Sea bass (sea wolf / lubina / labrax) – all these are the names of the same fish. This is a fish of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. On the fingers you can list the hunters who managed to shoot this beautiful fish. In the Black Sea, in most cases, single specimens are found, but in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean you can sometimes get into huge flocks of sea bass.
Taste seabass excellent, and this predator will decorate any table. Sea basses reach a very impressive size, so such an opponent is good not only in the pan, but also as a very worthy trophy. The fish is very strong: hitting a harpoon, it valiantly fights for its life and freedom.
Sea bass is a stray hunter and, not adhering to specific habitats, can meet anywhere. But the most likely encounters with him are in the foam of the surf, where a strong and fast predator picks up small fish that have lost their orientation.
Sea bass is not curious, but not very cautious; confident in its strength, it simply neglects the underwater hunter – of course, while maintaining a safe distance.
At the very beginning of a storm in the surf, when the waves reach 2–4 points, but the water is still clear, you can try your luck and try to find a sea bass. In this case, you must have a rubber gun 75–80 cm, powerful rubber and harpoon 6.5 mm or pneumatics 60–70 cm with a thin and light harpoon, a mask with a wide view and hard powerful fins.
It is advisable to wear knee pads to protect the legs. Hunting tactics are uncomplicated – execution is harder! The weight of the cargo belt is selected in such a way as to lie quietly in the surf at a depth of 1.5–2 meters. Unless, of course, it turns out to lie quietly at a time when the waves will wind you from side to side. At the edge of the foam of the surf we dive vertically downwards and along the bottom we select to the place where the wave begins to break; we lay down, wedged between the stones so that between you and the foam was one and a half to two meters, and we wait when suddenly a hunting sea bass will fly out of the foam.
Sea bass may also come out from behind you and walk along the foam of the surf. If the lying was unsuccessful, with a running wave we back up and, having turned, we leave back from the dangerous surf zone.
When diving in “white water”, you need to aggravate the reaction to the limit and be prepared for any surprises. And if, as if by a wave of a magic wand, a beautiful sea bass appears in front of you in a white foam, immediately shoot – and run to clean water!
At such moments, you forget about everything: the lack of air, the dangerous proximity of the rocks – there is only a whistle of waves and frantically rushing fish on the line! Now the main task is to put on Kukan faster and not let the trophy get with such hard work.
It happens that sea basses attach to large shoals of mullet or Pilengas. Seeing in the pack such an unusual fish, some are initially lost, delayed with a shot, or simply smeared!
In winter, with a cooling of water, in some bays sheltered from the wind and slightly warmed by the sun, even whole flocks of laurels can be found. A friend of mine, knowing such a bay, gets several large fish there every year. And if the weather permits, sea bass gather there quite regularly.
Note: my sea bass spearfishing experience in Canary Islands
