Flipper's Bitch
10-24-2007, 10:16 AM
I decided to take off work early and jump in the water to get some practice on my hawaiian sling in preparation for the Tourney in Tokyo next Sunday (spearguns are not allowed). On my first dive, I saw one of the biggest Taman I've seen here (easily over 15lbs), but I couldn't get him to come in range of my sling :pissed: He came within 10 feet...easy shot if I had my speargun :banghead: I made several more dives and passed up a couple shots on decent sized Taman, hoping to get another chance. I finally gave up and shot a couple smaller fish for practice, but didn't see anything else of decent size, so moved to another location just before sunset. I made the first dive at the new spot and shot a 2.5kgs Kae. I saw a few nice size Taman, but still couldn't get them to come in range. It was getting to dark to see much, so decided to head back to the boat. On the way I saw some type of free swimming fish, but was unsure what they were. I took a half breath to allow me to sink under more silently to about 20 feet. The smaller Pampano swam up to me, but turned just as I released the sling and the tip just grazed his side, but he did not go far, so I prepared for another shot. The smaller one wouldn't come back in range, but the larger one was now interested and came just within range and turned side ways for me. I released the sling and it penetrated center mass. I was not expecting him to be so powerful. I had only taken a half breath, and was at about 30 feet being pulled deeper. I started to think I might now make it back to the surface and was considering that I might have to let go and loose my Hawaiian sling...SCREW THAT! I tried to relax as much as possible, but continued to kick for the surface. I finally broke the surface and was able to get a couple breaths before I got pulled back under. It didn't take long before the Pampano got tired and I was able to stay on the surface. I had heard that the African Pampano were around Okinawa, but this is the first one I've seen. They have several long jellyfish-like tentacles extending from the upper and lower fins which I thought was pretty interesting. He weighed 4.2kgs. I'm not sure how big they get, but I was happy to have gotten him, and I didn't lose my sling in the process:D