Cammo Wetsuits

[bjpete]

Does the wearing of a wetsuit with a cammo pattern really make a big difference while hunting? Also, if it does make a difference, when & where are the differents patterns recommended for the optimum results? any assistance would be greatly appreicated. Also, most of my hunting would be done in the northern midwest freshwater lakes.
Thanks,

Brian

[seaman]

I had the same question as you. I think is the same thing with the cammo outfits on land. I had seen the Omer med, green and Ocean mimetic videos and the disguising is awesome, they blend splendidly with the sourroundings. The Med mimetic looks awesome for aspetto. Go to the link http://www.omersub.com/ and choose the spanish selection, and enjoy the videos. I guess there are no videos in the english version cause the european spearos featured, hunt with great skill tiny little fish, that maybe is not very appealing to the rest of the world i guess!

[Marwan]

personally i dont think it makes much difference, unless most of your hunting is ambush (aspetto) style, then sure if youre calm enough and invisible it will make a differennce, you have to get the pattern that suits your bottom type, maybe something greenish brown for a lake

[Ol Dirty Diver]

Those fish in that video were indeed TINY! What types of fish were those? Seemed like one species primarily. The fish and marine life seemed so sparse in the videos as well...Is that how it is in the Mediterranean in general?

Sure makes me appreciate living in Hawai'i...

[tbgsub]

I use the Med Mimetic Omer Dahlek suit, but have frequently gone withhout it to see if there is a difference. it appears that if you are good at Aspetto it may have advantages, but I have noticed that when I am calm without the suit I catch just as good as when I am calm with it. What seems most important from my perspective is that wearing a mimetic pattern puts the spearo into a hunt mode, where you assume stealth, and thereby act more concealed, you tend to move more slowly thinking that you are harder to see, and may in fact be inconspicuous. If you act sneaky, perhaps you actually are.
but sometimes, when I am anxious, fish swim away, and stay away just as much with the suit as without it. I think they hear my heart beat more than see my suit.

if you want to learn stealth, hunt without the suit, using a pole spear, you will learn what it takes to get close (patience, and quiet swimming, and indirect eye contact, even eye concealment). also correct weighting, does alot for Aspetto ability, because you will have more wait time on the bottom, just keep track of it and return safely.

after you get this down, get a fancy suit to get closer, once you are used to being calm, then you may enjoy the benefit of mimetic patterns.

as a beginner you wont see much difference for a while, but that is because you will be moving too much. (I had this problem) this type of suit is best for Aspetto.

if you hunt from above on the decent (traditional), a simple color would be best, that doesnt give away your motion as readily as a mimetic pattern would. even blue water might be better with a correctly colored suit, rather than a patterned suit, as waves and light tend to create their own pattern.

I notice that when I am still, it works like magic, but once I move, the game is over for me. remember patience is the name of the game with cammo. are you patient?

additionally I have used the Omer ICE fins till they broke, and now use the millenium runners (black) and it doesnt seem to make a difference in getting close, I just feel more visible, so it is really up to what the hunter feels is worth.
I feel that good swimming form, and kicking stroke, probably goes a long way to getting close over invisible fins.

Fresh water lakes Hmmm. Plain black might work better than a mimetic pattern here, but you could try the dark green, or brown patterns, or even better, a red pattern as I hear that fish dont distinguish red very well because it looks green after 10feet which in your case is really good. also I would recommend a full hooded suit to cover your skin. Lakes can be quite cold under the thermocline in the north, so 3-5 mm would be wise. by the way, a thicker suit has more bouyancy = more weights = harder ascents. experiment, and good luck and Happy Bass fishing.

(any suit that mimics the fish you are hunting cant be too off)

hope this helped.

TBGSUB.

[Dobs]

I think camouflage patterns are not intended to make you invisible or make you blend with the surroundings. The main idea behind the camouflage suits is that they break up your silhouette in the eyes of the fish. In this way it is harder for the fish to perceive you as one big object (most probably predator). Of course we all know that fish rely mostly on their lateral line than on their eyesight so I would put the camouflage as the third most important thing for a successful aspetto. The first two are silence and avoiding too many movements.

[seaman]

Originally Posted by Ol Dirty Diver

Those fish in that video were indeed TINY! What types of fish were those? Seemed like one species primarily. The fish and marine life seemed so sparse in the videos as well...Is that how it is in the Mediterranean in general?

Sure makes me appreciate living in Hawai'i...

Yeah, they call them sargos. I guess they do have tuna and big Servias in the med. And big grouper but i guess they are depleting the fish populaions somehow

[bjpete]

I have another question regarding wetsuits for hunting. It seems that with freediving you would always want to use the thinnest suit possible to avoid overheating, but not so thin that you are uncomfortably cold. With hunting would you want wear a slightly thicker suit (6mil instead of 5mil) because you'll be moving around less while quietly waiting to take your shot? I realize you'll need a bit more weight, but you won't get too cold either. Is this a trade off worth considering?

[Pinggene]

bjpete,

All advice I received was 5mm. I'm sure that Jon from Madison will chime in.

I'm in the process of ordering my Elios as we speak.

Gene

[surfinsd]

I've found that in low vis water, 0-10 feet, it makes a difference, especially when sneaking up on fish from below. When the vis is better than that, it doesn't make much difference.