Page 1: 1999 Camaro Z28
Page 2: Horsepower Modifications
Page 3: Suspension and Visual Modifications
Page 4: Old Cars and Links
Page 5: How-To Guides
Page 6: Parts for Sale
Page 7: Future upgrades
Page 8: Randome Pics - friends, hobbies and me
Page 9: My new Short Sticks that are for sale
Page 10: The Killing Wall
Page 11: Flowtech Longtube Header Installation
Page 12: Underwater pictures from the Dry Tortugas
_______________________________________

THE KILLING WALL

2005 Kills:

The end of July I went on a charter with Mobile Diver Charters. Jess, her friend Clair, our friend Josh and my coworker Stopher all went out down in Key West for a day of diving. The weather had been fantastic and we had a day of calm seas, 50+ ft of vis and very minimal current. I shot 3 nice Triggerfish, a nice mutton and mango, while my girl Jess stoned a nice keys Hogfish and helpped land this nice Mango after I lost him. Stopher showed the killer instinct on his first spearfishing trip and stabbed this fine pair of keys hogfish. Clair enjoyed her first bubble-blowing trip in nearly 2yrs and Josh ended a 1yr dry spell. THANKS GUYS FOR A GREAT DAY, AND THANKS STEVE FOR A GREAT CHARTER.

This summer I went out with my coworker Matt Hoxie for some fishing out in 200ft off Marathon. We were fishing a sunken barge and he hooked up on this BEAUTIFUL mutton snapper. It was a fun trip on the water and a gorgeous day to be out. And the fish tasted damn good. Even Mac enjoyed himself. I've been out diving a few times with Matt and we always seem to have a blast and get some fish.

Jess and I were able to get out with the guys from Jacksonville over the Memorial day weekend. Did 2 dives and saw no fish worth shooting. Did a 3rd dive up near Big Pine Shoal, and we were greeted with tons of fish. I easily saw 10 legal Black grouper, 6 huge flag yellowtail and 2 big Cubera Snapper. Jess managed to stone her first fish, a nice little hogfish. And I collected 2 blacks, one weighing 16lbs and the other about 10lbs.

Jess came down for her spring break in mid March and we were able to get out diving on Mobile Diver's boat off Marathon. Water was a bit cold but we managed a few dives. This was her first real spearfishing trip and we were having trouble finding fish. Finally dove on a reef ledge and she tracked down a nice keys hogfish. It took her a few shots but managed to get the fish. She was so excited, and I was absolutely beaming with pride. She's hooked!!!

In the end of Feb this year I was invited to do some diving with Mobile Diver out of Miami on the wrecks. Got to hang out with Dagodiver as well. The rest of the crew had a hard time finding fish, but I was lucky. I shot 2 nice Muttons on a wreck in 145ft. Then I had to go retrieve a fish Dago had shot on a wreck in 130, which ended up being a 14lb black grouper. On the same dive I shot a nice 7lb hogfish. On the last dive on the reef ledge near Fowey Rocks I was greeted by this nice 16lb Red Grouper, which I dispatched with a stone shot. It was a great day, and I definately shot my worth on that trip.

On a cold and windy nite in January, Mobile Diver calls me up asking about a nite dive on the Cayman Salvager wreck off Key West. Who am I to turn that down. So the 2 of us load up and head out enjoying the nice following seas all the way to the wreck. We get to the deck and I shot this nice 4.5lb yellowtail snapper as he was swimming through the beams. He wrapped my line up in everything possible and I spent 5min untangling everything. But it was a nice dive and a nice dinner the next day. Thanks again Steve!

2004 kills:

Was out diving with Brian again. Worked the deep ledge out near American Shoal in about 70ft and stumbled on this HUGE cubera snapper. Brian got the first shot, but I closed in with the kill shot after he got off the shaft. Also connected on a nice hog, black grouper, and mutton. I managed a respectible hog and a good eating black grouper.

Went out in late summer with some friends for a bit of freediving. Myself, Ed, and Jeff (Cooper wanted in on the pic) managed a pretty good mixed bag. Ed shot a 25 and 20 pound black, while I shot a 10 pound black and a smaller Red and mutton. All in all it was a good day.

We went out diving off the lower keys on July 18th, on a new moon, and ran into hoards of spawning snapper. We were surrounded by dozens of 3-6lbs snapper and I saw several 15-25lbs black grouper. I managed to connect on a shot with this 14.5lb fish, as well as a 7.5lb cubera snapper (my first) and the nice dog snapper Brian is holding on the right side.

Well we braved the hot weather again and got out on the water for some spearing...big suprise! As we were gearing up on the boat to dive a wreck, I joked that I would only use 1/2 of my tank for the wreck since it doesn't hold many fish and it isn't worth burning 1 of my 2 tanks looking for non-existent fish. I also made the comment "maybe there will be a dumb black grouper on the deck". As I decended and the ship came into view, what did I see? A nice black grouper swimming along the deck!! I got a shot off and hit it square, and it dissapeared into a cloud of silt. As I tried to retreive it, he kicked off the spear and headed for the inside hold of the ship...with Brian in hot pursuit. He connected with the assist just before it got to it's goal. Brian connected with that nice mutton along the reef after swimming halfway to Cuba looking for fish.

This is a recent 24", 7# hogfish that I shot while diving on the reefs off south Miami. There are not many fish of this size left in that area, which makes this specimen a very nice prize.

Here are some nice Grouper and Mutton snapper that Brian and I shot the 1st of May. The muttons were both about 28" long and about 12lbs. Brian had to fend off a 6' bull shark, with a decisive spear though the head, to retreive his mutton.

First weekend in March and the winds finally calmed for a bit, Brian and I were able to get out for some shooting. Started off American Shoal but were greeted by 4 fishermen and 15' vis on our favorite hole. We moved down the reef and found more of the same. Brian managed to connect with the red grouper, on the left in about 50ft. We moved back to the shoal and were treated to a surprising 25-30ft vis on the bottom, and proceeded to connect on these nice fish. Mine was a 30" 9pound mutton snapper, my biggest. Brian stabbed the Gag grouper after it was lathargic from a belly full of food. The stomach produced a fresh 7" Yellowtail, 5 shrimp, a couple sardines and another decent size partially digested fish. 10$ says he was there feeding behind the fishermen!

Above is a nice 34" Black Grouper shot out in deep water while diving the end of Jan. It was my first "stoned" grouper, meaning I shot right through the brain, killing the fish instantly. This makes for a nice easy retreaval. On the righ is a big 40", 30 pound Amberjack that I shot mid Feb. off Marathon in 60'. This was also a one shot "stoned" fish, which is not easy to do on AJ's, which are known to kick your ass if you hit them bad. They are a VERY powerful fish, specially this size.

Here are some monster fish that I shot in mid-January. The two above are 33" and 29" Black Gouper, the bigger one weighing a solid 20 pounds. Above to the right is a 24" mangrove (grey) snapper shot the same day. The smaller Black was shot while freediving in 30', using a float line. The big Black and Snapper were taken while diving in about 80', both were taken freeshaft, meaning no line connected to the spear. That is one of the biggest Mangrove Snapper I've seen, legal size is 10", grouper need to be 24" and he was that big!! Some of these fish may not seem as big as I describe...but realize that I'm close to 6'5" tall!

Here is Brian's 25" Yellowtail Snapper that he shot out in about 75' on the reefline. This was an absolute beautiful fish, the result of a fantastic shot. He was ahead of me, to my left, when I saw him aim his gun. I looked ahead and all I could see was a huge forked tail, and then came the decisive delivery of steel from a solid 25 feet away. Not knowing what it was that he shot I went on the lookout knowing that some fish are attracted to the dying movements of shot fish. As Brian swam out of the ensuing cloud of silt I was greeted with a HUGE yellowtail on his stringer. I gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up and a muffled underwater "DAMN! Nice fish!" and we continued on our way.

________________________________________
2003 Kills:

Here is a 32" Black Grouper that I shot out off American Shoal in about 30' of water in mid December (12-11). It is actually my FIRST grouper that I've shot. I took the hogfish a few minutes before, with a kill shot straight through the brain...nothing but a quivering piece of dinner on a spear. The grouper took a bit more effort. I saw him as I was swimming along a band of coral, he was heading away from me, obviously not wanting to be too close. I gave a couple hard kicks and was within shooting range. I let steel fly and drilled him in the lower stomach...not an ideal shot...but he was on the spear, and that was attached to the gun by a line...and i wasn't letting go! I struggled with him for a little, he was still kicking pretty good..ok ALOT...so i handed my gun to my dive buddy, taking his gun I pulled a "point blank" shot to the brain...DEAD! Getting him back to the boat I was finally able to assess exactly how big he was...considering 24" is legal, and he was approaching 32"...he was a monster in my book. Specially for my first Grouper!! GO ME!

These are photos taken on a spearfishing trip in the middle of September. The Hogfish is the biggest I've ever seen, let alone shot. It beats my previous best by almost a foot! It measured 31" to the fork, and weighed in at (a surprisingly low) 11 lbs gutted. On the right is my buddy Brian, he managed to outshoot me on the next dive and bagged these two nice Black Gouper. All the fish were shot on the reef line, in 80' of water about 4 miles off Long Key Bridge, in the Keys.

_______________________________________

Page 1: 1999 Camaro Z28
Page 2: Horsepower Modifications
Page 3: Suspension and Visual Modifications
Page 4: Old Cars and Links
Page 5: How-To Guides
Page 6: Parts for Sale
Page 7: Future upgrades
Page 8: Randome Pics - friends, hobbies and me
Page 9: My new Short Sticks that are for sale
Page 10: The Killing Wall
Page 11: Flowtech Longtube Header Installation
Page 12: Underwater pictures from the Dry Tortugas

________________________________________