Chad Carney
06-15-2003, 08:05 PM
I'm fresh back this week from diving oil rigs in the "Hell Divers Rodeo" in Louisiana. I traveled 2,050 miles by land and water. We, (about 100 divers), competed for cheap trophies and a few spear guns... but they have a live band at the event and supply all the beer you can drink.
They shot some unbelievable fish:
1st grouper a 59-14 lb (warsaw.) 1st AJ 88-14 lb. 1st triggerfish 12-3 lb. 1st sheepshead 10-11 lb. 1st cobia 37-2 lb. 1st cuda 41-11 lb. 1st red snapper 25-11 lb. 1st mangrove snapper 11-8 lb. 1st misc. a 40-10 drum. 1st jack crevalle 59-13 lb (new rodeo record.) The Hell Divers recaptured the Best Boat and King Diver awards after 7 years of domination by the Lick'em & Stick'em team! They also took the Best Club award!
After a week and no results being posted on their website, www.helldivers.org , I posted a page on my site, http://www.mobilescuba.com/Hell%20Divers%20Rodeo.html and posted a link on their lame forum page. These guys eat and sleep spearfishing and many will probably join Spearboard now that they know what and where it is. Few of them get Spearfishing Magazine either, but now they will have a story on their rodeo in the fall issue, to get them interested.
Just so you know what that Alabama sign is all about at the end of the page: a few weeks before this years Alabama Open, (two weekends ago), they changed the rules to eliminate diving west of the Mississippi River and moved up the weigh-in to an impossibly early hour, (to stop the Hell Divers & other LA clubs from entering.) Because last year my Hell Diver buddies David Dauzat & George Ansardi kicked some major Alabama asses, taking the King, Best Boat, Best Club and many 1st and 2nd place awards.
The Alabama Open directors shouldn't have resticted the tournament. Many of the divers shot some really nice fish and could have won against tough competition, but they'll never know now!
I would highly recommend all of you try rig spearfishing, it's different, no freeshafting, but they have some major fish and the rigs are vertical reefs! In my three days of rig shooting so far, I have two 1st place Hell diver Rodeo trophies and a Third Place Alabama Open trophy from last year.
(This just might be the end of these tournaments up there, because of Homeland Security reasons, many fear that all oil rigs may be restricted from diving in the near future.)
Dive'em while you still can!
Capt Chad Carney
St Pete Florida
They shot some unbelievable fish:
1st grouper a 59-14 lb (warsaw.) 1st AJ 88-14 lb. 1st triggerfish 12-3 lb. 1st sheepshead 10-11 lb. 1st cobia 37-2 lb. 1st cuda 41-11 lb. 1st red snapper 25-11 lb. 1st mangrove snapper 11-8 lb. 1st misc. a 40-10 drum. 1st jack crevalle 59-13 lb (new rodeo record.) The Hell Divers recaptured the Best Boat and King Diver awards after 7 years of domination by the Lick'em & Stick'em team! They also took the Best Club award!
After a week and no results being posted on their website, www.helldivers.org , I posted a page on my site, http://www.mobilescuba.com/Hell%20Divers%20Rodeo.html and posted a link on their lame forum page. These guys eat and sleep spearfishing and many will probably join Spearboard now that they know what and where it is. Few of them get Spearfishing Magazine either, but now they will have a story on their rodeo in the fall issue, to get them interested.
Just so you know what that Alabama sign is all about at the end of the page: a few weeks before this years Alabama Open, (two weekends ago), they changed the rules to eliminate diving west of the Mississippi River and moved up the weigh-in to an impossibly early hour, (to stop the Hell Divers & other LA clubs from entering.) Because last year my Hell Diver buddies David Dauzat & George Ansardi kicked some major Alabama asses, taking the King, Best Boat, Best Club and many 1st and 2nd place awards.
The Alabama Open directors shouldn't have resticted the tournament. Many of the divers shot some really nice fish and could have won against tough competition, but they'll never know now!
I would highly recommend all of you try rig spearfishing, it's different, no freeshafting, but they have some major fish and the rigs are vertical reefs! In my three days of rig shooting so far, I have two 1st place Hell diver Rodeo trophies and a Third Place Alabama Open trophy from last year.
(This just might be the end of these tournaments up there, because of Homeland Security reasons, many fear that all oil rigs may be restricted from diving in the near future.)
Dive'em while you still can!
Capt Chad Carney
St Pete Florida