Well went out this week with Cat and shot a monster fish, a 69# King mackerel which is huge for the species and is 6# smaller then the current world record. I was diving in 45 feet of water when the fish swam up behind me with a smaller friend with it. I happened to be on the bottom looking for reef fish, so I was really lucky. There is no way I would have been able to swim down on him from the surface. I actually chased the fish for a moment on the bottom. Apparently it was big enough not to be scared by me following it. I shot it in the tail and it took of like a rocket, then I followed it with the boat for a minute. When I got to the float, the line was loose and I thought it had torn off. When I put more pressure on the line I could feel the weight, so I jumped in with a second gun and shot the fish again. This second shot tore out when I tried to lift the fish so I ended up having to shoot it again while pulling it off the bottom to keep it away from a nurse shark. When we got it in the boat we had to break its tail to fit it in the fish box.
After that I shot a grouper and a couple triggers. I saw several more grouper and snapper but had no interest in them. I drifted and checked one of my deeper spots and it had a couple nice grouper on it and a ton of bait. Will probably try to go back there next week or something.
Another day I went out with Cat and her friend Stephanie. The water was clear and seas were calm but I saw almost no fish. Stephanie tried spearfishing for the first time and appears to be a bit of a natural at it. Her first shot she spined a decent keys hogfish. We dove several spots and I saw mostly just mangrove snapper all over the place, but not really any other fish. The lack of current I think, keeps the yellow jacks from schooling up and feeding. I saw a couple of yellow jacks, but they were alone and moving fast in one direction, not circling and curious at all. I saw a couple barely legal grouper but did not bother with them.
