Chapter 3
Tips For Better Spearfishing Hunting Technique
14. Better Hunting Technique. Eyes and not head.
Use your eyes to scan the surrounds and turn your head less. This not only saves oxygen but spooks less fish! Relax your body and make sure you are on the bottom. When you try a head mounted camera, you will notice how much you move your head.
15. Better Hunting Technique. Aspetto.
If you research Aspetto spearfishing hunting technique, you will pick up on spearos using smaller muscle groups to manoeuvre around on the bottom. This helps conserve energy and, therefore, oxygen.
For example: If your buoyancy is completely neutral at 15m, moving forward to approach fish while on the bottom can be done with one hand lightly pushing off and propelling you forward. In this way, your entire body is not moving with the effort or the motion. Therefore, you save on energy and intimidate less fish.
16. Better Hunting Technique. Pelagic Hunting.
Nearly always let the fish approach you. There are some exceptions but for the majority, this is the rule.
17. Better Hunting Technique. Honing your hunting instincts.
This tip resides within your ability to observe your target species behaviour and to adapt accordingly. Here is a great example of studying and learning a specific species:
Dwayne Herbert, the 7x New Zealand spearfishing champion, spoke to us about learning and mastering a species in a recent Veterans Vault section. He honed in on one specific reef fish, the New Zealand boarfish which he identified as a challenging species to learn, particularly starting out. Like many spearfisherman he identified two critical factors:
In the case of the boarfish, Dwayne identified that spearfisherman encountered them in significantly larger numbers during seasonal spawns. He also got to know several hundred metres of reef quite well that contained the weed verges and overhang structure ideal for holding these fish. Dwayne says he spent lots of time traversing the edges of reefs and observing these fish in their habitat. Paying attention to what times of day the fish were most active helped him to zero in on where and when to lie on the bottom in wait and what to do to arouse their curiosity.
The boarfish Dwayne observed in these areas use their elongated snouts to dig in the sand on the weed edges of these reefs. While observing their behaviour, he paid attention to where they fed, where they hid from predators, and where they were likely to be at specific times of the day. This information allowed him to develop hunting techniques for the various situations that you can hunt these fish.
Approaching them from above was a technique that he mentioned could be used on occasion; however, he stressed the need to get directly above them for an undetected approach. A more effective technique he identified was hiding his body in the weed and attempting to coax the fish in using several methods. Dusting and using other tricks to arouse the boarfish’s curiosity were a few he identified.
Paying attention over long periods of time and cataloguing that information has allowed Dwayne to hunt these fish with increasing proficiency over the years. The good news: Developing observational skills is about awareness more than anything and these skills work for spearfisherman all over the world. Here are the three main considerations to think about when studying a new species:
18. Better Hunting Technique. The Dusting Technique.
As coined by ReefChief on www.reddit.com/r/Spearfishing.
“My favourite technique is dusting. Certain curious species will come in to investigate stirred up sand. Works great for skittish hogfish and muttons. You swim down, stir up sand, and wait for the fish to get curious.” (ReefChief)
This technique is popular the world over and can often bring good results. It requires good bottom time and patience. Throwing sand up and pretending to pay attention to the bottom can mimic feeding reef fish behaviour and often other fish will come in to inspect the action. The possibility of a free lunch can cause all sorts of action.
Some fish such as green jobfish, aka Uku, will come in but it can be another incredibly taxing 20-30 seconds after you have thrown the sand up that they choose to show up. They seem to read a hunter’s body language very easily and will stay just out of range.*Which brings up a good point: No fish is worth your life and this technique is for the more advanced spearo. This technique does; however, combine well with another trick that I will call scratching.
19. Better Hunting Technique. Scratching.
Scratching can be used in combination with dusting; however, this technique involves holding a piece of rock or hard coral in your hand and roughly scratching it between your thumb and forefingers. The sound can arouse curiosity in nearby fish and they will come in for an inspection. Sometimes scratching and breaking up the hard coral and throwing it up a bit can all be done together to bring in curious fish. Beware of overdoing it. Try making quite a bit of commotion and then sitting completely still in the midst of it. Perhaps make small sounds but hide the source of the noise after your first flurry.
20. Better Hunting Technique.
“When snooping snapper, make sure the sun is behind you and you swim slowly into the current looking/sneaking over every rock. Generally snapper will flick their pectoral fins out just before they bolt away. If they do this it’s time to shoot or they are gone!” (Care of the Wettie team in New Zealand)
21. Better Hunting Technique. Remain active while on the surface.
“…use your eyes, it sounds funny but you’d be surprised at how much ground you can cover just with your eyes. Just with your eyes and your head. (It’s) something I’ve got to constantly remind myself of, because it’s very easy to get lazy when you’re in the water, your head just kind of focuses on the bottom, and you can just be swimming. Just keep your eyes moving, keep scouring, scouring, scouring, get that head moving, you don’t have to move your whole body around.” (Tanc Sade)
“You can get into a kind of passenger tourist snorkelling mode can’t you?” (Shrek)
“Exactly, yeah. You’ve got to keep scanning.” (Tanc Sade)
22. Better Hunting Technique. Use noise to arouse curiosity.
Chris Coates shared with our listeners a masterclass on using noise effectively for attracting fish. He says learning what noise to apply in each situation is something that you learn with experience.
“…because I know that when a snapper turns and has decided to get away from me I can make a small noise and he will turn. However if I continue to make the noise he will often continue on his way, so it’s important to make the noise but then be silent when he looks to investigate. If he turns, looks, and then continues, I will start making the noise again and by then 7 times out of ten he will come back for a direct pass to see what I am doing.” (Chris Coates)
With snapper species that have already decided you are a threat and are making a beeline away from you, Chris suggests making a curious groaning or grunting sound. I have had some success with noise personally but not really with reef fish, this is another tip I am looking forward to implementing.
23. Better Hunting Technique. Newspaper Burley tip care of Manny Bova and Rob Gates.
Using newspaper or tissue paper the same way we use ground fish frames in a steady, but slow stream can work just as well as real burley. The paper draws the light and then curious pelagic fish species to it like moths to a flame according to both of these Noob Spearo Podcast guests – I am itching to give this a crack as this sounds like a very cheap and effective burley trick.
24. Better Hunting Technique. Exploit the Blind Spot.
If you are trailing a mackerel, there is a common Jedi mind trick that you can play on them provided the force is strong within you.
When you are trailing the fish, angle across behind the fish (from left to right) into its blind spot, and the fish will change course slightly so that it can get a good view of you. Do it again and the fish should turn harder towards the opposite side presenting you with a broadside shot opportunity. Most species have a specific area of restricted vision that can be exploited. Observe and exploit!
25. Better Hunting Technique. Flashers need to be worked up and down in mid-water within reach of the light.
If the day is overcast and/or the water is a bit dirty then keep the flasher higher up the water column. Have a little bit of distance between the divers as well. Not so much that you can’t keep active lookout for one another on dives but enough so that approaching fish don’t get intimidated. This technique works great for bringing pelagic fish species in even if you are more focused on pursuing reef fish on the bottom. Richard Pillans, aka., the Mackerel Whisperer, recommends limiting the number of divers around the flasher as this can cause fish to spook (No more than 3 preferably 2).
26. Better Hunting Technique. Flasher Design according to Rob Allen.
Flashers with small reflectors work better. In fact, Rob says that during tests with large unrealistic flashers, they noticed mackerel and wahoo turning away early. Drifting with a flasher with a one up, one down method works great and you’ve got your buddy there for the second shot if you need it. Don’t dive right on the flasher, instead give the fish room.
Rob Allen also gave a tip to swim at the flasher if the fish comes in, takes a look and heads off. This action can make the fish think that there is something worth competing for and they will turn around for another look. Feigning a disinterest can also spark several species inquisitive nature. Turning away from them and not looking at them will often encourage them to come in closer.
27. Better Hunting Technique. Burley.
“Keep it constant and prolonged but not too thick” (Chris Coates). Shrek and I have noticed that burley from oily fish works great at attracting pelagic fish onto the scene and we will often work a burley trail alongside our flashers.
An oily fish like mackerel itself can be cubed up with your dive knife and allowed to drift through the water column but be warned it can also attract sharks to the area. So experiment with different burley for different species. Invest in a burley bag and have it full before you jump in the water, use the fish frames (and viscera) from last time!
28. Better Hunting Technique. Limit eye contact.
Staring fish down will make them nervous. How nervous? Well in the words of Australian Rugby player Nick Cummins, “As nervous as a gypsy with a mortgage.” That’s as bad as it gets and as fish can move at close to the speed of light, it’s best to keep them calm so you can get a decent shot off. Mackerel, yellowtail kingfish, sampson fish, dogtooth tuna and wahoo will often circle you – so if you can’t get a shot away, stay calm as he might just come around again. Try keeping your head down and looking up through your mask to conceal your eyes. Predicting the path of the fish and extending the gun to where you think the fish will be is another tactic to reduce spooking the fish.
29. Better Hunting Technique. Posture and movement can create curiosity in fish.
Pelagic fish can be attracted to a diver behaving unusually (so long as it’s non-threatening). Diving at a flasher instead of at the fish is an example of this. Another good technique for many fish is feigning complete disinterest and even turning in the opposite direction and slowly moving off will arouse their curiosity.
30. Better Hunting Technique. Free Burley.
Unless you are on an extended dive trip or in shark infested water, the guts from dispatched fish makes great burley. When you use the gut contents of a recently speared fish, other fish of the same species will often become interested in its stomach contents. What that fish has been eating will be in its digestive tract and in this way, what you begin to burley will be exactly what they want to eat. I have taken large spooky parrot fish and spangled emperor in exactly this way. Guts and viscera can be very effective burley.