Re: Flounder Giggin\' Anyone?
Wow, Gary! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
When I first saw your picture, I thought you had yourself a halibut! I had to look close to see which side his eyes were on (halibuts are right-eye).
In my skin/scuba diving days, the real "stud" divers went spearfishing for Pacific Halibut. Them puppies get BIG!. We used some pretty hefty guns (3 rubbers) with line spools on them. You free dive (no tanks) for them in relatively shallow water in certain sandy areas. If you're lucky and observant enough, you spot the telltale outline of the halibut nestled in the sand. They wiggle themselves in so they're mostly covered, so they're really hard to see. Then, 'cuz you won't get good penetration against the sand, you try to sneak up on them from their backside and get ready for them to spook. Just before they bolt, they rise up a tad, and that's when you try to nail them.
If you get a good shot, you've pierced them all the way through so the spear barbs can open up on the other side. Now you've got on a stainless steel shaft attached to about a hundred feet of rope attached to your spear gun. That's when the fun really begins. Them puppies is powerful swimmers and have pretty good stamina. What you do is make your way back to the surface and hold on for dear life. If you're good, and in really good shape, you can "steer" them towards shore. They tend to head the opposite direction from where you're pulling on them, so you try to stay on the seaward side of them. Easier said than done. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif Eventually they wear down to where you can drag them to shore, providing you still have the strength left.
The biggest I ever saw taken that way was when a buddy of mine landed a 24-pounder. Took about 45 minutes from shot to shore. We weighed him before and after filleting. 22 pounds of meat on a 24 pound fish! Now, that's good yield! Tasty, too. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Me? Never saw one at the same time I actually had my gun with me. Never fired a shot. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif Still have the gun, though. Somewhere.
