Date of Birth: November 26, 1978
Best Known For: My jawline (Bugga is mean)
Local Spot: Somewhere over the rainbow
My Crew: My Wife, Given, Fuller, Barca, Steph, Merle, Freddy P, Joel C, Moody. All the boys from Kauai.
Board of Choice: 7'4" x 18.75” x 2.2” for Pipe. I’m going to try and go a little smaller next winter so I have more movement in the barrel.?
Dream Wave: The strength of Pipeline, the texture of Teahupo’o and the length of Desert Point.
| My Top Five: | 1.) The tingly sensation you get on your face and back when you get spit out of a first-reef Pipeline drainer. 2.) The sound of my spear shooting through a fish underwater.? 3.) Surfing a wave that may never have been surfed before.? 4.) The feeling I get when I’m home with my family. 5.) Watching my son grow day by day. |
Survivor Aamion Goodwin shows us how to catch a feast with nothing but a palm frond. Video: Daize Goodwin
After a serious knee injury last winter at Pipe, Aamion Goodwin is ready to go again. Here's a few clips to remind you of his tuberiding capabilities. Welcome back, Oma.
I had to wait for a good low tide to venture out to the outer reef. With the full moon the following night, the tide was perfect. The sun was out too which makes it ideal conditions for a throwing spear.
Catching fish with a throwing spear is my favorite style of fishing. There is no power source besides you and your ability. The first step is to see the fish. Once you make a lock on it, you must stalk it without it seeing you... a little easier said than done. Because you're in the prey's territory, any movement is usually already detected from the fish. You have to walk light, not breaking any coral, and keep your shadow behind you. The best possible scenario is if there is a dry piece of reef or rock in between you and the fish, this way you can walk toward it without it seeing your feet. Another good way to camouflage yourself is by trying to stay in the whitewash areas. You wait for the whitewash then you walk toward the fish in the crumbling wave..., then you stop and wait for the next wave. You do this until you feel you have a shot. A lot of times the fish will move and your shot is lost. That's why spear fishing is mostly a game of patience.
Here are a couple fish from yesterday... When we are down in Fiji, the only way to cook our fish is pretty much straight on the fire, and the only seasoning is a dip in the ocean. If you have access to a stove, oven and fridge you can get more creative. The red one is called a Nohu, weird looking fish but tastes amazing. It's best if you leave it in the fridge or on ice for two days, it makes the meat real tender. Tastes great when you just throw it in a frying pan with some Olive Oil. The blue one is an Uhu or Parrot Fish. A good way to cook this fish is cut slits in the meat and fill them with garlic, onions, Hawaiian salt, pepper and a little lemon. You can also stuff the belly with mayonnaise if you like. Either way, it's a good meal. — Aamion Goodwin
Stay tuned to Hurley.com for more survival techniques from Aamion. If you missed his first one, check it here.
The ultimate survivor shows you how to eat
Growing up in Fiji, I learned from the old timers how to make a throwing-spear from basically nothing. First, you have to find the right kind of stick. It has to be a straight hard-wood with not too many curves in it... this can take days sometimes. The next step is burning the stick. This enables you to straighten out the curves and also makes the wood stronger. Next you gotta dig out one end of the stick to fit the spokes. This can be a real process. I use a nail a lot, and use it like a chisel, basically taking out one piece at a time. You want to dig about 5 or 6 inches into the stick so the spokes can be snug in there.
Then, find your spokes. They can be from any piece of metal — I just found these from under my house. You want them to be about 16 inches long and a little thicker than pencil. Then you have to file them down — I use a file and a metal handsaw. Make sure you use the handsaw to cut barbs in each spoke. For fish under 10 pounds, you want six spokes.
The final process is winding the line around the spokes and stick. I start with the spokes and gradually work my way up to the stick. I generally use wire for this because it's stronger, but you can also use fishing line. Probably the most important part of the process is insuring you have a tight wind so that when your spear hits a big fish, the spokes hold strong.
This spear came out pretty good and I'm starting to walk the reefs at low tide. Check back in to see what I catch. — Aamion
