Dummies guide to Spearfishing - Part I

[georgenoom]

Originally Posted by badlander

You'll be okay for a couple of hours maybe,thats with a hood,gloves, socks etc but there really is no substitute for a 5mm two piece open cell diving suit.I was confident that i'd be warm as toast but it really is surpring how much heat you loose when remaining pretty still in the water is the name of the game.With a dive suit you simply won't get cold in the summer and thats a good thing when you're staying in for 6+ hours.
I made do with a Salomon 4-3 for a couple of years and it's probably gonna be fine,but for the price you can pick up a dive suit,it'll be well worth your while.

Cheers Badlander

To begin with, a couple of hours will probably be enough, my missus would go mental if I took up another past time that kept me out for 6 hours + (she can just about deal with my surfing as it's something I've always done!).

I've got hood and gloves etc for winter surf so should be reasonably well equipped for summer time. I'll just have to test the water metaphorically and literally speaking.

[badlander]

Same deal here,surfing for years,but the crowds at my local break just got too much in the summer and the flat spells kept coming and eventually i started to actually pray for flat spells.
By then,it was far too late........

[georgenoom]

Hi Badlander

What sealed it for me wasmy annual pilgrimage to Sennen Cove this summer, 21 days of glorious weather, Gwenfor providing a rideable wave everyday, always suiting one of my boards, but we went over to Porthgwarra and the snorkelling there was amazing, incredible clarity and litterally thousands of fish, some really sizeable bass, I thought "I'd like to get into hunting these." The seed was sown... Santa has now delivered early so am laready looking forward to summer flatspells. Likewise, although crowded now in winter, most of the breaks on the gower are unusable in Summer so, will take to being below the surface.

The more stuff i'm reading on this forum the more xcited I'm getting!! Trying some of the breathing training already.

[spearo_nick]

sinc im a begginer that definitley helped me out thanx miles

[Pinggene]

Miles,

These are great threads. Question on weights:

I am getting a custom Elios 5mm (arriving next week) So, I know I will be adding weight. However, I am concerned with all the weight I need to have on to get neutral at -6m. Does one wear this all on the waste, or do you distribute it around the body?

Reason I'm asking, it while spearfishing, I do a lot of surface snorkeling as well. I can imagine my mid section trying to go down, while my legs and upper body try to float up. Just thinking that this may cause undo strain on the back (pulled into a "v").

Thoughts?

Gene

[miles]

Hiya

Gene, firstly get a marseilles type belt. Thats simply a rubber type stretchy belt with a simple quick release buckle. Makes a HUGE difference!!

Many spearo's who have back problems also use weight vest/harnesses. A couple of manufacturers make them, like the Omer Gilet. This is a waistcoat type of vest that holds some weights in pockets. Spearfishing and Freediving Equipment - Weight Belts - Weight Harness - Technosport Inc.
I think in Terry Maas's book, Blue Water Hunting, he describes a way to make a harness fairly easily. I recall some-one posting it on some forum, but simply can't find it right now. Will search some more.......

Some spearo's who hunt shallow water, also have the problem of their fins drifting up. They use ankle weights to weigh down their legs. I haven't used them, so can't really comment on how much extra strain they would put on your legs if you intend swimming long distances.

I wear a 10kg (+-22lb) weightbelt and have not had any hassles with it. Try using your weightbelt and see how it goes. Also, try putting the belt on your hips, and not around your mid-section. This also helps for guys with back problems. Should you go for the weight harness, or similar product, still wear a weightbelt with some weights on it, so that you can drop it quickly should
the need arise. Regardless of which method you use, please ensure that you can make yourself bouyant, should you black out or are in dire trouble.

Regards
miles

[Bill McIntyre]

Originally Posted by miles

Hiya

Gene, firstly get a marseilles type belt. Thats simply a rubber type stretchy belt with a simple quick release buckle. Makes a HUGE difference!!

I concur, and just in case that needs explanation, here is a photo of mine, made by Rob Allen.

Notice how the end stands up under pressure so that its easy to grab and dump the belt.

[Mr. X]

I use the same belt as Bill (and like it very much) but lost the first one very quickly swimming over rocks & weed, so I now have the end held down under a thin (easily breakable) rubber band.

I started off with insufficient weight & increased it in 2 additional steps, to give me time to get used to it. I was concerned about weight distribution too but actually find carry all the weight on the belt is not as bad as I had feared when carrying a half loaded belt. I ended up not wanting to have to deal with an additional piece of equipment (weight vest).

There are some possible benefits to carrying some of your weights in a vest though, depending on model used (e.g. the Omer gilet): better weight distribution, easier weight adjustment (e.g. for shallow/deep diving), camo/shape disruption, a little extra warmth. [There is a thread on weight vests.]

re.floating feet. This was a bit of problem for me at first. So now I only wear neoprene socks in Winter (fin fit seems remarkably unaffected, perhaps due to temperature difference) which works out better all round -- it's probably a lot colder in WI's waters though. [OldManDave posted a design for inexpensive homemade ankle weights.]

[waterbird]

that was very useful indeed thank you! I'm going to look for part 2 now and find out about guns. I am SOOOO looking forward to getting kitted out and in the water. Cheers 4 the inspiration.

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by miles

I wear a 10kg (+-22lb) weightbelt and have not had any hassles with it. Try using your weightbelt and see how it goes. ... Regardless of which method you use, please ensure that you can make yourself bouyant, should you black out or are in dire trouble.

There are many variables (including how buoyant you & your wetsuit are and how deep you plan to dive -- less weight needed at depth) but I currently carry 20lb (5x4lb) with my 5mm Elios suit...which is a tad light but works quite well, 22/24lb might suit me better as I don't dive real deep. Some carry more to stalk shallow water (24lb+). Somewhere in that ball park for a large-ish adult male seems common; it would be prudent to start lighter though and add weight gradually.

[covert]

There is this thread if anyone wants to check it out.

http://forums.deeperblue.net/beginne...ght-belts.html

[Jace]

Camo wetsuits are not ment to hide you.
They are ment to make the fish curious to come in closer and give you a better chance at a clean shot.

If your a fish and you see a diver in a nice new camo suit for the first time im pretty sure ud come in closer for a look.

Jace.

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by Jace

Camo wetsuits are not ment to hide you.
They are ment to make the fish curious to come in closer and give you a better chance at a clean shot.

If your a fish and you see a diver in a nice new camo suit for the first time im pretty sure ud come in closer for a look.

Like it! I think there is some truth in what you say but I don't buy that it is the main reason for camo. At least not here, where visibility is often poor. I think the aim is to make yourself harder to see, to hide you and, if seen, to disrupt your size & shape so that apparent threat is diminished and unclear. You are right though, many fish are curious. It might be interesting to conduct some experiments to see if what you say is right though e.g. wear something unusual & easily seen but obviously not camoflage, perhaps a bright yellow wetsuit (although I hear sharks like "yummy yellow") or white (although sharks like that too - see portinfers shark-eaten white/red-head kayak picture - and the underside of fish is often white, presumably to act as camoflage against the surface/sky).

I try to hide when spearing. In a black wetsuit, at the surface or midwater I can be easily seen (black fishing plugs & eels are quite popular here now, as they provide an easy to see silhouette near the surface, esp. at dusk). I probably look like a large ungainly seal - which would be threatening to most fish. So I try to hide as much of me as I can in the weed or behind a rock and that does seem to be much more effective. Sometimes the fish do come into investigate but usually not when I am fully visible.

I am intrigued by the "macro" camo described on the Jersey spearfishing website & used on the Predator wetsuits used by Miles and other SA spearos. It doesn't hide the diver but breaks up their shape & outline. So you have a point. Apparently some continental spearos use unmatched tops & bottoms to achieve a similar affect. I would think wearing a different colour weight vest or a T-shirt over your wetsuit might achieve a similar effect, but perhaps straight lines are bad, perhaps camo/pattern would work better. It might also be better if the fish were more aware of your legs or torso than the firing arm pointing at them. BTW I have an Omer "mimetec" (camo mask) but its not really very camo, the flange is shiney so you can get very distinct straight high-lights on the nose & forehead, & the only camo part is the lens-frame & even that is picked out with a distinct black interior edge; an all matt black mask would probably be better.

[Groupermadness]

The reason for cammo suits is to make people buy them, my cressi cammo is great to hide in bushes when poaching but it goes black when wet, cant really see the use of cammo because as far as i know fish are colourblind, but they do look cool.

[Mr. X]

I don't think fish are completely colour blind - if they are let me know, I will be able to thin out the lure collection. From recent discussions on the angling thread, it seemed most think fish see colour, at least some do sometimes (e.g. perhaps near the surface, in clearer water on sunny days). For me, colours do start to disappear quite rapidly with depth. Perhaps colour appears as greys/neutrals to fish (as they appear to me at depth) or perhaps they differenitiate better between small changes in colour/grey-tone than we do? I suspect distinct edges in colour/tone is probably more critical than the exact colour (my brother's justification for "urban camo"). So maybe a nice Axminster carpet pattern or chintz furniture covering would be as effective as military camo?

You're right, of course, about products having to attract buyers more than fish.