Fishing for Adventure in Antigua, Chapter 4

ANTIGUA, WEST INDIES — The other day as Louie theBoat Driver and I eased out of English Harbor on this island we rigged two stoutlines off the stern and pointed the bow into the Trade Winds.

The trades blow from the northeast unrelentinglyand our 27 foot open boat climbed atop cascading rollers before falling offtheir backsides precipitously.

To port we trolled a squid-type bait and tostarboard a hard bait. Each ran at or near the surface and trailed our boat oneor two large waves back.

We were the only fishing boat in sight. But notthe only fishermen.

Up the coast, Thieu Henry, 26, and Bernard Lewis werejust then shuffling slowly backward into the Atlantic Ocean. The men wore giantswim fins and after they had walked backward far enough and when the water wasdeep enough they dissolved into it.

Then they turned and began swimming.

The men wore face masks and each carried a speargun.

He is reminded of this now as he and Thieu Henryswim in the aquamarine water that rings Antigua, over the estuaries where many smallerfish reproduce, toward York Island.

When they reach York Island they swim to itswindward side and spend the next five or six hours diving there.

No boats. No life jackets. No wet suits.

"We fish in 30 feet of water, mostly,'' BernardLewis says. "The fish are all near the bottom. We dive to the bottom, swimuntil we find fish, and shoot.''

Each man swims with a wire attached to him, andwhen a fish is killed, it is strung through the wire toward its end. A corkfloat on the surface marks the end of the wire, and the wire, the fish and thefloat follow each man throughout the day.

Hour after hour, the men dive, looking for fish.The spear guns are spring loaded and the spears themselves are tethered to theguns so they can be used repeatedly.

Some spear fishermen on Antigua dive as deep as 70feet for fish, and can stay under water for more than two minutes.

"The more you practice, the longer you can stayunder water,'' Bernard Lewis said.

Usually the fish the men shoot are not big. Someare only the size of large crappies. Others are twice that big and more.

"We can only shoot six or seven feet, so we haveto be pretty close to the fish,'' Thieu Henry said.

Many fish the men kill are remindful of aquariumfish. Wildly colored, they are poked one by one onto the men's wires and trailbehind them on the surface.

Louie the Boat Driver and I missed the first fishthat hit.

That fish smacked the squid bait and somehowjumped the hook.

Our next fish hit on the other side and when itdid Louie the Boat Driver killed the outboards. Without the engines our openboat lacked purchase and we were cast about in the rough seas. We braced ourfeet and knees along the boat's gunnels as the boat tumbled. Louie the Boat Driverreeled in the other line and as he did I struggled with the bending rod while linetore from its reel.

Then the rod went slack.

We headed in.

So did Thieu Henry and Bernard Lewis, swimmingthrough waves, 35 pounds of colorful fish trailing behind.