Adventures in Spearfishing

New beefy (Ryan Proof) 8'+ spear

Hello all Ryan here asking an age old question...Whats better, fishing or hunting? I say why choose! Combine them into the best of both worlds and spearfish! It has all the elements of the perfect hunt; identifying your prey, selecting only the most edible or trophy worthy opponents, stealth, and the need for accuracy. The kicker is your prey is not some terrestrial mammal, or a migrating bird; its fish (um...making it like fishing). In order to be a successful spearfishing hunter, you need to be able to swim fairly well, hold your breath for a decent amount of time, dive at least 10 meters (preferably more), and do all the above without scaring off the fish (sorry scuba divers, this is a freediving sport only). 

I hunt with a 9' pole spear (spear guns are illegal here in Japan for Americans), which means that to get that tasty fish out of the ocean and on your plate, you need to get within 3 foot minimum of your target fish, closer if you can. Unlike fishing, you can target specific fish, bypassing all the garbage fish. My observations thus far has allowed me to place fish into three broad categories for spearfishing purposes.  The very curious,  the cautious curious, and the outright skittish. 

Erin and the 10' reef spear.

Knifejaw who was a bit too curious
for his own good.

Some reef fish are very curious, and you can get really close without scaring them off. These are usually the inedible (trash) species, or in the case of the lionfish, have poison spikes. Most of these fish are outright ignored (parrot fish sometimes fall in this category  but not due to being curious, but because they can be dumb). The bread and butter of the pole spear hunter is the cautious curious species like grouper and knifejaws. They like a buffer zone but will let you approach within a few feet if you have a non threatening posture. Being non-threatening is not easy to achieve when you are approaching a big (delicious) grouper and your end state is to have a stainless steal shaft go through its head and  eventually end up on your plate garnished with lemon and capers. I have lost many a fish this way....of course being 245 lb and trying to look non threatening to a 10lb fish is problematic in itself.  The last group of fish have wisely decided that curiosity is not beneficial to survival, and tend to run into a deep dark hole as soon as they spot you. Most snapper, emperor and free swimming fish are in this category, and spearing them requires a combination of surprise, stealth and a health dose of luck.  

Normally skittish and unlucky Bigeye Emperor 

Spearfishing with a basic pole spear on a reef has its drawbacks. The preferred instrument of demise for the reef fish is called a paralyzer tip. The 3 prongs spread out and immobilizes the fish on penetration. It also has the advantage of not damaging the meat of the fish too much. The down side is that you cannot spear very
large fish (over 10lbs) or if you miss a fish (frequent) and hit the reef you can easily bend the prongs. The flopper tip works great; no worries about it striking the reef, but it tends to blow big holes in smaller fish. Its like duck hunting with buckshot...maybe a bit of overkill. The last tip is the slip tip. this not really for reef fish, but for the big pelagic free swimming fish like tuna and dolphin (Yes this is on my list of things to do before I leave Okinawa).

A free swimming Bluefin Travelly (prepared Ahi Poke 
style);  the flopper tip punched out a  pretty big chunk 
of the cheek. A paralyzer tip may have been better here.

I just ordered a Hawaiian sling, sort of a underwater bow and arrow which is also allowed out here. I will provide updates and how it stacks up to the pole spear after I test it out some. Im hoping it gives me a bit more range on the elusive fish. The biggest worry is losing spears in fish that swim away, so if I don't want a very expensive hobby, head shots are going to be a must.