spearfishing with a kitchen knife

[Hank49]

This morning Jake, Mo, Tino and I were headed to the beach to try and catch some tiger shrimp fry with my newly constructed net. As we were nearing the pump station for the farm, Cesar, the farm manager was pointing out into the supply canal. We thought he was saying "crocodile" but we threw rocks at it and it didn't move. Finally we saw the tail fin above the water. Here was this big barracuda stranded on the sand bar. After the pumps shut down, the water level in the canal drops pretty fast so I guess he got stranded. Tino swam across the canal with a kitchen knife I keep in my truck and stabbed....or I should say, SPEARED it in the head....with a fricken kitchen knife? I've never heard of that before? haha . It started jumping around so he sat on it and brained it. Jake jumped in and swam over to cut its gills. Blood literally squirted out like a small faucet. I'd never seen that but I've never cut one's gills out of the water like that. We didn't weigh it but I'm guessing over 30 lbs. Mo swam out first but he was hesitant to stab it. hah. Mo and Tino's father's name was Matamoros, or Moor KIller in Spanish. We've changed it to Matabarro.... Country boys.....

 

[Hank49]

We ate it the next day.
I figure it's safe from ciguatera since it was probably raised in the canal. It couldn't have come in with our pump if it were bigger than a fry size.
About a year ago Jake saw a big one....maybe this one....right by a cement supply gate in the canal. He poked it with a piece of rebar. It swam off then came back and bit the rebar. I guess he figured he was king living in that little canal.....until Sunday.

The meat was kind of gray. I've shot a few almost that size on the reef but the meat was more white. Very tasty though.

 

[AussiePro]

I speared a good size trevally with a welding rod taped to a broom handle a few years back. Got it right in the sweet spot and stunned it. A kitchen knife is a new one though.

 

[Hank49]

That's pretty awesome. It's hard to stone trevallies or any jacks.
I wish I had videoed the whole incident here. I had my iPhone in my truck but I'm pretty backwards in that technology.
About a year ago my son saw a big barracuda in the same canal. Maybe it was the same one. It was hiding near a cement drainage gate. Jake jabbed it with a piece of rebar and it swam off about 10 feet, came back and bit the rebar. He had some serious attitude. We put a gill net in the canal to try and catch some of the bigger fish but no luck..only a big hole in the net.
Also saw a 30 lb cubera snapper floating dead in the canal. There are some big ones in there. Got an 80 lb Goliath a couple years ago.

 

[AussiePro]

Sounds like a nice canal, ours are just full of bullsharks and crocs, I don't know of anyone who would spear in them.