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Old 11-12-2003, 03:39 PM   #1
rigdvr
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booking for Louisiana's Lumps

Anyone interested in freediving the midnight lumps for possible tuna and wahoo can email me as a local captain/freediver has asked for my help in preping for freedive trips. The Capt is Bill Delabar(wrote the original Lump article for Spearfishing Mag) and this guy is top notch. We are trying to set up for the week after Christmas through Feb as that will be peak time. Mon-Wed will be the best days as the weekends are hard to dive in the crowd(200+ boats at times) but it is still doable. I find the fish get quite spooky with the crowds.
This is one of Al Walkers guys but we are going straight to the source this year to avoid any miscommunications.
Capt. Mike Freeman
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Old 11-12-2003, 08:18 PM   #2
Dive4Blood
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Can you give some info:
departure point. I assume Venice, LA
run time from dock to the Lump
your recommendation on guns, rigging, setups etc.
cost
trip length
average freedive depth required
hook and lining too?
typical conditions (vis, water temp, currents, how many dozen makos we'll encounter)

Bill was the first mate on our rig diving trip this August aboard Capt Troy Wetzel's "Kingfish". Pretty cool dude, and word on the street is that he is the tuna master. Standing by.

Last edited by Dive4Blood; 11-12-2003 at 08:20 PM.
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Old 11-12-2003, 09:55 PM   #3
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The departure port would be Venice Louisiana. The lumps are about 17 miles out of the mouth of the river. These trips can be one day or as many as you want. Bill is working out his prices for this as we speak. Of course it would be a price for the boat and your part would be dependant on the # of divers. I will try to help anyone interested in finding additional divers.(there are some of us locally that remain on "stand by" all winter... )

In my experience the average depth here is a 30 ft dive with a hang there. I shot one wahoo from the surface last season. As for guns definately pack something with power. Guns are a personal thing and guys succesfully bluewater hunt with anything from large euro guns and RA's to full fledged cannon's but in my opinion a slip tip and breakaway system are a must. I only use cable for a shooting line. I like Rob Allen foam filled floats(I use 2 11 liters) and they are available at Florida Freedivers reasonably.

Weather and vis are the big factors during the winter. We are bombarded by front after front and the key is catching the 2 or three calm days inbetween. Terry Mass's rule when he hunts here is to shoot for a week to get 1-2 divable days. The "blue water" will be pure gulf stuff but the river sometimes dumps a green sheet on top of it. If the lump is too "green" for your taste there is always good wahoo hunting at nearby rigs in cleaner water. I use a 5 mil suit and I am fine with the temp.(Ihave used a 3 before but got chilled after about 5hrs in the water)

As for the mako's...they are around but I have yet to see one. I dove the same rig they shot that discovery channel footage 3 days after Manny but I didnt dump 50 gallon drums of tuna blood and several tuna carcasses over before I jumped in

And you heard right...Bill is an expert when it comes to tuna. I have seen him come back to the dock with nice ones when the rest of the fleet gets skunked many times.
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Old 11-12-2003, 11:13 PM   #4
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yeah I'm definitly IN!!! seems as though more guys from the deeper blue forum are more interested. I sent you a PM there under another name.
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Old 11-13-2003, 08:12 AM   #5
Dive4Blood
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Thanks for the info. Let me see what who I can round up. This is being chartered directly through Bill, right? We had numerous disconnects with certain "booking agents" that put a negative spin on an otherwise good rig trip last August. Please post pricing, and boat specs when they become available. Thanks.

PS-Hey Mike, those numbers for David Scarborough out of Biloxi you sent me didn't work. I keep getting the voice mail for the office of some motor sports magazine .

AJ Suarez
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Old 11-13-2003, 11:26 AM   #6
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sorry bout the #'s...Davids been flying under the radar lately. I think he might have lost his permits to operate. We have many charter boats here but no dedicated dive boats now that David is M.I.A. Maybe we will just have to set up a fun trip with some of you guys next summer...

I am going straight to Bill, I always deal with him directly as we trade info on a regular basis anyway. I will try to call him tonight to get specifics as it is a blow out of a day for us charter folks up here...

Was it your trip this summer that he shot a big tuna on his reel gun and almost lost the whole rig before the thing broke the line? I know it was while they had some tank divers in the water on a rig...

Last edited by rigdvr; 11-13-2003 at 11:30 AM.
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Old 11-13-2003, 03:43 PM   #7
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No, we did the second weekend of August, no tunas that trip. I'm going to see about booking with Troy Wetzel for an overnighter tank spearfishing trip the first weekend or two after red snapper season opens in April-May. He said he would be willing to bring a compressor so we don't have to freak him out with the six tanks per man that we brought on the last trip. Now that we know what the deal is with tanks, food, night tuna fishing, and pricing, I'm sure it will go smoother than it did in August.

Spearboard member fun trip out of Biloxi? Bring it on! That saves us on highway drive time. You guys do have a longer run to the rigs though if I'm not mistaken. Standing by.

AJ
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Old 11-18-2003, 12:12 PM   #8
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alright, just got the call from Bill and here it is...for freedivers a tuna/wahoo run will go for $800+fuel. Last time I was on Bill's boat fuel was less than $100 and we ran all day so figure 4 divers is $225 a piece roughly.

I have him booked for next Mon/Tues and will try to present him with some more dates then so if you are interested please let me know.
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Old 12-11-2003, 06:55 PM   #9
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Talking lumpy

looks like me and a friend from san juan are booked for feb. and the diving will be great. reply if you are serious.
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