A Fisherman Nearly Kills Two Divers with One Hook!!

[brsnow]

I'm a little confused - if the fish was hooked and "wrapped around" the diver below you, how did said diver wind up with a bare hook lodged in his BCD strap as opposed to a line wrap?

That is what fish do

 

[Belzelbub]

Why would they ban knives for diving?

I've only seen that in one dive site. It was a freshwater spring fed site. In this case, not a big deal as there really wasn't anything that a diver could get entangled on.

I always carry at least two cutting instruments. A low profile knife with a straight and serrated edge that is strapped to the inside of my leg. I also carry EMT shears on by BC shoulder strap. Both can be reached with either hand.

@kyle191 definitely a good idea to start carrying at least one cutting tool. That tool may vary based on what you are likely to encounter. EMT shears work great for fishing line and lionfish spines, but not real well on thicker rope like anchor lines.

 

[kyle191]

I've only seen that in one dive site. It was a freshwater spring fed site. In this case, not a big deal as there really wasn't anything that a diver could get entangled on.

I always carry at least two cutting instruments. A low profile knife with a straight and serrated edge that is strapped to the inside of my leg. I also carry EMT shears on by BC shoulder strap. Both can be reached with either hand.

@kyle191 definitely a good idea to start carrying at least one cutting tool. That tool may vary based on what you are likely to encounter. EMT shears work great for fishing line and lionfish spines, but not real well on thicker rope like anchor lines.

You and I think alike. I carry a low profile line cutter on my BCD chest strap. I also carry EMT type shears on my waist belt. The shears are primarily for cutting lion fish spines...but I recently cut a big tangle of fishing line on the bottom with them. I am going to add another low profile line cutter to my other BCD chest strap.

Thanks for the reply and advice

 

[boulderjohn]

Why would they ban knives for diving?

In some protected areas to keep divers from going Rambo on the Reefs.

In all places that ban knives that I know of, that ban does not include line cutters or shears. What they don't want is people using knives to chisel off coral souvenirs, etc.

 

[Wookie]

The dive area is buoyed off at the surface to keep fisherman out of the diving zone. In reality...the area isn't nearly big enough......as you will soon see.

The dive area is buoyed off so boats don’t have to anchor. There are no restrictions on fishing the wreck, I’m a little surprised your DM didn’t know that. Those wrecks were placed with funds from state fishing licenses, not state diving licenses, although there used to be some kind of token or badge or other diver bling you could buy.

There are no restrictions to fishing any Keys wreck except those in the national parks or Sanctuary Preservation Areas.

 

[billgraham]

I got hooked through the glove (but not the finger!) on the Oregon wreck and couldn't believe what I was seeing, so I wrapped the line around the wreckage and broke it off. I had EMT shears and a line cutter, but I just did that without thinking about it. When I surfaced after the dive, there was a party boat motoring around us on anchor. Never saw one out there before!

 

[kyle191]

The dive area is buoyed off so boats don’t have to anchor. There are no restrictions on fishing the wreck, I’m a little surprised your DM didn’t know that. Those wrecks were placed with funds from state fishing licenses, not state diving licenses, although there used to be some kind of token or badge or other diver bling you could buy.

There are no restrictions to fishing any Keys wreck except those in the national parks or Sanctuary Preservation Areas.

Thanks for the correction on the fishing restricted area. I have no malice towards the guys fishing and accidently hooked a diver.

 

[HalcyonDaze]

Great question!!! Who the heck knows?!?!? This was such a weird event. The only thing I can think of is that the fish did a "half wrap" around the diver that was enough for the fish to "spit the hook". With the fisherman at the top pulling tension on the line, when the fish got rid of the hook, I ac only assume that the hook got lodged in the shoulder strap of the BCD.

But again..pure speculation.

I can see that happening ... probably not as bad as a line wrap; I've heard a few nasty accounts of digits coming off or a fish pulling a diver down.

The dive area is buoyed off so boats don’t have to anchor. There are no restrictions on fishing the wreck, I’m a little surprised your DM didn’t know that. Those wrecks were placed with funds from state fishing licenses, not state diving licenses, although there used to be some kind of token or badge or other diver bling you could buy.

There are no restrictions to fishing any Keys wreck except those in the national parks or Sanctuary Preservation Areas.

I remember being out there with one other charter where I asked (I have a psychotic hatred for lionfish, so where allowed and practical I always try to carry a pole spear) and they sounded unsure if fishing was allowed on the Spiegel Grove. The Duane definitely gets fished a lot.

 

[Wookie]

I can see that happening ... probably not as bad as a line wrap; I've heard a few nasty accounts of digits coming off or a fish pulling a diver down.


I remember being out there with one other charter where I asked (I have a psychotic hatred for lionfish, so where allowed and practical I always try to carry a pole spear) and they sounded unsure if fishing was allowed on the Spiegel Grove. The Duane definitely gets fished a lot.

As a general rule of thumb, if it has yellow buoys around it, it’s closed to fishing.

 

[sourdough]

this post convinced me to get a new cutting device