Spearing Sodwana Feb. '03

[Abriapnea]

Well, I'm back (applause/cheers/general pandemonium) :hmm
Great holiday , but unfortunately poor spearing due to two tropical cyclones pinballing around southern Madagascar and generally screwing things up .
I was fortunate that a buddy who bought my 135 cm. railgun was also visiting during the first week of my stay so I was able to spear with a familiar gun . My flashers however were long gone and the set I managed to bum were apparently designed for the express purpose of attracting sharks and scaring anything else away .
First day out we headed to 9 -mile reef . Viz 12 m. , temp 28 C. and a mild N - S current ; ideal conditions .
Hopped in , loaded my gun and started deploying the flashers . They barely got 6 m. down when the first bull came to have a look . Typical welcome around here , and since sharks and pelagics are often found together I tried to be philosophical and take it as a positive sign .
First dive down revealed not only the bull but also two reef sharks as well as two potato bass epinephelus tukula . These fish steal far more than sharks do and are regarded as unavoidable pests due to their (rightly) protected status .

 

[Abriapnea]

Our target species at 9 - mile is king mackerel although jack , wahoo , sailies and even marlin are also found . On this occasion we had to be satisfied with the smaller summer "shoal 'couta " averaging 5 -7 kg. One of my fish had to be forcibly removed from the jaws of a potato bass , but did not suffer much damage .
Much to our disappointment the current stopped soon after our arrival and the activity in the water followed suit .
Here is the meager results of the day ...:waterwork

 

[Iyadiver]

Man, u aged a lot Abri, I mean if I compare to your other photos. Are you getting older or the other photos were too young ???

That's Ok catch, I'll settle for sizes like that in my area...
Good to know u have not lost ur fine touch.

 

[Murat]

Its just the matter of luck. These catches are still ok if they can feed some people.

 

[Abriapnea]

Thanks , Iya ; you really know how to make someone feel comfortable with being 40 ...:waterwork

Here's the only worthwile fish I speared ; a 9 kg. green jobfish . I got it at 25 m. We speared a few more , but this was the biggest . Got chased out of the water shortly after by a very aggro tiger . This was at hotspot .

 

[Iyadiver]

Please don't mid being 40, u still look very healthy !!!

That is a big green job fish........

 

[ivan]

hi

Wow how the hell did I miss this Abri man any story from a spearos a good story do you have any more I love those storys can you give me a story about that MAGNIFICENT JOBFISH, im sure you were thinking of making me jealous when posted that pic Ha Ha Ha.

Hey I dont give a stuff if your 40 or 60 whatever your still the most successful spearo I know and before you turn 45 Im going to some how make sure I go diving with you, you gotta show the young fellas the ropes you know.

I request a story about the hunt for the most beaustiful fish in the sea please dont tease me tell me more about that Job fish hunt PLLLLEEEEEAAAAASSSSSEEEEE.

cheers

 

[Abriapnea]

The job on the Jobbie

We decided to go out one afternoon after ferrying bubble blowers all morning . The water at 2 - mile reef looked pretty good : 12 m. viz and a light current .
When we got to hotspot the viz turned out to be around six m. though ..., nearly turned around and ran ; however , there were some other guys on the boat so I didn't want them to see what a coward I am (if I had been alone I wouldn't even have slowed down )
We dropped our flashers , found the fusiliers , but saw no couta .I had hoped to divebomb some of these , thus spending minimum time underwater . Now I was going to have to go down and wait around ...:waterwork
I spent so much time eyeballing for sharks that the jobfish must have decided I posed no threat to it . It actually snaffled a fusilier right in front of me and still had the tail sticking out of it's mouth when I boated it .
Shortly afterwards another guy put a bad shot into a couta and had the thing thrashing all over the place . He was finally busy boating his fish when I saw three widely spaced remoras making a fast approach to me ; I have seen this often enough to realize what was to follow .
Yup , it would appear that the younger (and far more energetic) of the tigers from the Canyon has decided to head south .
After making sure the rest of the guys saw the shark I "reluctantly" let them convince me to move elsewhere . :hmm

 

[ivan]

hi

He He your lucky that Tiger didnt take your prized Jobbie. Nice story thanks Boet

cheers

 

[w3ac]

Smart fish

This question is for the Aussie and SA boys.

Are the Jobfish (Uku) in your waters particularly smart? In Hawaii they are probably one of the smartest fish I have eve hunted. To date, I have landed only one. I have hit a few but only managed to land that one girl. Seems like they need to be feeding before they show signs of stupidity. Tried all kinds of techiques to bring them in (scratching the reef, tossing sand, hiding eyes) but they usually stay just out of range. Any thoughts or not so secret secret techniques?

Brad :martial

 

[Abriapnea]

Hey Brad , sounds as though you have the techniques down . An added bonus is a good breathhold obviously , simply outwait them ;
Those #$%^ jobbies have pushed me to my limits on many occasions . You do get the occasional stupid one and I consider it my duty to remove these from the gene pool .

 

[andrsn]

Abri, always a pleasure to read up on your adventures! Hopefully we'll find someone to write stories of what we do in the keys next week.

Anderson