spearfishing with sharks in the area

[Michael]

I was recently spearfishing in the Florida Keys. I was hunting alone in about 60ft of water, and spotted a nice sized bullshark. I do not have much experience with sharks (or with spearfishing for that matter) so I decided to join a group of spearfishermen, who were hunting about 200 yards away, on the theory that I would be safer in a group of spearfishermen rather than by myself. They were good enough to share their spot with me. However, two or three bull sharks were cruising the reef, and I saw them on every dive, and every time one of us shot a fish, the bulls would come in and devore it. The guys got fed up and left, I continued hunting the area, and got a nice mangrove. Was this crazy?

My question is: when spearing with sharks in the area (particularly bulls) are there any warning signs of an impending attack, behaviors that indicate the shark may be getting more aggresive? I plan on going back to that spot to hunt in a few weeks. Is it a bad idea altogether to hunt with sharks in the area? My friend Scott Sturgeon told me that as far as he knew, no divers in Florida have been attacked by sharks. Does anyone know different?

Is hunting with sharks around just an "occupational hazard" that goes with speafishing? Do you all hunt with sharks in the area?

Anyway, as I am intent on going back to that spot because it was loaded with fish, any advice, facts, ect would be helpful.

Michael.

 

[sawfish]

Blue sharks will drop their fins and arch their backs in a twisting motion as a warning sign. We do not have Bull sharks in the Pacific, so I cannot tell you if they also exhibit the same behavior pattern. IMHO, I think you should find another spot, as Bulls are notorious for their unpredictable behavior.

 

[cdavis]

Hi Michael,

There have been spearos attacked by sharks in Florida. In the 1970's a couple of scuba spearos dissappeared off Panama City. What little they found later indicated a shark attack. A deep diving scuba spearo was bitten in the head by a shark somewhere north of Palm Beach. That from a newspaper article roughly 15 years ago. I have heard of others, but it is pretty rare in Florida, much more common in the Bahamas. On a more personal note, I was almost bitten by a little lemon shark, his jaw was unhinged and was clearly starting a bite sequence directed at me, not the fish I was carrying.

In terms of warning signs, all of the really scary run ins I have had with sharks have happened real fast and with little or no warning. If I see them coming, they are much less agressive and I stop spearing and usually leave anyway.

There is a definate advantage to having other divers, boats, etc in the immediate area. It seems to make the sharks much less agressive. Maybe it is just distracting, I don't know. IMO continuing to spearfish with sharks obviously in the vicinity is not smart.

Sounds like a great spot, good luck.

Connor

 

[Buster Lung]

...................

 

[sturgeon]

Buster Lung,

I like your pictures/cartoons. I've been in both situations. The second one sucks the most, especially when it's a nice grouper.

I've only lived in FL for 10 years and as far as I know, no diver has ever been bitten in that time. The Bahamas are definitely a different story though, guys get bit over there almost every year. By bulls and those nasty little Caribbean reefs.

In dirty water, if I see a bull, I'm gone! I'm scared to death of them in bad vis (had a few very traumatic experiences in that situation) but if it's clear and there are fish and I'm in the water with someone else (usually always am) I'll try to stay for a little while and see what happens. Once the bulls start getting speedy and/or take a fish and/or start coming after us on the surface then I’ll leave. In 10 years of diving in FL, I only remember ever losing a fish or maybe 2 to sharks. Just saw a friend of mine last weekend lose a nice yellow jack though to a nasty bull (along with a very expensive custom shaft).

Scott

 

[SurfnSpear]

In dirty water, if I see a bull, I'm gone! I'm scared to death of them in bad vis (had a few very traumatic experiences in that situation)

..hi Sturgeon....AGREED....dirty water and zambezi's (as we saffa's call them), then it's time to go play another game for the day. The Bull shark/Zambezi has a notorious reputation in Natal and Mozambique. Especially when there's been a storm and the river mouths burst their banks....it must be their version of a chocolate fountain filled with marshmallows and fruit!rofl

Regards

 

[jeadiver]

I've only had a couple of experieinces with sharks actually after my catch. One was when a large Sand Tiger (Raggy) was obviously after a grouper I had on a stringer while I was going up the ascent line. I gave him both the fish and the stringer. Later that same year two small Sand Tigers tried to steal a grouper while I was putting it on the stringer. They were small, so I popped them on the head with the butt of the gun and they left (it wasn't something I thought about, I just did it, sort of involuntary). I have skipped shooting altogether when there are large sharks cruising the area, the Sand Tigers have been know to take a bite out of divers spearing in their territory. I've never had a run in with a bull, but think if there was one in the area I probably pick another time or spot to spear.

 

[donmoore]

Michael,
You Spearfishing now? Incase somebody didn’t recognize him this is Michael Antinori who represented the USA in the 2004 AIDA Worlds. He also held the US dynamic record for a time last year. This man has gone a long ways fast. Just a few years ago his only diving was underwater hockey.

Michael, I think most of the bull shark attacks happen in dirty water where they mistake you for prey, but there are exceptions and you would hate to be one of them! I am strongly thinking of getting the Shark Shield. They had it on Discovery Channel a few weeks ago so it is getting a lot of press. The experts on the Discovery Channel, Phd guys, seem to think it would actually work. Earlier this year I think it was in Hawaiian Skin Diver or was Spearfishing Magazine.

Late in the summer we have to go to far away oilrigs here, because the closer ones get fished out. There are rigs to the south that are full of fish as well as sharks! I have never seen so many cobia and amberjack on a rig as these rigs. But any rig less than 170 feet are full of the sharks. The reason why there is so many fish is the scuba divers are probably afraid to dive them, plus they are a long haul.

We also have had plans to go the semi-submersible rigs 140+ miles offshore that are supposed to be full of Tuna. They in 4,000 to 7,000 feet of water! They are also known to contain lots of Makos! The pole fishermen say they catch the Makos with the tunas all the time.

$450 for one of these machines doesn’t sound all that bad when you consider the alternatives. www.leisurepro.com has 3 different models. I have seen a few online at freediving spearfishing stores too, but I can’t remember which ones. They strap to your ankle and trail an antenna about 8’ long. If you or your buddy comes in contact with the antenna, you can get a slight shock, but I hear it’s not bad. Surfers are even starting to use them. The company’s web site is www.sharkshield.com
don

 

[Michael]

Thanks for the replys everyone.

Don, yes the shark shield sounds great. A couple hundred bucks is definately worth the piece of mind. Good luck on those oil rigs, that sounds like awesome diving. I have been considering getting out to do some blue water hunting around here. I think it's just so inconsistent around here, could spend days without even seeing a fish. Right now, I am just getting used to stalking the snapper and grouper. I have the snapper down pretty good, but I have missed four good shots on black grouper in a week. It burns me up. Anyway, I hear they are difficult fish to shot so I don't feel so bad.

Connor, thanks for the info about attacks on divers in Florida. A couple in the seventies and eighties still sounds like fairly good odds. It makes me feel better to know there have been that few attacks on divers.

 

[sturgeon]

Don,

Yes, Mike's a killer now! But in true freediver spirit, he only hunts for dinner.

Scott

 

[cdavis]

Sturgeon,
One attack behavior that bulls exhibit includes approaching prey from directly underneath. A triathalon swimmer lost an arm like that 3 or 4 years ago in the Panhandle, another man was killed in St Pete the same year in what appeared to be a similar attack behavior and was thought to be a bull. I had a big one do that to me in 30 ft vis while I was on the surface with 4 grouper on a stringer. Thankfully I was looking in the right direction and the gun was pointed down. Discovered that walking on water was easy.

Have you had bulls do this to you or your buddies? Anybody else? Details??


Connor

 

[sturgeon]

Connor,

Yes, I've had them come strait up from the bottom fast with their mouths wide open while I was floating on the surface. Sometimes while totally helpless without a gun (gun down with fish on floatline) and all I could do was lay there and hope they'd turn. So far, they always have. They usually wait till the last second and then turn and go down as fast as they came but sometimes only to get 10-15 feet or so away and then turn and come right back at me again. It’s scary. One time me and a couple friends had this take place in 60 ft of water with 4 bulls. What started it was my friend had shot a cuda that he left down on his floatline (along with his gun) as he surfaced for air. When we heard/saw him he was balled up on the surface screaming for his life as the bulls took turns coming by him very fast almost within touching distance with their mouths wide open. We thought he had been bit and quickly swam to his rescue. It turns out that with 3 of us in the water I ended up being the only one with a gun in my hands. So, I rode shotgun as my buddies climbed on the boat. I sat there with my gun pointed down watching the sharks take turns charging me on the surface. They never got close enough for me to poke them with my gun, they stayed about 1 inch out of my range. Once we all got on the boat my friend who we all thought had been bit said "that scared the shit out of me, literally" and proceeded to pull his pants down and drop a load right then and there. The strange thing about the whole incident was that when we pulled the buoy up to get my friend’s gun back, the cuda was still on it, untouched! Anyone care to explain that behavior???????? This was in the very beginning stages of my freediving career and needless to say, I couldn’t mentally bring myself to dive that spot for at least 2-3 months. This is also the time in my career that I learned South African divers are some of the most hard-core, badest-ass, fearless divers in the World. One guy in the water was a SA and when we heard my friend scream and saw the bulls attacking him the SA immediately took off swimming as fast as he could to his rescue (he thought he had already been bit). Being new to freedive spearfishing, I had absolutely no idea what to do but I figured my SA buddy did so I quickly followed him over to the attacking bulls. I later found out that when my friend was screaming the boat spun around to get us and in the process caught my SA friend’s floatine in the prop and ripped his gun out of his hands. But that didn’t deter him for a second and he still swam as fast as he possibly could to the rescue of a diver who he thought was being killed by 4 bull sharks in a feeding frenzy with absolutely nothing for protection but his bare hands. That incident was pretty much my introduction to freediving (I had only been once before) and seeing the bravery of that SA diver pretty much indoctrinated me into the sport and the tribe for life.

As a side note, I’ve had the honor of diving with several South African divers since that incident and they are all the same (hard-core and fearless to the max, although they all share a common dislike of bulls/Zambezis).

Scott

 

[donmoore]

Great Story Scott! One thing I picked up on Shark Week this year was that the researchers seemed certain that sharks have a fear of being hurt. They want their meal, but they don’t want to obtain life threating injuries either. Their goal is to live by finding food and avoiding injuries!

Some of you may remember my run in with a bull last year. As soon as he got the shaft his attitude completely changed and he was gone (with my shaft). It’s their fear of injuries is why I think powerheads are totally unnecessary and an unneeded danger to divers. All one has to do is bump someone or something else with it and boom! There is a major injury! Plus the time you waste trying to put it on!

My current believe, and remember this is just my personal opinion which may mean squat since even the experts say most of what they say is speculation, but the best defense for a shark that wants to fool with you is to poke it with your speartip or if it looks like he is not going to turn, let him have it! If your shaft is already off or you don’t have your gun because the float line was tied to it and you dropped it, then do the Manning maneuver, which is to dodge him at the last second; then poke him with your knife as his body passes by! They say that sharks loose their vision (probably can’t see over their open mouth) right at the end of their charge.

Just my opinion,
don

 

[Adrian]

I've heard that when you poke them, try to do it without drawing blood as that may excite them further. Their noses are very sensitive and using the handle of the knife to hit them there usually should drive them off.

Adrian

 

[donmoore]

Good point Adrian, but personally I would rather avoid the whole front end where the nose is. It’s just to close to the teeth for me. They should do a study on the drawing blood theory. Personally I have never heard of shark coming back to attack someone after it got poked, but then it’s really hard to know. Sounds like a job for the Myth Busters. One of them should put on a wire suit and poke a few sharks!

Do you get Discover Channel in Spain?
don

 

[seaman]

There is always sharks in the water, when we dont see them is just because they dont want to be seen. When you actually see one, he is being very bold.there is strong evidence about becoming beligerant against an atacking shark would give a diver the best odds to avoid gettin`bite. That seems very logical as the sharks have a strong prey instinct inherihed from millions of years ago, so when they feel the response of the atacking prey, that confuses them and make them fled. that`s cool with small to medium Sharks, But the large Megapredators that`s another story (God forbids) . As Miles says, once they recognize you as preys you don`t have a chance. So when spearfishing it`s very important not to be recognized as prey, the Shark shields sounds as a smart choice particulary for the spearos because a gun or blunt object is not always handy. Terry Maas Was attacked by a 1000 pound Tiger shark and he managed to kill him with his 6 band speargun (Without powerhead) . But that`s a rather rare situation. both being attaked by a Tiger that big and to actually kill it with a regular spear¡¡¡ take a look of the great pics and story at:

http://www.freedive.net/feature/pickering_record.htm

p.s. great tuna bluewater hunting pics as well.

 

[Michael]

That story on Terry Mass' site about killing the Tiger shark is amazing! It's also an amazing story how that one guy landed a 200lbs tuna.

 

[Griff]

Hi Don,

I beileve that cape spearo who was killed by the great white a few months ago poked the shark off twice before it came back with force.
I have had a personal experience with a ragged tooth (sand tiger?) that just kept coming back after numerous pokes. The last time i really stuck the spear in deep and after that the shark seemed to get the message and slowly swam away. I thought i was going to have to shoot it after it just kept turning back on me. I have heard of similar experiences from at least two other divers that the raggies can get aggro and dont seem to be easily deterred.

The shark shield is very good, when diving a few months ago with about 3-4 reef sharks around. they started getting braver and braver so my dive buddy got his shark shield out. we didnt see a single shark for the rest of the dive.
if you do get a shark shield get the one for surfing/snorkeling cause the scuba one (which is designed to clamp to the cylinder) ends up shocking you all the time.
cheers
Mark

 

[Michael]

Does the shark shield only deter sharks? Or does it also deter the fish that onle would be hunting?

 

[donmoore]

Good info Mark. It is great to talk with someone with experience and especial with the shark shield. Sounds like the Shark Shield is for real. Do you think they will last for a few years? A good side benefit for one is it will help keep your buddy with you!

Michael,
The shark shield is not supposed to bother other types of fishes. Sharks have highly developed sensory receptors that other fish don’t. Sharks are the hardest fish to have in an aquarium, because any electric radio fields put out by pumps, lights, etc. bother them. On the oilrigs the big bad sharks you will find a ways outside of the rig, apparently because the catholic protection used on them creates an electric field they don’t like, but it doesn’t bother normal fish.
don