Spearfishing for Hogfish, or Hog Fishing as it's sometimes called, is the best way for beginners to learn the basics of spearfishing and freediving. That's because legal-size hogfish can be found in relatively shallow waters off Key West. So, they are easy to get to in a boat, and easy to dive down to. There's another reason hogfish are good targets for beginners: they are pretty dumb and therefore easy to spear.
Hogging requires minimal diving skills since they can be found starting in 10 feet of water. They have to be at least a foot long for them to be legal, which for me is about the length from your spear tip to the end of the gun. The water skews how big a hogfish really is, so it's hard to judge whether a fish is big enough. Therefore, it's a good idea to measure a foot on your speargun so you can kind of "measure" them while you're under water, until you get used to judging size.
They like hard bottom, and in 10 feet of water, even on a bad day of visibility, they are pretty easy to spot against the light colors of a hard bottom. They try and camoflouge themselves next to soft coral and rocks, but you can still see them. The big black spot near the back of a hogfish body is a dead giveaway, plus the rooster crown distinguishes them from all other fish in the shallow reef areas.
If you see a hogfish who looks like he might be too small for spearing, then follow him anyway. He might lead you to his bigger cousins swimming nearby. Once you've found a legal-sized hogfish, dive down and get level with him. He will make your job easy for you because he'll wonder what you are and turn sideways to get a good look at you. That's when you shoot. Put your speartip up close and aim for the area just behind his gill plate. Don't wait until he's swimming away from you. When he turns sideways he'll make a good, broad target and that's your moment.
Also keep an eye out for barracuda. They like to try and steal your catch before you can pull up the line and get the fish in your hand. On some parts of the reef, they're so used to spearfishing they'll stalk you and follow you whereever you go if you have a speargun in your hand.
