Yesterday Feb 2, 2012 I was free diving in 65 ft of water 15 miles out of johns pass on Madiera Beach, FL on a spot I've been diving the last 10 years and I saw this lion fish hanging out on a rock. Since these species of fish do not belong in the Gulf of Mexico, I felt obligated to shoot it. I also heard they were good to eat, so we took him back to dock and filleted him. Unfortunately one of the filets got snagged right off the grill by a hungry seagull so we only got to sample one of the filets. To our surprise the lion fish was actually pretty tasty. If anyone of my readers happen to see a lion fish while they're spear fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, I encourage you to eradicate them because they are not native to our Gulf waters and are an invasive species. Dive safe!
This past weekend, Captain Dane Karcher (Team Salt Life) competed in the 2011 St. Pete Open World Spearfishing Championships. Salt Life wants to congratulate Dane for a strong finish. He placed 3rd overall for Grouper.