Where's the Best place on the PLANET for spearfishing in April '08..?

[Mowgli]

Hi Guys..

I've been a member for the past 3 years.. but this is my first post ever.. So I really would appreciate your responses, as the issue is quite important..

I'm planning to go on a spearfishing trip in April of this year with my wife :inlove .. but I have no idea where to.. After a month of research via Facebook, my best bet seems to be the country furthest away from where I live (in Dubai).. exactly on the opposite side of the globe: Tonga Islands, in the Southern Pacific..

I don't mind the distance at all, but I need your opinion guys, if any, about spearfishing in Tonga, coz I have a feeling deep in my gut telling me that I can find bigger fish elsewhere..

Tonga is said to have 20-40 kg pelagics in 30 meters of vsibility, in 27 C waters.. Can anyone confirm/ refute that statement, or suggest a better location/ country/ continent..?

Pls. keep in mind that my sad facts are as follows:

Free-diving smoking chimney
Best Depth: 17 meters
Best Bottom time: 1:40secs
Best Gun: Riffe- C3X, standard stock
Best Fish: 22.5kg Jack (Jash/Goal/Yeb)

Targeted Fish: Pelagics, any sort
Targeted Size: 40kgs plus plus..
Targeted Visibility: 25m plus
Targeted Temp: 20C plus

Hence the question:

Where's the Best place on the PLANET for spearfishing in the month of April '08..?

Ps: If I'm posting this article in the wrong place, pls. advise..

 

[Marwan]

well i would say save the long trip costs and look into mozambique, its said to be amazing..

 

[island_sands]

well i would say save the long trip costs and look into mozambique, its said to be amazing..

I think miles did a trip report on Moz, he said it was AWESOME.

 

[foxfish]

I think you will find very good sport here. Fishing and diving in Sao Tome and Principe : Tourist Info by Navetur - Equatour

 

[Marwan]

I think miles did a trip report on Moz, he said it was AWESOME.

i think miles goes to moz every chance he gets rofl

 

[redline]

I was in Madagascar kite surfing 2yrs ago, in the islands at the northern end in the mozambique channel... Let me tell you, I have never seen so much fish. They were everywhere... We'd often see big black shadows 6-8ft long whilst kitesurfing. And a Manta ray as big as our support boat. The local fishermen would often bring in boat loads of tuna. I did spear fish as well, but I was on my own, and honestly was a little intimidated by it so i didn't stray too far from the beach... Shot plenty of lobster Oh, and the viz was phenomenal. Access from Dubai is via Nairobi or Mauritius to Antananarivo and then an internal flight north. If you're interested send me a PM and i'll send you a link to some photos.

Anyway I imagine mozambique would be much the same: awesome

redline

 

[Marwan]

redline,
why not post the pics here..

 

[foxfish]

We want pics, we want pics?

 

[redline]

Errrr.. two reasons:
(1) Embarassingly i'm not sure how to do it!
(2) Most of the pictures are of kitesurfing, beaches and islands, so while it can give mowgli an idea of the environment, there are no glamour shots of me and huge fish Although there are some of the lobster I caught...

redline

 

[island_sands]

Errrr.. two reasons:
(1) Embarassingly i'm not sure how to do it!
(2) Most of the pictures are of kitesurfing, beaches and islands, so while it can give mowgli an idea of the environment, there are no glamour shots of me and huge fish Although there are some of the lobster I caught...

redline

Marco
add a post.. scroll down and you'll see "manage attachments"

 

[redline]

I'm toying with the idea of going back this year, purely to spearfish... If I do I'll post some specific pictures. For those interested in seeing what the place is like...

Picasa Web Albums - Marco - Madagascar

redline

 

[foxfish]

Well done dude those pics are fantastic.

 

[settingsteel]

Well done dude those pics are fantastic.

yes indeed nice colors on the bug,seems a sort of spiny lobster, like that "airborne pic in the distance

 

[redline]

Cheers guys. Can't take the honours for the lobster pictures... that was a friend of mine who's a bloody good photographer, and lugged her pro-camera and box of bits and pieces around madagascar for 6weeks! I took the rest of them though...
Just got an underwater set-up though, so if i do manage to go back sometime in the next months, I'll post some more relevant pictures.

redline

 

[redline]

By the way - those lobster were everywhere! It was a simple question of paddling round for 10mins and chosing your dinner

 

[island_sands]

uh... that's just heaven on earth!!
wow!!!

did you see any ring-tailed lemurs? boing boing boing boing...


Edit: i feel a little depressed now looking at that

 

[redline]

Hey Sands,

There was so much wildlife around, I didn’t really notice if they had rings on their tails or not The Lemurs were super friendly and curious, although it was a pain in the ass chasing them out of your tent, kit bad etc…

The diving there must be amazing, but as I was on my own (my travel mates weren’t divers) and I’m a bit of a wimp I didn’t venture too far from shore. Actually I was lucky to be able to borrow a gun and weight belt from our boat “captain”… Also he kind of freaked me out with his stories of the crocodiles fighting the sharks at the mouth of the river further south from where we were!!! I was definitely happier to be above water!

redline

 

[Mowgli]

Redline, Marwan and Foxfish.. Thanks alot for the input guys..

Moz sounds quite appealing.. Now i'm starting to wonder as to the size of fish and whether it beats Tonga or not.. Any views..?

Island hands.. Any data from your side..? I'm sure you must have touched on quite a few hot spots over the years.. although I am sure that penetrating a fish with a spear is not your favourite style of free-diving..

 

[island_sands]

Island hands.. Any data from your side..? I'm sure you must have touched on quite a few hot spots over the years.. although I am sure that penetrating a fish with a spear is not your favourite style of free-diving..

Mate if you search deeperblue you'll find quite a few posts about my hot spots that i have touched over the years and definitely quite a few posts about my favourite style of diving

 

[Mowgli]

I'm searching.. I'm searching.. I'm searching with all my might.. but I can't find anything..!! Would you pls. lend me hand.. just one..