Greetings all~
I've been lurking here for a while and have picked up some tips but I am still having trouble getting close to the fish. I hunt the West side of the Big Island- north of Kona. A friend and I started this thing as a team project but it has been frustrating.
We see a lot of fish- Grouper (told most have cig though), big Nenue (shad or rudderfish), lots of Great Barracuda and several other fish that we can't identify. It's hard to say what we are doing wrong but if someone could post a "top ten things I did wrong when I was starting out" I'd be willing to bet that you could help us out a lot.
I've been told that turbulence is noise to fish and you need to approach (generally from above the fish) with as little "noise" as possible. I know that my old fins had very squeeky footpockets but my new Sporasubs do not seem to have this issue. I have also just learned to break the seal on my snorkel as I am descending so as not to leave a trail of bubbles. Any other obvious stuff?
We are both using pole spears but are tempted by guns. It just seems that soooo many times we would be in range of a gun but are just out of range with our poles. On the other hand, I would like to learn the tactics of pole spearing before moving up because I think that the skills required would make me a much better diver with a gun.
One tactic that seems odd to me is the "ambush" or dive down to a spot and wait for a fish to spear. Is this possible with a pole spear? Seems that the chance of a fish coming up to me while I am on the bottom is minimal. Am I missing something here?
Nenue are easy to get within 10 feet of, but they spend so much time in the surge that they force you to deal with them at their eye level. Very challenging. They know that I have a 7' spear. They keep just the right distance!
Can fish hear me breath? I don't want to be a paranoid wreck in the water, but I can learn to be more quiet if I know just what is required. I wonder if they are focused more on the sight of me or the sounds that I am making or what.
And what's up with the Uhu (parrotfish)? Sooo skittish. I would love to spear one but they won't let me get within 15 feet. This is especially true of the biggest ones.
We spend most of our time hunting in the surge or up to about 25 feet of water. It seems that when you get to 40 feet of water, there are virtually no fish. Or is this just because there are fewer (and bigger) fish? Maybe if the little reef fish hung out at the edge of the coral where sand begins they would be a meal in a second. Is this a good place to hunt the bigger ones? How long would we need to stay at 40 feet? A couple of minutes?
Any suggestions, ideas, or constructive criticisms are more than welcome.
Thanks!
I've been lurking here for a while and have picked up some tips but I am still having trouble getting close to the fish. I hunt the West side of the Big Island- north of Kona. A friend and I started this thing as a team project but it has been frustrating.
We see a lot of fish- Grouper (told most have cig though), big Nenue (shad or rudderfish), lots of Great Barracuda and several other fish that we can't identify. It's hard to say what we are doing wrong but if someone could post a "top ten things I did wrong when I was starting out" I'd be willing to bet that you could help us out a lot.
I've been told that turbulence is noise to fish and you need to approach (generally from above the fish) with as little "noise" as possible. I know that my old fins had very squeeky footpockets but my new Sporasubs do not seem to have this issue. I have also just learned to break the seal on my snorkel as I am descending so as not to leave a trail of bubbles. Any other obvious stuff?
We are both using pole spears but are tempted by guns. It just seems that soooo many times we would be in range of a gun but are just out of range with our poles. On the other hand, I would like to learn the tactics of pole spearing before moving up because I think that the skills required would make me a much better diver with a gun.
One tactic that seems odd to me is the "ambush" or dive down to a spot and wait for a fish to spear. Is this possible with a pole spear? Seems that the chance of a fish coming up to me while I am on the bottom is minimal. Am I missing something here?
Nenue are easy to get within 10 feet of, but they spend so much time in the surge that they force you to deal with them at their eye level. Very challenging. They know that I have a 7' spear. They keep just the right distance!
Can fish hear me breath? I don't want to be a paranoid wreck in the water, but I can learn to be more quiet if I know just what is required. I wonder if they are focused more on the sight of me or the sounds that I am making or what.
And what's up with the Uhu (parrotfish)? Sooo skittish. I would love to spear one but they won't let me get within 15 feet. This is especially true of the biggest ones.
We spend most of our time hunting in the surge or up to about 25 feet of water. It seems that when you get to 40 feet of water, there are virtually no fish. Or is this just because there are fewer (and bigger) fish? Maybe if the little reef fish hung out at the edge of the coral where sand begins they would be a meal in a second. Is this a good place to hunt the bigger ones? How long would we need to stay at 40 feet? A couple of minutes?
Any suggestions, ideas, or constructive criticisms are more than welcome.
Thanks!