Monday, May 27, 2013

Day 36 - Spearfishing in Deal

Today is the Monday observation of Memorial Day - off from work.  It's a nice day and the west wind has laid down the ocean water - time to jump in and shoot some fish.  Primitive survival skill??? You bet it is.  Especially since once of the fish that I caught I spiked with a pole spear - basically a sharpened stick.

I met up with a new friend today - Pete.  He is a spearfisherman as well and we have been trying to get together for some time now.  Coincidentally, he has signed up for the same freediving class that I am taking in 2 weeks up in Dutch Springs in PA.  I'm glad we had a chance to finally meet up because we have been e-mailing each other for over a year.  While freediving, the buddy system is very important and going alone is not advisable.  Having a friend like Pete will be a great addition to my fishing network. 

Today we decided to try his favorite spot which is in Deal.  There are some BIG rock jetties that stick out into relatively deep water and make great structure for all kinds of fish.  I'm also hoping there may be some lobsters in there in the future but there weren't any today.  Perhaps a spooky night dive is upcoming?  I'm also trying to get my new friends Brad and Nirav interested in spearfishing - the more the merrier.  They are certainly interested but it can be quite intimidating to the beginner.

So the Deal rocks proved to be a decent spot but not very productive for us today.  There were tons of blackfish but they are out of season and can not be shot until July.  I missed one medium sized striped bass.  It was my first shot of the year and what can I say - I missed high and he got away without a scratch. 

After not catching in Deal, I decided to give my spot in Monmouth Beach a try.  On my first dive I saw a couple small bass and many blackfish and good visibility but each subsequent dive I saw less and less and another thing I noticed was that I was being pushed out to sea - further and further.  It was becoming increasingly difficult to swim against the current and in spearfishing it is ultra ultra important to try to remain as calm and relaxed as possible.  This was just not happening today.  I took a couple more dives in about 20 feet of water and I did manage to spear a nice 21 inch fluke and a small sundial that I just jabbed with my pole.  A sundial is a fish in the flounder family that is usually smaller and thinner - I don't expect it to yield much meat but I thought it was worth it to give a new species a try.  I will fillet it tomorrow and try some sashimi first.

It was an exhausting morning to say the least.  I must have swam about 3 miles or more and didn't have much to show for it.  That's the way it goes sometimes.

Today I completed a couple primitive survival skills such as spearing fish with a pole spear and an alternate way of fire making.  Therefore, I am entitled to the final weekly rewards and I am contemplating what I will be doing for my special meal.  Maybe a roast duck.  I originally had plans for a suckling pig but that's not in the cards right now.

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