That boat is a tank, and rides incredibly well. As you can see, they rode over with 8 people comfortably. It was very interesting speaking to Glenn about RIB's. Glenn has worked in the inflatable business for over 25 years, so it was a pleasure to pick his brain on the subject over the weekend. With the price of gas these days, it'll be interesting to see if more boaters start looking towards RIB's as a solution. Glenn founded lifeline in 1991, and just recently moved to a brand new state of the art shop. You can get in touch with them for all your inflatable needs through http://www.lifelineinflatable.com , which is located in North Miami.
After arriving Friday, the weather was still not cooperating, so we dove a little for some lobster and called it a day. Saturday we had planned to hit it hard, but again, with the uncertainty of weather conditions, we weren't able to make the run to the spots we had planned on diving and fishing. The guys on the boat decided to do some yellow tailing out front. After they anchored up, I spotted a couple of life vests on the surface that were acting as a mooring bouy anchored down.
I had been wanting to do some spearfishing, and test the gro pro mounted on the pole spear. I decided to swim in, clip off to the buoy, and try to do a little hunting. The bottom looked really nice, but I knew I only had a couple of shots at fish since they were a 100 yard swim away and I was alone. After coming up from checking some holes, I saw a permit in the distance. As many of you know, Permits can be very spooky and difficult to approach. I was able to creep up on one and get a good shot on it with the Manny Puig Pole spear. After a little fight, it gave in, but it was enough to get some sharks up. Here's the first Permit, a nice +20 pounder.
After dropping him off, I swam back to the same area and clipped off again. It was my birthday, so I thought I'd push my luck and see if I couldn't land another one. By the time I clipped off, the sharks had dispersed, and it was back to hunting. This time I was able to position myself just right and pick out a slob. As they came through, a couple of grunts got the smaller ones in front of the school to peel off and come check me out. As soon as I saw the rest of the school follow, I was confident I'd be able to get close enough for the pole spear.
This time, the shot was low, and he took me all the way to the bottom for a white knuckle ride. I held on to the band, bouncing off the sand and rocks before I could slow him down and get a hold of him. That's when I saw the tax man coming. The commotion had attracted a big bull, and he was fired up trying to get that fish. I'm surprised I was able to land it. I had to call the boat over at that time, since there was no swimming that fish back without the shark taking him. Notice in the next picture, my suit pants ripped and covered in sand from getting dragged by that fish, what a rush! This one was in the 30 lb class, the smile says it all.
Being behind the camera most of the time, it was nice to do some hunting. So that night, we celebrated in customary fashion, with good friends, and lots of rum. All in all, a great way to finish the day and celebrate my 27th birthday. Luckily, got it on video so all my skeptical spearo buddies couldn't give me s**t!
Check out the link below for the video of the hunt:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGoVBfEP1no
Stay tuned for next week as I review different pole spears for inshore and offshore applications. Please don't hesitate to chime in with your preferred pole spear or sling rig. Until then, keep bending those shafts and safe dives.
Regards,
Raul Boesel Jr.
www.rulophoto.com
