Spearing North Shore of Kauai

[TOOmas]

Hey everyone, I havnt been on in a while since college started up. There arent a lot of places to spear in southern idaho . However, my family is going to Kauai for spring break and I'll be joining them for the first week of April. My dad is going to bring my gear with him; my mask, snorkle, 70cm RA, Omer fins, and booties. I dont think there is room for a 5mm ws or too much need for one.

Anyways, I was hoping that some would have some info regarding spearing around the north shore of Kauai. We are going to be staying in a house on or near Anini Beach which is supposed to have decent snorkling. Ive tried google searches for spearing around there but havnt been able to find much. This will be my first time spearing in salt water so I am pretty excited, I mean I will actually be able to eat any fish that are stupid enough to get close to my 70cm gun rofl

thanks
Thomas

 

[blaiz]

I grew up on Kauai though I lived on the southshore and most my diving was limited to that area. A 70cm is going to be a little small but a great gun for diving holes and caves. You will be on the north shore at a great time as there is not going to be any swell so the surf should be minimal and water should be clear.

That being said, anini beach is surounded by a fringing reef and is relatively shallow close to shore. If you plan on heading out to the outer reefs or diving the flats for that matter, be careful, dive with a partner preferably someone from the area, bring a float with a legal sized flag. I think here in hawaii it has to be at least 12" by 12".

Take good care to know the water and conditions before you go out. Currents out there can get pretty strong, and sharks are a common sight.

Check on Hawaii Fishing Laws, Hawaii Fishing Resources

This is a pretty good site that has the hawaii size limits for our reef and palagic fish.

You might check out a few other spots like Tunnels or Hideaways too.

Good luck and Have fun.

 

[TOOmas]

Thanks for the reply/info, just wondering if you knew of a simply way to get/make a float? As we will be flying and wont be there too long I can really justify buying an expensive one.

Im also thinking of using my birthday money to get a larger gun, I was thinking a Cressi Comanche 100 as its pretty cheap. That way both my dad and I can go out and I think a 100 and a 70 gun should cover us pretty well.

Thanks,
Thomas

 

[blaiz]

Thanks for the reply/info, just wondering if you knew of a simply way to get/make a float? As we will be flying and wont be there too long I can really justify buying an expensive one.

Im also thinking of using my birthday money to get a larger gun, I was thinking a Cressi Comanche 100 as its pretty cheap. That way both my dad and I can go out and I think a 100 and a 70 gun should cover us pretty well.

Thanks,
Thomas

A 100 is definitely a very versatile gun for our waters. Not too big for reef diving and big enough to take down some larger fish.

Im not sure about the cressi guns. I dont have much experience with them but from what I have heard they can be fairly inaccurate due to the shaft being to light and the powerband too strong. May want to get a bigger shaft with it or lighten up on the power band. check out Hammerhead, they make some affordable, durable, and well tuned guns right off the shelf.

As far as a float you can always get a cheap boogie board and put a flag on it. Our abc stores here sell cheasy little boogie boards that will work all right for a short trip. That or an inflateable though not too many make an affordable one with a legal flag. The most important thing is having one that wont feel to heavy to pull around.

 

[TOOmas]

Im not sure about the cressi guns. I dont have much experience with them but from what I have heard they can be fairly inaccurate due to the shaft being to light and the powerband too strong. May want to get a bigger shaft with it or lighten up on the power band. check out Hammerhead, they make some affordable, durable, and well tuned guns right off the shelf.

As far as a float you can always get a cheap boogie board and put a flag on it. Our abc stores here sell cheasy little boogie boards that will work all right for a short trip. That or an inflateable though not too many make an affordable one with a legal flag. The most important thing is having one that wont feel to heavy to pull around.

I would love a 100 Hammerhead, they look like great guns and I havnt heard anything bad about them. Prices arent bad like you said, cheapest I found for a 100cm was $250 or so. Thing is im a poor college student so the cheaper is, unfortunatly, usually what I have to go with. Ill put up a thread in goods wanted to see if anyone is selling one or something similar.

Ill definitely pick up a boogie board to convert though. I had honestly completely forgotten about needing a dive flag so thanks for the heads up.

 

[blaiz]

Do a search on DIY floats, there are a few on the forum that are pretty ingenious and very simple/cheap

 

[nz676]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1] Omer Master Torpedo Float[/SIZE][/FONT]

 

[nz676]

52 bucks or so should fit in luggage

 

[TOOmas]

so i got in yesterday and have spent most of my time in the water at anini and then some today at poipu. ive never been around the variety of fish thats here, im starting to be able to recognize what i am seeing but still dont know whats good to shoot/eat. that being said i just brought my polespear out today for a bit, everything that looked good to shoot was to far away. Tomorrow a brother in law of my sisters friend (???) who lives here is going to take me out somewhere to spearfish and show me the ropes. so hopefully that goes well and then the rest of the week will go more smoothly.

 

[blaiz]

Right on Toomas, Just remember that a good rule to go by is that if it is red or silver its typically pretty good eating.

Another thing to keep in mind is that when you are hunting in hawaii the best results come from "aspetto." This means lay on the bottom as still and quiet as possible and let the fish come to you. The more you chase fish the further away from you they will stay. Position yourself as low in the reef as you can, throw a couple fists full of sand up in the column and scratch the coral (find dead coral of course) periodically.

Also, be wary of the bottom too. I know it looks like our reefs are pretty healthy but the truth of the matter is that they are struggling pretty hard. Try not to kick the coral or touch it (the live stuff). I may be preaching to the choir on this one so please dont take it the wrong way. I see way too many tourists walking on the coral, grabbing it, trying to break pieces off, and many other wacky things. I doubt your one to do any of these things but on the slight chance that someone else reads this thread it might make a difference.

Good luck, tell your friend you want to get some aweoweo (pronounced aveo'veo) i think the common name is glasseye. They are a red fish that usually hangs out under ledges and in holes. Easy to spot as you usually see their eye first. By far my favorite reef fish. they dont get to big... only about an 6-12 inch fork length but gut them and trow them in a fry pan.... onolicious. You dont even need to scale them, just crisp up the skin and eat it like chips!

 

[blaiz]

How'd the rest of your trip go? any pics?

 

[Mr. X]

Great thread, sounds like you two worked things out well. Anything else to report TOOMas Saw some inexpensive spearo torpedo floats with US-style red/white dive flags on ebay this week from Italy, for about $11/£8 + shipping. Cheap, small & light, might be ideal for a trip like this, could probably even get them shipped to your hotel to avoid delay/luggage. The flag would not be 12"x12" though. I would think Hawaii might be a good place to buy local gear, Hammerhead/Wong/etc. & avoid some shipping costs.