Disco Balls

[Jager_SA]

I recently took a trip up to Ponta in Mozambique and partook in some amazing dives. Our skipper knew some pretty amazing spots, but unfortunately the reef often appeared far deeper than our skills would take us. Never-the-less I had some of the best dives of my life. Since we were operating in the upper zone, we were picking off the smaller bait fish and some of the game fish who found us interesting or followed the action. The following day we found an old disco ball lying around in the Back Packers we were staying in and our creatives little minds went to work.

We attatched the 30 cm circm. disco ball to a nylon rope and suspended it off the front of our boat, whilst positition over or to the side of the reef (sometimes we drove around the reef in slow circle whilst hanging it off the back). It was suspended about 7m down. The light reflected of the ball beautifully ( and im trying to upload a pic of this ), and obviously must have resembled bait fish near the surface. Needless to say EVERYONE came to the party, and we had the best day EVER shooting from the surface and hopping onto the boat periodicly to drop off our catch and to grab a beer. It was awesome. However, I am not advocating drinking and diving. its a no no :rcard

 

[podge]

You can’t beat a good disco ball I’ve got one that hangs of the rear view mirror of my fishing car and when the sun hits it the car fills with the reflecting lights.
Very cool but you do need to have your sunglasses on or its up in the hedge you go.rofl
I can definitely see how it would attract fish must have looked just like a bait ball.

 

[Jager_SA]

Yeah its really cool cos it spins in the current and it has a pretty irregular but regaular pattern of light relfection- if you know wat i mean? Its ordered, in the sense that all the cubes are set in geometrical positions, but on a 30cm circumference ball there are enough cubes for it to seem random. The fish just love it. They cirlce it all day but we did struggle with Raggies bumping it and the attraction of 3 competing tigers- needless to say THATS when we had the beer on the boat. After the first two days of conditioning - driving slowly around the reef- the fish became accustomed to the ball and us and didnt take to it too much. So. I guess its an impact technique.

 

[deep thinker]

Disco ball flasher, hmm sounds interesting, maybe on the next trip to Dassen Island Ill tow along one of those. Mite get a few funny looks though, a bunch of guys in tight neoprene suits with a disco ball hanging in the back of the boat/car rofl

 

[Jager_SA]

Haha yeah I know! Our boat driver almost fell of his perch when he saw us!
It really does work, but as I mentioned before, the fish seem to realise whats happening after a few days in the same spot. Of course it is important to try this tactic in the blessed weather we happen to have in sub-Saharan Africa! Sunny skies! :hmm

 

[Jager_SA]

the 80s wernt too useless were they! haha

 

[deep thinker]

They probably didnt have the above mentioned use for the disco ball in mind though rofl . I think it mite work on the yellow tail there though, we dont go out there too often and I must say a normal flasher arent always sucessfull in getting the fish to come up for the shiny thingy... So once I find a old disco ball somewhere Im definately gonna try it.