Buoy question for spearhunters

[vjanda]

Greetz to all !

I have an inflatable torpedo shaped buoy and have a few questions.

What do you do with the bloody thing? :t (I'm new bear with me)

Last season when I took up spearfishing I'd just tie it to a brick with 20m of line and plop it somewhere near my anchored zodiac so the cops knew what I was up to.

I realise there must be a better (safer) way to use the bouy which would allow me to have my spare 60cm gun hanging off it and also keep the bouy above me at all times to avoid getting a propeller haircut.

I saw some short movies in which the end of the gun is connected to the bouy and my brother thinks it's better for the diver itself to be connected to it.

It's just that I go down to 15-20 m sometimes and can see how all this line won't get in the way. Or even worse - me getting tangled up the line. :head
I also dive very close to the rocks sometimes.

How do you use yours and what do you suggest ?
Oh and what sort of line do you use as well?

Thanks for any advice in advance:friday

 

[Pastor]

There are 4 basic ways to use a float line: anchor it like you have been doing, attach it to your gun, attach it to you or in conjunction with a break away on the shooting line. Personally I prefer the line attached to my gun with a bight stuck through a hoop on my weight belt, that way I can always retrieve my gun should I need to drop it and the drag of the line is on my belt; also, should the line get caught up in kelp all I have to do is pull out the bight from my belt to free myself. I like a PVC tube float line, they are stiff enough not to get wrapped around you; there is a good thread on SPEARFISHING.COM explaining how to make one.
If you are diving off a boat stick a 3ft "A" flag on the back of it too

 

[azapa]

Buoy tips:
I always fix to my gun, if the spear gets stuck in a kelp root (happens all the time to me) o a big speared fish won't come out of a hole (does not happen enough you just drop the gun and go for air. Getting it back later is easy.

I also, now, hang my stringer from the buoy: no more fish in the face! you can even strap spare spears to the buoy to change out if you get a bend. Best of all, if you get tired, just flop your arms over it and bob around for a while!

I agree that the PVC tube lines are better, the braided ones that come with the floats get wrapped around everywhere.

good hunting, and leave a few fish for the next guy

 

[greendiver]

I do not see a reason to attach your gun to it, if you are hunting for big fish ok, but if not it will only be a pain in the ass!
I have a weight attached to the line , which I can clip on to my weight belt, if I arrive on a spot I release it, sometimes use it to get down a bit easier.
The last 5 meters orso should be transparent fishing line...so the fish do not see that orange line next to you..
good luck!!

 

[greendiver]

Why dont you use a real?, take the gun to the surface!!
Or you are you going for huge grouper? ;-)

Buoy tips:
I always fix to my gun, if the spear gets stuck in a kelp root (happens all the time to me) o a big speared fish won't come out of a hole (does not happen enough you just drop the gun and go for air. Getting it back later is easy.

I also, now, hang my stringer from the buoy: no more fish in the face! you can even strap spare spears to the buoy to change out if you get a bend. Best of all, if you get tired, just flop your arms over it and bob around for a while!

I agree that the PVC tube lines are better, the braided ones that come with the floats get wrapped around everywhere.

good hunting, and leave a few fish for the next guy

 

[azapa]

Hi Greediver, I don't use a reel because i try not too overcomplicated things, and to keep things sporting. My biggest problem is that I spear in rocky, kelpy waters, and the spear often gets stuck in kelp roots. Regarding fish, most are easy, but we have one called "vieja" that is almost impossible to get out once over 10kg. They are fierce, and have huge toothy mouths, and often attack spearos once shot (!) Also, shooting at them from the wrong end of a cave is a disaster, as they won't fit through the hole.

I have no drag at all from my buoy (torpedo shaped) ONLY if I have tied perfectly onto the nose, otherwise its a pain. The weighted "anchor" idea does not work here as the currents are too strong. I guess it is a very personal/location based choice.

Cheers

 

[isibrigade]

You can make your own floatline out of plastic tubing with a sealed line inside. A swivel at each end will be helpful too.

 

[Pastor]

I do not see a reason to attach your gun to it, if you are hunting for big fish ok, but if not it will only be a pain in the ass!
I have a weight attached to the line , which I can clip on to my weight belt, if I arrive on a spot I release it, sometimes use it to get down a bit easier.
The last 5 meters orso should be transparent fishing line...so the fish do not see that orange line next to you..
good luck!!

A possible reason for attaching a float line to a gun is if you are hunting in a linear fashion, this is what I do a lot of the time. If I dropped a weight for my float line, hunted and then went to pick it up, moved along a bit so and so forth I would get nowhere in a day. It need not be a pain either, I just pull a bit in and tuck a bight under my belt, no worries. There are many different ways to hunt and different methods associated with them. To be an all round hunter you need to be able to adapt to different situations etc.

 

[azapa]

You can make your own floatline out of plastic tubing with a sealed line inside. A swivel at each end will be helpful too.

I have seen a few DIY's but none convince me entirely. Any ideas why I can't tie 200Lb mono using a blood knot instead of the crimps??

Also, why would I try to seal the line inside? Would water not get in anyway? why not leave the ends open? Is it for the floatability?

Thanks

 

[Pastor]

No reason why you can't tie, who said you couldn't?

Sealing the inside makes the line float and it keeps out of your way to an extent. It also becomes more visible too which is good as you don't want to get hooked up on it. It shouldn't leak if you squeeze the sealant in far enough.

 

[deep thinker]

Since Ive started hunting a bit more regularly and got my first float, Ive used a normal 20m dull green nylon rope that connect to the bottom of my gun handle and the float. I did however find the rope a bit long and cumbursome at certain times especially when you start trying to stay in one place with a bit of wave action around so I cut the line shorter but then had a problem with the loss of lenth on deeper dives. So I got a 5m peice of tuna bungee with clips and a floatwinder. I now roll down as much line as I need with the bungee connected to the gun and then the rope to the float, the bungee serves as extra play space when you shoot a biggie and so you dont have to rely only on your float to play fish with. When I hunt the shallows I use only the bungee and for me I think Ive now got a very cool line setup that easily adapts to different needs. I also have a stringer on my float as to not have to carry dead and dying fish on my weightbelt :naughty as this can get a bit dangerous in the waters I hunt

 

[flyflicker]

My (cheap) float got a huge rip in it, so I sealed it and filled the whole thing with expanding foam - brilliant I have had no problems since then - it maybe a very odd shape, but it floats fine...

 

[greendiver]

Hi Azapa, what kind of fish is that, vieja? Sounds like some kind of mero!
Conditions are similar here, lot of current, how cold does the water get overthere?

Hi Greediver, I don't use a reel because i try not too overcomplicated things, and to keep things sporting. My biggest problem is that I spear in rocky, kelpy waters, and the spear often gets stuck in kelp roots. Regarding fish, most are easy, but we have one called "vieja" that is almost impossible to get out once over 10kg. They are fierce, and have huge toothy mouths, and often attack spearos once shot (!) Also, shooting at them from the wrong end of a cave is a disaster, as they won't fit through the hole.

I have no drag at all from my buoy (torpedo shaped) ONLY if I have tied perfectly onto the nose, otherwise its a pain. The weighted "anchor" idea does not work here as the currents are too strong. I guess it is a very personal/location based choice.

Cheers

 

[Marwan]

i always carry a drop weight on my belt (0.5 kg) you could find it on subprof.com if i am hunting in a shallow area i attach the buoy to the drop weight on my belt and if there is action in a specific spot i drop the wweight to anchor the buoy in the general area where i am fishing... so i could return to it to attach fish or take a sip of water... if the water is deeper than 7m or of the visibility is not good, i always attach the gun to my buoy...

 

[azapa]

Hi Azapa, what kind of fish is that, vieja? Sounds like some kind of mero!
Conditions are similar here, lot of current, how cold does the water get overthere?

Hey Greendiver: here are our fish:
http://www.buceo.cl/imagecatalogue/image/list/2/

In particular, the vieja is this one:
BUCEO CHILE

We have 12 deg C all year round, clear clean waters, and strong tides and currents.

The Vieja are hard to see in the day, in the evening and night they come out of their caves to feed. The best way to find them is to spot a juvenile out in the day, and watch where they run to hide. In the same cave you will often find the "big daddy". I saw the biggest ever on Saturday, must have been 15 to 20Kg (as big as my 6 year old son!) He just looked at me, I would never shot him though, too scared and too much respect for his age!
They are excellent eating, fried quickly, with a real "shellfish" flavor to them.

Good luck!

 

[greendiver]

A possible reason for attaching a float line to a gun is if you are hunting in a linear fashion, this is what I do a lot of the time. If I dropped a weight for my float line, hunted and then went to pick it up, moved along a bit so and so forth I would get nowhere in a day. It need not be a pain either, I just pull a bit in and tuck a bight under my belt, no worries. There are many different ways to hunt and different methods associated with them. To be an all round hunter you need to be able to adapt to different situations etc.

Yep, never thought about that, so if you are down, you do not have the weight on your gun( a problem if you are trying to aim), only the line and the weight under your belt right?
I am going to try this, there is a long mole here, were this could be a very handy asset....thanks!!

 

[Pastor]

I have a pvc tube float line that is quite stiff so I can either tuck a bight under my belt or through one of the stainless stopper hoops I have on my belt. Keeps the line from pulling on the gun and still lets me detach from it in a quick tug should I need to. I sometimes get the ascending line caught up in wrecks or wrapped up in kelp. Then I can move along the reef largely unhindered and always in contact with my buoy

 

[covert]

Who knew floats could cause this much interested. In my opinion a float is a must. Firstly to alert passing boats and authorities to your presence in the water as well as other divers. Many times ive gone in from the shore swam great distances and saw floats that alerted me to the presence of other divers with sharp pointy objects in the water.

Concerning what to do with your float well that becomes a matter of personal prefrence and technique. I generally use my float in a variety of ways.

1. I tie it up to my gun that makes the gun boyant when swimming out (ill
post a pic on how i do it sometime.
2. My fish stringer is attahced to my float, simply becuase we have lots of
great whites and other dangerous sharks in our waters. Plus swimming
10kg's of speared fish is just a little bit of a hassle
3. Generally i tie the end of my float to my gun, most handy when killing a
big fish you just shot. The gun drops to the bottom and I dont have to
waste energy to retreive it. Or worry about keeping it on the surface.
just pull the float line till you have your gun again.
4. Getting tangled well that happens, depending on the conditions you can
judge the flow of current and dive in a manner that the float line doesnt
tangle you. And for shore dives use shorter lines they are easier to work
with.
5 I also carry a dropwheight at all times. If i find a hotspot i drop the float
as a marker.
6 And my last trick is, since we do have some crime here its not a good idea
to leave my car keys on the beach or even my wallet in the car. So i went
to the local camping store got a water proof container which stores my cell
my wallet and my car keys and I attach this to my float. I also have a
waterproof bottle that i keep attached to my float with energy drink. In
case of cramp I can hold on to my float, rehydrate, relax and then swim to
shore) and yes with a float, a box and a drinking bottle doesnt that cuase
drag????? answer simply is no. The last guy that asked me this was
dragging 13kg's of fish behind him on his float. And I told him these items
are all boyant but the fish might cuase some drag

So thats basically the way I use my float but like i said everyone developes his/her own technique to diving and operate differently with diving gear. All i can say is be safe, if your safe your comfortable and if your comfotable you hunt better.