[DSRTEGL]

You are not alone. Did my first cold water in wetsuit dive a week ago and found out the hard way I did not have enough or the right gear. No fins, no dive ring, no weight belt..............Just me and my pole spear.

Once I fought through the thick kelp it was an eye opening experience for me though............Unusually good visibility for the north coast of California and fish everywhere.........Got sick of fighting the surge so I speared a nearby perch for dinner and struggled back into shore.

Built my first pole spear from a 6' solid fiberglass rod but at 3/8" OD I feel that it is not rigid enough as it bows when I put heavy tension on the band. This might affect accuracy but I plan to limit this spears use to smaller fish. I am making my second (8') out of graphite tubing 2 4' section which I will add a ferrule to so it can be taken down for storage. I also plan to make interchangeable tips (paralyzer/togglehead) that detach and are tethered to floats due to frequent visibility issues in my neck of the woods.

Hope you have a THICK wetsuit.......I lived in England for two years and the waters of your Cornish coast are COLD.

Derek/DSRTEGL