Everyday There's Something New To Discover

It was just a few days ago that I had a great thrill watching a pod of dolphins feed on fish just a few feet from me.  I was back at the beach a few days later to walk with Fran.  While waiting for her to arrive I saw a man struggling to lug a 40 pound yellowtail to the parking lot.  He had been spearfishing and had caught a huge yellowtail and had carried it all the way to the shower area.  He was exhausted, and asked me if I would watch his fish while he went to get his car.  Of course I said yes.  He said it was very unusual to see such a large fish close to shore, and after looking up videos on "how to spearfish," I'm not sure I know how he did it.

He was not wearing a wetsuit, as the water temperature was about 72 degrees.  All he had was a mask and a speargun.  Spearfishing is probably as old as civilization itself.  It's usually done from shore in lakes or streams, in clear water, where the fisherman can see the fish and just stab them.  In ancient times this was done with a pointed stick, but today, fishermen use a metal speargun.  I can see that with a little practice it would be fairly easy to spearfish from shore.  In the ocean, underwater, well that's a little more difficult.  You have to dive underwater, holding your breath, find the fish, stab them or shoot them with the speargun, then bring them to the surface.  That would be easy with a 5 pound fish, but how this guy did it with a 40 pound fish, I'll never know.  He had to be a little lucky, too, to be underwater at the exact time that this huge fish swam by.  In any event, he was able to spear it, bring it to the surface, swim with it to shore, then lug it to the shower area at Moonlight Beach.  I admired his skill and bravery, and told him to have a nice dinner, as he walked to his car with his catch.  Just another beautiful day in paradise.