spot your boat. We didn't take any pictures this weekend because quite honestly, lobsters make for boring pics and the spearfishing took a back seat to lobstering this weekend so it was only a few fish that were really the bycatch of decent hogs and...
in, so we headed to some of our spots to the west of the lighthouse. While I didn't get any video or good pics of the spearfishing, we did end up limiting out with my brother in law landing one monster mangrove (with only two left before limiting out)....
in later seasons participated as an underwater videographer. Mike is the USA distributor for FreeDivers (FreeDivers USA) spearfishing equipment. I came across his booth and after a great conversation about spearfishing, we started discussing the rising...
or how far you need to look to find that so-called lining. Usually, I will be the first to tell people that my worst day spearfishing is still a great day diving but unfortunately this weekend has stretched my belief to the limit. We went out Saturday...
reef. Unfortunately, as good as that sounds, it's not always the only determnining factor in having a good (or great) spearfishing weekend. Even though all the signs were pointing at another picture perfect weekend, we would be reminded that no matter...
that seeing that fish you've been hoping for has on your dive time. I tried my hand at the Aspetto (waiting) style of spearfishing too. Without all the stimulus of seeing fish I wanted to chase (much less shoot) I was able to consistently get my dive...
how much more money I need to spend in their stores) with my friends from Austin's Dive Center and Nautilus Spearfishing. In addition to the expo that lets you check out the latest products from manufacturers like Spetton, Omer, Riffe, DiveR and just...
and give me knowledge about freediving that I did not currently possess so that I can improve my freediving and spearfishing skills. We were fortunate to not only have our 2 instructors for our class, but to also have 2 of the students in our class be...
don't get a lot of Permit family fish because they are protected in state waters and we don't do a lot of federal water spearfishing, so at first glance I thought, "Who cares..." But after following the link and reading the article, I started to get...
or a video, simply put the camera in the correct mode, and press the shutter release... Voila! you're an underwater spearfishing videographer. Not too shabby if I do say so myself (so I will).
sometimes you get lucky, and you don't even know it until everything has happened. It was late in August, 1999. We were spearfishing a ledge that we visit from time to time. Usually we find a fair amount of grouper there. But we also know that this late...
water for and probably closer to the actual events than I would care to consider... It was the summer of 1997. We were spearfishing along the 7 Mile Bridge on the East side of Mosier channel. We had been in the water for a couple of hours already and it...
a try! I am also working on making my own flashers for use in blue water. I have been watching these being used on a few spearfishing shows and their reasoning seems sound for their success. They didn't seem too hard to make, so I decided to make my own...
Throughout my relatively short history in spearfishing (as of this writing), I have only used a few different spearguns. Now obviously, my opinion in this matter is not one of extreme trial and error. Mostly it consists of recommendations made to me by...
compete in any national or even local competitions. I really don't think I'm at that level (yet). I do, however, enjoy spearfishing immensely. I created this site and continue to maintain it in the hopes that someone who is thinking about picking up the...
for yourself and get acquainted because there were other changes too. I guess if I get to go out for some late winter spearfishing this year, I'll have to focus on some of the other dinner fare fish until May 1st. We can only hope that this change will...
huge catch, but I still wouldn't have missed it for anything. I've said it before and I'll say it again... my worst day spearfishing is still a great day of freediving and fun! So we'll just have to get 'em next time. And so, since this is my last entry...
Type:
Article
Author:
Bob Diaz
Category:
SpearBlog 2009
Results 61 - 80 of 99
Gallery Spotlight
June 30-July 9, 2012 - The week of the one(s) that got away... (at least for me)
I wasn't really prepared to do or record this when it happened, but while offshore doing some Mahi fishing off of Key Largo in July '23, we had a bull mahi that would not leave and would not take a bait no matter what we did. Since we never leave home without our spearfishing gear, I suited up and what happened next was.... well, that's why you watch the video.
I wasn't really prepared to do or record this when it happened, but while offshore doing some Mahi fishing off of Key Largo in July '23, we had a bull mahi that would not leave and would not take a bait no matter what we did. Since we never leave home without our spearfishing gear, I suited up and what happened next was.... well, that's why you watch the video.
Over the weekend of March 27 th & 28 th I took the Level 1 Freediving course offered by FII (Freediving Instructors International) at their Headquarters in Pompano Beach FL. FII was started by Martin Stepanek, a multiple time freediving world record holder. The Level 1 curriculum is taught over a 2 day course. The first day is classroom and pool based and spans almost 9 hours. This course is designed for beginning freedivers and is supposed to get novice divers to a depth of 66 feet.
This past weekend, I finally got to go to The Blue Wild dive expo. After 3 years of everybody telling me about it and not being around to get to go to it, the stars finally aligned and I was able to check it out. Unfortunately, it meant missing out on 5-10mph winds and less than 1' seas inside the reef, but there were other reasons I couldn't get out this weekend, so I figured I would take advantage to check it out and possibly win something from the raffle to boot (I won't keep you in...
I finally bit the bullet and decided to sell my No-Ka-Oi. It had gotten next to no use in the time I had owned it and it seemed a shame to have it just sit there so I Ebay'd it. With the funds from that sale, I invested in a gun that is a little more multi-purpose (at least that is how I convinced myself to get it :). I was extremely torn among 3 choices. I was considering the Euro 120, 120x and 130. After a couple of weeks of deliberation and a lot of flip-flopping, I decided on the Euro 120....
It didn't take me long to finish rigging up the 120 with a new reel and 2.2mm dyneema line. Unfortunately as of now (Apr 2009), I haven't had an opportunity to get into the blue water to put this new toy through its paces. I am definitely jones'ing to give it a try! I am also working on making my own flashers for use in blue water. I have been watching these being used on a few spearfishing shows and their reasoning seems sound for their success. They didn't seem too hard to make, so I decided...
This review is actually long overdue as I've had this mask for well over a year now and I honestly don't know why I hadn't done it before now. After trying multiple masks over several years (and several hundred dollars), some were good (Mystic, Star, Nano), and some were bad (Zero Cubed). Before this, I had actually decided upon the Cressi Nano as "the one". I thoroughly enjoyed the fit and volume of the Nano, but there were a couple of VERY minor issues with the fit. I'm convinced that the...
This year at The Blue Wild I was fortunate enough to meet Mike Hickey. I know of Mike from his appearances on Speargun Hunter on the Outdoor Channel with Sheri Daye. Mike was orginally a guest on the show and in later seasons participated as an underwater videographer. Mike is the USA distributor for FreeDivers ( FreeDivers USA ) spearfishing equipment. I came across his booth and after a great conversation about spearfishing, we started discussing the rising cost of spearshafts specifically....
Winds: 5-10 South Seas: 1-2 feet (maximum) Surf Temp: +/- 80F Viz: 25-40 feet Another beautiful weekend in paradise. The winds were mild and the temperatures hot! We dove some of our preferred patch reefs this weekend. We knew it was still a little early to catch those large mangroves we love so much, but we just couldn't resist. We only took a few, but they were choice! We even got a couple of nice mackerels. As long as you arrived before the tide line, the water was pretty clear... green,...
Seas: 3-8 feet Winds: 10-35 SSE Temp: ?? F Viz: ?? feet Thanks to the system that would become TD4 this weekend in the Gulf of Mexico, the weather turned to crap mid morning Saturday and got progressively worse throughout the day and into the night. We did get one break in the weather around 3:30p and headed out to see how badly the viz had gotten. Drifting with the tide and with minimal viz of only about 8 feet we were actually still able to shoot a few hogs and pick up 5 bugs too in about an...
Winds: 10-15 SE Seas: 2-4 feet (sloppy) Surf Temp: +/- 80F Viz: 25-60 feet Saturday was pretty much a wash for me due to the fact that I had to pull an all nighter on Friday and didn't get to show up on Saturday until about 3:30 in the afternoon. But after downing 6 or 7 beers and laying down early to get a full night's rest that night, I hoped Sunday was the beginning of a better weekend. Unfortunately, I was wrong, my brother-in-law was sick with a flu so it made it a little hard to get him...
Seas: 1-3 feet Winds: 5-15 ESE Temp: 80 F Viz: 40-50 feet offshore To say that I was looking forward to this weekend after the past few we have had would seem totally redundant. The last couple of weekends have been abysmal at best. But luckily for me, this weekend has let me make up for the past few (from a spearfishing perspective) and this blog will have me at my usual loquacious self with a little more verbal ammunition than I have had recently. Like last week, I want to talk about the...
Winds: SE 5-10 Seas: 1-2 ft Surf Temp: 81 F Viz: 20-30 ft This weekend brought back our perennial foes the moon jellyfish. They moved in quickly over the past couple of weeks and moved in thick. In some spots we had trouble surfacing without almost colliding with a few of them on the way back to the surface. For the second weekend in a row, we found that same thermalcline that created a layer of extremely warm water at the bottom that also made it difficult to see near the bottom in depths...
For those of you that don't pay attention to the news, thanks to hurricane Katrina and her constant refusal to abide by the National Hurricane Center's predictions, this weekend was not one to be anywhere in the keys. While the keys were initially supposed to be spared the onslaught of even a category 1 hurricane's fury, the keys like the rest of South Florida lay right along her persistent path. Our hearts and prayers are with those who are along this monster storm's latest path in New...