Camo suits are essential for spearfishing

[titan]

I think living in San clemente with blue waters, anice boat it's must over camo suits of course that naked womens are puls motivation

I got the answers of your prayers newbies xD it depends on what camo we are talking about and it just gives yuo a few seconds at most I think godd for hunting in rocks with great visibility waters for example and of course it depends on the kind of fish you are looking ofr local population tend to have their own beahaviours

but the question about what camo colors look like to fish is a very intelegent one, and if you are smater you go and see the spefications how the colors were chosen... (computer simulated by who, it's not just about does it look like good to your eye but having third party trying to put your eye on you over the rock to see if ti works is the best)

And who said black isn't a camo?!?!?!? with low sunlight and plenty of shadows beneath rocks and seaweed?!?!?!

for me it's to be slick smooth skin to glide or at least a mix if I have to go between rocks and caves with a lot of rubbish

 

[jtkwest]

wear whatever you want. you can still kill fish. i just like the camo better than black. probably just get me run over by a boat if i'm not careful,(thats what my older buddy says)

 

[behslayer]

I never said camo would hurt. I'm just not sure that it helps.

I can see that guy in the photo, and its a still photo. What if he were moving, making vibrations that a fish could feel? And of course I don't think we know what a fish's eye sees anyway.

We've all sparred over the effectiveness of Camo. I still haven't figured out a way to accurately test whether Camo does make a difference and under what conditions. With some fish, their characteristic of curiosity, or lack of innate fear, means that a diver could approach them falling head over heels wearing a Santa Suit and the fish would still allow for a kill shot. And then there runs a scale from this level of wariness on one end, to those fish that a freediver will not even see unless they have been unmoving stuffed into a crack along the bottom for a minute or so. I think all of us who practice Aspetto diving for wary reef fish in clear water will agree that camo does help on this end of the scale. I'm not sure where White Sea Bass fall along this line since I've never hunted one.. I assume from the photos I've seen and conversations I've had, that divers are hunting them mid water. So, the question in point here is does Camo provide any advantage when mid water fishing for pelagic fish? I've experimented a little with this. I usually dive the same local reef. The water is about 8Oft deep and clear. During the year we usually get a run of Spanish Mackeral in the 25-75lb class. These fish do have a characteristic of curiousity which is their fatal flaw. I usually use the camo suit in the picture above. It's reversible with a black inner skin. On several occasions once I've secured a fish for the day, I've done some experimenting seeing how close the fish will come to me. One thing I personally noticed is that when I have the Camo surface out, the Mackeral would generally come closer and were seemingly less wary. In some cases they came within 2-3ft of my hands. This is my own experience. I'm not making a blanket statement that Camo works in all situations... but I am saying that it definitely does not hurt. Note.. I do make Camo Wetsuits.. such as the one in the photo. But I also do make Black, Blue, and Green Wetsuits as well.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I'm not sure where White Sea Bass fall along this line since I've never hunted one.. I assume from the photos I've seen and conversations I've had, that divers are hunting them mid water.

We do usually hunt them in midwater, but we also usually hunt them in kelp beds, often with poor visibility. I'm convinced that they know we are there, and often come to us to see what we are.

But we often hunt yellowtail under floating kelp in thousands of feet of blue water with great visibility, and when the first guy jumps in, the school usually swims right up to him, no matter what color his suit.

This one didn't mind a black suit.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

And this video was taken by a guy in a black suit.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU78lxYmKQ4&fmt=18]YouTube - Yellowtail spearfishing at San Clemente Island[/ame]

 

[thedodd]

deffinately appreciate that video. thats a good one watched it like 8 times. thnx again. Hey what kind of camera are you using?

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Dam took the video. He has some kind of Sony point and shoot camera in a case.

 

[behslayer]

Bill, that video was sweet. There's nothing like the sound of a reel screaming underwater. I've yet to hunt Yellowtail, but they look delicious. The Camo debate will continue until someone finds a way to measure the effectiveness of wearing camo while Spearfishing and then applies it to the different species and environments that we all encounter. I do agree that technique, equipment, skill, and luck have a lot to with a hunter's success, and that by simply putting on a camo suit, a diver lacking in any of these, will not enjoy success simply because they are wearing a disruptive patterned material suit. I do think that camo helps with the kind of fish that I'm going for on the reef. That is strictly ambush diving.. hiding.. Aspetto..in the surf zone. Quietness from the moment you enter the water. One chance. Not sure if you guys fish with the Aspetto technique in Ca. Ofcourse, it's not essential.. and I have on occasion nailed a prize while wearing black. In the end.. we all choose our equipment based on what we believe to work for us.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I think some people use aspetto in relatively shallow water for calico bass, but I don't think its common for our glamour species, white sea bass and yellowtail. Most of the time white sea bass are in mid-water if the water is at all deep, and sitting on the bottom would be counterproductive.

The kelp beds that I most frequently dive along the mainland cost are in water about 50 to 60 feet deep, and I couldn't spend enough time on the bottom anyway.

Actually, I often do something that might be called aspetto, but I'm not sure if there must be bottom involved to use the term. I have my weight belt set up so that I'm neutrally buoyant at about 22 feet, and I'll dive to maybe 18 feet, grab a piece of kelp so that I don't drift up, and sit there motionless waiting for white sea bass to come to me. Is that aspetto?

Obviously, that doesn't work if I grab kelp at a depth below my neutral depth, because then I'd just sink and have to wave my fins to keep from going deeper.

 

[kanakafari]

Dodd,

Austin Derry has some decent footage available on his site (spearfishingvideos.com) as well. If you're looking to pursue WSB, it definitely a plus to make yourself knowledgable on their behavior and general habitat. Live action video is also a very beneficial tool. The beauty of video is that it allows you to place yourself in that situation for a brief moment and determine what your own course of action would be if in fact, you were lucky enough to be faced with it. It's pretty simple with California's species though.....Butts typically make a huge run then settle, WSB head straight for the kelp once hit, YT run long and hard, Sheeps may try to hole up on you, and everything else on the list is pretty much easy picking. As always, there are exceptions to these rules but these are what can be expected MOST of the time and when you come across that rogue fish........IMPROVISE and keep your head. I've got a lot of good videos that I can hook you up with when I see you. Gotta get back to work. A hui hou

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Austin has some nice stuff, but here is a great white sea bass video.

[ame=http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=98893]Nice WSB Video - Spearboard Spearfishing Community[/ame]

 

[Mr. X]

Good points all Bill but I'm not convinced you'd be happy wearing a pink wetsuit (or is there something you haven't been telling us...). I decided last year that "black is the new camo" - it is quite a reasonable camoflage for many conditions. Pink though? I'm not so sure. Camo can't do any harm but I do wonder sometimes how much technology it is fair to use (or necessary) to catch fish (GPS, fishfinders, spotter planes, etc.).

I was tempted to buy some camo-tape for my RA railgun on ebay recently (£1 per m) but figured it was most likely to lead to me loosing my speargun on the sea bed.

 

[thedodd]

yeah man dont worry ive seen them all a dozen times. cant wait to see one for real, this year im going to actively hunt them until i find em. come spring ill be ready

 

[Mr. X]

I think some people use aspetto in relatively shallow water for calico bass, but I don't think its common for our glamour species, white sea bass and yellowtail. Most of the time white sea bass are in mid-water if the water is at all deep, and sitting on the bottom would be counterproductive.

The kelp beds that I most frequently dive along the mainland cost are in water about 50 to 60 feet deep, and I couldn't spend enough time on the bottom anyway.

Actually, I often do something that might be called aspetto, but I'm not sure if there must be bottom involved to use the term. I have my weight belt set up so that I'm neutrally buoyant at about 22 feet, and I'll dive to maybe 18 feet, grab a piece of kelp so that I don't drift up, and sit there motionless waiting for white sea bass to come to me. Is that aspetto?

Obviously, that doesn't work if I grab kelp at a depth below my neutral depth, because then I'd just sink and have to wave my fins to keep from going deeper.

Interesting insights Bill. Sounds like there is hope yet.

Spaghetti will no doubt be able to explain the finer details of what constitutes aspetto - the Italians have several other names for techniques, some of which are similar. Ah, here is one of his earlier posts trying to explain the finer points of Italian spearfishing terminology to we poor benighted heathens:

It's just another italian word
These are the italian terms for the 5 techniques:
Aspetto= Waiting (ambush the fish from a static position)
Agguato = Ambush (with dynamic action seizing the fish around)
Tana = Cave/hole (seizing fish investigating in the rocks)
Caduta= Falling down (localize fish from above, dive straight down and shoot while descending)
Razzolo= Scratching about (a mix of all the previous techniques performed in shallow waters)

More on those terms here: http://forums.deeperblue.com/spearo-board/67271-translation-help.html#post606428
and here: http://forums.deeperblue.com/huntin.../66317-how-deep-do-you-hunt-3.html#post597510

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Interesting insights Bill. Sounds like there is hope yet.

Spaghetti will no doubt be able to explain the finer details of what constitutes aspetto - the Italians have several other names for techniques, some of which are similar. Ah, here is one of his earlier posts trying to explain the finer points of Italian spearfishing terminology to we poor benighted heathens:

I suppose what I do is fairly described as aspetto then: I am ambushing the fish from a fixed position, even if that position is hanging onto kelp in mid-water rather than on the bottom.

Or maybe not. I suppose it doesn't have to fit an Italian translation as long as it works.

 

[behslayer]

I guess that would be considered Aspetta..

 

[Erik]

I think we should all throw in 10 bucks, get Bill's measurements, and send him a pink camo suit.

 

[Fondueset]

I say we go for it and get him a Malibu Barbie Spearo Ensemble - including, of course, a hot pink Wong.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I think we should all throw in 10 bucks, get Bill's measurements, and send him a pink camo suit.

You buy, I'll wear. I'm shameless.

 

[Erik]

I know that you are a man of your word!