Lion Fish Hunt

[Rock Doctor]

From my hunt this morning

http://youtu.be/3oryCn81fZE

http://youtu.be/95uIq-vBZgo

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o281/RockDocPhoto/E0F5FB5E-C3B8-49D8-81EE-1360F15EA3BD_zpsfb91z0dz.jpg (http://s123.photobucket.com/user/RockDocPhoto/media/E0F5FB5E-C3B8-49D8-81EE-1360F15EA3BD_zpsfb91z0dz.jpg.html)

My daughter swimming with a Loggerhead that we came across

http://youtu.be/2TGO8oZLXYI

RD

[tinhorse]

I used to have those in an aquarium. Didnt know they were good table fare.

[twanger]

those some bite marks in that turtles shell, very cool video...

[BiG Boar]

Cool video. I'm jealous of wherever you are. What species of fish are you allowed to harvest? Which ones are actually likely to harvest?

[Rock Doctor]

Lion Fish are very similar to Walleye, in bone structure and taste. I cook them up the same way.
I can only legally harvest the Lions when Scuba Diving, but my understanding is that most anything is fair game if you're Free Diving. There are many types of fish, Grouper, Snapper, Lobster, Crab, are among the best.

This is a clip from last night, I took my oldest daughter out for a night Snorkle. I could have kept pretty much any of the critters we encountered.
http://youtu.be/Z3dRO9YjUm4

RD

[Rock Doctor]

Cool video. I'm jealous of wherever you are.

i have a place in Paamul, you can google it for more info, it's between Porta and Playa
here is a clip I made, normally there are no people on the beach, but I happened to record this on a Holliday weekend.

http://youtu.be/oU-f9Tc7ahg

RD

[300H&H]

That is the biggest Lion fish I have ever seen. Keep hunting those pests. And thanks for posting your videos. Stay warm ! :roll:

[Getbent]

that's cool doc, kinda freaky on the night dive???
Damn stingray...took a shot a year ago from one, worst pain ever.

some pretty cool creatures you are seeing!

[Foxtail]

You posted this last year too didn't you? I mean when you did it last year too? Looks like a blast.

[nature girl]

Wow some great videos. Thanks for posting them.

[Rock Doctor]

that's cool doc, kinda freaky on the night dive???
Damn stingray...took a shot a year ago from one, worst pain ever.

some pretty cool creatures you are seeing!

each time I do it, it gets less freaky. The first time I took all the girls with me was the worst. Not so much keeping track of everyone, but making sure they didn't get washed into the reef by the current. So much sharp coral, and lots of sea urchins. I don't mind the dark so much, but the girls eyes were pretty wide. My youngest was 7 on that first night Snorkle.

[Rock Doctor]

You posted this last year too didn't you? I mean when you did it last year too? Looks like a blast.

Yes, I did start a thread last year, I guess I could have searched for it and continued from there. Didn't think of that, lol. I'll try to stay more on the hunting/fishing topic this time, think I went all random lady yr.

[Foxtail]

Lol I wasn't complaining... Was just thinking deja vu and hoping I wasn't going crazy. Hunting fish is still hunting ;)

[albravo2]

We are starting to see then in numbers in the British Virgin Islands. Open season. I didn't realize they were edible. Most people just chuck them which is surprising because I've found they eat pretty much everything that swims.

We've got more than our share of ciguatera in the reef fish but the locals keep eating it. I need my liver for processing rum, so I stay away from a lot of local fish.

[Spy]

Mmmm those crayfish are yummy my mouth is watering, great videos thanks again for sharing, always enjoy your threads.

[Stormy]

Lion fish are causing huge problems in the Carabean and up the East coast of the US, they are an invasive species in the area, (pacific and Indian Ocean dwellers) and their populations have exploded, the knock on effect is killing the reefs - (lion fish are eating the corral cleaners -wrasses etc, so now the corrals are covered in green alga, and the corrals are dying....

they hold annual spearfishing competitions where they kill off hundreds of the invaders, but soon the reefs are swarming with them again...this is the only place in the world that I applaud overfishing for a species.

The lion fish is very tasty - just don't stab yourself with a spine lol.....

[Rock Doctor]

Lion fish are causing huge problems in the Carabean and up the East coast of the US, they are an invasive species in the area, (pacific and Indian Ocean dwellers) and their populations have exploded, the knock on effect is killing the reefs - (lion fish are eating the corral cleaners -wrasses etc, so now the corrals are covered in green alga, and the corrals are dying....

they hold annual spearfishing competitions where they kill off hundreds of the invaders, but soon the reefs are swarming with them again...this is the only place in the world that I applaud overfishing for a species.

The lion fish is very tasty - just don't stab yourself with a spine lol.....

we have managed to make quite a dent in this local population, within diving depths, but they are living as deep as 600' so we will never clean them out entirely.
Ive noticed a huge reduction in reef fish in the last dozen years, mostly due to the Lions, they are voracious.

[300H&H]

RockDoc do you keep all the lion fish or just leave them dead and they go back in to the eco system ?

[Rock Doctor]

RockDoc do you keep all the lion fish or just leave them dead and they go back in to the eco system ?

i kill every one I can get my spear into, but only keep the ones that are worth cleaning. In the vids you can see that I have a stainless hook, as well as a spear with me. If they are big enough they go in the tube, smaller ones are gutted with the hook and left behind. Have to gut them, otherwise there are dead Lion Fish floating around the boat when we come up from the dive and that would be very dangerous.
I don't know anyone else that keeps them, but I like to eat 'em :-)

RD

[Rock Doctor]

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o281/RockDocPhoto/62E5AD3B-7ABF-4B70-AA1C-019AAAC8073F_zpszzsxavni.jpg (http://s123.photobucket.com/user/RockDocPhoto/media/62E5AD3B-7ABF-4B70-AA1C-019AAAC8073F_zpszzsxavni.jpg.html)

Lion Fish Fry
dip fish in egg, roll in crushed Lays Potatoe Chips, or Corn Flake Crumbs, then fry in hot oil until golden brown. Season to taste.

RD

[Rock Doctor]

Cleaning Lion Fish Video

might have posted this last year, don't remember.
http://youtu.be/Q_kXIoi2Ep0

RD

[Rock Doctor]

Couple more big Lions on yesterday's dive. I got 5, but these are the 2 biggest ones

http://youtu.be/MpAqDP6NOw8

RD