Spear fishing in shark county

[sergelebreton]

Hello everyone,
I am a beginner spearfisher and am planning a trip to Belize. It's going to be my first time spearfishing in waters where sharks are present... the thought of carrying a "bleeding" dead fish behind me knowing there are sharks in the area is troubling me : ) What are your experiences or advice on this topic.
Thanks

 

[Coral Sniper]

Don't use any kind of stringer that is on your body (I was lucky)

Kill your fish as soon as you get it in your hands,Blood is alot better then a flapping fish

If you have a boat and are in a very sharky place then take the fish to the boat

If in a normal place then use a line with a float at the end and tie the line to your gun and have a fish stringer on the float,that way the fish are 50-80 feet (however long your line is) away from you.

I just had a 5 footer eating my fish(off the float line) the other day and he would not go away so I shot the thing and put it in the boat and we had no problems the rest of the dive.

 

[deep thinker]

What types of sharks are you expecting to encounter?
Here we do all of the above, from float line to boat use. It does make a big difference when you have a boat in the area, this way you can also get out quickly should the need arise.
If you get more reef sharks and such then the above is about as much as you can do, if you have makos and GW in the area get a shark sheild too...
Also dont dive when the water is murky and find out how the sharks behave and where they are concentrated during the time of year you plan on being in the area and avoid those spots.
Other than being carefull and respectfull of the animals in the area there is not much more than common sense that will get you through most situations. Stupid decisions normally have stupid and potentially dangerous repurcussions that could have been avoided if you really thought a situation through
Have a good trip and enjoy the spearfishing, should you be so lucky to spot a shark placidly cruising by enjoy the view and move to another area...

 

[sergelebreton]

Thanks for the reply guys!
From what I heard, reef sharks are present with a certain number of bull sharks that come near the area where we will be, but mainly at dusk and dawn... we were told to stay out of the water from 5pm to 9am. I'll also dive in the area a few time without the gun to get to know the suroundings before starting to hunt. I'll also pack a line with stringer like you said...makes sense.
When sharks nibble at your catchs...do they stick to the fish or do they become agressive with you too?

thanks again
Serge

 

[Marwan]

serge,
you want to try and avoid letting that situation happen, (sharks nibbling at your fish), i know that ommon sense suggests, that a line with stringer keeps the fish away and so sharks can get a bite at your catch instead of you, but the problem is, if sharks start nibbling at your catch, their behaviour will change evrytime they see a diver in he water, they would associate that with an easy meal and you really want to avoid that, so even though your catch is away from you, try and fend off an inquisitive shark, most reef sharks, would tend to veer off if you point the spear at them or even give them a poke...look at the option of the shark shield too, since there are bull sharks in your area..

 

[Coral Sniper]

The sharks mostly stick to the fish were I'm at. I think the best
thing for you would be the body board float,that way you could store your fish on top of it and have no shark eating your fish problems. They are cheep and there is plenty of how to's in this web site

 

[spaghetti]

try and fend off an inquisitive shark, most reef sharks, would tend to veer off if you point the spear at them or even give them a poke.....

question: would this work with GWS? makos? tigersharks?

 

[Marwan]

question: would this work with GWS? makos? tigersharks?

Answer : i hope i never get to find out for myself :martial, but those 3 are mean boys..if you dive in an area where they are known to be present, i would imagine you need more protecion like a shark shield or maybe a power head to be used as a last resort...but i guess our friends in South africa can answer this one better i know they get to see makos and GWS sometimes when they dive...but then again a lot of them always have a boat nearby to get out when the need arises

 

[sergelebreton]

I've heard of powerheads, what about the shark shields...are they chemical, electronic or physical shields?

 

[Marwan]

Electronic, you strap it to your ankle
Shark Shield :: Shark deterrent system :: protection from shark attack and great white sharks:efault.asp

 

[deep thinker]

question: would this work with GWS? makos? tigersharks?

Ive never been in contact with a mako or a tiger, but I have been buzzed by a GW, thing about them is while hunting they are really sneaky bastards, theyll disappear and reappear behind you in a flash. When they know that you have spotted them they go down change direction and come back, or thats what happened in my case. In badish viz you dont really want that now do you? As mine came past my gun point to within a metre of me before our skipper ran over it with the boat.
About sticking them with a spear, its worked for alot of people I know. Allthough they mite have had to do it more than once for the shark to decide the meal is not worth the effort and to be able to do this you need to have seen the shark or atleast know where it is, so good viz is a prerequisite Id say. Some people also say swimming directly at them freaks the shark out but I havent tried it yet, also they say it workes better on the reefies than on the big boys
So a rule of thumb for diving in sharky waters is
1 Avoid murky water and bad viz, less then 6-8m viz I wont dive certain areas. Its also easier for the shark to mistake you for something else.
2 When surfacing, go up in circles and look above and below you while looking around you.
3 Try to avoid jerky swimming or surface splashing, works for hunting too as youll not scare all the fish away.
4 Be alert, be carefull and respect the environment your in.
5 If they come at you aggresively keep your spear in you gun and your gun between you and the shark, you want that point at the end of your gun, if you shoot and miss or you hit and the shark comes back you got nothing more than a stick to hit it over the head with. Or it mite have taken your stick too when it swam away with your spear.
6 When you spot a shark or sharks hunting in your area move on to another.

 

[gladiator]

Hi there,

I don't want to create a new thread since this one is already open. I found out that in Qatar there has been several hammerhead and bull shark encounters. I am really worried now since I don't have a shield and all the dives are shore dives. Can anyone give me some tips and info about these two types of sharks?

Thanks

 

[riffehunter717]

ive found that if you act aggresively towards the sharks most of the time they get the "point" and leave, but not always in that case time to go to another spot or stop spearing there

chase them around!:martial

 

[AlteredState]

I'm still pretty new to uw hunting and i was just wondering what yall think of these Anti-Shark Devices on the market.I have read reviews and the people who used them swear by them. I'm stationed in Okinawa Japan been here for 2 years and seeing a shark here is rare to even the Japinesse fishermen but i'm leaving here for virgina where mako's and bull's live and very low viz 5-15 feet.I grew up on the texas gulf coast and have had a few encounters with bull sharks attacking my stringer (10 feet behind me) as i was wade fishing. If yall have any info that would help it would be appreiated.