Freshwater

[Yella225]

Are there any free divers on here that dive Lake Maurepas for catfish?

[J.Hawk]

Me and a few of my buddies dive Maurepas, but haven't been able to get out there this year. Planning on making a trip here in the next couple of weeks if the weather permits.

[Yella225]

I went out two weeks ago and found fish but the water was too muddy to really dive. By the time you were close enough to see the fish it was to late. Also the water was still to cold to hunt in the 8 to 12 foot range.

[J.Hawk]

That's what one of my buddies said. He went to Jones point, but the water was to muddy.... I think he killed one fish. Two weeks ago today.

[Yella225]

I was out with the family in Lake Maurepas Sunday and counted 6 boats diving between the sand bar and blind river. The water at the sand bar was very clear. I could see my feet in waste deep water and I an 6 feet tall. I plan to make a trip this firday out there but I am not sure what area I am going to dive.

[J.Hawk]

I'm gonna give you a call Friday evening to see if you did any good.
Jarrod.

[geomorphosis]

where in Maurepas do you guys go? What do you shoot? Just catfish?

[J.Hawk]

Mostly catfish, but sometimes we might shoot some gar or sheephead.

[J.Hawk]

Hey Jay,
Did ya'll do any good Friday?

[Yella225]

No
We had to dive the southeast side of the lake and fight about 8 other boats in the area. The water was pretty clear but we did not see many fish. We killed 5 cats and a couple of trash fish. I was talking to a couple people about making a dive in ponch. Maybe we can get a couple boats to go out there and shoot some fish. Let me know when you can make a trip.

[geomorphosis]

what kind of guns do you guys use when you shot these cats ? I have a 48" JBL with 2 blue power bands...is that too much power?

[hartwelltv]

Your 48" might be a little long for out there due to the limited viz. I shoot a lot of cats in maurepas. Gun of choice is a 38 special powered up with 2 - 16" and 1 - 14" band, the heavy ones. I think they're 5/8" thick. Then you want to use the thicker 3/8" shaft that jbl makes. They penetrate a lot better. I've never had a problem with that setup. Although when I used to use the gun like it came stock, it was terrible. It used to bounce off of fish regularly.

[Yella225]

I use a mares sten mini mini. I love this gun. It has plenty of pop and is small to maneuver around the stumps.

[Turtle]

Just got into freediving and made my second dive yesterday. I shot my first cat too and 16 pounds. All the fish we shot yesterday were nice. Not too bad for my first one. The weirdest thing happened yesterday. I saw a nice cat just sitting on the bottom and I shot straight down on it. It was a good shot but the shaft didn't go through the fish. I lost the fish. Come to find out the tip hit a stump and the tip bent, but not the shaft. I guess I will carry a couple extra tips and an extra shaft as well. I use a cressi sub sl pneumatic gun. That is perfect gun except the safety is a little hard to push over to fire. The like how the mares mini safety is set up. Buddies I go with went today and one of them shot his personal best. He stuck a 42 lb yellow cat in 4 feet of water. That is a some fish.

[Yella225]

Was that big fish killed in the big Lake?