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  • Mounting a camera on a Rob Allen gun

    Quote from pargo

    But then you won't know who you're aiming at if they pass to your right while you're filming. Better unload the bands.


    If there are more divers in the water than just the photographer and the subject, then I absolutely agree. It's just an option, if the situation responsibly allows.

  • Shallow Rigs 7/5/09

    Being my first time on these rigs, I really didn't expect the visibility to be as good as it was in the clear layer. And I really hadn't thought about shooting anything other than red and mangrove snapper prior to the trip.


    I really think that the big JBL slip tip was the lion's share of my problem with lack of penetration. It's got one of those rings that hold the floppers closed. That ring is probably about 7/16" in diameter, and not at all streamlined. It went through the cobia just fine, travelling some 7" or so from top to bottom of the fish, but it didn't have to penetrate any bone to do that and the shot was at closer range. Maybe the big tip causes the shaft to loose velocity much faster than a comparable flopper shaft. I just never noticed before because I seldom shoot very far.

  • Shallow Rigs 7/5/09

    I was shooting my little 46" bay gun with a borrowed reel.


    I can see how the beach dives would be nice. But West of Destin or so, you would generally have to be out several miles to be deeper than 50'.


    As for the seasickness, Dramamine usually works for me. Before this trip, I think I actually said it "always" works for me . . .

  • Shallow Rigs 7/5/09

    Not the biggest fish on the boat, or even particularly big as cobia go, but it was my first. First decent freediving fish of any species, now that I think of it. 36 lbs back at the camp.


    We dove a dozen or so shallow rigs in seas that started aobut 3' and built as the day went on. Chad (Griswold) and Bill were steadily shooting red snapper, mangrove snapper, and cobia. Me, I'd dive for a little while, go back to the boat to throw up, then try again. Another new lesson for me in the differencees between scuba and freediving. Even if you're seasick, you can get come relief at depth when scuba diving. But trying to relax and breathup while bobbing in those seas affords little little opportunity to settle. Still, there were a few brief periods in between, when I could find a rhythm and get comfortable. Each trip I am comfortable a little deeper, and with things a little less perfect.


    As much as I enjoyed my previous trip in bluewater, I think this was even more fun. The inshore rigs are simply loaded with life of every sort. In this case, there was some scuzzy surface water for the first 20' or so, and murk down deeper, but in between was a layer of nice clear water. This may seem odd to those who almost always dive in good visibility, but I was having trouble adapting after so many years of diving muck. I consistently misjudged the distance and took shots that were too long, and either missed or failed to toggle on fish. I also learned that my big ole double flopper slip tip may be just the ticket for close shots, but it was absolutely the wrong approach here. I'll have a couple of flopper shafts next time.


    Too bad nobody was around with a video camera while I was trying to deal with this fish back at the boat. As it turned out, my mid body shot from above was a very solid holding one, but it didn't hit anything that would take the fight out of him. Remember now that catamarans are generally tall, and I am not. So there's me, down in the motor well, trying to get a hold of this thing, and puking every now and then. It truly would have been a YouTube sensation.

  • Mask strap ear pinch

    McMaster has soft foam rubber tubes in different sizes, and they are only about $8 for a 6 foot piece. You could just snip a piece to the right length and thread the mask strap through. Or maybe even cut a slit in one side of the foam tube, so that it can be added without removing the mask strap from the mask. If it works, it would be a lot less effort than stitching little neoprene sleeves.


    http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/115/3488/=2jn488

  • Couple recent trips

    Thanks for the sound advice, but it looks like one of the other partners is going to send one of his work crews down next week and have them tape, float, texture and paint the whole thing. Sounds good to me!

  • Mask strap ear pinch

    Yep. I get frustrated because if I position the strap too high on my head, the mask pulls up unnder my nose. Too low, and it hurts the ears. Maybe I just have a goofy head.


    What have you come up with?

  • Couple recent trips

    The joint issue isn't my area, so I'm pretty much staying out of the discussion. One of the other guy's had his wife working for days on the caulk job. I'm glad that I'm not in his shoes having to tell her that there's still lots more work to do in that area.


    This area was a community before Katrina, but it took about 10 feet of water and none of the structures were built to handle it. The property that we bought had a house on it before the storm, after the storm it was just a slab.


    How does skimming the whole thing work?

  • Couple recent trips

    There will definately be lots of cooking going on there. We'll get a good grill and put it on the deck upstairs, along with the kitchen, crawfish cooker, fryer, etc.


    The thinking behind the luan was that we could get away with just caulking the joints and painting it. Didn't work out too well - the caulk is a mess. Looks like we will be sanding and/or using sheetrock mud etc. Oh well, you live and learn.


    Next step is scoring and staining the upstairs concrete floors.

  • Couple recent trips

    The exterior is sheet metal, again sheet metal under the 2nd story concrete deck, the interior walls are sheeted with louan (sp?). Had a bunch of friends down there helping the past couple days - finished the interior sheeting, got all the lights up downstairs, ran the main power feed, hooked up the AC equipment, hung the cabinets, hung all the interior doors, hooked up sinks, toilet, water heater, caulked, and did the crown and a good bit of the baseboards.


    Had to resort to plan B on the diving since it was much rougher than forecast and blue water was WAY out there. We shot limits of 10-18 pound red snapper, a couple small cobia, a couple 10ish pound grouper, and about a half dozen 6-10 pound mangrove snapper. Not bad for a short day - the work crew was well fed.

  • [SOLD] Snorkels $5

    Quote from pargo

    Could it be a scuba thing?


    I can't completely answer your question, except to say that I don't even take a snorkel when I scuba dive. With a heavy tank on, I find it much easier to flip on my back when surface swimming, which I rarely do anyway.