Posts by Anders

Forgot to mention that the wolffish cheeks and fillets were simply amazing. By far the best wolffish I've ever had and on my top 5 list of best tasting fish

Thanks for the kind words guys.
The diving up here is great, and a big change from the murky (and mostly fishless) waters I'm used to from further south near Oslo.
Up here in Tromsø the water temp is around 7-8 C (45-46 F) at the moment. It usually goes up to 10-11 (50-52 F) some time in late August/early September. I don't mind the 3 finger mittens; they're much better than being cold. They're 6.5 mm and good down to 4-6 C for me. Anything above that and cold hands usually isn't limiting my diving. The same with the suit. A 7 mm is what I'm in now and it's the thinnest I'd recommend for use here any time of the year. I'm planning on getting a 8 or 9 mm for the spring diving.. What I find is that I get used to diving with rather thick socks, suit and gloves after a while. It's when I'm coming back from the south after diving in a 3-5 mm suit, thin gloves and socks and much less weight that I really feel the difference..

About a month ago I moved up north and I've managed to get in the water a few times since then, trying to find good dive spots. It hasn't been too hard
About three weeks ago I dove a spot with heavy current and got a few nice cod.

Yesterday I tried a new location and after about an hour I spotted this wolffish and decided he'd be great for dinner. It turned out to be a nice size, around 9 kgs (20 lbs) with a massive head. My wife proclaimed she would prefer if I brought the next one home in fillets "so she could sleep at night"

The jaw muscles on the wolffish are enormous, it was about 450g of meat from this guy, and it will be put to good use in a Tom Yum thai soup this afternoon. I've never tried the cheek pieces from a wolffish before, but the halibut and cod pieces are the best on the entire fish, so I have high hopes for this as well.
For those of you who don't know, the wolffish is a sedate, bottom dwelling species which feed mostly on sea urchins. If you look closely you can see the remnants of a sea urchin inside the mouth of the fish in the pic below.

In early December last year I had the fortune of being invited to spear big coalfish with a couple of my buddies that live further south.
The coalfish or saithe (Pollachius virens) is a very common, and usually small, species which are a very common prey for the most commonly speared fishes in Norway, such as cod or pollack. The coalfish congregate in giant schools all along the coast from early spring until late fall and prefer areas with lots of current. The predators are usually lurking just below the school, waiting for their chance to grab dinner. However, as the year draws to an end and the majority of the fish are leaving the Norwegian fjords for deeper and warmer waters off shore, some fish stay behind. Among those are schools of large coalfish, which have outgrown their congeners but still maintain their schooling behaviour. These fish are very sought after by anglers and spearos for their fighting capabilities and tasty flesh. They are also the only somewhat pelagic species that can be commonly found in Norwegian waters and is the closest thing to blue water hunting you can do in the Norwegian fjords.
In early December the water still has some of its summer warmth left while the air temp often drops below 0. The boat ride to the spot was therefore a bit cold, but the water still nice and warm at 9 degrees. As I jumped in and started my decent into the green (commonly known as the blue), dark shapes appeared everywhere and suddenly I was level with the school. What an amazing sight! Hundreds of coalfish, swimming about in their normal schooling way, were circling me as I met them eye to eye. The only difference from the norm was that these fish were not the bait; they were 10 times the normal size. All the fish in the school were somewhere between 5 and 15 kg and I was half expecting a 100 kg cod to come up from the abyss to grab dinner. Needless to say, we had a blast and got some really nice fish, my biggest being about 12.5 kg and the biggest between the three of us went about a kg more (~30 lbs).

My buddy even got some video of the action, I think it was my first fish of the day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtM3DJGKO_Q

All in all a very good trip that (almost) has me looking forward to the Norwegian winter again!

That thing looks tough, I'm sure it'll be a great diving boat once it's up and running!

Very nice. I've been looking for a way to attach the gopro to the micromask, and this solution looks very good.

I've used the Mares neoprene glue for all my repairs and been very happy with it. It's plenty flexible and seals completely when cured. I repaired my old 7mm smoothskin suit with this glue, it had a tear that went all the way across the front, and have used it in water down to -1.5 C (30 F) without any issues regarding leaks.
However, it's important to clean the edges with alcohol, or something similar, before applying the glue; grease really kills the bond.
I apply one thin layer to each side of the edges to be glued and wait one hour. Apply another thin layer and wait 5-10 min. Now press the edges together and let it cure for 24 hrs. Works like a charm for me. If the glueing doesn't have to be perfect, I only apply one layer of glue and wait 5-10 min before pressing the edges together.
The only problem I've had with this glue is that oil tends to eat it up over time. I use baby oil and water as suit lube and I had to repair the big tear in my old 7mm twice since the oil had eaten partly through the bond after about a year of use.

I had a great time in So Cal with a bunch of great people, but no white seabass spotted. I did see a lobster, a bunch of calicos, huge amounts of kelp and a Mola mola. All were firsts for me so I had a great time even though I didn't see any WSB. I'd definitely like to come back some time, hopefully a bit later in the season when there are more fish around.
Thanks to all the guys who helped me get in the water, and especially to Don for your great hospitality! I had a great time both in and out of the water :thumbsup2:

A Catalina trip would be great

The water in the pic isn't too bad, around 8 C (46 F)

Thanks guys, it was a great trip for sure and glad the pics came out good to
Their reaction to divers can be quite variable, but mostly reflect the fact that big cod are usually the area's top predator. If you hang out in a school of bait they'll often come to inspect you after a fairly short time. Also, in dark water they tend to almost light up as their so brightly coloured compared to other fish or the surroundings, so they're often very easy to spot. Smaller fish can sometimes be more scittish. In pressured spots it can be different. I've spotted, but failed to get even close to shooting range on huge (probably resident) cod (15kg+) in certain spots where 5-10 kg fish can sometimes be had on every drop.
They're usually poor fighters, but one out of five-ten fish will put up a decent first run and may tug your line a little. Most will just shake about and try to loose the spear, so they're usually very easy to get to the surface.

Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)

Norwegian spearfishing record at 28.0 kg and 118 cm:

They grow bigger, at least to 45 kg, but the big schools of giants are usually found in deep waters (at least too deep for spearfishing) off the coast.

My biggest cod, in the 13-15 kg range:

I think the distinction between recreational and low level commercial/subsistence spearfishing is important in this discussion. The fishermen, and their catches, the study is based on are all fishing with all kinds of equipment, from small boats in fairly unregulated waters and mainly targeting reef species and sell their catch locally to make their livelihood. In other words, they use whatever they can to make a living. In that situation it makes sense that changes in gear can change the species you target, and seeing how spearfishing can be very effective, especially unregulated and on certain species. Also, these guys don't have access to trawlers or large scale commercial fishing gear, which would probably be more detrimental to the reefs, but are not part of the study since they're not being used.
The gear considered to have the most impact on the reef was traps and spearguns, line fishing was considered the best. My take on it is that it's easier to target "reef-cleaning" and reef beneficial fishes such as wrasses etc. with spears or traps, as opposed to line fishing, which may be more effective in targeting predators..
Also, the main idea of the study was to identify fishing regulations that would allow low level commercial/subsistence fishermen to keep fishing while at the same time provide some ease on the reefs suffering from bleaching events due to high temperature/solar radiation. The other option to protect the coral is a total fishing ban and that is far worse for the involved parties.
However, the study is not applicable to recreational and well regulated spearfishing, which in my book is a different world when it comes to impact on fish stocks or reefs.

I wear 0.5 kg ankle weights when doing aspetto hunting on the bottom in my 7mm suit and 5mm+ socks. They keep my legs pinned to the bottom very nicely. I don't feel they help much for surface swimming though. In a 5mm suit or thinner I don't feel the need for ankle weights. I don't think a heavier FP would do the same job since its "lbs for lbs" negative buoyancy is smaller than with the lead weight. I'd rather push around a 0.5 kg weight on my ankle than a FP with the same effect on leg buoyancy as it's bound to be much heavier than 0.5 kgl, equaling more work to push around. Also, the argument by Wishihadgills reg weight position on the leg seems plausible. So I'd go with the lightest FP possible (given enough support is provided) and add ankle weights if your legs are buoyant.

The sailfish and hammerhead pics are fabulous!

Amazing catch for sure
I wish we had pelagics in Norway..

You mean the video in my halibut hunting thread? Unfortunately, I didn't make it, but it's a great video for sure.

Regarding the lead weights. I'm 6'1" and 175-180 lbs, if you're in the same size range I guess 25 lbs of weight is a good place to start. If you want to test the amount of weight you need in shallow water you can try this: you should be positive on the surface while fully exhaled. That is at least a good starting point. Good luck on both the buoyancy and the hunting!

Breaking through the ice is scary no matter how deep the water is, glad you made it back up Don

Quote from gschuitt

Hi Anders, good to see a fellow cold water diver hunting with a spear. I need to do some more testing on buoyancy this spring. With 39 lbs I am slightly negative at the surface. When I decend I go down fast so I am working my way up to diving deeper than 30 to 40' at this point. My plan this season is to try to bring big fish into the shallows with a bait station and chum.
Cheers, Paul

Being negative on the surface sounds dangerous, especially if you dive to 30-40'. At that point you're pushing quite a lot of lead to get back up..
The most shallow I have seen halibut was at ca 12 feet depth, and it was a big one. I don't know if the Pacific halibut have the same behaviour or hunting grounds, but if you'd like some pointers as to what type of places to look for, just let me know

Fun to see someone else going after the giant halibut on the other side of the Northern hemisphere
At what depth are you negative with 39 lbs of weight with the 7 mm suit?
I use a 7 mm suit most of the year in Norway, and they will soften up quite fast and loose buoyancy. On my new suit I started out with 22-24 lbs in September and I'm down to 17-18 lbs now after about 15 days of diving. I use a made to measure suit, between sizes 3 and 4 (medium-large), and aim to be neutral at ~30 feet depth.

Very good points Don Paul; safety first.

We're lucky enough not to have any sharks that cause problems in Norwegian waters, so the only thing that can steal fish are seals and the occasional seagull (if the fish is on the boat or a board), but most seals are very shy since they are hunted in Norway. I only use the belt stringer for small fish, when hunting tiny flatties or small cod/pollack. The big flatties are best hunted with a break away float system and I expect a 100lbs halibut may feel a bit heavy on the belt stringer

I recently discovered the benefits of using old bands as stringer spike or spearpoint protection and thought I'd share some pics of my two stringers, one for the belt/waist and one for a float. I'm sure my mods aren't new, but at least now there are some pics and explanations out there on how to do it

The float stringer is made from a loop of monofilament with a small tuna clip put into the loop before it was crimped shut. Then I put the crimped end of the loop into the old band to form a spike protection and keeper. Now just connect the stringer to the small tuna clip and put the spike into the old band rubber. This way the stringer can unclips from the float very easily and the old rubber band protects the float and other stuff from puncture when it's not in use.

The belt stringer is similar, but I used a smaller, less obtrusive pigtail swivel to attach the stringer on. the pigtail is tied onto a loop of stretchy cord, for attachment to the belt or any kind of clip. This provides stretch and tension for a stringer that will hug your waist well to not flop around too much. Again, I used an old badn to form the spike keeper, which can be attached to the belt or a clip.

I made the rubber protectors/keepers so long so they would be easier to operate in cold water with 7 mm, three finger mittens. If you dive with thinner gloves it is probably a good idea to shorten them, especially the belt stringer version, in order to get some more space on the stringer for stretching around you waist.