do fish know the range of your gun?

[tuffstuff]

I try and be as friendly as possible before I give them the shaft. Honestly it helps me to think of something else or look behind the fish until im ready to shoot it. I think they can sense the electrical signals you put off when in hunting mode.Oh and another tip that helps me with snapper is if i back away like I'm not interested I think I hurt their ego and they come to investigate....

 

[settingsteel]

Thats some funny sh&^%t X

....hurt their ego and they come to investigate....

aha so the thread takes on a new twist...Do fish have ego'srofl

 

[Newbie_spearo]

I say yes! Seems that a lot of fish will come to you if you show no interest in shooting them. I'm constantly getting the sh*ts with wrasse they won't bugger off and leave me alone to find tasty fish, and I believe it's because I'm showing no predatory form toward them. but when a snapper come's in he get's the hell outta there well before he gets with in range of my gun.

 

[Pinoy Sniper]

I read somewhere that all wild animals have a "safety zone". Anything that intrudes into this zone is considered a threat and the animal's "flee/don't flee" instinct kicks in. I have noticed this in birds (game birds) also. I think it is the same way with fish. I keep my speargun tucked close to my body, presenting a smaller threat and gradually push the gun out when taking a shot with an unusually wary fish. I do everything to lessen that safety zone without touching off that alarm, to keep the fish thinking, "Should I? Shouldn't I?" and the longer it is thinking the better chances I have of getting off a shot. I tend to shoot my Riffe like my shotgun - "focus on the target, not the front sight". This mental attitude usually works for me.

 

[FletchHR]

sorry to awaken an old thread, but had to say I would agree 100%!

The bigger the fish, the smarter they seem. Non-spearos don't believe me.

I was thinking of buying a flasher, do they work?! There are not a lot of threads about them here.

Without my gun I can practically HOLD a school of Salpa or a large Striped Sea Bream in my hand... some 2-banded Sea Breams, quite large, seem to have no fear. They are most fearless on the public beaches here in Rovinj, Croatia.

But the moment I enter the water with my gun... woosh- all gone.

The biggest fishes I've seen while hunting have disappeared before I could ever turn a gun toward them... they are amazingly fast when they spot you... but I am a somewhat new spearo.

I'm getting a little better at asperetto... just wish my breath-holding were better.

Why is my breath-hold in a pool twice as long than when I'm hunting?!

It's worse below 7 meters, especially at 10 I get nervous when the cold water hits, or something, and have to head back up right away.

But the cold water does seem to hold bigger fish... I really need to get signed up for an apnea course so I can get down there longer... and follow advice others gave here.

 

[FreeRestriction]

I beleive that "prey" fish KNOW that they are prey...Probably by your size (length of gun too) they can pretty much judge how far away they gotta stay from you to "feel" secure...I also agree they can "feel" your predatory instincts, tension, movements, etc...

Even here in freshwater...The fish KNOW somehow...Atleast the fish you CAN shoot seem to know...especially after you shoot one of 'em.

The ones you can't shoot act like they know it too!

Weird....we'll probably never know "the truth"...

here geribaldi (our state fish) arent affraid of humans at all. theyre protected and they clearly know it. you can almost pet them. theyll swim to you and then look you right in the eyes and twirl infront of you.

 

[Pinoy Sniper]

Free Restriction,

I accompanied my daughters on their check-out dives at a popular dive site. Included in their excursion was a "fish-feeding station" where the instructor would take out some bread and feed the many small coral fish. The small fish would swarm around the divers and aggressively approach them to look for food, some of them even tolerates divers to tickle their bellies. Fish without any stress of predation would "know" this fact and will be quite "tame". The same species in other sites act differently. They are more alert and will not tolerate anything that intrudes their "safety zone". I guess this is the same for larger fish. Take away some of the danger that they look out for long enough and soon their "safety zone" shrinks, allowing divers to approach nearer to them before their "flee!" instinct kicks in. I think this is what happened to the geribaldi in your home waters.

Pinoy Sniper

 

[FreeRestriction]

yep. today i swam thru a big pile of geribaldi with my gun out infront of me... i can point it right at them and they could care less. on the topic of the guns range..... i think fish also know if they get too close you cant shoot them either. i had "keeper" kelp bass swim right to within 2 feet of my spear tip... i couldnt shoot them because there were rocks right behind them. it happened exactly this way several times. in a 2 hour dive.

 

[Newbie_spearo]

yep. today i swam thru a big pile of geribaldi with my gun out infront of me... i can point it right at them and they could care less. on the topic of the guns range..... i think fish also know if they get too close you cant shoot them either. i had "keeper" kelp bass swim right to within 2 feet of my spear tip... i couldnt shoot them because there were rocks right behind them. it happened exactly this way several times. in a 2 hour dive.

Thats when you want no slip tip and 1 X 16mm rubber and you choke the rubber, this will save your spear tip!!! By choke your rubber I mean turn your gun upside down, with your thumb on the trigger you then get your free hand and put the thumb and index finger of it tightly round the barrel and clamp the rubber. FIRE!!!:blackeye less power less range but great for shooting into caves and preventing your spear either getting stuck of damaged.

 

[FreeRestriction]

oh cool great tip. ill have to try that.

 

[nz676]

have you tried putting something on the tip of the spear like a small jig lure such as a squid just to bring them in a little closer usually it holds there interest just long enough to get in range of them

 

[FletchHR]

I tried the croaking technique this a.m. worked with grey mullet and striped seabream... they both came over to take a closer look... but still out of range of my tiny gun.

no tears, because I surface shot a 39cm Brancin (Sea Bass) instead! no tricks, flashers, lures, croaks... just God's grace and floating still on surface as he came right at me/underneath me.

Picasa Web Albums - Fletch

 

[Mr. X]

Natural selection probably has something to do with. I've noticed the pigeons and doves around my garden are not particularly concerned about people wondering around but as soon as the hear a gun-like click, snap or door slam they all rise up from all over the place & fly off, sometimes for days. I also see a lot of pheasant that are reluctant to fly (good survival strategy) and we have some that move into the garden during shooting season.

Perhaps our smell/sweat is different in a tense fishing situation than relaxed viewing session? Was watching a program the other day where they showed voice analysing software being used as a lie detector to analyse phone calls of murder suspects (the Menendos bros. in this case). Lying causes stress and we give off all kinds of signals under stress. The software detects changes in the voice caused by the muscles in the vocal cords tightening.

Haven't tried a flasher yet, perhaps better suited to bluewater hunting for larger pelagic fish than sea bass? I tend to swim out, around and back, always changing location looking for fish, rather than waiting for them to come to me (except when performing aspettos of course). Chumming has been mentioned by a few UK spearos. Perhaps combined they might draw some fish? Certainly having a fish on my float string or waist stringer does seem to draw in additional curious fish.

 

[willloomy]

i agree but i think that it is darwins theory in action the fish that survive to be "big fish" must have some kind of advantage over the fish that never make it that far whether they are smarter or just more skittish i don't know but i think its natural selection that the big ones are harder to shoot

 

[Lazuli]

I also see a lot of pheasant that are reluctant to fly (good survival strategy) and we have some that move into the garden during shooting season.

That used to happen to us. Cock Pheasants usually, and they'd bring their ladies with them. They would get really tame, then the fox would have them once they got too comfy :blackeye

Haven't tried a flasher yet, perhaps better suited to bluewater hunting for larger pelagic fish than sea bass?

I've been wanting to try this out. Many times I have toyed with making some sort of flasher which can be deployed in what I would call a "transitional" reef area. Something which floats off the bottom.

 

[agbiv]

As some of my English friends would say "You're all bloody well daft" or to translate into Texian "Yer crazy!"

Of course the fish "know" the range of your gun. Just like wifie "knows" when I buy unauthorized gear. It's all in the natural genetic radar they have. Half the fun of the hunt is the pursuit and fooling of that natural radar--like thinking "Nice fish, cool fish, no I'm not a preditor, no I'm not looking at you, no I'm not buying a new float line."

Try it out--it usually works.

 

[Lazuli]

As some of my English friends would say "You're all bloody well daft" or to translate into Texian "Yer crazy!"

Of course the fish "know" the range of your gun. Just like wifie "knows" when I buy unauthorized gear. It's all in the natural genetic radar they have. Half the fun of the hunt is the pursuit and fooling of that natural radar--like thinking "Nice fish, cool fish, no I'm not a preditor, no I'm not looking at you, no I'm not buying a new float line."

Try it out--it usually works.

roflrofl

Its not just the range of the gun they know, but also when its unloaded! I've had mullet come over to look at the gun after I've just missed a shot at one of them. They even hang about during the reload and as soon as the bands are pulled, away they go.

 

[Mr. X]

...Of course the fish "know" the range of your gun. Just like wifie "knows" when I buy unauthorized gear. It's all in the natural genetic radar they have...

Well put. Women are often particularly good at picking up warning signs/body language. I wonder if they are able to put those abilities to use spear fishing?

 

[agbiv]

She caught me didn't she! :blackeye