Posts by Erik

I was just down there last week freediving with my buddy Connor, from Sarasota.
We dove Morrison and 9 other springs over 4 days I was there. Orange, Troy, Peacock were the ones I remember. Weekdays were great but Sat/Sun was a shitshow with the same stuff you mentioned. We did Ginny as well but it was nowhere near as cool as the other spots.
Orange was my favourite.
It was my first trip to Fla. You are in a beautiful part of the world.
Great video.
Cheers,
Erik.

RIP.

I'm new on this board but have been freediving and spearfishing for a long time.
It's a big topic; maybe ask some specifics, for example: guns to use, suits, fins, knives, swimming technique, breath-holds, and safety. Lots more too.
I will say that for some, it's life-changing. Certainly a blast and a good reason to travel.
Cheers,
Erik.

I tried out my new 7mm Speardiver suit today.
Really good build quality, as good a suit as my custom Ellios that I had for years.
In fact some things are better ie: all the extra protection on the knees and arms. Excellent stitching.
I've owned lots of suits and I dive very extreme conditions. Today was in a lake up here in Canada; the fish I'm hunting sleep during the day, below the thermocline. The temp is 4C below 7 metres and I was fine. My face still froze so I know the temp is the same :@
Excellent fit! I'm 6'1", 32 waist, skinny legs and 170lbs if anyone's trying to guess if the suit will fit them. Fits tight, no leaks. Would probably fit an even thinner guy ie 160, 30" waist. Arms and legs nice and long.
Very reasonable price compared to an Italian custom, plus no measuring and waiting 6 weeks, no huge DHL delivery bill, and no bumraping by customs and those useless brokerages that do nothing but make money.

Looking forward to getting in the west coast ocean.

You might be SOL.
But if that's the case then look at some of the strapped longfins. RIFFE and I think Esclapez, maybe Beuchat still make some. They are still much better than a plain scuba fin. Maybe Dan could help you with that.
The problem is they are not as hydrodynamic and there's the potential for tangling in weeds or fishing line.
Also, even in very cold water you can get away with using a 2 or 3mm neoprene a sock, instead of a 5 or 7mm. That might help you get into a full foot longfin.

Yeah that was it! Outstanding scuba dive.
I could freedive that but not too many times, and I remember there was a fair current there so no way. Certainly not with a gun :@

I do remember that the vis was really really good for PNW.

Is that Neah Bay?
I've done some deep scuba off there (I think it was there)- an old wreck full of canned tuna or something I believe. Was a while ago. Really nice clear water there, but was way out off the coast and deep.

The diving was right off the beach; a 50 metre swim and you're on one of the nicest reefs I've ever seen! Dropped of to about 30 meters then just sand into the abyss. I'm a pussy for the cold but wore shorts and a 3mm Henderson vest which was fine for a few hrs at a time.
There are 3 islands there, the one we were on is about 7km around- I know because I ran it every morning when the sun came up.
Stayed at a few different hotels and ended up at Lutwalla Dive Bungalows. They do scuba stuff so not our bag but were very helpful.
Gilis are fairly virgin compared to a lot of other places so tons of life.... for now. One can go and see mantas at the right time but we didn't. I did see sharks and tens of turtles.

Nice little island; a bit of work to get there but not to much and was relatively inexpensive.

Quote from Searun1

Nice Greenling and Black Rockfish.

It's been a good summer so far for Lings down here in Washington. Do you hunt the south end of Vancouver Island.

SR1

I have but it's pretty fished out and there are some very nasty attitudes about spearguns there.... usually from people pulling 50 yr-old rockfish up from 50+ feet, bending them and throwing them back "oops". So I go north when I can; less tourists and less BS.
It's a shame because the water is WAY warmer on the south end on the Inside Passage.

I'm gonna be spending a few weeks camping my way down through Washington into Oregon and I am clueless as to where to go for diving/spearfishing :confused1:

A few more...

Shukran!
We are not photographers by any stretch but managed to get some half-decent pics there.

Quote from Treebilly3

How do you cook your greenlings? Iv tried them a few times but wasn't impressed. I'm up to try them again if you have any suggestions

I'm no chef, I usually coat them in a nice fish batter and fry 'em up.

This stuff is outstanding!

Rocky Madsen's | Fish Crisp | Roasted Garlic & Butter | Canadianfavourties ships Worldwide

Well it's not for everybody :laughing:

It's 8 to 10 C up there and dark. It can be quite clear but usually you can't see the bottom, so you dive into the void and watch the bottom come up to you, then hunt your way back up the wall or in the kelp. I have seen 30 metre vis at 30 metres but it's rare.

That said, it is gorgeous above and below.

Last September the girl and I went to Indonesia and hopped over from Bali to the Gili Islands.

I wasn't spearfishing, but the diving was outstanding.

Walleye, also called Pickerel! Arguably best freshwater eating fish. Overfished here in Alberta and not legal by spear so I go to Saskatchewan.

I live in Alberta so unfortunately don't get in the ocean as much as I'd like.
So I hit the lakes....

Here's a few Burbot (excellent eating) and a Jackfish (Northern Pike).

This is a Splake; it's a hybrid trout I got in a tiny clear lake in Saskatchewan.

Here are some pics from a few years ago; I've been back since but didn't take pics.

Nice Kelp Greenling!

Black Rockfish (with improved lens compression-hold-the-fish-out technique )

Thanks for the kind welcome!
Seems like a good community here.

Hi all,
I found this site while browsing for a new suit; my Elios 7mm is getting old so ordered one from Dan here a few days ago.
I live in Alberta and hunt the lakes here but have been diving northern Vancouver Island for years. My favourite place to get in the water. I've freedived Egypt, Persian Gulf, Mexico, Indonesia (including a freshwater lake in an old volcano in Sumatra).
When I was a Scuba guy I was into Tek, did lots of wrecks and challenging stuff including some caves in Mexico.
While working on a west coast liveaboard as a Dive Instructor I started freediving and eventually that was all I did. I competed and did ok. A friend took me out spearfishing in Nanaimo and I was hooked.

Cheers,
Erik

Here's a 25lb Ling I got near PortHardy in 15 metres of 8C water