I spend several months in the Bahamas each year and I love to free dive to get my dinner. In the Bahamas you are not allowed to use a spear gun or any device that has a trigger for shooting fish. It is also illegal to use scuba or hookah devices while taking fish or lobsters. This leaves you with two choices, a pole spear or a Hawaiian sling. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. To use a Hawaiian sling it takes two hands and usually requires the diver use more weight to get a an equal buoyancy. It is an acquired skill that takes practice. You are shooting a free shaft and you can hit targets at a longer distance. However, you may also lose your shaft to a large fish or a deep crevice. The sling is the choice of most native spear fishermen.

I can use both but prefer a good pole spear. The spears I use a solid aluminum with a 14 inch stainless shaft in front. I use a JBl single point, break away head. I find I can get back under ledges a most of the time pull the fish back out. It also works well during crawfish season. During the day most big lobsters stay way back in the hole and the long pole comes in handy. The other thing that I like is the fact that I can hold on to the reef with one and still use the pole spear. You can usually shoot larger fish and let go of the spear and most fish will not swim off with your spear. This does apply to grouper; you must choose your shot wisely. Groupers will rock up in their favorite home and you will lose fish and spear. I don't kill small fish. Ten pounds is my starting point. I have landed many fish in the 25 to 30 pound range. Anything larger than that is very difficult. You must hit the fish either in the top of the head or mid-body just behind the gills. In other words a kill shot. You can get tangled up with these larger fish and get hurt if not careful. The other major concern is   Sharks. In many parts of the Bahamas the sharks a very aggressive and will try to take your fish. Sharks consider you a competition and have been known to give a nice bite to let you know you are invading their territory. The months of July thru August seem to be the worst. The safest way to dive is to leave one person in the boat and as soon as a fish is shot have the boat handler come over and get the fish. If another diver is in the water, the other diver should come over and watch for sharks as the fish is pulled out of the water. A few people have been bit handing the fish out of the water. To add some insurance to my safety program, I recommend a SHARK SHIELD. It is a rechargeable electronic device that hooks to your ankle and admits a small electric charge about like a dog fence. Yes it will zap you occasionally but it does hurt and a least you know it is working. I have experimented with the device while deep propping and I can attest to its capability. I don't shoot fish without it on my leg. 

There are lots of good areas that hold fish and it’s not necessary to free dive 40 feet. I have shot lots of big Hog snapper and Grouper in 15 to 20 foot.

The truth is I enjoy swimming around the reef and taking pictures of all the different creatures that make the coral reefs their home.

Be Salty and be safe

Captain Don Combs

Bone Fishing

For years I have deep sea fished in the Bahamas and I have always heard about the great Bone  fishing areas throughout the Abacos. In the past few years I have had a lot of weather days and could not offshore fish. I decided to try my hand at Bone fishing. 

Not just hiring a guide but learning the skill on my own. Of course I have heard about all the different techniques and ways to search out this allusive game fish. Through trial and error this is what I have learned. They are not easy to catch and when hooked they fight harder than any fish that I have caught. I am still a novice and can only get you started from a beginners point of view. As you know fly fishing is the ultimate challenge for this fishery, but let's start with light weight spinning tackle that almost every fisherman owns. I am using a light weight spinning reel with twenty pound braid line. This is very necessary because getting close to these fish in ultra clear water is not easy. You must be able to cast a good distance with accuracy to start your fishing. I choose walking in shallow areas as my transportation and a good form of exercise. Stealth is the key. 

First you have to locate an area that holds fish, I am fishing in Treasure Key and as far down as Wood key in the Bahamas.There are many shallow bays accessible by car that you can fish. A sandy bottom is necessary or you will lose your shoes for sure. Bare feet not a good idea because of urchins and Stonefish. I use camo crocks or just tennis shoes that you don't mind ruining. After locating a bay ,look at the tide, wind and cloud cover. The lighter the wind the more you can spot the fish. Unfortunately that works both ways, it also makes it easier for the fish to spot you. I use sandy light weight pants and a light blue or gray Salt life performance shirt. I wear a hat that offers a lot of sun protection. The reflection off the water can be brutal. 

Good sun glasses are a must. If it is cloudy you will have a hard time wading and seeing fish before your pressure wave is felt by the fish and they are spooked. Always walk with your shadow behind you. All this must be considered before you decide to map out your best path for seeing fish before they see you. I usually like to fish on an incoming tide because the fish are coming in over the once exposed flats to eat crabs, shrimp and other weakened prey. I have also noticed that the fish will work the down wind side of the bay. 

Slowly walking along, creating as little noise and pressure wave as possible I scan the area for tailing fish of cloudy bottom where the fish have just been feeding. When I spot a school I determine their feeding direction and cast about twenty feet in front of the school. If you cast near the school they will instantly scatter and swim offshore. I first started with dead shrimp. I used a three food twenty pound flour carbon leader and a number 4 live bait hook. If windy I added split shot to increase my ability to cast. When the school swims over your bait you might be lucky enough to get a hook up. I usually leave my bail open because of their incredible speed. As my skills have sharpened I have gone to all artificial baits. I still use the same floracarbon leader but I put on a one quarter ounce No-Alibi jig with a very small pink gel body that resembles a small pink shrimp. Cast well in front of the school and work your bait like a shrimp hopping  off the bottom. For this you need a light action rod to get the right pop off the bottom. There are many flys and jigs that can be purchased on line for Bone fishing.
If you have access to a boat the shallow ares just in front of No Name key to Green Turtle key can produce some very large fish.

However, if you just want to try Bone fishing then by all means get one of the local guides out of Treasure key or Tangelo Bone fishing lodge. You will have a fun and catch at least ten fish. These guides forgot more than I know about Bone fishing. They have grown up in the area and have a vast knowledge and ability to locate the ghost, Mr.Bone fish.

Tight lines and good luck

-Captain Don Combs

Deep Water Jig Fishing

originally posted 7/18/2011

Jigging for fish in deep water in now one of my favorite types of fishing. I first became interested when Shimano came out with the Butterfly jigging system. I bought in for a while but soon discovered that loosing thirty dollar lures could become very painful to your wallet. They do work, but in the Bahamas the bottom is just too rough. My last trip To the Bahamas’ I used eight ounce Alien jigs from C&H Lures. One of my best days produced a thirteen pound Hog fish, several nice amberjack, a Horse eye jack, a twenty pound red grouper and six nice red hind groupers. At one time I dropped seven times and caught six fish. It is not always this hot. The best conditions are on an outgoing tide, sunny day and a light wind to move you along. I usually start my drift in about 190 ft and drift out to a depth of 300 ft. Your best chance of getting a hit is when your lure drops off the ledge at 200 ft. As soon as my lure gets near the bottom I start jigging. I give the lure three good jerks, roll up several times and give three more jerks. If I don't get a hit I drop back to the bottom and repeat the process. You do not have to be right on the bottom to get hit. Big groupers will swim up and take the lure as much as 40 feet off the bottom. If you are fishing too close to the bottom, all you will catch is small Red Hind Groupers.
I have tried lots of rod and reel combos but find the Shimano Tarus 16 is hard to beat. It has a 5.7 to 1 gear ratio and can handle the 40 pounds of drag that is sometimes required. I use a star rod 50/80 pound. I prefer the wire guides; they last a long time in salt environments.
It took several days on the water to get the feel for this type fishing, but now I'm the one that's hooked.

Good luck and live Salty
Captain Don Combs

Jigging for Wahoo in the Bahamas

My friend and I were trolling about fifteen mile offshore of Powell Key when we came on a giant weed line. As we passed by, we had several Dolphin strikes and caught one fifteen pounder. The water was so clear that it was hard to get strikes on big game lures. We pulled up to the weed line and caught several Jacks on jigs. We then cut up the jacks and started chumming for the Dolphin. The action was steady. We caught about 20 fish and released all small Dolphin. While gaffing on of the Dolphin I saw a Wahoo swimming down about a hundred foot below the boat. I had heard about Jigging for Wahoo on the West Coast but never had an opportunity to try my luck on the east coast. I pulled out a Shamino Butterfly jig rigged with 80 lb. Fluorocarbon and dropped it down about two hundred feet. I made about two good jerks and hooked a nice Wahoo. Unfortunately it bit off the lure rigged with mono. We searched around and found one piece of number seven wire. We divided it in half and dropped two jigs at a time. To our amazement we caught a Wahoo on every drop. Most fish were very small and were released. Some of the small Wahoo were bit in half on the way up by larger Wahoo. We did catch several over twenty pounds and they were grilled the same night. There was a lot of life under the weed line and I could not resist jumping over to get a few shots. Here are a couple of photos taken under the weed line. The water depth was five thousand feet.