Don't spear fish before diving...

the mans name is rod orr

I recently received this e-mail and thought I'd post it after receiving permission:

Member wrote:

I'm not sure that chumming by spearfishing is a very reliable method of calling white sharks. I have done lots of spearfishing and participated in over 50 cencal spearfishing tournaments over the last ten years and have never even seen a white shark. The last nationals tournament in Fort Bragg this summer had about 40 divers shooting up the local rockfish and ling cod, and no one saw a white shark. The last diver to lose his head to a white was Randy Fry, and he wasn't spearfishing.

Drankin wrote:

I appreciate your opinion...
I'd like to keep all comments up on a forum for people to discuss the issue...

But, Just for sake of discussion:

I tend to agree that the likely hood of attracting a shark is a small one at that. But it does increase the odd when putting a lot of blood in the water, dangling your fish off the side of your float. It wasn't necessarily the spear fishing, it was more that he left the fish in the water to bleed. Which has the potential to attract both seals and sharks alike. Shark are also know to be somewhat territorial so spear fishing in a know territory could result in higher odds, I can't say to be for certain. The one story that I heard the guy had gone spear fishing hung his fish off his float and went diving and was in the water for a couple of hours. I bet if you put enough blood in the water and you wait around long enough you will see sharks, maybe not always a great white, but sharks are attracted to blood and the movements dieing fish. Just out side of the mouth of Bodega harbor where they gut all the fish sharks have been seen. So although spear fishing might not directly bring sharks, I believe it increases the chances that a shark if in the neighborhood might drop by. I'd be curious as to how long you have stayed in the water with your dead fish in a dive float chumming the water?

Member Wrote:

How long do I dangle my catch in the water? It depends, but I rarely soak my fish form more than an hour or an hour and half. Some of the guys will string their catch around their waist before returning them to a kayak, where they are typically placed inside the hatch. In tank diving for halibut, I typically tow my catch 10 to 15 feet behind behind me on a stringer with a small float attached. The only problem I had was with a harbor seal once, who tried to steal my catch. Quite a few divers have had to fight seals for their catch, but I have not heard of any local divers who had to fight off white sharks that were attracted to the fish on their spear shafts or stringers.
But, I have heard of blue water divers in Mexico and other warmer waters having to compete with various species sharks, including tiger sharks, for their speared tuna.

Drankin:

Now fellow members why not voice your thoughts on the subject? Any experience?