leopard sharks or sharks in general

[matesz H2O]

hey guys i just wanted to know what the situation is on catching sharks. personally i love the taste of shark. i just have never eaten leopard shark. and i wanted to know how hard it is to catch them. do they try to attack you when you shoot the i dont plan on shooting anything over like 5-6 feet. here in california its legal to shoot any shark over 3 feet. there sint to much out here but there are quite a bit of leopard sharks around here. i see one about everytime i go out, some are smaller than others. so any advice would be really helpful.

[deckhand mike]

Fun to shoot and good to eat! In my experience they don't "attack" after being shot but I'm sure it could happen. Make sure you exit the water soon with your catch and clean and fillet it quick. The meat will get nasty if you let it sit at all. Probaly one of the most abndant species around to shoot and I see no sign of them being rare. I'm sure someone is going to start crying about the death of a shark but what else is new. They put up a good fight but tire quickly and I usually shoot mine with a 75cm eurogun and get close and it does the job no problem. They can be harder to approach in good vis but I often bump into them in the surf zone and that makes it easier to get close to them. Also easy to approach at night! Good luck and let me know if you want any other info.

[matesz H2O]

ok so my experience is that you shoot fish and then i take my dive knife and stab the head to kill it do i do the same with the shark or is it better to shoot the head, will the spear penetrate the skull. let me know how do you go about shooting it. also if you have any experience shooting stink rays or sand rays how do you go about that do they have alot of power i was going to but i wasnt sure if it was legal and i was alittle scared it would pull me through the water. i know that sting ray tastes really good cuz i cought it on a fishing line once befor but how does spearing one work? easy or not?

[getawayFK]

Originally Posted by matesz H2O

i know that sting ray tastes really good cuz i cought it on a fishing line once befor but how does spearing one work? easy or not?

I do occasionally spear stingrays, and as you said, they taste pretty good, especially when bbqed or dried...

The stingrays i catch are usually btw 40-80cm in diameter... Here is the technique i use; quite simple: I try to stun them btw the eyes (hoping that this will stun it) from a relatively safe distance (usually from 2m meter, and with my 1m gun that makes abt 3m).

Now here comes the bit risky part: Note first that the head is quite hard, and also be very careful when you approach it, and approach it from its head direction rather than tail...So what i do in some cases (if the ray is bit agitated) is to pin the lower part of the ray with the tip of my gun, as to avoid a nasty barb wound (also the barb contains relatively mild toxins), while I stab it with my knife in its head. That should kill it. Sometimes I dont need to pin it at all, as the shot will have stunned it, but still i approach it very carefully from its head direction and quickly stab it with my knife... Sometimes just for safety, I might just go down and cut its tail with its bard but i know thats very risky and i only do it when im very confident that the ray is dead...

Also one last note: You have to very quickly clean your catch, as with rays and other cartilagenous fish (sharks etc...) the meat will soak with ammonia if u let it stand, thus making it unconsummable). So what i do on site is immediately clean the rays (I get 3nice filet from each ray): The 2wings, and the dorsal area, and remove the skin. Now for the leftover of the catch, i take it back to the sea and use it to chum and attract more fish, especially large barracudas, so u see, u can make a full use of the ray !!! ( I spearfish in Qatar - Persian Gulf, so the risk of encountering an aggressive species of shark is extremly low).

By the way, I use a 100cm gun with 20mm rubbers and 7mm spear

I hope that was useful !!!

Regards and have a safe hunt!!!!

[getawayFK]

One last note, if you gonna shot on immobile ray in the sea sandbed, dont use extreme power, because that will blunt your speartip... Also better keep your distance from the ray when u shot it.

[deckhand mike]

For shark I get close and go for a head shot. I try to get the shot so the spear penetrates the back of the brain and comes out the bottom of its lower jaw, not only will this stun but it it kinda keeps it's mouth pinned shut if your spear fully penetrates. As for killing it with your knife that's up to you. I usully shoot mine very close to shore in the surf zone and rather than try to finish it in the water I let it run with my fifty foot floatline and I drag it onto the beach and finish it there. Too risky in murky water. I also notice sometimes they are in big schools and while I have never been attacked I'd rather keep the frenzy at the end of my floaline and not right by me.

[Polystigma]

Amongst most of the California spearfishing community Leopard and Horn sharks are a big . Most simply do not hunt them. There are other more tasty and challenging fish to hunt. A 5-6 ft leopard shark is an extremely powerful animal. And if you do shoot one... expect the likely possibility of damaged or lost gear.

In addition, there are also Soupfin sharks here in our California kelp beds. They get rather largish (6+ft). I have heard stories of them becoming aggressive against divers. A couple of divers shot one at Catalina Island last year I believe. They got it on video. It took two shots to subdue the shark. And both were to the head. The shark was in the 80lb range if I remember correctly. And they are supposed to be decent eating. Although no one specifically targets these either.

[matesz H2O]

douly noted "dont hunt leopard sharks" ok sounds good thanks for the tip. are rays acceptable to hunt or are they a no no aswell. im getting kinda tired of hunting hte typical kelp bass, calico and perch what is a challenge out here in the california cost.

[colt.45]

it is true that the hunting of sharks is generaly looked down upon (something about bad kama) but it's compleetly legal. rays are ok to shot by law and by most spearo standards bot don't let the tree huggers see you with them cause they kinda flip out sometimes (verry entertaning untill they call the police, then it's just stupid)

[Polystigma]

Originally Posted by matesz H2O

douly noted "dont hunt leopard sharks" ok sounds good thanks for the tip. are rays acceptable to hunt or are they a no no aswell. im getting kinda tired of hunting hte typical kelp bass, calico and perch what is a challenge out here in the california cost.

Hey, I am NOT telling you not to hunt them. Just letting you know what the facts are. But if you do, I suggest you do no post a picture of you with one on the net. Because people will bitch and whine at you.

As a side note the first fish I ever shot was a Electric Ray aka Torpedo Ray. I nearly died after he shocked me. My legs were paralyzed and I could not swim. I made it out alive and will never shoot at any type or ray again. However, he did taste good.

So you do not find hunting Calicos hard huh? How big was the largest Calico you have ever shot? The larger ones 5+lbs are very difficult to hunt. They are very smart and cautious. Probably one of our most difficult fish to hunt.

And what about White Seabass? In about 1 month the Seabass will be moving into the kelp beds. They are difficult to hunt and probably Southern Californias most highly prized game fish.
During the summer yellowtail will also begin to show up. These are not so hard to hunt. But they get big and are very powerful. Capable of wrapping up and drowning a diver.

For Seabass and Yellowtail a large gun is needed. As they are large fish. 110cm minimum if using a Euro gun. And 55in minimum if using a American type gun.

As I told you before. Next time we do a shore dive... You are invited to come along. We will probably be looking for seabass or large calicos.

[matesz H2O]

Originally Posted by Polystigma

As a side note the first fish I ever shot was a Electric Ray aka Torpedo Ray. I nearly died after he shocked me. My legs were paralyzed and I could not swim. I made it out alive and will never shoot at any type or ray again. However, he did taste good.

So you do not find hunting Calicos hard huh? How big was the largest Calico you have ever shot? The larger ones 5+lbs are very difficult to hunt. They are very smart and cautious. Probably one of our most difficult fish to hunt.

And what about White Seabass? In about 1 month the Seabass will be moving into the kelp beds. They are difficult to hunt and probably Southern Californias most highly prized game fish.
During the summer yellowtail will also begin to show up. These are not so hard to hunt. But they get big and are very powerful. Capable of wrapping up and drowning a diver.

For Seabass and Yellowtail a large gun is needed. As they are large fish. 110cm minimum if using a Euro gun. And 55in minimum if using a American type gun.

As I told you before. Next time we do a shore dive... You are invited to come along. We will probably be looking for seabass or large calicos.

thanks for the tips. but yea i usually fish calico and kelp bass and i dont really find them to be to difficult. i would love to do open water hunting but that stuff scares the shit out of me. the whole shark just apearing behind you. yea not my forte. haha. i have never seen a white bass and i have never seen a yellowtail around my area although i would be stoked to hunt one.

on another note i will be goin out this saterday just a short dive off the cdm coast. trying to get some of my friends into it and showing them what its all about. my friend was talking about how he goes out and surfs every saterday morning just to get away from it all and have a sort of relazation/meditation time for himself and thats what surfing does for him. so i thought about it and thats what im gonna start doin exept for im gonna be goin out and start spearing. its a sort of nirvana for me a place i can escape and just be alone and think. so if anyone would like to join me thats where ill be let me know and ill give you more details...

[Polystigma]

That is what it's all about!
We are headed out to Catalina Island this weekend for some spearing.
Good luck with the dive. Conditions should improve a little this weekend.
Do not worry about sharks too much, enjoy yourself. And I can assure you that there are White Seabass and Yellowtail in your area.

Yellowtail are generally found in Open water and come during the summer (warmer water). Good places to look for them are the outer edge of the kelp bed, high spots, pinnacles, and reefs. However, Seabass are often also found in shallow water. I have never shot and landed one myself. But have seen and shot at one in about 20 ft of water in the kelp (tore off). And people I know have seen them in water as shallow as 10ft.

So even when you are hunting the shallow water... keep Seabass on your mind!
Swim as quite as possible and be alert.

[deep thinker]

Dont know much about hunting sharks ( we tend to try and avoid em in my part of the world for obvious reasons ) and I have never seen a white seabass. BUT if your yellow tail has the same behaviour as ours heres a few tips, as stated allready they tend to hang out around the edge of kelp beds, pinnacles, high spots and reefs. In the open water on reefs and so on when hunted from a boat, try spinning through the school, when you hook one up bring it in while the other divers get in on the opposite side of the boat and go under it to shoot fish in the school that will most definately follow the hooked fish. Another handy thing for tail is a flasher when doing drifts in the current follow your flasher at a short distance and look out for schools of yellow tail that mite be in the area comin in for a closer look at the 'bait ball' once again when hunting in a group of divers the first diver should hold his fish as long as possible as the rest of the school will stick around and everybody can have their share in the fun. When on the edge of kelp beds aproach through the kelp, using it as cover and shoot only when you have a very good shot, these guys are hard runners and even the smaller ones are pretty strong. Keep em off the bottom as they run on the bottom to get rid of the spear and do this pretty easily all you hear is clang clang from the spear and then theyre gone. It also sometimes happen that while your hanging in midwater that the school will come up to investigate you and bam. A good fish to hunt, bein a fighter and a good fish to eat, dont over cook as they can be a bit dry then
Good luck and save diving

[Marwan]

I see some red cards in the future of this thread

[matesz H2O]

Originally Posted by Marwan

I see some red cards in the future of this thread

whats that supposed to mean? just curious