Posts by hank

Quote from Dude george

Been waiting to hear your opinion on Hybrids Hank, your answer was anticlimactic to say the least!! You can go into more detail cant you?

Well, truth is I feel like a Toyota owner who's never really driven anything else. I'm not really qualified to state the advantages or disadvantages.
I've shot some other guns here and there that friends had but not enough to really get used to them.
What I do like over the Riffe guns is you get a lot more gun for the overall length, with a Wong hybrid anyway. The band stretch on a Wong GR 55 hybrid is the same length as the 65 inch Riffe Baja Plus which equates to a lighter, shorter gun for tracking moving fish but with the same range. And for whatever reason, it seems to have less punch in the recoil than the Riffe.

Quote from Don Paul

I would give Terry Maas the credit for the Hybird as we know it today and Skip Hellen was the first to clone
Terry's gun and put a couple up for sale. Some time after that the design and power was watered down to
what is readily available today. The two guns I have shot the most over the last 30 years are Hybird construction, but differ in the methods of Terry's original gun. I believe Dr Wong has produced the greatest numbers and variety's of the ''Maas'' style.

Cheers, Don

Having shot a hybrid the most over the last 30 years, is there a reason why?

I'm using a Wong 55 hybrid but I'm not experienced with other designs other than the Riffe C3 and Baja Plus.

This could turn into a very interesting thread.

Quote from Belizeman

First time and last i saw cobia was in tank at hatchery years ago with my dad. In tank there more than cobia caught alive by local fishermans.

We've seen more cobia in the last few years here maybe because of Hurricane Richard. It blew apart the cages that Marine Farms Belize had and many fish escaped.

They're the....tamest?...or dumbest fish? I've ever shot. It's kind of like shooting a puppy. Four of them just swam right up to me...like, "hey, how you doin'"? But after you shoot one....whooaaa. The fun begins.
They seem fairly calm until you touch the shaft that's stuck in them. It triggers a violent escape response or something. I've had them roll and rip the shaft right out of their body. I highly recommend shooting them again. ...and maybe again. <img src= " height="23" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x">

Quote from Dude george

Nice story Hank i enjoyed that read and I am excited about a Caribbean woman potentially getting a record fish

Actually, a Caribbean women DOES hold a ton of records. Sheri Daye grew up in Honduras. And Maritsa's biological father...and mother are from Honduras. We may be on to something here.

Jake was teaching Maritsa how to dive....he's a free dive instructor now?
Late in the afternoon Jake dropped me outside a cut with a strong current going in. Rignt at the dropoff, I look down and see a big eagle ray and this cobia as its side kick.
The cobia spooked a bit when it saw me but came right back in. I dropped down and hit it just behind the gills going forward. Good shot...on any other fish. I slowly started pulling it up and could see it was swimming around like nothing was wrong.
So I yelled for the boat and had them hand me another gun. Shot it right on top of the head. We pulled it up, put it on the boat and pulled the shaft through and were going to feed the line through. Then the fish went crazy. Like, get out of the way crazy. haha. Man, blood flying everywhere. Amazing animals. It "crocodile rolled" and tore the head shot shaft right out....of its HEAD. Jake stabbed it in the head with this cheap knife I bought in Hawaii and the fish, still on ice, has half a blade stuck in its head.
Maritsa is diving really well. 55 feet yesterday and looking like she's real comfortable.

Quote from Don Paul

I checked the IUSA site, just see men's at 32.2lb.

Cheers, Don

You see where he's going with this, no Don? haha.
Her real father would be stoked if he was alive to see her get a record fish.
I would have bet a new Speardiver wetsuit that Sheri Day would have had that record.

Quote from LunkerBuster

Bent shafts as rod and a bread cooling rack as a book shelf. Both amazing ideas

That's actually a rack for stacking shrimp into our blast freeezer. We found it in the junkyard behind the plant.

Mask: Speardiver Aim
Snorkel: Some generic from Nankos Fishing Supply Kaneohe HI
Knife: Speardiver
computer: Aeris and a Suunto D4
Gloves: Garden gloves or whatever I can find. Presently Sears mechanic gloves
weight belt, Rubber from.....I forget.
fins: Speardiver c90
socks: Hanes or whatever tubes I can find
Undergarment: commando....hey, it's my boat.
speargun: Wong GR 55 hybrid, rear handle 2. Wong super magnum 63
Riffe torpedo float and 100 foot vinyl line.
Wetsuits: Spetton Hexskin 1.5, Yazbeck 3mm, Riffe Digitech full 1.5 with lycra hood, SD vest. Mix and match for temp or season.

ICE BOX haha. Igloo....and...I forget.

I can be kind of down...slightly bummed....but walking into that room usually will cheer me up. I think I really have a problem.....hah.

Trying to put together a wetsuit that fits. She's got a 3 min breath hold...without even trying. Almost drowned in a creek as a kid.

Check out our gear room. I'm outfitting 5 divers now. I went to the shop that is the Riffe Dealer in Belize. I have about twice as much gear as they do. hah.
I can see it now...."Hank and Jake's"....

I have no problem with any of the Riffe gear I've purchased over the years. Great customer service too.

But the fin pockets on their fins are the stiffest, most uncomfortable fins I ever owned. I was getting cysts on both feet.
But now....I got these Omer Millenium pockets from Dan which fit my newly diving step daughter perfectly. Nice. She's diving really well. No weights, Mares Plana fins, terrible technique (so far) and was getting to 50 feet. Just playing around. Jake is convinced she's going to get the Womens WR black grouper. hah. We'll see....

Nice.
The end of those type of bungees will rust out really fast though. They didn't last on my boat. Maybe manufacture your own with dyneema line and a black surgical tube with pigtails instead of the hooks?

I made a float for my flashers using an inflatable Omer buoy.

Amazing fish.
From an evolutionary standpoint, what is the possible advantage in that shape and design? How did that come to be?

Another very nice video Mosheche. Thanks.

Nice Marco. I just ordered one of those red suits for Tino. I might have to get a bigger cooler if it works as good as yours. <img src= " height="23" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x">

I don't know much about building guns but I know beautiful when I see it. Nice work.

Beautiful water.

"Araceli", my wife's name. Lucky gun.

Jake's is "Blue Killer"....whooaaa...haha

Other 55 is the "Green Monster".

"Big Riffe"....the Baja Plus

LIttle Riffe.....C3...or "Mo's Gun".

"Popgun"...the Biller 48 my buddy Jorge left at my house that we never use.

Didn't get it stitched. I made some butterfly bandages by cutting up some high quality bandaides. It's closed up nicely and no infection. Back in the water in a week...I hope.
I can hear my Dad now, ...."You'll be awright". He was a doctor and that's pretty much what he said if he was sewing up my lip, head, arm, we were sick...
I think he must have used that line a lot in WW2. He landed at Normandy on Day 2.

The smaller rail seems to agree with Dan's design on the Speardivers. Daryl W was telling me the same thing in Dec. He's using Moanas now too and says they make quite a difference. He also is using the Pathos pocket and says his legs don't tire so much.
Coming from a guy who can probably get free fins from anyone and has tried a LOT of them, it sounds pretty good. Don't know if he's tried Dan's fins though.