second AJ, 33 lbs

[Rolando]

Ali,

Well said....again I just tried given you some Karma and this is what I get:

"You must spread your Karma around before giving it to Alison again."

So, Karma to you regardless of whether I "spread" it out or not.

[BIG C]

i am starting to see the trend of scuba vs freediving. hopefully if i shoot some nice fish this weekend (on scuba) we can talk about the trip instead of doing the scuba vs freediving thing again. it really is getting old.

[mishu1984]

im just going to keep my mouth shut... Big C, nice fish, hope you do it safely and when you do try freediving lets us all know how it goes.

[StretchArmStron]

if I'm not mistaken, the Helldivers rodeo's allow ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that can be shot to be...shot. Ethical? Hell no. Look's like a bunch of rednecks from deer camp that stumbled upon the sport. (before you bash deer camp...I am a member of a club so...eh nev.)

I see pics of tarpon, stingrays, and other misc. non-edible (or VERY VERY poor table fare) fish.

They seem to glorify pushing your limits on scuba...unsafe if you ask me. Not brave at all...

Not much of a good example.

I don't scuba anymore, but have plenty of friends who do...so I won't get in on the free-dive v/s bubble blowing fight...I know which one is better and more peaceful for me...that's all that matters.

goodnight

[BIG C]

stretch, i was under the impression that almost all of the fish shot on the rodeos were edible. i know that every category on the derby boards are edible fish (except for the miscelaneous category, and that's whee the stingray comes in) i know for our rodeo, all of the extra fish that is not wanted is donated to the official weighmaster. he brings a large box full of ice and is very happy to take all fish. (edible or not) im not sure if he sells them, eats them, or uses them as crab bait, but i dont think that they are wasted. maybe i'm wrong about the hell divers, i'm just saying that i could not do what they do. plus, they have alot more freedivers than most dive clubs. hopefully next post will be this weekends pics. ready for another big one!

[rigdvr]

no fish are wasted at the rodeo. Crabs have to eat too! As for the stingray...ever eaten sea scallops? Well then you have eaten stingray...they also make that artificial crabmeat out of it, just boil in crab boil. Louisiana is a different world. We dont allow tree hugging pansies here. We do enjoy the SPORT side of the sport and take a big fish for the challenge of it. If the species is not protected and the biologist say it can be harvested without detriment to the species then... What about all those huge uluas taken by the hawaiians....if Im not mistaken those arent considered high quality table fare yet they are a prize for the freediver?

Stretch and AJ...Ive seen your pics, maybe you guys need tanks. As for you passing judgement about what you know nothing, it shows your true character. It be like me saying your chasing sheepheads on the jetties isnt very sporting. I invite all of you to shut up, pack your bags and come see what Big C is doing...I'll take any of you out. Bring your A game, youre gonna need it. Sorry if I sound like an ass but the time for being nice has ended. There is lots of new legislation out there right now challenging our sport. When that time comes we(freedivers) will not be seperated from tank divers. In fact we are lumped in a group with harpooners, gigging and bowfishing to name a few. There are some scuba hunters out there right now fighting for YOUR right to dive and all you are doing is sitting at your computer pretending to be holier than thou. Their choosen sport is legal, they abide by the same bag limits and so on.

As for me returning even though this site sucks...well I havent lost hope. There used to be a time when you could actually meet cool people here. I met the best man in my wedding through this site. There is a group of us that go to the keys every April that met on this site, yes the infamous "Keys Kraze" You used to be able to get unbelievable information about anything freedive/spearing related here. Now all you get is moral lessons and Med. Sea advice(murat and those guys are keeping their side of the site strong...good job) Ever noticed most of the moderators dont even post here anymore? Andersn is one of the best divers in the country, he does 150+ foot drops at will and has recently bagged a world record blackfin tuna while diving the helldivers rodeo w/ me. Abriapnea is a world renowned hunter that has taken his fair share of the toughest fish in the South African sea including marlin. Fuzz has more guns of all makes and models than any person I know, and he has tested them all in controlled conditions for comparison. SASspearo is also a very accomplished hunter and Amphibious keeps us filled in on hunting in the great white north. Many of you have never seen a post from these guys. Instead of getting infomation from people like this, DB seems to have turned into a chat room. Instead of trying to improve our sport as well as the newbies skills we have posts like "what sign are you" or "how old are you" or one of my favorites"what is your bloodtype"?????

have fun flaming me, I know I stirred the pot here

[rigdvr]

to whoever gave the negative karma...the message was cut off. I wanted to see how you note ended so you can pm it to me if you want. The negatives dont bother me...ive got some karma to spare. If you have something constructive to say, say it here then send me the bad karma....

AJ...did you get the info off spearboard you were looking for?

[Erik]

Big C, don't stress the politics. I have never scuba'd and speared at the same time, but I have done some challenging scubadiving where I wouldn't want to be tied to a 50 lb fish
Hunting is about hunting....if you're ethical, then I could care less whether you do it with a tank (maybe not a Sherman) or not. Stalking and understanding when/how/where is the game.
I like the pics and appreciate the stories, so keep it up.

"Instead of trying to improve our sport as well as the newbies skills we have posts like "what sign are you" or "how old are you" or one of my favorites"what is your bloodtype"?????
have fun flaming me, I know I stirred the pot here "

Well, you've got a point. I've always enjoyed your input. Hopefully you'll keep posting.
Cheers,
Erik Y.

[rigdvr]

ahh, Erik...the ever present mentor of luvey-dovey Please tell me its just me. Maybe Im just a bitter man or something but even the DB's own sultan of smooth seems to frequent less and less

Alison, youre more right than you will ever know. This is the same old debate just with new screen names. Maybe I get so fired up b/c everytime this thing is settled it seems to start all over again with new people.

To those who didnt know Iyadiver, he was one of our favorite members around these parts bak in the days as well as being our only scuba diver. His innovations in rigging stay with me to this day. Many of Don Moores experiments are based on Iya's ideas. There was a day when we could all get along.

[donmoore]

Speaking of experiments – I’m in the process of a new gun design that is so revolutionary I can’t even tell my mother the details! But the project is getting pushed back until fall, because the seas are too good this time of the year. We spend the whole year dreaming about diving in July and August!

Friday I’m doing my first spearfishing tournament. Captain Waldo’s Invitational www.captainwaldos.com . My dive buddy committed to a charter scuba guy with a 45’ sportsfisherman, because my boat was suppose to be in the shop. The guy doesn’t have anyone to dive with so I guess we are going to go with him. We are in the free diving class and I’m excited about the comfort of his boat, but am worried about his scuba scaring off most of the eligible fish. Our experience with diving rigs with scuba divers, is once they start blowing bubbles – the fish go deep.

I called the shop and told them they could have my boat on Monday so we are taking it alone on Saturday when the charter guy has a charter. We plan on going to a secret location that almost always has Dolphin/Dorado to get some to fill that category. The seas are currently forecasted to be 2-3’ on Friday, 2’ on Saturday, and 2-3’ on Sunday - which is absolutely awesome for us.

Nice fish BIG C! I would be stoked if we were able to get an AJ that big. They are here, but much deeper now than in April. Right at the limits of depth ability. I’m taking my DAN O2 kit if the charter guy doesn’t have Oxygen on board. Must be safe!
don

[rigdvr]

Don, when hunting with the bubble blowers try to hit the water first. Look for cobia right off the bat. As the divers return to the suface they will often bring schools of large aj with them. I try to meet the divers at about 60-70 ft and pick one off(aj, not the divers ) Think of them as a bigger flasher. Also as the divers descend follow them. The fish will often get behind them checking out the bubbles but the tankers never see them, cobia do this alot and so will the aj's. Sometime swim out from the rig if there are lots of hardtails around and you will often get welcomed by schools of kings of matbe even wahoo depending on location.

Good luck and safe diving.

[donmoore]

Great Tips Mike! Unfortunately Kings and Wahoo aren’t on the category list and there is no miscellaneous category so it looks like using the scuba diver as a big flasher will have to do for AJ and Cobia.
don

[rigdvr]

saw the wango tango in the pics from that tourney last year...look out those guys are badass! They have a nack for finding big warsaws and aj's during the helldivers rodeo.

[IB Boyd]

Big C, I like your pictures. That is a nice fish and it deserves recognition. I have worked as a mate on rig boats out of Venice and Morgan City, the waters you guys dive gave me the heeby geebys, to turbulent and murky for me. It was hard enough driving a rig boat out there, let alone diving. You Cajuns are crazy. I am a freediver, but I enjoy a good story and pictures, tank or no. If people who post pictures keep getting bagged on, it will get awfully dull on this site.
Good hunting,
Boyd;

[StretchArmStron]

rig, I fyi I grew up on the Tx/La coast (port arthur, galveston, and crystal beach) fishing those rigs and watching my dad take huge ajs, cobia...etc. (on scuba)

I'm am by no means a tree hugging eco-freak. I stayed away from the free-dive/scuba fight...so don't give me any shit about this "holier then thou crap..." I stated what I thought was better for me...maby you should re-read. I've shot plenty of fish on scuba (not sheephead mind you), I can post some pics if I you want?

As for crabs having to eat too? What a fucking retarded justification to shoot a large inedible fish, stingrays? puh-lease....So all the bycatch from commercial fishermen and shrimpers is ok because sharks and other misc. fish that follow boats...and birds have to eat too? (ok that's a little extreme because tons and tons of bycatch is thrown back into the ocean...but you get the drift. Plus the term Free-diver does not make one any more ethical than a bubble blower.

so if you can truly justify having a misc. category for anything other than "oh look how big that whatever is", I'm all for it...

I chase sheeps and smaller fish around here because my boat does not have the range to get me out deep...here we don't have the luxury of rigs to hold fish...it's all ledges and wrecks...
Strapping on a tank (even though I got 2 alum 80's and the rest of my gear sitting in the laundry room) won't get me bigger fish, just more time clanking around on the bottom.