Pneumatics Scaring White Sea Bass?

[dancruz_1]

Need some advice.

I might be moving out to SoCal from Fla. and need to know if pneumatics are a no-no, especially in regard to WSBs. I have a 130cm pneumatic and love it. It's extremely powerful and accurate, but it makes A LOT of noise. Here in FL, the noise actually tends to attract fish.

D. Cruz

[PhilLJCA]

The answer to you question is no. I have taken WSB with both my pneumatic gun and a larger band gun. They have different sets of advantages and disadvantages, however the pneumatic (in my case a mares cyrano) does not scare away more fish. However, there are three things to keep in mind about the pneumatics which may come into play here in california (excuse me if this is old news to you).

1.) NEVER, EVER, EVER take a pneumatic across the border into mexico. they are illegal there, and i hear they take this seriously. (sooner or later you will probably want to go because there tend to be more fish there)

2.) dont use the hawaiian shaft: use a slip tip when hunting WSB or you will lose a lot of fish (their flesh is super soft). Also be careful in chosing terminal gear, reels and big floats will tangle horribly in the kelp here. i use just a long float line

3.) be prepared to have larger fish bend the hell out of your pneumatic shafts (youve probably already experienced this with AJs in florida, but the yellowtail here will destroy 7 mm shafts)

hope that helps,
Phil

[Asturven]

Phil,

Are you using the original shaft of the Cyrano?

I am a big fan of big pneumatics too and the representative of the mamba system to allow then shot with a dry internal barrel.
I use 7 mm and 8 mm shafts here in the gulf without problems, but I use custom made shafts in Spring Steel -from Pelaj or 17-4 ph.
Good to hear from other pneumatic users.

Cheers

Ivan

[Bill McIntyre]

I've never used a pneumatic so I'll defer to Phil when he says that they work fine for white sea bass, but I just want to comment on his statement that floats and reels tangle horribly in the kelp.

He is absolutely correct about floats- you just can't drag one through and under the kelp, so many people use a small egg float that just serves as something to grab when all the line has been pulled through your hand.

But reels work just fine, and many very skilled and experienced divers use them. On the Freedivelist, there have been several threads on reels vs. float lines, and I think it must come pretty close to even. They have the advantage of having nothing at all trailing behind you to get tangled, and they are a lot easier to get in and out of the water.

Of course the big disadvantage is that, unlike with a float line rigged as breakaway, your gun can get taken away from you. For that reason, you should have at least 100 feet of line on the reel and a sharp knife easily accessible. However, I think that danger is over rated, as if you put on pressure, a white sea bass will turn and tangle in the kelp before taking all your line. I have never come close to being forced to turn loose of the gun.

Welcome to So Cal.

[PhilLJCA]

OK, Bill is right about the reels--if you prefer them, and you have a good one you neednt change how you do things when you move here. I had some bad experiences with reels (and they occured in the kelp) when I first started but plenty of people [many more experienced than me] swear by them.

[seaman]

[1.) NEVER, EVER, EVER take a pneumatic across the border into mexico. they are illegal there, and i hear they take this seriously. (sooner or later you will probably want to go because there tend to be more fish there)
2hope that helps,
Phil[/quote]

In this country almost everything is forbidden for no reason, that's why the corruption is so high. It has nothing to do with the law cause in the federal fishing law the pneumatics are not banned, but try to explain that to a greedy and ignorant inspector. Spearfishing has a bad name allaround anyway. And that is because people "feel" that killing a fish with a spear is brutal, but they are okay with massive fish killings with no selective fishing arts..blalbla..

Bottomline, when you come to Mexico, do it with an experienced and registered guide and get yourself a banded gun.