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Spearfishing

Started by Dave, June 19, 2013, 06:46:48 AM

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Dave

Got down to Shark River Inlet a few days ago to do some spearfishing with my two nephews.  This has to be done right around high tide when both the water is clean (for visibility) and not moving too fast (making it difficult to free dive - being swept along with the moving tide). 

In preparation I made my own Hawaiian sling spear pole out of some tent poles, workout band, and a bow fishing point.  It worked out pretty good.

We ended up with three flounder and a sea robin after 2-1/2 to 3 hours of snorkeling.  Saw a lot of others that were not legal to shoot - flounder need to be 17-1/2 inches. 

Here are a few pics of the days catch.   

This is a sea robin.  He's the first thing I saw and I needed to get on the board, and try my spear.



I was able to shoot one flounder



Here's the entire haul.  My one nephew shot the other two.



They clean up pretty good.  And, you get four filets off each fish!




coyote101

Looks like fun Dave.  :highclap: I like your homemade spear.  :yoyo: Flounder is one of my favorite types of fish.  :biggrin:

Pat
NRA Life Member

"On the plains of hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions who, at the dawn of decision, sat down to wait, and waiting died." - Sam Ewing

Hawks Feather

Looks like some good eating.  Having never seen both sides of a flounder, is the belly white?  Or are there white flounder?  This will be my animal lesson of the day.

Jerry

FinsnFur

Very interesting. I think the "Sea Robin" looks a little creepy.
I dont know if I've ever had Flounder or not :confused: if I did it came from a Red Lobster somewhere. Back when I was a punk living in the city :innocentwhistle: we had one pretty close by.
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Okanagan

Quote from: Hawks Feather on June 19, 2013, 08:27:31 AM
Looks like some good eating.  Having never seen both sides of a flounder, is the belly white?  Or are there white flounder?  This will be my animal lesson of the day.

Jerry

Will let Dave answer re their color, but you know that flounders have both eyes on one side of their head, and that what appears to be belly is not really belly...   :biggrin:


 


FinsnFur

Your reply made me look them up Okanagan.
VERY interesting creature, wow.

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Dave

Jerry, that one is an Albino!!!
Nahh.  I flipped the one over to show the contrast b/e the white and dark side.  And having both eyes on the same side of their head, they bury themselves in the bottom with that white side down (very cool video, Jim - thank god they don't hide themselves THAT well!).  They can hide themselves pretty good, though - at least they think so - which makes them easier to shoot as they don't spook too quickly.  I've got a mark on my spear at 17-1/2". I can lay the spear alongside the fish to measure before shooting (a lot do spook when you mess around that much, but at least the ones that look close you try and measure them up) . 
They are one of my my favorite eating fish, too, Pat, if not my favorite.  They are my favorite too filet.  If you look at the last pic, you can see all the guts are right up by the head, below its fin and behind its jaw.  Everything else is meat.  And, conveniently, God made them with a line right down the center of their body (on both sides) to show you where to start your first cut when filleting!  Kind of tough to see in my pic of the white side, but it's easy to see when you're right over it. 

KySongDog

When I was in Seldovia, Alaska I had some of the best halibut I ever tasted.    If that flounder tastes anything near it, you got some great eating there. 

Okanagan

When you catch a flounder or halibut on rod and reel, you can tell what kind of bottom he was lying on by his color.  Big blotches mean he was lying on big rocks and colored to match.  An even fine grain pattern means he was lying on sand, etc.  His color scheme changes to match what he is lying on.  If you put a live one in a bathtub, the critter will lighten up into a monotone trying to match the white.   :biggrin:

Ditto that they are easiest fish to fillet I've ever seen, with minimal loss to head and guts and no bones in any of the four perfect fillets (two on each side).



Hawks Feather

Quote from: Dave on June 20, 2013, 06:07:53 AM
Jerry, that one is an Albino!!!
Nahh.  I flipped the one over to show the contrast b/e the white and dark side.  And having both eyes on the same side of their head, they bury themselves in the bottom with that white side down

I knew that both eyes were on the top, but I never had seen the flip side.  Thanks!

Jerry

Dave

Well I was able to get down again today with my brother and two nephews.  The water temp was up to the mid 60's, but I still froze my arse off with a 3mm wetsuit.  I managed two, my nephew Dan shot 4, and my brother and other nephew got skunked (the two of them were down with tanks, while Dan and I were free diving, and were able to cover more area).  Lots of fun!

Here are Dan's four



Here's the full monty - my bigun is 22" long



And here is what I was talking about with the line that God drew down the middle of the fish to help out those that are filet challenged.  You cut through the skin along that line, and then take a filet off the top half and then the bottom half.  Flip it over and repeat!


Okanagan

Quote from: Dave on June 28, 2013, 06:27:15 PM
And here is what I was talking about with the line that God drew down the middle of the fish to help out those that are filet challenged.  You cut through the skin along that line, and then take a filet off the top half and then the bottom half.  Flip it over and repeat!



That's a terrific comment, and a with the pic included, is the best and shortest explanation of how to fillet flounders and halibut I've ever seen!.  WTG!



FinsnFur

Looks like a lot of fun. That whole fish just amazes me with his sideways arse and crooked mouth :laf: :laf:
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