My Spearfishing gear guide

My Spearfishing gear guide

Well this one is so much fun. Most of spearfishing addicts speak about their gear more than anything in this sport. All seeking safety, comfort, durability & last but not least; style. It is a very interesting subject to talk about with your fellow hunters I assure you. This is due to the fact that spearfishing & its tech. is rapidly developing into a more advanced profile. It's quite interesting to learn that spearfishing is not only a phenomena that recently apeared within the human race, it has been there since the dawn of history. Even smart animals use spears to hunt their food.

So from a long wooden stick with a sharp stone tip, to hybrid & Co2 canons. Yes they could be called canons since they are so powerful. The Spear gun is the tool that mainly receives the most attention, however, there are several items that are also quite important for the hunter. Lets start with defining what you need as a hunter based on your spearfishing environment. One  more thing is to learn how to prioritize what you need & not to waste your money on secondary gear.

Attire

What should I wear & when ?

If you are usually located within tempered regions most of the year like Egypt for instance, you will have to think about attire that will keep you comfortable in warm to semi warm waters. First of all after getting back to your own physique; you need to understand about how your body reacts with the water & its temperature. If you are a person who easily feels  cold, then you need to have something that will keep you warm at depths. Hypothermia usually leads to death but at our ends if you feel cold you will be completely uncomfortable due to your numerous muscular contractions that attempt to warm up your body. On the other hand, you do not need to overheat your body. So a balanced judgment is always fair.

 

Summer: Usually allot of hunters go into the water without any attire, just their swimming trunks & that's it. This is usually doable in warm countries however; it is imperative to cover your body against any harmful organisms that might be invisible to you in the water. The Sun as well will completely burn your back if its not well protected with a good thick layer of sunscreen. So it is ideal to consider for your summer dives either a "Rash guard" or a "Lycra Suite" both will protect your body from any harmful irritations or unintentional contact with rocks or corals. Some manufacturers of diving & water sport attire provide rash guards & suits that prevent ultra violet rays from harming your skin. This is because most of spearfishing activities take so much time in the water. Allot of time that you might not notice & then you get shocked when you look into your watch & say........ My god it has been 4 hours since I got into the water !!!

Winter: It's fun time now, winter is great and comes with many surprises. Any hunter should make sure that his body is completely warm during winter. So your next priority in attire will be a wetsuit. The Wetsuit has several styles, material, thickness & many other specifications. As you go through wetsuits & what is the best fit for you you will understand that the diversity of such products is necessary. Not all divers feel comfortable in the same suite. You need to understand what will be ideal for you in terms of size & comfort when moving your arms & body in general. Usually a standard & non expensive choice would be a full neoprene wetsuit that starts at a 3mm to 5mm thickness. Some of them have hoods & some don't.  You may consider having a camouflaged suit depending on the environment that you are intending to hunt within. Either reef or blue water environments, such camo suits will blend you into the environment , making it difficult for your prey to spot you. If your head really gets cold but this is not in a tempered environment case; you will need to consider buying one. They are sold separately at the convenience of any diving shop near your area. You just need to try it first since hoods mostly are not comfortable when worn but they will keep your head warm during winter.

Other mandatory items that you should be wearing while spearfishing will be hand & footwear. You will need comfortable gloves with easy Velcro patches. When you buy those try them first, they need to be ideally fitting your hands & should be flexible when you move your fingers or making a full grip. Usually such gloves have a rough surface at the palm area just to enable you to easily grab hold of any structure under the water or even securely holding your spear gun. The normal footwear would be a neoprene sock. These will protect your feet from excess exposure to sea water, will keep your feet warm & will protect your feet from tough foot pockets of your diving fins. Some hunters do not use neoprene socks but that depends on their tolerance & comfort with their fins that usually have soft foot pockets.

 

 Gear

Don't you think that you should consider a mask & a snorkel ? They are a first priority aren't they ? Again these are subject to each hunter comfort & fit. So standardization in this sport usually does not exist. You need to find your mask & your mask needs to find you. It sounds like a romance tale of to lost lovers searching for each other. Well just make sure that your selected mask will be comfortable on your face with a firm hold & comfortable head strap. You will adjust the fit on your face with the side buckles. The ideal mask formation will help you focus & decrease the light rays coming into your eyes from different angles. A black mask is an ideal example. The lens should allow you to have a perfect view angle to the bottom & sides. There are several fancy masks with great tech out there & also considerably expensive. So you need to select your mask properly. Some manufacturers like Cressi & Omer have superb models with ideal prices. Anyway you will have to go through several ones before you find the best fit for your face & best visionary underwater. The snorkel should comfortably fit with the mask strap & perfectly aligned beside or at the back of your head. You can find complete sets or generate your own combination between a mask & snorkel that should be comfortable for your personal use.

Gear Tip:  Always keep your gear in a good condition, wash it with sweet water after using it. Do not expose it to excessive sunlight & keep it always in its bag or cover. Use defoggers for your mask before diving or other proven excellent defoggers like toothpaste or cucumbers. You can rub the inner lens of your mask with those before then washing them before diving. Try to get a mesh bag to keep your diving gear well dried & ventilated.

Moving on to completing the collection; you will need to have a weight belt. There are several types of these however; the best is the free diving rubber weight belt. It fits on your waist & hip perfectly, allowing you ta have more air intake when you inhale before you dive. The weight belt does not come with weight tiles. You should buy those as well or you can rent them from your closest diving shop. All what you need is to test your ideal weight that you will be needing according to your body mass & the depth that you desire to reach. It is very important to have a balanced weight according to several factors that will help you take full controls over your maneuvers in the water. Here is a weight calculator that I found on one of Face book applications which gives me the chance to congratulate our fellow hunters in Lebanon for having Spearfishing as a "Legal Sport " finally.

Freediving Weight Calculator

   

All whats left in your basic gear are your fins. We haven't touched base with the Spear gun part yet but now it's the fins turn. Your selection of your fin should be based on power, comfort & adaptation to your environment. Some fins with soft blades will not be suitable for warm waters & will tend to be like spaghetti when you start kicking. These would better work in colder waters. The ideal ones would be with hard blades. Now fins are considerably expensive according to its range, and I mean long fins; not the normal scuba or snorkeling fins. The substance of the blade makes a huge difference in the momentum generated from the fins. Top of the line would be Carbon fins however; if you are still confused about what you want, you should start with the simple approach. not to hurt yourself nor your pocket. Some powerful fins will give you terrible cramps if you are not used to them, so take it easy when buying them & consider that your fins are a very valuable investment. You will notice massive difference between the normal fins that you used to use when snorkeling or scuba diving & your free diving long fins. Again when buying your fins you need to make sure that the foot pocket is comfortable, always buy fins with closed foot pockets not with straps & always consider to have 2 or even 3 marks bigger than your normal foot size. This is to ensure that your feet will fit with the neoprene socks too.

 

Now you have the basics. It is always great to discuss your gear with your fellow hunters to understand & gain more information about that crucial part of spearfishing. It will always have new approaches, ideas & even styles. You have to stay up to date with trends & safety gear. It will help you select & choose the best fit for you. An additional item that you will be needing however, not necessarily to be directly bought. You can postpone that a little bit but you will need it for several uses. It is the spearfishing knife. It's use is not only to stone kill your prey; its also important in the worst case if you get tangled or you need to cut any line when you are under the water. You will even use it to signal your dive buddies by hitting it on your gun barrel to make some noise & grab their attention. It is important to have it however it is not a priority to begin with. From a safety perspective; yes it is necessary.

 

What is still missing out there is your spear gun. This  should be a post of its own but you will have to select a spear gun that will be ideal for you as a start. There are several specifications, types & systems the will be introduced on My Speargun Guide

Finally here is a check list that I use before going on any spear fishing trip. I usually cross check all my gear before going because when you are out there & you are missing something; it's done. Your entire day will be completely ruined.

Gear Check List:

Attire:

Wetsuit/Rash guard/Gloves/Socks/weight belt/weights ....... Check if packed

Base Gear:

Mask/Snorkel/Fins/knife/spear gun/ float/ float line/clips/fish stringer.... Check if packed

Spare Gear:

Mask/Snorkel/rubber bands/mono line/clips/shafts...... Check if packed

Other:

Tools if necessary...................................................... Check if packed 

Preparing yourself first

Preparing yourself first

Mazameer & Hogz Spearfishing blog

Before getting into preparing yourself over the physical, mental & financial fronts, you have to be completely convinced that each individual has his own capabilities. Not all of us have the same levels of performance; that is in almost anything we do, don’t you think?  So it’s not always about being in the competitive mood or trying to beat a record; just keep at the back of your mind that the first & last thing you seek is the joy of the sport. Spear fishing is not only about who goes deeper or who has a longer breath hold, it’s about balance in each & every task performed. Once you have this kind of convenience and satisfaction, you will be able to unconsciously excel in your performance. You will notice that; how gradually you will improve.

Primarily all spear fishing gurus will seek physical perfection. Don’t start getting visions of Sylvester Stalone at his prime or Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator. You are not going on a Special Forces mission or trying to break someone’s neck; you are just going fishing. Only that time with a spear gun in your hand.

You first need to know where you stand physically & if your body is able to tolerate the exposure to the ocean. You have been for several swims into the ocean and for a start you should know if sea water should have any effects on your skin or body in general. This is just the beginning.

You need to understand your body’s capabilities & tolerance against extreme conditions of the sea. As a beginner; you have to test your body against several common challenges related to the sea as in your body tolerance towards skin rash or irritations from the sea water, your general balance after spending some time swimming within a wavy sea & your body’s recovery after spending such time.

Some may have challenges like medical histories related to blood pressure, respiratory system disorders, or sinus; these will definitely become a major obstacle or at least a nuisance. It is not recommended to attempt spear fishing if you have any of these or if you are a diabetic or suffer any diabetic comas. So basically, it is crucial that you need to have a healthy body free of any critical drawbacks or diseases that will prevent you from diving or holding your breath for some time.

Keeping your body always alert for your spear fishing & free diving activities is a simple process however; you need to have commitment & personal bonds with the sea. Being a smoker for instance is an obstacle to progression, but it’s not a major one. I have fellow hunters who are smokers; not heavy smokers though and they have great records in spear fishing. I mean in terms of hunts and diving techniques. I’m not encouraging you to keep this evil habit if you are a smoker but, believe me its better off. I used to be a regular smoker but I managed to quit. Neither via any bogus doctor nor placebos sold at a drug store from the “on the counter variety”.  It’s the passion of spear fishing & free diving that carried me to quit. In addition to the fact that my readiness & commitment gave me a major leap on that front.

Your body has it all, if it’s in a good healthy shape & you keep it like that through simple & non exaggerated physical training, you will be easily able to enjoy & leverage your spear fishing skills. Always work on your cardiovascular training through taking a jog every now & then or taking decent long walks every day. Staircases might be a pain in the hip but they do you good. Try to breathe as much as you can & focus on your lungs while they fill up with air, think about them & what’s going on in those tiny microscopic pockets that grasp the air & filter its components. They deliver O2 into our main bloodstream & expel the used air CO2 out of our bodies. Shouldn’t that be the jewel of all organs that should be kept as healthy & wealthy as much as possible?

Cardio is fantastic but you still need to improve your leg muscles through adequate training. They will always help you power down deep to your target or save your life if you are out of breath when you ascend to the surface. Keep your leg muscles strong & flexible since they are used the most in your movement on top of the water against the current. If you get a major cramp in your calf when diving; it could simply prevent you from surfacing. The best training for your leg muscles would be the usual cardiovascular workout, use of an epileptic “cyclic stepper” training machine. You can always find those “torture machines” in your nearest local gym. Again they will torture you for some time but they will do you good.

Let me remind you; you are not placing weight loss as your main goal, you are trying to focus on your stamina & specific areas in your body to help you perform while hunting. Being physically perfect is an ace however; you can still perform very well if you are a bit chubby with strong legs, arms, back & chest. Don’t let fancy material depress you, just focus on yourself & believe that you can do it.

Arms, chest & back are crucial since all these parts in your body have direct impacts on your performance when your spear fishing. Arms strength is important; you will do most of the tasks using the help of some strong arm muscles. That includes movement & maneuvers in the water, loading your spear gun if you’re using a rubber band powered one & in some advanced cases handling big fish after hunting them. Mainly a combination of simple arm & chest exercises that targets your biceps, triceps & chest muscles would be ideal. By the way morning push up is the easiest old style exercise that will get you there as well.

Power band spear guns require a strong upper back. As discussed earlier in this blog, there will be a post that illustrates information about gear including the spear guns and its types. Again if you wish to jump to this post go to   My spear fishing gear guide

Don't forget that workout & keeping your muscles flexed is the only thing that you need to monitor. You should as well consider your nutrition as a main booster to your performance. Logically there are many recipes, in fact they are numerous. It depends what you prefer & how will it affect your general health. You should normally try to feed on elements that are rich in vitamins & minerals. The protein & carbohydrate sources are also very important. It depends on how you plan your feeding time, items & quantities.  Focusing on items like Milk, fresh vegetables, eggs, cereals & non fatty meats sounds common. You are not on a diet unless you have a weight problem. All what you need is to think about what you eat and how it will add to your body. Last but not least, you need to eat allot of fish. Seafood & fish meat in general is a very healthy nutrition source to any one. Food Supplements like vitamin complexes & other fortifiers are recommended should you have any general weakness, they will help you balance your intake & improve your general health.

Now another thing is to focus on what your body wants when you are out there. You should normally nourish your body by drinking allot of water. When you are on a spearfishing trip it is very important to consider all kinds of liquids in addition to water. Not alcohol for sure but that should not be a case for some of my friends. Any way liquids are imperative all the way. Other important munchies during a trip will be some good & high gain energy bars that will keep your energy up to par while moving between dives. In our tropical weather and warm waters you do not need items that will increase your body heat, moreover, Carbohydrates are very important for you before going into the water. You should plan having a Carb rich meal like pasta or rice the night before you hunt. It will provide you with great momentum & leverage your tolerance if you face strong currents.

After focusing on having such nutritious lifestyle that should last, you will need to move on & enhance your respiratory system performance by the Basic APNEA training .   You will be guided through a step by step basic training techniques that are simplified for improving your breath hold to an acceptable state. Remember that you are not going for a free diving championship but, its always tempting to stay a bit longer under water or having these extra seconds to ambush your prey. These training techniques are summaries of the finest & most simple ones created by pro's. You will be simply able to go through such training steps at the luxury of your home   

 

Getting Started

 Just as a normal or common approach. It’s when your brain starts flexing its nerves about a certain temptation or desire.  Spear fishing is exactly the temptation that makes your head start to go round in circles. Basically you are a person who has a connection with the ocean, the blue water, waves & the sound of this wonderful natural gift in our lives. If you want to discover, try, or learn about it; I believe that you might have some valuable information about Spear fishing in this post. Information that will help you start this from a different view.

You may be someone who is completely new to this & just seeking something to break your usual routine. However; allow me to let you know that this is an addictive one. Once you’re in you will never back off. If you are into other kinds of fishing related to the rod & reel, you will definitely experience something that should let you know about the environment that you are tapping on.

Fishing in general is a great hobby, sport or even profession. It provides you with so many details of skills that you might even never notice until you start using then in action. Spear fishing is even more complicated & interesting in addition to its attractive nature.

We all see those tourists & travelers around the globe who seek the fantastic scenery of the reefs. Scuba divers & even snorkelers enjoy being part of that & they would plan their entire year to make several dives around the world while enjoying the many advantages of traveling. You will be eager to gain more experience within Spear fishing, more in touch with this world & what it carries from ecological treasures to hypnotizing scenery.

It’s all about how you perceive this sport & how knowledgeable will you become about your impact on this echo system. Your passion about getting into the water will lead you to develop a stable behavior about the fish & animals that kept this system alive, & will still keep it for many years. I would simply say that spear fishing is not about hunting any fish that swims by or making chaos in a well preserved environment, it’s all about the ultimate climax of bonding with this echo system, to feel the ocean inside your head & body. Finally enjoying what it has to offer you & to be completely satisfied & content whatever you got as an offering from Mother Nature.

This is where the thin line exists. It’s just a thin line that separates both ethical & non ethical hunters “Spear fisher men”. That completely explains the complicated definition of Spear fishing around the world. It all revolves around its legibility or not & about its abuse or misuse.

Environmental Tip:

APNEA “Free diving” spear fishing has minor impact on the echo system.  Statistics show that spear fishing consumes less than 0.3% of the overall fish population, while sport anglers consume 6%. Commercial fisheries consume 94%. 

 

The Warning

To be completely transparent & honest with anyone who is interested in Spear fishing; I have to mention a direct & to the point warning. It should go to all who are still exploring this wonderful sport, all beginners or freshman hunters. It is quite important to understand the basic warnings & dangers of Spear fishing. Many of freshman hunters or beginners will have a quick flashback of the Movie “JAWS” but their minds will be completely misleading them if they do so.

Spear Fishing is an extreme & very dangerous sport. Performing this sport will expose you to possibilities of death or the highest risk of injury, shallow water blackouts, drowning, choking, and pressure impact on human body, tangling, poisoning, and irritations. Other accidents that may be caused during spear fishing will include speed boat collisions, provoked & non provoked shark or any other aggressive fish/animal attacks, and many other risks/causes that might lead to permanent injury or death.

Yes it’s pretty intimidating; there are many dangers out there in the ocean. It is not necessarily the “JAWS” nightmare that visits you the first or the most. There are many other risks that rather tend to be unnoticeable & may cause severe impacts. Shark attacks are the least; line tangles, Spear gun accidents, speed boat accidents, blackouts & lung rupture supersede your nightmare.

You have to indulge in your conscious the fact that safety is the sole & prime factor that you have to ensure every time you go for a hunt out there. That is even if you go hunting in 2 m deep water. You should allow the warnings & safety to sink in your mind first before performing this beautiful yet risky act.

The safety is not only about you as an individual; it’s about team work as well. Most of us might be fully aware that when we go into the water we should go in teams, not individuals. Each team member must have and stick to his/her own task list & plan. Safety should be a mandatory item stamped on every hunters head. Some of us take massive risks; they know what their capabilities are however; risks are never recommended even if you are the world champion in free diving or world record spear fisher.

You need to be ready physically, mentally & financially as well. Safety is not cheap I assure you; however it’s mandatory. You should not go risk your life before setting all your safety measures neatly.

To be physically prepared; you need to simply understand about your physical status. Where do you stand & what are your strengths & weaknesses?  You can always jump to Preparing yourself first of this blog to go through all preliminary preparations & simple training techniques for common spear fishing. This part will be continuously updated so you might need to visit it every now & then for any updates.

Mentally is a whole different dimension. It includes several transcending techniques that will help you gradually improve your performance even if you are the crappiest diver on Earth. Touching base with your mental side is very important in any day to day activity that you perform, not only for Spear fishing. Transcending helps you broaden your mind & get in touch with your core energies, capabilities & improve your senses. By proper transcending & mental training you will be able to improve your physical performance by far from what you are right now. Not many of us give much time for this important medium & not many of us will accordingly excel or enjoy Spear fishing as it should be. Again, you can always jump to Preparing yourself first    to read different techniques of the regular preparations for spear fishing.

Now we will stumble upon the scary part; yes scary but is a necessity. We may all agree that buying a cheap line will break faster & easier than the expensive one. It is safety, and when it comes to safety there are no compromises. You will learn how to buy your best fit gear, best specialized products that will ensure your comfort & safety when you are in the water. Finally, as you gain more confidence & experience you will be able to define easily your needs from diverse & numerous products. You will be sharing many discussions or forums on the internet about your addiction; just try to reach a satisfactory level of acceptance when buying your gear and setting the priorities which will be best for your performance, safety & pocket. This part will be featured here  My Spearfishing gear guide

 As more posts are being created on this blog at “Getting Started” I would recommend that you start researching & reading some valuable books or papers about this great sport. You can actually start with the history & go on up to date with all the modern developments that happened to Spear fishing. Here are some interesting links that you can visit & make use of.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spearfishing

http://worldspearfishing.com/home.php

http://www.bluewaterhunter.com/education.html

 

Trip log 19 September: The finaly

Well so far the trip is just perfect. The first day catch was ideal, some groupers, emperors & a couple of Doradas "featured in this picture to the right". Now it’s the fresh morning breeze. We have sailed from our docking spot which was protected from the high waves to our first diving spot. This is the same spot that we have discovered by coincidence yesterday.

Now it was Ihab & myself who went first. The rest were still rising & they couldn’t actually understand how come we are already back to the same place we were at yesterday! Simple, the captain & his crew were just outstanding. They have exceeded our expectations in every single thing they did. So far this was the best crew, boat & captain we had.

Ihab & I started to gear up & we have discussed our fining course. This time the boat was a bit closer to the newly discovered dive site. We were a bit confused about the direction that we should head to however; we managed to make some calculations based on faraway landmarks. Yes we can see the shore but can barely see the developing buildings on the coast.

As we filed silently into the water; we noticed the comfortable warm temperature. The visibility was acceptable, only this time it’s about 5 to 6 meters maximum. We both started powering smoothly along with the current for about 10 minutes & we have not yet found our spot. It’s still a sandy floor with scattered rocks here and there. Small silver fishes swim around us in thousands like the stars. We kept going on until I have suddenly & unexpectedly spotted a group of emperors swimming on top of the sand. They usually do this since it’s their best camouflage. Sand bars & sand floors, this is where you will mostly find them, because the sun light is reflected from the sand onto their silver bodies & they blend into the sand color. If you have an “eye for the fish” you will quickly spot them in the blue. Here is a picture that features the Emperor. A very tasty fish & is known with its premium quality white meat. They are quite challenging as they always keep distance in addition to the fact that they have amazing reflex speed. I will be posting in the future some techniques that I have learned on how to hunt such wonderful fish.

When I spotted this group coming towards us, they were about 5 emperors, decently sized. The smaller sized ones where at the front while again; unexpectedly, a big guy about 7 kg appeared at the tail of the parade. They usually come to take a peak about what’s happening in their territory. Ihab was ahead of me to the right hand side & has managed to spot the “not to be missed parade”. I have noticed that he did while I was completely submerged in about 4 meters lying down on the sand to attract them towards me. I was targeting the big guy but; Ihab decided to use his big guns to hunt it from range. Ihab takes the shot on the big guy, barely misses it & in less than a second the parade vanished.  

I popped my head out of the water to check on the boat & the fellow hunters’ status. Seems that they are still recovering from last night & no one  is in the water yet. Ihab did a course check again & we talked to each other then changed our direction. Finally after 15 minutes we managed to reach the destination. The sound of corals is popping in our ears & getting louder. The water is getting crowded with several reef fish & other species.  We were both in the area so we drifted apart and started scanning the bottom & the caves for our pray. I have seen a red grouper yesterday which is not supposed to be found at these ends. Red groupers "featured in this picture"  are so tasty & there is abundance of them in the red sea. I found it again & aimed my RA at an approximate range of 3 m, my RA has a double wrap of mono line which allows me to aim at targets up to 4 m far.  The shot was an excellent one, a kill shot that I have enjoyed due to its range & accuracy. It seems that my new rubber bands are working just perfect.

Ihab made several shots; I can hear him boogie in the water. For me, I’m a bit picky when hunting & I save my loading energy for any unexpected appearances.  I spotted during that part of the day several decent sized Groupers " featured in this picture to the right". I shot 2 in addition to the red grouper that I had first.

All hunters where in the water by now & it seems that everyone is having a piece of these generous reefs. As our dive started to come to an end “5 hours”  & all the hunters are now back to the boat, I have came across Ximo who was still in the water. We talked about a nearby reef that had several Doradas & we decided to have a go on them. It was the other way round at the far end of the reef. We met a large eagle spotted ray that was too scared & disappeared into the blue. When we reached the area we both tied our floats into the rocks & decided to swim freely in search for the doradas. We weren’t that lucky after 30 minutes of searching; seen some decent sized ones but where far out of range.

So we stayed still for some time to recharge our bodies & again we meet the emperors. Ximo proposed a trap hunt by having a perimeter between us which is about 15 m in width & facing the current. One of us spears & the other receives the runaway emperors. After 2 attempts we miss the 7 kg big guy again however Ximo managed to hit a 5 kg emperor in the trap before we get back to the boat.

Ximo & I are now back to the boat, having the debris of breakfast. We had monsters, not normal human beings on the boat!! Breakfast was almost gone but thankfully Sherif & Ahmed thought about us & saved us a plate of food. It was 11:30am now & we were ready to head back from where we started. The trip should take 6 hours however; we must make a very important & mandatory stop at our trophy dive spot. I personally went to sleep to regain some of my energy & I actually didn’t sleep that much the night before. I gave my body some rest & my mind some space to dream about the beauty of the ocean, its mysteries & the giant trivially that I should meet in 3 hours. Our operator for the afternoon was Capt. Soliman & he sailed the boat smoothly as per the course. Although I was sleeping during his task however; I can say that the ride was smooth & he was pretty in control.

I woke up on Ahmed’s pokes; he said: Hisham we are almost there & it’s only 15 minutes to reach the spot.  Its 4:30pm my God I had almost 4 hours of sleep, that’s more than enough & now I am so energetic & ready for the long awaited moment to see again the giant trivially. When the boat arrived to the destination, Ahmed made sure that it’s safely tied. The usual briefing took place & we all split into territorial teams. I was supposed to go with Ximo however, we made a shuffle & I went with Ihab. Ihab preferred to stay at the first point of the diving spot & he had his camera fixed on his Nile Tec locally handmade masterpiece. We swam together to the point all was in the water, the waves where pretty high & gave us a nice shake. The water was like “vegetable soup” Ximo said while stationed at the middle of the point with Ahmed. At least it’s not chocolate. Karim & Sherif were at the end. We waited & waited without any sightings; we meant to be very silent since GT’s are so sensitive & would never waste a second to be kilometers apart from us. Where I was; I made a duck dive up to 15 m just to check out what’s beneath us, I have sighted a massive GT that showed me his unbelievable size & swam down deeper. This GT must be at least 80 kg + I was frozen from the view & I wonder how my gear would be able to land such mass.

No one did any action, teams were so far apart but there is no trigger sounds in the water. Suddenly a school of GT’s appear beneath us & Ihab films them.  I have placed a couple of clips from Ihabs' camera right here. below this paragraph. You can  also see them in the video that I have added at the end of this post as well.   

They were between 30 to 40 kg each swimming slowly & proudly trying to take a glimpse of us. Then they dive deep again. We waited for about 10 minutes & the GT’s started circling us again & they are even coming closer now. I decided to dive on this school while Ihab watches me go. As I dived they became faster & they were going deeper. They disappeared for about 15 minutes then a loanly GT appeared to Ihab & he decided to take a shot at it; again Ihabs shaft barely touched the GT.

10 minutes later Ihab had to go back to the boat since he told me that his mask started to leak & he was not feeling comfortable about it. By that time Sherif joined me & he experienced several sightings of GT’s. I decided to take a shot at a 30 kg one but my shaft barely touched it. Karim also joined the party & now it was the 3 of us waiting for the moment to hit the trophy.

We have made several dives without any success. It’s been about an hour now without any luck, not even for any of the other teams. We were the luckiest because our area had most of the GT’s appear. Ximo & Ahmed have seen a GT only once. We used several techniques to attract the GT’s like BTB diving but again, with no luck.  In an instant I decided to try the dead fish technique so I made a very slow dive, smooth & silent while Karim & Sherif watched from the surface. The water was so murky & I can’t see anything. It was becoming as chocolate & the light is getting dimmer. I stopped using my fins & adjusted my position by bending my knees & having my left hand behind my back. I was sinking slowly into the deep; I was dropped from the surface.

While I was sinking slowly I saw a couple of GT’s to my right & I slowly started pointing my RA towards them but they were still out of range. I can only see their big lips & fins that glowed into the murky water. They never came into range & started to descend again.  In my sight range to the left, I have noticed a lonely GT coming up to me to check me out; I was almost out of breath but I have decided to go the extra bit. I never looked it in the eye but kept it in my eyesight while it approached & I never repositioned my RA towards it. I was completely frozen. Once it became in range I swiftly turn my RA towards it without turning my head; I made the decision & looked at this beautiful & massive GT. It was for sure above the 40 kg mark. I made my shot, it was perfect & hit exactly behind the eyes in the upper part of the gill. The reflex was a movie of its own, my Shaft hit the GT hard & it swam upwards taking my RA, I & my line with it. I kept hold of my gun to make sure that the shaft is intact but to my bad luck; my shaft snapped out from the GT body!! Giving it the chance to dive deep so fast that I couldn’t see it. You know how this felt? So bad I assure you. I almost landed the trophy fish of the entire trip. I surfaced & Karim witnessed my anger moment on top of the water; he actually witnessed the whole thing. All what I got from this GT was some debris of his white flesh on my shaft barb. I lost this GT mainly because of two common reasons; the first one because it was so large & its mass thickness was beyond my dual 16mm rubber band thrust power. Ironically the second reason was the fact that my spear tip was completely blunted from my reef shots on the groupers I caught today morning. So penetration was fairly impossible & finally it was not destined to be my trophy.

I couldn’t stay any longer in the water with all these thoughts running into my soaked head & we all decided to go back since no GT’s will return. Not for now at least. We know that & it’s a logical reaction. The entire GT tribe will gather around the wounded one & start checking it out for some time & logging what occurred into their visual memories. It is amazing how such beautiful & breathtaking fish behave. These creatures have brains & hearts. They have their own law & regulations just as us human beings.  They impress me with their meaningful eye contact & body language. Truly we should respect & admire what nature gives us & demonstrates to us the secrets of this world that we are always tapping on.

As we board the boat, the boys voted whether to go for another BWH stop before going back to the port or not. The result was yes, BWH here we come. It was only Sherif Karim & Ximo who wanted to go. I stayed on board with the rest, trying to get myself together since the flashback of the whole GT situation will keep haunting me for some time. I was completely drained too, so next dive was not for me anyway.

It was dusk now, Ximo, Sherif & Karim are in the water but it seems that they have only seen some young tunas passing by. All divers are now out of the water, we headed back to land. Our time machine “The boat” is set to reach our destination in 1 hour.

Overall this trip was fantastic. It’s not only what we caught or what we lost; it’s what we learned & what we enriched ourselves with. At the end we have paid Mother Nature a visit & she welcomed us to her endless & roomy cuddles. The sea or ocean will stay a mystery & we still need to learn about it; simply as we still need to learn a lot more about our environment & our planet before striving to discover solar systems.

Ximo & I got into my car, drove back to Cairo with fantastic memories & endless conversations about spear fishing, dogs, turtles & making so much fun of Spanish & Egyptian bad words.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this trip report, one more thing left for you is to enjoy the following round up video of the closure of this great trip........

Click here to watch the last day video of the trip... enjoy