Posts by Pachamama

Yeah, he likes the boat too. Great traveler who will go anywhere with me.

Yes, he will stand on the wall and watch me. He also has an instinct for when I'm returning. He actually did eat a little of that fillet for lunch. Scoobie Doo is fearless, maybe because he's half poodle and half Doberman. Or maybe it's because of the name he was given by the neighbor kids.

Yeah, the mutton and the mutt... He's my fishin' buddy.

While the boat is getting a little preventative maintenance, I decided to check out the reef behind my house this morning. Went out around 11:00 and walked about 500 yards up current and got in the water. I've got a few honey holes that I like to check out once in a while. Started out seeing some medium-sized triggers right away but left them alone. On my first dive I came across five lobsters sitting under a ledge but left them alone since the season is closed until July. I drifted over to a hole that can be fairly productive with black groupers but came up empty. Water is around 80 degrees and the vis was probably 50 feet. The reef I was diving is no deeper than 30 feet. I made my way to a ledge that had a 10 lb black grouper under it a few days ago. I went down on a tough angle and flushed a 20 lb black out of it. No shot but I followed for about 50 feet where he went into a cave in the coral. I could not find him although I never saw him leave that coral. Oh well... I came up empty on a few more spots although a saw a few more small lobsters. Then about six muttons passed by me well out of range. I followed for a few seconds but they were quickly out of sight. I moved over to another grouper hole but nothing was there. I went down again to lie on the bottom and wait to see what happens. I stirred up the sand a little and waited. I was kind of zoning out a little when this mutton came back to me. I lifted my gun while he did a turn and was able to put the spear through his spine, no fight whatsoever. I have a reel on the gun but it was unnecessary. I wasn't using a buoy, so I strung her on a piece of wire I keep coiled on the butt of the gun. This way, I swim with the fish under my belly. No other snappers came back, but four 20 lb barracudas came in to check me out. At first I was going to leave them alone although I had an easy shot. I changed my mind and dove to the bottom to see if one would come back, but I didn't see them again. Oh well... Two minutes later a five pound Spanish mackerel swam by, but just out of range. Too bad... So, I spent maybe ninety minutes poking around. All together, I swam maybe 600 yards along the coast with the current, a nice and relaxing time. The mutton weighed in at 18 lbs and she was full of eggs. We love to eat them here fried in garlic and butter! I kept one half of a fillet, the other fillets went to neighbors, as did the head and stomach. Not much left for the frigate birds.

Nice videos, that's exactly what we see with the barracudas here in Mexico. We get dragged behind the panga looking for fish on the reef. Once you spot one, let go, take a big breath and head straight to the bottom. The school comes in and you take one. We can see schools from 100-300 barracudas, ranging from 10-40 lbs. I call it the barracuda rodeo because we get dragged around by the fish quite a bit. It's a blast. The black groupers in the videos are known as abadejos around here.

Yes, we move away when the divers enter the water - moving a little up current and off to the side. The panga can drift along with the diver, but usually the wind will vary a little from the current, so separation increases a little. Even with a small console for the electronics/storage, picking up the diver is straightforward and easy to do quickly and safely.

Nice doggie and good job on that.

As for the panga, looks very nice but I prefer the tiller steering because it's simpler (mechanically) and quicker to move around. We're mostly drift diving over specific spots using GPS reference to enter the water. You can easily get very accurate on entering the water to cover even different spots on the same wreck, etc. Plus we do a lot of "trolling" (hanging on a line off the transom looking for fish) and following the reef. The tiller steering is a lot less work to follow something that is quite jagged.

Yeah, I have a couple of open muzzle guns, a Wong Hybrid, a Rabitech 120 and an Aimrite 100. I like them all but I think I'll keep the Rob Allen 140 as a closed-muzzle gun. I do think it's worthwhile to give the mini-sharkfin tabs a try. Do you notice any difference in the wear on your wishbones? We're loading and shooting a lot, oftentimes more than 25 times per day.

Dude, yes the end tied to the spear feeds out between the two hitches. After you complete the roll with both hitches, you pull out enough nylon rope to rig for a double wrap (could be about 10' depending on the length of the gun). This "loosens" the inside of the roll making it easy for it to pay out. With the double wrap I have not noticed any degradation in range or any different requirements for aiming. Everything works normally. We put enough dyneema to go from the line hole on the spear, through the muzzle, and about halfway back down the barrel. This leaves enough line so that you can pull the spear through the fish (if needed) to use the tip to dispatch the fish. We kill all of our fish with the spear tip, whether it's still on or taken off the spear. We don't carry knives at all. Simplicity is best.

Marco, I put a complete description with pics in the thread on a boat running over a float line. I thought it might be something other spearos would want to incorporate.

That's good to know. I'm going to pick some up with the next order. Thanks!

If you are serious, I can talk to my buddy. He also does charters, but pretty selectively. If you're after something specific, it would help to know. Our waters here have produced many world records and he has been involved with many of them. The IUSA records website is a little vague on location - for good reason! But I would say that most records located at Mexican Caribbean or Yucatan Peninsula or something similar were taken in our waters. Let me know... Cancun is a short flight from FL, and the island is just eight miles of the coast.

Que bueno!. I think that I've heard of maybe one of those brands of guns. Looking forward to what you all are putting out.

60 HP, we run 10 hours per day for about $40.

Yeah, we dive from a 25' Imemsa with a four-stroke Yamaha. Super easy to get in and out of, and we range out about 35 miles from the island.

Any excess nylon rope can be wrapped into the second head. Use this method if you are going without a buoy. The role can be tucked into the weight belt. Or, leave a couple of feet after the second head is complete and tie directly to a buoy. This keeps the buoy close to you and your line will feed out automatically as you dive. The first two pics are the front and back of the role (for use in a weight belt). The next pic is the spear on the gun with a role. You can have several spears set up and swap them out easily. The next pic is the gun rigged with a double wrap. Loop the roll around the handle and it hangs by itself, you can go hands-free. This is nice for getting back in the boat or if you need two hands while floating. The last pic is the rope we use. It's nylon and super tough. It does not stretch and it sinks, keeping it from tangling with you or the boat, or your buddy. The whole thing can be re-rolled in less time than it takes the boat to reposition for another drift dive. It can also be re-rolled in the water if you're diving without a boat.

Since this is a breakaway setup, you can also release your gun after a shot and let it float to the surface. This gives you two hands on a thick rope to keep the fish off a wreck or out of a ledge or cave. That's about it. Let me know if I can clear something up. Thanks, Rick

Part three is to tie the roll. Scrunch the rope together into an oblong shape taking care that the end with the dyneema is on the bottom and the end of the nylon rope is on the top. Tie a double overhand knot to make a "head" on one end, then do the same on the other end. The end attached to the dyneema must come out the middle, between the two heads.

Part two is to create a roll with the nylon rope. These pics show a coil of 110'. You must start at the end closest to the spear by placing the rope as shown in the first picture. Continue to wrap the line until all is on your hand. I'm right handed so I wrap the rope on my left hand. Notice that there is a small overhand knot on the end. This will hold a buoy with a tuna clip to the line. Once the line is wrapped, undo the last two turns.

Ok, here's my description of our setup, works with or without a float. We use closed-muzzle guns but this will work with an open muzzle or fully-enclosed track gun, as well. Part one is to prepare the dyneema on the spear. We use 7-8' of line tied to the spear. We use this amount so that you have enough to pull the spear through the fish to brain it. Pass the dyneema through the line hole in the spear, tie a knot on each end and put to a flame to keep them from fraying.

Then join the dyneema to a nylon line that is at least 10' longer than the depth you are hunting (more if there is a strong current) using a triple sheet bend knot. This knot is very easy to untie in cases where it is easier to pass the spear through the fish to remove it.

I will try to put some photos together tonight. Heading out on the water soon...