Fish stringer: bad loss!

[Sarnian]

Hi Thornton
Hasn't happened yet! I suppose you could put a piece of dyneema or something on the end, but I think it's better to have it ready for action and you'd be fumbling around. This was the system Old Man Dave showed me, that fount of knowledge of all things fishy! I can't think of any other easy way to wear it on your belt. some people tie it to their float, but then it's not so ready to hand when you've got a nice size bass or something flapping around, perhaps about to come off the spear ( assuming you haven't stoned it dead!). Also I sometimes leave my float anchored, if I'm going into thick weed beds.

All depends on the environment I suppose - the guys in places like Hawaii probably don't want to wear shark bait around them, and might prefer steel stringers.

[DSRTEGL]

The thought of having bloody fish strapped to my person while diving scares the HELL out of me! You guys obviously don't spearfish in an area that has sharks or sealions.

SHUDDER......................

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by irtrogdor

Can you ship to Mexico? By the time I pay for overseas shipping I might as well have just bought a nicer float off the interwebs. (not to mention that by the time it gets here I might have moved!) I think DIY will always be the way for me.

The only thing about having a stringer on your belt is it seems like the fish would get a little annoying. I don't know about the UK, but here in mexico we don't generally shoot a fish unless its at least a foot and a half long. (Although I did rig up a belt stringer for myself the other so that I can load my gun again and maybe take another shot on the way to the float).

Has anyone ever used clear 200-300 lbs mono for a float line? Or would that just be a pain in the @$$? I'm thinking about going to the local fishing shop and buying a small hard foam buoy (like for nets or whatever) and about 20m of mono for a float to drag off my speargun. Good idea or bad idea?

I could probably ship it anywhere but probably not cost effective to ship outside the UK because of size & weight. It was intended to be an open offer to forum members, was only expecting to hear from those in the UK tho'.

Haven't had any fish on my belt stringer yet but I see what you mean. Watching a Georgio Diaparin video, he strings smaller fish behind him but takes (very) big fish back to his RIB.

I've recently tried using various sizes & colours of strimmer/weedwacker mono as "Ghost Leaders" on my recently shortened float lines. It works very well for that but I tested it last night and the MONO DOESN'T FLOAT, so probably no good for float line. One forum members uses elastic bungee cord, I just tested that BUNGEE CORD DOES FLOAT (at least mine did). Your mileage may vary...

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by Sarnian

...The stringer is an Omer one replaced with nylon line.

Hi Sarnian, Why did your replace the mono with nylon line? (I am currently using the exact same stringer as a belt stringer).

Also, I notice you thread your stringer right round to the starting side of the belt (as does the method recommended in the French link, posted by Ulysses). Obviously this is common practice but it strikes me that if you had to drop your weight belt in an emergency, the stringer loop might hold the belt to your body (admittedly the lead would probably drag it off you but it could catch, perhaps on a protruding dive knife). Consequently my belt stringer doesn't go past the buckle.

Originally Posted by thornton

Sarnian, Regarding your belt stringer setup, do you worry about the spike stabbing you or do you cover it with something?

Just tried my belt stringer out yesterday. I placed a plastic wine cork over the tip when out of the water but in the water I just trap the spike end of the mono behind a weight & let it hang there (similar to Georgio Dapiran - but he often uses a needle with a hole at the end rather than the middle). Seemed to work OK. I did try sheathing the needle in the loop of belt that goes through the right-most lead weight but the spike worked its way down and protruded dangerously below the belt & weight.

I tried several new pieces of kit yesterday & it will take a while to get used to. First fish,was a big mullet speared about 6" up from the tail. First I tried to unsheath my recently aquired, arm mounted, Effesub spearo knife but daren't continue with such a big lively fish held in my left hand. Then reached for my usual leg-mounted spearo dagger, as I was about to plunge that in I recalled stabbing my palm in a similar situation last year (and this time I had my other hand deeply inside the fishes gills) - and thought better of it. Ended up spiking it with the point of my RA float stringer & stringing it on that. Then as I started moving on, I recalled the new belt stringer & decided to move the fish from float stringer to belt stringer. As I grabbed the fish, it twitched a few times, so I iki'd it again before transferring it to the belt stringer (the spike on the belt stringer is a bit too small to make a good iki spike, the big RA spike is sharper & much easier to hold and apply pressure with). Did it work? Yes, hardly noticed the fish back there, had to keep reaching back to make sure it was still there. As for camo, one bass swam quickly away below & in front of me in shallowish water (apparently not fooled) but a smaller mullet got confused at a critical moment (perhaps seeing the fish?) and succumbed to the spear. Currently I still prefer the float stringer but I will use the belt stringer again next time.

[Sarnian]

Mr X, that's a good point and I'll have to think about it. do you mean you still have it looped around you though? I find the thicker line is less likely to cut through softer fish, ( and you!) although through the gills is usually strong enough. The other important point, which I don't know if you do, is always to string the fish first, then kill them. I learned this the hard way!

I've never found it a problem with carrying the fish behind me on a belt stringer, as they're out of the way and of course weigh very little in the water. Having said that, I haven't been lucky enough yet to spear anything bigger than 6lb, or 4 fish weighing about 12 lb, at one time! If that happy event occurred I might well string them on my float. And no, sharks aren't a problem around here ( not yet anyway!) - in fact some think it attracts other fish.

[Mr. X]

Yes, I thread a loop of mono through the end loop to make a slip knot that goes over the left end of my belt (the buckle end) & then feed it round my back & under the last big weight on the right-hand side. It doesn't cross the buckle.

Good point about the thicker line not pulling through so easily. That hasn't been an issue with the RA float stringer as it uses thick cable which also has a smooth plastic covering. That said, I had my biggest mullet tear off the stringer on the awkward walk out at the weekend, fortunately a somebody spotted it come off. Spearo Dave has previously warned that mullet are particularly prone to this - if strung through the gills as you & I usually do.

I don't string live fish but the thought did occur to me this weekend - perhaps because of the proximity of the belt stringer. I usually leave the spear in the fish until it has been killed, then string it, then remove the spear - so the fish is always attached to something (mullet sometimes play dead). Another way to spike the fish (I think Ted in Rio described this) is to use the spear to dispatch the fish, so that it remains on the spear line during the dispatching.

[Sarnian]

Mr X, I think the only reason the stringing first has been suggested by very experienced people in the past, is particularly where they're not safely on the spear. As you say, mullet are very soft bodied and prone to tearing off. Or sometimes you may have hit the fish in the head area and the spear hasn't passed through - although with luck you will have stoned it anyway!

Having said all that, I'm finding it hard to remember what to do because it seems so long since I've actually speared anything ( or even seen it!)