What's the story on hunting octopus?

[guanacaste]

Good luck with this i would be interested to see how you go. I had a crack at getting one one day and it ended up holding onto me and i had to get my dive knife and chop a couple of tenticals off. Have fun but please be extra carefull and never try if u dont have a knife handy

I never dive without a knife. Seems dangerous to go out in the ocean with float lines and spear rigging and all the rest of the awesomeness that we enjoy and not bring a knife.

I'd like to hear more about how you got snagged by the octo -- did you end up killing it or did it escape after the tentacle chopping?

 

[Apneaddict]

It could be half holed-up in the rocks and half holding onto the diver, connecting him to the bottom.

 

[guanacaste]

It could be half holed-up in the rocks and half holding onto the diver, connecting him to the bottom.

that makes sense. what's considered a "big octopus" that could be capable of holding a diver underwater? I've so far only seen ones that have a head the size of a cantaloupe or small watermelon -- tentacles being a couple of feet in length if I had to guess.

 

[Apneaddict]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus_wrestling

Apparently, they can get quite big!!
LOL

 

[Diving Gecko]

In Rodrigue its hunted by women, they carry a piece of sturdy wire with a bent end and pull it out of the hole,, they then grab it and turn the head cap inside out it kills it instantly.

Exactly the same way of dispatching as Korean Sea Women have done for centuries. I have seen it done while taking pics of them off the coast of Jeju Island.
Was instant and seems like a good way.

As a side note, that octopus was then handed to me right there on the spot as a gift.
When the sea woman realized I had no clue what to do with it, she went down again and resurfaced with a few sea urchins, cracked them open and fed me right there. I must have looked hungry.
Gotta be the best day of my (underwater) photography career