Spearfishing is pretty fun. Unlike this insanity, when I go out, it is more like glorified snorkeling. The snorkeling is actually the best part of it. I’ve only been spearfishing a dozen or two times, mostly in Rhode Island, some in Northern California, and even less in Central America. Only once did I head into the water with anyone that had more experience than me (that time was fun, my buddy Stephan took me to an offshore island/reef in his family’s boat). That’s not to say that I’m any good. I just had to figure it out myself.
look at that physique!
Spearfishing can be much more fun than fishing for those of us who weren’t lucky enough to have a mentor show us how/when/where to catch fish with a rod (shout-out to Clifton!). Of course getting hammered with your buddies is fun whether you catch a fish or not, but scoring fish from underwater will actually get you closer to a better physique (it is exercise, after all).
The New England water has less waves than in Northern California, which is probably the main reason the water is clearer. Light offshore wind for a few days, or maybe none at all, is also good for water clarity. Water clarity prediction is one of those elusive sciences, defintely more of an ‘art’. That’s your first barrier. But once you find clear conditions and maybe a wetsuit too, you’re set on your way to explore the coastline and reefs. Kelp forests and thick non-stinging jellyfish swarms were some of my most memorable underwater settings.
The closest I ever got to deep blue spearfishing like in the video above was out in a calm bay in NW Costa Rica. My buddy Karl and I took quads in search of the rumored bay, which was a trip in and of itself. After burning a hilarious amount of time trying to get my knife UNstuck from a coconut, 30 ft up in the air, we took turns with the mini-speargun & snorkel/fins in the glassy waters. While edible fish of decent size were rare on that trip (we came out empty-handed), I did see a moray eel, and a GIANT FREAKING TUNA that swam past my goggles. My brain auto-piloted to “SHARK!” One second later, I had to decide whether to take a shot with my inadequate equipment (and, uh, skill). I chose wisely and the fish swam on, without me in tow.
In the next month I’ll be moving to Oahu, the same island that the video footage is from. Stay tuned for the next update…
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Kate and I are back in Paris for a few days and this city just won my love twice today. First, I spent some time at the Musee de la Chasse et Nature (Museum of Hunting and Nature). This museum is dedicated to the long history of hunting in Europe and the fauna of this continent. They collect and display weapons, taxidermy art and paintings. The museum is connected to an association for hunters (500-600 members strong) who pay annual dues to enjoy the club next to the museum (which can accommodate parties, weddings, butchering and preparing of game) and have access to hunting training grounds in the country-side. Perhaps the future of another hunting organization I know…
Animals
The second win for the day was happening upon a string ensemble playing in one of the largest subway stations (Chatelet). I listened for a few songs.
Just like the T
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I set up a little Archery range today in expectation of getting my bow tomorrow. I’m pretty proud of my handiwork here:
The wooden stakes mark 10, 20 and 30 meters. Take a closer look at my target set up in the distance:
Professional
It’s a vegetable crate stuffed with hay and newspaper. I’m going to make some targets to put on it, but I think it’s just about the classiest backstop I’ve ever seen. The goal is to hit 10 out 10 in a 5 inch circle from 30 meters. As you can see, it’s pretty far away to shoot an arrow. I’ll start from 10 meters and back up slowly. I’m hoping this will also train me on distance, get me to recognize how far something is without a range finder.
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I went on my first wild boar hunt in France on Saturday. My aunt hooked me up with a local bowhunter named Rocco. He’s kind of a local legend, for hunting and socializing. I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor.
Rocco's on the right
The french have a very different style of hunting wild boar. Since it’s cold in the mountains, the boar move around a lot during the day, so there’s no need to be on site and set up at the crack of dawn, as in the US. Also, since the boar are moving around a lot, they use dogs to help find and expose them. I was surprised at the size of the pups, but they are incredibly good hunters. In addition, there were about 30 people in this hunting party, spread out all over the mountain.
We saw a boar sprint by us, but with no time to shoot. The rest of the party was similarly unlucky. This hunt was more a long walk in the woods, which they often are. It was plenty nice to spend the day with Rocco, improving my French and keeping an ear to the woods.
Il marche
Fortunately, there was a boar dinner afterwards at one of the hunter’s houses nearby. Without catching a boar, I managed to get a taste of the European pig. And yes, it is good.
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Nick C., a co-founder of the Bull Moose Hunting Society killed his first doe two days ago. This is what he had to say about it:
This morning around 645 am, I shot and killed my first deer. I was hunting in Northwestern Virginia on some private land owned by a classmate of mine. I scoped the medium to large sized doe at about 70 yards from an elevated position. I took aim with a marlin .35 caliber lever action and fired. My shot hit her just behind her shoulder blade. She collapsed and died on the spot. She was accompanied by a fawn who initially ran off, but soon returned to see what had happened. Watching the young one walk around its dead mother caused me to feel remorse, but also reminded me why I took up hunting in the first place. I eat meat, and every steak, pork chop or chicken breast comes from an animal that was once alive, and might have even been a mother of a young one. And if I’m going to eat them, I also need to be willing to kill them. It’s my way of being part of the cycle of life. The reality is that that cycle is not always rainbows and butterflies. Its fielddressing and blood too.
Fact is, that doe lived a much better life than the average farm animal. It fed on the apple cores of the area orchards, the green beans from garden and drank from the ponds and creeks of the Shenandoah valley. Now that I’ve harvested her, I will share her meat with my family and friends. We will be nourished by her and will be thankful for her sacrifice.
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Cork and I went trout fishing on Friday and he taught me his most deadly successful strategy.
If you have a hard time seeing me, it's because I'm in camouflage
The move is to take a single salmon egg (which is about the size of a pea) and hook it onto a tiny trout hook (which is just a little bigger than a pea) and cast away. You can experiment with floaters and lead to get the right flow through the creek, but the basic point is that you want to make your salmon egg/hook look like a totally natural piece of fish food rolling down the brook. Look for areas where fish might be relaxing and waiting for food to come to them. Trout are especially careful about light and will not get caught in the sun so look for shady places at the edge of bubbly white wash or behind big rocks where the eddies make a calm spot.
I really like fishing. It’s a great excuse to spend many hours outside concentrating on a repetitive and intricate task. I think of it like making sand mandalas or other meditative activities. Not only do you get to constantly rework your technique, but you get a payoff at the end landing a fish. And then you get to eat it, double bonus.
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Often while hunting with someone I get into fairly deep conversations about the world. It might be the sleep deprivation and adrenaline highs driving us outside the box, but it seems to happen a lot. Cork and I discussed something I’ve thought a lot about on my own and want to share. I think that hunting, which requires you to think a step ahead of your prey, forces you to observe and understand the environment in a different way than most people. In addition, when you get to know an animal that you’re hunting, you realize how similar it is to people. Cork shared with me his ‘comfort zone’ idea of hunting. Basically, if it’s hot out, look into cool places and vice versa if it’s cold. Animals like to be comfortable and use the least amount of energy to get through the day. Sound familiar? Ever notice how many people take the escalator instead of the stairs for as little as a single flight?
Just lazy
Some people would look at this line for the escalator and think, “I could get up the stairs faster AND it would be healthier for me.” Those people, that one guy on the stairs in the photo, have a special talent; they think critically. I’m not saying I’m really special because I can think, but look at how many people just don’t think. Now if you wanted to hunt these people, not for their flesh, but for their money, they would be pretty easy to predict. Makes me worry about advertising.
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I’m taking a shot at harvesting wild yeast to bake the dank San Francisco sourdough. So far i haven’t caught anything, but I’m feeling pretty good about my prospects. The technique is simple enough, mix equal parts flour (food for the yeasties) and water. Leave in a warm place for a couple days and you’ll know it works if it produces bubbles and foam. Here’s a shot of day 1:
A wild yeast trap!
While trying to catch wild yeasters, I’m baking with store-bought to get the hang of it. I’m using a simple baking recipe, which might not produce the best results but is good to experiment with. I’m just using flour, water, melted butter, salt and a little milk. I think bread baking relies more process than ingredients (although bad ingredients will certainly make bad bread) so I’m trying to be patient with the rising and yeast activation and kneading. It’s a shame that I can’t find really good, fresh baked bread in the city for cheap.
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