First Time

[CSilva83]

I have been traveling to the azores, graciosa to be exact for the past few years and plan on spearfishing for the first time this year. What exactly should I plan on bringing with me and where can I find the laws and regulations regrading spearfishing?

[marginatus]

hehe, pessoal que mergulha nos Açores! vou escrever em ingles para a malta toda perceber:
Welcome to deeperblue!
i'm from Pico and i'd like to dive in graciosa, i know there are some great pinacles there...
About your question:
in the summer you can spearfish without any suit and since it will be the first time (first time spearfishing or just in graciosa?) i guess that you won't be in the water for hours but having a suit protects you from jellyfish . A 5mm two piece suit is the best for all year diving.
you'll need a gun: i would't advise anything smaler than 90 (cm)
you'll need a mask and a J (the cheaper ones) snorkel.
you'll need some fins. do you have any fins?
you'll need a licence that you can get at the capitania, cost 7 or 14 € (i don't remember if i paid 14 for one or for two licences) and it's valid for the year it is issued.
laws: only 5 "fish"/man/day and NO grouper (mero) as it is forbiden and can cost your gear and a ticket. there are some other restrictions: there are months (mostly the summer) that you can´t catch lobster or "cavaco" as it is in the reprodutive season... and in the rest of the year you can catch (if you can dive that deep)only 3 crustacean (in the total 5 "fish").
give more info so i can help you with the mask, fins, suit and any other stuff. you can PM (private message) or just post here so the guys get to know azores more.

Fernando

[CSilva83]

Fernando, thanks for the advice, it was a big help. It will be my first time spear fishing altogether. I live near boston and the water is to cold to dive. I do all my fishing here from a boat. I am currently looking to purchase a 48cm JBL speargun. The wetsuit will most likley be a simple shorty for cost reasons. I just learned that my cousin is coming along on the trip who has dived and hunted before. He wants to take the ferrys and dive in sao jorge and pico as well. The only problem is having family there to see limits the amount of time I spend there diving. Thanks again.

Chris

[marginatus]

I know that you're just starting but if you read some more in this forum or ask your cousin you'll see that in those waters and with visibility of 20 + meters you'll soon be unhapy with a 48 cm gun (i supose it is band gun right? ) and you wont be able to catch the better fish (only some "pig fish" and other distracted small or not very tasted ones). but hey, your just starting and it's your money.
just trying to help
sorry for my bad writing

Fernando

[SamuS]

Yeah, 48 cm gun is tiny. If your looking at it from a pure cost point of view, you might be better off trying to hire your gear since you said it was too cold to dive in Boston.

Otherwise, if you plan on spearing more often, then definitely get yourself a decent gun first time round. Other wise, you'll be hooked on the sport and end up buying a second gun (and it won't take long )

[Shadowkiller]

rough size guide (in my opinion)

If viz =

5m -> 90cm gun
7-8m -> 1m gun
10m -> 1.1m gun (what I use around Sydney)
15m -> 1.2m gun
>15m -> 1.3m (or more) depending on target species.