Florida Spearfishing Tour with Speared

I have just got back from one heck of an adventure in Florida USA. The trip was initiated by the Blue Wild Expo, in Fort Lauderdale. I figured that I was traveling around the globe to get there so I would stay on for 2 weeks and try meet up with some people and get to see the place.

As the trip drew near I still had not organized anything sold as far as plans went for after the show, but figured I would meet some people along the way I could bum a couch to sleep on.

The trip actually started in Mozambique where I was taking a great bunch of Brazilians diving for a week. It was a great week of diving and the guys got some great fish. But that’s a story for another day. Anyway I left Mozambique with my half wet dive gear and some blue water MAMBA spearguns I had been testing. (Was going to find out fast that they were the wrong things for Florida)

 

Beers n Spears with MJK and Jose Debasa

I landed in Miami the eve before the show and went straight from the airport jetlagged and all to the Head Hunters ‘Beers n Spears’ warm up party. Being so tired, I probably would have given it a skip, but Brad had included a compilation of MJK’s latest videos that we had just finished.

Here 2 of the 3 videos if you have not seen them yet.

Spearfishing Madagascar & Mozambique with MJK

Spearfishing 3 Kings - New Zealand with MJK

I crashed at Sheri Daye’s house that night and met some cool guys that were helping her with the show. Staying with Sheri meant that each day I got to the show early to help out (just a little) and get to have a look at the ‘behind the scenes’ of the show. It also gave me the privilege to watch Sheri, one of the most amazing woman I have ever met do her thing. She juggled so many balls at once during the show and dealt with every thing with the most amazing grace and integrity. I have always been in awe of Sheri and her diving achievements and now even more so. Sheri is officially one of my favorite peoples on the planet.

Sheri in her 'Wo-Man Cave' that would make any Spearo Jealous.

The Blue Wild was epic; I actually needed at least another day to see everything. It seemed like every few steps I would bump into someone I knew or had met via social media or email. I made so many new friends and got introduced to so many awesome people at the show. From legends like Daryl Wong to kids just starting out in spearfishing, it was just plain insane.

Mr Timmy Knight fixing a hangover in the Speared Apparel booth.

It was however bumping into Aaron Chasse and Timmy Knight at the Speared booth that would set the direction for the rest of my trip to the USA and what was to become known as the ‘Florida Tour’

Checking out the HeadHunter stand.

It all started while I was minding my own business at Brad Thornbrough’s Head Hunter stand. I hear from across the way an Aussie trying to pull off a South African accent calling out, “I can’t believe it, I stoned it with a reelgun”. It was none other than the infamous Timmy Knight. 

A very long colorful story made short, Tim was over there as part of the Speared team and was also wanting to spend some time traveling and spearfishing around the states. Aaron the owner of Speared had put a few things together for Tim with all the Spearheads crew and other mates around Florida. Next thing I know I had ‘cracked the nod’ and joining their adventure, and one crazy rollercoaster ride of an adventure it was.

My first Florida dive experience with Timmy, Nolan and Ben

First stop was meeting up with Ben Maxwell who had organized and trip out of St Pete. Nolan Sadorf was also part of the crew so there was no shortage of diving talent on the boat. We dove the wrecks looking for Mangrove Snapper, but there were loads of Amberjack around as well. I soon realized that the MAMBA guns I had bought were way too much for trying to shoot the small Mangrove’s in the wrecks. So I spent my day diving around the outsides of the wrecks looking for fish big enough for my mini canon.

Me finding a King Mack and Aaron with a sneaky Amberjack

This landed me up shooting a King Mackerel as my first fish in the USA. It was a good fish of about 15kg and although it is a different species to our Spanish Mackerel it looks almost identical. It’s ironic that I travel half way around the world and land up shooting a ‘Couta’ as my first fish.

Ben knows how to get the job done.

Timmy was not going to be out done and caught some good Mangrove Snapper and Aaron topped it off with a solid Amberjack that hung around a little too long after the guys had shot some snapper at the one wreck. Ben and Nolan however had the place wired and seemed to be loading the fish onto the boat every time looked up.

David - Timmy- myself - Chad - Cheyenne - Justin Baker

Next stop was West Palm to dive with the Chad, David and Cheyenne Lee in the Stuart Sandbar area. Justin Baker another one of the Speared crew also joined us.

We started out going to look for Cobia with the Bull Sharks, but as it was coming to the end of the Cobia season all we saw was loads of Bulls. It was great diving with so many sharks, it made me feel like I was at home J

Justin, Chad and David showing us how it is done.

The days diving was fairly quiet, but the David, Chad and Justin showed their local knowledge and showed both Timmy and I up getting great fish. It was truly impressive watching the Lee brothers who are still in there teens. The were super strong in the water, pulling solid dives. But the most impressive thing was to see how safe they dived. Not once did they dive with out making sure that there was some one watching. And they never turned to swim away with out watching that person surface. On top of that their dad who drove that boat that day knew where every one was all the time and just had the whole day under control. These guys made me seriously rethink how I do things.

Cheyenne - Don't be fooled by her good looks, she kicks ass. 

Timmy did'nt shoot any fish either so he tried to catch a Mermaid..

Another shocker was Cheyenne the Lee bros older sister, who also came along to dive. I had to have a double take more than once watching her dive, and that’s not just because she is really attractive. She was diving just as good as all the boys, and you could see she knew exactly what she was doing. The level of these kids diving is crazy good; they are as Aaron coined, “the real deal”. I don’t know any guys, and girls this young who’s diving is mature as these guys. They are definitely guys you want to be watching.

Brad hooking us up with pole spears. Timmy had to have a bigger one than me.

It was then all the way back to West palm, to meet up with Michael Dornellas to go dive the Bahamas. We made a quick stop at Headhunter and Brad hooked us up with some pole spears, as this is all you can use in the Bahamas. Super pumped to try my hand at the pole spear we headed out on the 38ft Jupiter with 3x300hp, probably the nicest boat I have been on.

This how we roll .... with a dumb smerk :-)

Michael is a super fun guy blasting the tunes there and back making a party out of every moment.

We dived a few spots, but there just weren’t any decent fish around. I managed to get 3 small Cero Mackerels (I know…. I am shooting the mackerels again!!!) While Timmy Picked off some nice Hogfish.

Timmy goes Hogfish 

With the fishing a bit slow we headed over to Tiger Beach to check out the sharks. There seemed to be a few fish on the edge of the spot and I eventually got a half decent Hogfish, to tick the box. The pole spearing was super fun but the Tiger Sharks came in and the poles spears got swapped with cameras. Michael has a kick ass Sony A7s in a Nauticam housing that I was coveting, so I let Michael dive and play with the Tigers while got to film with the camera.

Michael has been doing these trips for a while and really understands these beautiful creatures. Normally his time is spent ensuring the safety of his clients, but Timmy, Aaron and myself being experienced divers he felt more relaxed to just spend time with his big ‘kitty kat’ friends. Watching Michael is really inspiring so Timmy and I were both keen to get up close and personal with the sharks as well. Timmy with the careful instruction by Michael had some great encounters with the sharks, and after a few approaches got the timing perfect and got to dance with one.

Here is the short film Michael put together including the footage I shot of him that day.

Sharing space from Michael Dornellas on Vimeo.

It was my turn next. Its hard not to feel a little nervous approaching such a massive animal that has the potential to chop you in half if it felt like it. But having swam with them for more than an hour and watching Michael and Tim I felt confident that if I kept my cool it would be all-good. The hard part is timing your approach. The Tiger needs to be right on the chum basket, you then need to get up to the shark. The goal is to hold onto its nose, but with out restricting or controlling it. You just have to go with it and let it feel comfortable, something I did not get right in the beginning and I had a few that got feisty with me. (Go watch the ‘ball slap’ clip…. Too funny) Tiger Slap - Click Here

I had a few great moments with them, and it’s amazing how they let you into there space and even come back for more.

 

Our first fish on pole spears.

We were about to call it a day when I see Tim fetch his pole spear and smack a brutt of an Amberjack. I though the horde of sharks would annihilate the fish, but they just kept cruising around. Not to be out done by Tim, no there was absolutely no competition between Tim and I… really, I fetched my pole spear. I watched as a big Amberjack pulled in, the thought going through my head was, “if this Predator Headhunter pole spear and get through this fish I will be able to shoot some good fish at home”. I loaded up the pole as I dived down and did not stop until I was real close to the Amberjack. I tried for the MJK stone shot, and thought I got it. Not quiet dead the Amberjack still had some go and was difficult to man handle to the surface. I did not want to let the fish down to the sharks so I held on for a good few head dunks.

A magic moment getting to tummy rub a Tiger. Pic: Michael Dornellas

Tiger Beach was one of the highlights of the trip, a truly amazing experience and one I wont forget. Next up was a long drive through the night to Key West for the opening of grouper season with Aj Hally and his friends; Brandon, Robert Allen, Jeremy. Nolan joined us for the ride so all in all there 8 divers. I don’t think the grouper knew what to expect. This day was another learning curve for both Tim and I. We did not know what fish we were allowed to shoot and what was considered a good size. We were using chum to bring the fish in and the first guys to pick a fish landed up getting the fish before they ducked for cover.

I hesitated far too many times and passed up so many good opportunities it was frightening. Long story short I missed out and did not even pull the trigger. Timmy was a bit shaper and after also passing up a whole bunch of fish committed to shooting the first fish he saw on the last spot and nailed a good Black grouper.

All the boys with there opening season Groupers.

It was a great grouper-opening day and the boys were amped to celebrate. Aaron and Nolan had to get back so Timmy and I stayed on to experience the nightlife of Key West. The local boys showed us a great time on the town, which paid severely for the next day.

The Key West boys showing us a good time. 

Our last stop was back to Miami to meet up with Jose Debasa for a last few days and do one last dive before heading home.  My ear was playing up after all the diving, so I just bukkied (boat boy) for the day. Jose took us to some of his home spots looking for grouper and Mangroves. The weather wasn’t the greatest and the current was strong but Jose & JD got a few fish.

Jose and JD scratching a few fish together.

The Florida tour with the Speared Apparel crew was epic, so many good vibes & good times. I never thought I would land up seeing so much & getting so much done. I met so many great people, who were so welcoming and went out of their way to make our trip so special. For that I am very grateful and hope one day to be able to return the favors.

Another great blessing that came from hanging with the Speared crew was being asked to be part of the Speared Apparel crew. I am honored to be a brand ambassador for them and excited for all the good vibes ahead. So from now on you will be seeing me sporting some super cool Speared threads.

Big thanks again to all who made the Florida tour epic. Especially Janelle Chasse for lending Aaron to Timmy & I for so long.

Cheers & "Good Vibes All Round"

Coatesman

Summer Spearfishing Cape Vidal

Hein du Plessis good Spanish Mack off Leven Point - Cape Vidal

With all the rain on the KZN coast about the only place to go spearfishing at the moment is Cape Vidal.  Desperate to get our gills wet, we headed up the coast on Wednesday for a quick day trip to see if we could get some diving in.
Cape Vidal in December can be frustrating as it can be extremely quiet, the early spring shoals of 'return' Couta (these are Spanish Mackerel big and fat from feeding on the shoals of sardines down south during winter that go back to Mozambique during the summer)  and the Wahoo run have come and gone.
That is not so say you wont find the odd straggler or early shoal Couta , but generally the action only starts in mid January.

Never the less with no other diving going on we headed up and we were blessed with some nice clean water. As was expected the fish were quiet and we only managed to get one small Couta. Some other friends of mine also went up, but they stayed the night at Vidal and got on the sea early and Hein managed to get good Couta early on in the morning.
Apparently there were a few fish around early, which is typical of Leven Point. These early fish usually disappear once the sun is up and more boats arrive.

Tiger Shark off Deep Oscar at Cape Vidal

After a few hours of fishless drifts we headed out to the dep pinnacles at Deep Oscar. On my first drift even though the current was screaming I landed right above the bump. As I dived I saw a couta deep below me and swam down to intercept the fish. But when I levelled out at about 28m with the fish, I was joined by 3 Tiger Sharks, a Zambezi and a Grey Shark. If that was not enough there were a couple Potato Bass circling below just off the reef. It was like they were all going, "come on we dare you to shoot!"
For once I heeded my better judgment and did not take the shot, but situation I found my self in was absolutely awe inspiring. Sharks and other predators all congregating, almost like animals at a watering hole in a drought. So when I hit the surface the speargun was quickly swapped for a DSLR camera.

JP with a small Tiger Shark at Deep Oscar

We battled to get on the exact spot again, also diving with a large camera housing that resembles a potjie pot did not make it any easier. never the less we had some Tigers come up and follow us around for a while. One of the sharks was extremely large and fat, possibly one of the biggest Tigers I have ever seen. This big shark as obviously been around the block a few times and was a bit camera shy and was not keen to get too close.

Although we did not get many fish, it was a great day out and diving with all the sharks was rather cool. The water here at home is still brown and the rivers are still pumping so there is a good chance we will head back to Cape Vidal this next week again. Hopefully we can get lucky this time with some better fish.

Coatesman

Massive DatShark Activity with the Rotting Whale in Ballito

Day 4 and the Whale in Ballito still sits rotting. Spewing rotting whale blubber everywhere.

 Last Saturday a dead Humpback whale washed up on the rocks off Ballito, the already rotting carcus was followed by sharks and bite marks could be seen on the carcus. The sea and tide was perfect to tow the whale back out to sea, but the municipality in their wisdom decided to have a series of meetings spanning a couple days in which time the sea turned and the opportunity lost. The guys from the local Sharks Board where there ready to make an attempt on Saturday but the 'Eish' the municipality must have there 10cents or lack of involved.

So now we have a rotting 30 tonne chunk of whale stinking, and sending pieces of whales up and down the coast. Local people are also taking chunks of the rotting flesh .., one can only hope they are not eating it!!

Martin from the Sharks board said he found a huge chunk of intestine off Salt Rock yesterday .... that's 8km away!
He also said the Shark activity was insane, which loads of sharks in the area near the whale. The Sharks board have lifted all their nets all the way from Ballito to Salt Rock with this massive shark activity.

2m Tiger Shark beached just south of Salt rock beach.

Yesterday a juvenile 2m Tiger Shark washed up between Shakas Rock and Salt Rock main beach. The Shark has been sent off to the Sharks Board to find out the cause of death, and if it had been feeding on the Whale. I am sure this is only one a many that have been feeding on the whale. The problem is that even once the whale has been removed it will take weeks for the oily fat deposit on the beaches to wash away. The big question is .... when will it be safe to venture into the sea again??

Any one for a whale burger ... or any one keen to donate a leg to the sharks?

Coatesman

Epic Aliwal Shoal Shark Photography

Jon Cooper took this underwater photo of these three Sharks on Aliwal Shoal this week.

The conditions on Aliwal Shoal have been epic, and this photo of these sharks is proof enough. I think this pic is an award winner if I ever saw one ... absolutly amazing!!

I mean a Tiger shark, Whale shark and a Black tip shark in the same pic in near perfect composition. 

Flipp'n epic shark photography!!

Coatesman

Tiger Shark Killed by Spearfisherman

In last weeks post "Tiger Shark Shot by Spearfisherman" there is the story of Craig Clasens capture of a Tiger Shark. Go have a look at the amount of comments on the post!! I never though this would create such a huge response.

You dont have to read to far down to see that the view point of the guys out there is seriousl negative, and woven into that is the negative view of spearfishing. This for me is very sad, as we should be everything we can to portray the right picture of what spearfishing is about.

..... maybe I should have not put the picture and Tiger Shark story up in the first place?

Some how we need to start revealing to/ educating  the public about the conservative nature of spearfishing. It just seems every were you go people bitch and moan about what a bunch of 'mindless killers' we are. But they are the same persons that will eat a chicken that was grown in a cage, a cow that has never seen a blade of grass .... or even fish commercially caught by a long liner or using nets!

Anyway what is encouraging is seeing the amount of Spearfisherman adopting good habits and practices. Fewer and fewer guys are pilaging for the extra buck and becoming more and more selective with their catches. The unfortunate thing is the general public will always see it as a blood sport.

As for the the whole Tiger Shark Shooting insident ... well the video does not show him shoot the shark and if the shark was attacking or not. So I wont pass judgment ... it is just sad that it takes us spearo's down with it in a ball of poo!

Here are some less prevoking Tiger Shark and Spearisherman Moments:

Filming Tiger Sharks

the short film .. Shark Soup

Dreaming Of Tiger Sharks ..... one of the best pic's ever!!

Sweet dreams

Coatesman

Tiger Shark Shot by Spearfisherman

Spearfisherman Craig Clasen from the US spears a Tiger Shark.

The first thing that goes through ones mind is this is terrible! How could some one do something like this. The fact remains that nobody will hold back when a couple hundred kilo's of killing machine and a nice set of chompers is harassing you.

Most times the sharks back off ... occasionally they don't, and if you cant get out the water in a hurry well ... it gets ugly!

Here is the story I pulled off the web:

Plunging a knife in again and again, diver Craig Clasen grapples with a 12ft tiger shark to protect a friend.

For two hours he wrestled with the giant, spearing it seven times, even drowning the beast before eventually finishing it off with a knife.

Mr Clasen was hunting yellow fin tuna with fellow fisherman Cameron Kirkconnell, photographer D.J Struntz and film maker Ryan McInnis in the Gulf of Mexico when the encounter took place.

The group were about to leave the deep waters south of the Mississippi River's mouth, when Mr McInnis found himself alone in the company of a tiger shark.

With no time to lose, Mr Clasen grabbed his speargun and swam to his stranded friend, who was being circled by the giant predator.

'I positioned myself between Ryan and the shark and I tried to watch it for a second, hoping it would pass us by,' explained 32-year-old Mr Clasen.

'I noticed that the shark was getting tighter and tighter and just kept trying to get a back angle on us and behaving in an aggressive manner.

'The shark made a roll and looked like it was going to charge us so I just went ahead and took the conservative route and put a shaft through its gills.

'Cameron and I have been around sharks for years and we all have a lot of experience with them but this encounter had a different feel to it.

'Down in my core I really felt the shark was there to feed. I didn't want it to come to that.'

Mr Clasen spent nearly two hours wrestling with the giant 12ft shark, spearing it seven times and even attempting to drown the beast before eventually finishing it off with a long blade knife.

'Once I shot it in the gills I felt a moral obligation to finish the job,' says Mr Clasen.

'I didn't want it to go on any longer than it had to. I shot the fish like I would do any other fish and worked it up closer and did my best to kill it as humanely as possible.

'I speared it in the gills which I knew would kill it and from that I tried to put a shaft into its brain as quickly as possible.

'I shot it six times in the head with a spear and I wasn't having much luck - it was a slow drawn out process.

'Sharks are so resilient and so tough from millions of years of evolution they are just survivors.

'The best way and quickest way to finish the job and kill the shark and recover it was to get a rope around its tail, drag it from the back of the boat and attempt to drown it.

'In the end we had put a knife its skull once I got lose enough to it and use a long blade knife even after trying to drown it.'

Mr Clasen has been free diving and fishing since an early age. Hailing from Mississippi, he was brought up in a fishing family, and is an expert in all fishing disciplines. Despite his experience, Mr Clasen took no pleasure in disposing of the giant shark.

'This was one of the most remorseful moments I have ever had in all of my years in hunting, gathering and fishing,' explains Mr Clasen.

'Personally I never shoot anything or kill anything that I am not going to eat.

'We saved the tail and the head, cut a giant chunk out of it and ate a piece.

'I wasn't there to hunt the shark, it was a defensive move for me and I would do it again. Unfortunately it had to be done and its not something I was proud of. It was a situation that presented itself to us. This was one of those rare instances where we had to protect ourselves.

'I have so much respect for sharks in general. With the amount of time that we spend out there we are exposed to so many potential risks.'

Spearfishing is a form of fishing that has been popular throughout the world for centuries. Considered to be the most selective way of fishing, the amount of fish taken by spearfishermen accounts for just 0.1 per cent of fishing globally.

Today spearfishermen use effective elastic- or pneumatic-powered spearguns and slings to strike the hunted fish using free-diving, snorkelling or scuba-diving techniques.

Regarded by many as two of the world's best free diving spearfishermen, Mr Clasen and Cameron Kirkconnell have come into contact with thousands of sharks.

Watching from the boat, Mr Kirkconnell is sure Mr Clasen the right decision. 'We had been in the water all day and had caught lots of tuna,' he explained.

'But every dive we do is a shark dive and at certain times of the year, especially in Louisiana, we expect to see between 50-100 sharks from 7-12 ft.

'This encounter was so rare though. This shark might have been part of a feeding frenzy and still fired up and thought this was an easy kill.

'Tiger sharks have no problem eating whole sea turtles, 150lb tuna and even dolphins. It wasn't a split second decision on a whim, Mr Clasen has had hundreds of hours of experience.

'There was no doubt that was what needed to be done.'

Story from: Mailonline

Coatesman

Filming Tiger Sharks

Here is a frame grab of me filming a beautiful Tiger Shark

You have to love this life we live, all except the in between bits .... like working!
This morning on my run I was feeling a little pup, and the only thing that kept me going was the thought of being out there filming or spearfishing.

There is just something about swimming with sharks, chasing down tricky fish or even just being on the sea. Something you cant really explain to people ........

Dreaming on ...

Coatesman

A Day Filming Sharks

Flip its Monday, I am desperately trying to get the wheels in my head turning ....... but it feels like the hand brake is still up!
Despite the wild weather the week end was an interesting one. I landed up on a film shoot filming sharks, and other cut away sequences for a documentary with a mate Graeme Duane.
The sea was a disaster but when you need the shot .. you have to go. So in less than epic ...... way less!! conditions we headed out to Aliwal Shoal getting launch sequences and us pounding our way out to sea on film. We go a couple shots down while looking for Raggies, but alas no Raggies!

With no toothy critters we headed off to Ell Skins and found the some guys baiting sharks for some tourists, asked if we could jump in and have a look.
Shark soup!! It was amazing, ever seen a cloud of Chub attacking a burly trail? Well take that scenario and instead of Chub you've got Black tips, some over sized Dusky's and for good measure a Tiger Shark.

The aim was to film Graeme filming the sharks while freediving, I cant say that I was not distracted for awhile just filming sharks, sharks everywhere. Under you, over you .... into you ...flip it was mayhem! Eventually Graeme and I got busy and nailed some shots.
Its a freaky thing when your eyes are glued to the viewfinder on the housing. Your world is only out in front of you, and you have to forget about whats going on behind you. Its the nudge or that 'thing' brushing between your legs, that reminds you that you are actually in the middle of this thing and not looking from the outside in.

The highlight for me was nailing a shot of Graeme filming a Tiger Shark. We had gone down to film Graeme doing his thing, when a beaut Tiger Shark came in, swam around Graeme and then right up to me. The Tiger had a brief look at me and then turned and swam between the two of us. I know the German crew were aiming to get that shot with a Raggie Shark, but I was stoked.

Personally I think Tiger Sharks are way cooler that Raggies!! Any way time is ticking and .....its MONDAY!!

Later

Coatesman

Dreaming of Free Diving and Tiger Sharks

Pic from Elios web site

With the sea a mess and the work load heavey, I often space out lost in free diving dream world.
I have this pic of a guy Free Diving with a Tiger Shark on my desk top, and get caught switching between programs fixated on some small detail in the pic.

I have a mate Iain who has the most amazing underwater freediving pics blown up on his office wall. They are truly amazing! I popped into visit the other day, and for the first 10min could not hold a coherent conversation as my mind switched over to the deep blue. Almost like an instant snorkelitus.

I suppose with the windy season dawning and the cuta all up north to breed, not to much diving is going to be going down in the next while. And I suspect that I wont be the only one getting spaced out during work.

Coatesman