Bowhunting - Spearfishing- Game Primal Connection

[sterling_archer]

Didn't know that exists, very interesting. And the fact that Hungary will recognize it is even more astonishing.

 

[Kona]

I'm going lobster hunting right now. I want 40 by my labor day party.

Four tools: big ass spotlight, long rod with fork end that's technically for locksmiths to open cars, heavy duty mesh bag, really good mask.

Its half moon and cloudy, but warm.

I spread a bunch of bacon bits out in my lucky spot earlier today. Then you get mason jars and put some crisco in them, about an ice cream scoop. Bury them lid side down near rocks. Let the lobsters dig in there.

Aloha!

How did you make out on the bugs? Have you had succsess with spearing large pelagics in Hawaii? Ive heard the diving is very deep there. A buddy of mine told me that you have to hit 100ft to spear the big fish..

We pulled 46 by Sunday, and left tons out there. As the wave pick up north facing they start to head back out to deeper and calmer areas.

I don't dive for anything to big or too fast anymore. I had a horrible incident with a yellowfin. I had to get it back to shore through tiger shark turf, and I though I was dead. Now I just stick to reefing it.

Aloha!

 

[General Stalin]

How can you just go to the country and hunt? Aren't there some permits, needing to be member of hunting clubs or such? You are just a tourist.

Hi Sterling Archer,

Very good question. I will be bringing my IBEP (INternational BOwhunters Education Permit) , in addition to my Idaho Hunting licence from the USA which hungary will recognize and issue me a local licence. I have networked with Landowners in Hungary and exchanged for them to come hunting with me for allowing me to hunt on their lands. I will have a tag/licence for 1 Stag, 1 Mouflon Sheep, 1 Roe Deer , 1 wild boar. I will be there for 6 full days of hunting.

Usually it would be very expensive to hunt these animals but since I have bartered hunting in the USA the cost for me is only airfare etc..

I have also hunted in Latvia, Estonia and Finland with similar scenarios.

Not bad. I've always wondered how international hunts workout. Also, it's incredibly expensive to get tags for big game as a non-resident in most states here in the US, I can only imagine the price for non-resident hunting in other countries.

For example, if a non-resident of Colorado wants to get a Moose tag for Colorado, it will cost them over $2k, whereas it's only $250 for a resident.

 

[sterling_archer]

There was a huge affair couple of years ago when our prominent politician was discovered to have in his basement animals from Africa. He payed thousands of dollars to hunt in Africa, while he was proponent of "saving money" in public life. He shot elephant, crocodile, two lions and hippos, at least so we have been told. There are of course untold numbers of smaller animals, but still... wow.

 

[JohnGalt007]

How can you just go to the country and hunt? Aren't there some permits, needing to be member of hunting clubs or such? You are just a tourist.

Hi Sterling Archer,

Very good question. I will be bringing my IBEP (INternational BOwhunters Education Permit) , in addition to my Idaho Hunting licence from the USA which hungary will recognize and issue me a local licence. I have networked with Landowners in Hungary and exchanged for them to come hunting with me for allowing me to hunt on their lands. I will have a tag/licence for 1 Stag, 1 Mouflon Sheep, 1 Roe Deer , 1 wild boar. I will be there for 6 full days of hunting.

Usually it would be very expensive to hunt these animals but since I have bartered hunting in the USA the cost for me is only airfare etc..

I have also hunted in Latvia, Estonia and Finland with similar scenarios.

Not bad. I've always wondered how international hunts workout. Also, it's incredibly expensive to get tags for big game as a non-resident in most states here in the US, I can only imagine the price for non-resident hunting in other countries.

For example, if a non-resident of Colorado wants to get a Moose tag for Colorado, it will cost them over $2k, whereas it's only $250 for a resident.

What you say is true to some extent, Especially for species like moose. You can do out of state Whitetail hunts for more reasonable sums . FOr examply I am hunting Deer in Northern Missouri this year and licence costs are only 220. For example non resident licence and tag costs for an Elk in Idaho run about 650 total and that doesnt guarantee you will be succsessfull.

I Europe the licence costs have been negligible in my experience. I paid like 35 in the baltics and finland , My host paid the licence cost in Hungary so im not sure how much it cost but probably similar. I Europe the expensive part is gaining access.

So far this year I have taken 3 Russian Boar, 1 ROe Deer in Europe and a Black Bear in Idaho. All of my European hunting is via bartering for hunting opportuntiy in the USA. I will have 4 guests from Europe in my elk camp this year.

 

[JohnGalt007]

I'm going lobster hunting right now. I want 40 by my labor day party.

Four tools: big ass spotlight, long rod with fork end that's technically for locksmiths to open cars, heavy duty mesh bag, really good mask.

Its half moon and cloudy, but warm.

I spread a bunch of bacon bits out in my lucky spot earlier today. Then you get mason jars and put some crisco in them, about an ice cream scoop. Bury them lid side down near rocks. Let the lobsters dig in there.

Aloha!

How did you make out on the bugs? Have you had succsess with spearing large pelagics in Hawaii? Ive heard the diving is very deep there. A buddy of mine told me that you have to hit 100ft to spear the big fish..

We pulled 46 by Sunday, and left tons out there. As the wave pick up north facing they start to head back out to deeper and calmer areas.

I don't dive for anything to big or too fast anymore. I had a horrible incident with a yellowfin. I had to get it back to shore through tiger shark turf, and I though I was dead. Now I just stick to reefing it.

Aloha!

Ive often speared cobia off the back of bull sharks on East coast FL. Huge adrenaline rush! Ive never dove with Tigers but Ive heard they are the worst

 

[JohnGalt007]

Didn't know that exists, very interesting. And the fact that Hungary will recognize it is even more astonishing.

it is possible in almost every country in Europe that allows bowhunting as far as I know. Also a European can go to the USA and Hunt on Public land by only paying for LIcence and Tag fees.

New Zealand is a place thats on my bucket list for hunting / SPearfishing and you can hunt on public land down there for free basicly even as tourist.

 

[JohnGalt007]

I'm here seething with jealousy. I've been going hunting for several years now, but I'm yet to see anything bigger than a squirrel while in a stand.
This year I geared up for a bow hunt, since the season is longer and hopefully I'll identify my mistakes.
All you hunting gurus--do you have any tips? How do you keep still for so many hours?

DO you hunt private or Public land? What part of country? FOr Whitetails best time to be in the woods is first 3 weeks of November. Focus on terrain funnelsto catch roaming bucks looking for tail. Have multiple stand locations to hunt various wind directions. Scent control and management is most important on whitetails.

 

[MOVSM]

I'm here seething with jealousy. I've been going hunting for several years now, but I'm yet to see anything bigger than a squirrel while in a stand.
This year I geared up for a bow hunt, since the season is longer and hopefully I'll identify my mistakes.
All you hunting gurus--do you have any tips? How do you keep still for so many hours?

DO you hunt private or Public land? What part of country? FOr Whitetails best time to be in the woods is first 3 weeks of November. Focus on terrain funnelsto catch roaming bucks looking for tail. Have multiple stand locations to hunt various wind directions. Scent control and management is most important on whitetails.

Northern Virginia. I joined a private hunting club last year, and I have access to military bases.

 

[Kona]

I'm here seething with jealousy. I've been going hunting for several years now, but I'm yet to see anything bigger than a squirrel while in a stand.
This year I geared up for a bow hunt, since the season is longer and hopefully I'll identify my mistakes.
All you hunting gurus--do you have any tips? How do you keep still for so many hours?

DO you hunt private or Public land? What part of country? FOr Whitetails best time to be in the woods is first 3 weeks of November. Focus on terrain funnelsto catch roaming bucks looking for tail. Have multiple stand locations to hunt various wind directions. Scent control and management is most important on whitetails.

Northern Virginia. I joined a private hunting club last year, and I have access to military bases.

I don't eat a lot of hairy animals, and never really have. However, I used to go bow hunting with friends on the eastern shore of Virginia. There's a big private farm called Bayview farm, or something similar. They used to charge maybe twenty bucks, and the bridge toll was 10 each way.

That place had deer's galore. Big ones. I'd just sit and watch them. Google it.

Aloha!

 

[JohnGalt007]

I just finished my hunt in Hungary and did not close the deal on a Stag unfortunately. I was given the opportunity to pick up a rifle but that would have been too easy for my style (not that I am against rifle hunters) . Beautiful country for hunting and one of the best for bowhunting in Europe. The locals totally do not understand the nuances of Bowhunting . I developed some strategies for next year using calls and "roars" that the animals use durring their rut.

 

[gmoneysauce]

Bump.

So, I started SCUBA, then Freediving, and now I'm just starting to get into Spearfishing. I am fascinated with it. I'll be in a town in Latin America in December and January where I can spearfish about two or three times a week. Heavy currents there so I'll probably be using a boat.

Anyone else active on the board now that is spearfishing?

G

 

[Kona]

I am an active spearfisher. Today I'm collecting a bunch of spiny lobsters for Thanksgiving.

Aloha!

 

[gmoneysauce]

I am an active spearfisher. Today I'm collecting a bunch of spiny lobsters for Thanksgiving.

Aloha!

Kona, yeah, I read through your posts on this thread. All very inspiring stuff. I'll post when I get my first fish.

 

[Kona]

I am an active spearfisher. Today I'm collecting a bunch of spiny lobsters for Thanksgiving.

Aloha!

Kona, yeah, I read through your posts on this thread. All very inspiring stuff. I'll post when I get my first fish.

Do that. And good luck.

ive been doing it my whole life. My older posts were probably from my younger years, so my opinions may have been a bit more aggressive than they are now. Or maybe bogged down with equipment and techniques.

Here's how I feel now though: have fun but be safe.

1) Be good in the water. Remember the words of Snoop Dogg. "If the bitch can't swim she's bound to drizzound" Don't go any deeper than you think you can handle even if you're chasing a giant fish made out of gold with diamond eyes. Watch out for rocks and reefs. Things have a way of getting caught on them, and air runs out quick.

2) Don't spear yourself or your friends! Happens a lot. Watch where you shoot. Things are confusing underwater and when you not breathing.

Enjoy yourself and good luck again.

Aloha!

 

[Swell]

I got a spearfishing planned for December.

I got a secret spot in Thailand.

https://www.lazada.co.th has some good deals for gear.

 

[sterling_archer]

Anyone been bowhunting lately? What do you hunt, what is your setup? Bow hunting is some kind of special case here and I am not really able to do it, but I like to hear about this stuff.

 

[AneroidOcean]

Bump.

So, I started SCUBA, then Freediving, and now I'm just starting to get into Spearfishing. I am fascinated with it. I'll be in a town in Latin America in December and January where I can spearfish about two or three times a week. Heavy currents there so I'll probably be using a boat.

Anyone else active on the board now that is spearfishing?

G

I was in the water really early and spearfishing with and in circles with some of the best divers in the sport. Still, I had a huge amount of time out of the sport, so I'm not an expert by any means and I'm learning again. For what it's worth, there are a ton of spearfishing resources out there but the sport has grown exponentially, so there's a ton of shitty information and poor to middling spearfishermen willing to take you and teach you all kinds of nonsense. I've even seen at least one "datasheet" on this forum as well as information in this very thread that's questionable.

I wouldn't look to this forum or any other forum to learn spearfishing. I'd seek out a very experienced and knowledgeable/respected diver in your area and see if you can befriend them and learn the sport from them. Ingratiate yourself with better divers than you and go out with them. You'll learn far better information and things that you could never learn from the internet or the jokers out there.

Alternately you can take a class from PFI or FII if they are offered in your area. Like franchised gyms you need to learn about the instructor and see what their experience and true knowledge base is. Keep in mind these classes are usually geared towards "line diving" and freedive only competition. That's not to say you can't learn a lot from them, but some of the techniques will only apply to line diving or there are alternate techniques that will work better for spearfishing.

I highly recommend learning freediving or scuba (if that's your preference). It's the closest thing to weightlessness that's affordable on this earth and it truly is like an alien world down below. I enjoy spearfishing but could dive for hours even without a speargun, simply with a camera or just my mind's eye. Like anything related to the ocean, mother nature will not catch you out if you are not highly aware and don't plan things well.

Not as a deterrent to getting into the sport, but a few ways that you can go from having fun to being in danger are below:

Current in some areas can easily pull you out to sea never to be seen again.

Swell and wind chop can make you seasick (even if you don't easily get seasick).

Spending a lot of time diving deep down under a thermocline can chill you significantly and put you in a dangerous situation as your body fights to try to keep you warm leaving you very little energy to get to shore/boat.

Lack of vigilance/line management can get you wrapped up in your own shooting line, trail line float line, kelp/seaweed, etc... Worse so if you have a strong fighting fish on.

Selection and configuration of equipment can be done poorly. You can have too much of a loop or hook on your weight belt and end up hung up on the rock structure or stuck in a hole that otherwise you could get in/out of easily. Poor choice of speargun/equipment can make you miss fish or have fish tear off.

Not extending your surface time as you dive longer or in colder conditions can make you more susceptible to a shallow water blackout.

Hyperventilating can leave you in a state of calm and put off your body's natural insistence on breathing from the build up of CO2 in your bloodstream (it's not from the lack of oxygen like many people assume).

I could go on and on.

I have mutual friends with Kimi Werner. I hope I get a chance to go dive with her some day. Diving with Kona would be great, but he'd probably laugh at me for being used to grabbing bugs by hand (among other things I'm sure).

Finding someone knowledgeable to mentor you is by far the best way to go. Some questions for example really shouldn't be answered with regards to equipment without having context. Wetsuits depends entirely on the conditions you'll be diving in. Spearguns, reels, float lines, and floats will depend on what types of fish you'll be hunting and what areas you'll be diving in.

 

[gmoneysauce]

Thanks for the feedback, very much appreciated. I'm actually doing the PADI freediver certification. I highly prefer freediving over SCUBA at this point.

One thing, that whole feeling that comes over you after you do a breathe-up and dive and then you are underwater, but have lost the desire to breath. Is quite a unique experience, and yes, have found that moment when I realized I was a little too far down and didn't have the urge to breathe yet, but needed to start surfacing as I was reaching my time limit.

So, I'm training with an ex-professional freediver to get the diving part down. Learning one lesson at a time. We are freediving on a reef, in a current with a boat spotting us, without a line, and learning to do smooth entries, good breathe-ups with surface time, etc. I did start with a line back in April when I was first learning to clear my ears.

The spearfishing, I have decided, for now I'm only going to do with an experienced guide and do training with him. He has over 25 years experience and does it almost every day. I'm 49 years old and new to the sport so I'm going to take it one step at a time.

I looked up Kimi Werner, amazing stuff.

It took four tries to find a wetsuit that fit correctly. I'm built like a wrestler, not a swimmer, HAHA, spearing dudes don't bench much I guess. The water is pretty warm but it is 'winter' so it helps when out of the water and there is wind and a cool front comes through.

Bump.

So, I started SCUBA, then Freediving, and now I'm just starting to get into Spearfishing. I am fascinated with it. I'll be in a town in Latin America in December and January where I can spearfish about two or three times a week. Heavy currents there so I'll probably be using a boat.

Anyone else active on the board now that is spearfishing?

G

I was in the water really early and spearfishing with and in circles with some of the best divers in the sport. Still, I had a huge amount of time out of the sport, so I'm not an expert by any means and I'm learning again. For what it's worth, there are a ton of spearfishing resources out there but the sport has grown exponentially, so there's a ton of shitty information and poor to middling spearfishermen willing to take you and teach you all kinds of nonsense. I've even seen at least one "datasheet" on this forum as well as information in this very thread that's questionable.

I wouldn't look to this forum or any other forum to learn spearfishing. I'd seek out a very experienced and knowledgeable/respected diver in your area and see if you can befriend them and learn the sport from them. Ingratiate yourself with better divers than you and go out with them. You'll learn far better information and things that you could never learn from the internet or the jokers out there.

Alternately you can take a class from PFI or FII if they are offered in your area. Like franchised gyms you need to learn about the instructor and see what their experience and true knowledge base is. Keep in mind these classes are usually geared towards "line diving" and freedive only competition. That's not to say you can't learn a lot from them, but some of the techniques will only apply to line diving or there are alternate techniques that will work better for spearfishing.

I highly recommend learning freediving or scuba (if that's your preference). It's the closest thing to weightlessness that's affordable on this earth and it truly is like an alien world down below. I enjoy spearfishing but could dive for hours even without a speargun, simply with a camera or just my mind's eye. Like anything related to the ocean, mother nature will not catch you out if you are not highly aware and don't plan things well.

Not as a deterrent to getting into the sport, but a few ways that you can go from having fun to being in danger are below:

Current in some areas can easily pull you out to sea never to be seen again.

Swell and wind chop can make you seasick (even if you don't easily get seasick).

Spending a lot of time diving deep down under a thermocline can chill you significantly and put you in a dangerous situation as your body fights to try to keep you warm leaving you very little energy to get to shore/boat.

Lack of vigilance/line management can get you wrapped up in your own shooting line, trail line float line, kelp/seaweed, etc... Worse so if you have a strong fighting fish on.

Selection and configuration of equipment can be done poorly. You can have too much of a loop or hook on your weight belt and end up hung up on the rock structure or stuck in a hole that otherwise you could get in/out of easily. Poor choice of speargun/equipment can make you miss fish or have fish tear off.

Not extending your surface time as you dive longer or in colder conditions can make you more susceptible to a shallow water blackout.

Hyperventilating can leave you in a state of calm and put off your body's natural insistence on breathing from the build up of CO2 in your bloodstream (it's not from the lack of oxygen like many people assume).

I could go on and on.

I have mutual friends with Kimi Werner. I hope I get a chance to go dive with her some day. Diving with Kona would be great, but he'd probably laugh at me for being used to grabbing bugs by hand (among other things I'm sure).

Finding someone knowledgeable to mentor you is by far the best way to go. Some questions for example really shouldn't be answered with regards to equipment without having context. Wetsuits depends entirely on the conditions you'll be diving in. Spearguns, reels, float lines, and floats will depend on what types of fish you'll be hunting and what areas you'll be diving in.

 

[AneroidOcean]

Thanks for the feedback, very much appreciated. I'm actually doing the PADI freediver certification. I highly prefer freediving over SCUBA at this point.

One thing, that whole feeling that comes over you after you do a breathe-up and dive and then you are underwater, but have lost the desire to breath. Is quite a unique experience, and yes, have found that moment when I realized I was a little too far down and didn't have the urge to breathe yet, but needed to start surfacing as I was reaching my time limit.

So, I'm training with an ex-professional freediver to get the diving part down. Learning one lesson at a time. We are freediving on a reef, in a current with a boat spotting us, without a line, and learning to do smooth entries, good breathe-ups with surface time, etc. I did start with a line back in April when I was first learning to clear my ears.

The spearfishing, I have decided, for now I'm only going to do with an experienced guide and do training with him. He has over 25 years experience and does it almost every day. I'm 49 years old and new to the sport so I'm going to take it one step at a time.

I looked up Kimi Werner, amazing stuff.

It took four tries to find a wetsuit that fit correctly. I'm built like a wrestler, not a swimmer, HAHA, spearing dudes don't bench much I guess. The water is pretty warm but it is 'winter' so it helps when out of the water and there is wind and a cool front comes through.

Yeah, guys that spearfish definitely don't tend to be big lifters, but honestly, all wetsuits are made to fit the most common sizes so if you're an abnormal shape you're going to have a hard time finding a suit that fits you (a buddy of mine is tall but REALLY skinny so wetsuits rarely come close to fitting him). Thankfully the sport has grown enough that there are a lot of manufacturers/sizes out there now and you can always go the custom route if you really love it.

If you treat your equipment with care it can last a long time.

Let us know what you end up thinking about spearfishing once you get a hang of it.