Hey all, a quick post about spear fishing.
There are loads of outdoor activities to get into in Guam, but one I was not expecting was spear fishing. Now, when I first heard about it, I couldn't wait to go. My concept of spear fishing was that a bunch of people go out on a boat, bring some beer along, and stand on the deck and shoot fish with some sort of awesome spear gun (since doing with a 9mm would just not be sporting). Rarely has my mental picture been so far askew from reality.
In reality, spear fishing is a much more intimate sport. It pits man versus fish, hunter versus hunted, me who can barely hold his breath for 15 seconds versus fish who breathe water like they can't get enough of it. Basically, it's free diving, or diving under water with just snorkeling gear, and hunting fish with a gun that shoots a spear attached to some tubing and rope. You can go out on a boat, or, you can skip the boat and just walk out on the reef. This past saturday, I went out with my buddy Alex and another dude Jordan. Both had gone spear fishing many times previously, so I knew right away that I was going to be the least feared by the fish. No matter, as alex said, at worst, spear fishing is just snorkeling with a spear gun.
Spear fishing is best done in calm water so you're not getting thrown around on the surface. The early morning ocean was pure glass, so after a quick cup of coffee, the three of us drove down to the local spot, put on our booties, fins, masks, snorkels, rash guards, and toted our spear guns. The guns we used had a trigger that, when pulled, released a 3ft long metal spear attached to a rope. When you shot it, you retrieved the spear, and reloaded it back into the tube, locking it in the trigger position by pulling two-three rubber tubes the length of the gun and hooking them so their taut. To actually spear a fish, you dive down, get to the fish's depth, and get close enough to where your spear can hit them. Apparently, you don't look them in the eye, because they can tell you have murder in your eyes. Also, they are completely aware that a human with a big metal spear has entered their territory, and often flee as soon as you dive down. This means that the key is to be able to dive down to depth, and then stay there patiently until the fish comes back out. This was the biggest hold up for me. As soon as I got to depth, I felt that annoying and pressing need to breathe buckets of oxygen, so I rushed back up to the surface, threw off my snorkel and mask, and indulged in all the atmosphere I could take in. I tried to focus my chi, slow my heart down, zen it up, and make a better go of it, but even after that, it seemed like I could barely make it 30 seconds. Something to work on I suppose.
So needless to say, I didn't even come close to spearing anything. I shot the gun once, just to see what happened, and then I couldn't reload it properly. To be fair, there weren't a lot of fish out and about, and Alex, a much more seasoned hunter, also came away empty handed. Jordan, the most experienced of the group, didn't catch anything by spear, but did catch an octopus by hand and killed it by biting into its brain (this is what kids from Hawaii learn I guess). It was a pretty sweet catch, and quite randomly, a Japanese dude in the beach parking lot wanted to buy it. So, with the $10 from the octopus, we picked up a six pack. Turns out that spear fishing does involve beer drinking after all.
Fun Guam fact of the day: there are almost no birds on Guam. There is only one native species of bird left. All the others were killed off by brown tree snakes.
-More to come-
There are loads of outdoor activities to get into in Guam, but one I was not expecting was spear fishing. Now, when I first heard about it, I couldn't wait to go. My concept of spear fishing was that a bunch of people go out on a boat, bring some beer along, and stand on the deck and shoot fish with some sort of awesome spear gun (since doing with a 9mm would just not be sporting). Rarely has my mental picture been so far askew from reality.
In reality, spear fishing is a much more intimate sport. It pits man versus fish, hunter versus hunted, me who can barely hold his breath for 15 seconds versus fish who breathe water like they can't get enough of it. Basically, it's free diving, or diving under water with just snorkeling gear, and hunting fish with a gun that shoots a spear attached to some tubing and rope. You can go out on a boat, or, you can skip the boat and just walk out on the reef. This past saturday, I went out with my buddy Alex and another dude Jordan. Both had gone spear fishing many times previously, so I knew right away that I was going to be the least feared by the fish. No matter, as alex said, at worst, spear fishing is just snorkeling with a spear gun.
Spear fishing is best done in calm water so you're not getting thrown around on the surface. The early morning ocean was pure glass, so after a quick cup of coffee, the three of us drove down to the local spot, put on our booties, fins, masks, snorkels, rash guards, and toted our spear guns. The guns we used had a trigger that, when pulled, released a 3ft long metal spear attached to a rope. When you shot it, you retrieved the spear, and reloaded it back into the tube, locking it in the trigger position by pulling two-three rubber tubes the length of the gun and hooking them so their taut. To actually spear a fish, you dive down, get to the fish's depth, and get close enough to where your spear can hit them. Apparently, you don't look them in the eye, because they can tell you have murder in your eyes. Also, they are completely aware that a human with a big metal spear has entered their territory, and often flee as soon as you dive down. This means that the key is to be able to dive down to depth, and then stay there patiently until the fish comes back out. This was the biggest hold up for me. As soon as I got to depth, I felt that annoying and pressing need to breathe buckets of oxygen, so I rushed back up to the surface, threw off my snorkel and mask, and indulged in all the atmosphere I could take in. I tried to focus my chi, slow my heart down, zen it up, and make a better go of it, but even after that, it seemed like I could barely make it 30 seconds. Something to work on I suppose.
So needless to say, I didn't even come close to spearing anything. I shot the gun once, just to see what happened, and then I couldn't reload it properly. To be fair, there weren't a lot of fish out and about, and Alex, a much more seasoned hunter, also came away empty handed. Jordan, the most experienced of the group, didn't catch anything by spear, but did catch an octopus by hand and killed it by biting into its brain (this is what kids from Hawaii learn I guess). It was a pretty sweet catch, and quite randomly, a Japanese dude in the beach parking lot wanted to buy it. So, with the $10 from the octopus, we picked up a six pack. Turns out that spear fishing does involve beer drinking after all.
Fun Guam fact of the day: there are almost no birds on Guam. There is only one native species of bird left. All the others were killed off by brown tree snakes.
-More to come-
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