How to Kill A Cobia

[gxdoyle]

Next week i will be diving a wreck at 43 meters on which I have seen a school of about 15 cobia each approximately 1.5 - 2.0 meters long. They are generally swimming around behind a large marble ray (about 4 m wingspan)

I will be diving with twin tanks and a stage bottle and be armed with a 51" Riffe Competitor - curently with a 4 9/16" powerbands and a detacheable head. No reel.

This will be my most adventurous hunt so I would appreciate a bit of advice:

These cobia are pretty curious and I reckon one will just swim up to me and be within 2 meters range.

1. Where should i shoot it? Head on whil it is checking me out or wait until it is turning and hit in the side of the head?

2. I currently have no reel on the gun. The bottom depth is only 43 meters so I can't be dragged deeper but I suppose I could be dragged off the wreck. Could a cobia that size really start dragging me around? If so, how can I run a float at that depth?

3. How to kill it if not with first shot? No option to grab a second gun.

4. I will have to take about 15 minutes to get to the surface because it will be a decompression dive. Should I just put a lift bag on the fish on send it to the surface and leave it for the boat to worry about?

Anything else I need to think about?

 

[Nesim]

well .. we would rather see you not hunting while scuba diving ... not much sport in that.... :naughty

:hmm


But just to answere some of your questions, a fish that size must wiegh close to about 50 + Kg .... if you got no reel ... or float system, its very likely that you would end up loosing your gun.

If you decide to hold on to your gun ,,, there is i high chance the fish will drag you about for a while and in the process knocking off your regulator. Now that could get ugly at that deapth.

Shooting it at 45 m ... you will definatly spend about 15 min to get the fish under control,,,, that if you still have the gun in your hand and the reg in your mouth.... will you have enough air to do your deco stop!

best option is have a reel on the gun as well as a lift bag + or a float on the surface with 50 - 60 m line.

i woudl recomend you try to stone the fish in the first shot - thats if you are confident and have an accurate shot...

best oftion.... use chum lure the fish to the surface about 15m or so ,,, free dive and take your shot -

Good luck in what ever method you choose to follow!

Nesim

 

[Erik]

Originally posted by Nesim
well .. we would rather see you not hunting while scuba diving ... not much sport in that.... :naughty
:hmm

Who is 'we"
Speak for yourself please

I would say that shooting anything that size is challenging, especially at that depth. How many 2 metre fish have you shot at 43 metres on breath hold?
Iyadiver is the guy to consult in this case as he does this kind of hunting (deep, scuba) and has some interesting ideas about how to do it properly.
Cheers,
Erik Y

 

[Nesim]

watch it ,,, !

Shot a few decent sized fish 50 KG at 20m on breath hold / 2 of which had no reel or float line !!!!!

to answere your question on who is "we" well let me correct my self : I WOULD RATHER SEE YOU NOT HUNTING WHILE SCUBA DIVING

some challenge !!!!

still gave you some advise as it is obviouse you had no clue to what you were doing

good luck and hope you live to tell the story!

Nesim

 

[Huan]

GXdoyle
I speared a 5 lb yes 5 lb !!Mullet and it was able to tow me around for a minute or 2 and I am 210lbs, you are going to spear a fish noted for it's toughness that weighs appoximately 10 times as much!!
I would be very careful and if possible start with smaller fish maybe small jacks or something like that.
If you decide to go ahead and shoot a big Cobia you would be well advised to use a reel that is strong enough, and that has a large enough capacity, and try to stone the fish, I reckon without a reel you will probably lose your gun and fish.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Huan

 

[gxdoyle]

Originally posted by Nesim
watch it ,,, !

Shot a few decent sized fish 50 KG at 20m on breath hold / 2 of which had no reel or float line !!!!!

to answere your question on who is "we" well let me correct my self : I WOULD RATHER SEE YOU NOT HUNTING WHILE SCUBA DIVING

some challenge !!!!

still gave you some advise as it is obviouse you had no clue to what you were doing

good luck and hope you live to tell the story!

Nesim

Thanks for the advice - I do appreciate it - but am I gonna get grief every time I mention hunting and scuba in the same breath on this board?

I know I do not know exactly what I am doing in this instance which is why I posted for some advice - I have shot a lot of fish but never one I could not subdue by hand in the water.

I had some ideas and had assumed fitting a reel was vital - but the float was what I was having problems with in practice. My mentor over here is wary of using reels when shooting on a wreck because of the chance the fish will wind the played out line around both you and the wreck and result in a dangerous entanglement.

Around here it is impossible to get fish this large above 30 meters. Due to intensive netting of fish they only congregate around the big wrecks where they are shielded from the trawlers - so freediving is not a practical option.

BTW, last week I was shooting 5-6 kg sweetlips under the bow of a wreck by torchlight on scuba at 60 meters - and wrestling them into submission til they could be put on stringer - whatever way you cut it there is a fair bit of sport and challenge in that - the dive alone could kill ya even before you start fucking with the wildlife down there.

Thanks again -

 

[Iyadiver]

Ok Ok....cool....chill...we all hang out at this section of the forum to talk about hunting...scuba or freedive, a hunt is a hunt. Where it is legal by law to shoot the fish by means of one choosing..legal it is then...

It is such heart breaker to answer Doyle's question like that...please..... he asked politely for information and he should get one.

Nesim please be nice to Eric, he is also a freediver like yourself and also scuba well, he just love freediving more. He hunts on freedive though. BTW, Eric can do 40M freedive if you are curious to know.......Ok chill out boys.


Doyle,
I am your closest neighbor in this board and welcome to Deeper Blue. Scuba or freedive you are welcome. Where Nesim comes from you won't believe the kind of fish his place has. I was in Dubai oil rigs a few months back and I was stunned by the numbers of fish and the lack of fear it showed to divers....Oman I heard is even better. I seen video footage of traditional fishermen in Oman catching groupers and my God....they are so plentiful. Malaysia is probably as barren as my place 30 meters up, I know what you mean.

Your C3 with 4 bands has enough juice to nail Cobia even that big if you can get close enough. If that detachable spearhead is the flopper type, get rid of it and get the Ice Pick instead. Cobia has quite a tough body and skin, it fights tough too. At two meters tip to fish, that big cobia is a dead fish. You must get a stone shot, either whacked the lateral line or get an angle where you can shoot the brain. Shoot the brain from the front but not too much angle down, get the angle so that the shaft lead from the brain to the ass, this way if you miss the brain, there will still be lots of damage to other nervous system.

A reel can be good for you, choose the 150 feet/1000lbs line, forget the 500lbs for wrecks. If the viz is decent say at 10 meters, it is quite safe to use the reel. Kevlar can be cut with ease with a sharp knife. Your shooting line shoot be the 500 lbs cable for wreck, not the original Riffe black mono, it will fail on sharp wrecks. If you don't have a reel, hold the 5" bungie swivel of the gun when fighting the fish. That 400lbs Dacron inside the 5" bungie shivel can break with fish at that size, this is the weak link.

If you have a reel and miss a fatal shot but had good penetration, chances of landing the fish is huge. 1,000 lbs Kevlar can take quite an abuse even on wrecks. Missing a fatal shot, you must hope the fish tangles here and there and tires and then you can brain-ed it. Just be prepared to bend that 5/16" shaft, the cost of a battle.

Don't send a fish up on an open bottom lift bag, it it flops on the surface you loose them all. Use the Riffe or Halycon utility 5 liter float, it is good enough, at 43 meters it won't generate much lift but your lift bag may help a bit there....

Good luck and stay safe. Just remember, no fish is worth saving a gun if your life can be in danger. If you have no reel, improvise a 10mm rope of +-10 meters where you can tie to the gun butt and use that to tie off somewhere to the wreck if there is ever a need. Just never clipped a gun to your BCD .....never...:naughty

Have fun Datok Doyle..........

 

[gxdoyle]

Originally posted by Iyadiver


Doyle,
I am your closest neighbor in this board and welcome to Deeper Blue. Scuba or freedive you are welcome. Where Nesim comes from you won't believe the kind of fish his place has. I was in Dubai oil rigs a few months back and I was stunned by the numbers of fish and the lack of fear it showed to divers....Oman I heard is even better. I seen video footage of traditional fishermen in Oman catching groupers and my God....they are so plentiful. Malaysia is probably as barren as my place 30 meters up, I know what you mean.

Your C3 with 4 bands has enough juice to nail Cobia even that big if you can get close enough. If that detachable spearhead is the flopper type, get rid of it and get the Ice Pick instead. Cobia has quite a tough body and skin, it fights tough too. At two meters tip to fish, that big cobia is a dead fish. You must get a stone shot, either whacked the lateral line or get an angle where you can shoot the brain. Shoot the brain from the front but not too much angle down, get the angle so that the shaft lead from the brain to the ass, this way if you miss the brain, there will still be lots of damage to other nervous system.

A reel can be good for you, choose the 150 feet/1000lbs line, forget the 500lbs for wrecks. If the viz is decent say at 10 meters, it is quite safe to use the reel. Kevlar can be cut with ease with a sharp knife. Your shooting line shoot be the 500 lbs cable for wreck, not the original Riffe black mono, it will fail on sharp wrecks. If you don't have a reel, hold the 5" bungie swivel of the gun when fighting the fish. That 400lbs Dacron inside the 5" bungie shivel can break with fish at that size, this is the weak link.

etc etc

Good luck and stay safe. Just remember, no fish is worth saving a gun if your life can be in danger. If you have no reel, improvise a 10mm rope of +-10 meters where you can tie to the gun butt and use that to tie off somewhere to the wreck if there is ever a need. Just never clipped a gun to your BCD .....never...:naughty

Have fun Datok Doyle..........

Terima Kasih Pak Ya,

Now that's exactly the kind of advice I was after - thanks man. I think I can see where the gaps in my plan were previously.

I think I'll tie the gun into the wreck before shooting. Maybe do one dive in the morning and run a long 1/4" line the length of the wreck where the cobia hang out. Second dive come down and clip the gun to the line via about 10mtrs of 10mm line through the hole in the butt as you suggest and wait for the cobia. If they don't turn up I can drop the gun and try again on the third dive.

I've always seen them in the same place so this might just work, if it doesn't I'll try the reel.

Thanks again - this is sounding more and more like a real hunt!

 

[Iyadiver]

Datok,

That's a fun idea tying a rope the entire length of the wreck.... I done that too on a deep sea mount before I had this unique parachute float powered by 2 x 68gram C02.

Get a short 1,000lb Kevlar, measure the length. Crimp one end to the shooting line and crimp the other end to the anchor point of the C3. This is an insurance when the 5" bungie break. This length of the 1000lbs Kevlar must be a bit shorter than the 5" bungie when maxed stretch....this way it takes the beating first. Use double loop knot and a single crimp on Kevlar or twin crimps on each end, kevlar is too slippery to be single crimped...power glue or not, it won't hold.

You also have the choice of getting a Riffe breakaway kit if you have the rope set up as such, easier on the gun too, it won't get damaged when dragged around the wreck. Use heavy duty clip, don't use fisherman type of snap swivels, it won't hold.

Anyway keep us posted or at least PM me. I never seen Cobia that big in my area....lucky you.... ....but I have Dog Tooth Tuna......

Me hunting tomorrow.....yum yum.

 

[Murat]

Originally posted by Huan
GXdoyle
I speared a 5 lb yes 5 lb !!Mullet and it was able to tow me around for a minute or 2 and I am 210lbs,
Huan

wowWowWOWo!!!! that mullet would be steroid user rofl rofl

 

[Erik]

Pak Iya orang terbaik, dan dia Raja Spearfishing di SE Asia. Aku hanya masuk laut sendiri (nggak pakai mesin), tapi aku belajar banyak dari dia.
Inshallah kamu bisa ketemu dan cari berdua di depan.
Selamat cari ikan Doyle.
Erik Y.

 

[mjacobs]

Doyle,
To add to Iya's good advice, if you shoot 'em straight down through the top of the head a bit behind the eyes you may stone 'em but if you don't you can usually sort of guide them around like they are on a leash until you get to the surface. That's when they tend to go nuts. Think BIG DOG on a leash. If you shoot from the side I'd say lateral line 'em. Cobia are real tough to stone.
Mark

 

[Huan]

Murat

Believe me I was as surprised as the mullet, I don't mean that it was constantly towing me but just in spurts and then stop then go again, It was poorly shot through the stomach and I was kind of surprised that it didn't pull off.
anyway just goes to show how powerful fish esp. mullet are!
Imagine a 50kg Cobia

 

[Erik]

Iya is the man, but I didn't mean to discount the knowledge of some of the other people here who scuba/spear....Rigdiver for one is a crazy bastard that does some really scary stuff. He'd be a good resource here if he chimes in.
Good luck,
Erik Y.

 

[feign]

Iyadiver,
I loved the info on your dive techniques. I just have to clarify one point, as Erik is too modest. Erik Y is a 50+ meter freediver and a great spearo too.

Lee

 

[rigdvr]

speaking of crazy bastards Cobia are fun fish to hunt. The big ones will sometimes only give you one shot as they check you out so be ready. The straight below you shot is ideal as their head is broad and flat, but be warned it is extremely dense so you need to be close to fully penetrate(depending on the gun). From the side I like them turning away lat. line shot just behind the pec exiting the opposite cheek. The dog on a leash trick works well but as soon as you put pressure on them they go bonkers:crutch

Should you find yourself in hand to fin combat with a big one, watch out for the retractable spines on the dorsal side...they will ruin a perfectly good wetsuit. Once you grab him stick your hands in his gills and start ripping them out...dont waste time trying to knife them, the skull is to thick. If he has no gills he will calm down quickly.:martial

Sounds like you might want to make a "riding rig" for this type of hunting....I'll see if I can find some pics.

 

[gxdoyle]

Originally posted by rigdvr

Once you grab him stick your hands in his gills and start ripping them out...dont waste time trying to knife them, the skull is to thick. If he has no gills he will calm down quickly.:martial

Great tip - thanks. I tried this trick on a grouper a while back but found that inside his gills were thousands of little 'teeth' that just snagged and shredded my gloves - I'm not so keen to go sticking my hands in the gills of big fish - am I missing something?

Originally posted by rigdvr
Sounds like you might want to make a "riding rig" for this type of hunting....I'll see if I can find some pics.

Would be great to see the pics - thanks

 

[Iyadiver]

Yes...indeed....Kapiten Rig is the bad Dude for this sort of metallic hunting area....

Dang !! Eric is now a 50+ meter....how times fly Pak Eric .... he smoked too.... at least he did....that's not fair....

 

[rigdvr]

a groupers gills are definately not the place to stick your hands:crutch Cobia arent as bad but SERIOUSLY look out for those dorsal spines!

 

[Jay Styron]

Hey gxdoyle,
I'll second that on cobia. I hunt deep for grouper, snapper, ect. w/ an MT3 and reel. If possible get a reel if you're going to keep hunting big fish deep. The last cobia I shot swam directly under me and I stoned it. That usually doesn't happen so be prepared for a fight. If possible maybe put an extra wrap of line on your gun to give them a little extra fighting room.
After the shot I would dump all the air out of my BC, less chance of getting positive and rocketing up during the fight. Hope this helps.
Jay