![]() “When I did that, I said, ‘I want to fish up here,’” she said of that visit. She first came to Alaska on a trip to Southeast. Stengel works as a first mate for a private yacht. We’re in the kelp beds and the shallow waters.” “They know we’re not going to clean out an area. “Because of the way we’re doing it, they know we’re not competing with them,” Conley said. Other charter captains have been encouraging about Coldwater AK’s fishing technique. “As far as everyone is concerned, we’re going out fishing like every other halibut charter, just doing it a little bit differently,” Conley said. Some will dive for up to two minutes in 100 feet hunting for rockfish.Īs a guided halibut sport-fishing operation, Coldwater AK functions just like the more traditional rod-and-reel fishery. Conley, Reid and some other locals have become experienced free divers and spear fishermen. “I like it better.”Ĭoldwater AK has carved out a niche in the halibut charter fleet. “This is way less gear,” she said of free diving. She has fished in south Florida for wahoo and other species. Stengel said she got started in underwater diving with scuba gear and then started free diving. ![]() In Alaska, free divers wear wetsuits with hoods, masks and snorkels, weight belts, and fins almost as long as a person’s legs. On top of that, Stengel caught her fish while free diving, or diving without scuba gear. Those big fish, you bring them to the top and they’ll run on you, and you’re along for the ride.” “You’re in the water, your physical strength trying to convince them to come to the top. Once the fish gets speared, “from that point on it’s fighting it to the surface, I guess like rod and reel,” Conley said. For her to take on a fish almost as big as her is an impressive feat.”Ĭonley called the difference between spearfishing and a pole spear like the difference between hunting with a rifle and bowhunting. They have so much torque and power,” he said. “You realize how humbling it is in the water with those big, powerful fish. Some of his clients have caught 100-pound halibut. That’s part of the fun and challenge of spear fishing halibut, Conley said. Stengel had her gear attached to a large buoy so it wouldn’t get lost if the halibut yanked it out of her grasp. A modern adaptation of the centuries-old Inuit toggle-head harpoon, pulling back with the pole and line sets the slip tip. The angler pulls back on a big rubber band that wraps around the pole - the sling - and lets loose with the spear.Īttached by a short cable to the spear pole, the slip tip comes loose and holds tight in the fish. While some people use spear guns to fish while free diving, Stengel got her halibut with more challenging gear, a sling pole spear with a slip tip, a small harpoon head that pierces the flesh of the fish. Stengel’s halibut was almost as long as she is tall.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |