Posts by Pachamama

Here is my biggest AP, it happens to be the current IUSA WR at 55 lbs. I shot it at 65'over a wreck on the first dive of the day. I thought I would throw in a couple of my partners. The cobia is the current IUSA WR and he used to have the black grouper WR until about 18 months ago. We're blessed with great fish down here.

Sorry to hear that, and thanks.

Nice cob; it's always great to come across decent-sized fish while shorediving. Here are two from shore and a barracuda from the boat. He was 55 lbs but shown gutted here. The mutton was 22 and I think that the white margate was over 15. Both were shot within 100 yards of my patio.

We find them in schools of up to a hundred or so stationary in 1-2 kt current in an open rocky area. So we end up diving up current in time to reach the bottom in front of the school. The fish can either come forward to check you out or you can use the current to try and close the distance.

OBTW, I don't know if I'm doing something wrong, but I can see all images except for Hank. I am trying to upload one of my own for the first time... We'll see if I can figure it out.

Great advice here. I've shot hundreds and they always try to move away from you. Once you have them by the gills, a quick and easy way to dispatch them is to pull the spear through the fish and brain him with it. Once he's finished you can take your time to remove the spear and get him in the cooler or on the stringer.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned - do not shoot them in the eye, they go berserk. The cuda will jump out of the water (with spear) and swim erratically around you.

Let me see what I can come up with, maybe some photos. It is very simple and you can put a lot of fish on the boat - fast - with the setup. Learned it from some spearos who've been doing this for more than 35 years.

Andrew, I'm using Rob Allen notched shafts on my closed-muzzle Rob Allen 140cm gun. You can used a finned shaft with a closed muzzle gun? I hadn't looked into using them, just assuming they were for open muzzle guns.

Although we don't use floats very often, the system we use locally also works well with a float. We tie a 7-8' dyneema leader onto the spear and then tie that to a nylon cord of 5/32" diameter (and of 15-20' greater length than the depth we are diving). I have 75, 100, 125' lengths depending on where we're diving. Nylon rope works great because it's strong, non-stretch, and it sinks (thus staying away from propellers).

We start near the dyneema and coil the rope around one hand until it is completely coiled. The last two loops are uncoiled and the rope is squeezed to tighten it up. The excess rope is used for two overhand knots on each end, forming two "heads"; the end attached to the dyneema and the spear feeds out of the middle. The coil can either be tucked into the weight belt and used without a buoy or the end can be attached to a buoy. Once the spear is loaded you pull out enough rope for a double wrap; this loosens up the coil a little, ensuring that is smoothly feeds out. So, the buoy stays near the diver (and away from the boat) until he dives; the coil automatically pays out as the diver descends.

The gun is out of the system once the spear is fired. What you are left with is the spear (and fish) connected to the buoy. Once the fish is landed, the rope sinks (staying away from the propellers) until it is pulled back into the boat and recoiled. It only takes minutes to recoil the line and reload the gun. This system can also be reset while in the water, so it works for shoredivers too. Either way, the buoy stays near the diver until he descends.

Since this is a breakaway setup, we normally have three spears ready to go with lines attached. They can be quickly loaded into the gun for a second shot or schooling fish.

As they say, it's not the arrow, it's the indian. Most of my shots are around five feet but I might go out to about eight, especially if shooting downward with a fish on the bottom or quartering away. Since I rarely use a float, the shot must be good so that there isn't much fight while getting to the surface. Additionally, if fishing commercially, head shots are essential so that the fillets are left intact.

One thing to consider is how far the shaft is going through the fish. Ideally, I think, you want the fish to end up on at the flopper and not on the shooting line. That can get messy and there's greater risk of the fish tearing off. In the last year I've had two spears snapped at the notch from groupers dragging them through the rocks. In each case, the fish was very near the notch when it broke.

How about MUSIC... I've always got something going although with internet radio, etc., you hardly have to own anything anymore.

Nice cobia, we also see them tagging along with manta and eagle rays. Seems like they're always worth a second shot just to make sure you can get them in the boat.

I also have a Wong Hybrid w/reel and 100cm Aimrite I use on the reef behind my house. And a GraciaSub teak gun w/three bands and fully-enclosed track although I haven't found a case to use it in quite a while...

Thanks all. We use Rob Allen twin band, closed-muzzle guns. I have a 140, my buddy has a 130.

We also use a breakaway system without a float. We tie a 7-8' dyneema leader onto the shaft, and then tie that to a 115' 5/32" nylon rope that is coiled to pay out line while tucked in your weight belt. You can really horse a big fish around with the thick nylon cord (as compared to a reel). You can also release the gun and let it float to the surface while you use two hands on the rope. It's a way to get fish quickly on the boat. I hadn't seen the setup before, but it works like a champ. Re-rigging the setup to get back in the water takes just a couple of minutes.

Hello all, a little about myself... I've been an avid spearo since 2000 and have been fortunate to spear in Hawaii, Japan, East Coast US, and Mexico. Five years ago I retired to my house in Isla Mujeres, Mexico, after 25 years in the US Marine Corps. I spend most days helping out a buddy who is a commercial spearfisherman, so weather-depending, I'm in the water 30-40 hours per week. Luckily for my buddy, I "work" for free. We freedive from a 25' panga and range out to about 35 miles from the island. He sells most fish through the fisherman's cooperative that he belongs to and we primarily focus on groupers, snappers, yellow jack, amberjack, cobia, mackerel, African pompano, wahoo, and triggerfish. At times, we'll focus on barracuda, permit, and horse-eye jack; those are not sold through the co-op. Most days average more than 200 lbs, with good days reaching 800 lbs. We normally hunt in 65-100' waters, and vis is usually exceptional. Needless to say, I feel quite lucky that I ended up in this situation; sometimes even a blind squirrel...

If anyone is coming to the Mayan Riviera area and would like some information, please don't hesitate to ask and I'll help out where I can. I prefer personal e-mail and my address is magnum_166@yahoo.com. Cheers!