b"SPEARFISHING Goatfish are a welcome target in weedlines for spearos.Weedlines can be quite long and notOnce you have found your weedlineThis is a great way to bring fish in as every part will hold fish. It is best to diveits time to hunt. Fish on a weedline arethey think you are a stingray digging up the whole lot looking for bends in theoften hard to spot so the best thing to doa meal and will come into check it out, weedline where the current crosses itis take a deep breath and then descendkeep stirring up the sand and watch as rather than just running parallel alongsideto a few metres off the bottom, just onyou may see fish coming towards you.it. As we learnt when targeting kingfish,the edge of the visibility so that youIf they are just out of your range, then current is key so look for those bendscan't be seen and drift with the current.keep your face down and throw more and spots that jut out. These usuallyWeedline species are often thin in profilesand, most weedline species dont like create pressure points and this is theand can be hard to spot. Double checkeye contact, so dont look at them till the most likely place to find fish. When youbits of weed, shadows, and anything elsevery last minute.do find these currents it's likely that theon a weedline it very well could be a fish.water is also murkier, don't let this putWeedline fish are generally docile andEQUIPMENTyou off with water stirred up by rushingquite inquisitive, however slow fluidThe gear used for spearfishing weedlines current it means there is also going to bemovements are still key to spearing fish.is similar to anywhere else, the main nutrients displaced so baitfish will makeI like to quietly descend straight downdifference is that there is not a lot of their presence followed by predatory fish. on top of my targets so that they can'tcover so it's important to have a longer see me however sometimes this doesntgun, 120cm is the ideal length. Due to DIVING WEEDLINES work out and the fish slowly cruise offthe nature of weedlines they can be a Spearfishing on a weedline can be verybefore stopping a short distance away.fair distance off the coast and are usually taxing on your body so it's importantIn this instance it's best not to chasein prime locations with boat traffic, for to properly rest and recover after yourthe fish. Instead return to the surface,this reason it is crucial that you dive with dives and conserve your energy as muchtake a breath, and then descend all thea float and flag. Boats are the biggest as possible. To conserve your energyway to the bottom. Once you are on thedanger to spearos so a float and flag or the best way is to get dropped by yourbottom, concentrate on relaxing so thata floatboat (little orange float to put fish boatman or swim up the current to theyou can conserve your oxygen. Then grabin), is the ideal surface marker. top of the weedline and then drift backa handful of sand and throw it up, do thisEven better is having an experienced down. Making dives as you go. Thismultiple times and then have a look toboatman to oversee your diving. They way you are not swimming up currentsee if the fish is coming to check you out,are there to warn off any speeding boats, to make ground so you can save yourif not slowly move a few metres and dopick up your fish and keep an eye on you energy for the dives.it again.as you drift along in the current. If you 34FISHING IN GODZONE MAY/JUN 2021"