Freediving for Cobia - Palm Beach 5-17-2020

Video shot from the head cam of my son and me. Our objective is to attract bull sharks and have them bring cobia along for the ride. Testing some new roller guns and a slip tip.

[@redakouissem5373]

Formidable .👍👍👍👍👍👍.

[@salaseivastajat]

Looks like a good day at sea. Did you see more sharks? Are other boats a problem when freediving?

[@Speedospearo]

We saw a few sharks, not many that day. Our boat driver tries to watch for other boats and makes sure they don't get too close. Sometimes that is easier said than done.

[@alexbutcher3954]

👍👍👍

[@RiverFunsies]

dang! All we spearing is tilapia and plecos! Good work

[@Speedospearo]

thanks

[@baitball4665]

Lol! In Florida? Pretty sure thats illegal but f it they shouldn't be in there anyways 👍

[@bradys.7967]

I wonder if sharks treat people like people treat tide pods. Really makes you think tbh...😵

[@dixee6498]

Ok. So I don't hear you huffin' and puffin' so I'm going to guess your son had the camera. Either way you had some nice hauls. If you have enough to eat for tonight then something's wrong lol

[@Speedospearo]

We were both wearing cameras. Thanks

[@BurhanMuntasser]

Is there a reason why you switched to free diving and not your usual scuba while spearfishing? (I am thinking that you didn't want to hang around for a long time underwater on scuba while you had bleeding fish on you with sharks around but thought maybe there are other reasons).

[@Speedospearo]

I have done both activities for many years. Scuba and freediving are very different activities and as I get older, freediving gets harder faster.. With respect to this specific type of spearing (with flashers, chum and sharks) I think freediving is safer because we generally try to have a good team of at least 3 people in the water, the boat stays attentive and we can get out if things get too hot - which sometimes happens if there are a lot of sharks and they get too excited. I don't think the activity is safe by any means. This type of spearfishing is somewhat of a specialty activity that benefits from teamwork - we always split the catch and it is important that everyone is coordinated and paying attention and works to protect the divers and the speared fish from the shark(s). With three people, a diver can deliver a back up shot and the third can act as a safety. Cobia are known to almost play dead after being speared and then wake up and rip off the spear, so I always like to get a second shot if possible and then we can horse the fish hard to the surface and keep it away from the sharks. They still steal some fish from us, As an FYI, in the local area, we generally have to immediately float up any large fish when scuba hunting because the many sharks would make it too dangerous to keep them on a stringer for example. I sometimes keep smaller fish in a bag, Do you think the scubaboard people would approve? LOL

[@BurhanMuntasser]

@@Speedospearo So your primary reason for choosing free diving instead of scuba in this specific instance is safety from shark attacks while underwater. Free diving allows you to get out of the water much quicker without worrying about the various potential injuries that can be sustained due to hurried ascent and exit when scuba diving. The other reason is that the type of fish you are after in this specif scenario require special considerations in spearing and securing it that is safer and more practical to do free diving and not safely possible on scuba. Does the above summary reflect your reasons please?

[@BurhanMuntasser]

@@Speedospearo When spearing on scuba, how do you float the bigger fish to the surface? Do you just send it one fish at the time with a lift bag to the surface and you remain underwater to hunt for another fish? Does the lift bag you used to send the fish up to the surface remain on the surface or does your boat person remove the fish and somehow deflate the bag and pack and send down to you to reuse it for the next fish?

[@BurhanMuntasser]

@@Speedospearo Some SB folks are Assholes as you very well know my friend starting from the old crazy man there Lol. BTW, if there is a way for you to send me your email address so that we can stay in touch, please do send it. I haven't been able to figure out if there is a way to send private messages on KZbin to you so far. I'd like to stay in touch and perhaps I can visit with you when I return to the US someday.

[@Speedospearo]

@Burhaneddin Muntasser you can get an idea about floating fish at 2 minutes in this recent video.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qaPTd6CjfJafqbs This video also shows floating a fish, but it was pretty much of a cluster...LOL kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXjGk41-bNGNn8k --- We drift dive and pull a float on a reel and the boat follows. they are supposed to look for floats popping to the surface during the dive and then they retrieve the fish into the boat. we carry multiple fish floats. Your summary is consistent with my feelings, I know a guy who lost most of his calf spearing a cobia on scuba locally. A lot of scuba divers shoot cobia off bullsharks, but a good percentage are riding scooters with saddles and this provides them some advantage wrt to speed and maneuverability. The sharks seem to be more respectful of scooter divers, especaily when you chase them a little.

[@reinhardbuys4152]

Where is this ?

[@Speedospearo]

Palm Beach Florida

[@reinhardbuys4152]

@@Speedospearo you still live in this area ?

[@Speedospearo]

@@reinhardbuys4152 Well I'm not dead yet, Almost all my videos are local.

[@Speedospearo]

@@reinhardbuys4152 yes

[@mikelempicki6777]

Why a barracuda?

[@Speedospearo]

we use them for bait and pet food

[@mikelempicki6777]

@@Speedospearo Ok that makes sense