Posts by hank

My Mako one piece 1.5 is worn out. It'll make it for a few more days out but it's falling apart. I got about 200 or so water hours with it so ...not bad.

I have a Spetton 2 piece, 1.5 but it's a little too warm for here in July thru Sept/Oct. A one piece closed cell seems to fit the bill nicely. Just right temp for me.

I saw this new Riffe. http://www.spearfishingworld.c…-wetsuit-1.5-steamer.html
The camo looks pretty cool. I saw some pics under water and it would blend in here but I'm really concerned more about durability. It costs more than double the Mako suits but if it lasts.....

Anyone tried one yet? Thanks.

Nice. Would you take a JBL magnum on a trade in deal?

Good attitude. Welcome.:toast2:

Quote from Dan

It's not a snook. Although it looks somewhere in between a snook and a tarpon. Congratz kamakazi, it's a nice fish. Is it considered a good food fish?

Awa, or milkfish, or Chanos chanos, is the national fish in the Philippines. It's called bangus there and is the most cultured aquaculture species in the country.
As you fly into Manila you can look down into Laguna de Bay and see thousands of acres of pens for growing bangus.
Country wide people catch wild fry as well as hatchery reared fry, which my old company in Iloilo also engages in, and rear them in salt or brackish water ponds.

Its raised to about 12-16 inches long, harvested, deboned of the Y bone....like pike kind of.... and served grilled. Very nice fish. It has a large fat deposit that looks black around the abdomen. It's the first part of the fish to get eaten upon serving.

Strong fish. We had some in tanks and an earthquake hit in ....95 or so. They jumped out of 3 foot deep water over a 6 foot retaining net around the tank. We lost about 20 fish.

Bangus. Ya man.

It works now Ramon. Thanks.

Quote from LunkerBuster

wow hank..you are lucky to live and dive in such a special place

I know. I turned down a job offer in Kona Hawaii a few months ago. I told they guy, "I have a big family that would be hard to move.....I'd have to get a bigger more expensive boat....and the spearfishing in Belize is hard to beat.

Ramon, share some more stories and photos from the "old days". Also, I can't open your website on your sig line. Thanks buddy.

These are some from a big school. Shot near the bottom between 50 and 70 feet. They try to hole up after shooting and do sometimes.
But they'll school again within 15-30 minutes or so if you didn't charge them and spook them. They come up within 20 feet of the surface. One of my favorite sites is the big silver cloud of them in the distance.

Quote from Dude george

2 min deep dive with no float line or reel! crazy stuff Hank

It wasn't me George. <img src= " height="23" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x">

Voit Duck Feet (2 pairs)
Mares Avantis
Avanti Qattros open heel
Quattro full foots
Beachat long fins (name?)
Beachat, not so long blades
Riffe Silent hunter full foot
And some other brand I use now that keeps changing the name....logo...but they're carbon fiber and work really well.....oh yeah, Persisntent.....no that's not it.....Beruit.....no...PURSUIT...that's it. Nice fins. <img src= " height="23" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x">

Quote from sdeisen

Nice story Hank :thumbsup1:
I'm always impressed by your fish and the life you made down there.
Why do you pass on hogs.? theres a few reasons I have to not shoot hogs and sometimes I have a mental moment over it but at the end of the day they are my favorite fish to see, shoot, and eat...the jacks I can understand

We don't see many nice sized hogs here. I guess because they were one of the first to get cleaned out by the commercial guys spearing. I would shoot any that I see over 7 lbs or so but that's rare.
Maybe it goes back to my quail hunting days. If we didn't find quail, we didn't shoot anything. I'm looking for a few types of fish most of the time. It's the hunt, not the killing that I like.... I guess.
My boys are a bit into the "if it swims, it dies" mode right now. It's fine with me. Jake's more selective though. He's a bit disappointed if he doesn't get what he considers quality fish.

I heard on the news earlier today that they really don't know how strong it might get. Lot of warm water between it and the coast. I wish the best for everyone in the way of it.

Great stories,
.
MY first hunting stories were not in water. They were using English shorthair pointers and hunting bobwhite quail around the corn fields of SW Ohio.
I had only experienced the ocean once before I was 21 and that was a few days on the California coast in 1969 visiting relatives there.
I moved to Hawaii in 77 and never went back.
I got into spearfishing here in Belize after doing it a bit in the Philippines. I used to take my boat out looking for conch a lot. I'd see hogs and snappers and thought, "damn, I should get a speargun". I did and within a week of getting it, I'd pass right over the conch.
I really enjoy the hunt. I hardly shoot jacks or hogfish. The "passerbys" that I luck into. I really enjoy finding the right spots, dropping down and playing games with the snappers and black groupers. I feel better getting two nice muttons, dogs or cuberas than I do getting a cooler full of mackerels or jacks etc.
But yeah, I really started at about age 45 after a lot of water time surfing, body surfing and scuba diving. And every weekend, it's like being a kid at Christmas.
Jake summed it up as we were coming home yesterday. "Once a hunter, always a hunter".

Quote from Josediaz

Good fishing, cobia shame that no closer.

installed the ChipSnapper to wong? <img src= " height="23" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x">

Yeah, I have to send this pic with the T shirt to Daryl. <img src= " height="23" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x">

Yesterday we still had really dirty water so we hit some shallow spots. The last spot was where the dogs come in to hide in holes for the night.
I've been there many times and know this happens. When the water is clear you can see them from a distance, but they can see you also. I would see them across another spur of coral and get down in between on the sand and crawl over and up, trying to catch them on the other side.
But yesterday I learned a new, better style. I saw the first ones come in at about 3 pm but they had already passed by. It does no good to chase those. The duck into holes and are gone.
So, as I was waiting patiently to see some, I got bored and started getting down in only about 10 feet of water and hiding behind coral and rocks. Lo and be fricken' hold, after about a minute I look behind me towards the shallows and there are 4 nice ones right behind me. I pulled my gun around and got one.
I go back to the boat and Jake says they just saw a big ass bull shark but I had to get one more. I went back and started looking again.....nothing. I dropped down, waited about 45 seconds, looked behind again, and there were about 8. Shot another one. I oculd have continued but we had to go.
Apparently it's just best to get down and wait and assume they know you're there even though you never see them until they come close to you. Smart fish.
I also saw the biggest cobia I ever saw. At least....70 lbs? As it passed in only about 4 feet of water, almost inside the reef I thought, "tarpon?,....no.....shark?.....no......COBIA !!!! ....shit. It was hauling ass though and went right into the shallows and disappeared.
Tino jake and Mo cleaned up on some schoolmasters and Tino AGAIN, got two really nice hogfish.
Two days of diving and 122 dives on my computer. I'm beat.

Had really dirty water today. Diving to 60 plus feet just to see if there were any fish. Weird day. There were fish but they were really skittish. Saw a big school of cuberas but they dove down over the wall.
We got a few and one decent one. One decent dog too.

Quote from LunkerBuster

Welcome Alison. I wouldn't assume your gun is out of date. In my experience a custom gun will kill fish forever.

Look into some fg speardiver fins or the new modular cressis. I love my c90s but if you are a gear killer stay away from cf

I've never used fiberglass so I'm no expert but I can tell you this. I pretty much abuse my Dan 90s (not sure if they're Pursuits or Speardivers....) I leave them in the boat, throw shit on top of them, get them stuck between rocks laying on the bottom....
I've had to replace the zip ties once. But the fishing line idea looks enticing....and I've torn parts of the railing off. I just bought some "Mighty Bond", a Philippine version of super glue, and put them back on.That was in May.
I'm really trying to beat the piss out of them so I can TAKE the piss out of Dan...but to no avail. <img src= " height="23" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x">

Oh yeah. Welcomd to Spearboard.

Quote from Dan

Epoxy doesn't stick to saran wrap either. But I need a sure thing.

A good friend suggested this cure all. <img src= " class="smiley" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x" height="23" width="23" loading="eager" data-tooltip="biggrin" aria-label="biggrin">

Quote from Nate

Sounds cool Hank. Does the 7mm(euro) shaft you put on it have an American square notch? The jbl handles have a squared sear. It may hold a euro shaft temporarily but it's not very safe. Most of the older jbl guns seem to flood even without reel holes, definitely need to plug the barrel. Also, if you don't want to drill into it for the reel mount, Omer makes a "clamp" reel called the pelagic.

You're right. I just put one 7mm Pursuit that I use on my Wong in (just to piss Dan off. ) and although it holds, it doesn't click in like the 5/16 shaft that came with it. Thanks for the info.

How do you plug the barrel? I was looking at the screws that hold on the butt extension and the tip. I was going to put 452 (or that JBL Weld,,,? haha) Sealant on the screws and around the seams. It'll look like shit but may keep the water out. ?

I'm starting to regret this.

Jose, thanks for the reel ideas. I think I'll hold off on putting one on.....I may try to return the gun.

I use JB Weld for numerous things here at home...like pasting old wetsuit material on my door frames in my house so they don't BANG so loud when the kids slam them. I understand it's nothing to do with JBL.

A good friend of mine who runs a store that sells.....just about anything....legal anyway....had the guns laying around and gave me a really good deal.

So JBL is one of your favorite guns? <img src= " height="23" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x">