Barracudas...What to do

[ihab]

While hunting....many times I'm approached by a school (about 20) of barrracudas...not very big...about 1.5 feet in length.

They circle me a couple of times then they're off.

Tried pointing the gun a couple of times and fired...always missed.:head

I then read somewhere that it is better not to aggravate barracudas as they consider us a big predetor and would follow us in case we make a catch to eat off the leftovers....but if aggravated...they will attack.
I'm not sure how true this is.....and if I try sperafishing them...would that mean I'm aggravating them of would they see it the other way and be scared off.

Any experince in this feild would be greatly appreciated.:thankyou

Cheers

 

[Marwan]

hello my friend, that size will almost always run away if fired at. i find the dangerous ones to be the big ones lurking alone near the surface...and although i never shoot them, a buddy of mine fired at one and also missed. i thought it was going to attack for sure, but it was scared and ran off to deeper water. i dont think you should be concerned about a school of small baracudas. i wouldnt provoke a big lonely one though, and if i decide to shoot one of the biggies, the aim had better be good...

cheers

 

[The Killer's me]

i had same experience, managed to shoot 2 of this small ones. very tasty too.
u need a very accurate gun to do it.
the big ones are easier to shoot at but very difficult to get if u dont have a reel.
always shoot 'em in their sweet spot.

CheerzZz

 

[ihab]

Thanks Marwan...long time no see...I hope to say the same for the fish you don't want to meet spearfishing.

hello my friend, that size will almost always run away if fired at. i find the dangerous ones to be the big ones lurking alone near the surface...and although i never shoot them, a buddy of mine fired at one and also missed. i thought it was going to attack for sure, but it was scared and ran off to deeper water. i dont think you should be concerned about a school of small baracudas. i wouldnt provoke a big lonely one though, and if i decide to shoot one of the biggies, the aim had better be good...

cheers

 

[greendiver]

I have caught many of them this summer, up to 1.10m, this was in the med though, I have done alot of scuba diving aswell, and never heard of anyone being attacked, diving, spearfishing or free diving.
This was in the med, however, in the redsea there have been some minor incidents and in the atlantic aswell...they get a lot bigger there!
And they are very tasty!!

 

[Jomas]

I have speared quite a lot of barracuda, up to about 20kg, and never ever been worried about their reaction. Non of this worry is warranted, they do not attack!!!

 

[Bill McIntyre]

The Pacific barracuda that we have in California are much smaller, but in a previous life I did a lot of diving in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic with Great Barracuda, and I never gave them a second thought. I even dropped my young kids in near Key West in a big school of them.

The only aggressive act I've ever seen was one made a tentative pass at a barracuda that had been speared.

 

[fleshy]

Dude, remember this. Little cudas... rofl what a joke. ( Just make sure you are not wearing any jewlery, they will strike a shinny object reguardless ) Big cudas... :martial(Cuda):crutch(You):crutch(Cuda):martial

 

[bluewaterkiller]

cudas ,
i ve shots lots of them in many diff places and oceans ..never had troubles with them ..but i got a report from a friend of mine captain from a charter catamaran in caraibs .he told me lost a girl that was swimming down to the diving boom watching the divers coming up...she was in bathing suit and got a medal glittering at her neck ..
a big cuda came and bite the medal as well as her throat and cut the neck side big blood vein..she`s dead..

And once i saw the biggest one i ever saw he was facing to me protecting a smaller (female?) one
i wanted to shot it but he was staying just far enough to let me think not to try ..!i estimate this guy nearly 3 meters..
like a coconut tree...so you can understand my hesitating to not shooting if not a kill shot!!!:crutch

 

[blaiz]

Ive heard of a few cuda attacks but always due to mistaken identity, stupidity, or murky water.

I was on a dive off of the coast of Lanai and I took a drop in about 70ft of water. I was lying there not seeing anything for about 30 or 40 seconds. I started dusting and scratching the bottom when I noticed something in the corner of my eye. WHen I turned around there were about 15 Great Baracuda all over 40-50lbs about 4 feet away from my head all pointed directly at me. Needless to say it spooked me a little. They were just coming in to check me out, no harm done. I hesitated shooting them because they are known to have cig poisoning here.

 

[Marwan]

i dont spear them..because i dont eat them...my buddy speared it once a 1.5m great barracuda..that thing was thrashing mouth open, looked pretty dangerous..i say aim for a kill shot the first time..

 

[spaghetti]

Saying "barracuda" is equal to saying "sharks". There are different species with different sizes and behaviour.
Here in the Mediterranean we have two species of barracudas (sphyraena sphyraena, aka sea-pike, autoctonous, and sphyraena viridensis, or yellowmouth: it came from atlantic in the 90's due to the warming). They both grow smaller than the tropical cudas (the big sphyraena barracuda) and they have a lower rate of aggressiveness. You really do not have to be afraid of them at all, just take care to keep your hands off their mouth in the post-shot retrieving/dispatching action.
Ihab I don't know why you missed so many shots, but my guess is the following: when I hunt fish in numberous schools, sometimes I fail to decide which one to shoot (they are so many!) and so I don't focus properly on one single chosen target. This way itìs likely to be a missed shot.
Anyway cudas are curious and dumb fish. Thay'll come at you: just choose one target and aim to the lateral line one inch behind the gills. After shot they'll just give a feeble blow with their tail but soon they'll have no more energy for attempting a powerful reaction. Quite easy game.
They taste delicious simply grilled: olive oil, lemon and your favourite spice! (no ciguatera disease in the Mediterranean, so far)

 

[bluewaterkiller]

. After shot they'll just give a feeble blow with their tail but soon they'll have no more energy for attempting a powerful reaction. Quite easy game.
[/quote]

yes i agree with you on all except for one specie from cuda that are big fighters..
striped cudas ..

not so sure from real latin name ..genie or putnamae..?

if not kill shoted ..are diving very fast away for a long ride ..and you can loose your gun even if shotted with reel!!!

 

[getawayFK]

Never had a problem with barracudas, and here they can grow as big as 2.5m (we get the big barracuda species as well as the smaller ones with yellow tails).... Frequently, when diving on wrecks, I am surrounded by as much as 20-30 baracudas. However, I have lost many fish to barracudas going into feeding frenzy of speared fish; that include fellow barracudas that I speared (and btw they taste delicious!)... I have also once injured a finger while trying to retrieve a barracudas as it suddenly snapped and gave me a nice bite over the kevlar gloove as I was trying to get my hand under his gills.

 

[NunoDias]

Hi Ihab,

Barracuda in general are not a dificult fish to spear.

Some are more curious then others and the agressive behavior also changes from one specie to the other but mostly from place o place, in fact you can find some so easy that allow a direct aproach or too nervous that wont even let you get close enought for a long shot depending on the visibility, number of fish and specie as well as how often do they get in contact with speros in that area.

Despite all that one thing is advisable in them all, whenever possible always make a head shot or as near to it as you can.
There are a lot of stories of cuda atacking speros, (i have been charged twice by the same barracuda once), but one thing is comon in most of them...the fish was speared and fougth back.
Its while retriving the fish after being speared that accidents happen.
Mid body shots allow barracuda to move their heads just the enought to bite a less cautious spero, while a well placed shot near the head allows you to grab the spear from both sides without no problems.

One word of advice, dont leave barracuda hanging around on the deck still alive, some might look dead but when somebody's feet come by... its bite time!!!

Its a one run fighter, after the shot they tend to do a long run and just about that.
While shooting then on schools focus in one individual only or you might get confused and miss your shot.
Usually the biggest ones wonder alone and seem to appear out of nothing right beside you, avoid direct contact with them helps on an effective aproach keeping the fish in range for a perfect shot.


Hope i helped, best regards,

Dias

 

[jtkwest]

we are loaded with cudas in the keys. we have the schooling type,( up to 3 ft) and the 'great barracuda' who are solitary,(as far as i have read and seen) they are everywhere and they do attack occaisonally. mostly i hear about them slashing swimmers , presumably going after flashy stuff. but one intersting thing to point out is: you wont read about it in the papers here , even though it happens 2 to three times a year. ( my spearf. buddy is a key west firefighter and paramedic) when you live in a "tourist dependent" location, the papers dont cover stories that make the area look bad. i would be willing to bet that is the case in alot of areas. i have speared a couple of the larger "schoolies" but never one of the gnarly big ones. to be honest they scare me a little . they move faster than anything i have ever seen, faster than your eyes can follow almost. i have had one take a fish off my spear, just as i speared it, it was a 5 ft cuda (not the largest around, but big) and i was intimidated. they seem to respect property rights though, as it relates to proximity(if you have it in your hands, they wont go for it) this actually leads me to another question, as it relates to a different target species: how do you handle a BIG toothy fish after you spear it? the proper way? on a wahoo for instance, or a cuda, lets just say mackeral over1.5 meters. : after the shot, and you happen to not achieve a kill shot what techniques do you employ to subdue the fish in order to spike it and land it?

 

[LunkerBuster]

I have a little insight to share regarding cudas, I find the best way to deal with them is to have a kill spike on the end of your gun. I was introduced to this on Spearboard and thought it was a great idea, that way your hands are never near the mouth til after the second stab. this takes all the fight out before you have to get within the danger area.

they are the scariest looking thing in the water though, I dive through huge schools of them and they still give me the willies, the way they look right at you and almost dissapear into the water and then the turn broadside and seem to have appeared out of nowhere..that start has robbed me of some significant breath-hold from increased fear and heart rate

 

[Siam Spearo]

How big are these cuda, I have taken them up to about 1.5m and they are a piece of cake. Cuda get tired really quickly, just wait for it to get knackered then gently run your hand up under the belly and take a firm hold on the gills (easy to grab there, not like a grouper) once you have it by the gills its game over. Knife in the brain or yank the gills out, what ever makes you feel more comfortable. To be honest Cuda are so easy to shoot you should not be misplacing shots, just come down on them and shoot the back of the head, if you come across one and your already down deep, then go for the lateral line behind the gill plate. If he is buggering off then go even lower, he WILL come to check you out when he does, don't look at him then slowly raise your gun and shoot him through the head or in the face.... easy

IF you don't get a kill shot let him run then dispatch smoothly, don't panic they are not as scary as they look.

Not sure about a kill spike on the tip of the gun, would work on a fish that holes up because the force of the spike would be pressing against the fish and in turn the rock or coral, would work on flatfish and rays too, but if a fish is floating and still alive enough to scare you, then a prod from a spike on the tip of a gun is going to do nothing. You will just piss it off:blackeye
You would need to secure the head with your other hand, which defeats the whole, keep out of range idea.If you could penetrate the head from a stab then you wouldn't need bands on a pole spear, or as many bands on a gun, a fished head is pretty tough to get a knife into when supported by the other hand, let alone a spike tipped gun against a live swimming fish in mid water.

Just use an IKI SPIKE or a KNIFE.

 

[Salehthefish]

Well my only cuda that i caught was about 1.5 ft small one when i hit it was gone left and right very fast then fell down to the bottom with the spear when i grab it with my hand i could see its sharp teeth and i caught it just under the head and i used knife in the spine.

i heard that barracuda that swim alone will be crazy and it may attack flashy things... in groups it will not attack... also i am wondering if it is right?

 

[Siam Spearo]

i think it is very important to know the difference between attacking a human and a case of mistaken identity. A cuda going for a watch is not an attack, its a cuda going for a watch