Alberta Spearfishing Rig

[JMD]

Since it seems like winter might eventually end, or at least it did till it snowed today !@#$@$!#@#$!!!... sorry get mad just thinking about it. Looking at revamping all my gear for this summer.

What would be an ideal alberta spearing rig? List every piece of equipment from fins to gun to knife that one needs to kill some fish in the lakes out here.

Then, as a bonus question, what additional gear should you have in your bag for telegraph cove. Price is not an issue, but value for money is.

 

[Erik]

I think you already have the basics James, but here's my recommendations off the top of my head.
7mm suit, weight harness (not a belt), 75 to 90cm gun, 60 to 100' of good floatline, decent-sized flaot with D-rings and/or space to store stuff, stringer, dry OSS gloves, knife for killing and cleaning in-water, hot drink in a thermos on the float, water/gatorade drink on the float, any old fins, wetboots... oh and a buddy somewhere within 100 metres lol!
Erik

 

[JMD]

Sounds good, I believe I need a floatline and float, no idea what oss gloves are and the buddy is optional, right?

 

[Erik]

Sorry: OS Systems dry gloves OS Systems Dry Gloves
You can buy them with a reversed bell-cuff that works great for freediving. I've used them for a few years and they are sweeet!
Erik

 

[Fondueset]

I've been using elios 3 finger mitts with little cheap acrylic knit gloves underneath - almost two hours at 37F with comfy fingers! Trick is to make sure the mitts are big enough not to be tight.

 

[Erik]

Wow those sound good Chris... I've never used a proper freediving glove- usually scuba or kayaking, which are full of unsealed sewing.

 

[Fondueset]

Total suprise to me! Elios makes these real simple 3 finger mitts - they are open cell / titanium inside and they seal really well under the suit. I've also got Henderson 'insta-dries' - 5 mil gloves - smooth neoprene in and textured out with a sandwich of nylon. They are quite good when the water gets up to around 50. My hands allways got cold with the elios mitts till I added the little gloves underneath - they cost about $1. It is important that the mitts aren't to tight though. Seemed like my whole body stayed warmer.

 

[Erik]

. Seemed like my whole body stayed warmer.

As soon as I started wearing dry gloves (first on scuba years ago), getting cold was never the reason to get out of the water.
I saw a program where they did tests in this area- warm hands means warm body.
They are a bit of a pain in the ass to don/doff, but I dont like diving without them unless it's really warm (never in Canada).
Erik

 

[Fondueset]

That makes sense. I've experimented quite a bit on land - doing Taiji and Bagua outdoors during the winter without gloves. With that my hands go through an adjustment period - they get very cold and numb, then excrutiatingly painful, then warm. Works down to about 8f depending on the humidity.

Under water is different of course. I'm pretty excited about this discovery. I've been too cheap to spring for dry gloves. I think the hendersons will do nicely when it gets into the 50s F. I tried them at 43 and they were okay for about 20 minutes.

 

[JPPLAY]

I think you already have the basics James, but here's my recommendations off the top of my head.
7mm suit, weight harness (not a belt), 75 to 90cm gun, 60 to 100' of good floatline, decent-sized flaot with D-rings and/or space to store stuff, stringer, dry OSS gloves, knife for killing and cleaning in-water, hot drink in a thermos on the float, water/gatorade drink on the float, any old fins, wetboots... oh and a buddy somewhere within 100 metres lol!
Erik

Erik I must disagree with you on a few things. I will not dive with a weight harness as it harder to ditch. I prefer two weight belts so I can change bouyancy easy well in the water.
I prefer a 75 cm gun for our waters but I dive with a 90 cm. A 90 cm is probably the better choice for hunting on the west coast. The fish aren't know for running away though so you would be fine with a 75 cm. I prefer on the coast to be using a reel as a float line attached to the gun will throw off your aim as you go through the kelp. I sometimes use a weight at the end of the floatline to anchor the float or attach it to my weightbelt. The bonus is also that if you ditch your weightbelt it easy to recover from the surface.
I use 5 mm gloves from white but am not happy with them but I have 5 mm socks from I think Omer which are great. I did use dry gloves but they are easy to rip small holes in when spearfishing so they get flooded easy. My hands usually stayed relatively warm though because of the wool gloves underneath.
I don't know if you need a 7 mm weight suit for our conditions as I don't have much body fat and my 5 mm custom suit has been great to me. I think it comes down to the decision if you can stand a 7 mm in warm conditions and the larger buoyancy changes. I have not dove in a 7 mm freediving suit though only a scuba suit.

 

[Erik]

Fair points Jimbo.

Also bring earplugs for the camping... lots of snorers! zzz

 

[Fondueset]

After reviewing this thread I thought I'd chime in with a bunch of ideas:yack

I use a 6 mil suit here all winter - water is currently between 2 and 3C. My daughter and other dive buddy both use 5 mils - as did I all last winter.

The trick seems to be the hands. If you order a suit from Elios have them make you 3 finger mitts and boots - they are inexpensive and absolutely excellent.

When I was diving in BC my main problem - diving all day in a 5 mil suit - was the air wicking away warmth when I was out of the water or doing a surface interval in wind. Tyler recommended smoothskin for that so I went with a smoothskin top on my 6 mil. The difference is quite amazing. I would not recommend it as a first suit though because it is fragile but it is very nice. Even with ridiculously strong winds ripping across my back i feel no chill in that suit.

Doc's proplugs (the ones for diving - with little holes in them) will help keep your ears happy. Also - A windbreaker and wind pants to wear over your wetsuit on the boat - and a warm hat - wool or whatever. I use an Omer weight vest with 4lbs in it - it's purpose is only to help hold my upper body down for photography/hunting.

Good gloves/mitts are key over there. I think Henderson Gold core 6.5 mils or insta-dry 5 mils are probably perfect. I used Henderson 5 mil superstretch gloves when I was there and they were just barely adequate. My feet tend to stay warm even with crap socks - but the Omers are definitely very nice. If JimDoe is coming you probably won't need to bring a gun

 

[DeepRN]

Thought i'd jump in on this one. I have to agree... I've come to the conclusion that it's really mostly about the hands. The warmer the better. You feel warmer overall. Maintaining the warmth and dexterity means better handling of any equipment & even equalization. And I'm still throubleshooting it.

I dove yesterday. It was 25 celsius out, but the water temp was 39/40F at depth. I had about 20 minutes before I noticed the cold setting in. 30 minutes & the cold was becoming pain. Once out and back in the sun, my hands ached intensely for about 10-15 minutes. I even thought I might be onto something when I used a thickener (used in the hospital to thicken fluids for people who have trouble swallowing) to turn hot water into hot goop. It worked in that any water transfer was greatly reduced. However the temp continued to drop & eventually they were ice-boxes.

I haven't tried dry gloves yet. I've seen a couple of pair online - 5mm neoprene with the rubber/latex cuff. Think these would work well?? As far as I can tell, when people have thus far been talking about diving with dry gloves, they've been talking about a latex glove with a seal - which is fairly fragile and would not likely stand up to say, a day of spearfishing in TC.

Anyway, I agree - it's all about the hand.

 

[Erik]

I replied to your PM Gabe.
The OS gloves I use are really tough, made from the same rouugh-coated material as a fishing glove. I've had mine for...4 years+? And have only nicked a few times, easily plugged with Aquaseal.
Erik

 

[feign]

JMD,

Don't forget a filet knife. The float line and float are a must out in Telegraph. In Alberta lakes that are not heavy in traffic and where you will be close to shore, you can get away without the float and line many times for less hassle. A lot of last summer I just attached a stringer to my belt and just carried my gun. Although, I would strongly discourage this tactic in areas with ocean predators....:ko :crutch. I just got back from Kauai and determined for myself why I would never carry the stringer on my belt there . I will post a summary of my trip soon.

Personally, I like the weight vest thing like Erik. James, I think you are right about leaning toward the smaller gun, considering our typical visibility and type of fish.

lee

 

[DeepRN]

If we are seriously considering trying to find some halibut (and I sincerely hope we do), a break-away spear line would be a good idea. That way you just swim up with your weapon and let the halibut take the spear/float. I don't have one, but it looks like a relatively simple/inexpensive setup. A few spearguns with this rig could be beneficial.

Lee, my sis just got back from Princeville! Where abouts on Kauai were you? She had a lot to say about watching the humpbacks in the bay. It's her (and her husband's) second trip there & they're considering making it home at some point.

BTW, halibut/rockfish/cod sashimi could be very nice

 

[feign]

Hey Gabe,

I agree that a break-away would be a good idea for the halibut. I almost bought one for last year for them and did in fact buy the large double barbed tip specifically thinking of halibut, to hold better in a ballistic run. The breakaway rig is actually not that much cash, so I will look into it.

We were on the south shore of Kauai (Poipu) for the first week and the second week we were North shore in Princeville. Both amazing. The north end was great hiking and scenery, but many days the water conditions for shore diving were quite harsh - still coming out of winter. Because of this, I ended up driving a couple days down to the south end for diving during the second week.

lee