Let me tell you a story… “It’s about a man hunting a fish.” The story of an incredible adventure spearfishing Playa Del Carmen this Sunday. The catch of a Big Mutton Snapper.
Sunday is such a peaceful day, it is great to be on the water spearfishing Playa del Carmen. We did a great spearfishing trip with Diego, John, Sharon, Frankie and myself. Frankie got a Barracuda on board with some help from Diego (gracias) and decided to enjoy the boat with the Mrs and a well deserved refreshment (only when you decide not to go back in the water, for obvious safety reasons!). Satisfied and happy guest.
John wanted more. And so did Diego and I. We decided to go and spearfish in one more spot. Let’s go deep.
We were set up with a Riffe speargun and a floatline/float. I went down and ran into a school of Jacks. Big fat Permits with some Crevalle Jacks swimming in between. When I got closer, the school of fish started to create some space in between them and then this beautiful Mutton Snapper came in view. It had been hiding behind the school of Jacks and when the group opened up, it immediately swam towards the bottom. I had not been able to see it before as the group of Jacks literally looked like a wall of fish.
So there I was, calm and looking at all the fish. Depth was 23.8 meters. In a split second you have to make a decision. Shooting nothing? Shooting a Jack? Or… going further down to shoot the Mutton Snapper. Trick here is not to get excited, not to move quickly, staying calm. Any unexpected movement can cause option four… Not having a chance of spearing a fish at all.
I decided to go for the Mutton Snapper. Not the biggest target of the fish swimming around me, but for sure the tastiest one. Check out info about Mutton Snapper: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutton_snapper
I moved myself down to the bottom and noticed that left and right Permits were getting down with me. Depth reached 28 meters and the Mutton Snapper came into shooting range. It was definitely time to make the shot and to go back up. Shot was nice, though a little bit too low.
I fought the fish for a bit, but felt it was time to go up. John and Diego were watching me and were right at the surface when I reached air. Slowly but surely we “reeled” in the Mutton Snapper. At about 12 meters we noticed that the fight caused that the fish almost got loose of the spear. Time for a secure shot. John went down. Waited for the broad side and secured the fish. Bang! 10 kilos of Snapper, get the dining table ready!
It was a spearfishing Playa del Carmen trip with a very happy end. Next time Frankie… Let your beer cool down ten more minutes and join us in the water till the very end, jeje.
Want to spearfish a Mutton Snapper and be part of a great spearfishing adventure in Playa Del Carmen yourself; check out our trips: https://spearfishingtoday.com/product-category/spearfishing-playa-del-carmen/
Leo