Hi Guys,
Just got back from a really mega spearing trip to Baja with Dale pearson and the GonetoBaja team. This was my first trip to the USA let alone Mexico so it was a bit of a culture shock compared to the UK! I left South Africa for the UK 3 years ago so this was my first hardcore spearing trip for a long time.
I have to take my hat off to Dale as he was a fantastic host,making me feel not like a customer but an old spearfishing mate I had known for years.
The trip was based at Gonzaga bay with the diving at the Enchanted islands a little further north.The conditions were perfect, although the water was alot colder than expected; I had bought most of my gear with me including a 3 mm suit, luckily Dale had a warmer 7 mm going spare that I used.
We spent 4 days spearfishing various spots around the Islands. Most of the dives were fairly shallow, the deepest about 10m. We hit several spots that were full of enormous yellow and banded snapper, with Grouper lying in the rocks slightly deeper,taking about 4 fish each per day. For the conservationists among you, this was no turkey shoot.... the fish here were phenomenally skittish, you really had to use hunting skills to the max especially with the grouper. Nati, Dale's Mexican partner shot a nice 40lb Gulf grouper that made me quite envious.
I started off using my RA 110 that for the most part was adequate.However, because my arms are fairly puny I have slightly longer rubbers that means less power and range, therfore I missed quite a few nice fish :vangry I tried out one of Dale's Riffe's (No3) and because of the multiple (thinner) bands I was able to shoot alot further and the results especialy with the grouper were forthcoming
At the end of each day we had our fish cooked up for us Mexican style and rounded off with a nice glass of single Isley Malt that I had bought in the duty free shops watching the sun go down...bliss!!
For those in the UK (and elsewhere) this is an excellent place to go for a spearing trip and your almost to shoot a big fish and excellent value for money. The flight over was GBP 320 which is quite reasonable considering it is on the otherside of the globe.Wll post afew pics later in this thread.
Cheers
Justin
Just got back from a really mega spearing trip to Baja with Dale pearson and the GonetoBaja team. This was my first trip to the USA let alone Mexico so it was a bit of a culture shock compared to the UK! I left South Africa for the UK 3 years ago so this was my first hardcore spearing trip for a long time.
I have to take my hat off to Dale as he was a fantastic host,making me feel not like a customer but an old spearfishing mate I had known for years.
The trip was based at Gonzaga bay with the diving at the Enchanted islands a little further north.The conditions were perfect, although the water was alot colder than expected; I had bought most of my gear with me including a 3 mm suit, luckily Dale had a warmer 7 mm going spare that I used.
We spent 4 days spearfishing various spots around the Islands. Most of the dives were fairly shallow, the deepest about 10m. We hit several spots that were full of enormous yellow and banded snapper, with Grouper lying in the rocks slightly deeper,taking about 4 fish each per day. For the conservationists among you, this was no turkey shoot.... the fish here were phenomenally skittish, you really had to use hunting skills to the max especially with the grouper. Nati, Dale's Mexican partner shot a nice 40lb Gulf grouper that made me quite envious.
I started off using my RA 110 that for the most part was adequate.However, because my arms are fairly puny I have slightly longer rubbers that means less power and range, therfore I missed quite a few nice fish :vangry I tried out one of Dale's Riffe's (No3) and because of the multiple (thinner) bands I was able to shoot alot further and the results especialy with the grouper were forthcoming
At the end of each day we had our fish cooked up for us Mexican style and rounded off with a nice glass of single Isley Malt that I had bought in the duty free shops watching the sun go down...bliss!!
For those in the UK (and elsewhere) this is an excellent place to go for a spearing trip and your almost to shoot a big fish and excellent value for money. The flight over was GBP 320 which is quite reasonable considering it is on the otherside of the globe.Wll post afew pics later in this thread.
Cheers
Justin