belize, central and south spearfishing info

[Jameskrute]

hey guys first time post be gentle haha..

I'm living in Guatemala at thee moment but ill be traveling to belize around Christmas.
I'm chasing info on best place to buy a speargun and gear (ive left mine in AUS as I'm on a world trip). if its to hard ill consider sending it over.
also any info on best spots to spear all along central and south?.
I'm keen to hook up with anyone along the way aswell!

any info is much appreciated!

 

[0spaceship0]

hey guys first time post be gentle haha..

I'm living in Guatemala at thee moment but ill be traveling to belize around Christmas.
I'm chasing info on best place to buy a speargun and gear (ive left mine in AUS as I'm on a world trip). if its to hard ill consider sending it over.
also any info on best spots to spear all along central and south?.
I'm keen to hook up with anyone along the way aswell!

any info is much appreciated!

Hey James! I'll be in the area around the same time. I arrive in ambergris caye Belize on dec 18th. I'll be there for about 10days then I'm headed down to placencia. After New Years I'm off to Costa Rica then Panama. I'll be traveling with nothing but my pack and dive bag (freedive fins, mask, snorkel, and 2 pole spears with assorted tips).

Would love to link up with a fellow spearo if we r around the same place at the same time. I have a couple charters booked in ambergris already. Don't know where to buy a speargun down there though.

 

[paul kim]

hey- did you guys end up spearing any good fish? Also, which spots are best / how did you get there?

 

[0spaceship0]

Belize has awesome viz but the fish aren't easy. You can spear some small muttons and an occasional hog. You might get lucky n find some big snapper. The locals and tourists all around ambergris caye have taken way more than they should and this reef system is suffering... Dead reef everywhere around ambergris. They take shrimp sized lobsters like its whatever.

When you go to hol chan you will see tons of fish cause they know you can't shoot them. We went twice and there were tons!!

If the sea is calm spearing the backside of the reef in 50-70' is really your best chance at good fish. Otherwise either way up north or from coral gardens south to the sunk barge.

I've been spearing Florida for a long time and I did not find anywhere in Central America that even came close to the amount of fish you see there.

I also speared bocas Del toro about 5 different days. Got a bunch of lion fish and saw 1 big mutton. Once again, the only consistently good fish seems to be offshore in the deeper water.

 

[paul kim]

Belize has awesome viz...

Hey spaceship- thanks for the info! I am currently debating whether to book the tickets for a 10 day trip in Belize. If I end up going, I'll probably spend a couple days for the whale shark diving, another couple for the great blue hole freediving, and the rest spearing..
Have you by any chance done any diving around the Great Blue Hole / know if there are any operators/schools that do trips?

Also, this may be a separate thread but- I am going to visit Miami for 5-6 days in beginning of May. Are there any good spots around the area? I'll have a car and a few days to explore, and I am trying to see if bringing my speargun is worth the hassle.

Thanks again!

 

[0spaceship0]

I didn't do the blue hole but everybody I've talked to who has done it says skip it. The cave is deep and it's a pretty uneventful dive I guess. Lots of operators go out there though. Id recommend checking out turneffe instead. There's a drift dive on long caye wall that is to die for. Half moon caye is awesome! Your also gonna do a lot better with a speargun out around turneffe than anywhere close to the mainland.

As for Miami... The keys! My favorite place in the entire world. Way more fish than anywhere in Central America hands down. To do any good spearing your gonna need to take a boat though. You might get lucky around the bridges and can pretty much always find some mangrove snappers. BE CAREFUL because those bridges will have some of the most intense currents you've ever seen. Not to mention bridge spearing is kind of a grey area. If you can hop in near a slack tide you might find a couple shootable fish safely. Don't count on a tide chart though cause they are almost always off in the keys by an hr or so.

 

[SaraKate]

Hey spaceship- thanks for the info! I am currently debating whether to book the tickets for a 10 day trip in Belize. If I end up going, I'll probably spend a couple days for the whale shark diving, another couple for the great blue hole freediving, and the rest spearing..
Have you by any chance done any diving around the Great Blue Hole / know if there are any operators/schools that do trips?

Also, this may be a separate thread but- I am going to visit Miami for 5-6 days in beginning of May. Are there any good spots around the area? I'll have a car and a few days to explore, and I am trying to see if bringing my speargun is worth the hassle.

Thanks again!

Hey Paul!
I am going to be on Ambergris Caye for 4 days in July and I'm curious how your trip went? Any spots you would recommend? Did you end up doing the blue hole and how was it? Also curious about the spearing laws, I've seen some posts that say it's legal for citizens and some that say it's ok?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Amanda Hand]

Hey Paul!
I am going to be on Ambergris Caye for 4 days in July and I'm curious how your trip went? Any spots you would recommend? Did you end up doing the blue hole and how was it? Also curious about the spearing laws, I've seen some posts that say it's legal for citizens and some that say it's ok?

Thanks for any help!

Hey Sarakate! I'm going to Belize in September. I'm going down as the only freediver, but with a group. I"m hoping to go out and find a few dives. Can you make any recommendations for companies to dive with? Thanks