Lionfish Alert October 30th 2016 Bonaire

[Compressor]

WWGUY and Oldschoolto: Thank you.

 

[uncfnp]

For those that dive with dive friends... Darcy.. Who works at dive friends , Loves to take people Lionfish hunting... He works at Yellow sub... I will tell you up front.. Darcy is deaf, You need to be willing to work at understanding him or know how to sign ... He's a great guy and a very good diver and lionfish hunter...

Jim...

Edit to add... Funny as hell and loves to have a good time...

We met him yesterday. Didn't know his name but he was there when we picked up tanks at Yellow Submarine. DF Port Bonaire's compressor has been down for several days so everyone is going to Yellow Sub for the tanks. Been very hectic but they are making it work. Good news for those coming in is that the part is here and they hope to have DF Port Bonaire up and running again tomorrow.

Its official, I have seen more lionfish this trip then any in the past. More then our last several trips to Florida.

 

[oldschoolto]

Yes... We shot 6 - 10 lionfish on almost every dive... One dive we only got 3 because we were 125+ deep and when we found them.. we were 2 minutes to deco... Got what we could... Plus 5 minutes of DECO.... cleared by 20'....

Jim...

 

[wgw04024]

Is it that hard to spear a lionfish without destroying a reef?

 

[uncfnp]

Is it that hard to spear a lionfish without destroying a reef?

Not when you know what to do and can be trusted to do it. Unfortunately there are far too many idiots out there that think the rules don't apply to them.

 

[oldschoolto]

Also, If you're not a good shot.. MISSING them is not good at all.. They are harder to get close to next time.. I see lionfish that the minute they see you they dart back far into the rocks and hide.. They seem to be stupid one time... I spent 10 minutes to get this one big ass lionfish hiding back in the coral...

Jim..

 

[DustyC]

Is it that hard to spear a lionfish without destroying a reef?

Plenty of people can't fart in the mojave without damaging a reef.

 

[wwguy]

Is it that hard to spear a lionfish without destroying a reef?

They use a special device invented especially for this purpose.

 

[Jersey]

They are not difficult to hit if you have some experience spearing. The EFL has a bit of a learning curve as does any new piece of equipment. We got an invite to an after work dive on a rarely seen stretch of reef. Total of 7 divers in the water, 6 with EFL's (I spotted, we were short an ELF) and we cleaned out over 90 LF ranging from goldfish size to several pounds. Some were too large for the zookeepers. We would find 3-5 sitting on a coral head and the guys would pick them off 1 by 1. They never moved as their 'friends' went into the keeper. SLOW, steady and purposeful seem to be the keys, limit movement, get in close, then get closer (short spear), have the ELF primed to go before you approach. You need excellent buoyancy and situational awareness. Hit the first time, you will not get a second chance. I've been told they stay deep during the day, making dusk and dawn the best times to hunt. We filled several coolers of this size...