stringin fish

[blue gun]

How do you guys string fish? How big is your stringer? Do you sharpen the end? Do you hold it in your hand or clip off?

Now I have seen this topic on the fs forum but then it got quickly distorted. I have seen guys push the stringer up through the bottom lip down through the bottom lip, gill to the mouth, mouth to the gill, through the eyes and some who leave it on the shaft and go to the boat.

I just run through the gill to the mouth when shooting small fish < 15# but when using a powerhead I have had my hands on a 30# grouper and when I went to push the stringer through the gill and out through the mouth that son of a gun swam just far enough to get sideways into a crack never to be seen again. Then started for the mouth thinking if he swims forward he will swim onto the stringer but sometimes the mouth won't open easy if at all. so then I went to the eyes with a cobia and couldn't get the thing through his eyes like somethin was blocking the way.

What do ya think?:confused:

[inletsurf]

I clip on. Jab the point thru their eyes. Some guys clip off. Some like it shaved. Some like it bald.

[Steel Shootin']

Blue Gun, I was the one that started the post on FS before. I'm getting pretty good at keeping it clipped at all times, and stringing em up without undoing the clip. The secret for me was finding a good swivel clip, and the right sized stringer. Personlly, I like the stringers where the pointed end is covered by the area that catches it. Having had a lot of different divers on my boat, I've seen probably 3 or 4 different ways of doing it, including clipping it off to the gun.

[f94gator]

I clip on, go through the eyes. Shaved.

[Stone]

I clip on.

AJ, Snapper and Grouper, etc. - usually through the eyes
Trigger - through the mouth and out the gill (because they will bite the shit out of you if you don't)
Flounder - mouth and gill or stacked on a pokey pole

Short Story: Last week, my wife and I came up from the first dive and the first thing she said was that we had to dive the wreck again. She had strung a grouper, but had to unclip her stringer to do so. The fish got away from her with the stringer closed through its mouth and gill. I was not very optimistic that we would find her fish because this wreck has many, many, places for a grouper to hole up.

About 10 min into the second dive, she swims up to me with the grouper and stringer clipped off. On the surface, I asked her if she had to shoot it again . . . she didn't. She said she found the fish laying sideways under the hull, so she just used the spear barb to hook the stringer and pulled him out.

[Divin' fool]

Ditto on what stone said...thru the eyes unless it is a trigger or a flounder (they will bite ya). I use a smaller ring that does'nt get in the way. I also keep a large thin bag in the pocket of my BC....if I'm at a safety stop or coming up....and there are cudas or sharks around I bag em'.

OH..I like my snappers SHAVED
:D

[dlock]

inlet...you are getting way to much sun these days:D I string 'em through the eyes except for flounder,then I just stick it through his head near the eye or eyes,whatever. I clip off to the gun until there are a few fish on it then I clip it to my bc. If cudas are following me I hold it up close to my chest(while swimming). And shaved snapper is the only way to go!!!:p