Summer weather is here and the water is solidly in the eighties, so it’s time to hit the water!
Last summer, I speared this nice hogfish off West End, Grand Bahama and it proved that not all hogfish are easy pickings. I was trying out a prototype Hawaiian sling and it was difficult to grip without strumming the band, which spooked my hogfish and I hit him way far in the back. He swam around the coral head and shook the free-spear just before rocking up, so I retrieved it and swam up 50 feet. On dive two, the only available shot was in the gut, which tore out as the hog bolted from a hidden back door. Way late on my breath, I shot him again, and had to chase him around the head again, but I got my death grip and stuck him in the head on the way up, as my buddy laughed hysterically on the surface! I retired my lame sling design and bought a Guerrilla sling pronto.
In Florida, be sure to check myfwc.com for the new Atlantic state waters hogfish regulations. (They had not been implemented at this writing in mid May.) Hogfish limit will be dropping from five to just one, and the fork length will increase from 12 to 16 inches, along with an open season from May 1 – Oct. 31. Also check safmc.net if you are headed beyond the three nautical mile range and into federal waters, as they may also change. A few additional recent regulation changes in Atlantic state waters are mutton snapper now at 18 inches, and in federal waters mangrove snapper are now 12 inches. Always check the online regulations before you go, because curve balls have been known to be thrown.
I’ll be running charters on my 36-footer, out of the greater Fort Lauderdale area for certified freedivers and scuba divers for spearfishing, wreck and reef diving. Not certified yet? I’m also an instructor for diving and spearfishing.
Shoot straight and be careful!
Capt. Chad Carney
(727) 423-7775
www.floridaskindiver.com
email: chad.carney@yahoo.com