BajaNomad

Spearfishing girl shoots big fish in Gonzaga...

gonetobaja - 5-25-2005 at 09:07 PM

I never thought I could get out shot by a girl on my own tours (actually I was afraid it was gonna happen.). We have been shooting a video on the hunt for world record grouper and snapper in the Gonzaga bay area by freediver/spearfishers. On our last trip we brought a very experienced Julie Riffe with us and ended up nailing big grouper.

Here is the link to the whole report with pics!
http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=17918

We are heading out again tomorrow for a 5 day and then again to the islands on the 12th for a go at more world record spearfishing!

Slack tide on the 12-15th in Gonzaga! Condiditions should be epic!

like I said Im heading down again tomorrow just to spend some time down with friends, just pacificos and seagulls laughing.....

Everytime Im at the islands and I see a plane go by I say "there goes mike....." my customers think Im crazy.....

GTB

[Edited on 5-26-2005 by gonetobaja]

Dale -i posted on nthis at baja.net

capt. mike - 5-26-2005 at 07:16 AM

way cool stuff as usual, hey i am headed for mulege fri, so i'll miss you again - but in about 30 days i am free of work for a while and am ready to brave the warmer temps of S.O.C. to observe the action - so stay tuned and i'll do the same.

Julie is HOT! HOT! HOT!:bounce::spingrin:

"Wharf!??....I thought you wanted me to go down on the dwarf!.........Janet Reno, attending her 1st live women's wrestling matches in SF. 1999

gonetobaja - 5-26-2005 at 12:00 PM

to add to it Julie just had a baby 4 months ago. When you think about it, a 5'something girl who just gave birth 4 months ago got those fish by freediving(breathhold) down to about 40 feet and hitting that fish with one shot and then fought it to the surface all on her own. We have underwater video of the whole thing! The accomplishment is big and I thought it would be a good thing to share with other baja nomads.

I got a little FLAK for posting that report however it was all done in the name of concern and conservation. Everyone knows where I stand on harvesting fish. For me its freedive with a speargun and pick out exactly what you are looking for and dont harass any other fish. It sucks getting repremanded by people when I am the one that is all alone at the islands burning a monofiliment net that washed ashore by seagull nests, or when I am by myself and I have to untangle a big beautifull pelican who has a fish hook in his beak and line tangled around his neck and wing. So many times I dive and find hooks dug into the bottom and the coral on the rocks with 10 ft of 50lb mono waving in the current hoping to entangle whatever stays close for too long.

Then I get back to the states and post a report of the expedition and get slammed for not caring about the resource because everyone "ass"umes that freediving to 40 or 50 feet, over and over again for up to 7 hrs in a day, all to shoot a few fish is an easy way to ruin a beautifull remote ecosystem.

GTB

yankeeirishman - 5-28-2005 at 10:02 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by gonetobaja
I never thought I could get out shot by a girl on my own tours (actually I was afraid it was gonna happen.). We have been shooting a video on the hunt for world record grouper and snapper in the Gonzaga bay area by freediver/spearfishers. On our last trip we brought a very experienced Julie Riffe with us and ended up nailing big grouper.

Here is the link to the whole report with pics!
http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=17918


We are heading out again tomorrow for a 5 day and then again to the islands on the 12th for a go at more world record spearfishing!

Slack tide on the 12-15th in Gonzaga! Condiditions should be epic!

like I said Im heading down again tomorrow just to spend some time down with friends, just pacificos and seagulls laughing.....

Everytime Im at the islands and I see a plane go by I say "there goes mike....." my customers think Im crazy.....

GTB

[Edited on 5-26-2005 by gonetobaja]


Great photos you have at that link! My ten year old boy is now pressing me to go fishing! Oh...the hell with them negative folks writing to you.

Ken Bondy - 5-28-2005 at 10:56 AM

Hang in there gonetobaja. I thought you defended yourself well. You made a good point about the relative size of the female groupers. I personally would rather photograph marine life than kill it but I have no problem eating seafood that someone else has killed. IMHO selective spearfishing like you advocate has minimal impact and no incidental kill.
++Ken++

gonetobaja - 5-30-2005 at 11:19 PM

Thanks for the backup guys.

There is nothing more fun than swimming around in the sea of cortez and seeing all of the beautifull things. Even if you dont shoot a fish the time spent in the water is never wasted. Ken Id like to take out photo SCUBA divers, I have my divemaster cert. It would be great to get customers that just want to shoot pics. I have to admit though, there is nothing better than fresh fish. I have another expedition leaving on the 12th so I will post more when I get back on the 15th. We are bringing film gear for this trip just like the last one and the whole thing is going to be put on DVD and distributed. People will get to see that spearfishing is more than just killing fish, its the experience of diving in the ocean that hooks you.

GTB
http://www.spearfishingvideos.com

marv sherrill - 5-31-2005 at 11:56 AM

I am quite familiar with Julie and her capabilities, but spearing triggerfish and hog fish????

Not every fish is a trophy and not every fish is a grouper

gonetobaja - 5-31-2005 at 04:40 PM

Marv,

We dont always shoot only big grouper. Some of my best times in the water have been where I shoot a few triggerfish for dinner and thats it. Its not about what type of fish you enjoy eating its about time in the water and enjoying the ocean. We like to eat fresh fish on our trips. The people who say triggerfish and the like are bad to eat are the people who have never been faced with nothing but triggerfish and rice for dinner. I know of alot of people who enjoy the taste of triggerfish and hogfish.

The difference is that we pick the size and type of fish we shoot and thats the best thing about spearfishing.

GTB