Spearfishing Lionfish: How to Shoot Your Prey

It’s the climax of hunting underwater: spearfishing lionfish! This is everything you need to know when you’re ready to shoot a lionfish while scuba diving!

Finally. It’s time to do some spearfishing for lionfish! The pinnacle of your lionfish hunting experience!

Location? Check. Dive site? Check. You’ve spotted a lionfish? Check. Now, let’s finally remove the thing! Just prep yourself for an adrenaline rush!

By the end of this article, you’ll understand the best practices and methods to spearfishing lionfish. We encapsulate every consideration between the moment you spot the fish until you’ve successfully speared it.

Spearfishing Lionfish: How to Shoot Your Prey

These frequently asked questions about spearfishing lionfish should help you when you’re ready to shoot your prey.

What do you use to catch lionfish?

The most popular tool to catch lionfish is a pole spear as they’re light weight, easy to use, and affordable . Yes, people do use actual spearguns – but it’s an overkill (literally). A pole spear is all you need to start hunting lionfish!

Our recommendations for a lionfish pole spear include these specs:

• Short. Somewhere between 2 and 3 feet.
• Fiberglass or stainless steel. Affordable, yet durable options.
• 3 prongs. Ensures the lionfish stays on your pole spear.
• Sling. The rubber portion at the end of the spear. A sling will allow you to angle your shot under ledges..

Here’s the best pole spears for lionfish hunting (according to us) based on the criteria above:

How do you approach a lionfish while hunting?

After finding a lionfish during your dive, it’s time to approach your prey to make your shot. Best bit of advice? Approach lionfish slow and in control with no sudden movements.

• Ideally, approach lionfish from behind and not head on. You’ll seem slightly less threatening that way.
• Cock your spear and get ready to aim. The lionfish may get spooked so be ready to take your shot when the opportunity arises.

How close should you get to a lionfish before shooting?

Lionfish have no natural predators in the western Atlantic and Caribbean. Meaning, they’re not used to anything hunting them! This results in little to no reaction to humans!

I can’t even begin to tell you how many bad shots I’ve taken because I didn’t get near enough – thinking I’d spook them and figured I was “close enough”.

It’s difficult to remember in the moment, but keep it mind: approach slowly with no sudden movements. You’ll be able to get closer than you think. In fact, I’ll put the tips of my spear just a mere few inches from their body.

However, it doesn’t always work out quite that well. Every so often you’ll provoke the fish enough to trigger a fight or flight response.

Where do you aim when spearfishing lionfish?

Lionfish have a thick, bony skull so aiming for the head isn’t ideal. The easiest is to shoot into the side of its body (lots of surface area).

FOR BEST RESULTS: pierce angled towards the brain while approaching from behind. You won’t spoil any meat and the fish will be killed instantly – a humane way to remove the invasive species.

Ready, set, aim, FIRE!

You’ve approached your prey. Your spear is cocked. And you’re lined up with your sights set perfectly. Let go and let that pole spear fly!

What do you do with lionfish after you’ve speared it?

You got ’em and it’s a direct hit! Now what?

1. Jam your spear into the sand to ensure the lionfish doesn’t wiggle off (this will push the lionfish further onto the spear, just in case he wants to put up a fight).
2. If you want, cut the venomous spines off with a pair of sea snips. This isn’t required, but some people want to have an extra piece of mind to not get poked.
3. We leave the spines on and just jam them into our Zookeeper. It’s a tube specifically built for lionfish so you don’t get poked while hunting. Highly recommended for any regular lionfish hunter.
4. Keep searching for more! Typically, more lionfish are in the vicinity as they’ve found a good source of food. Gotta catch ’em all!

Excellent work! You’ve done a good deed for the environment AND your dinner table!

What should you do if you miss your shot while spearfishing lionfish?

It’s not a big deal. Just stay calm and don’t get frustrated.

Some times, the fish will dart away and hide deeper under a ledge, crack, or crevice. It just depends on the surrounding environment. Have your buddy keep an eye on it if that does happen.

Other times, they won’t go far as they may not even realize exactly what’s happening. Stay calm, breathe, realign your shot and wait for the perfect moment.

Unfortunately, if you don’t end up killing it, that fish may now have learned to fear humans/spears. This is worst case scenario – it’s going to be extremely difficult to remove that lionfish for anyone else now as you’ll never be able to get a shot lined up to take.

So some times, it may be best just to take an L on the whole situation. You’re still doing a great deed to remove the other lionfish nearby.

Spearfishing Lionfish: Final Thoughts

Our top piece of advice when spearfishing lionfish: take it slow, stay calm, and ensure you’re taking a good shot before letting your pole spear loose.

Our goal is to encourage lionfish hunting and the actual act of spearfishing lionfish is a critical element. This is the moment that can make or break your entire hunt.

So good luck out there. Our coral reefs are depending on it!

Happy Hunting, Explorers!