Float line or reel?

[hogans]

Just got my first gun, I've been diving with a sling for some time and finally made the step up to a gun. My question is, should I use a float line set up or a reel? Is there times/conditions/places that are better suited for using one or the other? Most of my fishing is reef fishing, but I also plan on paddling out to the kelp beds and fishing them. Thanks in advance for any info.

[deep thinker]

I dont use a reel, for the sole reasons of vizibility and sharks, you want boats to be able to see you and a float gives you a place to string fish thats away from your body. Reels have their advantages too, being a bit more manouverable but in the kelp I just use a 5m tuna bungee as float line so I can hunt down to 8m easily. Its a personal choice in the end of the day Id say perhaps start with a float line and later if you feel you need it try a reel or get 2 guns one with a float and one with a reel

[getawayFK]

Reels: More manouverable, lighter, you don't need to let off your gun once you shoot, less chance of getting entangled in line... On the downside: It's very easy to lose your gun should you drop it. Bigger fish (e.g: 40kg + ) can very easily take out your whole line (even with 60mt of line) and snap your gun out of your hands... Also many fish tend to run into coral bottoms and mess up your line or even damage it, so you might end up retrieving a line without even a spear....

Floatline: More safety, as people/boat around will know you are in water. You can use your float for storage (e.g: fish, water, even mobile phones or car keys in waterproof packages, as we do here). You shoot a big fish and you safely just let it go and let the fish play the float till it exhausts itself and then retrieve it. You can attach other guns to your float. On the downside: Bulky, restricts your movement, and can get very hard to drag in strong currents, also any entanglement in float line especially when having shot a big fish can be very dangerous...

As for me, I use a combination of reel and floatline most the time: I've 30m of dyneema line on my reel, and my gun is attached through 20 of thick rope to a 25lt floatline that i drag behind... I use the floatline only to store fish on, carry an extra gun, or put other items on (e.g: GPS, keys etc...). I use this combination especially when hunting in water that's 20m+.... I avoid using a float line when hunting in shallows and in this case only rely on on my reel. The floatline can be very annoying and tiring to drag, especially as we experience strong currents here.....

If you will be hunting in reef areas and targeting medium sized fish (up to 20kg), then my advise would be to use a reel with 40m of line or less... As you also dont want to give the fish you would shoot too much line that it would get into the coral seabed and mess the whole line in by making knots and damaging it, but also at such size of fish, you still have some control on those fish and can restrict their movement)....

Regards and safe hunts !

[hogans]

Thanks alot guys, very helpful info. I thought about getting another gun in the near future and having one with a reel and another with a float line. The gun I have now is already rigged with a quick release for a floatline so I'll probably go with that set up for now. My gun now is a 48" Riffe, and I'm going to take on the task of building my next gun myself (with the help of a very experienced friend). The gun is probably going to be much bigger, maybe 58" to 60" and hopefully I'll be doing more bluewater hunting by then. My question is should the big gun be a reel set up or float line? Or can they be switched back and forth depending on conditions. Thanks again

[Bill McIntyre]

The choice of float line or reel depends a lot on where you dive and what you shoot, and I just spent two more days on Spearboard discussing it, so I'm burnt out for now.

So I'll evade that part of the question and answer the second part- yes, you can switch back and forth, although its easiest if you have two different shafts, one rigged for breakaway and the other for a reel.

I use these treaded stainless steel inserts from West Marine in all my guns, even those from which I don't plan to take the reel on and off. I think they take 10-24 or 10-32 machine screws.

You drill a pilot hole in the gun, screw in the insert, and then use machine screws to attach the reel. That way you aren't taking wood screws in and out.

In addition to making it easier to switch from reel to float line, they make it easier to remove the reel for travel.

[marginatus]

Originally Posted by Bill McIntyre

The choice of float line or reel depends a lot on where you dive and what you shoot, and I just spent two more days on Spearboard discussing it, so I'm burnt out for now.

So I'll evade that part of the question and answer the second part- yes, you can switch back and forth, although its easiest if you have two different shafts, one rigged for breakaway and the other for a reel.

I use these treaded stainless steel inserts from West Marine in all my guns, even those from which I don't plan to take the reel on and off. I think they take 10-24 or 10-32 machine screws.

You drill a pilot hole in the gun, screw in the insert, and then use machine screws to attach the reel. That way you aren't taking wood screws in and out.

In addition to making it easier to switch from reel to float line, they make it easier to remove the reel for travel.

Could you (or anyone), please, help with a link to where to buy those?
thanks

[Marwan]

well bill mentioned its from westmarine..so this is their link
West Marine: Home Page

[marginatus]

Originally Posted by Marwan

well bill mentioned its from westmarine..so this is their link
West Marine: Home Page

yes, i've tryed that but with no luck (only a item with some bad images...) so i asked for a link...

[Bill McIntyre]

Originally Posted by marginatus

yes, i've tryed that but with no luck (only a item with some bad images...) so i asked for a link...

I walk into West Marine and buy them, but I can't find them on the web site either.