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Old 10-13-2019, 11:30 AM   #1
Dbrown
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Out of Anclote 10/12/19

Had plan to go out for ARS but that did not work out. Was fortunate to be able to grab a ride with DKay and AKay on very short notice. They were going shallow off of Anclote planning to free dive mostly, but he said I could bring two tanks.

Never free dove off shore to shoot fish that I can recall, but grew up snorkeling and shelling, so was looking forward to trying.

Had a blast! First stop was a mile out in 22'. Never went deeper than 33'. Viz top to bottom. Temp 77. Stoned a nice mango and picked up a nice Hog. Was having trouble telling if gags were big enough. Dkay gave me some advice along with breathing advice. We were getting ready to move and they were on the boat and I did one last drop and ran into a big Hog. Shot him and as I was coming up I saw he was working spear out and sawing it through his gut. I got him to me and grabbed him right as he sawed through. He easily slipped through my headlock and was slowly headed to the bottom, guts in tow, right to where I had seen a nurse shark combing the bottom. Well the nurse was now stuck up under the rock aggressively Hoover vacuuming its gills. DKay jumped in and helped me out. I could get down there, but didn't have the Breath hold he does to pull the shark out and recover the 20" Hog. Ended up being Hog of the day, and the Nurse was nice enough to perform an excellent gut job along with a lower mandibular excision. Fun!

Did a bit more free diving and stoned a 26" gag so felt good to add that species to my list. In my pic with that first gag you can see the power plant in background. I was really liking this new venue and they said it was rare to get this viz, have the fish there, and not have too much current. So stuck with it and we closed out our limit on gags all free diving. Cool!

Put a tank on to go explore and we all got our Hogs as well. Saw some massive nurse sharks laying around. Some pushing 10'. Two were laying right next to each other. Had a Goliath come up on me which was surprising. Nothing it could hide under. It was too big for cover under any of the structure there. Saw a few turtles. Nice color to see shallow up there and the sponges and all that.

Thanks DKay and AKay! That was really fun. Likely headed for ARS next Sat weather permitting. May post some video later of a bigger nurse that was interested in my hogs while on scuba.
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Last edited by Dbrown; 10-13-2019 at 12:49 PM. Reason: Oh, and lots of jellyfish, so be aware.
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Old 10-13-2019, 06:05 PM   #2
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Re: Out of Anclote 10/12/19

Good times, Dave! Glad you could make it out. The conditions the past few weeks have made for some great shallow water spearing.
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Old 10-13-2019, 06:22 PM   #3
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Re: Out of Anclote 10/12/19

Nice report... And it's great to hear the skinny water is continuing to be so productive. If only we could have viz year round in the shallows we'd save a lot of time and gas.
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Old 10-13-2019, 09:36 PM   #4
Dbrown
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Re: Out of Anclote 10/12/19

Took some nice video. Here's a curious visitor from my 6.

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Old 10-14-2019, 05:03 AM   #5
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Re: Out of Anclote 10/12/19

Nice shooting and thanks for sharing the video. How did you like the freediving?
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Old 10-14-2019, 07:28 PM   #6
Dbrown
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Re: Out of Anclote 10/12/19

I had a ton of fun! I don't think GR Tarr is sweating the competition or anything though! LOL!

It's more like snorkeling with a speargun for me as I have zero free diving skill. I could get closer to fish, and I am sure get even closer if I had more skill in how I was holding/presenting my gun. Besides not being able to hold my breathe very long, I could tell other inefficiencies I had with gear. But what I had worked well enough to secure 4 or 5 fish! So would not have starved without a tank!

I know that there is a lot of training that goes into being a good free diver. I have done none and am only down there for about 20" in 20 - 30 feet.

It was just novel for me, productive, and a great day on the water with a lovely couple of friends. Appreciative of the opportunity and experience.
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Old 10-15-2019, 10:49 AM   #7
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Re: Out of Anclote 10/12/19

Haha that's awesome man. You guys did great, what a haul. I love both freediving and scuba. I'm not a freediving guru, but from what others have said try not to do both scuba and freediving in the same day if your in deeper water.
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Old 10-15-2019, 07:25 PM   #8
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Re: Out of Anclote 10/12/19

Yes, I do know that much. And to always free dive with at least one buddy and not push your limits.
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