Thread: Fishing tomorrow!

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

You do well spearing the snaps! How deep are you diving generally?

I wrote a big long reply but my browser stalled and lost it. Here is the abridged version...

These guys (as with most snapper I shoot) were in less than 10m of water. How deep I dive depends on the target species and methods of the day. For snapper, in shallow with lots of good guts and boulders is the best option - Ideal scenario is 0-10m deep with sun behind and current in face. If burleying, access to deep water and a bit of current is a must, as is a concealed approach.

If targeting weedline fish (tarakihi, john dory, boarfish etc.) then where the weed meets sand in 15-18m is a good depth. I can do that all day... I can work a 25m weed edge but it is hard work and has to be fishy with good vis to be worth the effort.

In the tropics it is not uncommon to do 30m+ when hunting reef species and pelagics (dogtooth tuna mainly) but you can get by in shallower depending on how much fishing pressure there is.

My deepest freedive (purely in pursuit of depth, not for spearfishing) is 55m, but due to the nature of spearfishing you need to build in a considerable safety margin. Also please note I don't do anything over about 15m without a competent buddy watching my back (15m is very conservative for me but please work to your own numbers as what is safe for me will likely kill someone else). Shallow water blackout is a dangerous phenomenon which kills spearos regularly.