Extra! Extra! Sea Sniper suspected in brutal kelpbed shooting spree - photos inside!

[fuzz]

After a couple years of thinking about it, I finally got my very own Sea Sniper custom!!!

With new speargun makers popping up like crazy, I was drawn to the Sea Sniper’s innovative style and design. Helping out at the shop and having borrowed Chris Chaput and Ken Okutake’s personal guns for a few days each, I formed some idea of what I wanted. I definitely wanted a kelp gun, so the 60” model seemed like the perfect all-around size for WSB & the occasional YT. Talking with Chris, we came up with a simple design change, utilizing 2 Carbon Fiber tubes for the side ballasting along with the customary titanium bottom tube. The reasoning behind this change was three-fold:

1. The slight difference in weight between the CF & titanium made the gun ballast perfectly for my particular preference and hunting style.
2. I wanted to have the first CF Sea Sniper gun.
3. It looks damn cool!

Here’s a pic I snapped while in progress:




When I got the call that my gun was done, I eagerly headed to San Carlos to pick it up.




I fell in love with it right away. It’s a work of art; beautiful figured teak married with distinct carbon fiber tubes, titanium-infused underbelly, stainless steel ferules, UHMW track, teak and stainless steel handle, & an impeccable Mori shaft/tip combo.
Almost too pretty to use, but it was destined for the water. In preparation for a week of hard diving, I also picked up one of Neptonic System’s new Pressure Pro float-lines (1-piece float-line/bungee combo). Within a few days, I was down in Southern California and eager to get in the water.


Some obligatory gun porn:

[fuzz]

Now, on to the fun part – breaking the new gun in with some hardcore field testing!!!

It was a week that I would dream of… over the course of roughly a week, I dove 6 of those days. During that time, I shot and landed 1 yellowtail (~28#) and 5 WSB (averaging decently over 50# with smallest being 45). All the fish were bled, iced, filleted, bagged, and distributed. In the end, only a few small bags made it to my freezer.


Short version: My SS gun performed beyond all expectations. Wherever I pointed, it shot. I had lots of fun.


Here’s the long version:

Fish 1:
Diving for a few hours in cold water that resembled a bad night on the toilet, I suddenly had an epiphany. Maybe WSB don’t exist… I had all but forgotten what they look like. The visibility was poor, but I was determined to at least spook a WSB so I’d know if they were around. I tried to cover as much ground as possible, but no glimpses of the elusive ghosts or echoes of their exiting booms. Discouraged and noticing that the rest of the motley crew was out of the water, I began to slowly make my way back to the boat. Meandering through the kelp, movement caught my eye as a medium-sized WSB slowly finned underneath. Excitement took a backseat to fear – “don’t blow this… you’ll probably never see another for the rest of this trip!!!” My new SS gun tucked underneath, I slinked down and smoothly extended the gun. Thwack! Right in the back of the head, the shaft entered the left side and popped out the right gill plate. I hit the surface in excitement, eagerly fighting the fish with my new Neptonics bungee. That bungee is so great in shock absorption… that sometimes one may mistake a stoned fish tangled in a single leaf of kelp for a fighting fish… OOPS! As I pulled the motionless fish up, I was completely stoked. Grabbing the shaft with my left hand, I reached over to grab the tail and “whazza?” It was a yellow forked tail!?!?! I looked back towards the head and… sure enough, it was a yellowtail! My mind replayed the scene several times and the fish acted so much like a WSB. I couldn’t recall any nuance that hinted otherwise. As mentioned earlier, the visibility was very poor on this day and this proves that I really had forgotten what a WSB looked like. The fish was promptly bled and swum back to the boat for a quick photo-op. At this point, I was still convinced that WSB really don’t exist… a YT in March before I even saw a legal WSB in the water… Regardless, I was very happy to get some fresh hamachi!




Fish 2:
Spending a day out on the water by myself, I took joy in the solitude. Worst visibility of the trip, but a few sightings kept my enthusiasm level high. It was one of those peaceful days where it was just a pleasure to be on the water, even if the conditions weren’t cooperative. With annoying cartoon theme songs repeating in my head, I slowly worked the kelp. Unfortunately, what little stealth I have in WSB hunting is immediately counteracted by my patented “full-body flinch” whenever I come across a fish. The fish were really skittish, so I changed my soldier-at-arms position to a modified half-ready gangsta-style (sideways) finger-on-the-trigger position. Spooking a nice fish, I forced myself to slow down and concentrated on relaxing and preparing myself mentally. It paid off. Two dives later, I crossed paths with a school of several nice WSB. They turned to leave and I instinctively reached out and took a half-extended half-braced shot. The extra ballast of the SS gun allowed the shot to fly true and hit the fish solid. A cloud of booms resonated in my chest as the small school scattered and I soon found myself whizzing through the water. Holding on loosely and letting the bungee take the shock, I kicked after the fish as much as possible, ducking under any cross kelp along the way. The fish continued on its path towards Monterey and I carefully had to surrender much of my float-line. Feeling the fish stop, I reared back & put my weight into the soft bungee. The fish tied up shallow and I was soon directly over it. Adrenaline pulsed through my veins and I was so worked up that it took me a minute to catch my breath. I could only muster a quick 20-second dive to inspect the situation. “OMG, that fish is huuuuuuge!”

White seabass DO exist!!!





Fish 3:
Heading out for an afternoon dive, a good buddy took me out to one of his top secret kelp beds. Sliding into the water, I cleared my mask, ducked under a kelp strand, & swam over to a patch of kelp. On the second dive, I found myself diagonally behind a sleeper WSB, hovering motionless. Its tail slowly bent in preparation of booming away. Extending my SS gun and gently squeezing the trigger, the shaft found its mark. A shot from the right side, through the back of the head, and out the far left gill plate, the WSB sank motionless. With a one fish limit, my day was quickly over and the rest of the afternoon was spent swimming around, enjoying being in the water, and tormenting my buddies back in Norcal with camera-phone pics.




Fish 4:
http://spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=60464
Diving with Bill McIntyre, I was fortunate enough to approach this nice WSB in some nice clear water. Opting for a safe shot behind the head, the shaft found its mark and I fought the fish with just a couple feet of bungee. Once the initial struggle subsided, I was able to quickly short-line and subdue the fish.




Fish 5:
On an afternoon dive, the visibility had gotten worse again and the seas were angry. Easing the boat up to a new area, the kelp bed just looked off. I tied off anyway and we went our separate ways. Unsure of what to do, I decided to swim off as far as I could and give the other two divers some space. Making a beeline for the far end of the kelp, the bed seemed devoid of life. As I bobbed & weaved through the kelp strands, I glimpsed a bright kelp leaf in the haze. Despite always being tricked by the leaf that looks like it may be a WSB, hope springs eternal... I flared my fins to slow my momentum and went into slow-motion. For once, it really was a WSB! As I barely started making out details to confirm it was a fish, the WSB sensed my presence and did a 45-degree turn to broadside. Shooting from the hip, the slip-tip toggled firmly as the fish exploded in a powerful run. I swam after the fish, kept the float-line clear of crossing kelp strings, applied gentle pressure at the end of the run, and the fish tied up shallow. A couple dives later, the fish was secured, brained, and bled.



Fish 6:
Out for a late afternoon dive on the last day of the trip, I discovered a section of kelp that was holding large WSB. Though spooked and skittish, they would continuously return to the area. I couldn’t get a clean shot and didn’t want to chance a poor shot with the disappearing light. Seeing a buddy get into the boat that is a much better diver, I jumped aboard and convinced him to give it a shot. If anyone could get close to these fish, he could. As I watched him silently work into the middle of the kelp bed, I realized how cold it was being out of the water. Looking around, I decide to get back in and head into a long kelp pocket and work towards a dense patch of kelp about 100ft away. Slowly fining along the kelp’s edge, I arrive at the patch. Movement in the waning light catches my eye and I descend to meet a WSB meandering its way out of the kelp. I wait for it to pass the last kelp stalk and one-hand a shot (gangsta-style again) into the back of the fish’s head. The shaft exits the far jaw and the fish rolls over without a twitch. It was a great ending to my trip and another vivid memory for many years to come! In the first pic, you can see the visibility we had… or rather, didn’t have.

[fuzz]

I guess it should be obvious that I love my new Sea Sniper!!!

60” of teak/carbon/titanium sexiness & performance to match! The gun moves well through the water and fits my hunting style to a T. On the occasion that I couldn’t brace effectively or had to shoot one-handed, the mass of the gun (coupled with the water-ballasting) made recoil a negligible factor. The biggest negative factor for me - I was too scared to scratch it and wrapped it up every time I moved it.

Now that it has been properly broken in, I guess I can stop babying it... maybe.

In addition, the float-line performed flawlessly. Though it was cheated out of a few testing opportunities, it worked great on the fish I had to fight. The shorter bungee section turned out to be a perfect compromise for the kelp. Over the course of 6 days of diving, it never hung up once, even with constant zig-zagging. There was only one change that I wanted and had a brief talk with Josh. He offered a suggestion that I think will work great. I can be very picky about my gear, so I appreciate him working with me on that.



“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
Having the right gear is a huge component of that preparation. When your path intersects with that large WSB, you want your gun to be an extension of you. Everything should be set so the shot is instinctual and flies true. That being said, I am eternally grateful for the opportunities I am provided and the friends who make these opportunities possible.

Thank you!!!

[zenspearo]

Wow, that is a beautiful gun. I'm trying to hold out....don't...need...another...gun.

About the fish...who the hell invites this guy down to Socal. Prick.

[hardway]

Wow! What a break in that gun had! Congrats on a sick new gun and an incredible week diving!

[sucinimad]

Man...

[spearguam]

Sick Gun and Sick fish. Congrats!

Anyway Chris can update the "GUN of the MONTH" on his site? It looks like he has been making some beautiful guns lately. I never thought of spending $1650 on a gun, but these pics might change that.

Nice job on the Gun Chris.
Nice job on the fish Fuzz.

[no bananas]

WOW!!!

It was cool to finally meet you. Nice collection of awsome fishes!

PRICK!!!!

[kjflyfish]

It's easy to see who is the king of spearguns, but those fish pictures are excessive..... NOT!! Incredible gun and incredible fish.

[OceanEd]

Fuzz:

Great post. Great timing also. I am talking to Chris now about the possibility of making me a gun like yours. The CF looks great.

[Blackfoot]

awesome report fuzz....great pics.....and a beautiful gun. chris truly makes a work of art. so...how many guns do you have now?

will

[John Hughes]

Wow Fuzz, Wow!

That's about all I can say right now, but one other thing does come to mind,

Prick!

Congrats man, thanks for the write-up.

[Bill McIntyre]

Fuzz, did I ever tell you that you're a prick?

I can vouch for how pretty that gun is. I'm just so sorry that the 45 pound fish he took from my boat lowered his average for the SoCal trip.

[David Deman]

Harold, sickest set of posts ever put on spearboard. You truly are the master. I hope my gun looks half that good.

And you didn't post the weight of the damn fish!

[Chris Oak]

I hate you fuzz! But ahem, it's obvious you don't need the huge gun collection anymore so I'll take it, you know having too many guns is bad luck right?

Nice fish! Beautiful gun! 5 wsb? PRICK!