a limb will not cause you to lose that limb, that is a myth.). This means that if you get your foot bit off, the tourniquet should be placed by the groin.
5. Calm the F@ck down, remember your reaction directly affects the casualty's survival rate.
6. Lay casualty down, and elevate the legs. Keep the legs elevated. This helps keep blood in the torso during shock.

that it boys and girls, its as simple as that. Trust me, I do this crap for a living.
-Doc
p.s. If anyone wants some tourniquets pm me. I have a few available for pick up.
____________________

ralphthehalibut:
That's funny, they still teach that a TQ usually results in limb loss in paramedic school. I'm not trying to start a pissing match, just illustrating how entrenched the myth is in EMS. Thankfully I've always been able to stop even arterial bleeding without a TQ. I think you hit on one of the biggest things that we've all missed - the "Calm the **** down" point. I'd say in the vast majority of calls I was ever on, as medics, we were more security blankets than anything else....
___________________________________

Hate to break it to you brother, they are teaching out dated material. Limb loss related to the use of tourniquets was a reality as little as 5 years ago, but medicine is constantly advancing. The reason that tourniquets used to lead to limb loss is that back in the day we used to worry about Compartment syndrome developing. This is not an issue unless you are more then 2 hours away from a hospital. Also we have gotten extremely good at treating compartment syndrome, so this is no longer an issue. Nowadays, if you lose a limb, it's from infection or unrepairable trauma, not from the tourniquet..... But then again what do I now, I'm just the retard with combat experience and the medical degree.
___________________________

As far as what tourniquets do I use or carry. I prefer the McMillan and SOF tourniquets. I will try to have a few available for some of you guys to take home....at the very least I should be able to get a hold of some CAT tourniquets from NARP/NAF.

Display More

I just thought of another possible kind of attack from a shark. It could be interested in a fish you're holding and grab you while trying to get the fish. I guess this can be classified as predatory too.

The article didn't specify that it was with a sling. It can be assumed that since Bahamas doesn't allow spearguns that it was a sling but many people use a speargun anyways. And yes if it was a sling I wouldn't shoot it either. I'd keep it to poke the shark away.

A shark can attack a human under a few circumstances. It can be a predatory attack which I think we all understand. It is the most difficult to avoid. Then there's a defensive attack which most of the time is easy to avoid. Just leave the shark alone. A defensive attack happens when a shark feels threatened. The third kind is a territorial attack. It is an extension of a defensive attack and is more difficult to avoid as you don't have to be very close to shark to stimulate it to attack. This is prevalent with few species of shark but I think that the reef shark is one of them. Basically the shark perceives threat from a distance but rather than choosing to escape it's programmed to attack and drive off the threat.

A shark that feels it can't escape and associates the diver as the cause can attack. I've heard of this happening with barracuda as well although I've never seen it and I've shot many barracudas. I would guess that a speared barracuda that was deemed to attack a diver simply chose the wrong direction on its escape run and slammed into the diver. It can cause a lot of damage that way.

Here's a good example of a defensive attack by a shark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL7I6dgfzH4

Florida fisherman attacked by shark in Bahamas http://www.baynews9.com/conten…acked+by+shark+in+Bahamas

Quote

A Florida man was bitten by a shark when he was spear fishing in the Bahamas.

John Cooper was spear fishing in the Bahamas when another fisherman spotted a six foot Caribbean reef shark.

The fisherman shot the shark out of self defense, and it turned on Cooper.

"Out of self defense he shot the shark," Cooper said, "And even though it was a good shot in the head the shark went crazy."

The shark clamped down on Cooper's leg.

He was taken to a south Florida hospital. Doctors say he is lucky, but should be fine.

Display More

I put this together quickly: Spearing rays regulations. Looks like some rays can be speared in Florida.

The one that Pantoja shot by accident was a huge southern stingray. I looked for a picture of one and found this. Funny how that's exactly what the ray would look like after our incident.

I also saw a big manta ray yesterday.

From Recreational Saltwater Fishing Regulations.

Quote

Spearing is defined as “the catching or taking of a fish by bowhunting,
gigging, spearfishing, or any device used to capture a fish by
piercing its body. Spearing does not include the catching or taking
of a fi sh by a hook with hook and line gear or by snagging (snatch
hooking)”. Spearfishing is defined as “the catching or taking of a
fi sh through the instrumentality of a hand or mechanically propelled,
single or multi-pronged spear or lance, barbed or barbless, operated
by a person swimming at or below the surface of the water.” The use
of powerheads, bangsticks, and rebreathers remains prohibited. The
following is a list of species which are prohibited for harvest by spearing.
Any other species not listed which are managed by the Commission,
and those not managed by the Commission are allowed to be
harvested by spearing.

• Billfish (all species)
• Spotted eagle ray
• Sturgeon
• Manta ray
• Sharks
• Bonefish
• Tarpon
• Goliath Grouper
• Snook
• Blue Crab
• Nassau grouper
• Spotted seatrout
• Red drum
• Weakfish
• Stone Crab
• Pompano
• African pompano
• Permit
• Tripletail
• Lobster

Display More

Manta Ray (No spearing).

Spotted Eagle Ray (No spearing). BTW Pantoja took this pic.

Other Florida rays which I suppose since they're not listed can be speared:

Southern Stingray.

Cownose Ray.

Clearnose Skate.

If someone has info to the contrary please post.

Pantoja, a couple of friends not from the forum, and myself did a quick dive yesterday starting at 1pm ending at around 4pm. There was hardly any current and the seas were flat. There wasn't much fish but the diving was enjoyable. You could make out the bottom relief from the surface at 50ft but horizontal viz wasn't too good. There was lots of particulate in the water which added a distortion effect.

Pantoja managed a small cobia and a few hogs and I got some misc fish. A noteworthy story is the cobia. I was in midwater just starting my dive when I heard a shot. The next thing I saw was a huge ray swimming by with a shaft stuck in its wing. I didn't understand but the next moment I saw the cobia which was further up on the mono. The ray was cruising slowly and I was very close above it. I could see the shaft clearly, it was about 6" in from the edge of the left wing. I had this crazy idea of shooting at the same spot to free the shaft. Of course that made no sense so I dropped my gun and grabbed the shooting line from Pantoja's gun. I started pulling on it backwards as hard as I could. The ray then picked up speed and due to our combined efforts and the shaft being in the thin part of the wing it tore off. Later Pantoja told me that the cobia was right above the ray and he was timing the shot for the ray to have its wings on the downstroke. Then just as he shot the ray flicked up its wings.

A used Riffe competitor 3. Have Pucho make you a handle for it

I wouldn't say belly/hip loading gun. Hip loading is hip loading, I'm not sure what belly loading is. People who use chest loading guns usually position them lower than the chest, but still above the belly. I was just going to tell you that hip loading is easy. If the gun Pucho gave you was a hip loader you shouldn't have any problems. If on the other hand it was a chest loader then you should know that many people find it difficult to load, especially in the beginning.

Welcome to the forum Pablo. Spearfishing is easy when the fish just sits there for you in shallow water. Spearfishing becomes very challenging when the fish is deep and understands the danger that a diver presents.

What kind of gun were you using? Chest loader or hip loader? Chest loading is a PITA IMO.

Beautiful pics. Some that struck me in particular:

Which flamingo species is native to Curacao?

Tarpon and permit hanging out.. Who knew!?

Baby cubera? I don't think I've ever seen one.

There has to be a story about the dolphin?

You read the whole thing? :0