Looking to kill with a polespear

[cody909]

Hello, I'm 15 and new to SCUBA/Spearfishing. I have my SCUBA diving licenses and i found it rather boring underwater, I want to start Freediving since i dont have full scuba Equipment. I think it would have been more fun if i had a spear or somthing to spear the fish since i love fish and i like fishing its just a differnt way to do it.
I was talking to my grandpa about it and he offerd me his old pole spear, when i say old i mean like 1990's or late 1980's i belive. The Tip was rusted and the prongs were dull when he gave it to me with no band. I let the tip sit in paint thinner to remove the rust but it didnt do much, after some hardcore sanding i got 98% of it off and i Grinded the tips of the paralizer and made them SUPER sharp. I replaced it with a band that i bought at Sports Chalet that is made for pole spears.

I was hoping to get out soon, The pole spear is made by ScubaPro and is about 10-12 feet long and is a expandable shaft that is 2 parts.





What do you guys think. Its aluminum and seems good...
I havnt used it yet but i will soon..
Any advice?

I was thinking about buying a speargun... Is it worth it...?

Thanks Cody

[DSRTEGL]

The polespear is a great tool to learn with.......and you got a good one for free. I am new to the sport as well and personally I would play with that polespear for a while before thinking of spending the money necessary for even an entry level speargun.

Start with smaller fish 24"+/- and get develop your skills. Careful aim and head shots whenever possible.

Never dive alone............I remember being 15 (LONG TIME AGO) and the feeling that I was invincible at that age led me to do some pretty silly stuff and that has really caught up to me now that I am in my 40's.

Be Safe

BTW......Where in Cali are you.......I am North SF Bay Area

[cody909]

Im about 45 min drive from Huntinton beach...
I didnt know how good of a spear it was, i saw other ones at sports chalet and they looked way different. so i didnt know

[hteas]

It should be a great polespear. Getting a new band was good, and getting the tips sharpened is good. However, getting rid of the rust is not so good. The roughness of the rust helps to hold fish on. Also, just sharpen the inside of the tips. That will help them to open, holding fish firmly on.

The other thing to know is to drive the fish and spear down onto the bottom to make sure it doesn't get away. A 3-prong is good, but not perfect, and a little technique will keep the fish on, where they belong.

Good luck with it, and don't lose patience. It takes a while to learn. But once you do, you will discover that using a 3-prong will make you a better spearfisherman.

[cody909]

Today i was Practicing spearfishing in my pool, I used a aluminum can and a string connected to a weight. the weight would sit on the bottom of the pool with the stirng connecting the floating aluminum can. I was then practicing/experimenting with the distance the spear could accuratly travel. I fugured i can hit at about 7-8' about 60% of the time and about 5' 80% of the time.



Also today was my first time attempting to hold my breath staticly for a long time, my longest time was 2:41 seconds. It was good for my i figured i could only hold it for about 1:30 but i proved my self wrong, Is 2:41 a good beginners time?

Another question, If i wanna attach a float line to my polespear do i have to do a extra loop or can i just do a it on the same loop as i hold to launch?



Thanks for all your guyes advice its really helped me out.

Just trying to get into the "Game"

-Cody

[Marwan]

looks like youre set for a good start..i say as long as the pole is straight and has sharp tips and new band, it should work fine..
2:41 as a first go at static is also great.. my advice to you:
1 - Start freediving without the spear..improve your techniques, get comfortable with your gear, know your limits and get to know your fishing area, speciea depth, bottom type etc..
2 - Progress very slowly, dont push yourself and NEVER! dive alone, not even for 10' this is a golden rule, no exceptions
3 - when you had sufficient time with points 1 and 2 above then start introducing the polespear, pool practice is a great way to start out your aim..

on freedving tips you will find heaps of info on the site just do a search and everything you need will be there..
if i were you i would also look into a freediving course, to get you started, there must be something good in or around california...
also be sure to check the spearo section for calfornia on the spearo network forum, bill mcyntire is a golden resource for spearfishing in cali..
have fun, cheers

[spaghetti]

Your determination and curiosity is an excellent starting point. And for the polespear, that should be fine as Marwan said.
But more important, this is what we'd say first to any teenager starting with the sport:
Progress very slowly and try to keep an awareness on...how can I say...some sort of sense of danger.
Every time you try something new, somewhere deeper, something unusual to you like for a example a strong current, a changing weather, a fish holed up in a crack through a boulder, always ask yourself: "Wait, could this be dangerous? And what is my exit plan if something goes wrong?".
ok I think you got the message.
I'm not saying this is a dangerous sport per se, but as a matter of fact some people lost their lives while freediving and/or spearfishing. Every spearo I know, me included, has lost a friend, a club mate or a hometown guy under water.
....Ya scared?

[DSRTEGL]

Please don't get the feeling that we are all beating you over the head with the "Be Safe" thing.....I think all of us mentioning safety arises from the fact that we were once young as well and have been there ourselves.

I remember the feeling of invincibility when I was you age and it took the loss of a good friend to wake me up.

Our brains are wonderful tools....They will almost always tell us we are doing something stupid and all we have to do is listen..........For some reason I seem to be deaf a lot of the time though.......Thus the blown shoulder, bad back, blown knee.......................

I don't really know of a way to attach a float to the spear....I am working with detachable tips that come free after the fish is speared and those tips are attached to a float line.......

Derek

[hteas]

To attach the floatline you will be better off biting the bullet and getting a longer band, or buying the rubber and getting someone to show you how to tie it up. Having the extra loop at the end of the band will keep you from the possibility of getting tangled up with the floatline after shooting a fish.
Another problem it will cut off is having to load and fire quickly, only to discover that the floatline is pulling from the back of the spear, slowing it down. The floatline should be at your hand when you fire. Your hand will stay put, and the floatline will not affect the shot. If it is accidentally at the back of the spear, the floatline will be pulled sideways, causing a lot of extra drag.