Canadian struck by barracuda in Jamaica

[scubafied]

I've also had one tail me, keeping a particularly close eye on my watch. Did the same thing, covered it and it swam away after a minute or so. Nerve wracking to say the least with all those teeth and knowing you don't stand a chance of out-swimming one.. Makes me want to change the color of my first stage somehow....may be the justification I needed for the tungsten Apeks.

 

[DandyDon]

Ok ok, when I was newish in scuba, I once thought it'd be fun to take a ziplock of dry cat food on a dive and feed the fish. I wouldn't chum now, but once I did. It was interesting how compressed the bag got, but when I opened it and shook it out - I was instantly surrounded in Triggers and Barracudas! One 2 foot Cuda followed me the rest of the dive, all the way to the ladder. Had people talking...

 

[Hank49]

This one made three passes at me. He would swim off, turn and stop, then charge right at me. The second pass he jumped clear out of the water by about two feet. The third pass he clipped my knee. You couldn't have sliced my wetsuit and knee cleaner with a surgeon's scalpel. Lot of blood. The cut was about half inch deep on the side of my knee cap. I put butterfly bandages on it and started on antibiotics that night. It closed up nicely and didn't get infected.
I did just happen to shoot the sneaky bastard after he came in and was eating all the chum I had just cut up. But I've shot a lot of barracuda. Never had one come after me like this one. And he was a little bugger too. haha. Lot of attitude. I've shot a few since (about two months ago) but I am a bit more wary now. I swim to the boat and pull them up from there.

 

[TXreefer]

We used to do lots of rig dives way out offshore (80+mi). Those cudas out there were huge. They would sit at about 10' on the shady side of the platform just waiting.

They would lower us in the water in the personnel basket using the crane. When that basket would hit the water I would always cringe hoping one of them wasn't gonna mistake my leg inside the big splash as food.

We were waiting at 20' on SS and a sport fisher was nearby and fishing the platform for snapper. We were watching the whole seen from underwater which was pretty neat to see anyway. I remember i saw a flash and the hooked fish was in two pieces, just floating there. Then I noticed the cuda had already made a turn and was coming back for lunch. It happened in less than half a second.

I too would rather be in the water with 200 silky sharks on those rigs than those cudas. I hated those things.

 

[drrich2]

I'm surprised no one has yet asked whether people are feeding speared lionfish to the local wildlife, and whether barracuda might start associating people with food there. A highly speculative idea, but I've seen it brought up with overly intrusive large moray eels.

Especially if the fish took an interest in them and darted around.

Richard.

 

[DandyDon]

I did just happen to shoot the sneaky bastard after he came in and was eating all the chum I had just cut up. But I've shot a lot of barracuda. Never had one come after me like this one. And he was a little bugger too. haha. Lot of attitude. I've shot a few since (about two months ago) but I am a bit more wary now. I swim to the boat and pull them up from there.

Uh, you eat Cuda....?!

From what I've read about ciguatera, I'd rather get bent.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Hank49 that little cuda you have there looks about the same size as the one that snuck up from behind and chomped down on the end of my fin, just off San Pedro. The cuda had a very firm grip. We had an interesting and amusing dance for a minute or less though it seemed to go on longer than that. All divers in my group flooded their mask laughing. I thought it somewhat funny too, still very glad it wasn't a bigger one cuz I'd have lost the scuffle. Am very glad it attacked that tail end and not the front end of me.
Poor man.

 

[rjk75]

chillyinCanada, you didn't get any pics of your fin, did you?

 

[chillyinCanada]

Not with the cuda on it.

 

[letterboy]

Uh, you eat Cuda....?!

From what I've read about ciguatera, I'd rather get bent.

Hank is nuts in general ;-)

Eating Barracuda - The Hull Truth - Boating and Fishing Forum